Yo! It's been awhile and I apologize for that. Long AU (feel free to skip): Life just got... very overwhelming as well as very stressful and I didn't have the motivation/energy to sit down and type one of these suckers out. That's partially why this chapter is so short compared to normal; I've gone ahead and cut it into two so I'm ahead a chapter. I also want to apologize because you guys waited so long for a new chapter and this isn't up to my past standard (at all). It's also basically filler, so... I'm sorry. My writing needs a ton of work and I thought it'd be preferable to practice with a filler/fluff chapter instead of an angsty one. Again, sorry '-'

Thank you guys for sticking around and I hope you choose to do so again while I work through this writing slump! Love you guys!

Warnings: bad language, bad attitude, and bad to the bone editing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke


Hell in a Hana-basket

A light breeze ruffled her undone hair and Hana sighed in bliss. She could get used to this. Dry grass against her back, a dash of summer air, and just enough clouds in the sky to protect her skin. Green eyes blinked open before lazily crawling across her surroundings. The moment felt like a scene ripped from the pages of a well-read novel, with just enough reality to remain peaceful. This is what dreams are made of.

The wind shifted, and a ray of sunshine slashed across her vision. Yeah, no. Scratch that.

"Ugh," flopping a hand over her face, Hana growled, "What happened to practicing inside? Since when was this a thing?"

Sprawled out on her stomach, Momoi hummed, "It's really not that bad, Ima-chan."

"I'm going to burn, living out the rest of my days as the human lobster."

Peering up from her notes, Momoi squinted in Hana's direction, "Did you not bring any sunscreen?"

Ah, damn. Hana clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Nope."

"I think I brought mine—"

"Don't coddle her, Satsuki," the words were accompanied by a basketball dropping between the two girls, "Imamura's a big girl, or is all that talk of yours just air?"

Hand still shading her eyes, Hana tilted her head up to peer at the shadow above her, "I will punch you. Right in the knee— maybe higher. Go for the gold and all that."

Choosing to situate himself perfectly between the two girls, Aomine collapsed onto the ground. Sweat trickled off his brow before the ace wiped it off with the bottom of his shirt. As Hana's traitorous eyes skimmed the newly exposed skim, Aomine snorted, "Like I'm scared of you."

"You should be," despite her righteous annoyance, Hana lost the edge of her venom with the rising heat. The edges of Aomine's jaw weren't as narrow as she'd last seen, and it was hard to keep her tongue sharp against the forgotten sight, "I'm terrifying."

Attention back on her notes, Momoi nodded succinctly, "Terrifying."

"Pfft," Aomine's lips ticked up into a smirk, "You wish."

Burrowing her face into the grass, Hana grumbled halfheartedly, "One day, you're going to be scared of me and I'm going to hold it over you for the rest of your life."

"Doubt it," gaze moving to a point above her head, Aomine's smirk turned feral, "What do you think, Kise?"

There was a considering noise above her as Hana heard Kise lower himself to the earth. Unlike Aomine, the blonde sat close enough to her that his knee skimmed the side of her hip. Talk about taking liberties. Hana peeked one eye open to glare at him. Feeling her stare, Kise's attention fell onto her as he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"I don't know, Aomine-cchi," his hum was teasing and Hana prematurely rolled her eyes at the devious tilt of his lips. It was a hard thing to make an insult charming, but if anyone could, Kise could do it, "Imamura-cchi can be pretty scary looking after a long practice."

A snort crawled out from between her lips, "You're one to talk, Ryouta—"

The hell? Hana's face scrunched together. Something about that response wasn't right. Now that she thought about it, a lot of the conversation had been wrong. It wasn't fitting the script— but what script? The sense of peace she'd gained earlier started to become tainted with a layer of confusion. Rolling off her stomach, Hana crawled to her knees just in time to hear Aomine release a sharp bark of laughter.

It was the muted footfalls behind her brought Hana's attention away from the two boys. Four figures moved through the edge of the tree line. The groups all here. From green to purple, and blue to… red, the rest of the missing scene had arrived. Again, that latent feeling of oddness rose to the surface. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Mura-chin," at the back of the group, Murasakibara moved toward her position. From what she saw— remembered?— he hadn't been working hard enough to earn the sweat that dripped down his neck, "I want a water."

Her mouth moved without control, "Come and get it, Atsuhi," she stretched her arms above her head in an attempt to erase the new stiffness, "You have legs. Huge ones, might I add."

"Annoying," the giant's response was a sigh as he passed by, but that didn't stop the way his fingers grazed the edge of her hair, "You're the manager."

"She's the manager of a different team, Murasakibara," the added voice came from the left where Midorima stood beside their gathering. Black rimmed glasses flashed in the mid-afternoon sun as he wiped them against his shirt, "Besides, it's neither her or Momoi's job to retrieve your water."

For some reason, Hana's neck felt heavy and she suppressed the urge to glance toward the remaining duo. It was as if she had to look that way. Like all the other actions of the past few minutes, the impulse seemed out of her control. Ignoring the twinge of unease, Hana agreed, "See, Shintaro gets it. Smartest out of all of you."

Out of pure generosity, Hana ignored the choking sound that came from the afore mentioned boy. Got to throw him a bone every now and then. Too bad it seemed the rest of their audience wasn't so kind, but when where they ever?

Lowering the water bottle from his mouth, Murasakibara stared blearily in the shooter's direction, "You're red, Mido-chin."

"Bah! Look what you did now, Imamura," Aomine paused from his brief verbal scuffle with Kise and cobalt eyes leered in Midorima's direction, "He'll be hard all— hey!" removing the shirt off his face, Aomine scowled at the sixth-player, "What was that for?"

"You were being rude," unlike the rest of his teammates, Kuroko lowered himself to the ground without spectacle, "I thought it would be best to stop you before you said something you'd regret."

"I wouldn't—" Aomine paused when he glanced around the assembled group. Midorima's previous flush of embarrassment had darkened its hue in anger, while even Momoi had set down her pencil to scowl in Aomine's direction. For a reason Hana found extremely pleasing, he didn't even risk looking her direction before scoffing, "Pfft, whatever."

Feeling her lips tug into a grin, Hana dug her fingers into the grass before lobbing a chunk in Aomine's direction. When he effortlessly dodged it, green eyes rolled, "I take back everything I said, Tetsuya and Shintaro are the smart ones. Well, Momoi too, but that goes without saying."

"Thank you, Ima-chan," now giggling, Momoi finally sat up and joined the conversation. Dainty hands tied her hair into a bun as she replied, "You're my favorite too."

"Awh," Kise pouted beside her before nudging her calf with the toe of his shoe, "That's not fair."

"Totally fair," Hana countered, flicking the remaining blades of grass into Kise's hair. He huffed in irritation, but the smile on his face only grew with Hana's matching grin, "We've got to put up with dicks like Daiki over there, we deserve to have each other."

Kise replied, but Hana's heart was too busy imploding for her to pay mind to it.

Sometime during their talk, the last remaining figure stepped into the grouping. He stood beside Kuroko, analytic and unyielding. As Hana's green eyes scanned over his form, the peculiar sensation of before reared its ugly head. Unlike the rest of the boys, who retained their middle school appearance, Akashi looked older. His eyes were what gave him away, the hetero-chromatic hue glowing in the shadow of his face.

The sight and feel of his presence wasn't meshing with the memory— dream?— her mind was supplying.

Fully realizing the unnaturalness in the proceedings playing out, Hana wet her lips before opening her mouth, "Seijuro?"

"Hana," Even in this dream-verse— or would it be a nightmare— Akashi's aristocratic drawl sent shivers cascading down her arms. He stepped further into the groups' clearing, allowing the sun to slash over his features, "You missed it, didn't you?"

Hinting toward warning, the breeze from before vanished and the air became stagnant, "Missed what?"

"Your attempt at idiocy is useless, it's never suited you," the smirk that cut his cheeks was lethal. Next thing she knew, the world skipped, like a record player scratching, before Akashi stood alone in the area. Hana still rested on the ground and Akashi offered out one soft hand in her direction, "I'm referring to your purpose, to the times when you truly meant something."

Without her conscious agreement, Hana's hand fell into Akashi's own. Shit, shit, shit. Time seemed sluggish as she rose to her feet, the dream-scape around them morphing into untainted emptiness. Not even a floor rested below them and the only light in the area came from Akashi's stare. As Hana came to stand firmly on her own two feet, those eyes blazed even brighter.

"I can fix it," removing his hold, Akashi instead choose to tease his fingers across her cheek, "Do you not trust me?"

"This is a jacked dream," face to face with the boy that haunted her recollections of happiness, Hana gulped, "I don't need you—"

"You do," without moving, his figure was somehow closer, and Hana swore she felt his ghostly breath against her face. With a demure smile, he continued at her hitching breath, "You always have."

The fingers costed back down her cheek before they landed on her chin, surprisingly warm. As she stared into those technicolored orbs, she was startled to find her own gaze reflected upon their surface, but it came with a twist. Because of the orange tone of Akashi's unnatural eye, Hana's own reflection warped in the same way. One green eye and one orange.

The sight was so unpredictably horrifying, she didn't even notice when Akashi came closer until it was too late, "You see it, don't you?"

Refusing to acknowledge whatever he was claiming, Hana yanked her face away from his grasp and slammed her eyes shut.

—But the feeling of something wet touching her face shot them back open. Akashi's figure was so close, their noses could have touched, but the wet, crawling sensation traveled away from her cheek and to her chin. Hana jerked back, losing focus on the Dream-Akashi and causing the area to flicker. That was all the distraction she needed before whatever was happening in this weird little hell zone was lost to the blur of reality crashing over her.

X

Hana came back into consciousness with a body wrenching gasp.

Before promptly screaming when the canine face above her own came into view.

"What the hell?!" The fact that she couldn't move only sent her adrenaline into overdrive. The blankets that were tangled over her body hindered any escape, but at least her thrashing made Nūdoru jump off her chest, "Dude! You—" she touched her slobber covered face, "Ew! Nūdoru!"

Despite her glare and muffled curses, Nūdoru had the audacity to woof.

"Took you long enough. You sleep like the dead," the voice came from her doorway and Hana swung her startled gaze in that direction. Her father snorted before flicking the ceiling fan light on, "You've got fifteen minutes before we head out."

With a groan, Hana yanked her coverlet over her head. What a way to wake up. Then his sentence registered, "Wait… head out?"

"Today's the day," her father waited for a response, but when he received none, he deadpanned, "You've got training camp today and if you want to get there in time, we've got to leave soon."

A moment passed.

Then another.

"Crap!" Hana flung the blankets off her body before falling off the bed. She tumbled to her feet, cursing a mile a minute, and sprinted toward the bathroom, "Riko's going to freaking murder me!"

With a sigh molded from struggles of raising a teenager, her father let out one last warning before shutting the door behind him, "Don't forget you need to pack."

Hana deemed that reminder insignificant for the moment, instead choosing to jump into the scalding hot shower. As she scrubbed her soap over her face, she let out a hiss. She'd been having these dreams for days now, but that was the first time they'd featured Akashi so intimately. God. Hana could still feel his hand against— Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope, analyze the subconscious bullshit later.

Man, she could already tell this was going to be a long ass day.

xXxXxXxXx

She wasn't one to brag, but she totally called it.

Not only was the drive down to the shore excessively long, but so was all this. For the past twenty minutes, the car remained idling in the resort's parking lot. It wasn't looking like it was going anywhere either. The price of gas nowadays does not support this type of behavior.

"Dad," Hana deadpanned. Her hand was holding the door handle almost reverently, "It's going to be okay—"

Her attempt at comfort didn't change anything. Instead of looking at his wonderful daughter, her father's gaze remained locked on the group outside of the building, "I see one girl, Hana. One. Do you know how many boys I see? Too many."

"Do you know how many of those boys are scared shitless of me?" the retort was muttered under her breath. Not even mentioning how scared they are of Riko. With a steadying breath, she tried again, "I'm rooming with Riko— Aida Riko? You talked to her dad."

Again, he ignored her reasoning. Which was rude. It was pretty solid in her opinion.

"I'm going to go introduce myself—" without stopping to hear his daughter's complaints, he was already stepping out of the car and marching toward the group, "Stay here, honey. This won't take long."

Wait, wait, wait what?! Hana fumbled with the door handle before rushing to intercept him, "Dad! It's not that big of a deal!"

He merely waved a hand over his shoulder, his gaze already locked on the most intimidating male in the group. Which coincidentally happened to be Kagami. "This will only take a minute, sweetheart. I just want to talk— Hana!"

"Sorry old man," Hana wheezed as she managed to dart ahead of him. Got to save them. She ignored the bewildered gaze of her teammates to stumble out a warning, "Prepare yourselves."

The group stared at her before as one symbiotic unit, their gaze flicked to her father. Then back to her. The pattern repeated a couple times before comprehension formed. A few of the older boys winced when the meaning of Hana's warning became clear, obviously already having dealt with this type of father themselves. I'm so sorry. When the footsteps came closer, Hana offered them all a guilty grimace.

"What?" The only one who seemed capable of speech was Kagami, which further cemented him as her father's target, "Imamura… what the hell is going on?"

She didn't have a chance to explain.

With determined strides, her father came to stand beside her. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared down the male players, attempting to look intimidating. It seemed a genetic trait prevented the both of them from pulling the look off successfully though. Because, with his height equal to Hana's own and the layer of baking power still stuck in his hair, her father looked more like the Pillsbury dough boy than John Cena.

"And you are?" chest puffing, her father glared up at Kagami, "I'm sure I'd know the face of someone who talks about my daughter so familiarly."

Oh, dear god. Hana's face fell into her hands when Kagami coughed out a reply, "Uhm— no one— I mean Kagami Taiga, sir—"

"Dad," Hana moaned, "You know about Kagami."

The way he sniffed in dismissal was personally familiar, "I just want to know who my daughter's staying with; since I'm her father, Imamura Heiji. Now, Kagami-san— you look like you're in charge here, am I right?"

"No— I mean, sorry," if it wasn't such an ass backward situation, Hana might have laughed at the way Kagami floundered about, "I'm just a first year? Not— I don't—"

"So, you aren't going to look after my daughter, that's what you're telling me?"

"Yes! I mean— no! Or yes? No!"

Jesus, she didn't know what to do. Half of her wanted to save Kagami, but with her unfortunate nature, her father would likely just move it onto someone else— probably Furihata or one of his pals if her luck held true. Removing her head face her hands, Hana shot a pleading look toward her seniors. They looked equally bamboozled, but Kiyoshi at least had to grace to pay attention when Hana mouthed, help me.

The gentle giant stepped forward, "Hello, Imamura-san. I can—"

"We'll look after your daughter," to say everyone was shocked when Kuroko interrupted was a smidge of an understatement. He ignored the surprise in favor of bowing his head toward her father, "Kuroko Tetsuya, we've met before."

"Ah…" his mission momentarily forgotten, her father rubbed the scruff at the base of his chin, "Didn't see you there, Kuroko-san. It's been a while. Haven't seen you around in a bit."

Collectively, the group held their breath. This could go one of two ways. Either her father remembered Kuroko from middle school fondly, or his memories were tainted from Hana's subsequent falling out with them. Fingers crossed he still likes him. With a measured glance, her father scanned Kuroko from head to two before eventually nodding. Everyone, sans Hana, slumped in tandem relief.

"That would be my fault, Imamura-san," Kuroko humbly replied. Hana didn't know how, but Kuroko had this ass-kissing thing down, "I apologize."

With a sigh, her father waved him off, "Don't worry about, kid. It's just nice to see a familiar face. You'll take of her," his eyes cut toward Kagami and a brow raised, "Won't you?"

"It would be my pleasure," stepping even further out of the line of her teammates, Kuroko glanced toward Hana and blinked, "Do you need any help with your bags, Imamura-san?"

Really? Don't encourage this. She attempted to slightly shake her head, "I'm good—"

"Yeah, come on kid," her father interrupted and motioned for Kuroko to follow him. Hana threw her hands up, but he didn't even pause to catalog the movement before leading Kuroko back to their car, "She's got a few."

"I said it was fine—"

"Of course, Imamura-san," apparently discounting the warning, Kuroko moved on without looking back.

What? Hana starred after them, face falling in incredulity. She hadn't seen her father behave that well with a boy since well, Torio coincidently. Which was a little fact that didn't bode well in Kuroko's favor. Poor guy, doesn't even know what's coming for him. Hana pinched the bridge of her nose to try and remove the sudden headache before a throat clearing halted her.

When she glanced at the noise maker, Kiyoshi tried to smile, "So, that was your dad? He seems—"

"Crazy," Hana finished for him. Even though she loathed to do it, she shot a guilty grimace in Kagami's direction, "Sorry about that. If it makes you feel better, you did better than Uoya his first time. He cried, just a little bit though."

Face still ashen, Kagami swallowed, "What about Kuroko?"

Yeah, about that… Hana could only shrug, "He hates him."

"What?!" Her team gawked, "How can you say that so easily?!"

Taken aback, Hana held her hands up in innocence. At least they're loyal. But really, it wasn't her fault her father was like this. It was just an unfortunateuniversal fact of life. Dads were dads and did weird, dadly things. At least Riko seemed to understand.

The coach nodded sagely, "Mine does the same thing. Remember, Teppei?"

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that," gazing into the distance, Kiyoshi smiled to try and hide his shiver, "I thought we were getting along so well and then—"

As one, the males of their team held their breath, "And then?"

This time Kiyoshi couldn't stop the shudder, "He invited me to dinner."

"Really?" the rest of the boys' deadpanned, "That's it?"

"It was horrible," Riko cut in when Kiyoshi appeared trapped in his memories. She tried to keep her tone solemn, but Hana saw the grin tugging at her lips. "I've never seen Teppei so nervous. I don't know how he managed to stick around after that, but my dad seemed okay with him from then on."

Yeah, she gets it. Motioning a hand in Riko's direction, Hana added, "It's terrifying from both sides. He's only done this once with my old— acquaintance from middle school, but it was a shit show. You think your little basketball pissing contests are intense? Try the shovel talk."

Furihata gulped, "The shovel talk?"

"If you hurt my daughter, I'll knock you over the head—" Hana began.

While Riko finished, "And bury you in the back yard."

"That's…" if Kagami's face was pale before, it was nothing compared to now, "Is Kuroko going to be okay?"

A good question, man. Licking her dry lips, Hana could only cough, "I guess so. I mean, I know so? Torio survived anyway."

At that, the group returned their attention to the two removing luggage from her car. Well, by this point they'd both finished their duty as Hana's only purple suitcase laid at their feet. See? Told you so. You didn't need to help. Meanwhile, the car trunk was popped open and her father leaned against it as he stared at a stone-faced Kuroko. Hana could sense the strain though yards away. It was a trap.

With a forlorn sigh, Izuki shook his head, "Poor, Kuroko-kun."

"He was such a nice guy," tears streaming down his face, Koganei hugged Mitobe tight, "He didn't deserve this!"

Joining the theatrics, the freshmen trio nodded as Kawahara laid a palm against his chest, "We will honor his sacrifice."

And somehow, in the midst of it all, Tsuchida produced a white flag and waved it through the air in morning.

"You guys," Hana deadpanned, "It's not that big of deal—"

Lifting his head from Mitobe's shoulder, Koganei sniffled, "We're having a moment of silence, Imamura-chan."

Oh, come on. I give up. Throwing her hands in the air, Hana turned away. Dramatic bunch of dweebs.

For another five minutes, the group observed in reverent silence. Well, the boys did. Riko and Hana had since then situated themselves in the back of the grouping to roll their eyes at the hysterics. When Riko punched Hyuuga in the shoulder for his whispered comment, Hana could feel an epiphany in the making. They did have a lot in common, didn't they? Maybe our dads could go get a drink sometime?

She didn't have much longer to think about it before the car's trunk slammed shut. With her luggage bag in hand, Kuroko was walking back toward them. Apparently, the shovel talk was over. Took them long enough. Meanwhile, her father called out to her, "Bye, honey! See you in a few days!"

"Yeah," Hana waved back weakly. Her attention stayed on Kuroko's pallor, "Bye, dad. Love you?"

"Love you too, sweetheart!"

"And I thought coach's dad was scary," in the background, Tsuchida shivered, "Now there's two of them."

With another slam of the car door, the engine was revving up and driving back down the sandy entryway. The noise made a few of the weaker willed boys jump, but most of them stayed engrossed on Kuroko. See, that wasn't so bad. Hana paused that thought before making a noise in the back of her throat. She could admit Kuroko looked a little sick around the edges.

"Are…" Koganei was the first to break the silence, "Are you okay?"

With a strident nod, Kuroko finally made his way into the group again. Yet, instead of answering the question, he held out Hana's bag, "I believe this is yours, Imamura-san."

"Thanks, Tet—" Stupid dream! Hana swallowed her traitorous words so fast she choked. Even the bag nearly fell from her grip, "Thanks, Kuroko!"

She could tell he noticed. Which of course he did, it was Kuroko after all. No matter how inadvertent the action, nothing escaped his observation. There was no hiding the enlargement of his eyes despite his accustomed stoicism, but luckily, fate deemed she'd suffered enough this morning. Praise the lords of luck and all things awesome!

Her saving grace, Kawahara spoke up, "Did you get the…" he stumbled over the words, "Shovel talk?"

Kuroko blinked the residues of confusion from his stare, "No, we didn't speak about shovels."

"That's—" Kawahara sweat dropped, "I didn't mean actual shovels…"

"Well, what happened?" Kagami seemed to be faring better now that her father had left. Hana wasn't sure if she should feel offended by that factor or not. Let's just go with the benefit of doubt on this one.

"Nothing," eyebrows falling the slightest bit, Kuroko continued, "He simply invited me to join them for dinner next week."

Hana huffed in surprise at that tidbit. Say what now? Her father hadn't even invited Torio to dinner, he'd just hijacked their hangout time one evening and drilled his fatherly love into the younger boy's skull. Though, she wasn't sure if this new direct development could be classified as a good thing or not.

She tried to get her thoughts together, "When—"

"No!" As a collective, the boys interrupted, "You can't go!"

While Hana grumbled, Kuroko didn't appear phased by their desperation and simply skirted around their reach. "I already gave my promise I'd be there. We've planned for next Sunday evening, Imamura-san."

So lost in their own conversation, the group missed the knowing brow raise Kiyoshi gifted their coach. Riko choose not to reply verbally, instead contenting herself by shrugging and observing the outcome. Though she did nothing to cover the grin that graced her cheeks.

"Uh," Hana still didn't know how to handle this. Dinner… with my family? The hell. She'd assumed her father would have chased Kuroko away instead and all her predictions of the future built off that assumption, "That's good? I mean—" take a deep breath, "That's cool, it's cool."

It apparently wasn't cool to anybody else. Though he'd been passive for most of the conversation, Hyuuga finally stepped forward and snagged Kuroko by the shoulders, "You can't go. It isn't safe—"

And then it all went to hell in a handbasket. Or should she say hell in a basketball hoop? Oh well, it didn't matter now.

"He's going to kill you—"

"— chop your head off—"

"— and bury you in the yard! "

"We need you, Kuroko!"

"Don't go!"

"You're being idiots," Hana scoffed at the growing chaos. She was beginning to get insulted despite the earlier forgiveness, "This is my dad, highly doubt he'd murder someone."

While he hadn't participated directly in the recent madness, Kagami snorted and put himself into the crossfire, "He's related to you."

"… yeah, well, if that's how it works," her eyes narrowed on the ace, "I'll make sure you're the first target."

In the meantime, Kuroko stood in the midst of confusion and pandemonium he'd unknowingly unleashed. His turquoise eyes were still a bit wider than normal and, as Nigou came padding up to him, Kuroko chose that moment to follow Kiyoshi's example and retreat to the relative safety of his coach. It would be referred to as relative safety due to the fact that Riko appeared ready to explode herself.

Which she did moments later, "That's enough!"

The coach's screech worked as intended. Every member of their team, save for Kiyoshi and Kuroko, froze and cautiously turned toward the devilish woman. The aura that coated her could best be described as formidable and, as Riko lifted a sharp finger in the direction of the beach front, everyone shot to attention.

"We are here for one reason," the smile that pulled against Riko's cheeks looked fatal, "And I suggest everyone gets ready because that reason starts now." The coach's hand slashed out across the horizon, "Training camp is in session! Everyone! Go!"

And just like that, like the little cowards they were, everyone raced toward the shoreline; luggage and talks of shovels forgotten behind them.

When they managed to make it to the beach front, the group lined up with the girls and captain in the middle. Taking her place beside Riko, Hana clutched her bag to her chest before wary eyes roved over the beach's added features. She said added, because Hana was pretty certain beaches didn't come with basketball hoops now-a-days.

"Don't tell me we're going to…" Hana didn't catch who spoke, but she echoed the sentiment.

"We're going to play basketball," Riko stepped forward, the sun gleaming off her hair, "What Seirin needs now is to improve the skills of each individual player. But don't forget, we're not making a team of individual strength, but increasing each one of the powers we have as a team. We win as a team."

"Uhm," lowering her voice into a whisper, Hana glanced to Izuki at her side, "Heads up, I think you guys are going to die."

Izuki didn't get a chance to reply before Riko took his place. The unholy glint in her auburn eyes promised terrible things, "You're part of this team too, Imamura-chan."

Hana gaped, "Now hold the freaking phone—"

"Shooting, passing, dribbling, to improve all your actions," with practiced ease, Riko ignored the manager, "We'll be playing on the beach."

Frankly, Hana didn't want to hear anymore. Managers should not be part of torture! As delicately as she could, she attempted to take a step out of line. The movement was useless. As soon as she'd managed to move, Izuki grabbed her wrist and on the other side, Hyuuga repeated the action. What type of betrayal is this!? When the captain glared down at her, Hana cursed.

"As a team, Imamura," glasses flashing, Hyuuga gave her a threatening smile, "Don't even think about it."

Shit. Stuck for the time being, Hana sent a prayer up to the basketball gods for mercy. She figured it was the least they could do.

Unfortunately, Riko's final words cemented her untimely doom, "Let the training camp from hell begin!"

Double shit.

xXxXxXx

By the end of the day, Hana didn't have much to complain about.

Okay. So that might technically, not be true, but she'd let it go for now. Because after all the torture was said and done, it almost felt like a real vacation.

After a sorely needed dinner, the team broke apart to begin their nightly routines. Even her own stomach pudged a bit out of her swimsuit and when it gave a contented rumble, Hana patted it in greeting. After standing from her seat and tying the saltwater-soaked strands of her hair into a messy bun, Hana merged through the last of her teammates and offered her partings before heading to her and Riko's conjoined room.

The day had been an adventure, all right. Every bone in her body ached and Hana had a suspicious feeling that the sandy mess that coated her skin had bleed into her blood stream as well. The stuff was everywhere.

She wasn't the only one wet. Ha, get it? But no, a few of her fellow freshmen, mainly Kawahara and Fuduka, had joined her for a dip in the ocean between their lunch break and dinner. No one else shared the anticipation Hana held for the ocean, but she was simply happy she'd gotten to relive a version of her childhood vacations.

After making it to her room, Hana stripped the damp swimsuit from her body. The movement made the sunburn across her shoulders burn in warning, but it wasn't something Hana couldn't fix. Still a bitch though. Ten minutes later, with a quick dip in the shower and a hefty coat of aloe-vera gel, she was ready for bed. Theoretically.

In reality, she wasn't any where near ready to go to sleep. The tiny twin bed just didn't seem appealing. Energy still swirled in her veins and Hana almost wanted to go take another dip in the ocean, but the promise of sharks diverted her. So many teeth. Instead, she pulled on her softest tee-shirt and fluffiest pair of socks before wandering back out into the hallway.

Surely there was someone here that could entertain her.

A girl can only hope.

That hope turned out futile, considering the only person she ran into was Hyuuga and he was on his way to practice. Hana had offered to tag along, but in a surprisingly mild manner unaccustomed to the captain, Hyuuga informed her he'd rather be alone. He did give her some insight into the locations of her other teammates. Namely Kagami, who held the most promise of entertainment.

Navigating the maze of the resort hallways was a pain, but it eventually proved to be successfully. Though she'd really need to map this place out for future reference. When Hana found Kagami ten minutes later, he was unsurprisingly accompanied by Kuroko. Such a cute bromance. As quietly as she could, Hana fiddled with the door handle before sliding open the glass door to peer at her friends.

The two boys were situated on the back steps of the resort, staring out across the bubbling sea. Nigou slept against Kuroko's left hip while Kagami sprawled out a few feet away on his right. Unlike Kuroko, the redhaired ace was laying against the wooden deck and lobbing a basketball in the air above his head. As she stood observing, a chill sunk in through the doorway and Hana tugged her gym shorts a little further down her legs.

"Hey," for some reason, she felt it was appropriate to whisper, "Can I hang with you guys? I'm bored as hell."

Despite her attempt at easing herself into focus, Kagami still jumped. Subsequently, the ball he'd been tossing dropped straight onto his nose and the ace shot up with a muted curse, "What the hell, Imamura?"

"Don't blame me for that, Taiga," scuffling outside, Hana darted over Kagami's legs before collapsing in between the two boys. Reaching across Kuroko's lap, she gave Nigou a scratch with her response, "That was karmatic retribution."

"For what?" Due to his sore nose, Kagami's response was nasal, "I haven't done anything."

Really? Hana raised a brow, "Hyuuga would beg to differ."

"What are you—" It took a second, but eventually Kagami slumped in defeat, "Oh, forgot about that."

While they'd been chatting, Kuroko took the time to catalog Hana's appearance. The focus he'd been observing the ocean with was now fully transferred onto her and when Hana turned to him, she was a bit disconcerted by the intensity. Hello to you too, dude? While she was alarmed, she wasn't surprised. He'd been especially observant since their mini-falling out.

Meanwhile, head tilting the slightest inch, Kuroko questioned, "Are you not tired, Imamura-san?"

"Nah," deciding to forgo his probing, Hana stretched her arms over her head, "I can't sleep in new places, it throws off my mojo."

After retrieving his fugitive basketball, Kagami sat it in his lap before straightening up, "You too?"

"Yeah, I think it's a side effect from traveling so much as kid," her shoulder let out a satisfying pop and Hana sighed in relief, "Time zones and shit, you know?"

Moving his attention back out to the horizon, Kuroko offered a considering hum, "I wasn't aware you traveled often."

Not anymore. She shrugged, "Used to. It's been awhile now."

"That's how you know English, right?" Kagami frowned at the ball in his hands as he tried to balance it atop his finger, "You're pretty good at it."

"My, oh my," clasping at her heart in faux shock, Hana gaped, "Is that a compliment I hear? My ears deceive me—"

Kagami huffed at the challenge, "Why do I even try?"

"Because your hatred hides your love," now that she was certain her presence hadn't interrupted anything important, Hana tucked her legs underneath herself and leaned against Kuroko's shoulder. Look at me, being all touchy. Kise is rubbing off. When he didn't complain, she settled in, "It's not that big of a deal, I just practice a lot. Most of the novels I read are American. How'd you learn Japanese so well?"

"I grew up here," the ball spinning on his finger wobbled threateningly and Kagami cursed as he tried to straighten it out, "I didn't move to the states till third grade."

"How is it there?" Kuroko twisted a bit until Hana's head rested against his collar bone instead of his shoulder. From her peripheral, she saw him glance at Kagami, "I've always intended to visit one day."

"Not much different, it's faster here I guess," that was all Kagami could get out before the ball drifted off his finger and fell into his lap. His massive palm slapped the top in frustration, "I used to be able to do this, what the hell?"

"Don't get so upset about it," blinking at him from her huddle of comfort, Hana raised a brow, "You just need to clip your nails. That's what Midorima does. He's kind of anal about it actually."

"Huh," with a side glance in her direction, Kagami brought a hand up to his face and squinted, "You have any clippers, Imamura?"

"That depends," Hana removed a sock clad foot to poke him in the thigh, "Want to go grab me a glass of milk?"

He didn't even pretend to contemplate, "No."

"Pleasee~" her toes wiggled against his thigh and Hana laughed as he pushed her away, "Come on, Taiga. You know you want to."

When she tried to nudge him again, Kagami managed to snag her ankle. Well, that's not good. Giving it a threatening squeeze, Kagami shoved her leg to the side before scoffing, "Maybe if you stopped calling me that, I'd think about it."

"I won't do it for a whole twenty-four hours," when he shot her an incredulous look, Hana rolled her eyes, "Come on, I keep my— most of my promises. You know that."

Take the bait, you know you want too. Hana tried to look guiltless when Kagami turned his glower onto her. It wasn't hard considering her contentment, but she still had to erase the hints of her earlier smirk. The expression didn't want to fall though, and Hana could feel the way her lips remained ticked up. She just hoped Kagami regarded it as unintentional.

"All day tomorrow," Kagami leaned forward until his face was a tad too close for comfort, "I'm going to hold you to that, Imamura."

Dude, learn some personal space. Shoving his forehead back with her palm, Hana rolled her eyes, "Aye aye, captain."

"…" With a throaty growl, Kagami smacked her hand away before crawling to his knees. Hana didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on her in distrust as he lumbered to the door. "You're a pain."

"You know you love me!" Her reply was lost as Kagami slammed the sliding door shut behind him. Watching the structure rattle in warning, Hana huffed, "Such dramatics."

It'd be rude to admit it, but she'd practically forgotten about Kuroko during her banter with Kagami. So, when his shoulder moved, she barely resisted jumping out of her skin. Jesus, Hana touched her heart in veneration. I thought I'd grown out of this by now. Tilting her head back, she stared up at him. Well, more like his chin, but it still counted.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Hana questioned, "My bad for laying all over you." She was so accustomed to clinging to Uoya, the contact didn't feel peculiar at all. But now that I'm focusing on it… "Want me to move?"

"You're fine, Imamura-san," Kuroko shuffled a bit, but when he'd settled, their position was marginally more relaxed, "You and Kagami-kun are getting along well."

"Yeah, well, we had a heart to heart," since Kagami was gone, she took the opportunity to stretch her legs out fully. The movement also allowed her a chance to shift from her position, yet for some reason, she continued to lean against her friend, "Taiga's a little rough around the edges, but I'm working on it."

His responding attitude appeared cool, but Hana wasn't fooled. The muscles she laid against tightened with his next words, "I see. I was curious as you're referring to him quite familiarly."

"The best way to build a friendship is to force it—" Hana cut herself off when she felt Kuroko's minuscule sigh, "Don't judge— I'm serious. Isn't that kind of what you did back in middle school?"

"Is it?" he appeared to ponder the question for a moment, "I hadn't intended for that."

She couldn't stop the snort, "Of course not."

"I'm being truthful, Imamura-san," sure, he thought he was being honest, but Hana caught that slight flash of mirth. A second of peace fell upon them before Kuroko spoke again, "I truly wanted to get to know you."

"Well, I'll give you a 10 out of 10. Look at this," peeking up at him, Hana smirked as she motioned to their position, "Friendship out the ass."

He made another one of his near-silent noises and Hana thought this one might have been a laugh. For a moment, they said nothing. Kuroko's gaze remained attached to the shore-line and if Hana couldn't hear the cacophony of his heartbeat, she'd assumed he'd fallen asleep. I could for sure. Yet, instead of succumbing to her comfort, Hana trailed her stare to the constellations above.

The day's clear sky had transferred itself into the night and now the whole coast line glittered with stars. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and as Hana traced her gaze over the more familiar figures, the stress of the day melted away. A girl could get used to this. Her wistful pondering lasted up until Kuroko shifted.

By the way his heartbeat ricocheted, Hana knew Kuroko was going to say something before he did. Which was convenient, because it took a while for the words to leave the safety of his lips, "Earlier today… you almost called me Tetsuya."

"Oh god," whatever ease she'd felt vanished and Hana smacked a hand over her eyes, "I thought the agreement was mutual— none of this embarrassing crap when we're bonding."

Come on, Kuroko, take a hint.

Too bad perseverance was one of his specialties, "Imamura-san?"

She figured she could avoid explanation, but even the thought of it seemed impolite. They'd come so far since the Tōō game and their subsequent miscommunications, with both teens opening up the layers wrapped around their subconscious. With his inquisition, it was clear Kuroko wanted to honesty to continue. Great. Her shoulders heaved in resignation. More communication, just what I wanted.

"It was an accident," she groaned the words out, her hand dragging down her cheek in defeat, "I'd had a weird dream last night and I don't know man, don't make me explain this shit. It just— it just came out."

"Ah."

Ah? Her mind repeated the noise a few times, each with heightening levels of incredulity. The blush that worked itself over her cheeks was so intense that Hana nearly felt physical pain. Technically, that might have been the stuttering of her heart, but she preferred to think on the bright side of the spectrum. Humiliation is better than heart break and all that. Wait, what—

"Sorry, Imamura-san," Kuroko's voice broke her thoughts off, "That wasn't meant to be a complaint."

Her response was loaded with weary anticipation, "It wasn't?"

Another pregnant pause came and went before Kuroko finished his thought process, "No, it hadn't bothered me. I understand it was an accident on your part, but the sincerity behind it was appreciated."

"The sincerity?" Hana peered up him just in time to see his stare flicker back out to the sea, "What do you mean?"

"Aomine-kun and Akashi-kun…" he trailed off with another of his minuscule shifts, "It's simply been a while since I've heard my first name spoken without a taunt. Momoi-san tries, but I know her use is due to her admiration."

Oh. Hana fell out of the conversation in reflection. Okay… We're getting into deeper waters than what I was emotionally prepared for.

Despite the mental apprehension, she kind of understood the stance he was coming from. Unlike her teasing with Kagami, Hana was aware of the intimate origins of someone's name. When Akashi had drawled out her name both in reality and in her dream, the mockery behind it had almost knocked her off her feet. To have your sense of identity twisted like that from two former friends…

Well, that's just not okay. Obviously, one day, her sympathy for the underdog was going to kill her. But that day is not today. Or at least, that's what she hoped.

Pushing herself off Kuroko's side, Hana crawled a few feet away before turning back toward him. The confusion apparent on his face sparked when Hana thrust her hand out in his direction, "You know what? Screw them."

"Imamura-san," thoroughly lost, Kuroko blinked down at her hand, "What are you doing?"

"Come on. You deserve this," the encouragement was as much as for her as it was for him. Thankfully, he gave her the benefit of doubt and when she flapped her hand in encouragement, Kuroko eventually grabbed it. Okay, easiest part is over. Now here came the uncertainty. Taking a deep breath, Hana squeezed his hand once, "It's nice to meet you… Tetsuya."

She waited, but when no immediate response came, her smile twitched. I'm an idiot, the biggest idiot in the world. She'd always known she was a bit too rash, a bit too impulsive, but now she was worried she'd just scored the reward for biggest fool in Tokyo. Her companion wasn't moving, gaze fixated on her hand and Hana swore to god she heard the angels singing their trumpet song for the death of her dignity.

Still, she'd made her move. There was nothing she could do; the ball was in Kuroko's hands now.

But boy, were his hands slow as hell.

"Thank you," Kuroko's returning squeeze was with a much stronger caliber than her own. Praise Jesus, it worked. Despite the attempt at power, it took another moment before he could finish his sentiment, "It's nice to meet you as well, Hana."

"Oh," she coughed in surprise. Unpredictable little shit. It shouldn't have thrown her off as much as it did, but that development hadn't been part of her plan, "Oh— okay— that is— It's workable?"

Removing his hand, Kuroko blinked back at her. The doubt mirrored in his expression was almost endearing, "Is that okay?"

Was it okay? It damn sure felt okay… The sound of her name had jolted through her system, lighting her nervous system aflame with a weird dash of apprehension and bliss. Yet, that minuscule sample also brought back her dream with a new prophetic flare. Faced with a new barrage of uncertainty, Hana chose to ignore the foretelling sensation.

She'd handle whatever happened when it happened.

"Works for me if it works for you," so, instead of worrying about the details, Hana grinned.

If the world didn't work in absolutes, why should she?

x


Normally I respond to reviews here, but with how long it's been I'm worried that would just be confusing for this round.

I just wanted to let you guys know I've read all of them (multiple times) and that they were a big motivator for me to get out of my little writing slump! Thank you guys, you've all really done more than I could ever hope for!