Happy New Year's Eve! Another chapter for you wonderful people. Again, I'm nervous about it. I don't want to copy canon word for word, but there are just some things that have to be there. Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong and I will fix it right away. Also, there is a scene in here that probably wouldn't mesh correctly with canon, but I liked it. (I'm using youtube clips to supplement my memory, so I might have messed up in more then one place). Anyway, here you guys go! Thank you!

Warnings: Bad language, violence, and bad editing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any canon events.


Golden Eyes and Golden Ties

"Imamura-san?"

"Shit!" Hana jumped half a foot into the air, subsequently making her books fall onto the floor. With a glare at the mess, she turned around and met eyes with Kuroko, "You can't do that! It's not fair!"

"How so?" The question was stated innocently, but she doubted it was heartfelt. Why'd I ever miss this little shit?

"I'm not used to it anymore!" Hana ignored him to pick her books up off the floor. When she looked back up, Kuroko was still there. Huh, would have thought he'd vanished by now. Hana brought her books to her chest before poking a sharp finger into Kuroko's arm, "I know you do that shit on purpose. I saw you with Kagami yesterday."

"Really?" Kuroko actually looked surprised, a rare accomplishment, "I hadn't noticed you."

"That was the point," Hana admitted before continuing her walk to the cafeteria. She tried to sort through her papers, but it was proving too difficult. She stopped walking to fix them while responding to Kuroko, "I was trying to corner Kagami. For such a big guy, he's really hard to keep track of."

"He mentioned you," Kuroko fell into step beside her and handed her a wayward paper, "And something about a bet? Was that what I interrupted the other day?"

"It was," she didn't notice how her mouth formed a pout, "He's being a stubborn asshole about it."

That was one way to put it. The other way would have been much unkinder. She tried to corner him yesterday during the practice game between first and second years, but Kagami was having none of it. Every time she stepped a foot in his direction, he'd tighten his hold on his bag and walk away. It was like a screwed-up game of cat and mouse. Except the tiger has become the mouse. Ironic.

Blue eyes flicked over to her, "If you don't mind me asking, what was it?"

"Uhm," now that she thought about it, this was a bit embarrassing. Who wanted to admit to needing a bodyguard, especially against someone's friend? Her teeth nipped at her lip, "I was concerned that Akashi might have followed you to school… And I wanted a big scary person to hang out with- you know what I'm getting at?"

"I believe so," Kuroko blinked at her, how can blinking be so condescending, "I didn't know you were so scared of Akashi-kun."

Well, when he put it that way. Hana's mouth tugged into a soft snarl, "I'd like to say I'm not, but that'd be lying. My last interaction with him… well you remember."

"It was very memorable," that was probably the nicest way he could put it. You know, since most people don't like being told they're basically worthless. Kuroko's eyes trailed away from her to the ceiling, "It was also very shocking. You made Kise-kun cry."

"…" Ignoring the twist of guilt, Hana gave him a deadpan look, "It's not like they were real tears. Besides, I thought you said you understood?"

"I do," Kuroko nodded as they turned down the next hallway. Now, Hana didn't know where they were going since Kuroko had taken the lead. Her blue haired friend put on a thoughtful expression, "They'd never had someone place the guilt directly on their shoulders, though."

"Oh," Hana snorted at that, "well my sincerest apologies for calling you all out. Didn't mean to hurt the tiny children's egos."

"Please don't apologize. It was an admirable action," if Hana didn't know better, she'd say Kuroko sounded proud. But that couldn't be true, right? His blue eyes trailed over to her face, "You haven't changed much."

"I have," Hana corrected him and the two came to a stop at the end of the hallway. There was a classroom a few feet ahead and Hana assumed that's where Kuroko was leading her. Looking away from Kuroko, she stared at the paint on the wall, "I grew up. I guess I've developed some morals too."

A soft look graced Kuroko's face, "It seems we've both matured in our time apart."

"Yeah," Hana agreed. Speaking of time apart… She turned to Kuroko with the question that had been plaguing her since he arrived, "What happened to you anyway? Something's obviously up with you guys."

"…" The look in Kuroko's eye could only be described as heartbreaking, "I began to hate the thing I loved. I couldn't accept the consequences of Teiko's moto. I couldn't accept what my teammates were capable of and, in the end, I left."

"Good," Hana quickly backpedaled at how terrible that sounded, "Not like that! Your suffering is not a good thing! That's not what I meant…" A hand came up to cover her eyes and Hana groaned, "Just kill me."

Another hand came to rest on top of hers and Kuroko pulled it away from her face. His hands are soft, Hana's face erupted into a blush at the unexpected fact. Spontaneous human combustion sounded very convenient right now. Green eyes locked on the hand holding her own and Hana didn't know if it would be considered rude to yank it away or not. Probably…

Despite Hana's internal debate, Kuroko's eyes were soft when he looked down at her, "There's no need to be embarrassed. I understand what you were saying, Imamura-san."

"At least someone does," Hana hissed under her breath before quickly taking her hand back from Kuroko, "You know what? Shit like that was why you were my favorite."

"I'd always thought you were joking when you said that," Kuroko's face was back to the mask he normally wore, "I didn't know it was the truth."

Great, that subject. Now that her hand was safely back in her possession, Hana let out a long sigh, "Unfortunately, I still can't lie to you."

"I'm not sure that could be considered unfortunate."

"You say that now," Hana rolled her eyes, "Just wait until I tell you something you don't want to hear. You'll be changing your opinion really quick."

"If the time comes," Kuroko didn't seem concerned, "I'll deal with it then."

"Your funeral," There wasn't anything else she'd like to add to the topic. Her honesty was a force to be reckoned with, as they had all seen in the past. If he thought he could handle it, well, kudos to him. Looking for a subject change, Hana finally asked the question that had been bugging her the whole trip here, "Why'd you come down here?"

"I came to ask coach about formally joining the basketball club."

"Oh," Hana blinked at the, surprisingly, normal answer, "Cool."

The next Monday, Hana was regretting ever walking with Kuroko that day. Because of him, she now had to partake in the basketball club's little tradition. It was more like hazing in Hana's opinion. She was a manager! Manager's don't need goals! From her position next to Kuroko, Hana scowled at Riko. This builds character? More like public humiliation.

Not to mention the little tidbit about stripping naked in front of your crush. That definitely qualifies as humiliation. What if you don't even like anyone? Hana pondered on that for a moment, I could just say I like Uoya or something… He'd be traumatized, but I wouldn't have to actually complete my goal.

"This is easy," of course that was Kagami. The idiot stepped out of line and walked toward the edge of the building. Then, further proving his idiocy, jumped on top of the railing, "Kagami Taiga! Class 1-B! Year 5! I will defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best in Japan!"

"…" Hana eyed his stance contemplatively, "Can I push him?"

"No," Kuroko didn't even have to think about his answer, "You should be kinder, Imamura-san."

"I would have caught him," Hana defended as Kagami jumped down, "I'm pretty strong."

Then, she could have hung him over the edge. He'd be forced to agree to her deal. It was a beautiful mental image. Too bad Kuroko had to go and ruin her fun.

"I believe that's an overestimation."

What! While Hana gaped at Kuroko in betrayal, the next player went up. She didn't listen to his resolution, or whatever Riko called it. Her green eyes were still trained on the ghost player as her mouth formed a pout. Deciding to forgo revenge, she flicked him in the arm, "If you were anyone else you'd be dead."

"Imamura-chan!"

"… Shit," Hana moaned. Riko was standing in front of her in determination and Hana didn't want anything to do with it, "Why do I have to be next? Choose someone else!"

At her objection, Riko's eyes flashed in the way Hana recognized as warning, "Come on!"

She did not like to be ordered around, Riko or not. Hana's eyes narrowed on the coach in subterfuge, "If you make me do this, you're going to regret it."

"It's tradition," Riko smirked back at Hana's challenge. Honestly, why had Hana ever befriended her? Riko never fell for her threats. The coach continued, "Just do it! Unless you don't want to join?"

Huh. Now there's an idea. Hana blinked, "That works."

"Great—" Riko stumbled over her words, "Wait, what?! No!"

"Imamura-san," Kuroko nudged her forward, "It's alright. Everyone has to do it."

Letting out a loud moan, Hana dragged her feet toward the edge. Her eyes looked down at all the tiny pinpricks of people before she raised her hand in a halfhearted wave, "Imamura Hana! Class 1-D! Uhm…"

She'd never been good at public speaking. Her voice trailed off and Hana looked to Kuroko in apprehension. The hell do I say? The boy didn't offer any help, but beside him Kagami raised an incredulous eyebrow. Which didn't help much either, though it did make Hana annoyed. Stupid Kagami. Wait! What was his goal? Be the very best…

"I will…" she furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember the words, "I will be the very best! Like no one ever was! To catch them all will be my true test!"

And with that, Hana was stepping away from the edge. When she turned around, Riko was eyeing her in suspicion, "I feel like I've heard that before…"

"Really?" Hana blinked dumbly, "It just kind of came to me."

"…" The coach's eyes narrowed, "Catch what?"

Opps. Didn't think that through. Hana paused as she tried to think of an excuse, "All the basketballs?"

"…" Riko didn't look like she believed her, but she turned away anyway, "I'll hold you to that."

Shit. Hana's pout went unnoticed, "Wonderful."

"Next!" The energetic coach pointed her finger at the lineup of first years. A second passed before Kawahara came forward with hard faced resolve. When the boy reached the rail, he yelled out his name… and then preceded to tell his whole life story. Sparkles and all.

From her position beside Kuroko, Hana deadpanned, "Can I push this one off?"

"No, Imamura-san."

"Damn."

Behind her, Furihata was talking to Fukuda. Hana leaned her head back to catch their words, "Wasn't that the Pokémon theme song?"

Fukuda nodded frantically in agreement, "I knew I'd heard it from somewhere! How'd she get away with that?!"

Apparently, Kuroko heard them too because he turned to Hana with raised brows. Hana gave him a guilty smile in return. His eyes blinked at her. Hana blinked back. In the background, Riko yanked Kawahara off before calling for Furihata. The staring contest between Kuroko and Hana continued.

Kuroko broke it first, "What's your true goal?"

"Uhm," Hana faltered, "I don't have one?"

"Really?" Kuroko looked away from her, "I expected differently."

"Huh?" She didn't like that look. Frankly, she didn't like what he was implying either, "What do you mean?"

Kuroko didn't have a chance to respond before it was his turn to go up. Did you know Kuroko was a magician? Well, he is. Either that or he has special ghost plasma that he can hide freaking megaphones in. Hana, along with the rest of the first years, gawked at him. He brought the megaphone to his lips, opened his mouth, and then bam.

"Hey!" That was one very angry principal, "The basketball club, again?!"

Next thing they knew, all the group was sitting in a straight line listening to the principal's rant. For Hana, it was going in one ear and out the other. She didn't care if they were banned from the roof or not. She didn't like heights anyway. To her left, Riko was pouting. It was strangely satisfying.

The lecture continued and she finally had enough of this. Raising her hand, Hana brought the attention onto herself, "Sir? I'm sorry to interrupt… but I'm deathly afraid of heights."

"Well, young lady, you should have thought of that before—"

Narrowing her eyes, Hana brought a hand up to her mouth and pretended to gag. The fake tears gathered easily, "I'm so sorry! This always happens-"

"Go!" The principal had looked away as soon as she gagged, "Get to the nurse!"

"Are you sure?" Hana forced another gag, "I don't want—"

"Go!"

"Thank you," she forced her voice to sound weak as she struggled to her feet. Hana brought another hand up to her mouth, but it was really just a rouse to cover the smug smile as she caught Kagami's eye. The redhead was glaring at her and Hana almost couldn't keep up the façade.

Stumbling toward the door, Hana opened it before racing down the stairs. She did not want to be in the vicinity when Riko began to hunt her down.


"Are you still pouting?"

"Why are you following me?" Kagami twisted his head over his shoulder with a sharp glare, "I told you I'm not agreeing to your stupid deal—"

"Yet," Hana corrected, "You aren't agreeing yet."

"I'm never agreeing. And I'm not pouting!" Kagami's sentence turned into a snarl at the end.

"Sure, sure," Hana waved her hand as she skipped up beside him, "You don't even have it bad! Riko's making me run laps for leaving you guys. I'm a manager! I don't need to run laps!"

"You got what you deserved," Kagami huffed as he opened the door. He was polite enough to leave it open while Hana ducked in beside him, "Shouldn't have run off."

"You would have done the same damn thing."

"No, I wouldn't," Kagami didn't look at her when he replied. His feet led him to the cashier and after he ordered, he finally glanced back down at her with a raised eyebrow, "Are you always such a manipulative brat?"

Hana didn't even have to think about her answer, "Yes."

The cashiers thank you was lost to her when Kagami got his food. How the hell can he eat all that? Rushing after Kagami, Hana altered her deal, "By the way, when you accept being my bodyguard, I'm not paying for your food. Glutton."

"Shut up, Imamura," Kagami was lost in his thoughts again, "I can't believe he got so mad over a little yelling."

"More like screaming," Hana furrowed her brow as Kagami slammed his plate down, "Or screeching. Or shrieking. You did sound like a crazed psychopath."

Hana was about to sit down across from him, but a new voice interrupted her pursuit. Kuroko was there being a little sneaky shit, again. The blue haired boy blinked before inputting himself into the conversation, "I got in trouble too and I didn't even finish."

"Shit!" Hana jumped at the same time Kagami jolted back in his chair, choking on his burger. Bringing a hand up to her throat, Hana snarled at Kuroko, "I'm getting you a bell. Maybe a collar too."

"You again?!" Apparently, Kagami shared Hana's irritation, "I'm going somewhere else."

Kuroko ignored them both to mention his concerns about the punishment, "What if we aren't allowed to join the basketball team?"

With one last glare at Kuroko, Hana went to retrieve another chair. Shoving it down beside her ghostly friend, she shrugged, "It's not like Riko can say no. You went up there, it wasn't your fault the principal showed up."

While she talked, Kagami leaned across the table to address Kuroko, "I've been wondering, why didn't you go to a big school like the others?"

Subtly stealing a burger from the irritable redhead, Hana muttered the answer under her breath, "Because he's actually nice."

Taking a sip of his drink, Kuroko didn't respond to Kagami's questions for a long time. When he finally did, the answer startled Hana, "My middle school's team had one core principal, winning is everything. Instead of focusing on teamwork, the individual powers of the Generation of Miracles were honed to encourage the win. Nothing could beat us… but we weren't a team."

"My five teammates agreed," Hana ripped into the burger at Kuroko's words. They did more than agree… they encouraged it. Her green eyes watched Kuroko's face as he continued, "I felt that we were missing something important."

She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but Kagami's words interrupted her, "So, you're just going to beat the generation of miracles your own way?"

Kuroko looked down at the table before answering, "That's what I planned, but your words and the coaches have influenced me. Now, my biggest reason to play is to try and make you and the team the best in Japan."

"That's a lofty goal," Hana mumbled into her burger, "I'm down though."

As if just realizing her presence, Kuroko turned to her with inquiring eyes, "You're part of the team too, Imamura-san."

"Yup," Hana swallowed her food before giving her blue haired friend a smirk, "If you need help though, you know in your beat the miracles plot, I've got lots of ideas…"

Kuroko blinked, "I don't believe that will be necessary. Your ideas tend to cause you more trouble then you intend."

"What—They do not!"

Interrupting the argument, Kagami slammed his fists down on the table, "We aren't going to try, we are going to be the best."

"…" When Kagami stood, Hana reached across and stole another burger, "You sound like a protagonist in a manga."

She didn't think Kagami would actually do anything at her statement, but that was before her head was shoved down roughly, "Kagami! Let me up!"

Instead, his hand ruffled her hair. Very hard, Hana would like to add. She peeked an eye up to look at his face when he responded, "You're a pain, Imamura. But if you can get us where we need to be, I'm all for it."

"You'll be in pain if you don't let me up," Hana hissed up at him.

As he watched the spectacle, Kuroko sucked on his milkshake neutrally, "Imamura-san doesn't like for people to manhandle her. She's thrown several fits in the past for it."

"Fits?!"

"Huh," Hana didn't like how interested Kagami sounded at that information, "I'll remember that."

"She's also very violent," Kuroko finished his statement with a loud suck on his straw, "You should be careful, Kagami-kun."

"I can handle it," he ruffled her hair again and Hana hissed into the table. I don't like this… you are going to regret this Kagami. Her eyes traveled to Kuroko and she amended her thoughts, I'll get you too. I swear it!

After that, Kagami let go of her and headed out. Hana remained where she was sitting, glaring balefully at Kuroko's face. For the most part, he ignored her. That won't do. Increasing the potency of her glare, Hana scooted her chair closer. This time he turned to her with wide blue eyes.

"Yes?"

"Fits, huh?"

If possible, his eyes only got wider and Kuroko responded innocently, "I didn't mean to offend you. Would you prefer to call them spasms?"

Ripping a bite of bread off her burger, Hana launched it at his head. The bread sailed through the air and both teenagers focused on its trajectory. When it got close to his face, Kuroko easily avoided it and she gave him a defeated pout, "Why couldn't you just let it hit you?"

Instead of replying, the bread was flicked back at her. The glare Hana gave him should have killed him, but Kuroko just kept sipping on his milkshake. Her eyes squinted. In return, Kuroko peered at her. Her lip tugged up into a snarl and Kuroko looked away. The tension continued for a moment before he was pushing his milkshake toward her.

Deciding it was a worthy attempt at a peace treaty, Hana brought it towards her mouth. For now, you are forgiven.


"So," Hana pondered as she walked with Kuroko to the bus stop, "That was an interesting dinner. Thanks for walking with me, by the way."

"It was," Kuroko agreed from beside her, "Kagami-kun is determined. I believe we'll have a chance to defeat them."

"You will," Hana smirked back at him, "And I'll be right there with you, cheering you on as you kick their asses."

"Imamura-san," despite the tone, Kuroko didn't reprimand her further. They arrived at the bus station shortly afterwards and Hana was about to sit down when Kuroko spoke again, "I'll see you tomorrow. Please travel safely—"

Hana quirked an eyebrow as she interrupted, "I thought you had to take this bus too?"

"To get home, yes," Kuroko looked back down the way they came, "But I had something to do before then."

"What?" Hana didn't care how rude she sounded, she was curious. In return, Kuroko gave her another chastising look, but Hana just smiled back innocently. I need to work on that… learn to notch it up a bit.

"I intended to write my goal out so coach could see it-"

Hana perked up in interest, now that sounded exciting, "Write it out? Where?"

"Imamura-san, please don't interrupt. I was going to the school courtyard—"

"Why didn't you tell me!" Hana jumped up and interrupted him again. The bus was forgotten behind her, "Can I go? Pretty please?"

The sigh Kuroko let out sounded resigned. Blue eyes stared at her and Hana ignored the shiver it brought on. If letting him read her mind allowed her to come with him, she'd do it in a heartbeat. A few seconds passed before Kuroko turned around and began to walk back to the school. Nibbling her lip, Hana watched him. Was that a yes or a no?

"Imamura-san, please don't fall behind."

"What, really?!" Hana sprang up and raced after him, "Awesome!"

The walk to campus passed pleasantly. Hana had honestly forgotten how much she enjoyed Kuroko's presence. He was normally calm and it blended well with her temper. Much like Uoya, he could even her prickly presence out into something manageable. That's probably why he gets along with Kagami too.

When they arrived at the gate, Hana blinked. How was she going to climb that? How was Kuroko going to climb that? The large metal gate was shut and locked, the school grounds shadowed behind it. Turning toward Kuroko, Hana tried to gauge his reaction.

He didn't appear worried. His head tilted as he gazed into the school grounds, "This may be difficult."

Okay, good. At least Kuroko understood how hard this was going to be. Padding forward, Hana grabbed the padlock and observed it, "There's no way this is coming off."

"We may have to climb."

"If you can climb that," Hana snorted at the image, "My respect for you will grow exponentially."

Kuroko's blue eyes glanced at her before he walked up beside her. His hand reached the gate and gave it an experimental jiggle. It appeared sturdy and Kuroko placed a foot onto the edge. Another foot soon followed and then Kuroko was at the top. Hana was left gawking at the bottom, I didn't know he could do that.

His face was shadowed by the streetlight when he looked down at her in expectation, "Are you coming, Imamura-san?"

"Uhm," was there a polite way to say hell no? Green eyes traced the metal gate warily, "You know… I was serious when I said I don't like heights."

"Oh," Kuroko blinked before his face went thoughtful, "You don't have to come with me—"

"No!" There was no way she was backing out of this now. Her dignity would not allow Kuroko to one up her. Shakily placing a foot on the metal, Hana pushed herself up. The rest of her limbs followed the example. Don't look down… Don't look down…

"Imamura-san? I believe it would be easier if you opened your eyes."

"Shhh," Hana didn't open her eyes, she just kept climbing. The metal jolted and she let out a screech, "What'd you do?!"

"…" Kuroko took a while to respond and when he did, it was from below, "I jumped down."

"Oh, hell no," her body refused to move, "I didn't think about that part!"

"Imamura-san, it's only a few feet."

"A few feet for you! It's like fifty for me!"

"Units of measure don't change based on a person's height."

"This—" Hana gasped out as she pulled herself higher, "This is not a time for you to be a smart ass!"

"My apologies, Imamura-san."

Twenty minutes later, Hana was walking beside Kuroko toward the courtyard. Her hair was a disheveled rat's nest and her knees were covered in a thin layer of dirt. She may have accidently fallen off the gate when she tried to get down. It wasn't her fault though! Hana had been in the process of climbing down when she remembered she was wearing a skirt.

Well, it was safe to say that trying to cover your behind while successfully climbing down a fence wasn't a compatible situation. Kuroko had been visibly worried, but she saw that little smile. She damn well saw it!

Her arms were crossed over her chest as she sulked next to him, "So, do you know what your goal is?"

"I do," Kuroko eyed her with remnants of amusement, "The only matter I haven't figured out is how to write it down."

"You could use your shoe or something," Kuroko gave her a bland look and she tried to defend herself, "Like move the dirt—whatever, stop looking at me like that."

His lips twitched up again, "I was hoping to find something more permanent."

"Uhm…" Hana trailed her eyes over the dark school yard. They landed on the sports field and her mouth grew into a smirk. They had to mark the field in something. Her devious eyes turned to Kuroko, "Hey, Kuroko? How do you feel about chalk?"

"Chalk?" Kuroko questioned before following her gaze, "Oh. Yes, that would be a good choice."

After they retrieved the chalk, Hana being a nice person and carrying it for him, she stood back and let Kuroko do the work. Now, that might seem cruel, but there were things called security cameras. Hana doubted they'd register Kuroko, but they would definitely register her. Breaking into a private school was bad enough, she didn't need a vandalism charge as well.

She leaned against a tree as she watched. He hadn't told her his goal yet, so Hana was interested to see what he wrote down. Despite Hana inviting herself on this little adventure, Kuroko didn't seem to mind her presence. Besides, it's been fun! It's like a spy mission. Hana offered him a cheeky wave when his head lifted.

Apparently, that meant Kuroko was done. He retrieved the chalk and made his way to her. When he got close enough, Hana let out a startled laugh. The tip of his nose was coated white. Pulling her shirt over her palm, Hana stepped forward, "You've got some on you."

"My mistake," His hand came up to wipe it off, but Hana beat him to the punch. When she retreated, Kuroko bent his head softly, "Thank you."

"No problem," Hana smirked before pushing off from the tree. She bumped shoulders with him affectionately, "So what'd you write?"

Kuroko's blue eyes traveled over to the chalked markings, "I will make you the best in Japan," his eyes flickered back to her, "My goal is to help Kagami-kun achieve his."

"Yeah, you guys made that promise," Hana teetered on her feet and tugged her lip into her mouth. An awkward silence grew before Hana finally voiced her thoughts, "I just want you to know… I'm proud of you, Kuroko."

Kuroko's eyes widened subtly, "Imamura-san?"

"I'm not saying it again," Hana blushed as she looked up to the sky, "You've just grown up and you're stronger now- I don't know what I'm talking about—"

Hana was cut off when Kuroko grabbed her hand. She still didn't look at him, but her blush grew into a dark red. Kuroko didn't seem to mind and he squeezed her hand before releasing it, "Thank you, Imamura-san."

Ignoring the still fading pressure from his grip, she smiled down at the grass in thought. Hana's green eyes finally flickered back to Kuroko. His eyes were directed on her and she gave him a rueful smile, "Don't thank me, Kuroko. I mean it."

"If that's what you wish," Kuroko bowed his head, but Hana caught the twitch of his lips. When he turned around, his voice echoed back to her, "We should probably go, though. There is a camera pointed in this direction."

"…" when his words registered, Hana blanched before sprinting after him, "Kuroko! Why didn't you say that earlier!"

"I'd thought you would have noticed."

That little smart ass, Hana growled when she caught up with him. Despite her irritation, her only retribution was a shove against his arm, "You need to tell people shit like that."

Kuroko didn't respond, but the look he gifted her with was fond.


She was so tired. Absolutely exhausted. The cool floor of the gym felt wonderful on her back and Hana relaxed further into her halfhearted slumber. A couple members of the team were moving around behind her, but Hana didn't open her eyes to look. In the background, she heard the boys talking in the dressing room.

"Generation of Miracles," That was Furihata, "These guys are insane!"

Yup, back to sleep she goes. It lasted for a whole two minutes. Unfortunately, her peace was interrupted by another player yelling. Letting out a soft moan and pushing herself up with her palms, Hana turned her attention toward listening to the assembled boys. It sounded like everyone was there. Except Riko.

"Something about a practice game-," Hana couldn't recognize that voice.

"-I think I saw her skipping," someone else said.

"Skipping?" Hyuuga's voice sounded terrified, "Be aware guys, if she's skipping that means our opponents are going to be really tough."

Looks like things are getting interesting now, Hana forced herself up to her feet when she heard the boys come out. She looked around for Kuroko or Kagami, but like normal, Kuroko was in his invisible mode and Hana made her way to the short-tempered redhead. He was looking at the magazine one of the boys had brought out, face breaking out into an excited smile.

"Has anyone ever told you how creepy you look?" Hana didn't expect for him to reply, so she continued, "Which article are you on?"

"Shut up, Imamura," his retort didn't have as much heat as it normally did. Showing her the article, Hana watched his large finger point at purple hair, "Murasakibara Atushi. You know him?"

"I do," Hana didn't want to offer more, but Kagami gave her a look. She continued with an eyeroll, "He's huge and he will eat you."

"…What."

"I'm not talking about them," her voice was firm, "I get that you're all super excited about facing them, but I don't like to remember them. You heard all about Kuroko's past the other day—mine isn't as strong as his, but it left a pretty big freaking hole."

"Uh, sorry?" Kagami's eyes had widened at the unexpected declaration, "So… he's huge?"

"He's got like half a foot on you."

"Shit," he looked taken aback, but it faded into excitement quickly, "I'm pumped!"

Hana gave him a droll look, "Of course you are. Do you get off on it?"

"What?!" Kagami dissolved into a coughing fit and Hana relished in his blushing cheeks, "No! What the hell, Imamura!"

"Just checking," the smile she gave was sweet, "I mean, I don't have anything against it—no kink shaming here."

"Imamura!" His hand tried to grab her, but Hana was quicker and ducked under his palm. When she was a safe distance away, she looked back up to the blushing tiger with a smirk. His hand was still outstretched in the air and it was twitching erratically. The words he growled out were threatening, "I'm going to kill you."

"Heard that before. Still breathing."

Kagami didn't have a chance to respond before Hyuuga ordered everyone to start practicing. The redhead's shoulders were tight as he stomped toward the captain. The orders were simple, and first years and second years lined up to start another practice game. Meanwhile, Hana made her way to her customary hiding spot, giving Takeda-sensei a quiet hello before sitting.

The game continued much like the first one. Kagami and Kuroko were working great together and the other first years were helping out from the sides. They'll take them down, huh? Hana smirked as she watched Kuroko direct a pass to Kagami, I guess it might work… even if Kagami is an asshole. Fits the pattern at least.

Her hand stopped writing as she watched Kagami face off against Izuki. The second year was trying to block him, but Kagami darted to the side before twisting on heel and doing an alleyoop. The resulting dunk made the metal hoop clang. In a way, it was cool, but Hana didn't quite agree with the second years worshiping. Even Kuroko looked impressed. Maybe it's my own opinion influencing things?

Riko interrupted her observation, "Everyone! Gather round!"

Ignoring the meeting, Hana's eyes moved away from the grouping and scanned around the court. She paused. There were girls. There were never girls. With her brows furrowed, Hana moved her eyes around the court again. This time she caught a shadow in the farthest corner beside the stage's curtain.

Oh hell no. The shadow was blonde. At first, Hana hoped it was a girl. But when she turned her attention back to the grouping at the center of the court, she realized she was dead wrong. Hana used Takeda-sensei as a shield and scooted closer to the wall.

"-They face at the national level," someone was speaking, "They've been to Inter High every year."

"And this year," that was Riko, "They've gotten their hands on one of the Generation of Miracles, Kise Ryouta!"

Well, that cemented who the shadow might be. Ignoring the conversation of the team, Hana slumped further against the wall, "Shit."

Takeda-sensei looked down at her in worry, but Hana just waved a hand at him. The team continued to chat and Hana watched warily. Kise was going to be making his grand entrance sooner or later. She knew because the group of girls had gotten bigger.

One, two, three, and there he is. He was taller than Hana remembered and his hair was longer. Her eyebrow quirked as she trailed over the rest of his body. The outfit he wore was… interesting. Frankly, Hana thought he looked like a law school dropout, but hey, she didn't know fashion. Then he spoke, further bringing Hana's world upside down.

"I'm so sorry," his voice sounded apologetic, but you could never tell with him, "Just give me five minutes?"

Kise made his way to the grouping of girls and began to sign autographs as he pushed them outside. While she watched, Hana debated the pros and cons of slipping out with them. On one hand, no Kise. On the other hand, angry Riko and angry Hyuuga. Not worth it…

During Kise's distraction, Hana darted to her group of team members. Tsuchida noticed her and tilted his head over his shoulder in greeting. Hana brought a finger to her lips in a silent plea. He didn't respond, but he didn't call her out either and Hana took it as acceptance. As she watched Kise's back, Hana prepared herself, I won't be a damn coward. Straighten up and face him head on.

A little bit later, Kise returned. His golden eyes were focused in on Kuroko, "It's been a while Kuroko-cchi!"

"It has," Kuroko gave a subtle nod, "It's good to see you."

Peeking her head around the assembled group, Hana watched as the conversation continued and Kise broke out into his dramatics. I haven't missed that. In front of her, Furihata was flipping through the magazine, "Kise Ryouta… it says he's a model and he joined his second year?!"

Kise scratched at the back of his head in an imitation of modesty, "They really over exaggerated with that… I'm proud to be part of the Generation of Miracles, but I'm one of the worst of the lot. Me and Kuroko-chhi were bullied for it all the time."

"Bull shit," Hana coughed into her fist and Kise's eyes traveled over the group searching for the culprit. When they got close to her, she ducked behind Mitobe's back. Okay, so still a coward. A few feet to the side, she saw Kagami break off from the group while she hid.

Hana wanted to follow… he was her future body guard after all, but then Kise would see my face. If only there was a way. Her head twisted around the area before green eyes landed on a basketball and her face split into a smirk.

Bringing the basketball up to head level, Hana followed after Kagami. She doubted anyone even noticed with how enraptured they were by Kise's stories. Her feet padded stealthily behind Kagami and when he came to a stop across from Kise, Hana nudged him with her elbow. Kagami looked down at her before looking back up to the blonde.

Seconds passed before he did a hilarious double take, "Imamura?!"

"Keep your voice down," Hana hissed as she brought the basketball closer to her face, "What are you doing?"

"I'm about to challenge him—"

"Perfect," Hana removed the ball blocking her face and shoved it into Kagami's hands, "Throw this at his face as hard as you can."

Kagami blinked as he eyed the orange ball she presented him with. A dark smile overtook his face shortly afterwards, "Thanks."

"No problem—"

Kagami hurled the ball. The miracle felt it and raised an arm, making the ball hit Kise's palm with a smack. As the miracle flapped his hand around, she prepared to dart off, but there was now a large palm resting on top of her head. All of Hana's teammates turned to Kagami and her in shock, Riko's voice ringing out the loudest.

Hana turned her eyes onto Kagami with a glare when she was still held in place, "This is the part where I go hide."

"Ow!" Kise turned to Kagami before his voice broke off, "What was that- Imamura-chan?"

"Kagami," Hana's face transferred into a tight smile as she hissed under her breath, "When this is over be prepared to lose at least three limbs."

Instead of responding, Kagami tightened his hold on her head and looked toward Kise with a grin, "Sorry to interrupt the reunion. I hope you didn't come all the way down here just to check on us?"

"If you don't let go of my head—" Hana was interrupted by Kise this time.

The blonde had taken a couple steps forward and was looking at her with a gaping mouth, "Imamura-chan? What are you doing here?"

"…" Despite the new tension, Hana thought the answer was self-explanatory, "I go here?"

"With Kuroko-cchi?" Kise took another step forward and Hana eyed his arms warily. He better not think about hugging me. Turns out she didn't have to worry because Kagami pushed her head down with a smirk. Hana eyed his huge foot, I wonder if he'd feel me stomp it?

"Thanks for the idea, Imamura," Hana tilted her head up at her teammates words. Across from her, Kagami's words made Kise freeze and he trailed his gold eyes up the redhead's arm to his face.

When he looked back to her, Kise's face was hopeful, but there was a tinge of desperation underneath. The blonde's eyes searched her face for a sign, but Hana didn't give any of her feelings away. When he noticed her apathy, Kise's eyes transferred back to Kagami. The tight smile he plastered on was enough for Hana's nerves to spike in warning.

"Kagami," Hana snarled under her breath. Dumbass put me in this position, her eyes flashed, "You should write your dying will."

"Don't threaten me, Imamura," despite his words, Kagami finally let her go and she moved away from his reach. Kagami's red eyes focused in on Kise, "Let's play pretty boy."

"I'm not sure," Kise wasn't looking at Kagami. Instead, his eyes were trained on Hana. She didn't know what the big deal was… It had only been a couple months since they saw each other. It wasn't like he actually missed her. Kise took a step toward her, again, "I'm a little overwhelmed right now."

"Doubt it," Hana spoke without thinking, "You're being overdramatic, Kise. I shouldn't be surprised."

"What?" His steps stopped and Kise's face slackened a bit at the heat of her statement, "I'm serious! I hadn't thought—no one knew—"

After his little speech ended, Hana rolled her eyes, "I don't want to hear it. We went to the same damn school. If you wanted to apologize, you could have found me."

"You didn't want to see us!"

Hana's eyes narrowed on the blonde as his voice rose, "You're right. I didn't want to see you all, in fact, I still don't."

The flash of hurt on his face was enough for Hana to rein in her lashing tongue. Kise's arm came up before he brought it back down to his side, "…Imamura-chan," he let out a soft sigh and sharp eyes turned to Kagami, "Well, I guess I will play. Might as well thank you for that display."

Kise took his jacket off and tossed it to the floor. Figuring it was about to get intense, Hana made her way to the rest of the team. The first years were watching her with slackened jaws and Kuroko was giving her a cursory once over before his attention returned to Kagami. Licking her suddenly dry lips, Hana made her way past Kise. At least that was what she intended to do.

"Imamura-chan," Kise's hand was unexpectedly latching onto her arm and Hana felt the warmth radiating from it, "I wasn't kidding. I really missed you."

Swallowing the curse words that wanted to rise, Hana looked up and made eye contact with Kise, "You don't mean that. If you meant it, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."

"I do," his hand tightened before he let her go with a strained smile, "You're wearing my necklace? It looks nice-"

"Don't," this time she let the venom soak her words, "It's not your necklace, Kise."

"But… alright," His eyes disconnected from hers and trailed back to Kagami, "I'll talk to you later, okay Imamura-chan?"

Her resulting chuckle was coated in a thick layer of disbelief. Hana didn't look back as she walked away, "Yeah, let's not."

By the time she got back to her team, Hana's fists were shaking. The duo hadn't started their duel yet and Hana came to stand beside Kuroko to watch. Her blue haired friend was examining Kise with a barely noticeable frown. It must be strange to see his old friend facing off against his new one.

Despite her thoughts, his tone was neutral when he finally voiced his opinion, "This could be bad."

"It's always bad around you guys," Hana watched the two hotheads stare at each other before jolting into motion, "Kise's changed."

"He has. Though you were quite mean, Imamura-san," Kuroko's eyes blinked over to her, "I hadn't expected that."

"You should have," Hana snorted before wincing as Kise darted around Kagami easily, "I would have said the exact same thing to you if you came up to me like that."

"…" Kuroko paused, "Well, I'm glad I didn't."

"You were always one of the smart ones," Hana approved. As they watched, Kise copied Kagami's move against Izuki and dunked the ball into the hoop. Kagami couldn't keep up and stumbled to the ground, gaping up at an apathic Kise. The blonde didn't spare him a glance as he went to retrieve the ball.

"What—" Kawahara sounded shocked, "He just beat Kagami! So easily! These friends of yours are crazy!"

"I don't know that person," Kuroko didn't look away from his former teammate, "It's only been a few months, but it seems I underestimated the growth of their strength."

"No doubt their egos did too," Hana snorted as Kise walked toward them. She agreed with Kuroko though; this wasn't the Kise she had known. The light shone off his eyes when he came toward them. For some reason, it was intimidating. Kise isn't supposed to be intimidating.

"Well, that was a disappointment," Kise dribbled the ball in front of him before addressing the gathered teammates, "I can't just leave after seeing such a terrible display."

No one had anything to say in reply and Kise continued, "Give us Kuroko-cchi. I seriously miss playing with you and this is a waste of your skill. You could do so much better! What do you say?"

"…" Hana twitched while the rest of her team froze in disbelief, "Called it. His ego could take down an army."

Kise's eyes turned to her at the sound of her voice, "You could come too, Imamura-chan! You really helped us out in the past, these guys don't have anything to offer you—"

"Neither do you," this was just too much. Hana stepped forward with a snarl, "I helped you guys out when we were friends. We aren't friends anymore, Kise."

A hand grabbed onto the sleeve of her shirt and Hana allowed herself to be tugged back beside Kuroko. Her blue haired friend offered Kise a soft bow, "Thank you, but I have to respectfully decline your offer."

"What?!" Kise gawked back at him, "But! Winning was everything to you, remember?"

Kuroko remained impassive, "My thinking has changed since then."

"Thank god," Hana sighed out in relief, "At least one of you isn't an overconfident jerk."

"This isn't like you! You can't be serious," Kise turned to Hana with a frown, "And you, I don't remember you being this mean… what happened to you?"

Ignoring the hurt on his face, Hana quirked an eyebrow, "I grew up and gave up on all the half-assed friendships."

"Imamura-san," Kuroko scolded with a tug on her sleeve. His blue eyes gave her a chiding look before turning back to Kise, "More importantly, I've made a promise to Kagami-kun. We've promised to defeat the Generation of Miracles."

Speaking of Kagami, a force appeared behind Hana and Kuroko and then there was a hand on top of her head again. The scowl that broke out on her face was immediate. Ignoring Hana's ire, Kagami turned to address Kise with a dark laugh, "That's right. We made a promise to take you guys down."

"Really?" Kise's eyes darkened over and a smirk graced his lips, "Let's see if you can live up to that."

Well, this was just buckets of fun. The tension sky rocketed around them as the three boys faced off in a staring contest. Bringing her hands up, Hana tried to tug Kagami's hand off, "Don't include me in your dick measuring contest. Let go of me, Kagami!"

Kagami snorted and his grip tightened on her hair, "You're a bitch, Imamura."

Her nails dug into the top of his hand, "I understand you're self-conscious, but don't put your insecurities onto me."

"Imamura," Kagami's face grew red at the insult and Hana watched the steam coming off him warily, "You—you little-"

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko's voice interrupted Kagami's incoming rant, "You're being childish."

"I'm being childish?! What about her?!"

"Hey now," Kise broke into the conversation. His eyes were focused on Kagami's hand and he gave the redhead a silky smile, "Can you let Imamura-chan go? You've been manhandling her a lot and I don't really like it."

Oh, what the hell. Hana finally succeeded in getting Kagami's hand off her head and took a step away from him. She trailed her eyes over her, now forgotten, teammates. Their eyes were wide as they watched the conversation. This little showdown needs to end.

Swallowing her nerves, Hana turned toward Kise, "You should probably head out. I'm sure you have somewhere to be?"

"…" Kise took a little too long to turn away from Kagami. When he focused in on her, he gave her a happy smile, "You're right. Sorry about all this. Could you walk me out, Imamura-chan?"

"Uhm," Hana turned toward Kuroko with begging eyes. The ghostly player didn't intercept and Hana was left to her fate. Shooting Kuroko an icy look, Hana faced Kise, "Yeah. Whatever."

At her agreement, Kise walked forward with a grin that Hana didn't return. The light dimmed out of his eyes for a moment before it came back in full swing. Waving an impatient hand, Hana ordered Kise to follow after her. They fell into step together and spent the walk out of the gym in silence. When the door closed behind him, Kise turned toward Hana.

"Imamura-chan," Kise broke off and pulled a thoughtful expression, "Did you mean what you said?"

Hana paused and squinted in the sunlight, "About what?"

"You said we weren't friends anymore," Kise looked away from her and frowned down at the sidewalk, "Do you really think that?"

"Yeah," she didn't miss a beat. Ignoring Kise's sharp intake of breath, Hana continued, "The friendship we had in middle school is gone. Whatever we had back then is over—"

His hand latched onto her arm again. When she was pulled to a stop, Hana shot a glare up at his face only to freeze at the look in Kise's eyes. They were the same dark shade from when he beat Kagami, "I don't believe that."

"Really," Hana drawled. She tried to yank her arm back, but to no avail, "Didn't you just complain about Kagami manhandling me? You're doing the exact same thing—"

His hand loosened, but Kise didn't remove his grip. His thumb rubbed over her arm as he sorted through his thoughts, "I'm going to prove you wrong, okay? I—we really missed you when you left."

"This is stupid, Kise," Hana's eyes narrowed on the blonde in challenge, "You're acting like… I don't know. You're making this out to be a bigger deal then it was. We weren't even that close—"

"We were a lot closer than you think," a sad smile pulled at his lips, "You don't believe me, do you?"

Hana's face pinched in confusion and a tinge of irritation, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Kise let go of her arm. Hana thought that was the end of the conversation, but his hand reached out suddenly and grabbed a hold of her necklace. His finger trailed over the little star, "I'm glad you're wearing this."

She stepped back. The necklace fell out of his grip and Kise turned his golden eyes onto her face. The bewilderment Hana felt transferred into her voice, "Why are you doing this? Is this a game to you?"

"It's not," Kise gave her another smile and most of the grief had filtered out. The emotion he displayed now appeared to be determination, "I'll see you soon, Imamura-chan."

"…" Hana frowned at his back when he turned around. He was about ten feet away when Hana called after him, "It'd be a lot easier to see with your head out of your ass!"

Her face fell as her words registered. Okay. That was the lamest thing I've ever said.

Kise didn't respond, but the lift of his shoulders informed Hana he'd let out a huff. Either in irritation or amusement, she didn't know. Left alone in silence, it only took a moment before Hana's fury flooded back into her system

That arrogant, pompous, prick. Her fists clenched as she watched Kise's body become smaller, he thinks Seirin's weak, he wanted to steal Kuroko, thinks he can just waltz in here… No, not happening buddy.

Well, looks like she didn't have any other option. She'd just have to show him the error of his ways. Plunging her hand into her sock, Hana retrieved her phone. Quick fingers dialed out a familiar number and Hana waited impatiently through the dial tone. Seconds later, a confused voice responded.

"Hana-chan?"

"Hey, Iseri," Hana's eyes were still glaring at the direction Kise went, "I need your help."

His voice was suspicious when he finally responded, "With what?"

"You went to Kaijo, right? Do you have a map of the campus?"

"…yes?"

"Perfect."


Reveiws! (do you guys want me to start replying to these by private messaging? Or keep this up?)

Crystalviolet24: It probably would have been better if she gave him a hard time… I just can't get mad at the tiny ghost child. Blame that on me, haha! And the bond thing happened in chapter 17. I was just hinting toward a conversation the two had together before they're friendship spun apart. Anyway, thank you!

Animegal1998: thank you!

AliceEverette: Ahhh! Thank you!

FrizzleChicken: Thank you :) I'm glad it wasn't cringy… I'm worried about the rest of the reunions though! And yes, the adventure begins! Thanks for your support!

NinjaPenguinLover: Dude, thank you! The fact that it made your day is awesome and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

ArchimedesAckermann: Thank you! Yep, a lot of the reunions are gonna be a bit angsty at first… Sorry if that's a bad thing! Thank you for another great review!

LillyLunaK: I present you Kise!

ADDBaby: So many tears! And the innocent ability will be coming soon, promise! Thank you for another great review!

JeyaMendoza: Thank you! Another great review! Actually two! And yes, hiding over confrontation… Unfortunately, there are only so many hiding places. Awh, I'm glad you think the ship has sailed! I hope you aren't too mad about the angry words she gave Kise… Anyway, thanks!

AngelicHallows: I hope she spices canon up! It's a bit hard to find a balance between Canon and Original, but your support helps me feel confident about what I'm doing! I'm glad you like Hana's character and thank you for another review!

RedRaspberries: Thank you for another review! Hana will definitely annoy him, but I'm sure he'll return it in kind. I'm planning for the two to develop a good friendly relationship sooner or later.

Naliyu: Thank you!