"Endo has just got his braces." Those were the first words Kou Miho had ever said to Hanamiya Makoto. It was in primary school, during basketball practice.

"And what about it?" The boy asked, his back turned to her, standing in a defensive stance on the court.

"You've never had braces, have you?"

"Can't you see I'm busy! Stop talking to me!"

"I'm only doing you a favour since your opponents are twice your size, genius!" She huffed, brushing a stubborn strand of hair from her eyes. "For your information, when you have braces your whole face hurts. Every single move is painful."

Hanamiya twisted slightly to look at the girl. Kou smirked at that because she'd obviously managed to catch his attention.

"Besides that, Endo is a lefty," she informed dully, examining her nails.

"A lefty, you say?" Hanamiya tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Yup."

"What about the others? What do you know about them?"

That's how the two of them met and soon began their little friendship. Miho was responsible for the major part of the background check on Hanamiya's opponents, and the information she couldn't find, the boy just knew only by examining his rivals. Kou had always been his shadow; it didn't matter if on the court or at school. Just as he always came first on the exams, the kanji with the name Kou was bound to be right under his name. Whenever was Hanamiya, she was always somewhere close.

In primary school it was just for fun; junior high school, on the other hand, was a very different thing. Even if Miho wasn't an official member of the team, refusing to be seen as their manager, the coach had always reckoned with what she had to say. During those three years she earned herself a reputation and so did Hanamiya. Kou was called the Shadow Queen of Komagi Junior High. The lost game against Teikö left Makoto and her different, hallow maybe. Because on that certain day Hanamiya lost to Akashi Seijürö and she, as could be predicted, both to current Rakuzan's captain and Momoi Satsuki. Now a chance had occurred to pay them back and neither Kou nor Hanamiya were especially picky about on whom would they get their revenge. After all, they all came from the Generation of Miracles.

The memories from the last 7 or 8 years flashed through Miho's mind, as she was waiting outside the Töö gym. She pushed the collar of her jacket up, scanning the crowd of departing people from the main entrance, looking for a petit, strawberry-haired girl.

"Oi! Momoi-san!" Kou waved upon spotting the girl while plastering a sweet smile on her face. As she saw the girl freeze at the top of the stairs, she slowly approached her, maintaining a friendly demeanour. "You probably don't remember me, Momoi-san—"

"You're Kou Miho!" Momoi's eyes widened at her smiling face. The girl clasped her hand over her mouth in a pure terror. "Oh, dear! I'm so sorry Kou-san! I didn't mean to be so disrespectful!"

"It looks like my reputation precedes me," the girl chuckled at the younger's silly behaviour. "Don't worry Momoi-san! And please call me Miho."

"M-Miho-chan?"

She nodded.

"Alright, M-Miho-chan but only if you call me Satsuki."

"It's all set then!" Kou exclaimed cheerfully and took Momoi's gloved hand in hers. "I can already feel we're gonna be such good friends, Satsuki-chan!"

The younger girl blinked at her, her bag sliding down her arm.

"Let me help you with that," Kou offered, taking it from her before the girl could utter a word of protest. "I've been a fan of yours ever since your Teikö days. Your team gave Komagi a hard time during that game! I believe it was all on you." She smiled, directing Momoi's attention on a different matter.

"Well... thank you Miho-chan." She blushed. "I must say you were my inspiration..."

"Oh really?!" The girl exclaimed happily but inside she was seething. Momoi used her own weapon against her but that wasn't all; the girl managed to improve it, making it her own. "What a coincidence! So good I came to introduce myself. I believe we're having another game soon. Töö and Kirasaki, if I'm not wrong, it's next week. I'm so excited."

"Yes! Me too!" Momoi's eyes gleamed with sheer thrill. "I can't believe you came here only to say hello. I've always wanted to meet you and here I am, talking to you... Amazing!"

"Oh stop it!" Kou chided her playfully. "The stories about me are way exaggerated. I can assure you, most of them are not true. I was lucky enough to meet the right people, that's all."

"But you were the manager of Komagi's team!"

Miho forced herself not to grimace at that certain word and twisted her lips in a small smile.

"Yes... Well, good old days, as they say, right?" She drawled, her jaw clenched, but Momoi didn't seem to notice her distraught. "High school is a busy time for me, especially with the archery club."

Momoi looked disappointed at Kou's words. "Miho-chan is not the manager of the Kirasaki's team, anymore?"

I've never been their manager in the first place...

"Sometimes I work as their advisor but it's rare since they don't really need me anymore," she sighed, dropping her chin slightly.

Apparently, Kou had managed to look pitiful enough, so Momoi would pat her arm in a comforting manner.

"I'm glad we've met, Miho-chan." She smiled at her. "I hope I'll see you next week?"

"Definitely," Kou promised, raising her chin happily. "Satsuki-chan, can I take some more of your time and ask you something?"

The girl frowned, looking slightly baffled but agreed. After all, what could she possibly ask her, since the two of them had only just met?

"How are the other members of Teikö? I can tell that Satsuki-chan and Aomine-kun are doing pretty well but I'm really curious about the others. You were such a great team."

A blush crept down Momoi's neck at Kou's remark. She gave a nervous giggle before answering.

"Good, I guess... I can't really tell since we're not that close anymore," she explained, swaying on her heels. "I think the boys will choose basketball over any other job. They've already received invitations from some fancy clubs. Last month the scout from the US came to see Dai-chan."

Kou's stomach made a merry flip flop at that information. She wasn't completely sure if Satsuki was aware of what she was actually telling her.

"How wonderful! I wish them all the best of luck! Such talented people," she mused thoughtfully before glancing over Momoi's shoulder; she believed that was enough for the small talk. "Well, Satsuki-chan, thank you for your patience. I hope to see you next week." Kou smiled, handing her back the bag. The girl swung it over her arm, fixing the hair that got under the strap.

"The pleasure's all mine, Miho-chan! Thank you for your visit!" Momoi chirped and waved at the girl, as she walked past her.

Kou waved back at her, smiling merrily but as she disappeared on the path to the park, her cheerful expression dropped. She pursed her lips, deep in thought, selecting information that should stay in her head. Kou took a pink file from under her jacket, opening it on a random page. From Momoi's notes, she could easily tell that Töö's manager hadn't underestimated their team. She even had a file on—

"What are you doing here, Kou?"

Hearing a familiar voice, she pushed the files back under her jacket and plastered an innocent smile to her face before turning around. Out of the Töö gym came out two boys, Wakamatsu Kösuke and her old schoolmate, Imayoshi Shoichi.

"Nice to see you too, Shoichi. You've grown since the last time I saw you."

Imayoshi grimaced at her remark.

"You saw me a month ago. It's hardly a time I could change."

"Really?" A crease appeared between her brows. "It feels like longer... You definitely look different."

"What did you want from Satsuki?" He blurted, not minding with pleasantries, and fixed his glasses. "If you're still you, Kou, you have a reason to be here."

"Don't be silly, Shoichi," she waved her hand dismissively. "I just came to say hello. It's only polite to properly introduce yourself before an official meeting."

"Do I look stupid to you?"

"Those glasses certainly do not make you look smarter."

Wakamatsu snorted at that, earning himself a glare from his senior. Imayoshi outstretched his arm at the girl. She rose an eyebrow at him, her eyes widening questioningly.

"Give it back," he ordered. "I don't particularly care but you can tell Hanamiya that if he wanted to spy on us, he should have come by himself... He always had his minion doing his work for him. Give me the file you snatched from Momoi's bag. Now."

The fake innocent expression disappeared from her face, immediately replaced with a cold smirk.

"You're imagining things, four-eyes," Kou scoffed, taking a step towards him. Imayoshi pulled back but didn't make a move. She narrowed her eyes at him, feeling it was a good time to toy with him. "What if I came here by myself, huh? Hanamiya and I are not joined at the hip, you know. Besides, I'm no man's minion..." She raised on her toes and without even as much as a blink, she leaned closer to his face. "People change, Shoichi."

Miho heard the boy gulped at the proximity; she couldn't help but smirk.

"What are you two planning, Kou? You wouldn't be here if Hanamiya didn't have something prepared," he demanded, but as she titled her head, Imayoshi added: "You're too lazy to come here on your own."

Kou pursed her lips in a sour smile, before pulling away, chuckling softly.

"My my, stop my poor heart! You wounded me Imayoshi. I truly feel hurt," she taunted, pulling out the pink file, and handing it to Imayoshi. "Satsuki-chan must have dropped it on her way out. I was merely trying to help."

Imayoshi pushed the documents into his bag, without looking at it.

"That's very kind of you but I'll take from here."

The girl fixed her jacket and gave Imayoshi a sardonic bow. He rolled his eyes but didn't say a word. Kou thought that she could possibly leave him like that still something told her that she could push him a little further, bend him some more, just for shits and giggles.

Kou glanced at the white-haired boy next to Imayoshi, who had been left out from their conversation till now. Wakamatsu looked mildly uncomfortable with her prolonged glare. Miho's lips curled up in a smirk as she slowly circled the second year. Wakamatsu looked positively frozen underneath her watchful gaze. She thought that from the single look at him, all the information she found out about him had confirmed itself. Compering her knowledge with reality had always been an exciting moment, especially when she found some more juicy tidbits. Kou smirked, comparing the level of Wakamatsu's shoulders; his shoulder blades were uneven.

"Tell me Imayoshi," she mused. "Do you honestly believe Kirasaki cannot win without playing tricks?"

"I didn't say that."

"Just answer the question!" She said snappishly, making Wakamatsu jump at the sudden change of her tone.

"You can win but I don't think you want to play fair..."

"Why's that?" Miho rose her brows questioningly, her eyes never leaving Wakamatsu.

"Because this is not how you work," Imayoshi frowned. "You're not people."

"Then who are we?" She deadpanned, turning to her ex-schoolmate. "You're giving us too much credit, Shoichi. I feel myself blushing." Kou mockingly batted her eyelashes. "But maybe it's for the better... fear I mean... At least you'll know where did the blow come from."

Miho smiled brightly at Wakamatsu and stroked his cheek, just how she used to pat the strays on the streets when she was a kid.

"Good luck, boys! You're gonna need it." And with that she pivoted on your heel and jumped off the stairs, leaving the Töö captain and his deputy alone in front of the gym's entrance.

"Who the hell was she?!" Wakamatsu exclaimed but since he didn't receive any answer, he looked at his senior. Imayoshi's face was blanched with anger. Wakamatsu repeated his question.

"Trouble." The Töö captain informed, pushing his glasses up.

"She didn't look harmful, tho," Wakamatsu stated, opening his bag and taking out a can of soda.

"You know Hanamiya Makoto?"

Wakamatsu nodded, opening the can and downing his drink.

"Then you must have heard about his shadow, Kou Miho. That was she."

The vice-captain choked on his soda, spilling the liquid on the stairs and, in the process, also on Imayoshi, who grimaced with disgust plastered all over his face.

"Fucking hell! That was the Kou?!" He wiped his face with the sleeve of his jersey.

"Do you know anyone else with that name?!" Imayoshi spat, taking out a tissue and trying to wipe off the sugary liquid from his uniform. "You're disgusting! I'll be all sticky..."

Wakamatsu didn't seem to mind Imayoshi's words, looking at the spot where he last saw the famous Shadow Queen.

"How do you know her?"

"We used to go to the same junior high school," Imayoshi explained dully. He looked at his clothes, thinking he would have to spend at least an hour cleaning them. "Wherever Hanamiya was, you could tell that Kou was somewhere close. And the other way around— of for goods-sake! You're gonna clean it!" Imayoshi informed, pointing at his attire but Wakamatsu only rolled his eyes.

"She was their manager? Like Momoi?"

Imayoshi growled, feeling like banging his head against the wall.

"Did you even listen to me?!"

"Not really."

"First of all, don't call Kou a manager, unless you don't feel attached to some parts of your body. She hates it," Imayoshi warned. "She helped us a lot during our games. We almost won against the Teikö team thanks to her involvement. She's not as active as she used to be but she's one of those people you simply cannot ignore. I believe that Satsuki based her performance on Kou," he added tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Wakamatsu frowned, turning to his captain.

"Then, why was she even here, huh?"

"I have no idea," Imayoshi mumbled, more to himself than to his junior. "But it's not good she came here at all. She's the laziest person I've ever known, yet she gave herself the trouble to steal Satsuki's files... This is bad..."

***

As Miho was walking home, she felt her phone beeping upon receiving a text. She took it out and read the message.

Mako-chan:

Did you do it?

She typed a short answer, still feeling annoyed from the little show she had to pull with Satsuki.

No.

Kou pushed her phone back in her pocket, only to feel it beep once again. This time she didn't check the message.