"Who was that?" The question fell over the two tables and caused the girls to fall silent. Kagami suddenly felt very self conscious, as though what had happened earlier was strictly taboo to talk of, but his curiosity was far too high. As soon as they all walked into Maji Burgers the events of the near fight (or in Meyers case the fight) was almost forgotten. None of the girls even began to try and explain it to anyone, even though all the boys were all trying to hint about it through out the course of eating.

Midorima and Takao had seen the commotion from inside but had said nothing when they had sat down around them. Of course, Midorima did not look too pleased with having to sit with the others, in fact he looked like he would have just stood and left he hadn't been wedged in between Takao and Ishimura, both of whom looked well aware of what they were doing. Across from the trio sat Saka, Hotaru and Katsumi, the latter looking rather amused at the exceptionally grumpy expression on Midorima's face. Saka looked rather uncomfortable and was squished up against the window, Katsumi sitting next to her and Hotaru on the end.

On the table behind Shutoku's Captain was Aomine, Kagami, Hyuuga, Kuroko, Shira and Meyer. Aomine had been flanked by Kuroko and Kagami, both forcing Touou's ace to remain in Maji Burger as he had been squished into sitting between the pair. Hyuuga was sitting in between Shira and Meyer, the latter looking more interested in what was happening outside of Maji Burger rather than the conversations that were happening inside. However, when Kagami's questioned broke into the talking and caused everyone to fall silent, Ishimura looking over to him from the other table and Katsumi and Hotaru glancing over their shoulders, Meyer looked to him, a rather puzzling expression on her face.

"That was Tachi Rei. She was a player in middle school. One of the worst you'll ever meet," Shira shrugged as she started to prod at her chocolare sundae with a spoon. She had been so into the conversations he was having with Hyuuga that she had forgotten she'd ordered the dessert, but now Kagami had broken that concentration she figured she should get a start on it before it melted completely.

"I think what Kagami-Kun meant Shira-San, was what was she talking about when she said Ishimura-San was going to get what was coming to her."

"She was talking about being unable to play," Hotaru yawned, cutting in before any of Iwozuka could answer. Katsumi hit her shoulder, shaking her head before shrinking down in the seat slightly, unwilling to be part of this conversation. Hotaru couldn't help but notice that Katsumi always fell quiet whenever Tachi was brought up in conversation.

"Why would..."

"In middle school Tachi was injured so badly that she was unable to continue playing basketball at all," Shira shrugged, rolling her eyes before sticking mouthful of ice cream. Ishimura winced at her brazen attitude to the incident, scratching behind her ear. For some reason, although she very much didn't care what anyone believed about the incident, she didn't want Kuroko or Midorima to hear about it. She had no idea what they would think.

"What does that have to do with Ishi-Chan?" Takao questioned. Hotaru let out a snort, not noticing that Meyer, Ishimura and Katsumi all looked uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. Which was strange, because Meyer was often very open about discussing the incident.

"Because Ishimura was the one who caused her to be injured so badly," Hotaru snorted as she rolled her shoulders forward. Midorima looked surprised whilst Takao glanced to Ishimura, his eyebrows furrowing briefly as Kuroko's eyes grew wider. Kagami blinked twice in confusion but Hyuuga's expression was grim, as though he viewed Ishimura as below scum.

"Well it wasn't like Yuki-Chan did it on purpose, she did knock herself out and bench herself for half the season as well," Shira cringed at the memory, not happy with what had happened. Saka let out a whimper as the image rekindled in her mind, accompanied by the sounds that were appropriate. Aomine leant forward, one eyebrow raised as he rose an eyebrow.

"So what happened exactly?"

"Well, it was for the title of the championship," Shira grinned as she started to get into her story. "It was Dojimazaki Girls against Teiko Girls, the undefeated against the ruthless."

"Talk yourself up."

"Shush, don't interrupt," Shira scowled, shooting a glare at Hotaru who threw her hands up in the air unimpressed. Not that she could decline the truth in Shira's words, she didn't tell a lite. "Anyway, it was fourth quarter. Dojimazaki was ahead by twelve points but had been dealt heavy blows by Tachi Rei, the 'ace' of Teiko. Jo was barely standing, bruised and battered. I wasn't much better and Takami was completely out of taking shots."

...

Basketball was meant to be fun. Winning was meant to be fun. Playing in general was meant to be fun. Shira was not having fun, not even close to it. She had been pushed back into defense to help out Jo who looked like she was less than okay with what had happened. Bruises littered her arms and legs and she had suffered a stomped foot curtesy of the aggressive playing opposing them. Teiko girls in general were a difficult team, the whole school was so focused on winning that losing was unacceptable. Shira just wished their way of going about it wasn't by beating their opponents into submission. The only Dojimazaki players that had been left unscathed were Meyer and Saka, the former because she was sitting on the bench and the latter because she was too quick in passing off the balls. Shira didn't doubt that was because of orders straight from Meyer.

Ishimura had managed to keep away from Tachi enough so that she had only acquired a hit here or there. Still, their small forward did not seem pleased that her team was being injured, neither did their scowling captain sitting on the sidelines. Her eyes had not shifted off Tachi since she had subbed off and Shira let out a sigh, turning her attention back to the game. The centre of Teiko was dribbling the ball back up the centre line, bypassing a rather solitary Takami who had only half heartedly extended her black and blue arm. It was only Ishimura who darted forward, sweeping passed the opposition and snatching the ball away that truly prevented Teiko from getting anywhere. It wasn't that Shira didn't want to try, it was just that her body had decided that she had taken enough hits to last the game.

Ishimura held the ball to her hip as Meyer called for a player change. Saka was more than happy to get off the court for once, willingly running over and taking her spot on the bench as Meyer ran onto the court. Tachi's eyes seemed to gleam, knowing that if she managed to get even the slightest hit on Dojimazaki's Captain it would mean more than just their power forward or their centre. Shira was frightened for Meyer for only a second before realising that there was no way that Tachi would actually be able to catch Meyer.

The game continued, and did so for about five minutes. Meyer and Ishimura both stayed well away from Tachi, causing the opposition to want to try and get either of them even more. Which was effectively the cause of the incident. The ball was in Teiko's hands, the point guard was carrying the ball up the court, nearing the three metre line when Meyer cut in. She stole the ball with ease, looking around and spotting Ishimura heading down the court at a fast pace. Meyer passed the ball off just as Tachi gave chase for Ishimura, getting closer than comfort behind her. Ishimura's hand were out, her fingers welcoming the ball and then it was heading to the ground after knocking against her fingers.

Ishimura was running too fast to suddenly stop, and when the ball hit the ground her foot hit the top of the orange leather hard. Ishimura completely lost her footing, tripping over the ball and crashing to the ground. Tachi, who had been far too close to Ishimura, had been tangled in her legs and had been pulled to the ground. Shira, who was standing near Jo inside the three point line, heard the sound of flesh smacking against the hard floor of the court and the cracking of bones breaking, the blood curdling screaming that errupted and the way her throat seemed to choke at the scene in front of her.

Ishimura had hit the ground with her head, effectively knocking herself out immediately and she lay limp on the ground. Shira hadn't seen how Tachi had broken her knee, but she could definitely see the after effects. Just near her knee was a shard of white bone sticking out, blood trailing down along her leg and staining her white sneakers. Shira stepped forward, unsure of what to do, but the umpire was shouting to someone off court and Meyer was already running over to Ishimura and Tachi, ripping her jersey over her head and handing it to Teiko's captain, who had run over to the pair as well.

"Ah, Shira help!" Shira turned to see that Saka had run onto the court and she was struggling to hold up a very ghostly looking Jo. Shira immediately ran to their centre, wrenching her arm over her shoulder and taking most of her weight. Normally Meyer and Ishimura would be the best to try and hold Jo up, but one was unconscious and the other looked busy. The whole court was alive with chatter and Shira looked up to see that there were two stretchers being brought out and a neck brace for Ishimura. Shira suddenly became very terrified for her friend, recalling how hard she had hit her head but right now she had to focus on their towering centre who was looking like she was going to crash to the ground any second.

...

"So, what happened?" Takao pushed. As Shira told the story the boys had all leant in close. Shira looked over her shoulder, about to continue when Ishimura snorted, shaking her head.

"I spent a week in the hospital under observation and wasn't allowed to keep playing for three months. Tachi had to have screws in her leg and she can't play at all," Ishimura shrugged, scratching the side of her head before she turned her attention to a fry. Takao and Midorima both stared at her open mouthed, Takao looking like he had about fifty million more questions but Kuroko just cleared his throat, glancing over Hyuuga's shoulder to Ishimura.

"Ishimura-San, was it an accident?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, was it an accident Ishimura?" Hotaru grinned rather sadistically as she tilted her head, causing Ishimura to scowl slightly. Katsumi nudged Hotaru's knee but the vice captain didn't pay her any attention. Instead she turned in her seat, flicking Meyer's ear and recieving a rather cold glare back at her. "Or was it under Meyer's orders?"

"The orders did not come from me," Meyer snapped back angrily, her eyes shifting to Katsumi for a moment before she glared outright at Hotaru. Ishimura started calling Hotaru an idiot and questioning why she would have let herself be knocked out on purpose. Hotaru argued back with her, Takao joining and Midorima attempting to get him to shut up. The set of booths seemed to errupt into noise, even Saka saying something occasionally rather heatedly and without her stutter. It was only when Shira made a choking noise as she coughed out the spoonful of icecream she had shoved in her mouth, sending the dairy treat flying onto Aomine's shirt, that he noticed that was someone seemed overly quiet amidst the loud arguements and name calling.

Katsumi was sitting rather rigid in her seat, her shoulders up slightly and her head down, as though she wanted to be anywhere but where she was. Shira was frowning, staring down at her as she seemed to be counting her fingers, glancing between Meyer, Katsumi and Ishimura and then back down at her fingers.

"Who did?" The snarl broke through the arguement like a knife as Hyuuga stood, folding his arms over his chest. Shira scrambled out of the seat she was in, letting him step onto the tiles as he glowered at all of the underclassmen. Ishimura shrunk down in her seat, a scowl still sitting on his face as his gaze lingered on Meyer. The Captain of Iwozuka blinked twice at him, tilting her head to the side as her lips twitched sightly.

"Who did what?"

"Not once have either you nor Ishimura completely rejected the accusations," Midorima pointed out, glowering at Ishimura who seemed to be disappearing under the table slowly. Meyer glanced over to him, looking back to Hyuuga before standing very slowly. Aomine leant back slightly, feeling a rather dangerous vibe radiating from the small woman.

"Are you saying that the accident that took out Tachi Rei was planned, Junpei?" Meyer cocked her head to the side, a small grin sitting on her lips that looked rather displaced in her usualy calm and peaceful expression. It sent shivers down Kagami's spine and he watched as she stepped out of the booth, levelling herself up with his Captain.

"I, ah, yes."

"Are you saying that had instructed Takami to keep a particularly hard eye on the habits of Tachi during the game to relay to me at half time, so when I went off I could come up with a way to get her to cease? Are you saying that Ishimura did not run as fast as she could have usually in hopes that Tachi would fall in too close and be taken down when she fumbled a simple pass, something she had not before nor since the incident?" Meyer continued quietly, so only those sitting at the table would hear what was being said. Shira's mouth was hanging open as she stared at her captain, Ishimura was completely gone from Aomine's sight and Midorima was pointedly looking down as she was practically under the table by now. "But I did not lie. It was not I who gave the order."

"But I thought..." Hotaru frowned, drowning out as she scratched the back of her head, trying to figure out who had the authority over the Queens who would give such an order. There was Saka, but the stuttering underlassman looked about as shocked as Shira, and Hotaru had seen Jo almost go down as she had been at the match. Takami wouldn't have, she wouldn't have needed Meyer to order her to watch Tachi's game play so intently if it were her.

"You say it so lightly, like destroying someone's chance of playing basketball..."

"This is nothing like what happened with Kiyoshi," Meyer snarled but Hyuuga was shaking his head.

"Isn't it? A player lost her chance to follow her dreams, she can no longer play as you have said and..."

"If Hanamiya was the one to fall would you care?" Katsumi snapped as she stood all of a sudden, a little awkward because of the table but she glared at Hyuuga. The Upperclassmen opened his mouth then closed it. Hotaru didn't even question what Hanamiya had to do with this situation, it wasn't like she was particularly fond of the route he had taken. Sure, she had the habit of getting far too aggressive in games, but she never inentional sought out to hurt someone. Save for Ishimura of course.

"It was you?" Takao coughed and Katsumi looked down, hugging her stomach slightly. Then her head moved up and down as she gave a curt nod. Hyuuga looked disgusted, like he wanted to be as far away from the players as she possibly could. Even Aomine looked like he was disgusted by the admission the girls were delivering. If Midorima and Takao weren't stuck in their seats by where Ishimura was sitting, they would have probably up and left by now.

"You're all as bad as Hanamiya," Hyuuga growled.

"Hey whoa, shut the fuck up four eyes, you don't shit!" Hotaru snarled as she stood. Meyer looked around, realising they were causing quite a scene for the inside of Maji Burgers. She cleared her throat, nodding to the door and motioning that they should probably get moving.

...

The walk from Maji Burgers to a court was rather quiet. No one really said anything and even Ishimura was looking rather solemn. The only one involved who was walking with her head held high was Meyer and there was a glint in her eye that seemed misplaced. Hyuuga had wanted to leave, but Kagami had pointed out they probably didn't know the full story yet, so he had unwillingly been dragged along with the group. Only when they arrived on an absent court the silence continued, as no one really knew where to start from again.

"I'm glad you did it." Everyone looked over to where Hotaru was sitting on the bench, her hand in front of her face as she inspected her finger nails. Her head was slightly tilted to the side as she clicked her tongue, flicking her fingers before looking up. "I'm just surprised it was you Captain."

"What did possess you to do such a thing?" Midorima demanded. Katsumi didn't look to him but her shoulders rose slightly. Midorima clicked his tongue, turning to face Meyer and Ishimura, both of which were leaning against the chain link fence and watching the others. "Why would you do what she told you to?"

Meyer raised an eyebrow, figuring that the question was directed more to Ishimura than herself. Her small forward was looking rather despondent about the whole situation, her gaze drifting towards Kuroko every now and then, but she remained uncharacteristically silent about the situation. Meyer sighed, standing and crossing her arms over her chest, cocking one eyebrow up as she looked around to them.

"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Shira questioned, rubbing her jaw as she winced. Right, why would they have paid any attention to anyone other than themselves? They were the Generation of Miracles, or players up against the Generation of Miracles. They wouldn't have cared less about what was going on in the female sporting section.

"I lost three players because of her," Katsumi said quietly as she turned around to face the boys. She was looking rather distressed and Takao fought back reaching out to her. Instead she let out a shaky breath which resulted in an uncomfortable laugh, looking up to the sky instead of the faces around her. "Susanowa Tenjin, Yabune Uzume and Michio Atsuko. A centre, a power forward and a small forward. A snapped calf, fractured ankle and a knee joint dislocation. Tachi wasn't reprimanded for any of them."

"Hana Mio, my old Captain," Hotaru added.

"Misaki and Sakiya Umeko, twins from Yoneya Junior High. Sakiya is no longer capable of playing basketball."

"That's the only ones we know of," Katsumi laughed awkwardly again, her voice shaking as she looked down from the sky, shrugging her shoulders, "there's probably more. Wouldn't surprise me. And she was untouchable, because she was never caught. She too good at destroying everything. I mean, they can't punish someone if they can't catch them doing it!"

"So you decided to get them to do your dirty work for you?" Hyuuga snapped, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"You can stand there and look down your nose at me all you want, but she couldn't keep playing!"

"Well I'm sorry that I don't believe injuring someone to get them out of the way is an acceptable way of playing!"

"And allowing others to go through the pain of losing their beloved game to someone who was out to hurt people is?" Katsumi countered. Hyuuga opened his mouth before shutting it again, his cheeks turning slightly red as he realised the implication of if he gave an answer. "I wasn't willing to sit through another season of losing my opponents and my team. Before the game I went to Meyer and I asked her to do something, I didn't care what just do something because I was tired of visiting my friends in hospitals!"

"I think now would be a perfect time to say that no one really cared when Tachi got taken out of the games," Hotaru commented, putting her hands up and letting off a small laugh. Everyone turned to her, even Katsumi looked like she was about to comment about how Hotaru's intrusion into the conversation had not been necessary. "Also that the Queens skipped off the court about five minutes ago."

"What?" Katsumi snapped, looking around. Sure enough, Saka, Shira, Meyer and Ishimura were no where to be seen on the court. Katsumi swore under her breath before noticing that Kuroko had disappeared as well. She smacked her forehead, wondering where in the seven hells the five of them had found themselves going.