"Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"

Koganei was laughing so hard he was bent over double and the rest of the second years were trying to stifle their amusement. Captain Hyuga, who had seemed like the serious sort, had turned his gaze away, but I could see his shoulders shaking. Izuki was giggling and I swore I heard him say something about a 'one-fight-stand', and Mitobe whom I hadn't heard make a sound was doing a poor job of hiding his quivering lip as he tried not to smile.

Furihata was also there to my pleasant surprise, and I waved at him as I'd entered the gym a few minutes late as planned. He had greeted me with a barrage of questions about how I'd fought with a classmate and if I was okay. After explaining the lunchtime misunderstanding he had joined the masses in mockery. Any good feelings I might have felt were stifled by disappointment when he too seemed to find the whole situation hilarious as he and a couple of freshmen I didn't know huddled in a group and gossiped amongst themselves about my supposed escapades.

I proceeded to find the entire basketball team talking about Kagami's and my fight at lunch.

Somehow the story had been twisted out of proportion and had spread through the school like wildfire. A few classmates had seen Kagami and I talk, misunderstood our words, and believed we were fighting to see who was stronger. Technically they were half right. Just not about the fighting. Other students who had seen us together had said they had seen us looking angry and had heard the words 'one-on-one', 'don't regret it', and 'I won't take it easy on you', and immediately assumed it meant violence.

The whole thing was ridiculous. Most of those words were Kagami's, so why was I also lumped in with this false delinquent image?

It didn't seem to matter to the second-years who thought the whole situation was hilarious. I stood awkwardly next to Kagami who looked as embarrassed as I felt, and judging by the heat burning my cheeks and ears I might have been in more discomfort than he was. Which pissed me off enough to flush even further.

"Oh man, you should hear the stories I've heard," said Koganei as he straightened up, wiping tears of mirth from his eye. "It's practically a story right out of a gangster manga." He pointed a finger at Kagami and took on a deep threatening voice. "You were all like, 'Come with me.' And you made a face like this."

Koganei scrunched his forehead so hard there were wrinkles and his thin brows drew together in a sad mimicry of Kagami's wild ones. But it got the point across.

"Izuki, come here. You pretend to be Rion-kun." Koganei pulled the other boy to stand in front of him. "Act the next part and don't forget to scowl at me."

Izuki seemed more than happy to take up the role of being me and narrowed his eyes and glared back at Koganei. His face darkened and in truth, if Izuki ever made that face at me for real, I would have been more than a little worried. Did I look like that to other people? Izuki leaned close to Koganei and looked like he was about to challenge him to a fight.

"Huh? You wanna fight?" Izuki growled, "Why should I?"

Koganei matched Izuki's scowl and snarled, "Why? You scared?"

Okay, Koganei was pulling off a pretty good impression of Kagami. At first, even I had thought he had been challenging me to a fight. Kagami had a different aura about him than your typical Japanese student. He came off as intimidating, due to a combination of his huge size, and his confident presence that naturally drew the eye. The way he moved and spoke was evidence of his time in America but to the uninformed, he probably seemed that much more like some kind of gangster.

"Who's scared? I've got better things to do than fight the likes of you." Izuki's voice said coldly.

"I did not say anything like that!" I grumbled to myself, mortified that someone would misinterpret me so poorly. I sighed, trying to get myself under control and continued to watch the reenactment of Koganei and Izuki's dramatized retelling.

They were currently face to face, exaggerated snarls on their faces.

It was Koganei's line and he clenched his fist threateningly at his co-star. "What did you say, huh, punk? You afraid you'll starve to death without the sandwich your mom packed for you?"

"You're the one who should be afraid of starving," Threatened Izuki grabbing Koganei's collar and pulling him even closer. In a lower voice, he continued, "It will be you starving since you won't be able to eat after the knuckle sandwich I give you."

The joke made me groan and put my head in my hands. Things were getting more and more off script. If people were going around telling stories like this, it was no wonder Kagami and I were the hot topic of the school. Drawing this kind of rep had not been a part of the plan. It wasn't my fault that people were so goddamn nosy.

Koganei and Izuki had devolved into a match of growling incoherent sounds at each other and had gotten so close, they were literally butting heads.

"Huh?" Koganei was trying to look like the stereotypical delinquent from a manga his mouth stretched into something between a scowl and a frown with his teeth showing. Mostly he looked constipated.

Izuki too, was baring his teeth and pushed Koganei. "Huh?" He looked like he'd just smelled something akin to rotting garbage.

"Grr!"

"Grr!"

"Forget about us fighting!" Kagami yelled at them. "It's you morons who sound like you're fighting. We should report you to the teacher. Let's see how you like being falsely accused then."

"Good idea," I agreed. "It's stupid how people took what I said so out of context. When did I threaten to hit anyone? And who says the words 'knuckle sandwich' anyway?"

Kagami turned on me raising his arms in the air and shaking them like he was about to cheer, except more angry. "Your words could have easily been taken out of context! You sounded like you were trying to pick a fight! I never even challenged you to fight in the first place! So why does everyone think I started it, huh?" He said yelling, his voice progressively getting louder as he continued.

I had to put my hands over my ears until Kagami finished. When he was, I drew myself up to my full height, which was frustratingly, still barely enough to meet him at eye level. "Stop yelling," I shouted back. "Anyone would think you were calling me out, with you looming around with that threatening look on your face!" I jabbed a finger into his chest. "You came at me and told me to come with you, and told me if I was scared you'd make it quick. Anyone would take that the wrong way."

Kagami pointed at me. "Well, what about your face? You said I look threatening but have you looked in a mirror recently?"

I had.

But I wasn't about to let Kagami have the last word. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize I was supposed to break into celebration when someone like you seems as if they're intending on serving me a can of whoop ass like some delinquent."

Puffing up, Kagami snapped back, "You threatened to make me wish I'd stayed in America. Who do you think sounds like a delinquent? And for the record, I was about to whoop your ass. At basketball."

"What did you say?" I said, practically hissing the words.

"You got a problem?" Kagami snarked.

His arrogance was pissing me off. We hadn't even gotten the chance to play our impromptu one-on-one and he already believed I would have lost to him. "Damn right." I scoffed.

"You wanna go?"

"Bring it on."

"Umm, guys?" Koganei cut in. "Please stop fighting."

Kagami and I snapped our heads around furiously. "We're not fighting!" We said together.

A shadow fell over me and a hand clamped my shoulder in a vice like grip. There was a tingle that travelled up my spine as if I'd been electrocuted and every nerve warned me that I'd pissed off something very dangerous. Or someone. I had been so focused on Kagami, I had failed to notice Captain Hyuga's approach and now he held both me and Kagami with a forced smile on his face. But his eyes had narrowed in barely controlled irritation, and a vein on his right temple had appeared.

"That's right. You're not fighting. If you have energy for that should, that means you have enough energy for running laps."

That wasn't fair! I hadn't started it! I shot Kagami an accusing stare. Why couldn't he have kept his stupid mouth shut? I was just defending myself and now I also had to be punished.

"But-" I started, about to make my case.

"No 'buts'," Captain Hyuga cut me off. "Start running. And as an extra measure, you two can run together. Neither one is allowed to pass the other or fall behind."

"Ugh," Kagami grunted in disdain and I agreed with that sentiment.

Captain Hyuga did not and the vein on his forehead seemed to grow. "Think of it as a team building exercise. And don't let me catch you slacking or you'll find yourselves running laps all year. Go."

Knowing better than to argue and definitely not wanting to run laps with the block headed Kagami whom I had the misfortune to not only be teammates, but classmates as well, we took off around the gym.

The Captain watched us with sharp eyes and so did the rest of the team. Koganei and Furihata looked on with guilty expressions as if somehow they were the ones at fault. It was ridiculous but I appreciated their empathy. I realized now Koganei had tried to stop us before it was too late, but I hadn't taken him seriously. Later, I would have to apologize and thank him. Mitobe also watched them but it was hard to guess what he was thinking. He gave a slight smile when he noticed me watching, but even that gave nothing away to his feelings. The first years who had come with Furihata watched out of the corners of their eyes and cast nervous glances at Captain Hyuga as if he would also send them running laps.

I didn't like being in under this kind of attention and it was embarrassing to have been the first one to get into trouble on the first day. I wasn't some immature kid who needed to be taught a lesson. My parents treated me like this, and I hadn't come to Seirin to find myself in the same situation.

"This is your fault," I huffed at Kagami.

"Yeah, right." Kagami rolled his eyes. "Try to keep up if you can."

Which was impossible to do. Kagami had mile long legs and they covered the distance around the gym with ease. What was a casual jog to him may as well have been a full out sprint for me. But I couldn't fall behind, so I continued to push myself to keep pace. It wasn't long before my lungs were burning and my legs had begun to lose feeling.

On the other side of the gym, I noticed the girl from the recruitment table enter and draw back in surprise before turning to the Captain. Presumably to ask what was going on.

As our mad run took us closer to where the Captain and the girl were speaking, the Captain flicked his eyes toward us and sighed. "All right, that's enough. Kagami slow down a bit. Not everyone is obnoxiously tall like you. And Rion, stop making everything a competition. Now walk it off and then line up with the other first years."

For the next couple of minutes, Kagami and I walked out of what felt like our millionth lap. I felt a moment of smug satisfaction when I saw Kagami breathing just as heavily as I was and equally covered in sweat.

"Not bad," Kagami was looking at me from the corner of his eye. "At least you can run. Not a lot of people can keep up with me."

Was that supposed to be a compliment? It sounded more like an insult. Was he mocking me saying that was all I could do? Run and barely keep up with him? Chase him? But hell. I knew that without the Captain's rule about running together, I would never have had a chance to pass him.

"Yeah, well, it was nothing. Barely broke a sweat." I said.

It wasn't true. We were both drenched, our shirts stuck to our backs and necks and our underarms discoloured and damp. But I couldn't help but grin and a tiny bit of pride bloomed in my chest.

Kagami laughed and I found myself joining in at my obvious lie.

For the first time, I felt like returning the compliment. I cleared my throat and told myself it wasn't a big deal and there was no need to feel so awkward. "You weren't so bad either. Someone needs to take you down a notch. Literally. You're so freaking tall. No wonder no one can keep up with you."

"So how did you manage it?" Kagami asked. "You're not short, but you're still not exactly eye level with me."

"I'm just that good." I shrugged and when Kagami lifted one of his thick eyebrows in disbelief, I explained, "Fine. I did track before I picked up a basketball."

And dance. And gymnastics. And swimming. And a whole myriad of other sports that my family had deemed upper-class enough for me to try. I didn't mention any of that though. It wasn't like I was particularly good at any of them for me to apply those skills now. Except for the stamina I had built because of them. Running was running and the foundation of it all.

The shrill sound of a whistle being blown ended any further conversation, summoning us to assemble in the centre of the gym with the other first years who had lined up in two rows. I counted eight of us, as I took a place at the end, next to Kagami.

Furihata was next to me and he gave a small excited wave when I took my place. "I didn't know you were joining the basketball team too. This is great."

"Nice to see you too," I greeted. It had been a pleasant surprise to know that there was someone who would be on the team who wasn't a complete hothead. Despite our brief meeting that morning, he had cheered me on and I had immediately taken a liking to him.

Furihata leaned around me and gave a friendly wave of greeting to Kagami. "I'm Furihata. I look forward to playing basketball with you."

Kagami looked down out of the corner of his eye again and grunted, "Yeah."

I wondered if Kagami had 'smelled' how strong Furihata was, but I almost snorted at the idea. It was just such an outlandish thing to say. Maybe he did have some kind of instinct when it came to sensing a strong player, but instinct couldn't always be trusted. It was a guideline, not a rule.

Looking around I tried to get a sense for the players around me, to instinctually try and grasp the strengths of the people around me. I eyed Furihata critically. He didn't look strong and the longer I stared he seemed to grow nervous and shuffled uncomfortably.

His eyes shifted around and he asked, "Um, what is it?"

"Nothing," I replied. I was being stupid. There was no way to know how good someone was until they played. Unless it was the monster to my right. I knew he was strong. I didn't need to 'smell' it to know it. Kagami knew he was strong too and he held himself in the way of someone who wanted everyone else to know it.

Casting my gaze around and looking over the rest of the first years, I found nobody else stood out. Nobody held themselves with such confidence in the same way.

Two boys on the left of Furihata were watching the short haired girl who had been at the recruitment table that morning who I assumed was the manager, were gossiping about how they wished she were a little cuter. Unbeknownst to them, Captain Hyuga had overheard and he approached from behind to grab them both by their heads.

I knew from prior experience his long fingers were like vices as I had been in the position just earlier. My shoulder ached with the memory of phantom fingers. I didn't feel sorry for the two boys though. Making comments like that, they deserved some kind of consequence. Captain Hyuga seemed more than happy to put them in their place but I wondered if he hadn't also saved them from the other girl's wrath. She didn't seem like someone to put up with derogatory nonsense. I knew I wasn't.

Captain Hyuga was scolding the two gossipers and said, "Morons. You're wrong."

The girl noticed the commotion and approached with a knowing glint in her eye. "I'm the boy's basketball coach, Aida Riko. Nice to meet you."

There were gasps and someone exclaimed 'What?' The word was drawn out long, whoever had shouted vocalizing everyone's thoughts as it took the group a moment to process. Even I found myself gaping, my jaw hanging open like I was some kind of fish.

Here I was, a girl pretending to be a boy just to play, as this short, petite, looking girl, this Riko was a coach for the team. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions slammed through my head in the space of seconds. Doubt at first. Maybe this was some kind of hazing or joke. Then worry that even if she was, her capability and skills might be lacking. How much experience could she have? Then I remembered that Seirin had made it to the Inter-high finals the year before. Even if the team itself was exceptional, there was no way they could have made it that far without a coach that knew what they were doing. So was she new to the role this year or was she a talent among talents?

I wondered if Kagami could smell her strength.

I shook my head slightly to rid myself of the thought. I had to stop thinking about that.

Turning my attention back to the Coach, I watched her lips curve upwards in a self satisfied smile as she watched the first year's explosion of varied reactions. The second years also looked a bit smug as she introduced herself and I decided Riko was not a new coach.

Next to me, Furihata pointed to an old man sitting again the wall, "It's not him?"

I had not even noticed the old man. He looked so ancient and withered he may have died with a placid smile on his face while still sitting upright. As I looked at him he slowly blinked once. Still alive then. For how long I couldn't guess.

Riko introduced him. "That's our advisor, Mr. Takeda."

Advisor? The man looked up at us with his placid smile his bottom lips trembling with an uncontrollable quiver that was usually seen with those so elderly they could barely hold a cup of tea. Had the man ever played sports before? It was difficult to imagine given how he looked now.

"Seriously?"

"You've got to be kidding?"

Apparently, I wasn't the only one worried.

"So, now that you're acquainted with Mr. Takeda," Riko continued, unperturbed by the first year's doubts, "TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRTS!"

Silence filled the gymnasium. This command took longer to process than the news that Aida, Riko was the coach.

Someone quietly muttered, "Huh?"

Then the boys all turned a different shade of red. I turned white as I felt the blood drain out of my face.

While everyone was asking 'why?' I was trying to keep myself from shaking as badly as Mr. Takeda. There had to be a way to get out of this. If I took off my shirt, the game would be up. No, the game wouldn't even get a chance to start. The first thing that came to mind was to say I was allergic to sunlight. Which was stupid. We were indoors. Why couldn't I have decided to play an outdoor sport? Like soccer?

As people around me began pulling off their shirts, and jerseys, I remained fully clothed.

Kagami looked down at me with narrowed eyes when I didn't move. "What are you doing? We're supposed to take our shirts off."

I was in too much of a panic to be embarrassed at being surrounded by half naked men but I didn't bother to look, afraid anyone who looked at me right now would see through my lies, as I snapped, "I heard." Still, I made no move and ground my jaw hard as I tried to keep myself from losing my shit entirely. Maybe I could say it was against my religion to take my clothes off in front of other people. But if they asked what religion, if I didn't know what I was talking about, I'd get caught eventually.

Snorting, Kagaimi teased, "What? You shy or something?"

"Yes," I replied shortly, not rising to the insult of my character as I usually would have done.

"Oh." Kagami seemed to take my response seriously though, and thankfully said nothing else.

I could pretend I had a skin disease. But then what if people avoided me? Maybe feigning shyness was the best bet. Even though my pride burned at the idea.

Riko was making her way along the line, commenting on the physicality of the boys, her gaze critical. She stopped in front of one of the boys that I had seen Furihata with earlier. "You're ability to have instantaneously is a little weak. I bet you do fifty side jumps in twenty seconds, don't you? You'll need to do a bit better for the basketball team."

The boy stammered out, "Okay," But Rico had moved on. She was getting close to me, and the closer she got, the sense of dread built inside of me as I watched. I had an idea of what she was doing and I had a feeling using shyness as an excuse would not be able to help me keep my secret.

"You're too stiff," Aida told another first year as she passed them.

The first boy, the one that had wished Rico were cuter, whispered, "Seriously? She's right."

"What do you mean?" Said Furihata, his eyebrows lifted in confusion.

The boy on Furihata's other asked, "How'd she know that just from looking at us?"

Captain Hyuga who was still next to them, looked after the Coach with a look that showed he had expected nothing less from her. "Her dad's a sports trainer." As if that explained everything. He looked amused as the first years and I shot him bewildered expressions, so he continued, "Collecting data and creating a training regimen is a skill she picked up from observing bodies and data every day at his workplace. When she looks at your body she sees all of your physical abilities in numbers."

Hyuga grinned at us as he finished. "I wouldn't expect any less from a coach."

This was ridiculous. Did everybody in this school have superpowers? First Kagami, and now the Coach too? What was next? Would Furihata shoot lasers out of his eyes? Did Izuki have X-Ray vision? Was I expected to be able to shape-shift or something? If I could shape-shift at least I wouldn't be about to be exposed as someone who was most certainly not my brother. Because now I was certain. If Riko got a good look at me, she would certainly realize I was a girl.

It was finally my turn to be analyzed. I had to do something before she could reveal me.

Riko's magic eyes of doom fell on me as I stood there in my sweaty T-Shirt. Up and down they took me in and my mouth felt like sandpaper as I struggled to speak. I hadn't felt like this since I was a child and my parents had caught me in a lie.

"You…" the Coach started to speak but I forced myself to speak over her.

"I have a condition." Being a girl. "Can I talk to you in private first?"

To my great relief, Riko nodded without saying anything more although her eyes swept over me critically once more. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly as she considered me carefully. But if she already knew my secret or not, she gave nothing away.

"Okay. Let's go outside and we can talk." She let me toward the entrance and I followed.

Muttering and whispers spread like a wave from those who had been left behind, and I realized that tomorrow there would be more rumours about me. I cast a glance back and everyone was watching me with curious eyes. I could almost see the gears in their minds turning as they guessed what I could possibly need to tell the coach in private. Even Captain Hyuga watched me with an unreadable expression.

But then the Coach and I were out into the warm spring sunlight, and she closed the doors to the gym behind us, blocking the view from the rest of the team.

Riko turned on me, arms crossed and her face serious. She didn't look like a girl in her second year of high school. She seemed much older and much more. Her attitude reminded me of my Aunt. Perhaps running a multi-million dollar company and a basketball team were not that different. Despite my perilous situation and the anxiety bursting like fireworks in my stomach, I also felt respect grow for the Coach, who was only a year older than me.

"So," Riko started, "care to explain what you're doing trying to join my team?" Her tone was firm, but not angry. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she waited to hear my reply.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I tried to decide what to say. What words and excuses to string together to get me out of this mess and still get what I wanted? Riko's question hadn't confirmed if she knew my identity or not and I didn't want to give up information I didn't have to. "I don't know where to start," I said truthfully.

Riko closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Then she looked at me and ran her gaze over my body again as if confirming that what she saw with those superpowers of hers wasn't wrong.

"You can start by telling me who you are, and what a girl is doing trying to join a boy's team.

The muscles in my jaw ached, and I realized I was clenching my teeth. So this was it. I had been found out in a matter of hours. I couldn't say I was surprised. More than once I had imagined what I would do if I was revealed in any number of scenarios. Some even happened before I made it through the main gate to the school. Still, the disappointment settled over me. At the very least, I hoped to keep the secret from my parents, even if I wasn't allowed to join the Seirin Boy's Basketball Team.

It was my turn to sigh, and I stopped my shuffling and looked the Coach in the eye. I had been caught in a lie, and I knew better than to keep lying. The truth will out, as the saying goes. I just had hoped it hadn't been so soon.

Stupid Jiro.

"I'm Rion Tomiko. Rion Jiro Rion's twin sister." I smiled grimly. "Nice to meet you."

Hello readers, I am sorry this chapter took a longer than I thought, mostly because I knew Riko would see through Tomiko's disguise and I wasn't sure how I wanted that to go. I'm still not, hence why I ended it here.

I would also like to explain for those who are unfamiliar with Japanese, that Rion is the last name, and Tomiko and Jiro are the given names.

Coming Up Next: Possibly some flashback and possibly some of everybody's favorite phantom man. Also me possibly trying to write a basketball game sequence, in which it will be revealed I have no idea what I'm doing.