Edited 11.05.2021


Revenge

Hana woke up groggy, which was to be expected.

Her thoughts couldn't quite comprehend why she was cuddled up to Nūdoru on the floor, but she wouldn't complain. He made a great pillow. Except he did smell like dirt, which wasn't so great. The big boy needed a bath. As she stretched her legs out, Hana blinked her crusty eyes open. Nūdoru let out a soft whine at her movement but otherwise didn't stir.

What the hell woke me up? Her hand came up to rub the sleep out of her eyes as Hana rolled off Nūdoru.

Rolling her neck, she crawled to her feet and looked around for the distracting humming noise. That had to be what woke her up, but what was it? Hana sluggishly moved toward her dresser where the noise was originating.

Reaching for the knob, Hana pulled open her underwear drawer. Her phone was flashing as it lay surrounded by multiple brightly colored undergarments. Just the sight of it brought back memories of yesterday and Hana really didn't want to open it. The thought that it could be one of the miracles made her breath catch, but it could also be a member of her team. It was a fifty/fifty chance.

Finding the odds unfavorable, Hana let the call go to voicemail.

When it was finally silent, Hana reached forward and retrieved it. Her hands fumbled as she flipped it open, but the image on the screen almost made her drop it. Momoi had called her several times and there were two texts from Kuroko. That fact made her heart feel a little warmer, but Hana didn't respond.

It was too soon to rekindle things; she needed a chance to think.

The most recent call was from Uoya and Hana scowled. That meant he wanted something, especially since he was up before ten on a Sunday. With a heavy sigh, Hana hit the redial button and waited for her friend to pick up.

"Hana-chan!" Well, that was fast, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine?" Her voice transferred the statement into a question. Walking back toward her bed, Hana frowned, "How did you know?"

"Torio-san called Kitano-san, then Kitano-san called Iseri-san then Iseri-san called—"

"I get it," Hana rolled her eyes as she cut her friend off.

"So," Uoya's voice paused and Hana waited through the static-filled silence, "You are okay?"

"Peachy. Seriously though, you guys gossip more than old women."

"Good!" The silence came again and this time her brows furrowed in confusion. The hell was taking him so long? A few seconds later, "Can you unlock your door?"

"I swear to God—" Hana heard a nervous chuckle before stomping toward her door, "I've slept three hours! You're making coffee."

"But—"

"You should have known the consequences."

Flash forward six hours later and Hana was stubbornly refusing to leave her house. She was still wrapped up in her blanket cocoon and not planning to move anytime soon. Sipping her eighth cup of coffee, Hana watched Uoya pace around as he angrily talked on the phone. Hell, she snorted, what'd he think would happen?

"She won't move!" Uoya's voice grew high-pitched, "You think I haven't tried that?!"

Cracking a smile, Hana watched as he steadily grew more frustrated, "No matter how loudly you complain about me, I'm still not going."

"Oh, come on!" Uoya turned around and pointed a finger at her face, "You need to get out of the house!" The phone in his hand let out a muffled reply and Uoya brought it back to his ear, "What? No! Do you have a death wish?"

A pause, "Uhm," Uoya blinked slowly, "That actually sounds like a good idea…"

"Whatever it is, I'd advise you not to do it," Hana countered, but Uoya paid her no mind.

"So… I just take it?"

Hana bristled, "You better not take anything if you want to keep all your limbs."

"Okay," Uoya flipped his phone shut and his face focused on Hana. Watching her scowl, his cheeks slowly turned ashen, "Please don't hurt me."

"I promise to hurt you in the worst way possible," Hana growled, but Uoya just closed his eyes before stepping toward her. As her friend got closer, she wrapped the blanket firmly around her shoulders in protest, "If you touch my blanket, I will kill you."

She thought her threat had worked, but she was suddenly slammed into the couch by Uoya's lanky body. Because of the blanket wrapped around her, Hana was unable to fight off her friend. What started out as wrestling quickly turned into an intense game of tug of war. With her blanket securely fastened between her teeth, Hana was trying to wiggle away from Uoya's grabby hands.

"Just let go!" Uoya yelped as a foot connected to his head, "Stop kicking!"

Hana growled at him, but it was muffled by the blanket in her mouth. Bringing another foot up, Hana wrapped her legs around Uoya's waist and attempted to shove him to the floor. It didn't work and Uoya was able to grab one of her ankles. Hana's growls got louder as she tried to get out of his grip, but he held firm.

"Ow, ow, ow," Uoya shrieked as Hana grabbed his hair with her toes, "Not the hair!"

The front door opened and both teens turned to stare at the person, "The hell?"

Another head popped inside beside the first and voiced their own opinion, "This isn't quite what I had in mind, Uoya-kun."

"Stop staring and help me!" Uoya yelled as Hana got her left foot free, "She's going to kill me!"

Exchanging looks, Kitano and Iseri both turned back to the situation. Kitano spoke first, "No thanks. You're on your own."

"I agree," Iseri nodded as he stepped into Hana's living room, "You didn't follow my directions."

"You guys!" Uoya was finally sent sprawling toward the floor. He looked up at Hana with a glare, "I hate you."

Spitting the blanket out of her mouth, Hana glared right back, "Don't touch my blanket. And you two, get out of my house!"

"No, thank you," Iseri marched straight into her kitchen. Hana heard him rummaging around a bit before he returned with a cupcake, "We're going out."

Hana deadpanned, "No."

"Yes," This time Kitano spoke before he leaped over the couch to land on top of her, "I'll carry you if I have to."

"Get off me!" Hana began to flail, but Kitano was easily able to pin her down. Her eyes narrowed on his, "I'm going to murder you all. You should plan your funerals."

"If that was true, we'd all be dead ten times over," Kitano smirked down at her before rolling off, "Go get dressed, you stink."

Iseri and Uoya both nodded in agreement as Hana sat up on the couch. Pulling the blanket back over her head, she glared them all down. When no one flinched, she accepted her defeat and stood up with the blanket covering her like a cloak. Hana stumbled toward the staircase before calling out, "Nūdoru! Honey, there are people here and they want to play with you!"

Following her statement, Nūdoru gave a bark accompanied by a sequence of loud thuds. All the boys in her living room paled as they watched the speeding mass of dog head straight at them. Giving them a cheery wave goodbye, Hana made her way up the stairs to take a shower. I love revenge.

"Shit," Kitano cursed right as Nūdoru tackled him to the ground, "Hana!"

Turns out her teammates hadn't planned very well.

Other than their successful kidnapping attempt, they hadn't figured out what to do for the rest of the day. As such, Hana had spent all afternoon being dragged around town by two hyperactive children and Iseri. Did you know there was an adult novelty store in her neighborhood? No? Well, Hana didn't either, but Kitano, oh so helpfully, enlightened her.

They were all sitting on the sidewalk looking like the typical group of trouble-making teenagers. Hana called Torio a couple times, but he never answered and only once texted her back. Apparently, he had plans with his team today. He mentioned they were playing against an uncrowned king but hadn't told her who. They got the cool name, Hana lamented mentally, Uncrowned Kings sounds much more badass than Generation of Miracles.

Speaking of Torio and his team, Hana leaned her head against Iseri's shoulder before questioning, "Hey? Do you have your phone?"

"Yes," She could see him lift an eyebrow, "Where's yours?"

"Wrapped in a pair of socks," Hana replied, "Can I borrow it?"

Iseri didn't question her further and simply handed her his phone without a response. Flipping it open, Hana directed it toward the internet option. I hope he has unlimited data. After the home page loaded, Hana typed in her inquiry: Kirisaki Daiichi Highschool. It led her straight to the school's webpage and she scrolled through the quick links before finding the clubs section. Where is it? Where is it? Ah-ha!

What greeted her made her face go slack. She lifted her head off Iseri's shoulder and stared down at the phone, "The hell? He didn't tell me he was on a team with one of the kings!"

"What?" Kitano leaned forward to peer around Iseri, "What are you talking about?"

"That shit!"

"Hana-chan?" Uoya peered his head past Kitano's, "Are you okay?"

"No! Yes? I don't know!" Hana's eyes narrowed on the tiny picture of Torio's team, "Do you think someone should mention that they're on a team with like halfway famous people?"

"You aren't making sense," Kitano groaned, "Who are you talking about?"

"Torio! He's on Hanamiya Makoto's team!"

All three of her teammates froze. Taking advantage of their surprise, Hana shoved the phone into Iseri's face and Kitano leaned his head over to look with him. Iseri's brows steadily rose as he viewed the digital image, "I hadn't imagined that."

"What the hell!" Kitano snatched the phone out of Iseri's grip and narrowed his eyes, "Why isn't he in this picture?"

"Maybe he hadn't joined yet," Uoya inputted before shrugging, "What does it matter?"

"You wouldn't know, since our team was never quite strong enough to face them," Iseri began as Kitano cursed down at the phone. On Iseri's other side, Hana perked up at the possibility of incoming information, "But the Uncrowned Kings are several extraordinary players that, if born in a different year, would have possibly outdone the Generation of Miracles."

"They're badass," Hana added. At everyone's blank look, she elaborated, "Okay, think of it this way, they achieved their status on their own! Like, the miracles became all badass because they were a team, but these guys were never on the same team."

"You have an unhealthy idolization of basketball players," Iseri scoffed, but his lips still twitched, "What would you do if you ever met one?"

"Not screw up like I did with the miracles," Hana scoffed to cover the pang in her heart, "Besides, I did meet one!"

"Bull," Kitano snorted as he handed Iseri's phone back to him. Narrowing her eyes on Kitano's bald head, Hana struck out with a slap. His hands came up to hold the growing red splotch gingerly and he gave Hana a wide-eyed look, "What was that for!"

"You're a dick," Hana didn't elaborate further, "I met Kiyoshi Teppei, he was pretty cool. You know… for a guy that just got his ass kicked."

In the background, Uoya had skillfully retrieved Iseri's phone out of his lap and his brown eyes were focused on it as he typed in a new search. As his finger scrolled through the information, a singular eyebrow rose in disbelief, "Kiyoshi goes to Seirin."

"That new school?" Kitano snorted, "What a lame choice— Put your hand down, Hana!"

"But that's not all," Uoya continued as his other eyebrow rose, "Seirin's playing in the Nationals this year, today actually. Guess who their opponent is?"

"Who?" Iseri and Hana spoke in sync. Kitano was in the background rubbing his now sore arm and shooting Hana an aggravated glare. Pausing for dramatic effect, and annoying everyone, Uoya finally answered.

"Kirisaki Daiichi. The games at seven."

For a moment, no one knew how to reply. Hana was the first to speak, "We're going! It's decided!"

Uoya groaned as he brought a hand to his face, "But… the games at seven. It's six."

She paused, before throwing a fist in the air, "We run!"

"No," her teammates retorted together.

Hana's eyes turned into slits as she turned to face them, "If you aren't running by the time I count to five, I will rip your ba-"

"We're going!"

xXxXx

It'd been a while since Hana had actually sat in the stands with the rest of the crowd.

But, here she was, smushed in between Kitano and Uoya with Iseri sitting in the seat in front of her. All three of her boys were kind of pissed at her. They hadn't forgiven her for making them run all the way there and they weren't afraid to show it. Kitano had taken her armrest, Uoya stole her drink, and Iseri had been a smart-mouthed dick the whole way there.

The game hadn't started yet, which didn't help their anger.

By forcing them to run, they had made it to the stadium in fifteen minutes flat. Poor Uoya's clothes were saturated in sweat. Luckily, Iseri and Kitano had the foresight to take theirs off. Something that Hana was mildly envious of as she sat in her, now reeking, clothing.

Where's Momoi when I need her? Oh, yeah.

She didn't want to go down that train of thought. She wanted to be happy. Which is not an emotion she could feel if she thought about her lost friendships. Hopefully, Momoi would be able to forgive her in time. Her friendship with the fellow manager was one of the few things Hana didn't want to lose.

Hell, she hadn't wanted to lose any of their friendships, but the choice was out of her hands.

The teams began to come onto the court. This distracted Hana from her self-deprecating thoughts and her green eyes scanned the area until they landed on Torio. Her old friend was standing to the side of his team, his own notebook in hand. His usually smirking mouth was pressed into a stoic line and Hana furrowed her brows. What's his problem?

She shrugged the worry off before trailing her eyes over the rest of his team. They looked normal enough and she could clearly see Hanamiya in all his glory. The king was standing tall, head tilted almost threateningly as he traded barbs with a brunette boy. There was also another player sleeping on the bleachers and three more standing around him. All in all, kind of normal.

On the other hand, the Seirin team looked so happy. It almost broke her heart.

That was what a team should look like. Hana recognized Kiyoshi, but the boy he was standing next to was unfamiliar. He was shorter than Kiyoshi and had a sleek pair of glasses. Like Midorima. Hana pushed the thought away and focused on the next player. That guy looks like a cat, Hana moved on to another player, who's talking with his hands? And finally, is that Nijimura?

No, on closer inspection, it was not Nijimura. Just a guy who looked like him. Or well, he did. But as Hana looked closer, she noticed the differences. Not only the physical differences. This guy's eyes were different… It was like he was seeing the whole court at once. Even though his stance was relaxed, his eyes kept flickering over the entire area.

"Hyuuga!" Hana jumped at the loud voice that came from the short girl in the middle of their group. Beside her, Uoya had done the same. The girl continued, "Keep on your toes!"

"…Weird team," Kitano scoffed as he watched.

"They look like us," Iseri tilted his head around and rose an eyebrow, "Are you implying we're weird?"

"Yes," Uoya answered for Kitano, his expression incredulous, "Do you have eyes?"

At the sarcastic rebuke, Iseri's face transferred into a scowl, "Stop taking lessons from Hana-chan. She's ruining you."

"I would like to disagree, very loudly," Hana inputted as her eyes zeroed in on the court, "But the games starting, so shut up."

"Yes, your highness," Kitano scoffed but leaned back into his chair. Hana gave him a sideways glare in return and Kitano promptly scooted away from her. Good, he's learning.

Things started off normally enough. The two teams were playing with everything they had, but something was off. Hana couldn't tell what, per se, but it was radiating across the court. Something was wrong and it was affecting Seirin. The lively team she had seen at the beginning of the match was replaced by narrowed eyes and angry gestures. At first, Hana couldn't tell what was happening. A glance to her right and left proved that Kitano and Uoya had noticed as well.

It was during the second quarter that Hana finally caught it. The brunette boy from earlier was on the defensive, guarding against the one with glasses. It was such a quick movement, Hana almost missed it. One second the Kirisaki boy was waving his arms in front of the other and then the boy with glasses was bent over, huffing.

The ball was retrieved from Seirin and put into Kirisaki's possession.

Hana blinked once, then twice, then three times. Green eyes flickered over to Torio and she caught the boy giving a discreet nod to the player who had been sleeping earlier. Another one of Seirin's players was sent stumbling back and it all clicked. Standing from her position, Hana screeched, "Bunch of dirty cheats!"

"Hana-chan!" Uoya fumbled as he tried to get her to sit back down. He was able to with the help of Kitano, "What was that!"

"Watch!" She jabbed her finger to the court, "Watch what they're doing!"

"We've been watching—" Kitano was cut off by Iseri.

Her captain echoed Hana's findings, "They're sabotaging Seirin. When the referee looks away, one of the players strikes out."

"Exactly!" Hana raised her voice again, "Because they're a bunch of fuc—"

"Not helping," Kitano deadpanned as his hand came to rest over her mouth, "You'll get us kicked out if you keep that up."

Her eyes closed and Hana huffed out of her nose. When she finally opened them again, she shot Kitano a fierce glare before biting down on his hand. Her teammate let out a loud curse and quickly brought his hand back. His eyes bugged out of his head, "You—You bit me!"

"You were asking for it."

When she looked back at the game, Hana didn't focus on the players. No, her eyes zeroed in on Torio. Her old mentor chose that exact moment to look up in the stands and their eyes met. Hana took a ferocious type of joy in the way he paled at recognizing her. His mouth had started to open but Hana looked away.

She was disgusted with him, with his team. Nothing could change that.

Second-quarter ended and the third began. That's when things went to shit.

If Hana had thought Kirisaki's behavior had been bad before, it was nothing compared to now. Seirin's players were still playing hard, but several of them had bruises on their arms and legs. A glance to the team's coach showed the girl wringing her hands nervously, glancing between her players and the scoreboard. Seirin was in the lead, but it was only a ten-point difference.

There was a minute and fifteen seconds before the third quarter ended when Hanamiya was subbed in. Hana's eyes tracked the king warily. The game restarted with the new player on the field and the Nijimura look-a-like shot the ball toward the net. It bounced off the rim once and the two players closest to the goal jumped. Kiyoshi and another brunette leaped into the air. That's when it happened.

Kiyoshi landed first and the Kirisaki player remained in the air for a moment. The breath shot out of Hana's lungs when the player landed. Right on top of Kiyoshi's knee. It was like the world went still.

Before anyone could react, Kiyoshi fell to the floor in pain, his scream echoing over the suddenly silent stadium. Bringing her hands up to her mouth, Hana watched as his large hands came to circle his knee and his face pinched in unbearable pain. The rest of the players took a moment to react and when they did it was with a fury.

The glasses-wearing boy marched forward and began to yell at Hanamiya, who just stood there neutrally. This continued for a few seconds before Kiyoshi propped himself up and yelled for his teammate to return. Glasses did so grudgingly, shooting one last venomous look over his shoulder before helping Kiyoshi to his feet.

"What…" Uoya's voice was broken and Hana looked over at him. His eyes were wide and his jaw had slackened, "Why would someone do that?"

"Orders," Hana answered. Her green eyes were still narrowed on Hanamiya before transferring over to Torio. Her old friend didn't look surprised at all and Hana growled, "What a sick freak."

"Agreed," For once Kitano's voice was soft, "This is Torio's team?"

"Yes," Iseri was solemn when he spoke, "It seems we have missed a vital part of his personality."

"We did," Hana nodded, "We definitely did."

Seirin came back with a vengeance. Despite the lead that Kirisaki Daiichi got from Kiyoshi's absence, Seirin wouldn't let them win. The players were fighting for their friends and even if she didn't know them, Hana was proud. This was what a team should be.

When the final buzzer went off, Seirin had won 84-83 and as the crowd began to clap, Hana stood. "Go Seirin!" She cupped her mouth with her hands and screamed, "You did it! Woo!"

Uoya stood up with her, followed by Kitano a second later, "Yeah! Seirin!"

Iseri remained quiet, but his eyes were proud. Seirin had already filed out and Kirisaki was following after them. Her eyes followed Torio and Hana let out a low growl, that slimy, nasty, piece of shit. Unbeknownst to her team, Hana had slunk off while they were cheering.

It was time to confront her old mentor.

xXx

It was dark when Hana got outside.

The sun had set during the game and it made the whole situation more intense. What was she going to say? What was she going to do? More importantly, what was he going to say? Torio was a wild card and there were two ways he'd react to her confrontation. Neither of them promised good things.

And to think! She thought he'd changed!

Last night had been great, it was just like old times. She should have known, dammit. She should have known!

The man she looked up to was gone. The boy that had helped her learn to be herself, who had taught her how to be brave. The one that spent hours after school helping Kitano practice, the one that would encourage the team no matter how badly they failed. The captain that worked them to the bone, just so they could succeed.

It was obvious in hindsight. He'd let the envy and jealously overtake him. All that was left of her prized mentor was this shallow villain.

Hana forced herself to stop reminiscing, it was only going to make this harder. She had to say something, she had to know how he could stand for this. How could he let that happen to someone? Did he finally let go of the few morals he had left? Her feet were slamming into the concrete as Hana made her way outside. She even went as far as to push a couple boys out of her way. Kirisaki wasn't in sight, but she could feel them. They had to be somewhere around here.

After walking through the double glass doors, Hana saw her target. Hanamiya was talking to Torio right underneath the street light. Torio's hands were moving frantically, but Hanamiya didn't step back. Both boys had intense faces and as Hana marched forward she began to pick up words.

"She was there, Hanamiya! She saw everything," Torio was practically spitting, "How am I supposed to do this!"

Hearing Hanamiya speak for the first time was an experience. Damn, that kid's voice was smooth. The uncrowned king lifted an unconcerned shoulder, "It's your problem. You're the one that owes me."

"And I would have paid you back!" Torio snapped, "But she still has it!"

Still has what? Hana's mind began to whirl and her feet paused. She needed to hear this conversation. As she watched, Hanamiya let a smirk crawl over his face, "You haven't made much progress, trash."

"I've tried goddamn everything," Torio snarled and his hand came up to tug at his hair, "She was so close. I got her away from those damn Miracles and it was only a matter of time! I had her, Hanamiya! I was in her bed! I could have convinced her!"

"You don't need her," Hanamiya's laugh was cutting, "All I need is the information. I could care less about your little bitch."

"If I had got her into Kirisaki Daiichi, you would have had two of us," Torio spat, "Do you know what you could do—"

"I don't care," The uncrowned king let out a slow sigh, "Just get the information. I don't give a shit how you do it."

"Hanamiya—"

"If you don't stop talking then I'll make you, trash."

Have you ever been so pissed your vision goes white? The sound bleeds out? You can't taste anything other than blood on your lips? Hana had always had a temper, a pretty damn strong one. There were just some things that made her unhinged. Being used was one of them, as discovered by Akashi, and being lied to was an even bigger one. You goddamn snake.

Some people punch walls when they're angry. Some people punch people. Some people cry. Some people get so mad they go silent. Frankly, Hana wasn't sure which person she was, but she was about to find out. Stalking toward Torio, her vision began to bleed red and all she could see was his stupid face. The two players finally noticed her, but it was too late for her to stop.

One second she was walking, the next second her fist had slammed into Torio's mouth. Guess I'm the violent type, who would have figured?

The punch had power, Hana was pleased to note. As her knuckles began to burn, her eyes narrowed in on Torio's face. When her fist connected, his face had been jolted to the side by the impact. It hadn't knocked him out or anything, but the red mark on his face was enough to please her. Torio brought a hand up to his jaw and his eyes fixated on her face, shocked.

In the background, Hanamiya let out another snarky comment, "I'm guessing this is the bitch."

"You fucker," Hana snarled toward Torio, "You've been playing me since you got here."

"Flower—"

"I don't want to hear a single excuse come out of your mouth," Hana spat, "You better start telling me everything and I want the goddamn truth!"

Still rubbing his cheek, Torio stood, "I think we should have this conversation—"

"Don't stop on my account," Hanamiya interrupted, "This was just getting interesting."

"You," Hana spun around and stalked toward the king, "Screw off. I don't give a damn about your reputation, I've faced scarier beasts in my sleep. You sick, little lowlife."

"Feisty, huh?" Hanamiya was still smirking, but his eyes had gone cold, "You should watch your mouth, doll face."

Her fists flexed in on themselves and Hana winced at how sore her right hand was. The tension surrounding them could be cut with a knife or maybe a chainsaw. It nearly drowned her. Her eyes stayed locked on Hanamiya's in challenge and the boy didn't seem to like it. His large eyebrows furrowed before hazel eyes narrowed on her and Hana saw the softest hint of a snarl break out.

"Hanamiya!" Torio interjected, "Flower, stop. Talk to me."

"Then talk! Stop standing there!" Her voice came out sharp as she took a step away from Hanamiya, just in case, "Say whatever you have to say! Nothing will fix this. What the hell did I hear?"

"Don't play dumb, you understand," Torio had straightened up and his mask had slipped back on, "I owe Hanamiya. He got me out of trouble earlier this year and I'm working off my debt. That's where you come in."

The way he said it so callously had her fuming again. He was using her as a twisted form of payment? Hell no. Her mouth started running before Hana could comprehend the possible complications.

"No," Hana growled, "I'm not a part of this— I will never be a part of this! You're just as bad as Akashi! Probably worse!"

"Don't say that," This time Torio growled back, "I will never compare to them!"

"You don't," Hana held firm as Torio's anger spiked, "You're worse."

"I'm nothing like them! They destroy everything, don't you know that? I was so close and they destroyed it!"

"You're a petulant child who hasn't had a nap," her green eyes flashed and she stepped closed, her fist begging to be swung, "That happened two years ago. Two years, Torio. Just face it! You weren't good enough to get into first string, even without them—"

The shove startled her. Hana's jerking at Torio's resulting snarl, "Shut up!"

His face was flushed in fury and Hana would bet hers looked this same. This fight was more intense than any they'd had previously. She still didn't know what was going on and from the look on Torio's face, he had forgotten all about the original problem too. Hana knew it had been a low blow to use his insecurities against him, but she hadn't expected him to get that mad.

"Hey, idiots," Hanamiya interjected this time, "As fun as this is, now's not the place."

Who'd have known he'd be the voice of common sense? She took a deep breath before stepping back again, "He's right. I need to know what the hell you were talking about then I'll leave. After that, we'll never see each other again."

"The binder," Torio's barked out, apparently still pissed, "The thing I left behind. All the information, everything, we had. I need it."

"— information," Hana repeated his earlier words. The time the two spent working on that binder flashed in her mind. How they would go to games all over the district, just to scout out more information. How he taught her to lie so she could talk to the members one on one. All that info, all that stuff about the miracles. In the hands of this team?

Hell no. She repeated her thought process, "Hell no."

"Do you know how much you owe me? Everything I did for y—" Torio was cut off by Hanamiya.

"Ah," Hanamiya's voice was back to its earlier slimy quality, "I don't think you have a choice."

The glare she sent Hanamiya could have melted ice and she found herself unconsciously repeating Akashi's words, "I always have a choice. I'd never give anything to someone as low as you."

"You don't even know me," Hanamiya's voice was teasing, in a dark, sadistic way. He was enjoying this, Hana realized. He enjoyed watching them in pain, he enjoyed watching them argue, he enjoyed the conflict. He'd enjoyed smashing Kiyoshi's knee and destroying his life.

"I know a piece of shit when I see one," her eyes traveled to the ground before she flicked them up to his face and gave him a sickly-sweet smile, "And I'm looking at the biggest pile of shit I've seen in a while."

Hanamiya took a step forward and Hana did the same. She didn't know where this new sense of bravery came from, but she was going to milk it for all it's worth.
They were standing about a foot apart when Hana noticed something. As she was distracted, the king spoke, "I think I warned you about that mouth of yours."

"You did, but lots of people do," Hana replied. Instead of stopping like Hanamiya, she continued to walk toward him. Her shoulder slammed into his own and she gave him another innocent smile, "My bad. You're just so insignificant, I forgot you were there."

She didn't give him a chance to respond as she left, but Torio still called after her retreating back, "Hana!"

Her reply wasn't verbal. A single finger lifted in the air was enough to get her message across. When she was finally a safe distance away, Hana called back to the two boys, "Just a friendly reminder! Karma's a bitch!"

She didn't see Hanamiya's vile smirk or Torio's grimace.

xXx

Finding her wayward team members was pretty easy. Just look for the three idiots freaking out. Okay, Iseri never freaks, but he does look concerned. They were still inside the stadium when Hana found them. Speeding up her pace, she reached Uoya first and latched onto his sleeve.

"Where were you?! We looked everywhere!" Uoya's voice was drowned out as Hana went and grabbed Kitano's sleeve. The bald boy gave a curse before he was being tugged along too. Iseri followed without complaint.

"We need to go," Hana's voice had finally started shaking, "I just did something stupid and we should go. Like now."

"What's the rush?" Kitano retorted as he was dragged along, "And stop pulling my shirt! You stretch them all out."

"Shut up," her nerves were kicking in and Hana sped up, "Oh man."

The item in her pocket felt like a burning ember and her hand still hurt from that punch. It was definitely going to be bruised over tomorrow. During the confrontation, her smart mouth had been a great advantage, but now— now, she was rethinking that whole conversation and realizing that she had just done the stupidest thing on the planet. That guy breaks literal bones!

"Hana-chan?" Her ever calm and conscientious captain spoke, "Can you explain?"

Like she always did when she gets into her nervous fits, Hana began to babble, "I confronted Torio. Torio was with Hanamiya. I punched Torio, I cussed out Hanamiya. Me and Torio do not like each other anymore. I am running because I did a very stupid thing… Oh god, he's going to know it was me!"

Uoya was the only one who could understand her jumbled mess, "What did you do?"

"Oh man, oh man. Speed up," Hana pulled her friends faster before she broke into a jog, "I said Karma's a bitch, he's going to know!"

"Hana!" Uoya and Kitano spoke at the same time.

"I stole Hanamiya's wallet! I was pissed and it was there and it seemed like a good thing to do!"

That was all she needed to say before the whole group began to run. She could hear Kitano and Uoya cursing in the background and she even heard Iseri's occasional comment on her idiocy, but she didn't stop. They ran for fifteen minutes before taking a break on a street four blocks down from the stadium. The yellow light drenched them in shadows as they all worked to regain their energy.

Uoya collapsed to the floor and groaned, "I hate you. Oh man, I hate you."

Kitano, who was leaning against a storefront, agreed, "I wish I never met you."

"Please," even Iseri seemed out of breath, "Please stop angering people who will likely murder you. It seems to be a terrible habit of yours."

Sinking to her butt, Hana laid down on the dirty sidewalk. Her hand went into her pocket and fiddled with the worn leather of Hanamiya's wallet, dazed. As she listened to the harsh breathing from her friends, she felt bad for a minute until a choked laugh escaped.

Bringing a hand up, Hana tried to smother it, but couldn't. I actually did that… I'm insane! The hysterical giggles just grew louder and louder until Hana had tears streaming down her cheeks. She could feel everyone staring, but didn't stop. What the hell, I deserve to laugh after the week I've had.

When she calmed down, the smile wouldn't leave her face, "I love you guys."