Author's note: I am alive. Not sure who's happy about that... I'm so sorry for not replying to your reviews and comments. I really do appreciate all my readers! Please know that I am touched that so many people love this story. I may be slow in updates, but please bear with me!

I will never abandon this story- I've actually planned it until the end! Thanks so much for your patience, everyone!

Disclaimer: Don't own Kurobas.

This wasn't working.

His muscles burned, he was soaked in sweat to the point of discomfort and his chest heaved painfully because he couldn't cycle oxygen through his lungs fast enough.

This wasn't working one bit.

And god, now his vision was spotting...

Was he...

...Was he actually about to faint?

"You seem to be struggling a little there, Kise-kun."

Her smooth voice pulled him from his blurred haze with a sharp yank, his vision sharpening in a flurried whirl of colours; mind reawakened to clarity.

Kise managed a weak smirk despite the sheer exhaustion he felt.

That's right, he reminded himself, he needed her.

This was the reason he was doing something this insane. It was why he was putting up such a fight. It was why he was forcing himself into a state where his emotions couldn't decide between euphoria and frustration.

He needed her, to win. For Kaijou. To beat Aominecchi.

"Y-You…" The Kaijou first year wheezed with much effort- ugh, he'd never been so out of breath in his life, "…Y-You've been...using my name...properly recently, senpai."

It was worth it. Despite the protest of his lungs to not speak, his taunt had been worth it; liquid gold eyes glinted with mirth as he saw a stutter in his opponent's ball dribbling. His statement had gotten to her somehow, grounded her, and that reaction alone added yet another reason as to why he couldn't throw in the towel quite yet.

Instead of showing irritation at his words however, Hachiouji graced him with a dazzling smile, one that had his heart skipping a beat- in fear or in awe, he didn't know. It was different from the ravening smile she had given him once before, but no less effective.

"Saa, it seems so."

Those words that followed set him on edge, driving him to slide into a defensive stance.

It was her tone- it was always her tone; a careless lilt disguising intentions under pleasantries. He didn't know why the second year chose to adopt such devious mannerisms, hiding under a veil, with an iron-clad grasp on her true emotions.

However, this match had made a crack into her armour. He had seen it, and a part of him had been proud that he had driven her to this point.

That is, until he couldn't shake the feeling of being swallowed.

Kise remembered learning about a phenomenon similar to this from science class: It was as if he was an animal rendered immobile, stuttering in the wake of a bigger, badder predator.

'Shit, her intensity is on a whole different level!' The golden eyed male thought with gritted teeth, his brows furrowing in concentration as she dribbled forward. As with all of Hachiouji Rokuro's plays thus far, if you blinked, you would be left unable to react.

Kise couldn't quite explain it; ever since she'd revealed this... monstrous style, it was as if he was being consumed by a growing sense of dread. There was a heavy presence weighing on his mind, composed of niggling thoughts urging him to simply concede, of voices that whispered, telling him that...

...Telling him that he couldn't win.

Whatever it was that was happening to him, it was an obstacle. One that he really didn't need right now, because the sheer presence of his opponent herself was more than he could barely handle.

'Enough!'

He would wonder about it later, wonder if this was what overtook all the opponents he had completely crushed in the past, whether it be as a part of Teikou or Kaijou.

The agility of her movements made the opponents he had faced up until now look goddamn slow. It was like watching a video clip on fast forward- one could catch things, large details, but were they really seeing it? This, combined with just how skilled she was with handling the ball made it near impossible for him to react.

Her style was laced with perfection and fake outs, of smooth machinations and unpredictability. She was a perfect balance of creativity and technique.

'Left?! Right?!' The blond felt his muscles twitch as he struggled to predict where she would attack from next; perspiration dripped from his bangs into his eyes, making the task all the more difficult. His eyes were stinging from the effort, but he refused to even blink.

'Ugh, look and remember Kise! Habits! Everyone has habits! Even someone like her!' The blond was grasping at straws, he knew.

On the court, Hachiouji seemed more monster than human being; comparing her to other players, other people sounded and felt preposterous. However, he had to try.

He was left with no choices here.

'...Yosh! There!'

The golden eyed player had barely caught it, but he had seen a subtle tell in Rokuro's form. She seemed to have the habit of adjusting her elbows according to the direction of where she intended to drive past. Yes, this was it. He had a chance now. He had been watching her, observing and absorbing as much as he possibly could, and he was confident she was going to drive from-

"The right!" The younger blond exclaimed. Immediately, he adjusted himself so that his defenses on that side would be impenetrable.

"Don't think you can get past me!"

"Whoa! Kise did it!" Moriyama called out in surprise, pumping his fist and getting caught up in the tension of the game. He always did cheer for the underdog.

"Wait, Kise!" Kasamatsu shouted hurriedly, having noticed something Kise hadn't. It was easier to gauge the situation from afar when you were not directly confronted by it, "That was a fake out! She's going left! Block her!"

Rokuro didn't even give the younger blond time to breathe. Driving past him like wind cutting through air, she bent at the knees and jumped, her form adjusting to that of a perfect, classic lay-up.

'What?!'

"UWOOOOO! DON'T GIVE UP KISE! MATCH HER TIMING!" Hayakawa hollered loudly in encouragement. The shout was followed by thunderous cheers from the rest of the team,"YOU CAN DO IT!"

Rokuro smirked as she heard the shouting from the sidelines. She wondered if they had noticed that they were all rooting for Kise. It had been this way since she began revealing her real style of play.

'Well, they're a team after all.'

Recovering from the tall girl's feint, Kise was quick to catch up, managing a well-timed jump. The younger blond was beyond determined to prevent her from scoring, "RAAAAGGGH!"

Undaunted, Hachiouji adjusted her posture in mid-air, her arm contorting around her opponent to toss the ball into the hoop with an elegant flick of her wrist, performing a flawless double clutch.

Kise gritted his teeth, his eyes following the ball but his body helpless to react; Rokuro had lowered her centre of gravity to give her access to the hoop, something that, given the higher jump height he had in order to block the first lay-up, was impossible for him to do.

The rubber globe landed on the rim of the basket, steadily balanced. It circled the metal ring exactly eight times before tipping in, once again filling the gym with a special brand of mystified silence.

Kise stumbled onto the gym floor with an ungraceful thump, his leg muscles shakily supporting his weight.

Squeezing his eyes shut in frustration, the Ace roughly scrubbed the sweat from his brow.

The digital clock stopped.

Three minutes left.

Higuchi Shota pursed his lips, the hairs on the back of his neck standing. The third year manager was no stranger to pressure, being a student of Rakuzan. However, there was certainly something grossly different about the aura that emitted from the man behind him.

Nervously, he led the Rakuzan regulars away from their own occupied gymnasium towards the vicinity of Kaijou's, in Section B. He had been instructed by Coach Shirogane to accompany them to the observation lounge that overlooked the Kaijou's training area. The lounges were a special feature of all the gymnasiums here at the Mt. Hakone Sports Centre, and were primarily used as a discrete viewing area by scouts, trainers and sports specialists.

Honestly, the manager didn't know how Captain had done it; convincing the coach to let the regulars observe Kaijou despite their full training camp menu…

Then again, this was Akashi Seijūrō he was talking about. And whatever Akashi wants, Akashi gets.

Higuchi shivered in remembrance; mind drifting to the day the coach had introduced the red-haired male to the team.

As far as first impressions went, everyone at the club had thought nothing more of him.

Rakuzan was a school that was infested with prodigies and geniuses after all, resulting in an unbeatable victory record in tournaments, including the Winter Cup. They were even crowned reigning champions in every competitive field imaginable. Undoubtedly, as the oldest and strongest King, they were strong.

As such, Akashi's middle school track record had been nothing truly spectacular: first-string by first year and captain by second year. The only thing noteworthy was that he was the apparent leader of a team of monsters, and was the heir to the Akashi Zaibatsū. [1]

However, nobody had expected that within a week from his initiation, the boy, a mere first year, would be declared captain of the Rakuzan Men's Basketball Club. What was even stranger was that the change was met with no resistance whatsoever. Everybody had accepted the younger male's captaincy as if it was as natural as breathing- including Higuchi himself, who was a strong player in his own right, despite being a manager.

It was something that really had no fathomable reason at all, and that was what truly frightened him.

When a reporter came to Rakuzan to cover the story, in seek of the reason behind such a strange occurrence, Akashi Seijūrō had provided one reason, and one reason only:

'I am absolute.'

Gliding closer towards the glass that overlooked Kaijou's court, Akashi couldn't say that he had expected to encounter the scene that greeted his ruby coloured eyes.

Ryota, being pitted in a one-on-one against a female player in what seemed to be a single quarter match.

The pairing had caused a brief look of confusion to grace his aristocratic features, before his demeanor turned assessing. Female or not, the player down there was impressive.

She seemed to be effectively cornering his ex-teammate, a feat that Akashi had thought nobody but another member of the Generation of Miracles could do, and she was doing it with a certain level of composure too.

"OI! OI! OI! WHAT IS SHE DOING DOWN THERE?!" Eikichi abruptly shouted, disrupting Akashi's examination of the mysterious player.

The enormously-built second year smushed himself against the viewing window in an undignified manner, smudging the glass and causing the surface to vibrate from the force.

Akashi noted that Reo and Kotarō were no better. In fact, all three Uncrowned Generals seemed to have slipped into some kind of shocked recognition.

"T-That's-!" Hayama started, eyes widened to the size of saucers. Mibuchi in turn had his mouth open like a gaping fish, usual calmness nowhere to be seen.

'Oh? They must be acquainted.' The Rakuzan Captain surmised, a contemplative look on his face. It was unusual for his teammates to be so affected by another player, let alone one who supposedly, judging by her gender, played in a different league. She was most likely older than the Generation of Miracles, perhaps even from the same age group as the Uncrowned Generals.

There was no way she would have escaped his notice otherwise; Akashi made it a habit to gather information on the extraordinary players from his generation.

"A-Ah!" Higuchi interjected nervously, misreading the flabbergasted expressions of the three second years. He hurriedly flipped through his clipboard, recounting the information he had gathered earlier.

"T-That's Kaijou's manager, Hachiouji Rokuro. While I don't know the details, for some strange reason she's Kise's oppone-"

Nebuya turned, yanking the Rakuzan manager by the collar and completely ignoring the choked gasp that emitted from him.

"Manager you say?!"

Back in Kaijou's designated gymnasium, the situation was not looking good for the male team's resident blond Ace.

He was scoring yes, but the gap between him and his opponent was large enough that it was almost a futile effort on his part.

Twisting sharply around Hachiouji's form, Kise proceeded to perform the move he had copied off of Kagami a few months back, adding more power and speed compared to the first few times he had performed it. It was a strain on his muscles, but it was the only way he was going to bypass the woman and her high-level defenses; he could not continue to be stuck in a face-off with her for any longer.

"GO! KISE!" He heard someone from the audience yell, vaguely registering it as Hayakawa-senpai.

'Heh! I can't afford to back down now!'

Bam!

"YOSHAAA!" The sunny blond player shouted out in triumph, fingers releasing the metal rim in a flourish. He landed firmly on the balls of his feet to cushion his descent, fist pumping.

Score 46 – 59

"...Ugh, looking at those numbers give me goose-bumps." Moriyama commented from his place in the audience, sharp eyes staring at the scoreboard with a troubled look on his face, "When you play against Hachiouji, you've got to get used to being at least 10 points behind..."

Kobori nodded in agreement, crossing his arms over his chest with a grim look on his face, "He's trying not to show it, but I'm sure Kise is feeling some incredible pressure. This is the first time I've seen him so cornered."

Nakamura pursed his lips as he heard his senpais and their discussion. The bespectacled blond was feeling rather torn. He had been quite adamant in rooting for Hachiouji at first, given their friendship and his own history with Kise.

After all, Hachiouji was his friend. She was a bit of an oddball, but they've certainly known each other far longer than he had been acquainted with the insufferable first year. Seriously, the kid was annoying, flashy and an arrogant little bastard. Not to mention he was an idiot who didn't seem to know when to back down, judging by the match he was witnessing right now.

...And that was precisely why watching the blond ace lose like this was not sitting well with Nakamura Shinya in the slightest. This was the man that had taken his place in the regulars, the genius who'd blown away everyone who'd stood in Kaijou's path, the idiot who didn't know when to quit; this was someone who seemed to be giving it his all.

'I don't know about anything else, but this really says a thing or two about Hachiouji...' The blond second year thought dryly, his eyes darting towards his friend.

'...Ugh, I can't believe I'm going to do this but-'

"GO KISE!"

The entire Kaijou team turned to stare at Nakamura with varying degrees of shock, having never expected such a cheer to come from the reserved shooting guard. It was common knowledge on the team that there was some bad blood between the second year and first year. Nobody could blame the guy, considering Kise had practically snatched his place from the regulars and all. It was the reason Nakamura had always kept his distance from the younger blond, and vice versa.

"UWWOOOOOH! WHAT NAKAMURA SAID, GOOOOO KISE!"

"YEAH, KISE! SHOW HER WHO'S BOSS!"

"Shhh! Shut up, man! She's gonna kill you!"

Back on the court, Hachiouji easily received the ball as it was passed to her, appearing far more composed than her younger opponent. Wordlessly, Kise slipped into a defensive stance, one that he'd used dozens of times before. She felt rather than saw his gaze lock onto her, his eyes narrowed into a frown of concentration.

'Saa, the first thing he needs to do is fix that.' She noted astutely.

From what she had seen, Kise possessed phenomenal observation and focus, a skill that he'd probably developed during his time playing against people like Aomine. It drew upon reading people based on their upper body muscles, and mapping out their movements from there; a useful technique, particularly because more information could be read from the upper half of a human being rather than the lower- in most instances.

However, whereas effective against other players, it was in turn all too easy for her to exploit. Kise was completely focused on the upper quadrants of an opponent rather than their lower, meaning that people with flexibility like hers, and perhaps even Aomine, were at a distinct advantage against him.

He needed to be able to see the bigger picture. Right now, he was hyper-focused on reading her movements from her upper body more than anything else.

'A fatal flaw.'

Her wine red eyes glanced at the digital clock through sweat drenched bangs, noting that there were 3 seconds left until the end of this 'game'.

Without warning, Rokuro dribbled the ball forward.

Naturally, Kise was on her like Velcro. His stance was wide with his arms out and feet positioned slightly wider than his knees, eating up the space in her proximity. He proved her theory correct when she saw his eyes jump between her shoulders to her wrists, desperate to predict what she would do next.

The sandy-blonde haired teen crouched low, her knees near-parallel to the ground. In rapid fire succession, she dribbled the ball, the sound exploding throughout the gymnasium like a bomb went off.

"Crap! That's loud!" Moriyama cried, hands moving up to cover his sensitive ears. He vaguely heard Hayakawa's incredulous exclamation of, "What kind of dribbling is that?!"

It only took a moment for Kise to realise he had no idea what the hell was happening.

One minute, he was in his usual defensive stance, effectively preventing Rokuro from advancing in spite of that ear impairing dribble, and the next, he felt the sheer force of gravity weighing and pulling his body down to the ground, a feeling of weightlessness completely overtaking his senses.

"An ankle breaker?!"

"Shit! Kise! Get up!"

And then, there was a loud, ear-splitting bang.

Kise witnessed it all from his position on the floor: the ball ricocheting off, climbing nearly three metres into the air.

He vaguely realised that it was going to be impossible for him to gather himself up in time to reach for it, before Rokuro's form invaded his line of sight, leaping, her form doing what he couldn't.

She then proceeded to perform what was by far the most unorthodox three pointer anyone had ever seen.

Her movements was in one word light; her hand coming forward, slender fingers extending forward to give the ball what seemed to be a gentle, feather-light tap. The rubber ball seemed to hover gently towards the ring, giving everyone there the illusion of slowed motion.

Swoosh! BEEEEEP!

With that, Kise lost. [2]

Their prized Ace, well and thoroughly beaten.

Kasamatsu watched as the two players approached each other in a conciliatory gesture for the end of the game, thoughts drifting to something the Coach had once confided in him when the girl had first joined his team as a manager:

'It's an absolute shame that Hachiouji isn't playing in the male league, Kasamatsu. It needs someone like her. We need her.'

While the Kaijou Captain understood the coach's feelings on her not being in the male league, he couldn't say that he was in complete agreement with them, at all.

Because Hachiouji was a bona fide monster on the court.

A monster who could go up against a member of the Generation of freakin' Miracles and win like it was nothing. A monster who seemed to not need anyone while out there. A monster who seemed to be the anti-thesis to the spirit of the sport.

A monster who, if she was playing in the Male League with the Uncrowned Generals and Generation of Miracles, would probably eliminate all room for players like him.

'Well,' Kasamatsu amended, watching as the sweat drenched female took a drink from her bottle, 'almost nothing.'

Hachiouji seemed to be quite winded from the match, a state he nor anyone here could say they have ever seen her in.

"Kise!"

Then again, Kise was most definitely the worst off of the two, with both Kobori and Hayakawa dashing forward to support the younger male before he fell over, body wobbling dangerously.

'God, I can't believe playing against her would leave him unable to stand.'

"Unfortunately, Hachiouji isn't obligated to train you, Kise." Coach Takeuchi said practically, perspiration on his brow and clipboard clutched tightly in a meaty hand. He hadn't quite recovered from what he had just seen; the pace of that game had been downright terrifying to watch, let alone referee.

"And in the state you're in, you can't continue our training either. I'm benching you for the rest of the day before you hurt yourself."

Kise steadily kept his gaze on the floor, eyes shadowed by his bangs as he stood there, propped up by his senpai. He was oozing disappointment and shame, naturally taking the loss quite hard. While a part of him still wanted to protest at being benched, he knew that his body couldn't handle anymore.

He was well and truly spent.

"Saa, about Kise-kun's request," Hachiouji finally spoke up after a few moments of being stared at. Her light tone was a stark contrast to the harrowed mood the entire team was in, "Takeuchi-sensei, if you don't mind, I'd like to fulfill it."

"H-Huh?!"

Kise's head shot up as the coach's eyes widened in confusion, all attention focused on their wayward manager.

"Well, as Kise-kun himself acknowledges, at the rate he's going, Kaijou will be in a tight spot." She continued elaborating, her eyes darting to said player briefly with one of her usual easygoing smiles. "I think that him seeking my assistance in his training is a rather reasonable wish, so I'm willing to fulfill it."

"So you're offering to train him? Despite him losing the wager?" Kasamatsu asked, brows raised at her uncharacteristic offer, "Why?"

"Saa, despite being a manager, I'm still a member of this team, am I not?" Rokuro answered rhetorically, causing a few members to smile at her words, particularly Moriyama, who jumped forward to glomp the girl.

"Aww! Hachi-chan! I knew you cared!" The third year cried, rubbing his cheek affectionately against the younger girl's. Rokuro, bless her soul, did not even bother to hide her irritation at the flamboyant gesture.

"Release me this instant, Hentaiyama-senpai."

"Cruel!"

Kasamatsu meanwhile, remained a little suspicious in spite of himself. Seriously, this was not like Hachiouji Rokuro at all, so much so that the entire situation was starting to give him a sense of déjà vu. [3]

For as long as he'd known her, nothing was ever this easy with the Kaijou manager. After all, she was the kind of manager to make strawberry slices soaked in honey rather than lemon slices, and consistently make sexual jokes at his expense everyday for a month, all just because she decided that she could.

For her to offer to train Kise was undoubtedly generous, but...

"Saa, if I get him up to my level, I might actually have a worthy opponent to beat." She added airily, having predicted Kasamatsu's scepticism and embraced it with the Hachiouji (TM) smile.

Yup, and there it was.

"SO THAT'S YOUR REAL MOTIVE?!" Hayakawa screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the girl and inadvertently jostling both Kise and Kobori.

The champagne haired girl shrugged callously at the rebound specialist, unaffected by his indignation.

"Saa, it benefits everyone, doesn't it?" She turned towards her kouhai and the team coach with a knowing smile, addressing them, "however, this offer is based on one condition."

Everyone gulped, wondering what kind of nefarious plan the girl was concocting now...

"I'll be conducting these sessions my way." She stated clearly, earning surprised looks from her cohorts. "I've seen more than enough of Kise-kun's performance during our match; while it will be impossible for him to reach my level by the championships, I can most definitely bring him up to a workable level, so long as he follows my instructions."

After a moment of contemplation, Coach Takeuchi nodded, "...That's reasonable. What do you think, Kise?"

"U-Uh, sure...?"

"Excellent." Rokuro nodded with a satisfied smile, "then I'll see you tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., Kise-kun. We'll be working outside of your regular schedule so you don't miss your team training menu. I will discuss the finer details of my program with you and sensei at dinner."

Pivoting towards the main exit, the tall girl made a move to leave, but not before calling out in a ridiculously cheery voice,

"Oh, and don't bother eating breakfast tomorrow. I can promise you that you'll throw up~"

Instantly, the golden eyed blond paled at the warning.

Just what the hell has he gotten himself into?!

Kise sighed deeply as he lowered himself into the warm waters of the bath, muscles thanking him for the well-deserved treatment. He hadn't felt this sore in a very, very long time.

"UWWOOOO! TODAY'S TRAINING WAS GREAT! NOW I'M GONNA SCRUB MYSELF CLEEEEAAAAN!"

"Shut up with that tension already! Nobody can understand what you're saying!" Moriyama retorted, lifting a hand to swat Hayakawa's head, causing the loud male to fall into the communal bath with a massive splash.

From a ways away, Nakamura looked up from scrubbing his back to observe the ruckus with narrowed eyes. Sadly, without his glasses, his vision was darn near useless.

"If you idiots don't calm down right now, I'm going to make you regret it." Kasamatsu threatened acidly, hair soaked and dripping from the tidal wave caused by Hayakawa. He too, had been relaxing in the large bath before that unpleasant interruption.

"UWOOO! DAMN YOU, MORIYAMA-SENPAI!" Hayakawa cried, rising from the water like a vengeful Kappa, thankfully, managing to keep the towel around his waist on.

Moriyama brandished the shower-head he had been using at the second year, eyes narrowed, "Bring it on, brat!"

Kobori sighed tiredly at their antics, rinsing the suds from his skin. Considering the number of boys in here, it was bound to get rowdy...

"GYAAH! STOP THAT MORIYAMA-SENPAI! I'M GETTING WATER UP MY NOSE!"

"HAHAHA! This will teach you to mess with the great Moriyama-sama! Bow down to me, moron!"

"GAAUUUGH-!" Cough. Cough. "-NEEEVEEER-!"

"SHUT UP AND SETTLE DOWN, IDIOTS!"

Ah, Kasamatsu had snapped.

Immediately, both regulars did as told, grumbling all the while; the entire scene making Kise giggle childishly to himself.

Thus, with reprimands dished out, some semblance of peace was restored.

"Kobori-senpai, Captain," A voice called quietly.

Both men turned, seeing that it was Nakamura. The second year had on his usual serious expression, save for the very squinty eyes.

'He really does looks ridiculous in that shower hat.' They thought in unison, sweatdropping.

"What is it Nakamura?" Kobori asked, noting that the second year probably had something on his mind.

"Manager," The second year began, expression hesitant as he looked at his two senpai, "... does she scare you?"

There was a beat of silence as the two men paused to consider the question.

"Well..." Kobori started, unsure on how to respond. Luckily though, he didn't have to.

"Ah." Kasamatsu replied to the query instead, tone callous, "she scares me."

The captain's answer elicited looks of surprise form the rest of his team.

"K-Kasamatsu..." Moriyama uttered, baffled. He hadn't been expecting such a cold response, least of all from his captain. '...Don't tell me, seeing that match...'

"Eh?! Really?!" Kise exclaimed, ever the blunt one.

"Of course. What? Doesn't she scare you?" The raven haired third year asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He observed his team with sombre steel-blue eyes, expression stony, "Seriously, that woman's a monster. Was I the only one who saw what she was eating at dinner?"

Instantly, some of the boys turned green, recalling how their manager was happily adding sliced strawberries to her curry.

The spectacle had garnered disturbed looks from everyone, including the cafeteria lady.

It was Kise who reacted verbally first, bursting out with a laugh.

"True, Hachiouji-senpai is weird. I couldn't believe it when she started arguing with Aominecchi about gravure idols." The first year said, recalling the incident. He lifted a hand to his chin, musing, "It must be because she's the only girl in her family."

This was actually a fair assumption. Kise himself had more knowledge about make-up and the like due to his sisters and their influence.

"Eh?! She's the only girl?!" Moriyama exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, and she has seven brothers." Kasamatsu added, frowning as he recalled his rather unorthodox meeting with some of them- They were an eccentric bunch to say the least.

"S-SEVEN?!"

"No wonder she has such... varied reading material." Kobori concluded, enlightened.

"But Manager...She's surprisingly romantic, isn't she? She always has a romance novel in hand, even during class." Nakamura brought up as he lowered himself into the water.

"That's right! She's always reading them in her free time and ignoring sensei!" Hayakawa complained, scrubbing shampoo into his hair.

"Huh. Well, Hachi-chan is a girl after all." Moriyama stated.

"But... doesn't she read erotic romance novels?" Kobori refuted.

At that, everyone sweatdropped, apparently unable to comment on their manager's nonexistent femininity any longer.

"FOOLS!" The Kaijou Shooting Guard suddenly shouted, rising to his feet, and causing the water to slosh around violently.

"Hachi-chan may be a complete and utter weirdo but she's still our manager! We shouldn't be complaining, we should be celebrating! Think! Just how many teams are able to claim that they have such a beauty on their team?! All we need to do is ignore the odd parts of her personality and we've got a sexy goddess of a manager!"

'Uwaah, how shallow...'

"...So you mean ignore all of it?" Kasamatsu asked drily- His opinion on Hachiouji's eccentricities was set.

"Moriyama-senpai..." Kise started, giving his senpai an assessing look, brows furrowing in consideration. "...Don't tell me that Hachiouji-senpai is your only female friend?"

Once again, the blond model had happily pranced over a landmine. He seemed to do that a lot with the team, along with failing to read the mood.

The rest of the Kaijou team grew stiff at the younger blond's question, some growing suspiciously interested in the ripples of the bath water...[4]

"W-WHAT?! N-N-N-N-N-NO! What are you talking about?! H-H-Hachi-chan, my only female friend? Pssh! Naw! Who do you think you're talking to, idiot?!" Moriyama stuttered out panicking.

Kise looked at the third year sceptically, "Well, you seem to be forcing yourself to be overly optimistic about her so-"

"Shut up, Kise! Just because you're popular, you bastard!"

"Ow! Senpai! You flung soap into my eyes!" The first year cried in pain, as usual, the ever unfortunate victim.

"This is divine punishment! Shut up and take it, asshole!"

"GYAAAAH! STOP!"

"DIE!"

"WAAAAH!"

"AHAHAHAHAHA-!"

Snap!

"LIKE I SAID, SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY, IDIOTS!"

Kise barely suppressed a yawn as he stretched, standing in the middle of one of the many outdoor courts at the Mt. Hakone Sports Centre.

As instructed, he was at the court at 6 a.m.

Looking around warily, he briefly wondered where his supposed trainer was, only to have his senses scream at him to dodge to the side.

He was lucky he'd listened, as not a second later a basketball came sailing to where his head was at light-speed, missing his ear by a hairsbreadth and darn near clipping his shoulder.

"What the-! Hachiouji-senpai!" He whined, whirling around and spotting the perpetrator.

"Saa, just testing your fatigue levels." Hachiouji commented, smiling in greeting. She was dressed in a light apple green zip-up hoodie over a black tanktop, and a pair of full length gym tights with reflective strips down the sides, layered under a pair of lightweight sports shorts. She also had her usual pair of basketball shoes on.

"You seem to have recovered quite well overnight," The former Ace commented, placing her hands in her pockets as she approached the younger male. "That's good. It means I can push you a little harder than I initially anticipated."

To his credit, Kise suppressed a hard swallow.

"The first thing we're going to work on," Hachiouji starts to say, her eyelids lifting to reveal pools of wine red. She smirked, raising a hand to point a slender finger directly between his eyes, making the poor first year go cross-eyed in confusion,

"Are those eyes of yours."

Hachiouji watched Kise hobble off towards the bench where his drink bottle was, grumbling lowly under his breath and rubbing at his bruised arm.

Their morning session was... productive to say the least. One could even say that the former Kaijou Ace had even enjoyed herself a little too much.

Mischievously, she bounced the ball in her hand once, chuckling lowly when she saw the poor boy flinch violently at the sound, choking on his water.

"A-Augh!" The poor blond coughed, rubbing at his mouth and giving her a pitiful look, "S-Senpai!"

The second year chuckled again, thinking about his progress. Considering the rate at which he was improving, she could up the complexity of her training by a few more levels by tomorrow night, if all went well.

'Saa, tormenting someone has never been so entertaining.'

Alas, her fun was brought to an end by the arrival of an uninvited guest.

"Oi! Hachiouji!"

"Tch."

'Did Hachiouji-senpai just click her tongue?!' Kise thought incredulously, his eyes darting between his current mentor and the sudden intruder with a mix of wariness and curiosity. 'Just who-?'

The female manager straightened and turned, her usual genial expression long gone as she spotted the monstrous stature of Rakuzan's Centre, Nebuya Eikichi. She knew she had recognised that voice; being unable to reel in her irritation was practically a reflex when it came to this particular breed of idiot.

"E-Eh?! You're from Rakuzan?!" Kise exclaimed in surprise, spotting the school name printed on the dark haired male's jersey straight away. He doubted any of the Generation of Miracles could forget which school their former captain had chosen, not even Murasakibaracchi.

Oh, shoot! Did this mean Akashicchi was nearby?!

Also, how did this guy know Hachiouji-senpai, and just how did he know where to find them...?

'Don't tell me... he's a stalker?!'

Unfortunately for Kise's speculations, Nebuya didn't even grace the younger player with a glance.

The blond balked at this, not used to being ignored.

"Nagoya-san." Hachiouji greeted with glaringly false politeness, expression stiff, "What a... surprise."

"Ah, didn't think I'd find you here either... WAIT! MY NAME'S NEBUYA, DAMN IT! IT'S ME, NEBUYA EIKICHI!"

"Saa, are you sure? I could have sworn that you were a Nagoya. I mean, you do look like one."

"Really? I do? Huh, didn't reali-HEY! SCREW YOU! STOP MESSING WITH ME! AND STOP FORGETTING PEOPLE'S NAMES ALREADY!"

'Wow, she really does do it on purpose.' Kise thought quietly, biting his lip as he observed the two older students and their conversation. 'He's not the sharpest crayon in the box, is he? He's more polite than he looks, though.'

Almost at once, the bearded man seemed to catch himself, realising that his efforts were completely futile.

"A-hem!" The tan-skinned coughed, "So, Kaijou huh? That's unexpected. I thought you were going to follow your boyfriend into high school." He smirked cockily, staring Hachiouji down with great intensity. Kise choked when he heard this, eyes widening into saucers.

'B-B-B-B-Boyfriend?!'

"Saa, and I half expected your level of intelligence to have risen by now- I guess we're both disappointments." Rokuro replied calmly, her smile a tad malicious. "On another note, I don't recall ever dating anyone, Moronic Gori-san."

"HAH?! Just who the hell are you callin' a moron?!" Nebuya yelled, losing his temper and stepping forward with much aggression. "Weren't the both of you always together in middle school?! There's no way the two of you weren't dating!"

The muscular Rakuzan player halted his accusing tirade when he saw the tall girl shift her stance a little, responding quite forwardly to his hostility.

'Heh, she's readying herself for a fist fight, eh? She's so not a girl.'

"Basing our relationship off of that information is precisely why you'll always be a moron, Gori-san."

"GAH! SHUT UP!"

For the most part, Rokuro looked largely unfazed by the high possibility of a brawl. While not an advocate of violence, she wouldn't hesitate in defending herself if the need arose.

Nebuya grunted, narrowing his eyes when suddenly, he was reminded of something.

"So a manager, huh? Seriously?" The bearded second year groused, "Seems like out of the both of us, you're the one who's a bigger disappointment. What happened to the tragic player who could never shine due to her cursed birth, the hidden Power Forward of our generation, the majestic Uncrowned Empres-"

Clap!

"Hai, hai. That's quite enough of that." Rokuro hastily interrupted her fellow second year with a loud clap, smile gone. "I'll have to stop you there, Gorilla-kun. Let's not have any of that moniker nonsense come up in conversation, shall we?"

"H-Hah?! Why not?! AND DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

At this, Rokuro raised a brow, casting a disbelieving look at the Rakuzan player as if to say, 'Really?'

"W-What's wrong with it?! Stop giving me that look! It's cool, isn't it?!"

"No. It's lame. And just downright embarrassing." Hachiouji stated firmly, "Really, I can understand why the kouhai are still taking pride in that naming nonsense- they're children. But you?"

Both Kise and Nebuya flinched at her implied insult.

"Honestly, Gori-san, aren't you embarrassed? In case you haven't noticed, we're not in middle school anymore. How exactly is it 'cool' to go around calling yourself an Uncrowned General or Gōriki? Were you dropped on your head as a child?" [5]

"D-DAMN YOU HACHIOUJI! IT'S NOT LAME!" Nebuya yelled, his face visibly flushing despite his dark skin. "My nickname suits me perfectly! My wonderful muscles don't lie!"

"It is lame. In fact, it's downright pathetic. Honestly, the reporter who wrote those articles on us was probably a mangaka wannabe with no naming sense, or mentally a school boy in fifth grade." She said, tone acidic. She was particularly upset about that awful article that gave rise to the nickname Uncrowned Empress. Ugh.

"And please, do shut up about your disgusting muscles, it's unpleasant." She added, leaving her fellow second year near-frothing at the mouth.

"U-Uh, Hachiouji-senpai," Kise attempted to insert his two cents, trying to diffuse the situation. "During our match, wasn't Kasamatsu-senpai calling you the Magician of the Cou-" [6]

"Saa, finish that sentence and I'll kindly make you do two thousand more drills, Kise-kun."

"T-Two thousand?!"

"And I'll also start calling you Kiseki no Banana."

"K-Kiseki no Banana?!" [7]

"AARRGGH! Fuck this! I didn't come here to talk about that shit! You! You must have kept in contact with him, right?!" Nebuya demanded stubbornly, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest. "So, how is he?"

"Saa, I haven't the faintest who you're referring to." Hachiouji replied, a dangerous edge entering her voice as she regarded the dark skinned male with thinly veiled annoyance, "And even I did, my stance still stands: I'd appreciate it if you didn't keep hounding me about him."

Nebuya scowled deeply, appearing almost disappointed in her, earning an annoyed but puzzled frown from the Kaijou manager.

"Hah?! So you don't know what that bastard Hanamiya did to him, huh?"

"…Saa, I suppose I don't." Rokuro replied, seemingly flippant, though she did file that bit of information away for later.

"Unlike you however, I don't keep tabs on fodder." She added, turning towards her kouhai, "Let's go, Kise-kun. If we stay any longer, he might infect us with some sort of primate disease."

"OI! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! YOU'RE SERIOUSLY PISSIN' ME OFF BITCH!"

Rokuro ignored him, leading her little student away while the Centre continued to scream nonsensical gibberish after her.

Kise glanced back at Nebuya in curiosity, before obediently trailing after the older girl, mind abuzz with unasked questions.

"Damn your ugly face, you muscle gorilla! I can't believe you went to see Hachiouji-san without me!" Hayama shouted, glaring at his burly teammate venomously.

"Argh! Shaddap! I didn't go there to look at her- I wanted to ask her about something important!" Nebuya snapped in retort, "Bitch would have disappointed you anyway! Not only is she a cold-hearted bastard, she's a freakin' manager now! Get over your stupid crush already!"

Hayama snarled up at the male, hazel eyes burning in irritation. "Don't talk about her that way, you dumbass freak! And it's not a crush! I just admire her!"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A FREAK, HUH?!"

"You are! You idio-!"

"Eikichi. Kotarō."

Immediately, the two Rakuzan players froze.

"I'd appreciate if you kept your voices down." Akashi 'advised', gracing the arguing duo with a meaningful stare, "we still have drills to make up for due to our little trip to observe Kaijou's training session."

"Whoops! Our bad!" Hayama responded sheepishly, "Sorry Akashi!"

"Mou, the both of you are always such idiots when it comes to Hachiouji Rokuro." Mibuchi commented, hand on his hip in a feminine manner as he addressed his fellow Uncrowned Generals, "Why exactly are the two of you so fixated on her anyway?"

"Hah?! Don't say it as if we're fighting over her or something! The only one who has a crush on her is Hayama." Nebuya retorted grouchily, causing said orange haired male to stutter incoherently, and loudly, in denial.

Mibuchi sighed, shaking his head wearily at them.

"Speaking of," Akashi interjected calmly, effectively stopping the impending argument in its tracks.

"Eikichi, Reo, Kotarō." He commanded, "Tell me more about this Hachiouji Rokuro."

He found her in one of the many lounges near their dormitories, draped over a fluffy recliner with one of her cheesy romance novels in hand.

"So, how's he doing?" Kasamatsu questioned, leaning down to place a small carton of strawberry milk on the small table in front of her. He carried a can of black coffee of his own, having made a trip to the nearby vending machines on his way here from the baths.

Rokuro smiled politely in thanks, setting her novel aside.

"Saa, he still has quite a bit to learn," The sandy blond teen stated honestly, "but other than that, the whole arrangement is surprisingly fun."

"It's not supposed to be fun, idiot." Yukio retorted, before stating tiredly, "...I hope you're not torturing the poor kid."

He took a sip of his coffee, his blue-grey eyes assessing her as he mentally turned over his statement, "Though knowing you, you probably are."

"As usual, ye of little faith." Rokuro commented in an airy manner, taking a sip out of her own drink.

Kasamatsu snorted, raising a brow. "Can you blame me? He came back covered in bruises this afternoon. I'm just making sure you're not going to murder the kid."

"A few months ago, you would have been on board with that idea." The manager mused jokingly, "I guess things really have changed."

Kasamatsu paused at that, realising that she was right, to a certain degree. He really hadn't liked Kise at first, and he was pretty sure that the majority of the team had shared those sentiments.

Now, however...

Well, let it be said that Kaijou really wouldn't be the same without that blond idiot.

"Is that why you offered to train him?" The raven haired captain asked, tone subdued. He regarded her solemnly, piercing eyes searching.

He wasn't daft: Yukio was aware that she knew about what had happened to their team at last year's Inter-High, and his...role in the entire incident. It wasn't exactly a secret.

"Saa, not really..." She replied vaguely, her wine red eyes meeting his, silently refusing to elaborate further.

"Regardless, not to worry Captain." She said instead, suddenly rising from her seat, retrieving her novel and drink. She gave a short wave as she exited, not daring to meet his eyes, "I'll make sure your precious Ace is ready for the game."

Kasamatsu allowed a knowing smile as he watched her go,

"Heh. You're so transparent, Manager."

[1] Akashi Zaibatsū: The Akashi Conglomerate/Group.

[2] I feel so bad about writing this line, because you know, Kise's gonna lose again… and again…. And again, until the end…

[3] Reference to Chapter 6.

[4] ...Yes, sadly, it isn't just Moriyama. Hachiouji is probably the only female presence most of the Kaijou boys have in their lives, aside from their actual relatives that is.

[5] Nebuya Eikichi's nickname in basketball, in addition to being an Uncrowned General. It's written as 剛力 (Gōriki) which means 'Herculean Strength'. It could also be a pun on Gorilla. Haha.

[6] Yes, I am aware she shares this nickname with someone- it's a plot point! Rokuro thinks the monikers are beyond lame though, and she really, really hates hers.

For reference, Rokuro is know as:

無冠の皇后 (Mukan no Kougo): Uncrowned Empress

魔術師 (Majutsu-shi): Magician of the Court

And a few other names such as 'Strongest Female Player', 'Bitch', etc. Haha ._.

[7] キセキのバナナ (Kiseki no Banana): Miracle Banana. I actually started calling Kise this a long time ago. Decided Rokuro would too.