So... 20,000 words later and I'm done with the Too game! I ended up breaking it into two chapters because that's a lot of freaking words. Chapter 33 will be uploaded sometime this week and I'm a little iffy on these two, so any support would be appreciated before I post the next chapter. Anyway, the angst is beginning to arrive and I'm sorry. I tried to intersperse some happiness, but I promise the fluff will return to it's scheduled program when this game is over. Finally, I just wanted to say thank you. I'm thankful to everyone for reading and waiting and reviewing. You guys are great.
Warnings: Bad language(gratuitous use of eff bombs this time), thoughts of violence, doodoo editing
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke
Tōō versus Seirin
The Beginning
Doubt builds quietly.
Sometimes by no fault of your own.
Patting Nūdoru's head, Hana paused in her work to bring the coffee to her mouth. The early morning sun finished its rise above the skyline and the warm light filtered in through the minuscule kitchen window. She'd made the coffee this morning, waking up a full hour before her dad, and the taste definitely reflected her handiwork. I should do this every morning, so peaceful.
Her relaxing morning broke at the sound of foots steps creaking down the staircase. Dressed in his ratty robe, seriously he's had that since I was born, her dad ran a hand over his face before his gaze landed on her. One fuzzy eyebrow rose in confusion, but he shook it off and lumbered into the kitchen. A few minutes of clattering later and he returned.
"You look worse than usual," the kitchen table cracked as her father sat down, "Big game today?"
Gee, thanks. Despite the internal sarcasm, Hana had to agree her dad had a point. The past two days were filled to the brim with activity and she'd neglected her sleep schedule pretty heavily. Last night, for example, she didn't fall asleep until three in the morning. Unhealthy, sure, but effective none the less. I can nap in class anyway.
"We're facing off against Tōō for a spot in the finals," tapping her pencil against her coffee cup, Hana scanned over her notes, "Remember Aomine? That's his team now."
A tired huff escaped her father's lips and Hana belatedly noticed the matching circles underneath his eyes, "You can make your own choices and I won't interfere, but you need to focus on yourself."
What? Her confusion echoed into her voice, "Where'd that come from?"
"When's the last time you slept?" he brought a hand up to rub through his receding hair, "I wake up in the middle of the night and your light's always on. You don't come home until the sun sets and you leave just as quickly."
"I— I slept last night," the defense was useless under her father's probing gaze and Hana's shoulders dropped, "It's been busy; we've had a lot of games to get ready for."
"I just don't understand, Hana," another sigh crawled out of his chest, "What do you get out of this? I didn't say anything when you were in middle school, but you're growing up now. You're only a manager—"
Hold the freaking phone. Hana promptly choked on a sip of coffee, "What?" coughing to regain her breath, she began again, "Where is this coming from? I'm doing great in all my classes, what's the issue?"
"I want to make sure you're doing this for you," her father lifted his head and pinned her to the seat, "Not to get back at those boys, not for your pride, not for any other reason you've created. I want to understand why you're sacrificing so much of your life for this."
This is too damn deep for an early morning conversation. The room felt too small, but she forced herself to reply, "Dad, I'm fine. Yeah, I've probably been going over board, but you don't need to worry."
He only raised an eyebrow, "You didn't answer the question, Hana."
Her face fell. Well maybe that's because I don't have an answer! Now that she thought about it, there really wasn't a way to put it into words. It was just habit to give her all to her team. Sure, you don't get scholarships for being a manager and yeah, maybe she'd been going overboard lately. But that didn't matter. The only thing that matters is…
"Look, I just like basketball," to combat the suddenness of the lie, Hana fiddled with the mess of papers in front of her, "It reminds me of mom." She glanced back up at him uncertainly, "Is that all?"
The tension that painted his face began to fade. Her answer seemed to appease him and Hana felt a moment of relief. Seriousness didn't suit her father. It only added to the lines of age that already dotted his face. Hana preferred him to smile and tease, not this… weird heartfelt stuff.
"Yeah. That's all I needed to hear," bracing a hand against his forehead, he offered her a tired smile, "Sorry, but it's my job to worry, after all."
"I get it," Hana traced the rim of her cup, "I'll try to take better care of myself." Key word, try.
As another bout of silence built, her father reached across the table and pulled the top of Hana's notes toward himself. Rude much. Ignoring his daughter's grumble, his gaze scanned over the words and both eyebrows steadily quirked, "Wow. You know… this is actually pretty impressive."
"Why thank you," Hana deadpanned, "I love surprising people with my intellect. Gives me those warm fuzzies."
"I didn't mean it like that," with a small huff of laughter, her father turned the page over, "You're just like your mother, intelligence and all. Speaking of her, you should call. I bet she'd understand what you're working on better than me."
Instead of agreeing, Hana brought her coffee to her mouth to hide her grimace. Well, this morning did a complete one-eighty. Not only did she have to think about Aomine, but now the effect of fatherly guilt also weighed on her shoulders. It has been a while… the chilled coffee slid down her throat, but she could have just as easily called me.
"I'll think about it when Inter-High's over," her mouth felt sour with each lie she spewed. Stressed and subsequently shamed, she pushed her chair back, "I need to take Nūdoru for a walk before I head to class."
There wasn't enough energy in her body to deal with this today. She loved her dad and a part of her loved her mom, but she couldn't focus on something so heavy right now. All her attention needed to remain on the upcoming game and how she could help her team. I don't have the time for other distractions.
Her father seemed to be on the same page. While Hana gathered up the leash and slid her shoes on, her dad picked up both of their empty cups. He stopped for a moment to watch her before he sighed again, "I'm sorry for throwing all that on you."
"…" clipping the leash to Nūdoru's collar, Hana peered up at him, "It's fine, you're just being a dad."
"A good dad would support you," He leaned against the kitchen door frame with a humorless laugh, "You're already stressed and I'm sure I didn't help."
Sad dad is bad dad… Her movements stopped for a second as that thought registered. Izuki's ruined me.
"I think feeding me counts as support," she quipped instead, straightening up and giving him a smirk, "Besides, it's not your fault I'm so stubborn."
The barest hint of a smile broke across his face, "I wonder who you inherited that from?"
"Well," twirling on her heel, Hana tugged Nūdoru through the door before shooting out her parting, "I know I get the best parts of me from you, old man!"
xXxXxXx
Half an hour later, Hana collapsed against an alley wall four blocks from her house. The impromptu run worked successfully and now her heart beat with the dredges of overexertion, but her mind was blissfully blank. A lone drop of sweat trickled down her brow. Beside her, Nūdoru fell into an exhausted pile of fur as his pink tongue lolled out of his mouth.
Sliding down the concrete wall, Hana reached a hand out to rub between his ears, "Good boy."
At her voice, Nūdoru pressed his head into her palm.
"I've done all I could," a tint of cynicism creeped into her tone, "… right?"
x
x
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
Everything remained tinted in a layer of anxiety and she couldn't force herself to stop thinking. No matter what she was doing, the game always returned to the forefront of Hana's mind and classes were spent obsessively pouring over the same notes. Kagami even stepped in during their English lecture and confiscated them.
That hadn't gone over well and Hana lost her favorite pencil in the scuffle.
At least school was over and the dreaded highlight of her day began its approach. After dragging her feet to the stadium, Hana now sat on the dressing room floor with Riko on her left side. Both girls were absorbed in their notes and occasionally throwing ideas back and forth. Well, Riko did and Hana tried to keep up. Coach uses too many technical terms.
Meanwhile, the only boys who'd arrived were Hyuuga and Tsuchida and both still wore their school clothes. The game started in forty-five minutes and the four of them were the unlucky souls who'd arrived early. Seriously, where's the damn air conditioner? I know there has to be one—
"You're here early, Imamura," Hyuuga broke up the girl's work by dropping his bag to the floor, "What'd you do?"
"Oh, how your doubt hurts me, Hyuuga-senpai," Hana didn't look up from the game plan, but she still smirked at Hyuuga's resulting huff. "It's okay though, I finished my scheming early this time."
With an eye roll, Hyuuga pulled his shirt over his head, "Should we worry?"
"Honestly?" she peeked up at him before placing Riko's highlighter down. The coach grumbled in return, but Hana kept her attention on the captain, "Probably not. Kind of sticking with the honorable route today. You should be proud."
She'd been hoping for more of a reaction. Maybe some explosions? Instead, the captain pulled on his jersey, barely glancing at her from the corner of his eye, "As long as you didn't steal anything."
"You make me sound like a thief," Hana pouted as she stretched her legs out, "Which I'm not—"
Three voices spoke in surprising synchrony, "You are."
… Rude.
"Tsuchida?" Hana gaped. To be fair, Riko and Hyuuga's commentary hadn't been the least bit surprising, but Tsuchida was unexpected. Her mouth dipped into a pout. And to think! I thought we bonded, "How could you?"
Her fellow teammate didn't offer her any reply other than a smile. Hana's eyes narrowed in return. Uh-huh, I already saw where your loyalties lie. I'll remember this. While Hana gave the upperclassman a promising look, she missed the noise of confusion that left Riko's mouth. At least until a finger jammed her in the ribcage.
What the hell? Hana coughed as she turned toward the perpetrator, "Ow—"
"What's this?" Riko's pencil tapped on the second page of notes. Specifically, the ones that compared Kise and Kagami. The coach's mouth pursed, "Why do you have notes on Kise-kun?"
"Oh, yeah. That," leaning forward, Hana looked over Riko's shoulder and motioned toward the mess, "Those are Aomine's moves that Kise can copy. I hoped that meant they were on Kagami's level, but my information screwed up. Like that," her hand motioned toward the third bullet point, "Kise couldn't do that shot when we started, but by the end, he had it down perfectly."
Which was damn annoying. It should have been expected though. There wasn't an easy way to classify any of the miracles and attempting to on such short notice was destined for failure. Especially with Kise and Aomine. She could only hope that some of the information would up their chances.
"…" Riko side eyed the manager, "You have strange ideas, Imamura-chan. You also forgot to calculate in Kagami-kun's injury."
Well, there went that little hint of hope. You've got to be shitting me. Licking at dried lips, Hana offered a strained grimace, "Great… my bad."
"Don't worry about it," the coach flipped back to the first page of notes with a pleased smile. When Riko's hazel eyes flicked up to Hana's own, they held a hefty amount of fortitude, "Everything else looks great. The rest of the information will come in handy later. Good job."
How can I not worry? It's goddamn Aomine. Hana grinned despite the sobering thought, "Oh? I've got to say, I'm loving the praise."
Honestly, she should have learned by now.
"…" A suspicious lack of movement was Hana's only warning before Riko smacked her in the head. While Hana cradled her forehead, Riko's eyes blazed with an unholy glint, "Don't get cocky! This game is important!"
The slap was enough to gain both boys' attentions. After a year of hearing that noise, they were smart enough to fear it. Slamming the locker shut, Hyuuga turned toward the girls with raised eyebrows, "What are you two arguing about?"
Okay… I'd rather not share my failures. On that note, subject changes are best executed when no one expects them. So, that was why, when Hana saw the proffered chance, she latched onto it. One glance at the shirtless Tsuchida provided her the perfect opportunity. I've been wondering about this anyway…
"How weird it is you all don't have chest hair," Hana cut Riko off before the coach could say anything. When all three upperclassmen stared at her, she merely raised an eyebrow, "What? It's a serious question."
No one could answer. In their place, the dressing room door cracked open as the vice-captain walked in. His feet paused and one black eyebrow rose in curiosity, "What's a serious question?"
"Why you guys don't have hair on your chests," Hana enlightened him before motioning to the still shirtless Tsuchida, "Isn't that part of puberty?"
"Oh," Izuki blinked at the question, glancing down at his own chest thoughtfully, "I'm not sure."
The temperature dropped a notch and attention turned toward the culprit. Hyuuga twitched as his fingers tightened into fists, "Don't encourage her. We aren't talking about—"
His voice cut off at the sound of a creak.
"Talking about what?" Koganei walked through the door, followed by Mitobe. Both boys paused at the strange atmosphere, "What'd we miss?"
Hana shrugged, "Chest hair. Got some?"
"Uhm?" Koganei exchanged a wary glance with Mitobe, "Why are you—"
Riko groaned and slammed her face into her palms when the door opened for a third time.
"What?" Several unblinking gazes turned toward the dressing room exit. With one foot in the door, the new arrival stared at them in bafflement, "Did I do something?"
"Kagami!" When no one seemed fit to reply, Hana crawled to her knees and pointed a finger at the startled ace. Someone that big had to have gone through puberty, "Do you have chest hair?"
"…" He stared at her, face misleadingly blank until he spoke, "I'm coming back later."
"Wait, wait! You didn't answer!"
Her yell went for naught as Kagami turned on his heel and marched out the door. Seconds of silence reined, only broken by the occasional confused whisper or the budding growl that leaked from their captain's throat. With an awkward chuckle, Tsuchida finally put a shirt on and communication began again.
In the meantime, Hana turned away from the door with a scoff, "It was just a little question. He didn't have to be a drama queen—"
"Kagami-kun is always dramatic."
The sound of screaming filled the air, bouncing from every corner as their surprise guest announced his presence. Sitting primly on the floor, Kuroko merely looked at them all. Even when Riko ducked behind the closest teammate and Hana slapped him in the shoulder, he showed no outward reaction. Dick.
"Don't do that," Hana breathed, clutching at her stuttering heart, "You're a sadist. You've got to be a sadist—"
"If you believe so," Kuroko blinked at her, "But to answer your earlier question, I also do not have any chest hair."
Are you serious? While her teammates recollected from their shock, Hana slowly brought a hand to her head. Her eyes never left Kuroko's own even as fond exasperation crawled up her spine. She didn't know when he'd managed to sneak in here, but from the lack of distance between them, she should have damn well noticed.
This little shit. Hana sighed, rubbing a finger against her sore temple, "I hate you."
"Imamura-san," Kuroko gracefully crawled to his feet, his hand skimming the top of Hana's head before walking to a locker, "You shouldn't lie about your feelings. You sound like Midorima-kun."
"… Now, I really hate you."
x
x
If only a moment could last forever.
After another one of coach's pep talks, the team filed out of the dressing room. The carefree attitude displayed earlier faded with each step and everyone wore tension as a cloak. It was a subtle effect, not outwardly spoken or expressed, but it existed on each persons' shoulders. From her spot behind Furihata, Hana brought her clipboard to her chest. I'm so ready for a vacation.
The attention from the audience did little to settle her mounting nerves. Unlike their previous matches, a good group of people were packed into the stadium. Their chatter echoed through the silent court like a mosquito's hum, covering the hush that hung over her teammates.
Across the court, Tōō emerged from their exit. The crowd perked at the sight and every eye rested on their rival. Scanning the faces of their next opponent, Hana's steps faltered. He couldn't have… Maybe he's just taking a shit.
With their new sense of unity, Kagami's voice repeated her thought process, "Excuse me, where's Aomine?"
"That self-centered bastard is running late!" The Tōō player responded and, through her building rage, Hana belatedly registered his face as Wakamatsu. I'm going to kill him.
As Imayoshi began to apologize, a suspicious silence reverberated through her ears.
Staring at the Tōō captain, the clipboard clenched between Hana's fingers let out a low creak. So much shit, for him not to come? This just wasn't acceptable. We've come this far. We deserve to be respected. Her teeth stabbed unforgivingly into her lip and Hana trailed her gaze to Momoi, only to be greeted by a defeated smile. Shit.
It was the sympathy in her friend's face that had Hana sucking in a deep breath.
She couldn't do shit about Aomine's absence and throwing a fit now would only hurt her friends. Sure, she could call him and raise up a fuss, but that wouldn't do anything right now besides stall the inevitable. He will deal with my wrath later. On the other hand… he wasn't the only one to hold accountable.
"So, you just let him ditch?" Hana didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Imayoshi turned toward her, "You're the captain."
A pleasant smile quirked his lips, "I assure you, it wasn't intentional. You'd understand if you met Aomine-kun, he simply isn't a person you can—"
"Met him before," Hana cut him off, ire quickly skyrocketing at the condescending response, "Drag him by the ear. Burn his porn. Threaten his life. Stab him in the hand— all of the above work. Choose one."
Okay, that might have come across a bit too strongly. Judging by all the glances she was being gifted, her audience had to agree. Even Momoi looked incredulous, and that was saying something because she'd been part of Hana's more intense ranting sessions. But, man, now I'm pissed. The clipboard creaked again.
"I'll remember that," despite the tension around them, Imayoshi remained composed, "Though it's a mote point, Aomine-kun will be joining us for the second half of the game." The Tōō captain shifted his attention to the rest of her team, "I guess you can call us the opening act."
Eyes slanted in a smile, Imayoshi's expression remained perfectly neutral. Which is creepy as hell. Nothing hinted toward truth or deception, but judging from her friendly information squad, this little act wasn't to be trusted. She could definitely see the relation to Hanamiya. Frankly, that little fact didn't help his case much.
Liar, liar, pants on fire. Hana tilted her head, subsequently ignoring her own captain's glare, and crossed her arms over her chest, "I call bullshit."
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?" Imayoshi pushed at the nose of his glasses and fixed that unnerving gaze onto Hana. When he spoke again, she mildly wondered if this was how it felt to be dissected, "Oh well, please go easy on us."
"Hey, look! More bullshit—" her shoulders slumped in time with the palm covering her mouth. Figures. Rolling her eyes, Hana turned her defiant stare to Hyuuga above her. You can never let me have any fun, can you?
"Ignore her. Our manager doesn't have the best manners," Hyuuga's hand tightened over her mouth before pulling her toward their side of the court. The last part of his statement was hissed through clenched teeth, "We'll be working on it."
Oh, so it's okay when Kagami talks shit, but not when I do it? Sadly, her pout remained hidden under Hyuuga's unyielding hand. It only took two giant steps before they joined the rest of their teammates at the sidelines. Since when did everyone start manhandling me again? Finally deeming it safe to release her, Hyuuga took a step back and leveled Hana with a glare.
"What?" She threw her hand toward Tōō's side of the court, "All that opening act stuff is such a fraud. He's supposed to be manipulative and I don't trust him a goddamn bit."
Hyuuga's glasses flashed as he spared a quick glance at the Tōō captain. Around them, the rest of the team listened with varying levels of interest. From her position at the head of the group, Riko frowned before flipping through the multiple papers on her clipboard. Before Hyuuga could offer a response to Hana's opinion, the coach spoke.
Letting out a long sigh, Riko pinched the bridge of her nose, "We don't know what we're up against, so she may be right, but try to behave, Imamura-chan."
"Fine, fine," tilting her head to the ceiling, Hana huffed, "But I hold the option to say I told you so."
The coach twitched, "I'm serious."
"Me too," Hana easily refuted, "Still don't trust him. No one should be that easy going about losing their ace."
"For once I agree with Imamura," Kagami grunted from the farthest side of the bleacher. He had better agree with me after yesterday. One red eye glanced in their direction as he shoved his jacket off, "I can't believe that bastard skipped out."
Hana understood where Kagami came from and, judging from his shaded expression, Kuroko did too. From Kuroko's appearance alone, she sorely wanted to punch Aomine square in the dick for this little stunt. Honestly, Kuroko deserves better friends. But, another, quieter part of her wasn't surprised at all by this outcome or Aomine's disregard.
The past repeats itself and all that jazz.
"You played against Aomine before, right?" Izuki's question pulled Hana out of her memories, "Your motivation hasn't dropped since then, has it?"
"No way," Kagami released a mocking little scoff, "If anything I'm pissed."
When are you not? Hana raised an eyebrow as she scuttled toward an open spot on the bleacher, "What a surprise. Being pissed doesn't do anything though, so you better have a plan inside that thick skull." Wiggling a bit, Hana tried to make herself comfortable for the long game ahead, "So, what is it?"
"If these guys are the opening act," Kagami's glower slanted toward the Tōō team and his shoulders locked in preparation, "Then I'll pull so far ahead they can't catch up and make their star the world's biggest idiot!"
I see the grudge from yesterday blossomed. Bracing a hand against her cheek, Hana observed the growing momentum and hummed, "Well, I guess that's a plan. A shitty plan— but whatever."
As per usual, most of her teammates ignored her commentary. I don't really have room to judge anyway. While the rest of the boys finished getting ready and engaged in their own singular conversations, Hana turned her attention to Tōō's side of the court. Some of the faces stood out from her notes, but her focus ended up locked on Momoi.
Both girls stared at each other, something hidden passing through each face before Hana plastered on a competitive smirk. Ready? Momoi blinked in outward surprise before repeating Hana's own actions. The moment felt prophetic, but Hana put it down to old rooted paranoia.
"I agree," the absence of Kuroko's neutral tone startled Hana into awareness, "Aomine-kun is dangerous and we should score as much as possible before he arrives. But the opponent in front of us is everything."
"All right, you got it," Hyuuga spoke after a second's pause, "Let's go all out."
And with that, the team moved in unity to the court. Placing her clipboard on her knees, Hana smoothed a sweaty hand over the top eyes moved down to the assortments of notes before catching sight of the name that caused today's turmoil. Aomine… Just because Kuroko took the moral high ground on the issue didn't mean Hana would follow in his steps.
He thinks he can just do whatever the hell he wants! Well, he's got another thing coming!
"Stupid prick," the sharp end of her pen stabbed into his name. Hana repeated the motion five times before she was satisfied, "You better have felt that. Just the goddamn start of what I'm going to do to you—"
A timid finger poked her in the shoulder, "Imamura-chan? Are… are you okay?"
Her head lifted and Hana pushed the stray edge of her bangs away. The sight that greeted her consisted of three terrified freshmen and Koganei, who repeated her name again. It was the wariness in his tone that had Hana following their line of sight to her notes… and the gaping hole where Aomine's name used to exist.
"Opps," she rubbed over the torn paper, "My bad."
A pause—
"That's all you have to say?!"
xXxXxXxXx
Her mouth was sealed.
Mostly.
"This guy…" Hana's eye twitched when the newest object of her annoyance managed to score another two points, "If he gets one step closer, I'm throwing my shoe. I hope it kills him."
Kagami's original plan to earn as many points as possible continued to be a huge flop. The start of the game began in Tōō's lead with Imayoshi tricking out Hyuuga and Tōō scoring the first point. So, low and behold, Imayoshi was the complete pain in the ass she'd figured he'd be. Fast, quick witted, and a huge annoyance, the Tōō captain fit her warning nice and proper.
In respect of the moment, she wasn't going to say I told you so, but it really tickled on the tip of her tongue. It was in the notes!
Speaking of her notes, Kawahara held her clipboard and flipped through the information. His movements stumbled a second later before a gasp squeaked out of his throat, "Their scores are insane. They're all one hundred-point games!"
"They're strong," Riko agreed from her position to Hana's left, "Even without Aomine, they're winning. It's pure offense."
"It's pure bullshit," Hana added. She didn't turn to Riko, instead letting her eyes trace over her teammates racing forms, "Aomine may be the highest scorer, but the rest of them manage to keep up. Imoyashi alone scored thirty points in that last game."
The coach's hazel eyes flicked toward her, "What about the others? There's no coordination in their movements."
"Well, the only thing they have in common is that they're all pains in the asses. Wakamatsu's all strength and giant biceps while Sakurai is like…" Hana stared at the point guard in question, "You know those little poisonous frogs? Super freaking cute, but they could still kill you? Yeah, that's him."
Furihata blinked, mouthing her words in shock, "Cute?"
"Cute," Hana nodded. That little baby face is adorable. Her thoughts turned into a flinch though when Sakurai managed to get past Hyuuga and score another shot for his team, "Okay. Maybe annoying is the better word in this situation."
Meanwhile, the game felt… odd for some reason, but Hana couldn't put her finger on it. Tōō continued to control most of the playing field. Izuki held his own against Imayoshi's defense while Mitobe and Hyuuga hugged the hoop, ready to intercept any passes. For the time being, Kuroko remained out of sight, but Hana didn't doubt he was lurking somewhere in the middle of the action.
Even when Seirin scored another shot seconds later, something still felt off.
"This feels weird," Hana's foot tapped against the floor, "It's like I've seen this exact shit before."
"Their playing style?" Riko only spared Hana a minute's glance, attention too absorbed into the game, "A lot of teams work this way."
I guess so. Hana grunted, "Yeah, but everything is done so individually. Like you said, there's no coordination… "
Oh. The words died in her throat. No wonder it seemed so familiar. This style was the Generation of Miracles strong suit. It looked like Aomine simply moved from one self-centered team to another. That tiny thought packed a punch and suddenly, Hana felt thirteen again. If she couldn't help her team then—
She remembered sitting on the sidelines, watching her team struggle through each match. The stupid frustration. The stupid helplessness as she watched the people she cared about fail time and time again. How, no matter what they did, they just couldn't win. That horrible vulnerability when you put your all out and gained nothing in return.
— How did she even think she'd help them now?
Stop being so dramatic, Hana shoved the flashbacks into the box of hell they escaped from. It's not the goddamn time.
"There's no coordination," she continued her last train of thought, but this time her eyes lowered to the scuffed lamented flooring, "Anyway, it'll fall down to matching each player's strengths, but that's a pain in the ass to figure out when everything is team based."
Riko made a considering noise, "Hyuuga-kun should stay on Sakurai-kun."
"Probably," Hana agreed before focusing on the next trouble maker, "Either Izuki or Kagami should work on Imayoshi—"
Her voice trailed off when she glanced back up to the game. Proving her earlier hypothesis about coordination wrong, Imayoshi lobbed the ball down the court straight to Wakamatsu. The Tōō center only needed to take a few more steps to reach it, but Kuroko finally decided to show his ghostly presence. Of course, he chose the worst method of doing so by jumping for a ball he clearly couldn't reach.
Luckily, before Hana's curse even left her mouth, Kagami took that moment to step in like the knight in shining armor he is. While Kuroko couldn't reach the ball, Kagami had no problem jumping two feet into the air to snatch it from its wayward course. Go, monkey, go.
"Well damn," a breathy laugh escaped her as the team rushed back into their offensive positions, "Or I guess they can just do that. Whatever works."
"What was with that jump?" beside her, Riko's fists twitched in warning, "Kuroko-kun's being reckless. He shouldn't have tried that."
Can't blame him. If I'm thinking about all this, imagine the bullshit Kuroko's got running through his head.
"He isn't thinking straight," despite the nonchalance she tried to project, Hana couldn't stop her heart from moving into her throat, "This game sucks."
Meanwhile…
On the top balcony of the gymnasium, golden eyes blinked.
They blinked again.
There's only one person with that terrible shade of green hair. Kise's steps hesitantly came to a halt and his head tilted to the side in consideration. After a moment, his gaze came to rest on the grey pop-up box located in his subject's grasp. It matched the description of a certain lucky item perfectly. So that really is Midorima-cchi. What a surprise.
"Midorima-cchi?" Kise tried to hide his humor, but it still managed to leak into his tone, "What are you doing here?"
There was a small spluttering sound before Midorima turned to face him, "Kise? How did you know it was me?"
"Are you stupid?" this time, Kise couldn't tamp down his amusement nor the delighted sparkle of his eyes. It was always entertaining to annoy his former teammates, "The sunglasses are embarrassing, you should take them off."
"…" behind the aforementioned sunglasses, Midorima's emerald gaze narrowed on the blonde, "They are not—"
Before he could respond, both teens were interrupted by the arrival of a third. Halfway through the doors to enter the balcony, the stranger paused before pulling an affronted expression at whatever he found on his phone. The large travel mug in his opposite hand sloshed warningly. Unbeknownst to the stranger, Kise and Midorima stared at the familiar head of grey hair.
"Uhm," Kise's voice startled the newcomer out of his stupor, "Are you alright, Uoya-kun?"
"Kise-san?" Uoya glanced up, only to lose hold on the door and for it to smack him the arm, "Ow! Gosh, that hurt. No wonder Hana hates these things." Righting himself, Uoya finally noticed the other teen on the balcony, "Oh. It's you."
Taking his sunglasses off, Midorima observed the younger boy, "Uoya-san."
"Yeah, hi," Uoya scarcely offered Midorima a glance before turning his attention back to Kise. Because of that action, he missed the insulted scoff Midorima offered at his dismissal, "Why are you— never mind, I know why. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to get to the dressing rooms would you?"
Kise blinked, "Why?"
"I wanted to surprise Hana-chan," Uoya offered a halfhearted shrug, lifting his left hand and the coffee mug in explanation, "She's been freaking out all week. I thought she'd want something to take the edge off."
"That's nice of you," something sharp hid in Kise's tone, but there was only truth on his expression, "You'll probably have to wait till the end of the game—"
Lifting a judgmental brow, Midorima broke into the conversation, "Unless you are a teammate, you won't be allowed access."
"That's fine, I wasn't going to go now. I'm not stupid," unknown to Uoya, Midorima bristled at the repeated insult. With an awkward shuffle, Uoya motioned to the row of seating just beyond them, "Well… it was great running into you, but I'm gonna—"
"You can stay with us," Kise cut off whatever excuse Uoya began to offer, "I showed up late too, so I don't know what's happening."
Uoya took a step back, "I'm not sure—"
"It's fine," Kise gave the underclassman a saccharine smile before turning back to Midorima, "How's the game, Midorima-cchi?"
While Uoya looked longingly toward the seating area, Midorima raised a singular eyebrow in Kise's direction. The angelic mask that lay atop the blonde's features could best be described as troubling. Catching Midorima's attention, Kise hummed innocently before tilting his head toward the game in encouragement.
"It's nothing special. Aomine hasn't even arrived and they can hardly keep up," letting his words soak in, Midorima turned back to the match, "Seirin is destined to lose."
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Uoya countered as he stepped up beside Midorima. He made sure to keep a healthy amount space between them before responding, "Hana-chan said they beat you—" he trailed off when Seirin scored another two points, "See, they've got this."
"We were beaten through dumb luck," Midorima practically growled at the implication, "It was nothing."
In a gesture that Kise viewed creepily similar to Hana's own, Uoya waved a dismissive hand, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"Uoya-kun's right, Midorima-cchi. Kagami-cchi and Kuroko-cchi work really well together," ignoring the earlier comparison, Kise's eyes flashed with knowledge and good faith, "I'm sure it'll be okay."
"You idiot," Midorima seethed in return, "You've forgotten that Tōō also possesses Momoi—"
"Yeah," giving the former miracle and rival a side eye, Uoya cut in, "But Seirin's got Hana."
"There are things Imamura cannot do as Momoi can," Midorima's refuted.
Uoya deadpanned, "You've met Hana, right?"
"Imamura doesn't possess the same skill—"
"Really?" Uoya leaned his body against the safety railing in front of them before raising a dubious eyebrow, "Then why'd you guys bother her all second year? I thought it was for her, you know, skills?"
In the background, Kise watched the verbal tennis match with wide eyes. As Midorima's face steadily got redder, a little devious part of him cackled with glee. The first time he'd encountered the hurricane that consisted of Hana's former teammates and their brother complex, he'd been mentally scarred for a solid hour and half. Kise shivered at the memory. Of course, Iseri-kun helped with that impression.
"You're so feisty, Uoya-kun," Kise interrupted at the hitch in conversation and attempted to help Midorima save face, "You've grown up a lot, haven't you?"
Stretching his arms out, Uoya tilted his head over his shoulder to offer Kise a bland look, "You don't have to talk down to me. I've heard way too much about all of you to be intimidated anymore."
Well, Kise blinked, that took a turn. Exchanging a baffled look with Midorima, Kise offered Uoya a confused smile, "Sorry? I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't," Uoya shrugged, "I just don't like you much," he flicked his gaze to Midorima, "And I really don't like you."
Midorima puffed up in outrage, "We've done nothing to you—"
Raising a hand, Uoya interrupted with amused condescension, "You're really dense about this whole thing, aren't you?" He turned his attention to Kise, "Do you know why I don't like you?"
What? Eye's turning into saucers, Kise looked between the two teenagers. This whole scenario seemed a bit too familiar for his tastes. He raised his hands innocently, "If you're talking about what I think you are, then… yes?"
"Alright," in the background, the referee's whistle rang out. Uoya ignored it, "What do you think I'm talking about?"
Yep, this was steadily going down a path Kise didn't want to venture. He needed to start actively avoiding Hana's friends. What's the right answer?! Fighting the urge to flee like last time, Kise offered his thoughts, "If it's because I like her—"
Instead of Uoya, Midorima offered a sharp, "What."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Uoya took a cautious step back. This wasn't what he'd been going for or anything close to what he'd planned… but he could work with it. Besides, it was beginning to look like they were both about to provide a nice moment of entertainment. His head tilted. Maybe I should film it. Hana-chan would flip out.
"I like Imamura-cchi," golden eyes flicked into a frown as Kise turned to his old friend, "I thought you knew that. I wasn't trying to be very subtle."
"Since— since when?" while the shooter choked on his question, Kise belatedly thought that the scowl overtaking Midorima's face couldn't be healthy for his skin, "How long have you— what?"
"I'm not sure," lifting his shoulders in a fluid shrug, Kise continued, "It just happened."
Midorima's glower deepened, "Things like this don't just happen."
"Why are you so—" The expression on Midorima's face gradually began to make sense and Kise blanched, "Midorima-cchi! Are you jealous?"
"It's— it's not that! You idiot!"
"How am I the idiot?! You like her too—"
"I do not!"
Pursing his lips together, Uoya brought a hand up to his mouth. Hana-chan's going to kill me. But, watching the two males bicker, he could scarcely find it in himself to care. This was totally worth it. Except—
"Now that that's out," even though he was ignored, Uoya threw a thumb over his shoulder, "I'm just gonna go find a seat…"
Hana did always say to run after the job was done.
X
x
When Hana noticed it, she sneezed.
Violently.
"Give me my clipboard," The first quarter just begun to pick up pace and her voice broke the hush of her fellow bench mates, "I know that goddamn look."
The look in question currently resided on Momoi's pretty face. See, everyone had certain tells, either in lying or planning. In Momoi's case, her tell consisted of a singular facial expression. Hana liked to compare it to a stoned monk, but with a wickedness hiding underneath. It also reminded her a bit of Akashi— but she'd rather not think too hard on that angle.
Anyway, terrible comparisons aside, the look Momoi wore perfectly matched the above description.
"Damn information specialist. I really didn't want to deal with her shit," she flipped through her notes, "You know what I hate? People that know more than I do."
It won't be that easy. Sure, Hana didn't possess the same physical knowledge that Momoi and Riko had. Hell, she couldn't even name the differences between each play, much less predict them. And don't even get her started on the muscle system… Anyway, movements were Hana's weak spot. Case in point, the failed attempt of using Kise's copycat abilities.
Well, we'll just have to go about this a different way.
"Are you talking about Momoi-san?" Riko questioned, though Hana hardly thought she sounded surprised.
In the meantime, they didn't have to wait long before Tōō's team members proved her hypothesis about Momoi correct. When Kagami got screened and his movements stalled out near the half court line, he attempted his signature alley-op. Go right, go right— with childish flare,Hana whined when he went left and promptly got blocked off. So Tōō knows Kagami's moves too… double damn.
"I'm talking about that," Hana stabbed a finger toward the court, "I swear she's a robot. You can't just know this shit."
Despite the events happening, Riko cracked a misplaced grin, "She's messed up though. Everything's based on our movements."
"That's her specialty," handing Riko the clipboard, Hana motioned to the lower notes, "I'll leave the technical shit to you, but there's Tōō's info. Sakurai flinches when you get too close to his face. Wakamatsu's hotheaded so just piss him off and he'll lose the edge of his focus. Kind of like—" she trailed off, "Why are you all staring?"
Out of all the gawking teammates, Furihata was the first to break the silence, "Uhm, I'm sorry, Imamura-chan, but how does that help us?"
"Playing style's change naturally," Riko explained in Hana's place. A smugness grew in the coach's tone, "But personal characteristics don't. There are things she can't account for."
Like Kagami's demonic rage. Hana nodded, "Momoi's great at predicting the technical stuff, which I'm complete shit at." Her mind went back to other manager's failure at courting Kuroko, "She's not the best at personality though…"
In unknowing acknowledgement to the two girl's words, Tōō continued to block off Seirin's movements. Mitobe, Hyuuga, even Izuki were subjected to the calculation of the rival manager. Hana raised a suspicious eyebrow. Don't tell me she's forgotten about our ghost buddy? As the seconds ticked down and things seemed to get steeper, Riko and Hana exchanged looks.
"Hyuuga-kun looked at your notes, right, Imamura-chan?"
"Yeah," Hana rested her chin on her palm, "We won't need them though."
Riko hummed as she settled into the bleacher, "I know."
"…" Hana stole a quick look toward her, "Kuroko?"
"Kuroko-kun," Riko confirmed, "If I can't get a clear reading on him, there's no doubt Momoi-san faces the same problem."
"Oh my god, I hate that."
"You too?"
"Unfortunately."
Trying to ignore the daunting auras radiating from their coach and manager, the boys who sat on the bench returned their attention to the game with new enlightenment. Hyuuga held the ball only to get blocked and forced to pass to the Sakurai covered Izuki. The benched players simultaneously sucked in a breath— only to gawk when Kuroko appeared out of nowhere to screen Sakurai.
"What?" Fuduka turned toward the girls, "How did you two know?"
Copying a particular sequence from The Shining, Hana and Riko's heads tilted in sync, "Isn't it obvious?"
Fuduka's mouth gaped open, "No?"
"Don't ask too many questions," Koganei patted the freshman on the shoulder, "Girls are scary sometimes."
"But—" When he noticed the twin grins on both girl's faces, the freshman paled, "I see your point."
Despite the lightheartedness from moments prior, all in all, there really wasn't much Hana or Riko could do about the situation. The team continued to struggle against Tōō, giving everyone an idea of the absolute depth Momoi studied them. It kind of pissed Hana off. After everything, Momoi's still a level above me. Now here she was, stuck on the sidelines, watching as her team fell prey to Hana's own specialty.
When the buzzer signaled the end of the first quarter, Momoi remained the main subject of conversation. The Seirin team stood in a semi-circle around their coach and manager. Sitting at Riko's feet, Hana eyed the information laid out in front of them. We can do this. I can do this. With a new fierceness to her demeanor, Hana returned her attention to the coach.
"She's had a year to observe the movements of our upperclassmen," Riko crossed her arms above her chest as she addressed the team, "But Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun remain new and somewhat unknown. They have the best chance at throwing Momoi off."
Clipping her notes back into place, Hana brought attention down to herself with a timely cough, "That doesn't mean the rest of you guys are shit out of luck though."
The coach nodded, "It'll be difficult, but there's no way she'll be able to fully predict your moves. It's impossible as long as you're changing."
"Switch things up," Hana stretched her legs out before adding, "You want to shoot? Pass. You want to go left? Go backwards. Knowing Momoi," she raised an eyebrow in Kuroko's direction, "She's probably predicted at least five of your next movements."
"That's right," Kuroko dipped his head in acknowledgement, "She's likely planned the whole game out."
Isn't that just fantastic. If collapsing into a pile of teenage angst wasn't socially unacceptable, Hana would probably do it right about now. I'm working myself to the bone with what I've already done, she clucked her tongue before gazing down to her notes. How the hell does Momoi keep up?
After a moment letting that soak in, Riko clapped her hands, "That being said, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun are still our best chance. This next quarter belongs to them."
"While they're doing that, try to hit Imayoshi in the face," tilting her head toward the Tōō bench, Hana joked. Okay, she may have been a bit too enthusiastic, "It'll help in the long run."
The sound of silence greeted her. Shitty timing, huh? Opps. Riko lowered her head to give Hana an unimpressed stare before pointing toward the court, "Give them hell, rookies!"
You know, no matter how many times she watched her team run out to the court, Hana didn't think she'd ever stop worrying. Mother hen syndrome, maybe? As the backs of their jerseys got farther and farther away, she pulled her clipboard back into her lap and stared at the spot where she'd stabbed out Aomine's name. Now what are we going to do about your dumbass?
The game started again with little fanfare. Like the minutes before, Tōō worked on forestalling Seirin's movements. Stretching her eyes from Izuki to the Tōō sidelines, Hana latched her attention onto Momoi only to groan. Ugh, that face again. Feeling her stare, Momoi lifted her head. Green and pink clashed as the two girls stared at one another until Momoi broke it with a demure smile. Seriously, I hate that goddamn face.
"Momoi knows what we're planning," Hana warned the coach, never once looking away from the pink haired girl, "You sure they've got this handled?"
Riko nodded with firm resolution, "She can't know the range of his abilities."
Hana's attention fell to one of the boys in question. But does Kagami even know? She didn't think so. After jumping for another incredibly high dunk, Kagami landed against the unforgiving floor. In that jump alone, he'd managed to outreach two Tōō players by half a foot each— something that Hana knew he hadn't been able to perform against Aomine yesterday.
"You're kidding me," Riko breathed. Judging from the incredulous tone, she could see something better than Hana. Though, that wasn't saying much, because Hana couldn't see shit.
"If you're talking about me—" her voice trailed off when Riko shook her head. Instead, Hana followed the invisible daggers shooting from Riko's line of sight, "What'd Kagami do now?"
"He can't help it," straightening her shoulders, the coach stepped forward, "But he can't do this, we need a substitution. Get ready, Koganei."
It felt horrible to remove their ace off the court. It felt even worse when Hana realized why. His stupid injury. She looked down at Kagami's legs, trying to find the invisible pain he'd been experiencing. Nothing hinted toward it as he walked toward them. Both of his legs, Hana scarcely heard Riko's explanation, that's got to feel horrible.
While her teammates bustled around, Hana didn't say a word. After a quick substitution, Kagami complained for a moment, but he was no match for Riko's authority. His sweaty body slammed into the bleacher beside Hana while Riko vacated her position to gather wrapping tape. The silence around them was only broken by Kagami's gasping breaths.
Hana didn't hesitate in handing him her water.
"…" kneeling in front of Kagami, Riko tied the last of the wrapping around his leg, "There you go. I'm not going to stop you from playing, so you can go ahead and go—" Kagami stood and Riko lowered her head, "I'm sorry."
All eyes jerked toward the coach while Kagami stalled. Cautious red eyes peered over his shoulder, "What are you sorry for?"
"It's not right to send an injured player out, but I don't have a choice. I keep calling this team play," Riko looked over each of the assembled players with a tired smile, "But it's really a style I learned from someone else. I'm— I'm not strong enough to encourage you all by myself. I need you to do it for me—"
"What?" If it was any other moment, Kagami's deadpan might have been humorous, "What are you talking about? You do enough already. You're the coach. It's your job to prepare us. If anything, you do too much."
What? Hana blinked in time with most of her teammates. Who knew he had a sensitive side?
"You're a brat," a pleased look overtook the coach's face, "You idiot."
Awhhh. Family bonding! Covering her mouth to hide her grin, Hana decided to pipe in,"That was too damn cute. But hey, seriously, don't kill yourself out there. We need you."
"Imamura—" Kagami had scarcely turned his head over his shoulder when it happened.
In a detached sort of horror, Hana stared at the newcomer.
She couldn't place why she was so surprised. They all knew he would come and the arm that fell over Kagami's shoulder, by all means, shouldn't have been a shock. Without a coherent form of thought, Hana observed the movement. It was a stereotypical intimidation move, intended to get into someone's personal space and startle the opponent. Hell, she'd done the same gesture herself a time or two.
So, logically, there wasn't anything of importance about the action.
Knowing all that didn't stop the hot rush of air she exhaled.
"You're showing some spirit," the shadow that Hana knew to be Aomine jeered. The only amusement in his tone laid at their expense, "So you can entertain me, even just a little bit."
"Aomine!" For a spilt second, it seemed as if Kagami intended to punch the former miracle. Instead, the redhead shoved the obtrusive arm off, "You bastard!"
Aomine... Every eye in the stadium was locked onto him. Time passed in slow motion and the way realization sunk into the souls of each Seirin teammate was almost visible. Whatever upper hand they'd attempted to achieve wouldn't hold against this. Even without Aomine, they still lacked ten points. First Imayoshi, then Momoi, and now Aomine. This game is just one damn obstacle after another.
Trying to ignore her own beating heart for the moment, Hana allowed herself to observe her teammates. Kagami remained frozen, his expression still contorted with whispers of rage. The upperclassmen just beyond him faired in the same manner. Yet, like earlier, it was Kuroko's face that struck her the most. A determined mixture of defiance rested along the edges of his blank façade.
An overwhelmed laugh almost escaped, but Hana snatched it just in time. Her nails dug into the tender skin of her thighs. They're all just as shocked shitless as I am.
Despite the mental turmoil occurring around them, conversation began again, mostly focused within the gathered Tōō players. Listening with half an ear, Hana heard Aomine's coach call him forward. The display of Aomine's easy nonchalance grated at cages of her formerly buried wrath. Just ignoring the fact you ditched, huh?
"Finally decided to show?" refusing to look at the cloying layer of unfamiliarity that surrounded her old friend, Hana directed her smirk to the floor, "I'd almost forgotten about you."
She hadn't thought he'd stop, but the few steps he'd took toward his side of the court stalled and a rough chuckle shook the rifts of his shoulders. She lifted her gaze at the noise. Like the amusement he'd displayed earlier in taunting Kagami, Aomine tilted his head over his shoulder, a white toothed smirk slicing through the shade of his face.
"Wouldn't be the first time," despite the implication, the words that left his lips were purred, "Don't assume you're that important, Imamura."
If it was physically conceivable to swallow glass, Hana would bet money it felt like this.
He didn't respond to her newfound silence, proving that even Aomine was a bigger person than herself. As he finished his movements to Tōō's section of the court, the stillness that seeped into Seirin began to dissipate. Action remained stilted, but everyone held a sense of purpose as they merged back into their positions. Though no one dared to remove their eyes from the newest addition.
Hana shook her hands out as a strange static raced through her veins. The red-hot electricity moved from her body and into her head, giving reality a lurid tint, "God, I hate him."
Wouldn't be the first time. It shouldn't be possible for the world's axis to tilt with such simple words. Don't assume you're that important. It shouldn't be possible for all her insecurities to come crashing into the light. It shouldn't be possible—
"Imamura-chan?" Riko breached the silence, shooting her a concerned look, "That sounded pretty intense. Are you okay?"
Stop being a moody shit. Now's not the time.
"Yeah," Hana lied as she turned her attention back to the game, "I'm just ready to kick some ass."
x
x
Doubt comes in waves.
Like an ocean, the tide pulls out only to come crashing back in with the force of a tsunami.
Aomine's presence in the game turned the tide completely. No longer did Seirin try to pull ahead, they simply tried to keep up. In less than two minutes, Aomine successfully ruined any chance of an easy victory. His movements were fluid and unmatched to the team styled play Seirin had to offer. Their only success came in the form of Kagami… but even he'd begun to fall.
In a way that could seem gracious, the second quarter was over and the ten minutes of rest for half time began. As the team filed out of the gymnasium, everyone was exhausted. It only took two minutes. Trailing behind her teammates, Hana brought a fatigued hand up to her hair and removed the band holding her ponytail. Her aching head felt the relief right away, but it did little to settle anything else.
The team moved into the dimly lit hallway leading toward their dressing room. Hana emphasized with the silence that hung around her teammates. Aomine's parting words held just enough bite to make her pensive and the flashbacks from before were overtaking any rationality. I never think things through, Hana huffed mentally, that's what I get for poking the bear.
But, he'd hit a sore spot. Aomine didn't mince his words and his level of brutish honesty rivaled her own. That comment…
"Hana!" The yell echoed through the hallway and Hana perked right out of her depression fueled monologue. Is that? The sight that greeted her, a lanky body leaning against the dressing room door, gave her enough life to race toward him, "Ooof!"
"You majestic human being," Hana nuzzled into Uoya's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his skinny waist, paying little mind to the confused noises of her teammates, "You came!"
"Of course, I did! I brought you—" He stumbled to keep hold of her, "Okay, I'm going to spill it!"
What? Jerking back, Hana stared into his eyes, "Spill what? If you brought what I think you did— I'll cry. All over you."
Uoya smirked before raising the mug of coffee, "Ta-da?"
"Yes," she snatched it out of his hands with barely a glance, "I love you," bringing the cup to her mouth, Hana took a reverent sip, "Oh my god, I love you."
"Love you too," Uoya ruffled her hair, "It's so weird to watch you— woah, hi?"
Lifting her head, Hana caught the baffled look Uoya was giving to something just beyond her head. She turned around to follow his line of sight only to deadpan. They shouldn't look that shocked. Each one of her teammates, spare Kuroko who only looked mildly surprised, wore expressions of pure awe. It's like they've seen the reckoning or something.
"Imamura…" Hyuuga coughed, trying to disguise his once over by pushing at the bridge of his glasses, "Is this your— boyfriend?"
Several of her teammates mouthed a version of his question in bewilderment, "Our manager has a boyfriend?"
Hana opened her mouth to reply, only to be beaten to it by Kuroko, "That's Uoya-kun. He was one of her old teammates during our Teiko years."
"…" Kagami gave the shorter player a side eye, "You know him?"
"We're acquaintances," Kuroko gracefully ignored the way Uoya choked before stepping through the throng of people and to the door, "It's good to see you, Uoya-kun, but we need to get ready."
Patting at Hana's head, Uoya shrugged the dismissal off, "Yeah, I get it. I just came by to give Hana—"
"Can I stay out here?" Hana cut the younger teen off, giving Riko a pleading look, "I need to talk to him real quick, I promise I won't take forever."
The coach narrowed her eyes, scanning Uoya in a way Hana viewed much too protective. Maybe Riko can be my bodyguard? After seemingly lightyears, Riko finally nodded, "That's fine. Try to hurry though, I'll need your opinion on what to do with Aomine-kun."
"Got it," Hana tried to project how thankful she was through the curve of her smile. Judging from Riko's surprised blink, she nailed it. As her teammates filed through the door, Hana tugged on Uoya's hand. She didn't have to speak to get the message across.
He sighed, but moved with little complaint, "… you really don't have to pull me, you know?"
The last thing she heard from her teammates was Kagami's belated, "It's okay to leave her with him, right?" before the door shut behind them.
It took a moment, but eventually Hana pulled Uoya toward a secluded spot behind an empty enclave. In the safety of her best friend, her mind rejoined it's earlier racing. What am I doing? She skittered to a stop and released her hold before turning to look at him square in the eye. Uoya blinked back at her, studying just as intently, before he raised an eyebrow.
"Are you alright?" He ventured after a moment, "You look—"
"Frazzled? Stressed? Crazed to the seventh layer of hell?" It was too tempting to just joke the whole thing off and Hana snorted as she rubbed a hand over her face, "I think all of the above count."
His eyes narrowed at the action, "What happened?"
"It wasn't anything serious," Hana attempted to deflect, "I just needed some hugs. Let's hug it out—"
"Hana," unfortunately, Uoya wasn't having any of that and he dodged her advance, "I know that face."
She stalled to a stop. Trying to gather her infamous courage, Hana poked at the flooring with the toe of her sneaker, "How did we do it?"
Uoya stood a bit straighter, "Do what?"
"We faced people like this all the time. Tons of self-righteous assholes," she glowered, breaking eye contact as she ventured into the abyss of her emotions, "And it never stopped us, but now? Now, I'm— I'm exhausted."
"…" his eyes took a softer hue, "Exhausted? What do you mean?"
Hana tried to shrug the word off, but the action only succeeded in breaking the wall down, "What am I doing here? I mean— I'm just a manager. I'm not even up on Momoi's level— you know I tried to work on that? Last night with Kise, I'd hoped I could figure it all out— but I screwed up again and— I can't even get my information right—"
"Hana," Uoya grabbed her shoulders, "Breathe."
"Fuck," she rubbed at her eyes, attempting to get rid of the sting, "I'm just so fucking stressed. Fuck. Every step forward, I fall back ten more. I moved on. I didn't want to go through this— It's middle school all over again. I don't know what to do—"
There was a sharp tug on her hair and Hana looked up just in time to see Uoya's frown, "How long have you been holding that in?"
"Honestly?" a wet laugh escaped her throat, "Probably since middle school. It fucking sucks."
A beat of tense silence passed. That little sharing session sure opened up her insecurities nice and wide. Why does he have to be so easy to talk too? Hana mentally reviewed all the ways one could spontaneously combust, while Uoya turned an attractive shade of purple. The silence continued and Hana rubbed at her flushed cheeks.
"You're so— you," with a strangled groan, Uoya smacked her on the top of the head, "You're so you. You've always done this."
Well, that's not what I expected. Hana huffed, attempting to hide the hurt through a mask of irritation, "Done what?"
"All this," Uoya motioned to the dressing rooms laying beyond them, "You forget it's just a game. We go to school and we play this game for fun. Don't get so worked up about it."
"I know, but—" what about everything else? She did feel better though. Well, a bit. At least getting some of her troubles out lifted a weight from her chest. Just take what you can get, worry about the rest later. Taking a deep breath, Hana closed her eyes, "You're right."
Uoya scrunched his nose up, "I know what you're doing—"
"Yeah, and it's always worked before," Hana countered. Her arms still felt like lead and she rubbed at a bicep, "If I don't acknowledge it, it wasn't there."
"That's not how it works," Uoya deadpanned, "That's so unhealthy."
"It works."
Throwing his hands up, Uoya gave up, "Fine. It works. Just—" his expression faded into seriousness, "All that you just told me? It's crap, by the way. Just because you're having trouble now doesn't mean you don't matter."
"Awh, you're such a charmer," Hana tried to play the sincerity off, but Uoya narrowed his eyes and she quickly backtracked. The earlier smack was still fresh, "Fine, shit. So, I get that in theory, but it'll take a bit more practice for me to understand."
Hey, you get half points for attempting honesty.
"Hana," Uoya sighed, "Just be yourself, stop trying so hard. You did fine with us," a tired smirk tugged at the edges of his lips, "Mostly. Speaking of that, didn't your coach want you back soon?"
I don't want to go back yet. Fatigue still rested along her spine, but Hana looked toward the door anyway, "Yeah, I'm just being slow."
Uoya shooed her forward, "Go. Be the awesome manager you are."
"Bah," Hana stuck her tongue out, pushing against his shoulder as she walked past. Stopping a few feet ahead, she turned around and gifted him a weary smile, "Thanks for that by the way," next she brought the coffee to her chest, "And a damn big thanks for this."
"If you'd stop bottling everything up, you'd be fine," Uoya joked before crossing his hands behind his head as he watched her walk away, "But you're welcome. I'll meet you when the games over, alright?"
Her heart ached in nostalgia and a still tender mixture of defeat. Before vanishing into Seirin's dressing room, Hana allowed herself to smirk, "You bet your ass you will. Wouldn't have it any other way."
Uoya's smile faded as she darted into the open doorway. Emotionally exhausted, he ran a hand through his hair. From his position in the sidelines, he hadn't been expecting Hana to be so worked up about the whole situation, but he should have known better. Overzealousness came in multiple forms and his friend had the horrible talent of possessing them all.
"…" Uoya sighed as he began the journey back to his seat, "Now I need coffee."
Leaning against the wall about twenty feet down, an overlooked figure narrowed their eyes before seeping back into the shadows.
x
Reviews!
Uqor: Choo-choo, the train is coming to the station and the passive aggressiveness will never leave. I'm with you, it's just too much fun. Thanks for the reviews! Glad to gain you as a new reader!
Seere Klein: Should I apologize for making you a shipping mess or is it a good thing? Hahah. I'm planning on romantic involvement with all, but the as for a formal relationship… I don't know. For now, I'm leaving that open ended on my part so I don't try to shove chemistry into somewhere it doesn't belong. Thank you for your review!
030artastic: Wooooo! The first chapter of angst has arrived! I'm glad you liked last chapter, thank you! And Kitano will return soon, promises!
LeoInuyuka: Now that would be a party. I laughed out loud though, so thank you for sharing that with me! It was great!
The florist: I'm so happy. These type of reviews are the ones I love most. Especially when they sound as heartfelt as yours. They really make everything worth it and help me continue writing. Just reading everything you said made my day, thank you so much. I'm glad my work gained your approval and I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations. Thank you!
Guest: Thank you! I looked into it! I'm not quite a fan of baseball, but I've definitely put it down on my to watch list!
Jeya Mendoza: Hey friend! Yeah, swimsuits are no fun, eughk. I totally shoved personal bias in there haha. We will have some cute moments, promise! Angst is all well and good, but we need fluff to keep everything happy! Heheh… hope you liked Kise though. Glad to hear your support on Momoi's character! She's one of my favorite characters and I love that I can put her into a good light. Finally, yes, Aomine is a jackass but he does still care. You nailed it, man! Kise's date shall be soon… we got to get through the emotional upheaval of returning feelings before they embark on their adventure, but I hope the moment in this chapter satisfied you a bit? Too game is totally devastating. I got lost in Hana's headspace and I almost cried. It sucked. Anyway, thank you for the review! BYE FRIEND.
Crystalviolet24: It was intense… totally got more intense so I'm sorry ahha. He is kind of difficult to write right now because I keep wanting to add that soft layer underneath, but I know Hana hasn't redeemed herself to him yet so augh. Feel free to ship Kagami, I don't promise romantic development, but I'm sure there's tension under the surface! I'm glad you like his moments though and Momoi's! Awwwwh, I'm so happy that you like how I'm incorporating Hana. It does always worry me when I add too much new stuff, so hearing things like that is great. I'm ranting, so I'ma stop now, but I could go on and on, so thank you!
ArchimedesAckermann: I'M SORRY THAT I PUT MORE ANGST ON YOU. Thank you though! I'm happy I've got the emotional part down, it's always a big worry! So again, thank you so much for your lovely review!
Yogarasu108: I'm sorry you can't choose! I want to say it'll get better… but probably not hahaha. I just love romantic tension. There will be multiple endings with singular people for sure, so I can promise that! Thank you for your review and your support!
Frizzlechicken: I love you. Can I just say that again? I love you. Your reviews are great and so in depth, I can't stop reading them over and over again. Your support for the story and for myself is amazing, so thank you. Onto the review! Yeah, Kagami is great to write. I feel like the two just kind of sort another out and their scenes come so easily! And on Momoi, THANK YOU. I wasn't sure people would enjoy how I altered her, but she never got much time in the anime and I thought she deserved better. Aomine is… interesting. He's like Hana is a lot of ways and it makes all their confrontations interesting to write. I also think he's a softie inside so that's fun too hahha. Anyway, thank you a million times over for your reviews!
CrystalVixen93: Thank you!
OneWhoReadsTooMuch: You outed my plan for future Kagami and Nūdoru interactions ;D but yeah, that will definitely happen! Yeah, I feel like Aomine is upset too and that's a bit hard to write sometimes. It's easy to forget that even though Hana is the one the story focused on, she wasn't the only one upset. Anyway, thank you for sticking around! Your reviews are great!
ADDBaby: I MISSED YOU. YOU'RE BACK! Yeaaah, scheming flower. Too bad all that lack of sleep caught up with her. Fuck aomine club represeeent. BTW I SANG THAT SONG FOR TWENTY FOUR HOURS SO I HOPE YOUR HAPPY.
Guest: Thank you, thank you, thank you! Awwwh, I'm so happy to hear that you love Hana. I'm also super pumped you think the KNB characters are in character! Like SUPER pumped. Best compliment ever because they are so hard to get right hahah. THANK YOU!
NotAnnie: Thank youuuuu! It's okay though, I'm fine with having all of you guys here to support me. As long as someone's reading and enjoying my work, I won't stop! Besides, you guys have already given me so much more support than I ever thought I'd get, so thank you so much!
Sekai Kun: I'm sorry. Not really, because I love making everyone question their ships, but I will apologize again because I also love my readers. Thank you for reviewing!
Saltqueen: yaaaas. He is. Thanks for reviewing!
Xxjaelee: I don't know if Hana will cry, but man I almost did! I think you're right on Aomine, so that will be fun to see play out! Thank you for reviewing and for eagerly awaiting each update! It's great to have supportive readers like you!
RockaRosalie: Thank you!
Lady Hummingbird: Hello new reader! I'm glad to hear you enjoy the story and Hana! Thank you, thank you!
Naliyu: Ahhh, you're welcome! But yes, if she steals wallets, there is no doubt Hana will steal clothing hahaha. Momoi's sneaky, but hey, vanilla lipgloss is my favorite so I may have been biased on that choice. Anyway, thank you so much for your review!
Imbue Numinous: IM SORRY. I APOLOGIZE AGAIN FOR YOUR POOR HEART. IT WILL PROBABLY TAKE A WHILE TO END BECAUSE I KEEP WRITING MASSIVE CHAPTERS SO I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME FOR ANY FUTURE HEARTACHE. THANK YOU!
Pinkdoughtnuts: Feels everywhere. So many feels. Thank you for that review, I love knowing that my story is good enough to read more than once!
