"Anyone heard from Yuki?" Meyer asked as she looked to her watch. They were sitting in the stadium, making sure to arrive early considering they had missed the last game, but their small forward had been absent from all contact since the night before. Shira shook her head, glancing to her mobile and wondering if Ishimura had been more than just a little annoyed with her and Meyer's comments the night before. They had been jokes though, the same kind of thing Ishimura herself would shout, so surely she would have known they were joking around?

"Looks like she got stuck with babysitting again," Shira shrugged, turning her attention to the court. Seirin and Kirisaki Daiichi were warming up for their game, Seirin looking rather tense. Shira wanted to shrink back into the chair, she hadn't been too keen on the idea of watching Kirisaki play but then again part of her couldn't help but come. Of course she also expected to be sitting next to Ishimura and not in between Meyer and Takami.

"If she was babysitting, she would have let us know." Shira glanced to Takami, knowing that she was right but not wanting to admit it. If Ishimura wasn't babysitting and she wasn't with them, then she would have been ignoring their calls. Shira thought back to how Ishimura had been acting after their initial run in with Aomine, how she had muttered that she couldn't talk to the team about what was bothering her. Was this something to do with that or was it something completely different? If Shira thought about the whole thing even more, she realised that everyone had been acting a little strange all year. Takami was on her phone more than usual, it wasn't as though she hadn't always been chatting to someone but lately it was all she ever did. Meyer had been acting weird since Jean's accident but that was understandable. Jo hadn't changed that much from how she had been as long as Shira had known her. Shira smirked a little as she thought back to her first meeting with the giant and Meyer, and Ishimura for that fact.

...

"Nah, nah, you can't catch me!" Shira's attention was drawn up from the book she was reading to the girl running around like a lunatic in the middle of the courtyard. She had moss green eyes that stood out against the dark black of her pigtails, her skirt was muddied from running around and her fingers gripped tight at a leather ball. Shira recognised her from class, Ishimura Yuki. She was always speaking out in class and making a fool of herself, throwing rolled up paper around and trying to pretend she had no idea where they had come from when one accidentally hit the teacher on the back. What interested Shira more at this point however, was the fact that Ishimura was now being chased by someone who was hard to miss. Shira didn't know her name but had seen her in the halls often enough.

"Give me the ball back!" Shira tilted her head, watching as the exceptionally tall student in their year chased quite possibly the most annoying. Ishimura just laughed, easily dodging her chaser and waving the ball around like it was a trophy. Shira recognised the ball as well, it wasn't worn like all the others the school provided for recreational uses and there was only one student who brought the ball to and from school every day. Shira looked around, sure enough spotting Meyer Victoria standing off to the side, watching the whole scene with her head cocked to one side and one eyebrow raised.

The basketballer was rather strange in Shira's opinion. She had a quiet presence that you noticed as soon as soon as she stepped into a room. It was as though she wanted everyone to know she was there but at the same time didn't want attention drawn to her by loud movements. On top of that, her nails were cracked and dirtied, her cheeks and the tip of her nose burnt from constantly playing in the sun with her taller friend (who seemed to always be by her side when not in class) and carrying a scab somewhere or other. This weeks choice seemed to be on her chin.

"If you can't catch me then you can't - HEY!" Shira blinked twice. Ishimura had run close to Meyer, all her attention on the tall student, and Meyer had snaked her hand out, smacking her palm against the basketball and sending it flying. The ball bounced a few times before rolling on the ground, coming to a stop when it bumped into Shira's foot. Shira tilted her head on the side, reaching down and picking the ball up, turning it around in her hands before glancing upwards. Meyer was running over to her, her ponytail bobbing behind her as the tall student followed after her almost obediently. Ishimura was tagging along behind the pair, scowling and looking rather annoyed considering her behaviour.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to hit you. Are you all right?" Meyer questioned when she was close enough to Shira to hear. Shira was a little annoyed that the ball rolling against her foot was cause for worry and she pulled the ball back to her chest, sending it forward with a surprising amount of power considering the ball was quite big for her. Even more surprising for Shira was that Meyer caught the ball almost reflexively, her gaze hadn't even flicked to where it was coming from, her hands had just pushed out and held the leather sphere securely. "Hey you have a strong throw."

"I know," Shira clicked her tongue, though secretly she was beaming that Meyer had complimented her throw. Everyone knew how much of a basketball nut she and her friend were, they were always out on the court. The young girl kicked the upperclassmens butts as well, which made Shira happy for some inexplicable reason. "My dad teaches me volleyball."

"Volleyball huh? Like a more intense version of don't let the balloon hit the floor." Shira glanced over Meyer's shoulder to see Ishimura resting her chin on the basketballers shoulder, a rather teasing grin on her face. Shira scowled, reaching to pick her book up to read it again when she felt something collide with the side of her head.

"YUKI!"

"What, I ju- ow Meyer that hurt!" Shira rubbed the side of her head where the basketball had hit her, turning her gaze onto the pair. Ishimura was scowling and rubbing the back over her head, the tall student was smirking and Meyer was looking rather unimpressed with Ishimura. Shira wasn't aware the pair were friends and she frowned a little, hardly being able to picture that Ishimura had friends of any sort.

"You get used to Yuki," Meyer just shrugged before extending her hand, grinning a little, "I'm Meyer Victoria, Tori for short, and this is Jo Kida."

"Shira Tamiko," Shira muttered back, glaring at Meyer's hand. She was a little offended the basketballer didn't recognise her considering they sat next to each other in class and she turned her attention back to the book. Meyer's hand didn't waver until Jo grabbed the back of her shirt, dragging her friend backwards muttering under her breath unhappily. Ishimura jumped out of the way as Meyer's arm flailed, rubbing the back of her neck before looking back to Shira.

"That was kind of rude you know."

"You would."

"Huh?" Ishimura scratched her chin before shaking her head, shrugging her shoulders. "Whatever." Shira watched as she ran after Meyer and Jo, her pigtails bouncing around wildly and the Shira just looked back to her book. She had no intention of being friends with those three, especially if it meant that she would have to spend a lot of time with Ishimura Yuki.

...

Ishimura was slumped down on her bed, throwing the ball up into the air and then catching it again. She had fished Youta's ball out of her wardrobe after her agrument with Kuroko, fully intending to take it with her to the game today. Only she never managed to get herself up from her bed. She wanted to go and watch Seirin play Kirisaki, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to actually leave the house. Ishimura felt like she was losing the will to go and watch basketball and, as she threw the ball up into the air again and again, she realised she was losing the will to play as well.

"Uh, what is wrong with me?" Ishimura groaned before hearing her phone ringing again. She glanced over, seeing Shira's face appearing on the screen and she let out another groan, rolling onto her stomach and turning Youta's ball around in her hands. It had been half a year and it was still sitting in her room. She let it roll around on the mattress for a few moments before she let out a sigh, scratching the back of her head and glancing over to her now silent phone. Ishimura never did quite get around to deleting his number, she just hoped that he hadn't deleted hers. She reached out, flipping the phone open and scrolling through the contacts in her phone. Thankfully she didn't have that many, and although she was determined to get the ball out of her room, her fingers did hesitate in calling him. She promised herself that she needed to at least talk to him and give him his ball back, or at least attempt to even if he really doesn't want to.

The dial tone rang out and Ishimura grunted in irritation before collapsing back onto her bed, staring up at the roof. She had no idea what she wanted to do anymore. She didn't even feel like going for a run, she didn't feel like talking to anyone, she just wanted to lie in her bed and just go to sleep for a few weeks and wake up when everything is great again. Wait, when were things not great?

She managed to pull herself up, looking around her room. Nothing had really changed in her room, everything was still the same as it was before. Clambering to her feet Ishimura walked over to her vanity, leaning down and looking at herself in the mirror. She hadn't changed all that much. She looked the same as she always did, her hair still falling the same way it fell yesterday morning and the month before. Her eyes were still the same mossy green colour and her skin had lost it's summer tan. But there was something different. Ishimura tilted her head before pulling back, letting out a sigh and glancing over to the mirror. It wasn't something physical, and it wasn't just her.

"We've been a team for years," Ishimura sighed, running a hand through her hair before walking to the door, pulling on the handle. They had been friends for year, a team for years, always together for years. Takami, Saka, Meyer, Jo, Shira, her, Takami, Saka, Meyer, Jo, Shira, her. Always and for ages it was them. And now it wasn't just them. Shira was off, lying to them about having to work for her mother and instead running off to see her boyfriend. Saka was spending more and more time with Kazuki, and it was hard enough trying to see her before because of the different schools. Meyer was always so preoccupied with her brother, making sure he was all right or worrying about someone else. Takami was always on her phone, always talking to someone unseen and unknown. Jo was spending more time studying and practicing the piano with her mother. And what about herself? Ishimura has been baby sitting her brothers and studying too much and going for runs because she can't sleep at odd hours of the night.

"Yuki-Chan, Yuki-Chan!" Ishimura looked down to see Gou staring back up at her. Clasped tight in his hands were a pair of cookies, one missing a large chunk and the other he extended up towards her. He was grinning happily and Ishimura already knew that he had managed to find where their mother had managed to hide them from him. She had no idea why her mum continued to try and keep cookies away from him, he found them everywhere, or the other two would just give them to him so he would stop whining. "Look what I have Yuki-Chan!"

"You're not meant to have any cookies unless mum says so," Ishimura laughed, reaching down and scooping him into her arms. She walked down the hall, only to find Satoshi and Hiruko standing at the end of the hall, dressed for going out and looking rather irritated with her.

"Are we going to the game now Yuki-Chan?" Satoshi piped up hopefully as Hiruko's hands flew to his hips.

"You promised to take us to a game. A game is on now. Let's go!"

"Huh? When did I say that?"

"Not important, come on, take us to a game!" Hiruko snapped again, turning his nose up slightly. Ishimura was in half a mind to smack him around the ears for talking to her like that but she let out a sigh. Admittedly she did want to go see the boys play, and now she had the perfect excuse if she ran into the girls as to why she didn't sit with them or answer their calls. Then again, it was a match with Hanamiya in it, so it probably wasn't a good idea to take all of them but...

"I still don't recall promising you that."

"Yes!" Satoshi pumped his fist into the air whilst Hiruko just looked rather pleased with himself. Ishimura narrowed her eyes, knowing full well that meant that she had in fact not promised them anything and she would have to talk to Jean about when he was talking to her brothers to tell them about the game. Ishimura was sure she hadn't mentioned it herself. Letting out a sigh and chastising herself for being bossed around by a trio of brats, Ishimura completely relented and readjusted Gou on her hip. She had a very bad feeling about this.