*groans* I'm so tired people. AP Bio is kicking my behind and I've had the worst case of writers block ever. Anyway! New chapter of mostly fluffiness to make up for all the angst I've shoved down your throats lately. I don't like it, but I'm hoping I'm just being self-depreciating. Enjoy your fluff! It's also kind of dialogue heavy... sorry? Also, thank you to all these new followers and favorites! I'm still in shock I've surpassed a hundred. Not to mention you guys who review! You wonderful people of beautiful things! Thank you for all those great comments!
Warnings: Bad language, violence, pretty down right awful editing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke
Final Friendships
Nothing went to plan anymore. Hana was tempted to just give up trying to make sense of her life. Sure, she found her team, but she hadn't expected this. She didn't even like steak. Poking at the massive slice in front of her, Hana trailed her eyes over the rest of the team. They appeared to be in the same state of disgust. Except for the person beside her, Kagami. That goddamn monster. He was shoveling the steak into his mouth like a hunger starved bear.
"Glutton."
Kagami paused and looked over at her, "What'd you say?"
"Glutton."
And face, meet table. You know, she should be used to this by now. But no, she still wanted to stab him in the leg with her fork. Her hand twitched toward it, but Kagami graciously removed his hand before she had the chance. The culprit was biting into another bite of steak with a smirk when she lifted her head back up.
Rubbing her now sore forehead, Hana's voice was tinged in sarcasm, "When I said you'd be my bodyguard, that meant protect me. Not injure me at every given chance."
"Well," Kagami swallowed a huge lump of steak, "Good thing I'm not."
"You'll come to your senses sooner or later," she pushed her plate toward Kagami, "In the meantime, consider this a down payment."
His cheeks were stuffed out comically when he looked at her, "You don't want it?"
Staring at him, Hana deadpanned, "It seems I've lost my appetite. I wonder why."
"Thanks," another huge swallow, "So what's up with you and pretty boy?"
Okay, his blunt honesty is kind of a pain. Is this how people feel about me? Hana scowled down at the worn-out table, "What do you mean?"
Kagami snorted, "You've got a weird way to flirt—"
"I wasn't flirting!"
"Sure," he waved his fork toward her, "What was all that then? His necklace?"
"…" Hana fell silent at that. Did she really want to talk to Kagami about this? No, but I should. Green eyes peered at the redhead in consideration, "I gave it to him second year, you know, for his birthday. I'm just keeping it safe until- Don't look at me like that, Kagami!"
"I didn't say anything!" He stabbed the steak again, "You're just more sentimental than I thought you'd be. It's weird."
"I guess," Hana shrugged, "It was in the past, anyway. On a happier note, I got my revenge…"
Kagami paused in his attack on the food, "What are you talking about?"
"Well… Kise's fan girls have a lot to be thankful for."
Kagami gagged as he choked on his food, "You didn't!"
Daintily folding her hands in front of her, Hana smiled back, "I did. He was pretty pissed, but I'm satisfied."
His hand landed on top of her head and seconds later her hair was being tussled, "You're evil."
"You know," Hana nudged his shoulder innocently, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you liked me."
As soon as her sentence ended, her face met the table. Again.
After the steak challenge from hell, the team was all ready to go. Well, they would be. If they weren't missing a vital part of said team. When everyone noticed that Kuroko had pulled a disappearing act, Riko ordered him to be found or else they couldn't leave. Despite Kuroko being her friend, Hana was tempted to leave him behind. He's the one that slunk off, she pouted as followed Kagami, he could find his own way home.
Instead of joining the second years in their search, Hana had followed the redhead. Kagami had a Kuroko sensor or something. Whenever he went, Kuroko appeared and Hana figured it be the quickest way to get home. If only the tall boy would stop walking so damn fast!
"Can you carry me?"
"No," Kagami didn't even look back, "Hurry up or I'm leaving you behind."
"Riko wouldn't let you," Hana sung out, but she hurried her steps anyway, "You'd just have to go and find me too!"
"Doubt it," Kagami snorted. He generously waited for her to catch up before replying, "I bet she's still pissed about that stunt you pulled on the Kaijo team."
Hana rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up, you know it was funny. Besides, the information will come in handy later!"
"They looked like they wanted to kill you."
"A lot of people do," Hana skipped a few feet ahead, "But did you see their coaches face? He was pissed that we beat them."
At that, Kagami smirked, "Yeah. Serves him right."
"I wish we could have kept that hoop," her voice trailed off into a sigh, "It would have made an awesome decoration."
"You're an idiot."
"I know you are, but what am I?"
"I swear," Kagami grunted before pushing his feet faster, "You're like a five-year-old."
"I take offense," Hana retorted, "If anything, I'm a ten-year-old."
"That doesn't make it any better."
"At least I'm not an adrenaline junkie, like you."
"No, you're just a whiny brat and that was a terrible comeback."
"No, you're just a whiny brat," Hana mocked him behind his back, "Sounds like you're the one whining."
"Imamura," Kagami growled and Hana had enough common sense to remain out of grabbing distance, "You stupid-"
Hana was about to respond when she saw people talking on the opposite side of the basketball court they were passing by. The heads of blond and blue hair informed her of who they were. Darting ahead, she grabbed the back of Kagami's shirt and yanked him to a stop, "Look!"
"The hell! Let go of me!" Kagami tried to turn around and remove her hands, "Don't grab me like that!"
"Shut up," Hana bopped him on the shoulder, "Use your eyes for once!"
"What are you-" He cut himself off when he followed her directions, "Is that Kise?"
"Your observational skills continue to astound me," Hana deadpanned. She let go of Kagami's shirt to peek her head around the conveniently placed metal fence, "Yeah, he's talking to Kuroko."
"So, that's where he went off too," Kagami muttered under his breath before joining Hana at her hiding place, "What are they saying?"
"If I could hear over the sound of your voice, I'd tell you."
She heard Kagami rumble before her head was pushed down again. While she struggled to get out of his hold, Kagami stuck his head around further. The words were lost to Hana, but whatever Kagami heard or saw seemed to piss him off. One second she was being manhandled, the next Kagami had removed his hand and began to stomp toward the miracle duo.
"Kagami!" Hana hissed after him, "Do you know the definition of the word subtle?!"
He didn't stop at the sound of her voice and Hana let out a loud groan. Stupid hothead! Impulsive! Idiotic! Ignoramus! Her insults continued to grow in pitch as she forced her feet to follow after him. When she showed up, Kagami had a hand on top of Kuroko's head and was smirking at an annoyed Kise.
"Were you ease-dropping?" Kise voice was tight and his eyes reflected his tension. Hana decided it would be a good time to interrupt. You know, before the inevitable show off began again.
"Kagami," Hana grumbled as she marched up beside the redhead. Her elbow jammed into his ribs, "You can't just rush into everything. That's like, rule number one."
"I don't care about your rules, Imamura," Kagami griped back at her, a hand prodding at his now sore side. He gave her a glare before turning back to Kise, "I sure as hell was. Why'd you kidnap, Kuroko?!"
"Imamura-chan?" Ignoring Kagami, Kise blinked down at her before his face transformed into a smile, "I didn't think I'd see you so soon."
Kagami gawked in the background, "Are you ignoring me?!"
"Hey, Kise," Hana responded. She heard Kagami growl and she smirked when she replied, "Sorry for interrupting your moment with Kuroko. Blame the hothead."
"Imamura!" Kagami's voice got louder and Hana heard his feet advancing toward her. Well, time for her to retreat. Ducking under Kagami's hand, she made her way toward Kuroko. Or, she would have. Except Kuroko was gone.
While Kagami and Kise began to talk, Hana swung her head around to look for Kuroko. They literally just found him. If he wandered off again, Hana was going to murder him. Painfully. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned her surroundings. Not by the trashcan, not by the bench, not in the bushes… She turned behind her to look at the basketball court, found the little shit.
Even though she found him, he wasn't in the best situation. Kuroko was standing in front of two streetball players with both towering over him by a good foot. Hana blinked. Then she turned her eyes onto the still arguing Kise and Kagami. Blinked again. Turned back to Kuroko. Why do I do this?
"Stupid," Hana hissed as she advanced toward the gate. Flinging it open, she prowled toward Kuroko, "I swear you lost a few brain cells with that hit."
When she made her way to them, Kuroko had just spun the ball against the streetballer's nose. In any other situation, Hana would have laughed, but this wasn't the time. The guy reacted right away and jolted backwards with a yell. Kuroko remained unfazed and another player stepped up and grabbed the ghost by the collar. Well, Hana reached a hand up and pulled her hair out of her pony tail, time to intervene. Again.
"Oniisan?" Hana walked up to Kuroko with a frown, "What are you doing?"
When he was put back down, Kuroko turned to her with a frown, "Imamur-"
Hana cut him off and turned to the other boys, "Are you being mean to my brother? That's not very nice!"
"Huh," The boy Kuroko had first stood off against let out a chuckle, "Looks like little sister's protective. Don't worry," He came toward her and squatted down, "We just wanted to play a game with your brother."
"Oh," Hana pouted at him, "But—you just grabbed him! I saw you!"
"It's alright, sweetheart," This time it was the player that had grabbed Kuroko by his collar, "We just got a bit excited. Say," the boy looked toward his leader, "How about you play with us?"
At the boy's words, Kuroko moved closer to Hana. His shoulder graced her own and Hana took it as a silent warning. Which she promptly ignored, "Really? But I'm not very good…"
"That's alright," The leader stood up from his squatted position, "You can play on our team. I'm sure big brother doesn't mind, right?"
"Huh?" Hana turned her eyes onto Kuroko. They were pleading with a silent message he couldn't understand, "Is that okay?"
"I don't think this is a good idea," Kuroko deadpanned. He was about to continue his train of thought, but a large hand landed on top of his head. While Kuroko stopped talking, Hana trailed her eyes up to the two new comers. Kagami scowled at her and Kise wore a sharp smile. Great.
"Mind if we play, too?" Kise smirked at the street ballers. At the end of his sentence, his eyes traveled over to Hana and she didn't appreciate the chiding look he gave her. Honestly, does no one understand the art of sabotage?
"Why'd you get involved, bastard?" After rebuking Kuroko, Kagami glared at her, "And you! The hell are you thinking?"
"But…" Hana gave Kagami her patented puppy dog eyes, "It looks like fun! Besides, the nice guy said I could play with him! You guy's never let me play with you all."
"Imamura-chan," Kise was still smiling, but she could tell he was seconds away from calling her fib out, "How about we play against these guys? Five on three is fine."
While the rest of the street players recoiled at the surprise appearance of Kagami and Kise, Hana pouted up at the blond, "Technically it's three on six…"
"The hell did you say? Fine," The leader's face twitched at the insult from Kise, "Let's do it."
The two groups of boys separated with Hana following after the street ballers. She heard Kagami growl out her name, but she didn't turn to look at him. The group of trouble makers hardly spared her a glance while they shook in anger. Which was okay, since it let Hana do her thing with a lot less trouble. Walking toward the group leader, she tugged on his shirt sleeve.
"Mister," She widened her eyes, "What position do you want me to play?"
"Oh, it's you," The boy scowled down at her for a moment before a smirk broke out on his face, "Didn't think you'd actually come."
"You said I could play," Hana peered down at the ground and nudged the concrete with the toe of her shoe, "No one ever lets me play…"
"Well," He straightened back up and gave the rest of his group a smirk, "We'll definitely play with you. How about you stand by the hoop? This will be over quick."
"Alright!" With that, she threw her arms around the boy in a hug, "Thank you! I'll be the best player you've ever seen!"
"Don't doubt it," The boy smirked over at the grouping of her friends. Hana rolled her eyes at the macho gesture, but retreated with her prize safely tucked into Iseri's blazer. Her position at the hoop let her see everything, including the glare Kagami was sending her. If looks could kill.
Turns out, the game was over quickly. Just not in the way the leader expected. Hana stood off to the side while her friends dominated the other boys. Whenever she got her hands on the ball, it would conveniently roll away toward Kuroko's team. For the rest of the game, any thugs that came close to her were sent tripping away from her timely placed foot. Her response was always the same half-hearted apology coupled with a wide-eyed stare.
Ten minutes later, the group of thugs was spread out across the court. They were gasping for breath while Kagami, Kise, and Kuroko stood above them in victory. It had been beautiful to watch in a way. The three boys worked together really well and Hana could already see Kise's growing respect for Kagami. Unfortunately, her wistfulness didn't last long before Kagami was grabbing her by the back of her shirt and tugging her away.
Unceremoniously, she was shoved onto the bench and her eyes widened at the three unimpressed looks the three boys were giving her. Luckily, the anger was directed toward Kuroko first. At least she had a bit of fate's graciousness on her side.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Kagami snarled at Kuroko, "Did you think you could win if it turned into a fight?"
"Of course not," Hana snorted at Kuroko's impassiveness, "They would have beaten me up. But, look at these guns."
Her laughter became louder and Hana had to cover her mouth while Kise began congratulating Kuroko. At the noise, Kagami turned toward her with fire in his eyes, "And you?! Why the hell did you go with them! You're a girl!"
"…" Her eyes narrowed on the redhead, "Rude."
"That wasn't an answer, Imamura!"
While Hana scooted away from the angry tiger, Kuroko decided to explain the answer for her, "Those guys were terrible. I wanted to show them that they were wrong."
Kagami's fists clenched in response, "Did you even think about the consequences?!"
"I forgot to," Kuroko deadpanned before turning toward Hana, "Although I do agree with Kagami-kun. Please don't do that again, Imamura-san."
Folding her arms over her chest, Hana looked away from him with a blush. So maybe she was in the wrong. But Kuroko got to be a hero, why couldn't she? She mumbled her answer toward the trashcan, "They were being assholes. I just wanted to help get their attention off you."
"By playing with them?!" Kagami stomped toward her and Hana gave him a wide-eyed pout, "You're even dumber than Kuroko!"
"Kagami-kun, that was rude."
"I don't want to hear anything from you, Kuroko!"
"Sorry."
Despite his apology, Kagami continued to ream Kuroko for his decisions and Hana remained silent, moving her eyes toward the only other boy. Kise's hair was shadowing his eyes, but she could still see the smile that graced his face at the banter between the other two boys. She tilted her head when Kise lifted his own and made eye contact with her. The grin he gifted her with was tender.
"I should go," Kise swung his jacket over his arm and turned toward Kagami and Kuroko, "But, don't think I've forgotten about my revenge, Kagami-cchi! You better not lose in the preliminaries!"
Kagami jerked at the nickname, "Kagami-cchi?!"
While Kuroko explained what the nickname meant, Hana watched Kise's back as he walked away. Her mouth tilted upwards at the edges and Hana stuck her hand into her pocket to fiddle with her new treasure. Hopping up from the bench, she made her way to Kuroko and Kagami.
"I'm sorry if I worried you," she bowed her head to both boys, but lifted it up with a smirk and ruining the effect, "But you should probably get used to it."
"Don't do stupid shit like that," Kagami pushed her head down with a heavy hand, "Dumb ass."
"I feel the love-" Prying the massive boy's hand off, Hana was interrupted by Kuroko addressing her.
Her blue haired friend's eyes were intense when they made contact with her own, "I agree. Please don't do something like that again."
"Eh?" Hana blinked. She'd have thought Kagami would have been the angriest one, "Uhm… I'm sorry?"
"Thank you," Kuroko was still staring at her, "Also, I would prefer you not to refer to me as your brother again."
"…" the blush Hana broke out into was purely coincidental. At Kuroko's words, Kagami moved his red eyes over Hana and Kuroko contemplatively while Hana struggled to find a way to break the tension, "Well, uhm okay! I'll keep that in mind!"
"Doubt it," Kagami snorted, but he didn't have anything else to add to the conversation. Kuroko didn't even offer her a verbal reply. He just gave her a once over and nodded his head. The protective feelings both boys were showing made her heart feel warm and Hana was startled by the fondness in her chest. It's like my old team… sort of. Turns out spur of the moment thoughts were going to be the death of her, because Hana marched toward Kagami with determination.
"Thanks asshole," Her arms wrapped around his waist in a firm hug. When Kagami began to flail, Hana darted over to Kuroko and repeated the process, "Thanks to you, too."
She didn't stick around long enough to see the effect of her actions. Hana offered both boys a wave over her shoulder before giving her parting words, "Tell Riko I'll see her later!"
The boys remained quiet until Kagami screamed after her with a shaking fist, "Imamura! Where the hell are you going?!"
"To find Kise!" She shouted over her shoulder as her walk turned into a sprint, "I'm paying back one of my debts!"
Back at the pavilion, Kuroko blinked after Hana's shrinking back. The dredges of warmth he felt from the hug brought back familiar feelings. Which led down a path he didn't want to venture to today, so he turned back to Kagami shortly afterwards, "That was odd."
"…" Kagami was still twitching in irritation, but he sobered up at Kuroko's statement, "What was that? Does she always do that?"
"Not anymore," Kuroko's confusion transferred into his words before voicing his next question, "Did you listen to mine and Kise-kun's conversation?"
So, finding Kise sounded easier inside her head. Hana had followed his pathway, but she hadn't been prepared for the fork in the sidewalk and like earlier today, she'd gone left. This choice made her realize a new hatred for the left direction. Walking down the same pathway, for the third time, Hana finally stuck her hand into her sock and retrieved her phone.
Her fingers flitted through the number easily and now she stood in the middle of the sidewalk, waiting for the blonde to pick up. Green eyes narrowed at the prolonged dial tone, "Answer your phone, Kise."
Two rings later, his voice spoke in the receiver, "Imamura-chan?"
"Okay," Hana perched her hand on her waist to growl back at him, "Where did you go?"
It was quiet and Hana was able to hear the traffic from the background. When he did speak, she could hear the confusion, even through the phone, "I'm on fifth street… why?"
"Oh, thank god," Hana began to stomp back the way she came, "Do you know how hard it is to find you? Like, couldn't you walk a little slower? Do you have to be such a difficult person all the time? What is with you all?"
"…" she didn't hear any response for a moment and she worried he'd hung up on her, "You followed me?"
"Yeah," even though Kise couldn't see her, she blushed, "You said I owe you. I wanted to pay you back, if that's alright?"
"Great!" Kise babbled on the other line, "What did you want to do?"
Hana paused. She hadn't really thought about that. Tugging her lip into her mouth, she replied, "Ice cream?"
"Ice cream?" Kise repeated and Hana could hear the smile in his voice, "Sounds good, Imamura-chan. I hope you're paying? Since you're the one that owes me~"
"Unfortunately, that was the plan."
They met up a few streets down from where Kise had been. He was generous enough to meet her half way and Hana couldn't be happier. Despite her self-labeled badass status, she didn't like wandering around in the dark. Reminiscent of her first time hanging out with Aomine, she was jumping at every shadow that moved near her. It was kind of exhausting actually. When she finally found him, Kise was leaning against a street lamp and scrolling through his phone.
"Kise?" She raised her voice to get his attention. His head lifted and turned toward her with a grin. With the yellow tone of the streetlight highlighting him, Hana could definitely see why the boy was a model. It's so effortless, I kind of want to punch him.
"Imamura-chan!" The blond took a few steps and Hana was pulled into a hug. He tottered around while she was used as a life-sized doll, "I was worried you wouldn't make it!"
"I made the plans," Hana tried to push off his chest, but no such luck. Damn muscles, "Okay, you have five seconds to let go before I hurt you."
Instead of letting go, Kise hugged her tighter, "I haven't hugged you in forever! I forgot how small you were!"
"Yes," Hana deadpanned, "Just insult my height, no problem."
"It's not a bad thing," Kise finally let her go and Hana watched his smile warily, "You know, when I said you owed me, I meant I got to decide what it was~"
Quirking an eyebrow, Hana shot him down, "No."
"No?" His hand came up to his heart and those damn watery eyes came back, "But… you were so mean to me!"
"I don't trust your ideas," Hana stated.
"…" Kise stared at her, his expression overly dramatic in Hana's opinion. His mouth gaped open in shock, "You don't trust my ideas?! Imamura-chan! It should be the other way around!"
"Nope, because I have good ideas. You'd probably make me do something embarrassing," Her feet led her forward and she tilted her head over her shoulder, "You coming?"
"I am," Kise hummed before falling in step with her, "And you really don't have good ideas, Imamura-chan… I found your cupcakes."
Oh man, she didn't like that tone. Similar to his smirks, whenever Kise took that tone it meant he was getting pleasure out of something. Either light-hearted pleasure, or that annoying happiness he gets when he pushes people's buttons. Shooting the blond a side glance, Hana responded, "Where were they?"
"Coach found them," His hands were folded behind his head when he responded. Hana couldn't tell if he thought it was a good thing or a bad thing, "He's kind of mad at me, actually. Why'd you have to put my name on them? He blames me for it!"
Okay, so a bad thing. Even though she gave Kise an apologetic smile, Hana felt a bit too much pleasure at that statement, "Sweet, I'm glad they didn't go to waste. Your coach is a dick anyway."
Kise gawked at her statement, and Hana was a bit concerned she'd have to verbally apologize, but it was followed by shocked giggles shortly afterwards, "I kind of missed this."
Huh? Hana paused at that, "Missed what?"
"Hanging out with you," His voice went thoughtful as he shrugged, "It's different though, normally you're insulting me."
"Want me to do it? I've got plenty in the bank."
"No thanks. It's better this way," He laughed again, but he smothered it out shortly afterwards, "You know, Kuroko-cchi told me why he left… We really hurt him."
"You did," Hana kept walking despite the sudden subject change, "I don't really know what happened, but it must have been something shitty."
"Such honesty," Kise mumbled under his breath. They continued to walk toward the ice cream shop in relative silence until Kise broke it a couple minutes later, "I'm glad you can't lie to us. I'm not used to people being so open about everything."
"Befriend better people," Hana shrugged, but she immediately felt bad afterwards, "Sorry. I'm being a bitch, it's like my default mood with you."
"I've noticed," Kise was obviously in his serious mode again. Great, "Imamura-chan? Do you think we'll ever really get back to how we were in middle school?"
Okay, I don't want to talk about this. She didn't know if Kise could see it, but Hana flinched. It took her a few seconds to manage a reply, "… No. Which is probably a good thing."
"What do you mean?" Kise was frowning when Hana glanced over at him, "I know it's different now… but, I thought-"
"I don't want to go back to that," Hana cut him off with a grimace, "I mean, our friendship was nice, but I've got too many bad memories of back then. They aren't all about you, of course, but I was hoping we could start over. A new slate or some metaphorical shit like that."
It was silent while Kise thought over her answer. He broke it moments later, "Is that how you feel with Kuroko-cchi, too?"
"Mhmm," Hana hummed as she thought about her answer, "Everything's different now. Ugh, I sound like a soap opera," she snorted before continuing her thoughts, "I went through a lot after we parted ways and I learned a lot."
Kise's gold eyes peered over at her, "What happened?"
"Uhm," Hana stumbled over her words. She really didn't want to talk about this with anyone, old friend or not, "Let's not talk about it. Besides, we're here."
"If you say so, Imamura-chan," that was Kise's only reply before he walked into the ice cream shop. Hana remained outside for a moment, staring at his image through the glass door. Her hands twitched at her side and she let out a deep breath before pushing the door open and following after him. She hated when he got her to open up like that, do not trust the tricky ass blond.
Kise was at the counter ordering when Hana popped up next to him. He gave her a tiny smile before turning his charms back onto the cashier. Hana didn't listen to him, she was too busy watching his personality practically light up the room. Even if it is fake, it's powerful as hell. The cashier turned to her and Hana responded automatically, "Vanilla ice cream cone, please."
She heard a chuckle above her and Hana peaked up at Kise. For some reason, the blond looked amused, "You sound like Kuroko-cchi, Imamura-chan."
"That's not a bad thing," Hana retorted as she dug out her payment method from Iseri's blazer. Ignoring the face on the student ID, she retrieved the correct amount of money and handed it to the cashier. Hana shot Kise a smirk as she got the ice cream, "Out of all of you, I'd rather be Kuroko."
"How mean," Kise was pouting, but his eyes were focused on the wallet Hana was shoving back into her pocket, "Where'd you get that, Imamura-chan?"
"Huh?" Hana's response was ineloquent, "What are you talking about?"
Kise's eyebrows were raised as he continued to look at the blazer pocket, "That doesn't look like yours..."
"How do you know what my wallet looks like?" Hana deflected as she led them toward a table, "Maybe I got a new one."
"You're lying," Kise practically sung his response before sitting down across from her, "I'm just curious, Imamura-chan! No need to get defensive~"
"Defensive, he says," Hana passively aggressively shoved his ice cream toward him. She took pleasure in the way he floundered to catch it before responding, "Okay… so I may have picked up a couple bad habits since I left middle school."
Kise furrowed his brows as he brought a scoop of ice cream up to his mouth, "Like what?"
"Eh," Hana licked her cone before turning her eyes out the window, "Nothing bad, really. Just, uhm, borrowing a lot of things without permission."
It went silent again and Hana innocently licked her ice cream cone as she watched Kise sort through his thoughts. His face went through an assortment of emotions; ranging from confusion, understanding, shock, and then disbelief. Was that a tinge of worry under there? Or maybe exasperation?
"What?!" Kise exploded into sound as he leaned over the table to gape at her, "You stole someone's wallet?!"
"I borrowed it!" Hana defended before pausing. She altered her statement moments later, "Okay, I stole it. But those guys were assholes anyway!"
"What guys?" Kise was still gaping, but his mouth got bigger when he understood what she was implying, he looks like a whale, "Imamura-chan! Is that why you played with them?!"
"Yeah," Hana blinked at him and brought her ice cream closer in preparation for her next words, "What'd you think I was doing it for? To get in their pants?"
Kise choked. Hana didn't know how he did it, but he made even choking overly theatrical. Like full on purple face and waving arms. Hopefully he's not really dying. By the time he was done, his face was flushed pink, "No! Don't say stuff like that!"
Don't say stuff like that? I'm on a boy's basketball team for god's sake. Hana gave him a droll look, "You don't want me to talk about se-"
With a frantic movement, Kise shoved his spoon into her mouth. Hana's eyes widened at the surprise, but Kise distracted her from killing him on sight, "No! You can't talk about that! Who corrupted you?!"
"Murh," Hana swallowed the ice cream that was shoved in her mouth before glaring back at Kise, "Me? And why are you getting so defensive! You used to call me a pervert all the time!"
"But!" Kise's mouth continued to gape as he tried to think of an excuse. It was humorous, but still, she'd always joked around like that, "That was—that was- it was before!"
"Before?" Hana raised a skeptical eyebrow, "So you suddenly care about my innocence now? After months spent calling me a voyeur?"
"Urgk! Innocence?" Kise buried his face into his hand and groaned. While she watched him, Hana had to force herself not to erupt into laughter at his defeated expression, "I don't want to have this conversation…"
"You started it," Hana returned to her ice cream with a smirk, "I didn't know you could get all flustered like this. It's pretty damn funny."
If she didn't know better, she'd say Kise was pouting. Actually, on second thought, he definitely was pouting. Her resulting chuckle was buried in her ice cream and Kise shot her an accusing look at the sound. Hana just shrugged in response, but Kise still gave her the sad puppy eyes. She paused in her assault of her ice cream and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
Now that her teasing was over, Kise looked down at the table before replying, "So, you've started borrowingpeople things? What else do you do?"
She shrugged and tried to ignore the accusing tone of his voice. It was probably just her imagination anyway. Hana forced a sneaky grin when she looked back up, "Apparently play people. Your teammates didn't take it too well."
"Is that why Kasamatsu-senpai was so angry?" Kise looked like he had started to get the picture now, "He asked me about you!"
"He did?" Hana blinked at that. Oh shit, not good, "What'd he say?"
"He just asked me if I knew you…" Kise trailed off with a thoughtful look, "I get why Kasamatsu-senpai was angry, but why was Moriyama-senpai?"
"Uhm," Hana blushed, "I may have got some information about him in less than honorable ways."
Kise paused with a spoon in his mouth. His resulting words were muffled around the silver ware, "What do you mean?"
"Erhm," there wasn't an easy way to say this. Might as well go all out with the truth, "He seemed to really like girls and well, I am a girl. Sooo yeah," she did a quick imitation of jazz fingers, "Woo."
"Imamura-chan," that was one of the few times she'd heard Kise speak so deadpan, "You flirted with my senpai?"
"It didn't go anywhere!" Hana defended. She picked up her ice cream cone and pointed it at the blonde's head at the accusation, "I told him I have a boyfriend!"
"…" Kise frowned at his ice cream in return, "Do you?"
She blinked at him, bewildered. Trying to understand what he was asking, Hana repeated his words with her own frown, "Do I what?"
"Never mind, Imamura-chan," Kise smiled his megawatt smile. She couldn't see the emotion underneath his newly placed mask, but she did see him falter in what he was about to say, "So, how have you been? I feel like I've missed a lot!"
"And we've moved onto small talk," Hana grumbled under her breath. She licked her ice cream cone once before raising an eyebrow, "I've been fine. I sort of miss Teiko though… I don't know what to do without my team."
"You guy's must have been close," Kise hummed as he pushed his ice cream bowl to the end of the table. When he turned back to her, his face was still painted in the fake smile, "I remember how bonded you were when I played with you back then."
"We were," Hana smirked at the thought, "I seriously miss them, though. It's not fun trying to boss around Hyuuga-senpai."
The fake smile slipped off a bit at the mention of Seirin and Kise tilted his head slightly, "Did you miss us that bad?"
"Man," Her ease vanished instantly. That was a punch to the gut. Snarling at the blonde, Hana bit into her ice cream cone, "You go from small talk to intense questions right away. What is this? Twenty questions?"
"Not really," Kise smirked, but it was a little too sharp for Hana's tastes, "Are you going to answer?"
"…" Not when you challenge me like that. I'll win this shit man. Green eyes narrowed on the blond in defiance, "I might."
"Really?" Kise let out a little laugh. The effect ruined the sharp edge of his smirk, but Hana didn't trust him yet, "It doesn't seem like you will."
"You're treating me like an opponent," Hana deadpanned. Time to change the subject, "Am I your opponent, Kise?"
"Do you want to be?" That goddamn smirk. Well, that backfired completely. Hana was tempted to smash her ice cream cone into his face. She hated when he did that, whatever it was. It was like a weird mix of teasing and flirting and it pissed her off.
"Your suave shit doesn't work on me," she refrained from ruining her icy treat. Since her subject change failed, Hana decided to just go with the truth, "Whatever, to answer your question, yes. I did miss you guys. Not as much as I miss my own team, but a good bit."
"Good," Kise didn't offer her any response more than that and Hana glared at him. That stupid—jerk! Making me answer all these questions and he doesn't even give a response! Her thoughts were interrupted when Kise spoke again, "I meant to tell you earlier, but don't do that again."
Huh? Hana raised an eyebrow at the sharp tone, "Do what?"
"I don't really like it when you flirt with my teammates," Kise shrugged softly before stretching his arms above his head, "It's kind of weird…"
"Weird?" Hana deadpanned. Well thank you, Kise. Just what I wanted to hear, "What the hell are you going to do when I get a boyfriend?"
"I don't think you will," if Kise wasn't smiling, Hana would have taken that as an insult. Right now, she figured it was just his screwed up way of teasing her. Which won't do.
"I'm not?" leaning her chin on her palm, Hana's eyebrows rose in challenge. The final blow came milliseconds later, "Kagami would beg to differ."
Well, that sure shut him up. Success! That'll teach you not to mess with me. Kise gaped at her for a moment before forcing the words out of his mouth, "Kagami-cchi?!"
"Yup," Hana clicked her tongue against her teeth. Her resulting smile was absolutely devious, "We've got chemistry. Couldn't you tell? I bet we're soulmates. Destiny babies. True loves. Forever—"
"Imamura-chan," Kise whined out her name as he cut her off. He gave her an exasperated pout before laying his head against the table in dejection, "Stop joking around."
"Who said I was joking?" Hana's smirk proved her words wrong, but she didn't care. She stood up from her chair and stared down at the melodramatic blond, "Are you done? I want to get on the bus before my dad starts to freak out."
"I am," It was like he had a secret button that could turn off tears. I wouldn't be surprised. While Hana pondered, Kise stood up with a flourish, "I'll walk you there!"
"You don't have to," Hana denied automatically. She didn't need to be escorted. Sure, it'd be nice, but she was positive Kise had better things to do, "It's just the bus."
"I don't mind," the blond shrugged his shoulders before offering her a grin, "I don't know when I'll see you again, might as well take it for all it's worth."
"If you say so," Hana snorted as she turned her eyes up to him, "We'll probably see each other sooner than you think. You guy's tend to stalk Kuroko. It's kind of obnoxious."
"Wah," Kise brought his hand up in mock pain, but it was fooled by the smile he flashed her, "I don't stalk Kuroko-cchi! Besides, aren't you happy to see us?"
"Ehhhh," Hana trailed off as she disposed of her ice cream cone. Kise continued to walk beside her as he waited for her response. Now that her hand was free, she waved it half-heartedly, "I'm okay with you and Kuroko. The other's will be difficult."
Instead of replying, Kise pushed the door open and Hana followed after him. They stood under the bright pink light of the sign for a moment. When Kise looked down to the ground, he was bathed in pink light and Hana distantly wondered if she looked the same way. Kise licked his lips before turning his now shining eyes back up to her.
"Probably," Kise smiled again, but there was a tinge of self-condescension on the edges, "I just want to say I'm sorry… For the part I had in everything."
At the sincerity of his statement, Hana tugged at the tail end of her hair. She wasn't good with other people's feelings, but she had to say something. Would 'I know' work? Or is that a dick move? Maybe 'I'm sorry too'? But I'm not sorry. Her eyes narrowed on Kise as she struggled through her thoughts.
"Imamura-chan?" With a cautious undertone, Kise took a step back at the irritation she was radiating, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," despite her statement, Hana scowled. She still couldn't figure out the right way to respond to that. Accepting the apology would be good, but it was a heartless response. I need to say something that finalizes everything. Thank you doesn't work that way…
"Are you sure—"
"Ah ha!" her hands came up to her neck as she interrupted Kise. Determined fingers unlatched the chain around her neck before balling it into her fist. She shoved it out to him, "Here!"
"What?" Kise was frowning at the unexpected movement, "What are you doing, Imamura-chan?"
"Giving you your necklace back," Hana shook her hand again, but Kise made now move to grab it. Her lips pursed at his resistance, "Take it!"
Despite her order, Kise made no move toward it, "Why… why are you giving it back?"
"…" Hana rolled her eyes, but it didn't stop the blush that crawled up her cheeks. The explanation was kind of sappy and she didn't want to explain it. Except one look at Kise's troubled expression had her mouth moving, "It's like a friendship necklace. You used to wear it when we were friends so, I thought you could wear it again now that we're friends again…" Oh my god, that was lame.
"Oh," Kise was smiling now, the distress vanishing as quickly as it came. Still though, he didn't take the necklace back, "That's okay. I kind of prefer you wearing it. Besides, like you said earlier, we're starting over!"
"Yeah," Now Hana was the one frowning, "Which is why you should take it back? You know, to restart everything?"
"Nah uh~" Kise started to walk forward and Hana was left gaping after his sudden departure. When she made her way back up to him, the blonde gave her an indulgent look, "Let's restart things differently this time."
What the hell. Discreetly shoving the necklace down into her bra, Hana's mouth pursed as she thought about it, "Differently? What do you mean?"
"Don't worry about it," Kise waved it off and turned down to look at her. When he saw her glaring eyes, the blonde chuckled and wrapped an arm over her neck before pulling Hana into a too tight hug, "Don't look so grumpy, Imamura-cchi! You'll get frown lines!"
"What," Hana deadpanned. From her place against his chest, she felt Kise's chuckles multiply, "You just, no."
Sensing her bristle, Kise peered down at her before breaking into even louder guffaws, "Now you look like an angry kitten, Imamura-cchi!"
"Don't call me that."
"It's okay, Imamura-cchi!"
"… Kise."
After her receiving her wonderful new nickname, Kise had walked her to the bus, just like he'd promised. Unfortunately for Hana, it was a long trip filled with teasing remarks and too much touching. She had forgotten how clingy the blond could be and while at first it was tolerable, it got old pretty damn quick. A fact that Kise just seemed to love. Who knew hugs could be considered efficient torture devices?
Anyway, she managed to get home on time and escape to her room without a lecture. Her father even brought home burgers! Which would have been great, if the thought of meat didn't leave her gagging. Riko and her stupid steak. Speaking of Riko…Hana grimaced as she worked on her homework, she is going to murder me for running off.
Leaning further against Nūdoru, Hana circled the correct answer for her final problem before throwing the notebook to the floor. Nūdoru jerked at the surprise noise, but quickly settled down and fell back asleep. Hana brought a tired hand to rub at her eyes and the movement made Iseri's blazer fall off her shoulder. That reminds me, I should probably wash this.
Leaving her wonderful pillow of doggy warmth, Hana rolled off the bed and stood up to remove the grey jacket. At least, that's what she was doing, but then she felt the item tucked into the pocket. A smug smile flashed across her face as she fished it out. The leather was surprisingly new and Hana felt bad, for just a moment, before flipping it open.
The face of the leader greeted her and Hana removed his student ID from the plastic window. Green eyes scanned over the information lazily, not really registering the details. Until it landed on the school name and crest, Meijo Academy. Well, that sure made Hana perk up. That's where Kitano goes!
"I swear," Hana scowled at her revelation, "If I find out he's friends with those thugs…"
That wasn't a happy thought. She remembered Kitano mentioning he had a friend that went to the school and that friend played streetball. The odds weren't really in her friend's favor. If she found out he hung out with those guys, Kitano was going to be in a world of pain. Holding the student ID in her other hand, Hana reached behind her and grabbed her phone.
You would think that she'd call Kitano or something, but no, that's not how Hana went about it. Instead, she pulled up Momoi's contact and shot the girl a quick text. Hopefully, the other manager was still awake. Five minutes passed with Hana examining the rest of the contents of the wallet before the other girl replied. At the beep, Hana called her instead of replying.
"Ima-chan?" Momoi sounded tired, but Hana pushed away any worry that she'd woken her, "What's up?"
"Hey, Momoi," Hana bit her lip into her mouth as she considered her next words, "I had a proposition to make with you."
"Really?" Well, that made Momoi sound much more lively, "What were you thinking?"
Flopping onto her back, Hana stared up at the ceiling, "We faced Kaijo today—but you knew that. Anyway, I got some information on them and I was curious to see if you wanted to make a trade."
She heard Momoi hum a moment later, "With what? I'm sorry Ima-chan, but I'm not giving you information about Tōō."
"Nah," Hana chuckled at the thought, "I wouldn't give you information about Seirin either. No, Meijo Academy. They aren't a high-level team, I don't think, but I have a friend that goes there."
"Oh," Momoi paused as she thought over the deal, "That's all?"
Despite Momoi not being able to see her, Hana waved a hand, "Basically. You could throw in some information about Midorima's team too though, you know, as a best friend discount."
Momoi let out a soft giggle, but her words were stern, "I don't think that's a good idea… But I can look into the rest of the schools in your district. That way it'd be an even trade."
"Hell yeah," Hana was grinning now, "I'll send you the file I made later, but I'm not going to include Kise."
"That's fine," Momoi let out another chuckle, "I have a lot of information on him anyway. Speaking of Ki-chan, did you two make up?"
Rolling her eyes, Hana replied, "The amount of information you know is terrifying."
"You didn't answer the question, Ima-chan!"
"Well…" Hana rolled onto her stomach, phone perched between her cheek and her shoulder, "It went something like this—"
You know, having a girl friend is pretty therapeutic. Gossip is a powerful medication and Hana was loving it. While she chatted with Momoi about her encounter with Kise, Hana couldn't stop the fond smile that grew on her lips. Momoi was helping her sort through her thoughts and letting Hana see the sense in things that she didn't know a lot about. Like the raging emotions in her head. Although, Hana quirked an eyebrow when Momoi began to giggle hysterically on the other line, I feel like she knows something I don't.
Whatever, Hana shrugged the thought off while she continued to talk, Momoi always knows things.
Reviews!
Naliyu: Thank you so much! Ahhh! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
ADDBaby: I like to think of her as a crow... just picking up shiny things all the time and giving them to deserving people. But yes! Such elegance! Thank you for another super funny review! I look forward to them!
Red Raspberries: Happy late birthday! Thank you, ah! I love hearing that it was written nicely! You've given me so many awesome reviews! Thank you!
AngelicHallows: I'm glad I got everyone spot on, thank you :) and wooh! Thank you for that input on the game. It makes me practically glow to hear such wonderful praise. Thank you for another review and I hope you enjoy the sort of date(?) I put in here... you actually gave me that idea, so thanks!
Jazmeme: Thank you for your review! And we will find out about the last sentence sooner or later!
mikohoshine: Here's one!
: Awh man, thank you! I'm going to take your words to heart and work to make things clearer for the rest of the games. I went back and reread the game and I totally get where your coming from. For the description of Hana, it will probably be in the next chapter. I've got all my plot notes and character cheat sheets saved on my main computer and I can't access it right now! I'll get on it as soon as possible though! Thank you!
R: Thank you!
Arrach: it should be interesting! Thanks for your review!
CrystalViolet24: Ahhh! I love hearing you say that about her character, so so much! Thank you! Also, I'm glad you liked the game scene and thank you so much for answering my question! You gave great advice! Thank you, thank you!
: Thank you for another great review! If only Hana and Iseri could elope and live their lives together in relative peace. Too bad they can't hahah. Thank you for such detailed reviews, they really make me happy! :)
volley-14-nerd: Thank you!
LillyLunaK: Thank you!
FrizzleChicken: Awh man, you make me blush. Thank you! Ahh! You guys are all so nice! Kise is also one of my favorites! (Probably shows.. opps) But regrading Midorima he's going to be interesting to work through, but I'm so excited because Takao. Anyway, another thank you for a great review!
OneWhoReadsTooMuch: Thank you for your review! Yes, Iseri was the perfect voice of reason, if only he could stick around and help her twenty four seven. Thank you for your thoughts on the game! I'm super grateful that you answered my question, so double thank you!
ArchimedesAckermann: Thank you! I'm glad you thought it was awesome! Makes me so happy and giggly. Thank you again!
