*waves* Happy almost Christmas! Hope you guys are enjoying the holidays.

Warnings: Bad language, violence, creepy behavior, poor editing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke


Dark Reflection

If she could fall into a temporary coma, that'd be great.

Hana couldn't remember the last time she'd stayed up so late. It had to be back at Teiko, for sure. Probably before she even met Kuroko. God, her brain hurt. Why'd morning have to come so damn early? There was so much to cover and so little time. Torio just had to turn into a damn psychopath before prelims. Was that really necessary for her plot development?

A knock sounded and Hana sighed. Just what I needed.

"You wanna get that?" Chin propped in her hand, she cut Nudoru a droll look, "Or should I?"

Tucked under the kitchen table, Nudoru peered back up at her. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, canines quirked in a savage smile. His blind stare was locked on the toast gripped between her fingers and there wasn't a speck of a brain cell anywhere in his vacant grin.

There was another knock on the door and she whined, "Really? What good are you?"

Tossing the last bit of crust to her negligent guard dog, Hana crawled out of the chair and trudged toward the door. Her feet felt like lead— school shoes dragging against the clean linoleum of the kitchen floor. It's too early to exist. As she made it to the front hall, Hana managed to catch sight of her reflection and promptly pouted.

She looked like shit. Dull grey circles coated the skin around her eyes and her lips were chapped to all hell and back. One wrong smile and they'd be bleeding. She tried to serendipitously smooth down the rat nest atop her head, but another polite knock on her door cut her off. Hana groaned, long and hard. Really?

"What the hell—" she flung the door open, pausing at the sight of Nigou, "Dude."

Propped on her front porch like he owned it, Nigou stared up at her. The dog still looked a little too human-like for her tastes. It didn't help that Hana still couldn't get over how closely Nigou resembled his master. Almost like a Kuroko in furry form. His fluffy little tail beat against her welcome mat before the pooch let out a mild woof.

"Good morning, Hana."

Not taking her stare off the canine in front of her, Hana scoffed, "Tetsuya."

"I hope we didn't disturb you," Kuroko edged closer into her field of vision, his shoes appearing behind Nigou's fluffy little butt, "I wanted to see if you'd like to walk to practice with me."

Hana knew a half-truth when she saw one and right now, Kuroko was practically screaming with it. He wasn't trying to hide it either.

"Oh, don't give me that," Hana finally lifted her head high enough to glare. Judging from his apathy, it wasn't very effective, "Aomine called you, huh? I told him I was fine."

She knew she should have smacked that damn phone out of his hands.

"Of course not," Kuroko offered her one of those quietly cunning smiles, "He texted me."

You're such a little shit. Hana stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate or at least get the hint that this was a crock of shit. She hadn't been kidding when she told Aomine she was fine. She was, dammit! She was a perfectly functional human being who did not need any type of babysitter to cover her tracks.

What'd he expect to happen? Torio crawl out of the sewer lines and go all "Hello Georgie" on her?

"You don't even talk to each other!" Hana threw her hands up in tired annoyance, "Are you even friends?"

"We're in contact," Kuroko hedged, shuffling the tiniest bit as he finished, "Momoi-san insisted as well."

"Oh my god, I'm fine," Hana reiterated for what had to be the thousandth time in the last two days, "I do not need you guys' protective macho shtick taking over my day. I can walk my damn self to school."

"Of course," without addressing her complaint, Kuroko pulled out his trump card, "I brought coffee."

Green eyes zeroed in on said offering. Looks like someone came prepared. It wasn't the cheap shit. That was a fancy cup— one of those recyclable things from the posh stores she couldn't afford. A tempting sacrifice.

"Coffee," Hana repeated, eyeing the steaming mug held in his outstretched hand, "What flavor is it?"

She'd always been a sucker for bribes.

"Vanilla with two sugars and cream," Kuroko explained, Nigou adding in an accompanying woof for good luck, "I believe it's your favorite?"

Hana scoffed, but it was a fond thing, "Believe my ass. God, you're all a bunch of gossip whores," she stepped out of the doorway and motioned the duo inside, "I gotta get my bag, and then we can go. Look out for Nudoru, though—"

The warning was scarcely out of her mouth before the dog in question came galloping down the hall. His meaty shoulder clipped the corner, claws skittering against the wooden floor as he came sprinting toward the new visitors. She very barely managed to catch the wild hound before he made it outside, but it was a difficult thing. The rough fabric of his collar cut into her fingers and Hana made a snap decision.

"So, this may hurt," Hana trailed off, grip loosening, "But I promise he's harmless."

Giving Kuroko what she hoped translated as an apology, she let go.

"Hana—" There was a worrying thump and a heavy whoosh of air before Nigou began to yip. A brief scuffle later, Kuroko managed to speak, "Please help."

When she managed to look down at the chaos, Hana had to suck her lip between her teeth to quell her bubbling laughter. Sprawled out on his ass, Kuroko had a huge pile of Nudoru standing over his lap. He tried to get up but was quickly halted by Nudoru plopping his butt on Kuroko's skinny legs. The whole time, Nudoru's tongue never stopped its assault of Nigou's face as he sniffed out the new dog and his companion.

Oh, shit. She really hoped that the stain on Kuroko's shirt wasn't drool.

"I'll be just a sec," bending down over the dogpile, Hana snatched the coffee out of Kuroko's hand with a sheepish grin, "You'll be okay!"

Nigou's frustrated bark begged to differ.

Ten minutes later, they were finally able to remove Nudoru and were setting off down the street. Nigou led the group, his fur ruffled and still a touch damp from the dressing down the older dog gifted him. He had his head lifted in a dignified huff; annoyance clear on his little canine face. Can't say I blame him. Not even a foot behind him, Nudoru followed the puppy's lead, bouncing after his new best friend.

"I believe I'll let Kagami-kun walk you home," Kuroko offered, smoothing down the ruffled front of his uniform, "Nudoru is very… large."

"See? I'm covered on the babysitter front. You and Aomine can get your noses right back into your own business," Hana finished the sentence, taking another sip of the divine coffee, "But, trust me, I know. He's a pain in the ass."

"He's interesting," Kuroko agreed. Again, he completely ignored her complaint in favor of a small smile tinting his cheeks as he watched the two dogs, "You two are a good match."

"I feel like that was an insult—" she held up a hand when his mouth opened, "Gonna let it slide because you brought me coffee, but that was definitely an insult. I don't drool, man."

"That may be true," Kuroko eventually amended, his smile never quite fading, "But I never said you were similar, simply that you were a good match."

Hana cut him a look, latching onto the convenient subject change he provided. It might not be a subject she wanted to venture down, but anything was better than this little manly man protector thing going on. Besides, maybe he'd slip up and finally fess up to the truth Momoi shared with her. I can work with this.

"You think so?" She threw the bait out, waiting to see if he'd catch it, "Anyone else I'm a good match with?"

He didn't immediately speak, but Hana was mollified by the way his spine straightened. His stare stayed locked on their surroundings, peering at the small farmers' market they were passing by with a feigned air of interest. It was almost enough to fool her, but his hands were fidgeting— toying with a stray string on the hem of his pants.

"You're a very friendly person," Kuroko finally answered, not looking at her as they crossed the street, "You match well with most people. That's why we're concerned for you."

Way to take my subject change and twist it back around. Hana shot him a dry look, ignoring the way determination had set into his shoulders. This, this wasn't going to fly. She was not going to walk around with a protective detail for the next month due to Torio's creepy bullshit.

"That felt kind of backhanded, man," Hana deadpanned, "I feel like you just called me a friendship whore."

Kuroko's blue eyes flew wide, "I didn't—"

There we go. She'd finally found a weak spot. Now I just need to go for the kill. A grin stretched across her cheeks, her chapped lips burning as she tossed Kuroko an impish look, "Don't stress it," Hana nudged his shoulder as she jogged forward to corral Nudoru before they landed on campus, "Better a hoe for friendship than—"

"Please don't," Kuroko interrupted, following her steps, "That's not what I said."

"It's what you implied," Hana sang out, smile nearly too big for her face, "Look, I'm not mad. Kind of honored actually. I'm putting a whole new meaning to social butterfly. Spreading my wings—"

"Hana," Kuroko deadpanned, "No."

"Hana, yes," clipping Nudoru's leash on, she marched toward the school's back entrance and the gym, "You said it, man, not me."

Kuroko sighed, slow and low as he followed her. Instead of letting Nigou walk, he swiped the puppy up and plopped him on his head. Hana tried to ignore the longing look Nudoru sent the dog, shaking his leash to break his weird eye contact. Nudoru sent her a slobbery huff but turned his creepy eyes away from the poor puppy. Can't even see shit and still manages to cause trouble.

"I wasn't suggesting anything like that," Kuroko managed to refute, the faintest hint of a blush crawling up his neck, "You aren't—"

His voice went thick, the sound trailing off as he struggled to articulate the crude words. It was honestly comical the way his mouth tightened, frustration building as he tried to think it through. Cutting him some slack, Hana laughed, swatting at his arm as they reached the back entrance to the gym.

"Don't break yourself," Hana snorted. For the first time that morning, she didn't feel the dragging edge of stress eating away at her spine, "I'm just shitting with you."

He huffed, but it was tinged in relief, "I'd rather you didn't do that."

"Why?" Hana couldn't help but tease, hand falling on the gym's door before she shot him a mischievous grin over her shoulder, "Don't worry, I won't spread my wings too wide. Don't want to get a cramp or anything—"

"Hana."

"Yes?" She popped the door open with her hip, shark-like grin growing mercilessly as she caught Kuroko's bland stare, "Scared you away yet?"

"No," Kuroko's brow furrowed the faintest amount, "I—"

God, Kuroko and his damn eye contact. She'd never met a boy who stared so much and if it was any other person— Hana would have threatened to remove their eyeballs by now. But no, Kuroko got to be the exception. Might have to change that. Those stupidly blue eyes scanned over her face, his blush subsiding as he chanced a quick peek down the curve of her cheeks and hovered over her lips.

"Oh my god!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"That's a dog! Why's there a dog in the gym!"

Hana blinked, thrown out of the sudden stare down. There was a suspicious cacophony of noise echoing from the now open gym door and feeling her heart sink into her chest, Hana trailed her gaze down to her hand. Her empty hand. Nudoru's leash was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, man," the sound of barking confirmed her hypothesis, "I'm dead."

"Hana!"

X

While she'd anticipated disaster, fate had other plans.

"Imamura-chan!" Riko had Nudoru nestled against her chest. The big-headed dog was practically blanketed over the coach's shoulders, his tongue lolling happily, "You never told me you had a dog!"

"I—" Hana trailed off, stare locked on the unexpected duo, "I didn't think you'd like him?"

"Him? So, you're a boy?" Riko cooed, rubbing Nudoru's nose with a happy smile, "What a cute little boy! Hi, sweetheart~"

Nudoru's tail thumped against the gym floor with a resounding whack, his paws curling inward as he gave a delighted little whine. Riko practically melted, squeezing the hound's huge head against her chest with another happy coo. Behind her, Hyuuga grimaced— his cautious gaze never quite leaving Nudoru's mouth.

"Of course, coach loves him," Fukuda whispered to Furihata none too gently. Both coach and dog turned to glare at him, and he squeaked, "Their personalities are practically identical!"

That's a concerning observation. Hana blinked, "I'm not sure what to do with this information."

"What's his name?" Kiyoshi chimed in. He wasn't cowering like several of her other teammates, but he clearly didn't have the same balls Riko did, "I don't see a tag."

"That's 'cause he eats them," Hana deadpanned, watching in apathy as the coach cuddled her dog to the floor, "His name's Nudoru— do not ask me why."

"Noodle," Hyuuga repeated. His tone was deceptively bland, "You called your dog noodle."

Hana scoffed, leveling the captain an offended glare, "Like Nigou is any better! I don't see you giving Tetsuya shit."

Kiyoshi lifted the swear jar in amusement, but at the sound of Hana's snarl, deliberately lowered it.

"Please don't bring me into this," Kuroko chimed in. He'd found a spot beside a trembling Kagami to observe the chaos, "Nigou's feelings will be hurt."

The dog in question huffed from atop Kuroko's head. Hana raised an incredulous brow. He didn't look offended. If anything, he looked vengeful. His tiny puppy eyes were narrowed on Nudoru and Riko, watching them wrestling with something like a pout.

"Nudoru? So cute~ You're just a little noodle, aren't you?" Riko grinned, tapping the giant oaf of a dog on the nose, "We can get you a little uniform too. We'll have two mascots!"

"I'm not sure—" Izuki trailed off, taking a cautious step back at the glare Riko leveled him with, "Never mind."

Koganei added with an awkward laugh, nudging Mitobe in the shoulder, "Two mascots would be awesome!"

"Yeaaaah," Kawahara offered, hiding behind Kiyoshi with a shaky grimace, "That'll be great…"

Kagami's whine went ignored, "No more dogs!"

Oh god. Hana could see it now. Nudoru at every game, stuffed into a too-tight uniform and drooling all over the stadium. The other teams would cower, leaving the referee to fend off both Nudoru and Riko. It would be a disaster, but maybe, just maybe

"No," Hyuuga threw a hand out in an abrupt halting motion, "No mascots! We're a basketball team, we don't have mascots."

"Uhm, technically," Hana waved toward Nigou, "We have one. He's registered with the school." Everyone turned to stare at her, Nigou included. With an awkward little shuffle, Hana stuck her hands deep in the pockets of her jacket and shrugged, "Takeda-sensei helped."

Sticking his head out of the supply closet, Takeda-sensei waved.

Hyuuga stiffly turned to look at the advisor and then back to her, "What."

"Surprise? Was I not supposed to?" Hana trailed off at their growing incredulity, "I thought that was what managers were supposed to do—"

"Woah, our manager is actually being a manager," Koganei praised, stars blossoming in his eyes, "I can't believe it!"

Really. Dick. She glowered at him, "I will hit you."

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" The cat-like boy ducked behind his silent friend, "I didn't mean it, Imamura-chan!"

When Hana didn't immediately accept the apology, Koganei ducked lower and pulled Mitobe in front of him. That won't save you. Transitioning her glare from the smaller boy to his giant best friend, Hana narrowed his eyes on his apathetic face. Mitobe blinked once, then twice, before moving out of the way. Success!

Hana took a step forward, only to be yanked back by the collar, "Be nice, Imamura," Kiyoshi smiled down at her, "Thank you for working with Takeda-sensei."

Damnit. Can't be mad at that face. Kiyoshi always reminded her of a bear— one of the overstuffed kind that her mom used to keep in the guest bedroom. They always had wide little smiles stitched into their weathered faces and by god, they were the best things ever to cuddle with during those lonely American nights.

"… you're welcome," Hana eventually huffed, stepping out of his grip with a flourish, "I did it for Nigou, though. Not for us," when Kiyoshi began to look confused, she elaborated, "He gets free insurance under the school's employee policy."

"Oh," Kiyoshi blinked slowly, eyes going almost owlish, "I didn't know that."

"Surprise," Hana made a motion similar to jazz hands, "Woo. State-sponsored health care."

Kiyoshi snorted, but it was Kuroko's wide-eyed look that held her attention. Hana didn't want to look too deep into why he wore such a stupefied expression, but she couldn't help but think the worst. Maybe she should have asked permission before turning his new puppy into a school employee—

"I'm not going to ask how you managed that," Hyuuga finally offered. He'd since cupped his forehead in his hands, "But my point still stands, no more mascots."

"I could probably swing it—"

"No, no mascots," Hyuuga cut her off, ignoring the subsequent huff. He motioned toward Riko who'd yet to get out of the cuddle pile, "We've got too much to do in the next weeks. We don't need distractions."

"Even if they're as cute as you," Riko cooed into Nudoru's ear, scratching at his back. Nudoru woofed in what could only be called canine cheer. She looked up at the rest of the team next, the lingering admiration in her tone gone, "Hyuuga-kun's right. The winter cup preliminaries start soon, and we've got a lot to cover."

With one last pat to Nudoru's big head, Riko crawled to her feet. Propping her hands on her hips, the coach directed a stern look over the assembled group, "From now on, we're going to be practicing an extra half-hour. Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun, you're with me," Riko pointed toward the other freshmen, "You guys! You're with Imamura-chan!"

Hana blinked, jolted out of focus, "Me?"

"If you've got time to train Kagami-kun, you can do this too," Riko's smile turned sharp, "Right, Imamura-chan?"

Hana sighed. She knew that would come back to bite her in the ass eventually. This might make things slightly more difficult. Peering at the three boys, Hana's head tilted slightly. Furihata shivered at her stare but smiled despite his blossoming fear. Okay, she could make this work.

"Imamura-chan?" Kawahara and Fukuda repeated as one, "Why are we—" they trailed off when they glanced at said manager. Hana raised one brow threateningly and they both swallowed, "Understood!"

Add another item to the to-do list. Watching the trio of freshmen, she hummed. At least they had potential. Actually. Eyeing Fuduka's bland looks, Hana's mouth tilted into a grin. They have a lot more than just potential.

"Yeah, yeah," with a satisfied smile, Hana waved off her coach's inquiring look, "I'll get them into shape."

"Let's hope so. The competition's pretty stiff this year," Izuki added. He ventured closer to the coach, giving Nudoru a hesitant pat on the head, "They'll be hard to beat."

"Hah," Hana snorted, appreciating the pun, "Good one—" a heavy hand bopped her in the back of the head, "Jesus Christ, what was that for?"

Eyes narrowed dangerously, Hyuuga glared down at her, "No."

"No?" Hana repeated, "No, what?"

"You know what," the captain walked away, instructing the rest of the team to follow him to the lockers with a wave of his hand, "You need to go touch some grass."

"I—" Hana opened her mouth once, then twice, "I wasn't serious! I thought it was a joke!"

No-one turned at her declaration and Hana was left standing in the middle of the gymnasium with only the dogs for company. Furihata sent her a timid wave before disappearing into the dressing room after his captain. Propping her hands on her hips, she pouted in the direction of the locker room, clarity crawling up her spine in indignation. Nigou blinked up at her, a question in those tiny blue eyes.

Hana sighed, suddenly tired, "He thinks I'm a pervert, doesn't he?"

Nigou's resulting yip sounded mildly sympathetic.

The rest of the practice went well enough. But there was definitely going to be a learning curve as the team got used to Kiyoshi's presence. They'd gotten accustomed to operating without a strong center and now that they had one, they needed to remember how to utilize it. Hana huffed as she packed up her stuff. Another thing to add to Taiga's growing training.

She'd also need to plan out the trio's new exercises. Riko had them focusing mainly on basics, but maybe, just maybe, Hana could work them into developing some specialties. Fukuda excelled at defense and Furihata was fast. Kawahara was, well, he was something.

She just hadn't found out what it was yet.

The remainder of the team filed out of the locker room, dressed in their uniforms and freshly showered. Nudoru followed out behind them, someone's unfortunate shoe stuck between his maw. Without a look at anyone, the big oaf of a dog sauntered toward the supply closet, nudging Takeda-sensei's thigh as he plopped down on an old gym mat.

Well, okay then. Hana blinked. I guess that solves that issue.

"Remember everyone!" Riko shouted out as they broke apart to go to class, "We're having a late practice tomorrow! Be here at 7:00!"

Hana raised her hand to interject, but Riko didn't give anyone a chance to reply, scooping up her bag and plopping a kiss on Nudoru's head before rushing out the door. Hana's hand slowly fell, a sigh working its way out of her throat. Damn it.

Waving once to Nudoru and Takeda-sensei, Hana hurried after the rest of her teammates.

"Ugh," her shoulders slumped as she snuck in behind Kagami and Kuroko, "I forgot to tell them I can't make it. I'll have to text her later—"

"You can't make it?" Kuroko questioned, peering back at her in curiosity, "That's unusual of you."

"Got to go to Teiko," Hana shrugged, elaborating after they made their way into the school building, "Uoya's playing. It's their first game in the championship."

A bit of an awkward topic between them, but Hana was working on her honesty. She tried to ignore the way Kuroko's shoulder's stiffened, unease lining the muscles in his back as he likely reminiscence on their last championship in Teiko's stadium. Me too, buddy, me too.

There was an uncomfortable lull in the conversation, only broken by Kagami's grunt, "Got rid of the stalker yet?"

"Really, we're still on that?" Hana rolled her eyes, slipping through the crowd to take a place between both boys, "It wasn't a stalker."

The hallway was pretty packed for this early in the morning. Sticking close to Kagami's side, Hana scowled at the students pressing in around her. God, morning practices were such a bitch. She needed more coffee for this.

"It was her old captain," Kuroko chose that moment to chime in. Quite unhelpfully, Hana might add, "He doesn't want her to attend the preliminaries."

And how the hell do you know that? She cut the boy a sharp look, but Kuroko pretended not to see it. He blinked back at her innocently, blue eyes wide in faux naivety. Hana was not fooled. Not one damn bit.

"In contact my ass," Hana scoffed, one brow hiked high, "What'd Aomine do? Give you a whole synopsis?"

"Aomine?" Kagami barked, giving Kuroko an equally potent stare down, "The hell are you talking to that bastard for?"

Kuroko's steps fumbled just the slightest bit, an edge of uncomfort making his reply stiff, "That's not quite—"

"It was just you, right?" Hana demanded, stepping in front of the little shit. I'm about to beat some ass. He blinked down at her, his eyes growing just a tad bit larger as Hana stepped directly into his personal space and poked a sharp nail into his chest, "He only talked to you?"

It took a moment, but Kuroko eventually spoke, "… not quite."

"I swear to god," Hana took another step into his space. They now stood chest to chest, and if she'd been less irritated, she might have caught the way Kuroko's breath stuttered, "If you have a little miracle group chat—" She took another step closer to accentuate her point, but Kuroko didn't move, "I will kill you."

Kuroko swallowed. They were close enough now that Hana could feel the movement against her skin, yet she didn't dare step back. He needed to know this wasn't going to fly. Glowering up at Kuroko's suddenly blushed face, she opened her lips ready to inflict some hefty verbal damage—

"Damn it, Hana," Kagami's hand fell over her mouth, his sweaty palm making her gag, "Learn to shut up."

He didn't stop walking, dragging Hana's flailing body behind him as he forcefully yanked her out of Kuroko's personal space. Hana's leg kicked out once, nearly nailing Kagami in the shin, but ended up missing and tripping some poor senior into the nearest wall. Kuroko neatly stepped out of the way.

Kagami's huff of amusement turned into a grunt as Hana's nails connected to the unprotected skin of his arm, "Ow! You bitch!"

She snarled, trying in vain to twist out of his hold, "I will bite you!" Unfortunately, due to the block on her vocal capabilities, the threat came out sounding more like, "I wheel buff chew!"

Following them at a more sedate pace, Kuroko pulled out his phone. His blush had yet to subside, but there was a hint of a smile dotting his cheeks as he read something on the screen. It lasted until he felt something drilling into his forehead. He flicked his attention up, only to pause at the vehement glare Hana sent his way.

With calculated movement, he wisely slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Smart boy.

x


x

The next day flew by in a haze of classwork and basketball.

By the time the final dismissal bell rang, Hana was more than ready to retire for the night. If only I didn't have to be a good friend. Ducking through the crowd with Kagami at her back, Hana broke out of the afterschool rush and waited. By the time he made it to her, his face was red with frustration.

"Could you slow down?" Kagami huffed, tucking his hands in his pockets, "I don't want to do this anymore than you do—"

"Finding that hard to believe," Hana deadpanned, "I've had a babysitter for two days now."

"I'm not a babysitter—"

"Then leave," Hana made a shooing motion with her hands, "Go, be free. Find a girlfriend, eat some burgers, just leave me alone."

Kagami grunted, but didn't move, "You're a bitch, you know?"

Rolling her eyes skyward, Hana dug out her phone as she waited for the bus to pull up. Most of the other students took a separate route home and Hana knew Kagami usually followed them. Watching as he glanced at his phone, she took a steadying breath. Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Do not kill him—

Likely feeling the power of her annoyance span across the multiverse, the gods decided to do her a favor.

Her phone rang once and Hana fished it out of her bag, a smile lighting up her face when she caught sight of the name. Momoi, you angel. At the exact same time, the bus decided to finally pull up. It was on the other side of the street, but in this particular moment, that worked out quite well for Hana.

"Hey, I'm good," Hana waved off Kagami, tossing a final parting over her shoulder as she ran toward the bus, "Momoi's calling. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"You idiot! I told Kuroko I'd—" The door shutting behind her cut him off.

Popping the phone against her ear, Hana watched Kagami rage through the old bus window, "Man, got to tell you, I love you." Someone coughed on the other line, a choking sort of noise that had Hana peering at the screen in concern, "You okay, Momoi?"

"It's not Satsuki—" Aomine's voice was an unwanted occurrence. He's next question dragged out awkwardly, "Tetsu walking you home?"

What in the hell is this? Time stood still, the universe echoing her bewilderment as seconds turned into minutes. Hana couldn't quite comprehend the voice that just came out of the speaker, nor the words said voice spoke. She waited a few seconds, hoping whatever dreamland she'd unconsciously found herself in would end.

"Imamura? I swear if you hung up—"

"Oh my god," Hana groaned, an odd mix of frustration and curiosity making her sound wheezy, "Are you seriously calling me? Please go back to hating me, please dear god—"

Aomine grunted in a sudden flood of exasperation, "Stop whining and answer the damn question."

Wow, she really thought that would have been enough to chase him away. Curling her lip up, she huffed. "Yes, Tetsuya is walking me home," Hana lied, scowling at a young dude who glanced back at her, "Good now? Can this conversation be over?"

"I know you're lying," Aomine didn't hesitate to call her out, his voice flat with something like annoyance, "You're shit at it."

You have got to be kidding me. She gawked down at the screen, "There is literally no way you can tell I'm lying through the damn phone," realization smacked into her with force, "You talked to Tetsuya, didn't you?"

There was a suspicious moment of silence on the other end of the receiver and Hana's skepticisms were promptly confirmed. Wow, they really had turned into a bunch of gossipy biddies. Dear God, kill me now. What had she done to earn this punishment? This was beyond ridiculous.

Aomine finally grumbled out a reply, "Whatever. You're still going to Teiko?"

"Shit, man—" she snorted in startled incredulity, "Do you guys talk about anything that isn't me?"

"Text Satsuki," Aomine ignored her complaint and plowed through his next demand without any pause, "She'll go with you."

Her head was already shaking, "Yeah, no, I'm fine—"

The only response to her defense was the dial tone echoing through the receiver. Closing her eyes in tired annoyance, Hana pulled the phone away from her ear and clicked it off. Do not kill him. Murder is a sin. Murder is a sin— Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten before allowing herself to open her eyes.

She hated him.

Hana really, really hated him.

xXx

Incoming Call – Momoi

"Well," Hana sighed as she watched the call go to voicemail, "I'm going to hell."

This was the third call she'd missed since ditching practice to go to Uoya's game. Sure, she'd finally given in and told herself she'd ask Momoi to come with her, but that's not quite what happened. She'd had all the best intentions in texting Momoi, but then the time caught up to her and before Hana knew it, she was twenty minutes late.

In the process of sending Momoi a quick text of reassurance, the phone went off again.

Aomine – Answer your phone. Satsuki is worried.

Hana rolled her eyes, tapping against the screen with a vicious finger.

I'm fine. She snapped a picture of the stadium below. Uoya's here.

Incoming Call – Aomine

"Yeah, no," Hana clicked her phone off and plopped it into her pocket, "Not happening."

You know, Hana kind of missed the days when these idiots weren't talking to each other. She still wasn't sure how or why it happened but having Aomine and Kuroko riding her ass was annoying. There was literally nothing any of them could do in this situation beyond making it worse.

If Torio was still pulling the stalker card, what good did they think they were going to do? Bash their chest and challenge him to a basketball duel? Yeah, no.

She could handle herself, thank you very much.

Wrapping her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, Hana peered down at the gym floor from the top of the stadium bleachers. The colder parts of fall were finally kicking in and the days had become significantly chillier as October transitioned into November. But this time it wasn't the air that had her shuddering.

Being inside Teiko's stadium again felt like a religious experience.

It was odd to compare her memories of this place against the current reality. Even though this was a game between the top two schools of their district, there wasn't nearly as much of a crowd as there'd once been. Apparently, the new generation of talent didn't quite mesh up with the press's undying love of the Miracles. A load of bullshit, really.

Teiko's basketball team hadn't suddenly become bad. From what Hana could tell from the current game, they were just as skilled as they once had been. Sure— they didn't have any huge powerhouses like Murasakibara and Aomine, but Uoya was easily skilled enough to rank in the top tier of the middle school league with several of his teammates joining him.

They all had talent; they just didn't have that extra dose of something that marked them as the best of generation.

"He's got to work on his evasion skills," Hana huffed, taking out her cell phone to make a note as the opposing team blocked Uoya's offensive drive, "Keeps getting cornered. Drills would work, reflex training too—"

She scrolled through the comments she'd made so far. Lots of pointers for Teiko's strengths and weaknesses, something she'd send to Uoya after the game today. She'd also keep a copy in her pocket. For educational purposes of course. It'd be good to have as a reference for next year when these kids ultimately went into top-tier schools.

"Always planning," a voice tutted over her shoulder, "Don't you ever get tired?"

Her back stiffened, blood going cold.

A heavy wash of dread coasted over her shoulders, the little hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. A humid breath of air swept over her neck as the person behind her laughed, a sweet melodic sound that directly contradicted the mental image building in her head. Thin fingers squeezed the back of her chair before a shadow blocked the stadium's overhead lights.

"It's admirable, really," the chair to her left squeaked as a lithe body situated itself in its plastic confines, "I wish I had the same determination you do."

In any other person's tone, that would have been a compliment, but Torio had the inherent gift of making everything come across as condescending. It was a blessing really, the only factor of his perfect persona that hinted toward the manipulator hiding underneath.

"Torio," Hana licked her lips, deliberately clicking out of her notes. She didn't dare turn to look at the boy beside her, "What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd stop by," he tsked, a charming sort of sound, "This is nice. It's reminding me of old times, flower."

Green eyes cut toward him, watching the lank boy settle in his chair carefully, "Don't start this shit."

"Still have your dirty mouth," the back of the chair squealed as Torio threw an arm over their seats. Hana lurched forward, but it wasn't enough to escape the teasing drag of his fingers on her shoulder, "Come on, just give me a chance."

"You've had your chance—"

Torio whistled, cutting her rant short, "Wow. Look at little Uoya-kun, he's grown so much."

Hana snapped her head toward him, fingers clenching painfully around her phone, "Don't you fu—"

Seeing her old mentor in flesh and blood nearly had her swallowing her tongue. Sensations of the past crawled up her spine in a warning. Torio looked good. Healthy and happy, his freshly washed hair was tucked behind his signature red bandana. From his obsessive actions the week before, she'd anticipated some sign of significant unrest.

But he didn't look the least bit off.

"Hana, calm down," He laughed like her anger was the funniest thing in the world. Torio's tan hand patted her arm, leaving her skin fighting off phantom chills, "Don't worry about that. You really think I'd do something so cruel?"

"Yes. Now quit touching me, you damn creep," Hana scooted as far away as she could, keeping her eyes locked on his face, "You come here to threaten me too? Or are you sticking with stalking?"

"Not quite stalking, just keeping an eye on you." He didn't even try to deny it. Torio leaned closer, the smell of cloves making Hana's chest heave, "I've been trying to talk to you, you know?"

He was close enough now that Hana could see the reflection of the stadium lights shining off the metal of his eyebrow piercing. His dark eyes traced her face, stupidly long lashes casting shadows over his narrow cheekbones. As he watched her, his mouth curved into a Cheshire grinas if he'd somehow managed to win a battle she'd never engaged in.

"Shitty way of doing it," Hana managed to snarl despite her dry throat, "What the hell do you want?"

His hand came down to rest over her own, wrapping around the fingers she still had clenched around her phone. His dark eyes gleamed as he joked, "I just want to catch up."

"I'll pass—"

"I don't think you want to do that," he cut her off, smoothly erasing her defiance, "We got off on the wrong foot last year, but the consequences are higher now. You and I, we have a common goal. I just need your cooperation."

"This is about the damn binder again, isn't it?" Hana scoffed, slapping his hand off her own, "God, give up already."

His smile grew tight, savage almost, "I can't do that."

It made the muscles in his neck strain distastefully, pulling at the tense skin around his collar bone and highlighting the hints of exhaustion she'd missed. His hand dragged over his face, pushing back silky layers of dark hair and showcasing a gauntness hiding in his face that she'd previously skimmed over. The features she'd once classify as appealing began to grow grotesque— annoyance pulling Torio's face downward and emphasizing the sharp edges of his slim face unappealingly.

Throwing his stare back down to the game below, an unpleasant snarl pulled at his face, "Flower, all I need is the binder. This can all be over and things can go back to normal—" he cut his stare toward her, his hand falling on the arm of the chair separating them, "I promise."

Pivotal moments in life came out of nowhere and Hana realized with startling clarity that she was embarking on one right now. She knew his promise was little more than bullshit. She could either give in or try to fight it with the only skill she possessed. Staring at Torio's contorted face, she made herself swallow and count to five.

It was a slow process, but it had the desired effect of slowing her racing heart down enough to try.

"I don't have it," Hana finally admitted, watching his face twist in apprehension. She made sure to never glance to the right, "It's gone, Torio. I tossed it last year."

He stared at her, emotions flooding over his face too fast for her to catch, "You're lying."

One beat of silence turned into two before Hana realized that he didn't know. His brow furrowed, his eyes frantically tracing between her own as he tried to figure out if she was being honest. Her heart jerked into a staccato.

He couldn't tell.

"I'm not," Hana denied. His fingers twisted into a fist and Hana leaned back, bracing herself against the chair to her right, "You know I'm not. It's gone."

The confession sank into him with the force of a bomb. Throwing himself back into the chair, Torio cursed. He raked his hands through his hair, jerking off the red bandana she'd come to know so well, "We can— we can fix this, flower," he reached out and grabbed her arm with enough force to hurt, "Can you listen to me? I promise I'll fix this— I just need you to listen to me."

What the hell is happening? She watched him drag his fingers down his neck with a heavy layer of caution. She carefully drew her arm out of his grip and inched back, "If I don't, are you going to stalk me again?"

It was the wrong thing to say.

Stopping his frantic movements, Torio managed to bark out a sharp laugh. It echoed over the empty area around them with a hint of malice— sinking into Hana's skin with a chill, "That's what you're worried about?"

"It scared me," Hana admitted, letting an edge of bite bleed into her accusation, "You scared me."

"Hana, that was nothing. If you can't help me, it's about to get a lot worse for you," he smiled, too harsh to be natural. Motioning to his chest, Torio even managed to laugh in the face of her distaste, "You think you can stop this. What are you going to do? What proof do you have?"

Tension flooded the air between them. It was heavy— heavy enough to stall the breath in her throat. It made the air feel thick, choking the life out of the world. Watching Torio grin in satisfaction, Hana twisted her body away from his in preparation for her final trump card.

Here comes the point of no return.

"This," Hana held up her phone, trying to ignore the way her hand shook. The red recording button blinked innocently at him from her camera's screen, "You did just admit to it."

Silence fell between them. Eventually, he hissed a surprised breath, dark eyes locked on the phone with the faintest hint of pride, "Well, look at that. I didn't think you had it in you, flower."

His hand swiped out before she could blink, but Hana had been prepared for a reaction. Jolting backward, she tucked her phone against her chest and threw an elbow up— keeping her possession safe while ensuring space between the angsty boy in front of her. Jesus!

"We're in public, Torio—" she glared as he laughed, a maniacal edge making his voice tight, "Cameras all around us. You know Teiko doesn't skimp on security."

He took a leisurely glance around the upper level of the stadium, dark eyes zeroing in on the camera above their heads with apathy, "Oh, flower. You're not being very smart," Torio twisted his face back to her, flickering between the phone and her face with a growing coldness, "You're going to regret this."

Her head was shaking before she realized it, "Yeah, I don't think so."

"You still think this is about you, don't you?" Torio hummed. His earlier grin was gone, only a blank mask resting over the swallow lines of his face, "This was never about you. You have nothing to do with any of this. You're only causing more trouble for yourself."

It was a worrying threat, but she'd gone too far to pull back now.

"I don't give a damn," Hana snapped, slipping toward the edge of her chair, "I'd never help anyone who does the kind of shit you do. Let me guess, you're trying to hurt someone else this year, huh? Who is it this time? Kiyoshi not enough for you?"

She regretted the accusation immediately. It was one thing countering his attack, but directly poking the bear? He was already frazzled and frantic, one wrong move on her part and he'd lash out before she could comprehend. He lifted his hand and Hana involuntarily flinched. Calm down, idiot!

One dark eyebrow quirked in amusement, "You think I'd hit you?"

"You've done worse," Hana managed to spit, forcing her spine to straighten as she tucked herself further into the chair, "Wouldn't put it past you."

He stared at her, the beginnings of a dark smirk pulling at his lips, "You're so worried for people who don't care about you at all," he leaned forward, encroaching into her space, "You think you're better than me? Hana, you are me. I made you in my image."

Vile built on her tongue, "You didn't make me you sack of shit—"

"Look at you. Even now, you're scheming and plotting," his hands crept toward her arm, fingers twitching as he smiled. It was a cruel thing, "Do your friends know? Do they know you're a liar? Do you think they trust you?"

Hana growled, a feral sound, "They do."

"No, they don't. They don't want you," he pressed a finger into her chest, laughing as she smacked his hand away, "They want what you know. You're nothing to them. Didn't Akashi do more than enough to prove that?"

"Don't talk about him—" he inched closer and Hana shoved his shoulder before she could think better of it, forcing him back out of her space, "Don't talk about any of them. You don't know anything!"

Feeling a hole build in her chest, Hana swallowed the lump that found its way into her throat. I can't do this. He'd always known how to say the words that would cut the deepest. If she wasn't careful, he'd finally find the breaking point within her psyche. And if he found that? He'd win. He always did.

She needed to go, but he was blocking her exit, his body sprawled out over the chair and legs tucked underneath the ones ahead.

"Don't be stupid, Hana. This—" he motioned to her and the stadium below, "It's all a joke. They don't trust you— none of them do. Not the Generation of Miracles or your little team. Face it," his smile grew self-assured, the remnants of mania leaving his face as he crawled to his feet, "No one will ever understand you except for me."

"Fuck you," she fidgeted in her seat, anger raging yet no outlet to truly go to, "We're done, Torio. We've been done. I don't need you—"

"You're wrong," he smiled, teeth too white against his skin, "Don't worry, I'll still be here when you come crawling back."

I'll kill you. Hana bared her teeth but didn't dare move. He was too close— one wrong move and she'd find herself in deep water, "Get out."

Torio hummed, his hand coasting over her head in a mocking pat before he crawled to his feet, "I understand, flower," he tapped the tip of his nose in a taunting jeer, "You always had to have someone stronger to cling to. I'll be waiting—"

Red flooded her vision. He just had to go there. Common sense went flooding out the window and before Hana could rationalize her actions, her foot connected into the sensitive bone below his kneecap with an echoing thud.

To the casual observer, it looked like he tripped, but Hana knew better.

"That was for Kiyoshi," she stood up, watching as he nearly crumbled. Torio bent at the waist, a cough working its way out of his throat as his knee buckled. It was only the grip on the chairs ahead of them that kept him standing. "I'm not listening to your shit anymore. You're wrong."

I need to go. Ducking out of the row of seats, Hana nearly sprinted toward the exit. She took the steps two at a time, heart ricocheting in her throat as she dodged through the sparse crowd. Yet, no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't unhear the sound of Torio's final parting ringing in her ears.

"Hah—" Torio laughed, but it was a dark thing, "I told you you're just like me."

X

Throwing her bedroom door open, Hana ignored Nudoru's worried yip.

She marched into her closet, slamming the door open and dropping to her knees. Sounds of shuffling and cursing took over the entire room, random shoes tossed out of the closet and a plethora of papers piling up against the wall beside her. Flipping open her suitcase stuffed full of various keepsakes, Hana dug into the bottom compartment and unzipped the fabric layer that kept the clothing separate from the plastic outer casing.

"Bull's eye," She ignored the sound of ripping fabric as she dug the binder out from its hiding space, "Come on, come on—"

Chucking it against the ground, Hana flung through the pages, nearly ripping them out in her haste to find whatever had held Torio's attention so fully. It's got to be something; it can't just be the notes— papers were ripped out and tossed to the side, pictures of old competitors torn as Hana frantically dug through the hundreds of pages.

"Damn it!" She finally snapped, finding nothing, "Why this? Why is it always this binder—"

She tossed the ugly thing at her bed, chest heaving as she fought off frustrated tears.

Papers went flying, coating the floor from her closet to her bed in a messy layer of graphs and notes. Useless, so damn useless! Dragging her hands down her face, Hana took a steadying breath and tried to calm down. Nudoru whined, crawling on his stomach through the mess of papers and nudging Hana in the thigh.

"I know," she drew a hand through his short fur, "I know, I'm being crazy. I just—" she looked down at the pooch, eyes wet and throat tight, "I don't know what he wants, Nudoru—"

He whined, one big paw landing on her thigh and before Hana could do more than grimace, he dropped a slobbery piece of paper right into her lap. Not helping, but okay. Poking the soaking paper with her pointer finger, Hana shoved it off her lap and paused. Falling on its opposite side, she noticed a few scraggly numbers jotted out across the middle.

It wasn't familiar handwriting, certainly not her own. It was too masculine, the numbers scrawled out in something vaguely like chicken scratch. She picked the paper up and squinted at it. Four, Eight, Five, Two, Zero, Two - A262.

That's—

A262 was her gym locker number at Teiko and while the code wasn't familiar, it was too much of a coincidence to write off. She never used the dang thing because it was located in the boys' dressing room, but her team knew better than to mess with anything that she'd laid claim to. The only people brave enough to even try it would have been Uoya and Torio.

Which meant—

"Nudoru," Hana managed to breathe despite the uproar in her head, "I love you."

xXx


Reviews! I haven't done this in a while, so I wanted to take a chance to respond to everyone. Thank you for commenting and sticking with me. It truly means so much!

Longtimelurker: Thank you for lurking! I hope you like this chapter!

Destiny Devil Demon: Thank you! I can't believe you liked it so much to read it all in one week! Eep! Seriously, thank you!

Meikoow: Your comment almost made me teary eyed. Thank you and I mean thank you, for taking the time to write such a kind and detailed review! Winter high will be fun in the best, most angsty, most fun way possible hehe. Thank you again!

April: He will! Don't worry! Akashi will arrive before his canon timeline if my plot continues to work the way I want it to!

Guests: Thank ya'll! Taiga may get to join the club. I've plotted it out in my head, but it will depend on how the plot develops and if anything takes a turn! Keep your fingers crossed because I love their relationship dynamic too!

Miyazono Kaori: Yes, yes that was a taylor swift reference. Hahah

Alice Aquabald: Thank you! It's been a struggle, but I'm so glad that it's been worth it!

SugarFeather: Your review always make me smile, so thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to leave them. But yes! That's the whole reason I made it true reverse harem for this story— I got frustrated that there wasn't a story filling that niche and decided to adventure down the road myself. But thank you! A super duper big thank you to you for commenting and sharing your kind words!

ForgotMyPassword: Thank you! I love me a good harem too and they seem so hard to find! As for your suggestion of AO3, thank you! I've thought about it before and I've gonna ahead and started posting some chapters. I hope to have the whole thing up in the next two weeks and I'll be updating here and there at the same time. Thank you again!

the apple .seed: he returns! Thank you for commenting!

00esoteric00: thank you! I'm so stoked most people are happy with that ending. That was always the goal of the story and it feels so good to have everyone's support with it.

Fantasy92: Thank you! It'll come soon! Maybe not soon enough, but definitely before his cannon appearance!

Whalien: TIK TOK REFERENCES! TIK TOK FIENDS UNITE!

Ice Devil Cat Demon: Oh my goodness! Thank you! I'm so glad you like the relationship building, especially since it's been such a huge focus in this work. I wanted it all to feel like a natural progression instead of instant love and man, I'm just so happy you're enjoying it! Thank you again!

LadyDream3512: THANK YOU! And yes, PolyGOM! It begins!

Guest: I complete understanding not being into harems. They can be pretty hit or miss for me too. I promise this story is going to stray from the cliched harem ending, mostly because they're going to be so young in the story that it's going to mostly stay pretty tame. Thank you for trying to stick around and I hope I can continue to write it in a way that keeps you interested!

Maya: You're welcome! Thank you for commenting!

Guest: Yes, her mom is going to come up in the story! I've got a lot of plot wholes to fill and she is a big one. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Guest: THANK YOU! A punch to the dick would be a welcomed punishment!

OneWhoReadsTooMuch: Creeper vibes have increased, sorry about that. (We can cross our fingers together and hope he gets tazed soon) And thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!