It wasn't as though there was any reason to doubt Akashi's words—there was something about everything that he did and said that commanded absolute certainty—but the Seirin-Shuutoku group found it very disconcerting that the hospital's room 409 was the room of someone who they wouldn't readily name as the recipient of such unusual and colorful visitors. Heck, they didn't even know who this Nijimura was.

"Nijimura…Nijimura…" Miyaji chanted, rubbing his chin with the utmost concentration on his face. "I swear I've heard that name before."

"Niji…as in rainbow?" Takao said, pressing his ear against the door to try to eavesdrop. Beside him, Kiyoshi, Koganei, and Izuki were doing the same.

"Looks like it," Hyuuga answered, squinting at the characters on the nameplate. "You know, I think the name's actually familiar."

"Never heard it," Kagami muttered, pulling out his phone. "I think I'll go text Kuroko."

"Idiot, don't text him now!" Hyuuga snapped, snatching Kagami's cell phone. Kagami opened his mouth to protest when suddenly a voice called out,

"Taiga?"

Everyone and Kagami spun around to the newcomer, who turned out to be Yosen's Himuro Tatsuya, armed with a plastic bag filled to overflowing with snacks and candy bars.

"Tatsuya?" Kagami exclaimed, scooting away from the door. "What are you doing all the way here? In Tokyo?"

Himuro recovered from his surprise, blinking confusedly at the large group of highschoolers gathered before him. "I'm—here to visit a the guy hospitalized in that room you're blocking. Are you guys doing the same?"

"N-No," Kagami stuttered, glancing at the door. "Wait—you know who this Nijimura is?"

"Well, yeah," Himuro said, adjusting his hold on the snacks. "I met him in LA a few months back. We became friends after a series of uh, certain events. Which involved gangs. You know, normal LA business."

Kagami nodded, but looked even more confused. "But how is he related to Kuroko and the Generation of Miracles?"

"Ah, you don't know?" Himuro cocked his head to one side. "He's a basketball player too. Or used to be. Are Atsushi and the others inside? I'm bringing these snacks in for them. Or just Atsushi. He could probably finish this all." He looked thoughtful. "Maybe I should pay a visit to the vending machine around the corner."

"Wait wait," Kagami put his hand out to block his brother. "Basketball player, you say? Was he formerly in Teikou?"

"Ahh!" Miyaji burst out, smacking a fist into his palm. "That's right! Nijimura Shuuzou! He used to be the captain of Teikou middle school's basketball team!"

"Ahh! Right!" exclaimed Hyuuga. "Right, I remember now! He was the captain before Akashi!"

"What?" came the simultaneous outbursts of a number of highschoolers.

"Pipe down everyone!" Takao hissed, ear still pressed on the door. "We're right next to the room! They'll hear us! Or actually wait—" the hall went silent, and they could hear a muffled voice from behind the door. "Wait—I think they did hear us! Shit, let's scram!"

Takao had barely backed off from the door when it silently swung open, revealing a blank-faced Kuroko behind it, who stopped and stared at the mess that was his team and Shuutoku's regulars scattered around the door.

"Remember to get some of those cheesy croquets!" Aomine called out from inside.

"I'm going with Tetsu-kun!" Momoi bounced, coming into view at the half-opened door. She saw a glimpse of the clutter of high schoolers on the outside and made a very obvious effort not to jump back in surprise, and then suspiciously looked into the room. She started trying to sneak out without drawing attention to the door when she bumped into Himuro, who had apparently gone past Kuroko and entered the room.

"Watch out there, Satsuki," Himuro said, smiling at her. "You heading out?"

Momoi blinked up at him, and then glanced at Kuroko, who stayed silent, not moving from his position to probably shield the others from being seen. Himuro followed her line of sight, eyebrow raised, and completely missed the hint. "Hey, Midorima, your team's here," he said, looking to the side and pointing towards the opening.

Everyone outside groaned, falling into the ground and slumping in defeat. They heard Midorima's outraged "What?" and Kuroko's trounced sigh as he swung the door fully open. Midorima staggered into view, still clutching his eggplant plush, eyes widening as he processed the sight of his teammates out the door.

"Heya, Shin-chan," Takao called, waving sheepishly.

Midorima promptly smacked a hand over his face, defeated. "I…suppose I should excuse myself," he announced grimly.

"No, wait," another voice from inside—Akashi—called. "Your team, is it? Then Seirin's with them?"

Momoi grimaced. "So you noticed?"

"It would be more of an enigma if I didn't. Invite them inside."

Kuroko stepped aside and gestured at the others. "Come on in, then," he said, looking like he was somewhat sorry for them.

"Yeah, come in, Taiga," Himuro called, stepping further into the room. "I'll introduce you."

"Ah, Tatsuya." Another voice spoke up, and this time no one recognized it. The voice didn't sound anything like Murasakibara's lazy drawl, or Aomine's low and dark speech, or Akashi's sharp and commanding tone. When the stalker group filed into the hospital room rather awkwardly, they were met with the sight of the Generation of Miracles gathered around a hospital bed, and lying on it was a dark-haired teen with sharp, steely eyes and a sleepy scowl. His torso was slightly inclined so that he wasn't laying flat on his back, and he wore a light hospital shirt and had a blanket draped over his lower body, arms lightly folded over it. His left hand was connected to an IV drip standing at the side of the bed, and a finger clip linked to a heart rate monitor pinched an index finger.

"Hey, Shuu," Himuro said, smiling sweetly at the bedbound patient. "Glad you're awake."

Nijimura nodded, a corner of his lips quirking up. "Nice to see you," he spoke, voice laced with weariness. He regarded the arrangement of highschoolers standing behind Himuro. "Who're your friends?"

"Are those snacks?" Murasakibara lit up.

"Yes, I brought them for you," Himuro said, handing the bag of snacks to the giant, who looked at him with complete gratitude and admiration. Himuro pat Murasakibara's head and then gestured to Kagami and the others. "This is Taiga. Kagami Taiga, my brother that I told you about. The people beside him are his and Kuroko's teammates from Seirin High, and the others in orange are Midorima's teammates from Shuutoku High."

Nijimura looked them over, blinking as if to wake up. He gave a small bow. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nijimura."

The stalker group all awkwardly bowed in response, murmuring "Nice to meet you"s almost incomprehensibly, effectively at a loss on what to make of their current situation.

"Oi oi, stop that," Aomine spoke up, grabbing Nijimura's hand as it started fumbling with the needle end of his IV drip.

Nijimura scowled. "Seriously, you guys have to let me go. I'm fine already."

"No, you're not," Kuroko said, and the firmness of his tone made Seirin blink at him in wonder. Midorima scooted to the other side of the bed and tugged at Nijimura's crinkled blanket, pulling it up and smoothing it out higher over his torso. To the other side, beside Aomine, Murasakibara popped open some kind of granola bar and offered it to Nijimura, who blinked, considering the bargain.

When his stomach made a rumbling growl, he relented, accepting the snack and weakly chomping on it, grumbling some kind of complaint as he chewed.

The brief exchanges had the Seirin-Shuutoku group gaping, not quite wrapping their heads around what they had just witnessed. Takao felt a pang of incredulity and awe at Midorima's open care, and Kagami was blinking in wonder at Aomine's fingers lightly brushing over Nijimura's wrist, wary of the needle connected to it.

"I'm serious though," Nijimura said, halfway done with his snack bar. "I'm fine. Stop keeping me from leaving."

"When you're leaving isn't exactly your call right now," came Akashi's piercing voice. "The doctors will decide that."

Nijimura frowned at Akashi, openly hostile. The others felt a tense air flow around the hospital bed, stiffening in disbelief at beholding someone who was directly opposing Akashi.

"I said I'm fine," Nijimura growled, his sleepy eyes getting sharper.

"You need rest," Akashi responded, curt.

"I've had that. Three days of it, apparently." Nijimura was moving to sit up higher, but Aomine put a hand on his shoulder, pressing him down.

"Hey, you shouldn't get up, senpai," Aomine said, a flustered worry in his brow. (Kagami gaped, muttering under his breath, "Senpai?" because he wasn't sure he heard that Aomine speak in any way that resembled polite).

"Three days is too much," Nijimura said, giving up his struggle against Aomine's solid push. "I need to get back to work. And school."

He was staring directly at Akashi, determined, and the others were amazed at how he held eye contact with those intense mismatched eyes without flinching. Akashi squinted. "I told you," he started, voice even and firm. "We're taking care of that. The doctors have ordered that you remain hospitalized for at least a week, and that's barely even the minimum. You were in serious condition for a few days, and I don't believe you have any authority to say when you get to leave confinement. Obviously not against a doctor's word."

Nijimura's brows furrowed, and opened his mouth to argue when Akashi continued, "But," he said, raising a hand, and then gesturing to Kagami. "If any time before you're due to be released do you manage to win against Taiga in an arm wrestling match, I will personally consult the doctors and recommend your discharge."

"What," Kagami blinked.

"What," everyone else repeated.

Nijimura raised an eyebrow. "And how are you going to convince them to discharge me?"

Akashi smiled, proud. "I believe you know the considerable influence my family has over various industries and establishments," he said. "This hospital is one such establishment, and my word can be as good as a director's, if properly supported."

"Fine." Nijimura huffed. He turned to look at Kagami, who flinched backwards. "Kagami right? Let's have a match."

"What," Aomine jerked. Nijimura was shifting to sit up again. "Hey, right now? You just woke up!"

"I said I'm fine," Nijimura scoffed. "If I win this it'll prove it."

"W-wait, I can't—" Kagami panicked, not sure what to do.

"You're still weak and you haven't had a proper meal," Midorima added.

"You brought me those lucky items, right?" Nijimura said, gesturing to the bedside table that contained a white maneki-neko, a stapler, a small cactus, and the small bouquet of flowers from earlier. "Maybe I'll win by luck."

Midorima pushed up his glasses, flustered over being found out. Nijimura had already figured out how to get his bed to incline his back higher and was pulling the over-bed table towards him. Aomine seemed to give up trying to stop him and glared at Kagami instead, who was visibly panicked.

"Are you sure about this, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko said, glancing at Kagami.

"You know how he is," Akashi said, his brow only very slightly crinkled as Nijimura clenched and unclenched his fist. Akashi turned to Kagami. "Go, Taiga. He may be bedridden right now but don't go easy on him."

"But—" Kagami started, stepping back.

"That's reckless!" Riko blurt out. "I don't know what kind of sickness he's just gone through but he's obviously not in any condition to arm wrestle! And with Kagami, of all people!"

Momoi hugged Riko's arm. "You're not wrong, Riko-san, but there's no stopping any of them when they're like this," she said, grimacing.

"But—i can't possibly—" Kagami was looking at his fellow teammates, who were backing off. Even the Shuutoku guys were at a loss. "Why me?"

"Because you wouldn't be easy to beat," Hyuuga muttered, giving Kagami a pat on the shoulder. "I think you're supposed to win the match so that he'll stay hospitalized a day longer."

"That's right," Kuroko said. "If you win, then it's no problem."

"Tch," Nijimura spat, leaning his elbow onto the desk. "You say that like I'll easily lose."

"Hey, Bakagami," Aomine snapped. "If you hurt him I'll punch you."

Kagami groaned. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Just win," Himuro offered, giving Kagami a push towards the bed.

Kagami turned to his brother. "Why don't you go against him?"

Himuro smirked. "I'd like to say I could, but even though he's hospitalized and all, I'm not sure if I could win against him."

This made Kagami look at him in disbelief. Himuro chuckled, giving his brother another push. "He might not seem like it, but he's strong. Although if it's you, you can do it," Himuro said, and Kagami stumbled towards the foot of the bed, completely thrown.

Up close, Kagami could see how pale Nijimura was, making the circles under his eyes seem darker. Despite that, under the hood of his eyelids, he had sharp, piercing eyes with a determined set to them, and Kagami noticed how Nijimura was well built and athletic, with the smell of someone who was undoubtedly strong, and for more reasons than just sports.

Nijimura raised his forearm, fist stretched open. Kagami gulped. Normally he would welcome any challenge of strength, but this was a hospitalized patient for crying out loud! Much more was that he was a friend of Tatsuya and Kuroko and the Generation of Miracles. Kagami silently cursed his impulsive curiosity and settled his elbow over the desk.

This is what I get for snooping around, Kagami thought grimly, glancing around. To the side, Aomine was glaring at him, looking like he was ready to pounce at any moment. Beside him, Murasakibara had actually paused his eating, staring at them. On the other side, Akashi had his arms folded over his chest, looking over them blankly, and Midorima stood next to him, trying to hide his very concerned expression under his glasses.

Kagami glimpsed at Kuroko, standing with the other Seirin people and Tatsuya, who gave him a nod. He felt cold fingers wrap around his hand, and then turned to see Nijimura's sleepy eyes light up in determination, concentrated on their hands.

"Alright," Akashi announced, formal. "On three."

Kagami swallowed. The glares he was getting from Aomine and Murasakibara made him hesitate.

"One."

But he gripped Nijimura's hand in a tight hold. He had to win this one, so that this guy could rest. He obviously needed it.

"Two."

Except he has to make sure not to hurt him, at least not anymore than he might have already been. Nijimura's been hospitalized for more than three days, if the lucky items at the table weren't indication enough. He may have a good build, and looked like he had strong arms, but he was undoubtedly weakened and tired. Plus, as confident as Kagami was in his ability to take a punch, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of Aomine's—Haizaki's cracked jaw after being just that was a pretty good warning against it.

"Three."

Their arms locked, caught in the middle of their starting position as they both pushed. They tensed, and Nijimura's brows furrowed in concentration. Slowly, Kagami's arm started bending backward, and he was caught off-guard by Nijimura's strength. Kagami set his jaw and gripped tigher, putting more of his strength in his arm. Nijimura's lead made it difficult to pull back, and Kagami started to panic when the back of his arm started getting closer to the desk.

"Oi, Kagami!" Aomine hissed, bent on the edge of his seat.

Nijimura grunted as Kagami fought back, his arm locked inches away from the table.

"Taiga," Himuro spoke, alarm in his voice.

"Kagami-kun…" he heard Kuroko from behind him.

Kagami grumbled, pushing against Nijimura's hand without restraint. Gradually, their arms moved, but Nijimura was steady. It seemed like they would stay stuck in that position when Kagami felt the pressure on his arm lessen, and he took that opening and drove inward. The pressure only continued to decrease as Kagami pushed further, reversing their positions until Kagami growled and surged forward, and he breathed a sigh when the back of Nijimura's hand landed on the desk, defeated.

Nijimura let out a gasp, panting lightly. His cheeks were faintly flushed, and he sat back on the bed with a sigh, closing his eyes. Kagami released his hand and breathed out in relief, and everyone else seemed to do the same.

"It's my loss," Nijimura huffed, rubbing his eyes. "You're strong."

"Ah, no, I actually thought I was going to lose for a moment there," Kagami said, scratching the back of his head.

"It's because your stamina's shot," Akashi spoke up, pulling the over-bed table away from Nijimura. "If you were anywhere near your normal self, you'd have much more stamina than Taiga, and maybe you'd have a chance. So just lie down and recover your strength."

Nijimura scowled at him, but yielded, sighing, eyes falling droopy again. "Yeah, yeah. I'll give it a shot again later."

"You mean tomorrow," Midorima offered. "Or maybe after a week."

Nijimura huffed. "Later, tomorrow, same difference. I'm not going to stay here for a week."

Akashi fixed him a look and tugged on his blanket, and Nijimura sighed at him, eyes fluttering closed.

Aomine bonked Kagami upside the head. "That was fucking close, Bakagami!"

Kagami reeled back, clutching his head. "Shut up! I didn't expect him to be that strong!"

Aomine grunted, but sat back on his chair. "Yeah, well, now you know."

Kagami sighed and walked back to his teammates, who patted him sympathetically for his misfortune of getting dragged into another mess that involved the Generation of Miracles. Kuroko gave him a nod, lips quirking up slightly, and said, "Thank you."

Kagami looked at him, then smiled, ruffling Kuroko's hair. "Yeah, anytime. I guess."

Kuroko gave him a wider smile, and then moved towards the hospital bed where Akashi was pulling up Nijimura's blanket over his stomach.

"Ah, he fell asleep," Murasakibara noted.

"Fucking finally," Aomine sighed, pressing a button to get the bed to sink back.

"The effects of the medication took longer than expected," Midorima quipped, setting aside the over-bed table.

The Seirin and Shuutoku group looked in wonder at the musings around the hospital bed, feeling like they were seeing something private and wasn't meant for them to see. On the bed, Nijimura had fallen alseep with more color in his cheeks than before. His striking, sharp expression softened into one of peaceful slumber, falling into a deep sleep that he undeniably needed. To one side, Akashi had smoothened out the blanket over his chest, and gently lifted Nijimura's drip-connected arm over it, letting it rest comfortably over his stomach. Aomine did the same with Nijimura's other arm, and across him, Kuroko refilled a glass of water on the bedside table. Murasakibara, already halfway through with the bag of snacks, burped and then handed the half-full bag across the bed to Midorima, who took it and placed it atop the table, in between the glass of water and clump of lucky items.

No one in the Seirin-Shuutoku group knew what to make of the very unexpected sight they beheld. Never did they imagine that they'd get to see some semblance of teamwork from the former-Teikou lineup, and yet they were very obviously cooperating with each other to care for this Nijimura Shuuzou—their former-captain. Shuutoku was very visibly surprised at Midorima's open fretfulness and worry for the senior, evident just from the lucky items sitting at the bedside table. They were also taken aback by Aomine's subdued manner, and Murasakibara's sudden generosity with his snacks—complete opposites of what they were used to seeing.

The most surprising was Akashi. Although he was stern and imposing towards everyone, even his predecessor, he seemed to treat Nijimura with an unexpected amount of care and concern. Even without knowing him all that much, they just had a sense that Akashi wasn't exactly the gentle, caring type, and that much was true from hearsay and their own experiences—though they were clearly seeing a different side to him there.

"Tetsuya," Akashi spoke, straightening up. "You were supposed to go with Satsuki to Ryouta before the others came in, yes?"

Kuroko blinked at him. "Yes, that's right."

"Go ahead, and take Shintarou, Daiki and Atsushi with you." Akashi regarded the three. "You haven't eaten proper dinners yet, so go together to where Ryouta is. I'll be the one to stay here."

"But—"

"Go," Akashi said, sharper. "I've already taken dinner. I'll take responsibility for tiring Nijimura-san out."

Kagami was about to point out that he was the one who did that, but Akashi gave him a pointed look, and he promptly shut his mouth.

"Give Ryouta an update as well," Akashi continued. "I imagine he'd be very anxious to hear about what's happened around here."

Aomine snorted, standing up. "No doubt about it," he said, then smirked. "Well it was his fault for losing against me."

"One-on-one?" Himuro mused.

"Rock-paper-scissors," Aomine looked very proud about it.

Himuro chuckled, and Murasakibara went up to his side. "Come with us too, Muro-chin," he said, holding onto Himuro's arm.

Himuro was about to protest when his stomach growled. "Right. Okay, I guess I'll go with you guys. Might as well help Kise out."

"Help Kise out with what?" Kagami asked.

Aomine smirked, shrugging on his jacket and ushering the bumbling group of high schoolers towards the door. "With his 'job'."

"Job…?"

"Do you want anything?" Midorima asked Akashi, who shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

"No, I'm fine. Go. Take your team with you. I can hear their stomachs from over here. It's the least you can do in exchange for their concern."

Midorima looked flustered, and then followed after his team, nodding at them. "Let's have dinner," he said.

"Eh? Will it be your treat, Shin-chan?" Takao perked up, grinning.

"That depends," Midorima muttered, hiding under his glasses. The other seniors laughed, ruffling his hair, and the group bowed slightly at Akashi and Nijimura before leaving the room.

Kuroko lagged behind, and then nodded at Akashi. "Get some rest too, Akashi-kun."

Akashi waved him away, smiling.

Once outside, the group seemed to have been released from the tense atmosphere of the hospital room. They walked together silently, and they had reached the line of elevators when Kiyoshi piped up.

"Well that was fun," he said, bouncing. "And kind of exciting, don't you think?"

"No." Kagami grumbled, ducking his head.

Kiyoshi merely laughed and fluffed his hair.

"Where exactly are we all having dinner at?" Takao chimed in, turning to Midorima and Momoi.

"It's a restaurant nearby," Momoi answered, smiling.

"Kise's working there?" Kagami asked.

"Well sort of," Aomine said, scratching the back of his head. "It's kind of hard to explain."

"Well, now you have time to explain," Kagami said. "There's still too much I'm confused about here."

The others nodded. There wasn't exactly a significant decrease in their questions and mysteries. All that was answered was who the rainbow gang was visiting, and none of why Kuroko skipped practice or why Midorima left early, or even why Nijimura's been hospitalized for so long. And now there was the question of Kise missing from the group apparently in the middle of a 'job', and then there was Kagami's stomach, which was gurgling up some feral sounds as he walked.

"But first, let's eat," he announced, clutching at his stomach. He looked at Kuroko. "Explain everything then."

It would have been a serious command if it weren't for Kagami's stomach sounding like it was trying to communicate with monsters. Kagami flushed as the others laughed, and despite everything, they felt lighter.

Kuroko smiled, nodding at his partner. "Of course."

A/N: Himuro's mention of knowing Nijimura after meeting him in LA is a reference to Hirabayashi and Fujimaki's Replace V, where Nijimura moved to LA after graduating from Teikou to join his family there while his father was being treated. Along the way, Nijimura somehow got himself involved in a kidnapping, where he meets Himuro. They promptly became buddies after succeeding in a rescue mission together (yes apparently this happened I shit u not), and they both gave each other nicknames: "Shuu" and "Tatsuya." I just fiddled with the moving bit, so Nijimura's back in Japan to get hospitalized and doted on by his rainbow kouhai :)

Also, thank you to those who reviewed the previous chapters! I will try to update as regularly as possible. Stay tuned! Reviews are always appreciated :)