Part II: Hunter, hunted, hawk: An in-depth look at Midorima Shintarou's worst Friday ever.

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Midorima Shintarou stared down at the girl in front of him, wondering why Oha Asa had betrayed him. For nothing short of betrayal could merit Momoi Satsuki in front of him, wringing her hands and looking up at him with tear-filled eyes that could only serve to mask her innate deviousness on a day when Oha Asa had assured him that nothing out of the ordinary would happen. He glanced around discreetly, checking for hiding places that either Takao or Aomine could utilize. This had to be one of their doings. No one else would play a trick on him, but to go this far…? Had the two of them no shame?

"Midorin...I know it's unexpected, but I didn't know where else to go! I didn't know what else to do! No one else has been through what we have!"

For a horrifying moment he assumed she referred to the tea ceremony, and wondered just what she had done wrong to arrive in such a state.

"And I know you'd never speak of it willingly, but I have to know - how do you deal with it? Loving someone for so long and then realizing you never stood a chance?"

Perhaps she had used the thick tea instead of the thin, or- wait a goddamn minute here.

"I know that you've moved on. You seem so happy now. So...how long does it take to be like that? How hard do you have to work to forget?"

By this point, he was making noises akin to strangled puppies, and it caught even Momoi's attention. She paused in her diatribe, noting with particular tact, "Midorin? Why is your face turning white?"

It was too much. He knew this was a prank, knew it with the same certainty he invested in Oha Asa's omniscience. Yet he was ill-equipped to handle crying women at the best of times, and now she was looking up at him with trust and concern. What he had assumed was merely Takao at his most infantile was beginning to solidify in his mind, and with sinking horror he realized that she, at least, was serious. This didn't help his ability to articulate his concerns.

"Really, Midorin. Deep breaths. We're going to get through this together."

Cancer had ranked eighth today, yet even had it ranked last it should not merit this. He was in shock, unable to breathe, incredibly confused, and when faced with all this Momoi had apparently become a pregnancy counselor. It was only the lingering thought of Takao's laughing face that allowed Shintarou to wheeze out the most pressing of his concerns. "Just who was I in love with?"

Momoi's face was the picture of concerned innocence when she promptly responded, "Why, Akashi-kun of course!"

Enough was enough. Shintarou's beleaguered consciousness could take no more, and it folded inwards, closely followed by his knees.

"Midorin!"

There was just enough time to mourn the unopened, unenjoyed can of shiruko in his bag before his vision went hazy, and he passed out.

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Shintarou woke an indeterminate amount of time later, sensing that he was now somewhere darker and cooler. Yet from the woody smell he deduced he had not been taken to the hospital. In fact, unless he was very mistaken, he had simply been moved to the gymnastic club's storage closet, and his hypothesis that this was all one of Takao's jokes was now proven wrong. Takao knew better than to assume Shintarou would allow him to live after pulling a stunt like this. No, this had to be all Aomine's fault, and as soon as Shintarou got ahold of Akashi - who he was not in love with, had never been in love with and Oha Asa strike whomever thought so down- Aomine would be living no longer.

"Shin-chan! What did you do to him?"

Shintarou was suddenly glad he had left his eyes closed when discerning where he was, and then in plotting Aomine's demise. It allowed him to hide his surprise. While Takao's voice was unmistakable, Shintarou had never heard that particular edge to it. This Takao sounded dangerous, and it was a far cry from the easygoing, 'high spec boyfriend' that all the girls in their class sighed over. That he would react this way confused him, and flustered Momoi.

"I don't know, Takao-kun! We were talking, and then he started turning pale and swaying and then suddenly he hit the deck like a tranquilized elephant on the plains of the Serengeti!"

That was far too specific, surely. Unless Momoi had a secret love of safaris? Also, he would vastly prefer to be compared to a more graceful animal, like a gazelle, or even a giraffe. An elephant was something no self-respecting Japanese male would aspire to. When he roused himself, he was going to be so upset about all this.

"Shin-chan does not just pass out, no matter how sensitive he is. You must have said something!"

Sensitive? Well, I never.

"Well…" The situation must have belatedly caught up to Momoi, as Shintarou could hear the hesitation in her voice. "I might have reminded him of something upsetting, but it shouldn't be enough to make him faint! I just asked him how he got over Akashi-kun. That was all!"

Upon further reflection, maybe he could just stay here, unconscious and in the equipment closet for the rest of his life. Surely it was better than the alternative. Surely.

"Akashi-san."

"Yes."

"Shin-chan...got over...Akashi-san."

Momoi's tone more accurately reflected that of a parent speaking to a very young child rather than a teenage girl to a teenage boy. "Yes."

Takao exhaled, and from the sound of it, it was through his teeth. "Are you implying that he and Shin-chan...were in a relationship?"

"Oh, no. Of course not."

Takao's relieved sigh was cut short. "Really, Momoi-san, you should know better-"

"Midorin was in love with him though."

Silence fell, and it was the kind of silence that made Shintarou wish he had never been born. It was sufficiently awkward enough to keep him feigning sleep, as even though the idea of him ever loving anyone - especially Akashi - was ludicrous, Momoi had already made him inexplicably black out once today and he had no desire to repeat the experience.

(Also, the thought of seeing Takao right now made his lungs constrict and his heart pound. Even his skin felt too tight, and it was only his iron will that kept him from panicking. Clearly, he was suffering from some medical malady he'd never heard of, and in order to keep from spreading it throughout the team he must keep his distance from Takao, effective immediately. Clearly.)

"You're lying. Shin-chan wasn't...he wouldn't like…"

Momoi huffed. "It was a long time ago, Takao-kun; you didn't know him then. And believe me, I know these things. Data analyst, remember? Midorin followed him around like a lost puppy, and devoted every single lunch break to shogi, or meetings, or whatever Akashi-san wanted to do. And you never saw the way Midorin looked at him - like he was the only thing in the world worth looking at. And-"

She was interrupted by a loud bang, as if Takao had punched the wall. The suddenness of it made Shintarou's breath catch in his throat. Yet if either had noticed, they gave no sign.

Takao spoke like an angry, dying man that Shintarou had seen on a television show once. "Stop. Shut up. Did he say that he loved him? Did he tell you?"

"No, but...Takao-kun, it was obvious. I'm sorry. But everyone knew! Even Akashi-kun referenced it once."

Hearing that made his blood run cold. The worst part of all this was that Shintarou really hadn't been in love with Akashi. He had respected him, followed his orders without question, and even considered them friends once, but it had never been anything more than that. Yet even Akashi-kun had thought he had been in love with him? And spoke of his fallacious assumptions? It was an overwhelming sense of injustice - coupled with frigid humiliation - that prompted him to finally take charge of this situation. He had heard quite enough, and no matter how embarrassing it would be to become an active participant in this group discussion, he was leaving. Now.

Without warning, he opened his eyes and rose to a seated position, grimly pleased that there was no moment of weakness or wooziness to slow his retreat. He would have taken even more pleasure in Takao and Momoi's horror if he weren't currently so mortified.

"Shin-chan-"

"Midorin! You're awake!"

Shintarou held up a hand before Takao or Momoi could come any closer. He kept his gaze fixed upon the door so that he would not have to look at either of them. "Yes, I am indeed awake. I have been so for quite some time, but I have reached my limit for senseless drivel. Now if you will excuse me, I have a phone call to make. In fact, I have several."

"But Midorin, we should make sure you're all right-"

Shintarou used his left hand to concurrently fix his glasses and hide his expression. He could feel the heat of Takao's stare yet there was nothing on earth that would tempt him to look at his partner right now. Especially when he had been told such lies, and apparently believed him. Later, he would think about it and figure out what on Oha Asa's name it all meant. For now...for now he simply needed to escape. "No, Momoi. To insist upon the veracity of something without any proof is foolishness, and I have no more time to waste on that. Please refrain from spreading any more lies in the future. Good bye."

"Shin-chan, wait-"

Panic fueling his veins, Shintarou ignored his partner and hustled out the door. Yet it didn't stop there - as soon as the door closed behind him, he broke out into a run, ignoring school rules and his personal strictures on decorum. Madness. This was utter madness, and he was reacting in all the wrong ways. So what if Momoi thought he had liked Akashi? So what if Akashi thought he liked Akashi? Even if Momoi hadn't simply been making all that up, those days were over and done with, and such misunderstandings happened, even to people like him. After all, his best only encompassed his own actions, not the thoughts and feelings of others. Yes, he was completely correct. Therefore, he shouldn't care at all.

Yet Takao thought he liked Akashi.

That should matter least of all. Who cared what his frie-teammat- servant thought? Certainly not this Midorima Shintarou. Not at all. So then...why did the thought of seeing Takao make his heart race and his legs run faster? Why did the thought of Takao laboring under this lamentable misapprehension make his breath catch in his throat and his mind go blank with anger and fear?

He suspected it was connected to his earlier sickness, when hearing Takao's worry had made his skin contract over his bones and his lungs tighten. It must be that he was sick. That would explain his ignoble reaction to Momoi's immature prank. Yes, that was it. He was ill, and he merely needed to go home and sleep it all off. He had been overworking himself as of late - passing out in the school courtyard proved it - and he needed to get some rest. After a good night's sleep, tomorrow would be back to normal.

Right?

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The hawkeye had been in Takao's family for as long as anyone could remember. It came from his mother, who had always been able to spot those sensational deals while shopping, and selecting just the right shade carpet and drapes to set off the living room to perfection. His little sister had inherited it as well, and was currently displaying an attention to color and detail that was astounding in a five year-old. Kazunari had come into it by his second year of middle school, just in time to gain the advantage when playing his friends in video games, and of course on the basketball court.

Then he had met Shin-chan.

Not that he was Shin-chan then. Then he was simply Midorima, the shooting guard of the Generation of Miracles, and caster of the shadow that lay over Takao's middle school basketball career. He was also the catalyst for the greatest resolve of Kazunari's life - and was the only person he had ever wanted to defeat. Of course, Kazunari had been beside himself when he had spotted Midorima on the first day of tryouts. Yet he was not the type of person to lay down and accept defeat, so he had laughed, bucked up, and formed a new resolution. I'll make you recognize me even if I die trying, he had promised himself.

Yet in the meantime, he couldn't help but notice the guy was socially a bit...off. At the start he'd had no plan beyond deal with the man for team cohesion, but little by little he had realized that Shin-chan's lucky items were a grown man's safety blanket, and that his arrogance was well-earned. And once Kazunari began respecting him, the half-hearted barriers he'd erected to tamp down his natural kindness came tumbling down. Kazunari began to laugh at Shin-chan's accidental 'jokes,' and once he started he just couldn't stop. The man was just so ridiculous and earnest and adorable, and eventually he couldn't help but notice how all of his teammate's idiosyncrasies came together and somehow made him a person that Kazunari honestly liked. Yet by the time he realized that Shin-chan had inexplicably become his best friend, he also realized that Shin-chan had noticed him.

On the court it was a straightforward story and ultimately one of victory by degrees: beating out the upperclassman for the starting point guard position; their fifth victory together; the first time Shin-chan had allowed him to see his emotions. They had moved smoothly and steadily towards cohesion, and especially after their first loss - in a practice game to Seirin - Shin-chan really began to acknowledge not only him, but the team as well.

Yet the social conquest had started so slowly and imperceptibly that even with the hawkeye he had not caught it. By the time he realized it, Shin-chan no longer shifted away from his teasing, willingly spent lunch hours and days off together, and stoicly let Kazunari hang off him like a monkey on a tree. Days would go by without Shin-chan requiring the rickshaw, and although he still made the point guard carry his lucky items when they were too bulky or inconvenient, he had made it clear that Kazunari was the only person besides himself that he trusted to handle them.

So there came a day when Kazunari woke up and realized he was probably Shin-chan's best friend. Yet he had a passing acquaintance with the scientific method, and knew that the answer could only be found when looking at the entire picture, not simply facets of it. Even though Shin-chan seemed to like him well enough on the court and when the weather between them was fair, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't fall apart during their first fight. Perhaps Shin-chan was simply putting up with him, and didn't really consider him his friend after all? Yet his theory was proven when one day in a rare fit of pique, Kazunari had sarcastically called him Midorima-san. The subsequent look on Shin-chan's face had not only chased away all his anger, but made him frantically promise never to call him that again: there had been guilt and self-loathing and even a flash of fear, as if he worried Kazunari wouldn't forgive him, or that his point guard might actually leave him. The expression nearly made Kazunari swallow his tongue. It was bad enough to see how much he'd scared Shin-chan - his unflappable, tsundere, proud Shin-chan - but it was worse to realize that in doing so he'd scared himself much more.

It had been this instance that had (finally) shown him just how much he relied on Shin-chan, and from there it hadn't taken too long to realize that 'relied on' was perhaps not the best way of phrasing it. 'In love with' would have been far more accurate.

The thing about hawkeye was that even while useful, it could be extremely selective. After Kazunari realized his feelings, his ability became a homing device and he could have accurately related Shin-chan's position within fifty yards. While this was undeniably useful on the court - the new third years had already made allusions to magic and blood rituals and how as long as it brought them victory they certainly weren't going to judge them - it was more than a little frustrating off of it. Knowing exactly how close the girls in his class leaned into Shin-chan when talking to him, fluttering their eyelashes and dipping to display cleavage was a practice in patience and not giving into unfamiliar jealousy, and that it happened stupidly often drove Kazunari nearly insane. He had never liked someone before, or at least, not like this. That it was someone who was still so far above him, even if he seemed to enjoy Kazunari's company enough to surprise even himself wasn't any better. He had set himself up for heartbreak, and even with hawkeyes wide open, he wasn't ready to come crashing down to the ground.

So today, Shin-chan did it for him. It took Momoi ten minutes to get his number (from Kise, who ended up getting it from Kagami whom Kazunari had run into once at the grocery store and had sent him a recipe for white miso that had made his father weep tears of joy) and text him that Midorin had collapsed and that she'd moved him to a gym closet and could he come please because Midorin would kill her if she called the hospital but she was also not strong enough to carry him home. After that Kazunari couldn't accurately say what had happened next, as everything went a little fuzzy upon reading the text. The next thing he knew was that Shin-chan was laying out on the floor, Momoi looked a little like it was her fault, and Kazunari was laying into her with an embarrassing lack of cool. He couldn't help himself. Shin-chan was just so sensitive and awful with girls, even ones who were teammates by proxy. And now, unconscious. Unconscious.

And when he thought it couldn't get any worse, she had dropped the bomb. Akashi. Motherfucking Akashi Seijuurou. The evil bastard who had not only mindfucked every member of his team but had laughed while doing it. And Shin-chan had liked him? Loved him? God, he knew that Shin-chan had a mental block a mile wide because of him, but he hadn't even admitted to being friends with the guy. Admittedly, Takao knew there was a world of difference between friends and hopeless one-sided infatuation, although this was not the moment to be fair. This was the moment to boggle in horror at Shin-chan's terrible taste, and try not to break under the knowledge that Takao would never, could never be like Akashi I Hate You All And Apparently Your Parents Too Seijuurou.

Yet this level of coherency was not achieved until much later, and Shin-chan had torn out of the closet like a bat out of hell, moving as quickly as he had that one time Takao had tricked him into thinking Oha Asa had gone on the air and mixed up the fortunes for Gemini and Cancer. Even at a time like this, when his heart was fracturing under the strain and his mind was in tumult, his hawkeye caught the stain of color suffusing Shin-chan's face, and the unyielding line of his mouth. Coupled with the fact that Shin-chan had ignored his attempts to reach out to him, and ran off down the hall like his house was on fire, Kazunari could only assume the worst. Of course, Shin-chan was eccentric and emotionally stunted at the best of times, but showing his emotions was something reserved for hitting rock bottom. Even his comment about Momoi's lies could easily be construed as an effort to save face.

Therefore, all signs pointed to Shin-chan's having feelings for his former captain. Seeing as how Kazunari couldn't stop loving his ace even if he tried - and oh, he had tried pretty damn hard during the early days - this resulted in them both being utterly screwed.

Personally, Kazunari blamed the hawkeye.

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Practice that day was cancelled, largely as half the team was laid low by the flu. Although Kazunari practiced by himself for an hour, Shin-chan did not join him as he usually would, for the obvious reasons of humiliation, presumable rage, and wanting to avoid the hell out of his partner. Kazunari tried to tell himself not to be hurt. Shin-chan was a delicate flower, and it only made sense that he'd need some time to recover the loss of his secret. So Kazunari would be understanding, and give him 24 hours. If he hadn't contacted him by then, he was going after him...just to make sure he hadn't done something drastic like drop out of school.

(Ok, and possibly to shake some sense into him but that was only if Shin-chan hadn't gotten over it by then. Really.)

It was on his way home that he ran into Miyaji-senpai, hovering outside of some idol shop that he had once attempted to get Shin-chan to enter as a dare. "Hey, Miyaji-senpai. Checking out a gift for your girlfriend?" Kazunari grinned wickedly. Hey, even though he was upset didn't mean he couldn't poke fun at unrelated people! It would make him feel better, especially as there were no present pineapples for Miyaji-senpai to launch at him.

Miyaji-senpai sighed as he turned, yet double-took when he saw Kazunari was alone. "Ahh, hey. Shut the fuck up, you brat. Where's Midorima?"

Kazunari tried not to wince. For Miyaji to cut short his diatribe in favor of asking where Shin-chan was meant that he and his ace were considered inseparable, and the fact that it wasn't so just made him feel lonelier. Still, Miyaji-senpai didn't want to know how upset he actually was, so he clothed his reply in a healthy coating of sarcasm. "He went home early today. And yes, before you ask, I'm extremely lonely. I was just on my way home to weep, actually. Care to join me?"

Shuutoku's old small forward snorted. "You're a little snake, Takao. Is everything a joke with you? Break ups are a serious business, especially when you're both on the same goddamn team. And- oh shit. Takao, I was just kidding!"

Kazunari's mask had slipped as soon as Miyaji-senpai calmly brought up the notion of them breaking up. Yet by the time he had asserted it was only a joke it was too late. Kazunari's eyes were wide, his face was pale, and his fear was evident. Damn, he must be more upset than he thought if his laughing facade was broken so easily!

"Oh my god. Did you seriously break up? Someone give me a pineapple, I can't take this!" Miyaji-senpai wore an expression somewhere between annoyance, guilt, and amazement, and it was Kazunari's last straw. Out of all his conflicting emotions, none of them were surprise - did that mean he had always thought they were a thing? Had the whole team thought they were together? "Seriously Takao, if this is one of your jokes, I will run you over with the closest truck…!"

When Miyaji-senpai got wound up like this, it took a lot of effort to calm him down. He had to step in before it got any worse. "No, Miyaji-senpai, we didn't break up. We were never together. We just...got in a little fight. Kind of. I think."

Miyaji-senpai's eyes narrowed into slits. "Are you sure you didn't break up? Because I do not want to hear about it if you did."

"No, senpai. Shin-chan and I were never together. Calm down."

After muttering something that sounded suspiciously like hell yes Ootsubo owes me 20 bucks Miyaji-senpai slung an arm around Kazunari, and began steering him into the nearest coffeeshop. "Ahh, so Midorima's crazy finally got to you, huh? In that case, tell me all about it. Senpai will listen to your woes, and treat you to a cup of coffee. Sound good?"

Kazunari eyed his upperclassman suspiciously. Ignoring the jibe about his secret love's eccentricities, he asked, "You aren't doing this only because you know how girls love it when two hot guys have coffee together, are you?"

"How did you know?"

Kazunari face palmed. Well, at least he'd get some free coffee…

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Twenty minutes later, Miyaji-senpai sat across the table from him, head in his hands. Kazunari wrapped up his retelling of the last day - leaving out only the identity of Shin-chan's previous love - with his usual dramatic flair. "...and then Shin-chan took off, never to be seen again. Well. That was my Friday. How was yours?"

Miyaji mumbled something into his palms, but all Kazunari could make out was hellhole, pineapple fields, and fuck you, Ootsubo. Kazunari eyed him warily, on the off-chance the upperclassman turned violent and dashed him in the face with coffee. "Senpai?"

"Let it be known: I hate the both of you. Also, you do realize that you just admitted to being in love with frigging Midorima, yeah?

"Well, it's not like you're going to tell him."

Miyaji-senpai groaned, catching the attention of all young ladies in a ten meter radius, and noticing none of them. "Why did I agree to this?"

"Because girls are eyeing you up, senpai. Let's not lie to ourselves."

Miyaji-senpai straightened immediately, flashing his attempt at a handsome grin. "You're right. Ok. So you're in love with-" clench, grind, squint- "him. And you really didn't get it until about a month ago? 'Cuz Ootsubo put out money on you guys secretly dating just before our last - well, your first - Winter Cup. You're telling me that all this time your interactions have been platonic?"

Ok, so he maybe was a bit more touchy than was normal. Jumping on Shin-chan's back and demanding piggy-back rides was probably not the smartest decision. Nor was pairing up for every drill, faux-flirting all the while. Not to mention all those lunches and break periods spent together, and sleepovers spent watching Shuutoku's and all the other Generation of Miracle teams' taped games. In hindsight, he was a total idiot and probably should have realized his feelings sooner. "Yes. Technically it still is. But now we're not even that because Shin-chan may hate me."

"Please. He couldn't hate you if he tried. Who the hell else will talk to him? Besides, this all happened less than five hours ago. I'm sure by tomorrow it will have all blown over. If not, I will come and throw pineapples at him until he gets over it. Shuutoku needs you guys at your best, even if the next tournament isn't for a couple of months."

Kazunari nodded and took a sip of his drink. He had worried about how Shin-chan would react on Monday when practice resumed, but deep down he suspected that the ace would be there performing at his usual level, no matter his own personal upheavals. It was that part of him that had first garnered Kazunari's respect, after all, even before his thoughts had turned to friendship. "Thanks, senpai. I'm sure it will be fine...but the team would probably thank you anyway."

"Of course they would. But seriously now - what are you going to do about this in the long term? Even though Midorima is straight up insane, there's no guarantee you'll ever win him over. Love is kinda' tricky like that, you know? Are you prepared to give up on him in the future if he never looks your way?"

Kazunari said nothing, content to swirl the liquid in his cup. These were all things he'd thought about, but he'd shied away from making a conclusive decision. So he fobbed Miyaji-senpai off with the only obvious reasonings he could. "If Shin-chan is straight then of course nothing will happen. I'm not going to do anything bad, senpai. Honestly. What do you think of me? If he's even a little open to it though…" He sighed. "Then I'm going to try."

"Even though you're both men and Japan frowns upon that sort of thing?"

"Yep."

"Even though his family is pretty traditional and you both could get in serious trouble over this?"

Kazunari hesitated, but his answer was firm. "My family would support me. They're open about how liberal they are, and made it clear they just want me and my sister to be happy. So if it came down to it, they'd just have to support him too. If he wants it, that is. It's not just up to me."

"I wonder…" Miyaji-senpai watched him with a thoughtful look in his eye. "Ootsubo always kind of figured you held a lot more power over him than the rest of the team would have guessed. Then again, he figured you two were dating, but at least with you he wasn't so far off. I guess what I'm trying to say is to be careful. You're all he's got, Takao. Who knows what he'll do to keep you?"

Not enough, Kazunari thought. Especially when it includes running away instead of trusting me. It was painful to think of that yet it was the thought of Akashi-san that gave him confidence. "I don't think you need to worry about that, senpai. Shin-chan is a lot stronger than you know. He wouldn't stick with someone who was wrong for him, even if he has nothing else. Otherwise he wouldn't have chosen Shuutoku for his school, and would have followed Akashi-san to Rakuzan."

Miyaji-senpai nodded slowly, as Midorima had told the entire team a bit about their opponent and their history before they had faced them. "I see your point. Well, in that case there's only one thing to do."

He knew he shouldn't ask, but the man had bought him a cup of coffee and listened to his woes. "And what is that?"

"Point me in the direction of the nearest first year, and then hand me a pineapple. I'm feeling violent."

"Is that going to solve my problem?"

"No, but it's going to work wonders in improving my mood."

Well, he had always loved a good pineapple throw. Besides, chasing down Kimura would give him something to do, other than worry about Shin-chan. "All right, senpai. Let's go."

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I think that Ootsubo and Kiyoshi (from Seirin) would be total bros together. Izuki too, actually. Maybe someday that broship will sail, but today is not that day.

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This was originally a lot shorter, and Miyaji-less. You may thank an excruciatingly slow day at work for this, if you enjoyed that particular section.

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Next up is Kagami and Kuroko again, and the second half will be (spoiler alert) NSFW. (¬‿¬)

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R&R!