Edited 11.04.2021


Back to School Blues

Her new duties as a publicist were in plan to start immediately.

The national tournament began about a week after they returned to school and Akashi had informed her she'd be attending. Her team wasn't happy about this, in fact, a few of them were downright furious. Some of their blame transferred onto Hana for accepting the deal, but most of it was directed toward the first-string captain. Except for a few hotheaded players.

That's what landed her in this situation. In the past, they had never had as many team meetings as they had this year. All the players were present and Coach was in the back, watching over them. Hana knew he wouldn't interfere; coach liked to let them sort out their own problems. If only it was as easy as it sounds

"Okay, look," Hana held her hands up in a pleading gesture, "If you're that mad, go talk to Akashi-san about it."

"Maybe I will!" Kitano scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "I told them to back off and they did the exact opposite! You're our manager!"

From his position on the bleachers, Saiki cut in, "I have to agree. It was tolerable at first, but now your duties are being neglected."

At the head of the get-together, Futabatei's eyes trailed over his team. His opinion on the matter was neutral. As long as Hana could complete her responsibilities, he saw no harm in the association with first-string. Clearing his throat, Futabatei brought the attention onto him, "As it stands, Imamura has offered no rebukes to Akashi-san's orders. The matter is in her hands."

"Her hands suck!" Kitano argued, "Hana can't say no to save her life!"

"Yes, I can! You idiot!" Hana snapped, "Stop being jealous!"

"Jealous?" Kitano let out a short laugh, "I'm not jealous. I don't give a damn if you want to hang out with them, but don't pull us down with your stupid decisions."

"Hey, now," Uoya cut in, and beside him, Kajiwara stood up at the increased tension, "Calm down, Kitano-san."

"Don't tell me you don't have a problem with this! You've been complaining about it for weeks!" Kitano shot Uoya a glare.

"What?" Hana's voice had gone soft and she turned her eyes onto Uoya, "You never told me you had an issue with it."

"It's not an issue really," Uoya trailed off, his eyes begging her to understand, "You've just spent so much time with them lately… I don't know, Hana-chan."

Feeling her heart clench inside her chest, Hana brought her eyes to the ground. She hadn't realized Uoya felt that way and her guilt grew. I'm such a shitty friend. When's the last time we hung out together? As she thought, Hana was pulled into a hug with the scent of peppermint informing her it was Uoya.

"Don't be upset, Hana-chan. It's really not a big deal," Uoya mumbled into her hair, "I understand. We just miss you."

In the background, Kitano snorted, "It may not be an issue for you, but it is for me. Their whole friendship is screwed up."

"Kitano-kun," Iseri's voice rang out, "You aren't helping the situation."

"I don't give a damn if I'm helping or not!" Hana lifted her head up and Kitano's glare bore into her, "I want her to know how I feel."

"That's enough," Futabatei's voice was sharp and everyone fell silent, "There is nothing you can do. This is Imamura's choice and not your own."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Kitano's fists clenched into themselves. Lowering his head, Hana watched as Kitano's glare bore into the ground. He released a deep breath before his eyes trailed over to her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but his eyes suddenly sparked when they met her own.

Bringing his head up, Kitano turned toward her with a look that could kill, "Well if she wants to be their bitch," Kitano sneered the word out, making Hana flinch, "Then I guess there's nothing to say."

At that, Kajiwara took a step forward, "Kitano!"

"Whatever. I'm done," his face flashed with regret before Kitano turned on his heel and stalked to his backpack. The bald boy slung it over his shoulder before stomping to the door and slamming it open. The resulting bang echoed in the noiseless gym.

Futabatei broke the silence, "I believe practice is dismissed."

The team began to move as they got over their stunned silence. Tucking her under his arm, Uoya led Hana toward the bleachers with Iseri following moments later. Coach veered off to have an intense conversation with Futabatei and the two of them shot concerned glances to the door Kitano had stomped out of.

Hana was brought back to the present by Uoya gingerly handing her a backpack. His voice was weak when he spoke, "I'm sorry, Hana-chan. That really got out of control."

"It's not your fault," Hana responded as she grabbed her bag, "I brought it on myself. Never should have brought it up."

"No, no!" Her friend's eyes had widened, "No, that would have made it even worse. At least now Kitano-san has a chance to cool off."

Giving a feeble laugh, Hana began to stand. A hand landing on her shoulder made her pause, letting Iseri speak, "Kitano-kun said some horrible things, Hana-chan, but I want you to know he didn't mean them."

"It's not your place to defend him, Iseri," Hana retorted, "But, I know. He'll come apologize later and I'll punch him or something. That's how it's always been."

"Exactly!" Uoya chimed in and hugged Hana from behind, "We all love you, no matter what you do!"

Nodding in agreement, Iseri transferred his hand from her shoulder to pat her on the head, "We were a bit jealous, but I think we've all seen the error of our ways."

Except for Kitano. Giving him a tiny smile, Hana tried to channel happiness, "Good, I can hardly put up with you assholes on a normal day."

"Bah," Uoya's arms tightened around her and Hana forced herself to relax in his hold, "You loooove us."

"I do," if her voice cracked, it wasn't her fault, "You know I do."

As Uoya continued to squeeze the life out of her, Iseri shot her a knowing look. He had known Hana since sixth year and he knew some of the deeper aspects of her personality. Despite her outward personality, Hana couldn't handle rejection. It had killed her when Torio left her and now he suspected she felt the same with Kitano.

When Hana met his gaze, she turned her head away and Iseri's thoughts turned sour. He better apologize and soon.

xXxXx

A week passed and Kitano still hadn't apologized. A few times he'd approach her only to veer off at the last second. Hana wanted to deny how much it bugged her, but it was clear to everyone she had something on her mind.

Because of this back and forth game between them, her temper had been shot to hell. That was the main reason why she was sitting alone today at lunch. She'd been able to put up with miracles presences all week, but today she didn't think she could handle it without snapping at them. Not to mention Uoya. Her best friend had been a constant presence since Kitano's outburst and Hana was close to throwing him into the nearest trashcan.

That thought made her immediately feel bad and Hana stabbed her food in retribution.

Thankfully, she'd managed to outmaneuver Uoya to find her current resting place. The bush was big enough to hide her and her lunch. It was also a good fifty feet away from the courtyard and Hana couldn't have been happier. A part of her felt bad for ditching Uoya and the miracles, but Hana shoved it as far down as she could.

The rest of the lunch period went by smoothly. Other than plucking a few stray leaves out of her hair, Hana hadn't had any other interruptions. Of course, she thought too soon.

Each of the miracles came with their own presence, sans Kuroko. Hana had been working on a way to differentiate them, but it was proving difficult. She could only tell that it was them, not who each person was. Like right now, Hana could feel that overwhelming tightness in the back of her neck that signified their arrival. A glance to the left proved her correct.

The bush was pushed out of the way by a hand and Hana was promptly drenched in shadow by the person's huge body mass. That left four people who could have found her: Kise, Aomine, Midorima, or Murasakibara. Considering the sheer size of the shadow, Hana would bet on the last one. Slow eyes landed on the purple head of hair and she gave herself a mental pat on the back. Got it in one.

"Mura-chin," Murasakibara's head shifted curiously, "You're in a bush."

"That I am," Hana didn't offer more. Her attitude still wasn't in the best shape and she'd rather not gain the giant's wrath.

"Okay," the purple-haired boy shrugged as if her situation made all the sense in the world. His eyes trailed down to her half-finished bento before speaking, "Aka-chin said to tell you to come to the game tonight."

Do not shoot the messenger, do not shoot the messenger. Her mind chanted on repeat. A weary hand came up and Hana waved at Murasakibara in consent. His purple eyes followed the movement before a tiny frown cast over his face.

"You're angry," his statement was blunt and Hana quirked an eyebrow at him. That was awfully quick of him, she hadn't expected any of them to pick up on her mood swing.

Her voice came out rougher than she intended, "What makes you think that?"

"Mura-chin always talks, but you aren't right now," his frown morphed into the semblance of a pout, "It's weird."

"And that makes me angry?" Hana scoffed before grabbing her bento and handing it to the giant, "Here. You've been eyeing it since you got here."

The speed at which Murasakibara moved would put a cheetah to shame. One moment he was standing above her and the next he was sitting on the ground beside her. Examining the contents, Murasakibara turned to her, "Thanks, Mura-chin."

Again, Hana didn't respond. Instead, she leaned back on her hands and lifted her face toward the sky. The heat from the sun felt good and as she closed her eyes, Hana urged herself to relax. A few seconds passed before her peace was interrupted by loud chewing sounds and she let out a forlorn sigh. Slow breaths. Just take slow breaths.

Murasakibara's noises faded away, but then Hana was startled by a loud crinkling noise in front of her face. Blinking an eye open, Hana came face to face with an open bag of chips. Said chips were connected to an arm, which was connected to a body, which was connected to a very impatient-looking Murasakibara.

His eyes were locked on her face when he spoke, "I don't like it when you're grumpy. Eat, it makes people feel better."

"Uhm," Hana tried to stall, but the chips just came closer to her face, "Okay, thanks."

Reaching a tentative hand into the bag, Hana removed a few chips. Murasakibara hummed in pleasant approval before bringing the chips back to himself. The two continued in relative silence with Hana shooting her giant friend wary looks each time she brought a chip to her mouth. She'd been under the impression Murasakibara didn't like to share his food.

Bringing another chip to her mouth, Hana was startled by a hand landing on top of her head. Instead of squeezing her brains out as she feared, Murasakibara's hand gently patted her hair. Hana swallowed nervously at the action, "Uhm, Murasakibara-san?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you doing?" The petting quit for a second at her question, but Murasakibara just trailed his hand down and played with the ends of her hair. Her back arched at the sudden movement and Hana turned to stare at him in accusation, "That tickles!"

"I'm making Mura-chin feel better," he twirled a strand of hair around his finger, "I like it better when she smiles."

Her face erupted at that. Full-out volcano. Hands twitching in her lap, Hana didn't know whether she wanted to bury her face into the ground or smack the giant on top of the head for causing this reaction. Settling for something in the middle, Hana brought a hand up to cover her eyes, "Murasakibara-san."

A tug on her hair accompanied the complaint. Glancing to the side, Hana raised an eyebrow at the frowning boy. Murasakibara's voice was petulant when he spoke, "No, -san."

"What, why?" She hadn't meant to be offensive, in fact, the opposite.

"It's too stuffy."

"…Stuffy," Hana deadpanned, "You didn't listen when I told you not to call me Mura-chin."

"Hana-chin?"

"No."

"Okay then," Murasakibara nodded his head in self-assurance, "You'll call me Murasakibara."

A huff escaped her nose and Hana rolled her eyes to the sky, "I was trying to remain polite with at least some of you. But whatever, Murasakibara it is."

Large fingers curled into her hair and Murasakibara let out a hum, "Good."

The atmosphere became comfortable and Hana could feel herself relaxing. It was quite a pleasant sensation and she tilted her head closer to Murasakibara. As his fingers continued to rub in slow circles, her eyes began to close. Losing the battle to sleep, Hana's mind shut down and her body titled toward Murasakibara's.

One purple eyebrow rose at the added weight on his shoulder. Removing his hand from her hair, he poked at her forehead, "Mura-chin?"

No response.

"Are you asleep?" No response again. Ceasing his poking, Murasakibara leaned back on his hands. Mura-chin's body leaned back with him and he let out a huff. Staring straight ahead for a few moments, Murasakibara finally shrugged his shoulders and lowered his back to the dirt.

It was always a good time for a nap.

An hour later, Hana awoke to a very pleasant sensation of warmth. Whatever her dad had washed her pillow in had really done the job and Hana snuggled further into the vanilla scent. Bringing her arm up, she tightened it around her pillow and squeezed herself closer. This is great…

Everything was going smoothly until her pillow squeezed her back. Jolting out of her half slumber, Hana flicked her eyes open and looked at her pillow in incredulity. Her pillow wasn't supposed to be white and blue— Terrified, green eyes trailed up to see who she'd fallen asleep on. Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

That was Murasakibara, obviously. His hands were crossed behind his head and a tiny snore escaped his mouth every few seconds. His uniform was wrinkled from Hana's sleepy assault and Hana couldn't stop the blush that overcame her. This, this was definitely inappropriate. Shaking her head, she forced herself to get under control. Freaking out wasn't going to change anything.

From the lack of sound in the courtyard, Hana assumed that they'd slept through the remaining lunch period. Which was terrific; note the sarcasm. If she wasn't careful, she'd up her school status to delinquent. An image of Akashi had her shivering at the thought.

Uphold our reputation, he'd say with a terrifying smile, or do you need another lesson?

A snore broke her out of her nightmare and Hana peered down at Murasakibara. Since she'd got off him, his body had twisted into itself. Now the giant was curled up into a ball and Hana deadpanned. It really shouldn't be legal for such a fearsome creature to look, so… cute.

Reaching a finger out, Hana nudged his nose, "Murasakibara?"

Zip, zilch, nada. Murasakibara didn't even acknowledge her poke and Hana let out a frustrated noise. As she brought her hand out to poke him again, Hana heard footsteps coming up behind her. Her exasperation multiplied ten-fold. How much bad luck can I have? Seriously.

"Hello," she didn't recognize the voice, but they sounded stern, "Why aren't you two in class?"

Shooting a glare at the sleeping boy in front of her, Hana turned around to address the person. She was greeted by a nondescript-looking disciplinary member and Hana's mouth formed a well-practiced excuse, "Oh, thank you! I found him here on my way to the bathroom!"

The boy's eyes widened at that, "Is he asleep?"

"No, I don't think so," Hana brought a hand up to her mouth in faux worry, "I tried to wake him up, but I couldn't. I think he might have lost consciousness."

"Oh, alright," The disciplinary member seemed to be out of his element and Hana felt a tinge of amusement, "He should probably be escorted to the nurse."

"Right! But," bringing her hands in front of her chest, Hana wrung them nervously, "Would you please help me? I'm just too small to lift him… I wouldn't want to distract from your duties though!"

"Uhm," the boy blushed and Hana's inner smirk grew, "No… that's, uhm, alright. I can do it. Thank you for looking out for your fellow students—"

"Oh, it was no problem!" Hana climbed to her feet and bowed, "I'm just glad that you came to help! Thank you!"

The boy stuttered before he bent down and lifted one of Murasakibara's arms over his shoulder. As he tried to stand, he leaned to the right from the excess weight. The boy's eyes grew even wider as he realized what exactly he just volunteered for, "I'll just—ugh, take him to the nurse then. You should head to class."

Offering him a happy grin, Hana waved as the boy turned around, "Thank you!"

His body was bent to the side and Murasakibara's sleeping form was draped over him humorously. Every few steps he took were forced into stumbles as the boy worked to carry Murasakibara to the nurse. A few long moments passed before Hana had a belated thought, I should probably tell someone.

After texting Kuroko, she brought a hand up to scratch the back of her head guiltily, "Awh man, I'm terrible."

xXx

Hana stared at the brightly lit stadium, experiencing a sense of déjà vu.

This was where it all started, her meeting with Kiyoshi, her dinner with Kuroko, her harrowing experience with Akashi, and now she was here again. Just like the first time, Hana felt a tightness in her gut. She'd learned not to ignore these feelings by now and Hana knew something was going to happen today. Whether it be good or bad remained to be determined.

Watching the crowd around her, Hana merged into it and made her way into the gym. A loud cacophony of sound greeted her and she winced. The community was really eating Teiko's success up and Hana had never seen such a large crowd before. Behind her, people were pushing and shoving as they made their way to the seats.

Merging off, she walked toward the first-string grouping.

Akashi was at the lead with Nijimura shadowing him. The brightly colored grouping of her friends surrounded him and Hana was once again struck with déjà vu. So much time had been spent watching them as enemies and now here she was, on the front line. As she came to them, the first one to see her presence was Momoi and the perky managed came forward with a smile.

"Ima-chan!" Ignoring Hana's gawk, Momoi pulled the girl into a hug, "I've been waiting for you!"

"Ima-chan…" Hana echoed in disbelief, "No, that's not gonna fly."

"Everyone on the team has a nickname! Besides, I think it's cute!"

"I'm not on the team, Momoi-san—"

Hana's contradiction was ignored as Momoi pulled her toward the rest of the team. Silently, Hana cursed the other manager as everyone turned to stare at her. Great.

Nijimura looked curious and Hana wasn't sure if that was a good thing— that boy was almost as scary as Futabatei. Meanwhile, Midorima gave her a nod, Murasakibara waved a slow hand, and like usual, Kuroko was nowhere to be seen. Some of the other first-stringers gave her a once over before Hana was startled by a firm chest smashing into her face.

"Imamura-chan! You came!" Kise's arms wrapped around her and picked her up. Resigning to her fate as a doll, Hana hung on for the ride. There was just no use fighting it.

"Oi, Kise," Aomine called from the bleachers and Hana caught sight of a smirk crossing his face, "You're going to break her."

Kise's chest rumbled with his reply, "Don't be jealous, Aomine-cchi!"

No one noticed Hana's wince at the words, her mind filling with images of an irate Kitano. When Kise finally let her go, Hana stumbled away from him before shooting him a glare, "Don't do that."

Kise's response was lost by Akashi walking up to her with a pleased expression, "Thank you for coming, Imamura."

"No problem," not like I had a choice, but whatever. Hana gave the captain a cursory glance before continuing, "So, uh—What do I do?"

She didn't notice the expressions of disbelief the team pulled, too distracted by Akashi's raised brows. The redhead let out a soft chuckle, "My apologies. I'm assuming I didn't make the directions clear enough?"

Hana shrugged, "You said to talk to the reporters. Which ones?"

"Preferably all of them," Akashi lips tilted upwards at Hana grimace, "But for today, I believe you should focus on the local news network. They're the most important."

"Shouldn't I talk to the ones that aren't important?" Her statement made a few of the braver teammates chuckle and Hana caught Nijimura's brow raise in interest. Great, just what I wanted. More attention.

Ignoring her, Akashi continued, "Remember our lessons, please. Would you mind escorting her, Nijimura?"

Oh no, nope, nope. Hana felt sweat start down her spine as the older teen gave an agreement. Shooting a desperate look to Momoi, Hana followed after the former captain. In the background, she heard Kise call out a way too cheery "good luck!" and Hana shot him the finger. Aomine's chuckles overpowered Kise's resulting whines.

"So, Imamura-san?" Nijimura broke Hana out of her silence and she shot him a wary look, "I'm Nijimura Shuzo, but I'm guessing you already knew that."

"Yeah," Hana swallowed as she worked to keep pace with Nijimura's long legs, "I've heard a lot about you." Smooth, way to be creepy.

Instead of being freaked out, Nijimura huffed, "I could say the same about you. You must be pretty brave to talk back to Akashi like that."

"Or stupid," Hana countered, "Take your pick."

"Huh," her companion chuckled under his breath, "You're alright, kid."

"I'd say the same, but you called me a kid. Lost a couple points there," she retorted. For some reason, Hana felt comfortable with this formidable boy. Unlike the miracles, his presence wasn't overwhelming and her nerves had soothed themselves out. An odd reaction for a boy with a violent past, but hey, she couldn't judge.

"You'll keep them on their toes, alright."

"Wait, woah," Hana stumbled in her steps, "What's that mean?"

Nijimura didn't respond, but he had a small grin and Hana didn't approve. I feel like that was a mixed message, her eyes narrowed on his back, what's he trying to imply? He continued to lead Hana forward until they were a few feet away from a chattering reporter. Turning back to her, Nijimura smirked, "This is where I leave you. Good luck, kid."

"Not a damn kid," Hana huffed at his retreating back, "… Rainbow-senpai."

Turning back to the reporter, Hana let out a deep breath. She could do this. It was just a man with a camera. Who cared if she was on TV? Me, I care. I care a lot. Bringing a hand up to her hair, Hana smoothed her ponytail out nervously. It was now or never. Lifting her chin up, Hana advanced.

"Hello!" She made her voice overly cheery, "Are you here to report the Nationals?"

"Uhm," The man shot his coworker a dubious expression, "Yeah, sweetheart. Sorry, but we can't let you talk on air—"

"I'm sorry," Hana's smile turned chilled at the demeaning tone, "We must have made a miscommunication. I'm working in the journalism club at Teiko and it's my responsibility to help all the reporters in their analyzations," channeling Akashi, she continued, "Are there any questions you might need answered?"

The man and cameraman blanched at once. The reporter brought out a notepad and Hana was pleased by the shaking of his hands. Clearing his throat, the man began, "Yeah—on the newly famous Generation of Miracles, how are they expecting to handle the competition?"

In the blink of an eye, Hana smothered her intimidating expression and gave the camera a smile, "Well, like all teams, they have the highest hopes of success."

The reporter gave a look to his cameraman before turning back to Hana in weariness, "Wonderful! How has the new captain, Akashi Seijuro, reacted to his team's reputation?"

"Akashi-san is a fantastic captain and is exceedingly proud of his teammates," Hana tilted her head and tried to project cute manager vibes. Judging from the terrified expressions on the two men, she didn't do great. Oh well. She continued, "Our reputation is a testament to how strong our players are. As such, I do believe Akashi-san is happy with it."

"Alright," the reporter continued shakily, "Teiko has several star players. Can you tell me about them?"

Oh yes, Hana cackled mentally, I can do that. Bringing her arms behind her, Hana grinned up at the two men, "Well, our ace, Aomine-san is quite a spectacular player and rivals some of the best-known NBA stars…." And on and on Hana went.

By the time the reporter called an end to the interview, Hana was exhausted by the amount of bullshit she'd spewed. The only plus was that Akashi would surely be happy with her. It had been a pain to talk to the man and Hana was loathing more future encounters with equally infuriating reporters. Next time, she'd probably change the game up and scare them all away before the questions started.

As she meandered back toward the first-string players, Hana would stop by and occasionally spew some more crap to different reporters. Well, I'm definitely improving Teiko's reputation, Hana deadpanned at the look of fear on a reporter's face, I'm not sure fear is a good motivator, but whatever works I guess.

Ending another session, Hana had the delayed realization that she should never be a journalist.

When she finally made her way to the team, she blinked at the scoreboard. Teiko was winning, of course, but today they were dominating. Transferring her gaze onto the court, she watched as Aomine raced up and down, leaving the other team in the dust. Eyeing the opposition's jersey, Hana tried to remember their name. As Aomine scored another two points, she finally remembered. Kamikazi.

Glancing away from the game, Hana made her way to Momoi and the benched players. Momoi looked up at her with a shaky smile, "Hey, Ima-chan. How'd it go?"

"Pretty good, I guess. I didn't spill any information," Hana shrugged and plopped down beside her friend, "Am I even allowed to be out here?"

"Akashi-kun doesn't mind," Momoi offered before transferring her eyes down to her notebook, "You've missed a lot."

"Really?" Hana was surprised and glanced back to the game curiously, "It looks like every other game you guys play."

"Aomine-kun knows someone on the other team…" Momoi's voice trailed off into a soft whisper, "It hasn't gone very well. He was hoping for an opponent to match his new strength."

Looking back to the game, Hana focused on Aomine. He was playing hard and scoring shot after shot, but his face was etched in a permanent frown. Hana flinched at the sight, "He looks unhappy."

Momoi was silent for a moment before her voice whispered out, "He is," Momoi eyed Hana, "I'm sorry, Ima-chan, but I've got to focus on the game now."

"Yeah," Hana responded, slightly dazed, "I get it. No issues, Momoi-san."

The game continued in Teiko's favor. Kamikazi was ruined and their players were defeated as their team was stomped into the ground. As the final buzzer sounded, Aomine stormed into the locker room without a glance back. In reaction, Hana stood, but a gentle hand pulled her back down and she relaxed beside Momoi. Her green eyes trailed away from the locker room to rest on the scoreboard and Hana frowned. 169 to 81.

At the end of the night, Akashi congratulated Hana on how she handled the reporters and informed her to report for the rest of Nationals.

Unfortunately, the remainder of Nationals continued in much the same way. Now, a new Aomine was on the court and there was no mercy for his opponent's. Teiko won at Nationals again, but this time a new predator had been born.

If only Hana had known that was the beginning of the end.

xXxXx

One blessing came from her impromptu appearance on the TV screen. Hana had just arrived at school and was on the way to class when a body stepped into her path. Startled, she stopped and trailed her eyes up to the person's face and shining head. As her heart began to speed up in hyperawareness, Hana whispered nervously, "Kitano?"

"Hey," Kitano brought a hand up to his mouth and rubbed, "How have you been, Hana-chan?"

"You…" Her voice remained soft and Hana peered up at him with wide eyes, "You're talking to me now?"

Wincing, Kitano nodded, "Yeah. I'm— I'm really sorry about what I said…"

"Really?" Hana trailed off before her eyes narrowed on his chest. In a flash, she had punched Kitano in the stomach and as he kneeled over, Hana growled, "You asshole! What took you so damn long!"

"Ow," Kitano whined out as his hands cradled his stomach, "I wish you wouldn't do that."

"Next time it'll be your dick!" Hana stomped forward and shoved Kitano to his butt, "Do you have any idea how worried I was!"

"Shit— Hana-chan! Stop!" Kitano dodged her slapping hands, "I'm trying to apologize here!"

"I don't want an apology! I just want to beat your ass!"

"Do that later! I spent all night planning this— Ow! Hana!"

"Apologize later! Let me get my anger out!"

"Hell no!"

"If you run, I'll catch you!"

Fifteen minutes later, a roughed-up Kitano was sitting with Hana on the entryway steps. Students were walking up and sending the duo curious looks, but both teens ignored everyone but each other. Most of Hana's irritation had faded away with her relentless punches and Kitano had sprawled out comfortably beside her.

His hand was rubbing a large bruise on his forehead and Kitano shot Hana a glare, "You didn't have to hit me so hard."

"Yes, I did," Hana retorted and plucked a stick out of her hair, "I've got to get through your thick skull somehow."

"Great," Kitano deadpanned, "Now that I'm beaten to all hell, can I apologize?"

"Yes, you may."

Dragging his hand down his face, Kitano looked to the sky, "I'm sorry about what I said. I was pissed, obviously, but I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"Did Iseri put you up to this?" Her concern was warranted, Hana wouldn't put it past Iseri to force them to compromise. There was this one time he'd even locked them together in a closet. Hana didn't like to remember it.

Kitano shook his head with a chuckle, "Nah, he's been on my ass though."

"Good for him," Ignoring Kitano's confused look, Hana prodded further, "So you actually feel sorry, or is this just to appease your guilt?"

"A bit of both, to be honest."

At this, Hana went silent. She wasn't mad per se, more betrayed than anything. They had gotten in plenty of fights in the past, but he had never waited such a long time to apologize. That was what was bothering her the most. With a frown, Hana looked up to him, "Why the hell did you take so long?"

Kitano paused for a moment, "…I wasn't sorry at first."

"Great," Hana drawled, "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"It should!" Kitano argued before letting out a loud sigh, "Don't you want it to be sincere? Isn't that what girls like?"

"I'd prefer to just punch you and move on."

"Let me finish," rubbing his chin, Kitano looked to the ground, "You know I don't like those guys, the same reason you didn't."

Exchanging eye contact, Kitano and Hana spoke in sync, "Torio."

"Yeah," Kitano continued, "Anyway, I guess I was jealous and pissed. It was a weird combo, I've got to tell you. It felt like you abandoned us or some stupid shit."

"Okay then," Hana frowned at the crappy explanation, "What made you rethink everything?"

"Watching you on TV last night," this time he let out a loud laugh, "Hana-chan! You sucked!"

"How does that make you rethink anything?!" She snapped, "And I didn't suck, asshole!"

For a moment, Kitano was silent and Hana rolled her wrist, urging him on, "It made me realize how much I missed you," he looked to the ground sheepishly before glancing back up with mischievous eyes, "And yes, you did! It was horrible!"

With a growl and a blush, Hana lunged, "Kitano!"

The conversation continued in much the same manner. Kitano teased Hana about her supposedly terrible performance and Hana would return each comment with a strong punch or slap. By the end, Hana was a laughing mess and Kitano was nursing several new bruises with a smile. They'd walked to practice together and Hana would never forget how relieved the rest of her teammates looked.

When questioned, Kitano tried to explain to everyone what he'd been thinking. His explanation didn't make sense for anyone else, but weirdly Hana got it. He was sorry for what he said, but not how he felt. She could tell he was still annoyed with her association with first-string, yet he'd hold his tongue from now on. At least, everyone hoped so.

Oh, well. If it happened again, violence would be the best solution.

xXxXx

If life was a fairytale, everything would have fixed itself by the time Kitano apologized. Well to be correct, for half her life, Kitano's apology had fixed everything. The relationship between second-string teammates was just as strong as it had been and Hana couldn't be happier.

Next week, Futabatei, Saiki, and Kajiwara were planning to announce their retirement and the next captain. There was a betting pool going with half of the members voting for Kitano and the other for Iseri. For shits and giggles, Hana had put her name down too. So far, she had three votes. She suspected one was the work of Coach, but she had no proof.

And one couldn't forget the epic surprise party they were planning.

Unfortunately, for the other half of her life, things weren't going so well. Hana had grown to view all the miracles as friends and, by God, it hurt to watch them. Watching Kuramoto-sensei lecture, Hana recalled when she'd walked Momoi to practice one afternoon.

The two girls hadn't talked much as they walked. Momoi seemed to have something on her mind and Hana didn't know how to broach the topic. The despair lining Momoi's face was a dramatic change to usual cheerfulness and Hana hated the sight of it. As they finally came to stand in front of the gym, she opened her mouth.

"Momoi-san? Are you okay?" Hana's tone was wary. She didn't have a right to intrude on something that wasn't her business, but this was her friend dammit, she was worried.

"I'm okay, Ima-chan," Momoi's voice hadn't sounded okay, but Hana didn't comment, "Actually, if you see Aomine-kun could you check on him for me?"

"Yeah," her answer had been automatic, "Isn't he in practice though?"

The smile Momoi gave her was painful, "Aomine-kun hasn't been to practice since October."

With that, Momoi had pushed the doors open and retreated into the gymnasium. Outside, Hana stood gaping like a fish, "…but, that was a month ago?"

She'd spent an hour looking for Aomine, but had no luck and eventually gave up.

Back to the present, Hana was fiddling with her pencil as she stared down at her math classwork. She'd like to say all the trouble was Aomine skipping out on practice, but something much worse had happened. She didn't know the whole story— no one wanted to talk about it and Hana had asked everyone. It had just happened one day and never went away.

It was a Wednesday afternoon and Hana had got out of practice early. In a fit of nostalgia, she was heading to the first-string's practice. Since Aomine began his new habit of skipping, tensions had been tight between all her brightly colored friends. She suspected something had happened between Kuroko and Aomine, but all her questions into the subject had been shot down.

As she made her way down the dimly lit hallway, Hana spotted Midorima's back and sped up her steps. "Midorima!" Her voice echoed in the hall and the green-headed boy turned to acknowledge her.

"Imamura," his voice was strained and Hana's steps stumbled at his tone, "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to come visit you guys—"

"Now is not a good time," Midorima cut her off and Hana froze in her steps. He'd never sounded that frustrated with her before.

"Sorry," she gave him a regretful smile, "I just missed you guys, haven't seen you in a while."

His face flashed in a sense of understanding before Midorima's eyes shadowed over, "We haven't had time for distractions."

Now that comment stung. Repressing her flinch, Hana offered him a sharp smile, "Sorry. I didn't mean to distract you guys."

If Midorima was going to respond, it was cut off by the door on the other end of the hallway opening. The door opened with barely a squeak and Midorima and Hana both turned to look at the intruder. A head of red hair stepped into the hallway before lifting their head and Hana's gasp echoed in the growing silence.

It was those eyes.

Akashi made his way down the hall, ignoring the tension. As he came to pass Midorima, his dual-colored eyes flashed to his face, "Shintaro."

"Akashi," Midorima responded to the greeting. In the background, Hana was still frozen as she stared at Akashi's eyes in horror. The redhead turned his gaze onto her and Hana didn't appreciate the condescending smile.

"Hana," His eyes sparked as she recoiled, "It's a surprise to see you."

There was sandpaper in her mouth and Hana couldn't force a reply. Apparently, Akashi didn't need one as he gave her one last sharp smile before continuing. Her body didn't move until she heard the door open and close, signifying his departure.

"His eyes…" Hana's voice trailed off, "What happened to Akashi-san?"

Midorima's voice was sharp when he finally responded, "That's not Akashi anymore."

"What?" Her tongue was tied in her mouth, "What are you talking about, Midorima?"

"I don't have time to discuss this," Midorima turned away at her question and stepped forward. His voice reached her ears right before the door opened, "As I said, we do not have time for distractions."

Left in the silence of the empty hallway, Hana gaped after Midorima.

There was a pain in her heart and she couldn't figure out why. Not to mention the terror still running through her veins at Akashi's appearance. A shaky hand came to cover her mouth as she glanced back down the hallway. Everything had changed and she wasn't sure where she resided on the new battlefield.

Hana zoned back into reality as the bell rang. Glancing down at her paper, her eyes furrowed at the jumbled notes she was left with. Her wandering mind had turned them into gibberish and Hana was left wondering if they were on linear algebra or calculus. A glance to her right showed Kuroko had already begun to pack his bags and Hana rushed to do the same. The sounds of the emptying classroom buzzed in her mind as she shook off her memories.

Beside her, Kuroko stood up and was waiting patiently at the head of the classroom. Shoving the jumble of notes into her backpack, Hana slung it over her shoulder and made her way toward him. The two began the walk in silence. Her mind was begging her to question Kuroko about the new events, but Hana couldn't quite articulate the words.

"Kuroko-kun," she swallowed the question in favor of remaining polite, "How have you been?"

"I've been well, Imamura-chan. How about you?" The reply sounded automatic and Hana's smile turned defeated. Is there any point in questioning him?

"Pretty good," she forced her mouth into a semblance of a grin, "We're planning a party this weekend for the third years. Did you guys do anything when Nijimura and everyone retired?"

"I'm afraid not," Kuroko's blue eyes glanced over at her in contemplation, "You have a good team, Imamura-chan. I hope you have fun at the party."

"I know, they're pretty great," the flash of pride she felt at the compliment was diminished by the underlying message of Kuroko's words, "Your team is great too, you've all got a really strong bond."

Her friend grew silent and Hana worried she'd said something wrong. The sound of footsteps was all she heard until Kuroko's voice broke the silence, "Bonds can be easily broken."

Blood chilling at his words, Hana turned to him with an inquisitive expression, "What? What do you mean?"

"Nothing of importance; my apologies for worrying you," Kuroko's gaze didn't meet her own, "Enjoy your practice, Imamura-chan."

Startled by the change of pace, Hana shot a quick look behind her. Yep, there was the reserve gym entrance. She hadn't realized how quickly they'd arrived. Darting back around to face Kuroko, Hana faltered at what greeted her. Kuroko was gone.

That pesky pain in her heart came back as Hana trailed her eyes over the empty hallway.

Ever since they started the habit of walking to practice together, Hana had usually ended the walk with a hug. But today, the tradition was broken. She closed her eyes and released a tense breath. Don't overthink it. With a new sense of calmness, she turned around and pushed the doors open.

The sight of her team and their lively behavior brought a grin to her face and Hana relaxed into the crazy atmosphere. Even if everything else was falling apart, she still had her guys.

xXx

Despite the growing tension within his team, Akashi still ordered her to come to their games. Since his new personality change, Hana suspected he got a sense of pleasure from ordering her around. Those heterochromatic eyes were stalking her nightmares these days.

The orange and red combination was intimidating, dragging you into its depths if you weren't careful.

She had tried to push the fear away because this was Akashi. Yes, he was terrifying, but Hana knew there was more to him underneath all the layers of refinement he wore. But, this wasn't the Akashi she had come to know. This was a new person like Midorima had said.

Today was the second day of the district championship and Hana was making her rounds with various reporters. Akashi had ordered her to go with the command of not answering any unneeded questions, which was proving to be quite bothersome. Honestly, what questions qualified as unneeded or not?

Well, she amended as she walked, that one lady was curious about Kise's favorite shoe size… that's probably unneeded.

After talking to another reporter, Hana stood at the sidelines and watched the game continue. It was terrible. Not because Teiko was losing, god no, one could only hope. But no, the opposing team was being destroyed, which normally wasn't a huge deal. They destroyed everyone.

Though this was more than physical destruction, the miracles were crushing their souls.

Kise laughed as he stole the ball from the offensive player and Hana watched as the other boy's face crumbled. As Kise raced down the court, he jokingly swatted the ball to Aomine who, without moving from his spot, shot it right into the net. The degrading pattern continued with Midorima once he got possession of the ball. Without a glance to the two defensive players in front of him, the bespeckled boy lifted his hand up and shot.

Even from half-court, the ball went in.

The cuddly giant, Murasakibara, was dominating the defense. Every time the other team came close to Teiko's goal, he would just lift a large hand and grab the ball out of their own. Akashi, out of all of them, was the most ruthless. His new move, the ankle breaker or something, had the opposing team sprawled out on their asses as they stared at the captain in fear.

Closing her eyes, Hana looked away from the massacre. Jesus.

She reached the bleachers at the same time the half-time buzzer went off. As Hana went to sit down by Momoi, her green eyes warily traced the incoming group of boys. At the other end of the bleachers, Kuroko was doing the same. His face was notably apathetic.

Kise reached them first. "Hey, Imamura-chan!" Kise wasn't even breaking a sweat, "How's it going?"

Ignoring how her gut clenched at the sight of everyone, Hana gave the blonde a smirk, "Great, I had one lady ask about your favorite foot size. Got a secret fetish, Kise?"

"Imamura-chan!" Kise balked, "No!"

Aomine made his way over and retrieved a water bottle. Hana didn't see the need; the tan boy didn't look tired at all. Aomine's voice jutted into the conversation, "Wouldn't doubt he does."

"Aomine-cchi~" Kise brought out the fake tears and Hana rolled her eyes, "Why is everyone so mean to me?!"

The two began to argue and Kise's cries grew louder. Wincing, Hana turned away.

Her eyes trailed back to the court before pausing as they landed on Murasakibara. The tall teen was slumped lazily over a cowering player from the other team. His purple eyes were narrowed on the smaller boy in annoyance and Hana felt her blood boil. Is he bullying him— What the hell, Murasakibara?

"Momoi-san," Hana nudged her with an elbow, "Shouldn't someone stop that?"

At Hana's tone, Momoi shot her a confused look before trailing it onto the court. The pink-haired girl bristled, "Mukkun!"

Hearing his manager's shout, Murasakibara strolled away from the teen. The boy hastily climbed to his feet as the giant left and Hana watched him with sympathy. Finally making his way toward the bleachers, Murasakibara sighed, "What is it, Sat-chin?"

"Don't bully the other players," Momoi chastised as she handed Murasakibara a water bottle, "We've been over this!"

"Aka-chin doesn't care," the giant articulated with a yawn, "They're weak and small, anyway."

"It's not right, Mukkun," Momoi's voice continued, but Hana had zoned out. The amount of disgust she'd felt at Murasakibara's statement was overwhelming. Why would he do that to other people? What could he gain out of that?

Her mouth opened before she could stop it, "Why would you do that?"

"Huh, Mura-chin's here?" Murasakibara blinked down at her, "I never noticed."

"Why would you do that," Hana repeated, oblivious to Momoi's concerned look, "He didn't do anything to you!"

For a second, Murasakibara's face pinched in irritation, "He annoyed me. Why do you care?"

"Because he didn't do anything—"

"What's it matter?" Aomine's voice broke Hana off, "We're winning. That guy needs to learn to deal with it or get stronger."

"Yeah, what Mine-chin said," Murasakibara waved a hand in Aomine's direction and Hana felt the bile rise in her stomach. This is sickening. Her eyes trailed over the rest of the team, but no one would meet her eyes sans Akashi and Kuroko.

The redhead stared at her for a moment and Hana had to break eye contact first.

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the referee's whistle and the team began to move again. Now subbed in, Kuroko shoot her a backward glance as he ran with the other players. Hana turned toward Momoi who offered her a sympathetic smile and her shoulders slumped. With a small twitch of the lips in return, Hana made her way back out to the reporters. I'm not even going to try.

The rest of the district championship went in much the same way.

As did the rest of the year.

xXxXx

By the end of second year, her relationship with the miracles had taken a hit. Hana didn't know whether it still qualified as a friendship or a business relationship. They were cordial to one another in the hallway and Hana would invite Momoi out to lunch every once in a while, but the rest of the relationship had dwindled.

Kuroko would still walk her to practice, but he never stayed around long enough for a full conversation. Kise would still greet her with enthusiasm every time she showed up at their games, but Hana suspected it to be forced. Aomine hadn't had a full conversation with her in months and now the two only spoke on the few occasions they were left alone together.

Midorima was much the same, but he'd inform her of her horoscope on some of the better days. Sometimes, Murasakibara would just pop up and Hana was thankful for that, even if the conversation was mostly one-sided. Finally, her relationship with Akashi had circled into a complete 360. All the progress she had made with the boy over the summer was gone and Hana was back to viewing him in fear.

Like she was doing now, most of her time was spent with Uoya and her second-string teammates. Unless she was with Momoi or at the first-strings games, Hana was with her team. They had grown a lot during the rest of second year and Iseri had been promoted captain, much to Kitano's dismay. The party for the third years had been a raging success and the three of them would still come to practice occasionally.

"Oh, come on!" Kitano threw his hands in the air as he walked, "Lebron James has nothing on Michael Jordan!"

"Yes, he does—" Uoya was cut off again.

"Jordan has won six NBA championships! What about James?" Kitano smirked at Uoya's glare, "Yeah that right, only four!"

"If you keep talking about this, I'm leaving," Iseri stated bluntly and Hana, who was riding on his back, nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, boo you," Kitano scoffed and twirled around to face Iseri. Walking backward, Kitano stuck his tongue out, "You're just pissed you don't know what we're talking about."

"I know what you're talking about!" Hana chirped, "Doesn't mean it's not annoying!"

"I have no interest in American Basketball," Iseri added with a pointed look.

Uoya laughed from up ahead, "Why? Because they aren't cute enough for you?"

"Awh, look at you!" Hana cooed at her best-friends sass, "You're growing up so well!"

"I wish you would stop teaching him," Iseri deadpanned as he jostled Hana in retaliation, ignoring her squeal, "And yes, they aren't cute enough. I'm perfectly happy with the one basketball player I have."

"Iseri!" Kitano groaned before he sped up his pace. As Kitano pouted, Hana and Uoya exchanged grins at the sight of his blush, "Don't say stuff like that around them!"

Any response someone would have made was stopped by the clearing of a throat behind them. Iseri turned around to address the person, bringing Hana along for the ride. As she caught sight of the head of blond hair, Hana heard Kitano growl in the background then he was being shut up by Uoya's smack.

Eyeing the three people around her, Kise brought a nervous hand up to his hair and ruffled it, "Sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering if I could take to Imamura-chan really quick?"

Trying to ignore the hope blossoming in her chest, Hana jumped off Iseri's back and came toward Kise with a grin, "Yeah, no problem! Did you want to head over there—"

"Ah, no," Kise smiled back at her before trailing his eyes back over her teammates, "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just had something to give back to you."

"Oh," Hana felt the hope get squashed into her chest, "Alright?"

Instead of responding, Kise brought a hand out before rustling in his pants pocket. His hand returned a moment later and Hana's breath caught at the sight of the necklace wrapped around it. Sheepish gold eyes blinked at her and Kise explained, "My manager told me not to wear it anymore and I'd feel really bad if I lost it, so I thought I'd just give it back to you."

"What— I mean, are you sure," Hana forced her voice not to crack, "I won't mind if you don't wear it."

"Ah," Kise brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck, "I'm really bad with jewelry…"

Taking the excuse as denial, Hana reached a slow hand out and grabbed the necklace from Kise's palm. Her fingers scraped against his hand and she tried to ignore how hot it was, but even the metal was warm as she brought it to her chest. With a grimace, Hana gave Kise a slow once over, "I heard you started modeling more?"

"Mhmm," his hands hung awkwardly at his sides. The movement shocked her and Hana was lost at how much their relationship could change in a few months, "I'll see you at the next game, okay? I've got to head over to a photoshoot."

"Yeah," her voice trailed off, "See you later, Kise."

"Bye, Imamura-chan," Kise gave her a practiced grin before turning back around and walking the way he came. As Hana watched him leave, an arm drifted over her shoulder and Hana tilted her head to meet Kitano's gaze. Behind her, she could hear Uoya talking to Iseri about something, but she could tell what.

"Well, I don't like them even more now," Kitano's arm tightened around her, "You okay, Hana-chan?"

"I'm fine," her lie came easily and Hana turned back around to the rest of the group, "Let's go get that ice cream now."

The three boys exchanged wary looks before Kitano finally shrugged his shoulders. None of them knew what to do. The silence lasted for a few seconds before Uoya bounded over to her and, in a surprise move, swept her up in his arms princess style, "Finally! I thought we'd never get out of here!"

"Uoya! Let me down!" Hana smacked him on the top of the head, "I'm wearing a skirt!"