This is so late I am so sorry! I've been so busy lately with work and getting into college..sorry about that.

Well, I worked hard on this chapter, though it may not seem like it so, as always

Enjoy!

-x-

"That was amazing! You guys were awesome tonight!" I couldn't help gushing (loudly) over the game I'd just witnessed. Serin played a school called Senshinkan High and beat them 78-61. I couldn't be prouder of them at the moment.

"Thanks, but our first real challenge comes with Round 2. We play Shuutoku then," Taiga said. I frowned slightly. I recognized the school name, Taiga told me about them once-though admittedly I don't remember what was so special about them. Honestly, him talking about basketball makes me tired. I'd rather either play it or watch it live.

"Right, right…what was it about them again? You told me but…" I trailed off, smiling sheepishly.

"Your memory has gotten shittier since baby happened," Taiga sighed over-dramatically, "Shuutoku High has Midorima Shintarou-a member of the Generation of Miracles. He's-"

"Oh! He's the one that can shoot from really far away!" I said, suddenly remembering. Taiga nodded. I understood the situation now. The last time they played, Taiga didn't leave the game as fit as he went into it. I remember the dumbass calling me whining about how he wasn't allowed to be practicing because he pushed himself way too far during that game. Idiot. They don't call him Bakagami for nothing.

"Will you come see us play tomorrow?" Kuroko spoke up all the sudden, taking me by surprise. Oops I forgot he was there again. Sorry, Kuro-kun. That's my bad.

"Hm, probably. I don't have anything really going on, except maybe looking into getting my lazy butt into school after baby is born." I said with a shrug.

"Oh, are you going back to America?" Riko asked, peering around Kiyoshi and Hyuga to give me a curious look.

"Nope. I wasn't planning to anyway. Dad and I agreed that it'd probably be best I stay in Japan with Taiga-at least until baby's been on Earth a while. So I'm looking into transferring to Serin next year. Probably. Most likely." I explained with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders.

"Oh-that'd be great!" Riko's face lit up, "we'd love to have you in Serin!" She really likes me for some reason, I haven't figured her out all the way yet. I returned her smile with a small one of my own.

My stomach rumbled loudly, and I blushed a light pink.

"We should all probably eat something before going home," Riko said. There were several sounds of agreement throughout our group and we all headed to Maji Burger, since it was closest.

I didn't really eat much while we were there, I just nibbled on some fries and drank water and devoured quite a bit of ice. The guys teased me for it, but I just rolled my eyes and simply stated that they were all probably going to get fat from eating here so much. Riko agreed with me. They were all rather offended.

-x-

As soon as we got home, I ate almost all the fruit left in the fridge. I'd been craving it like crazy recently, though I wasn't really craving the fruit, as much as I was craving something sweet. Fruit was healthy, sweet, and it's easy to get our hands on a lot of fruit at one time for a pretty low price. I made a mental note to go to the store at some point.

Taiga showered while I was eating then went straight to bed, claiming exhaustion. After I finished eating, I took a short, cool shower, and went to bed myself.

The next day, I woke up early with Taiga. He had classes before the game, so I was going to do some grocery shopping and see if I couldn't get around to starting putting together the crib dad sent last week. The room I had was small, but we didn't exactly have an extra one for the baby, so we'd have to share for a little while. Dad said he might help us get a bigger apartment in the next year or two, but we still have a ways to go before I can think about that.

Taiga left while I was still getting dressed. I had a little trouble putting my shirt on. My stomach has grown rapidly; even some of the things I bought two weeks ago with Kise and Kuroko were already too small. I managed it somehow, but ended up stealing one of Taiga's hoodies, which looked seriously ridiculous on me. I was quite a bit smaller than him, even if I am getting rounder.

I almost debated not leaving and waiting until this weekend to go out, but I'd already made the commitment of getting up and stealing clothes. I had to leave now.

It was raining outside, so I made sure to grab my umbrella before leaving and headed to the store.

-x-

I returned home with everything I needed and took a warm shower. It was seriously pouring outside and I was cold from being out in the rain.

Once I was finished showering, I dressed and found myself in the living room, crib parts scattered around me.

I spent a good two hours putting the damn thing together. I swear, it was almost as if it was from Ikea or some shit.

"Wait…oh dad please no…" I murmured aloud. I hadn't been paying that close attention to the instructions but for some reason they caught my eye and for the first time I noticed the large letters spelling out 'IKEA'. Oh dad…what am I going to do with you?

I couldn't stop myself. I called dad.

"I thought we agreed to never buy Ikea furniture unless we don't have to put it together! You know the directions are worthless!" I sighed through the receiver, complaining while dad laughed at me.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry sweetie," He said, trying to stifle more laughter, "But I was in there with your mother the other day and just couldn't help myself. Did it come out okay?"

"Yeah two hours of me working on it, and, like, five or more trips to the bathroom later," I grumbled. Dad laughed again. I left the crib sitting in the living room and moved to the kitchen, still on the phone with dad. I'd called to complain about the crib, but I ended up giving him a full report of how everything has been. I could hear mom in the background asking him questions that I'd just answered.

"Hey, sorry dad but I'm super tired. I'm gonna take a nap before heading out to Taiga's game okay? Talk to you later. Love you." I ended the call and found myself curled on the couch, sleeping within minutes of setting an alarm on my phone.

-x-

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

My alarm from hell screamed at me from the coffee table. I groaned loudly and sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I reached over and grabbed my phone to turn off the alarm. When I did I noticed a text from Taiga reminding me what time the game started.

I moved slowly getting dressed. I put on some yoga pants and found a pretty dark blue stretchy shirt to wear under one of Taiga's (very big) zip-up hoodies. I moped out the door and made my way towards the arena.

I happened to run into Kise as I was walking in. He looked tired, but very happy to see me.

"Kagami-saaann!" He called when he noticed me. He stopped an arms-length away, allowing me to have personal space and grinned down at me. You know, he really isn't bad looking now that I think about it...

"Hey, Kise," I yawned and offered a small wave.

"Are you super duper excited for this game? I kinda am~!" Kise gushed on and on as we walked in. He seemed adamant on 'escorting' me. How cute.

"Mmm yeah I guess. I'm kinda tired though." I yawned again for good measure.

We walked in right as it was about to start and it seemed like all the seats had butts in them already. I let out a quiet sigh and leaned on the railing above the top seats. Kise stood next to me and, pushing his hair off his face, grinned and said,

"I think there are some places to sit further down. I'd be happy to make sure you get to one!" I shook my head and continued leaning on the rail.

"No point, really. I'll just stand here and if I get tired you can just carry me, m'kay?" I shot him a small smirk and a wink and he just giggled and nodded.

Not too long later, the game started and a pink-haired girl came bursting through the door. Her and Kise started talking almost instantly. He called her "Momoicchi" and if I'm correct in thinking that I should remove the "cchi", her name's just Momoi and she probably went to middle school with him. I remember Taiga mentioning that the manager from the Generation of Miracles followed one of the players to high school. This must be her.

I didn't really pay much attention to her; I was totally absorbed in the basketball game going on below.

I'd never seen a game so intense in my entire life. Everything was happening so fast, as in all basketball games, but at the same time, I felt as if time seemed to slow down. Midorima Shintarou was absolutely flawless in every shot-despite every one of them being smacked down. The smoothness in the way he got himself into position…I could tell he was still learning somewhat, because he didn't move very fast, but still…I was speechless.

"You're watching so intensely, Kagami-san," Kise said, pulling me out of my reverie, "Who do you think will win?"

"Mmm…hard to say," I mumbled, "I don't think either of them will."

"What do you mean?" Momoi asked, leaning around Kise to peer at me with big pink eyes.

"It's obvious that both teams are really strong-though I have to admit Shuutoku is definitely a lot stronger, but…I'm not sure what it is…it's a gut feeling I guess. I think Serin's gonna pull some bullshit move and tie the game." I said.

"Is it a gut feeling, or are you nauseous?" Kise teased. I couldn't help but crack a smile as I turned around and lightly punched him in the arm.

"Haven't been nauseous in a few days, don't jinx me!" I said playfully, turning my attention back to the game. I could feel the pinkette staring me down, as if silently demanding answers to silent questions.

"Sorry, we haven't been introduced," I turned to her with a small smile, "I'm Skylar. Kagami Skylar. I'm that big red-headed oaf's twin sister." I jerked my thumb towards the court. Momoi giggled.

"Momoi Satsuki, it's nice to meet you!" She smiled brightly at me. I noticed Kise move around so the two of us could stand together and talk a little while longer.

Eventually, the three of us were wrapped back up in the game and all conversations vanished, save for a few stray comments here and there.

The whistle blows. Midorima fouled Kiyoshi. And just like that, I knew it was over. Kiyoshi got two throws, if he made them both, Serin would win. If he missed…I suddenly feel very nervous.

He shoots. Makes the first. Good job, senpai-to-be.

He shoots again. He's too stiff. Misses. Players shoot up to capture the ball.

Taiga manages it somehow and goes to dunk it. However, Midorima-kun is there and does his best to stop him. His attempts are in vain, because not a second after he touches the ball…the buzzer rings.

The game is over.

"They're tied…" Kise mumbles "Are they gonna go into overtime?"

"Normally, yes," Momoi all but whispers, "But they are trying to keep the tournament games short. There are no overtime rules…"

"That means…!" Kise says.

"It's a tie. They both move on to the next round," I finish. I can't fight the grin that slowly makes its way onto my face. They didn't win, but they didn't lose either. I suddenly had the urge to play basketball. I wonder if Taiga would play with me…

The crowd doesn't cheer at first-they all slowly start clapping instead. Everyone is equally amazed, I can feel it in the air.

"I'm gonna see if I can't sneak into the locker room and see Taiga before I head back home. See you guys later!" I said as I turned to leave.

"Oh-wait!"

"Kagami-san!"

Momoi and Kise called at the same time.

"Hmm?" I turned back to them. Kise was digging through his pockets and whipped out his phone. Momoi seemed to have done the same. I rolled my eyes and shook my head with a small laugh. I knew what they wanted and thought why the hell not.

Kise is kind of a friend, and Momoi is sweet. We exchanged numbers quickly and I left them to their own devices. As I walked away I heard Momoi suggest going to find 'Midorin'.

-x-

I stood outside the locker room door a few moments, giving anyone currently changing time to put clothing on before I opened the door.

"There better not be any naked men in here!" I teased as I stepped in. The guys all chuckled. They looked tired and rather worn down from the game, and I certainly didn't blame them. It was a very intense game.

"Good job, everyone," I said, "I had a lot of fun watching you guys play. Thanks!"

"Thanks for coming!" Kiyoshi grinned at me. He's too stiff. I wonder if he's okay…

I spoke with everyone for a few moments, staying near the door so I could escape quickly when I needed to. Suddenly, Kuroko looked very frantic.

"Kuro-kun? You okay?" I asked, frowning

"Nigou is gone!" He sounded almost panicked. Everyone moved at once. They looked under the benches, in lockers and even in their separate bags. No one could find the dog anywhere in the locker room.

"Spread out and find him! No one goes home until Nigou is located!" Riko ordered. Everyone fled from the room in search of the dog. I was the last one out.

Or not…

"Kiyoshi-senpai?" I said, addressing the only person left in the room. He smiled up at me, gripping his knee tightly.

"Ah-I'm fine! Just a little sore that's all!" He insisted. I frowned at him.

"You're speech and posture are too stiff, senpai. Are you hurt?" His smile fell from his face at my observation and question.

"Ah-I guess I didn't tell you…I got my knee busted pretty bad last year. It's starting to hurt a little, that's all." He forced the smile back on his face. I walked over and knelt down in front of him, using his shoulder to balance myself.

"Senpai, don't push yourself too much okay? I don't want you getting hurt again. Take it easy, ice your knee as soon as you get home." I instructed. He nodded at me.

"Yes ma'am, miss mom!" He teased, raising his hand to ruffle my hair playfully.

"Oi, oi!" I batted his hand away and allowed a small smile. "But I'm serious, senpai. Take better care of yourself. See you tomorrow." I used his shoulder again to help me stand and left him alone with a small peck on the cheek.

-x-

Taiga got home later than I did, looking extremely worried. When I asked, he told me he was worried about Kiyoshi just as I was. Apparently, the team they were playing tomorrow was the team that all but shattered his knee last year. When I heard that, I felt my stomach twist in knots that were definitely not caused by the baby. The thought of a basketball player being so dishonest made me sick. I wasn't looking forward to watching the game tomorrow. I had half a mind to just not go, but I knew that Taiga wanted me there. Tomorrow's game was the deciding one.

My phone buzzed as I was walking to the bathroom, alerting me to a text. It was from dad.

"Oh you gotta be fucking joking!" I cried, suddenly having the urge to cry.

"What is it, are you okay?" Taiga asked worriedly. I showed him the text dad sent me.

"Fucking Robin Williams died!"

-x-

Thanks for being so patient you guys! And for all the reviews I've been getting! I think I've made my decision on a romantic interest-if there is to be one and I will reveal who it is soon!

Don't forget to drop a review on the way out! It really helps me a lot-and don't be afraid to tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, or if I need to do more research on certain topics!

Until next time!

***The last line there is very important for a few reasons. One, because I'm posting this the day everyone found out and Two, he died from possible suicide. If anyone is battling depression or any other mental illness I want you all to know that you are not alone, and if you are feeling the urge to commit or even self harm please call your suicide hotline. I love every single one of you guys, don't you forget that! Be safe!***