It was Kou's self-study period but instead of sitting in her class, like the rest of her schoolmates, she walked to the library, getting directly to the back of it. She found Hanamiya, propped on his arms, half-lying at his usual spot on the table. It didn't surprise her the slightest since it had become a more and more frequent occurrence for him to hide in there. He really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the only part of the school he marked as idiot-free.

Kou opened her bag, supporting the bottom of it with her knee and took out a pink folder along with a medium-size red box, and tossed it on the table. The file with the box atop of it slid over the smooth surface. It stopped once Hanamiya outstretched his hand, halting it midway to end up on the floor; he did not as much as budge from his current position.
"I hope you're happy, 'cause it's the last time I'm doing this," Kou warned, walking to the armchair near the windows. She dropped her bag on the floor and fell on the cushions with an exaggerated sigh.

"You've been saying it so many times it's already lost its meaning," Hanamiya informed, his voice muffled by his arms.

"Now I mean it! Next time you're on your own!" The girl pointed her finger at him before dropping her head over the backrest, her hair messily hanging from the armchair; it looked as if the furniture grew a mass of dark brown locks. "Can you believe that snotty brat had a file on me?! On me!" She huffed flippantly. "Un-fucking-believable! She's either that dense to believe the stuff she wrote about me, or she's simply underestimating me!"

Hanamiya sighed. "Intelligent, popular... good at socializing, captain of the archery club... numerous victories, twice as many prizes—"

Kou raised your eyes at her friend, frowning involuntarily.

"—impeccable grades... the top five students in Kirasaki."

"Don't need to butter me up, Makoto," she snorted. "You're making me blush!"

"I'm merely reading what Momoi wrote," he explained, giving his friend a sidelong glance. "Likes the routine... very high I-Q... huh, interesting... one-hundred-fifty-eight—"
"Wait! WHAT!" Kou shot on her feet, nearly tripping over her bag. "It's one-hundred-sixty-eight!" She half-yelled, snatching the file from Hanamiya's hand.

"Still lower than me."

The girl glared at him, before furiously scanning Momoi's notes.

"Where the hell did she get that?! O-C-D?! I don't have a mental disorder..." Her voice trailed off as she read more and more not even semi-accurate remarks about herself. "Possibly bipolar?! Selfish and goal orientated... Well, that's not half as bad, I guess," she sighed raising her eyes at Hanamiya, whose face was still plastered to the surface of the table. "She writes I posse a great power of observation."

Hanamiya lazily raised his arm, jabbing a further paragraph in the file.

"There's more."

Kou rolled her eyes but read it, feeling her breath cutting in her throat. "... possesses a great power of observation due to possible schizophrenia..." She reread that sentence a few times, not really believing what she'd just seen. "What the fuck!" She seethed, shoving the documents back on the table. "Where did she get all that? I haven't even been at the psychiatrist, so how can she tell all that stuff, eh?"

"The student outdid the master herself. Momoi has been learning from the best. It's no wonder she developed her skills in that certain manner after copying your every step." Hanamiya finally leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Don't even get me started on that! Yesterday she told me she's been admiring me... I was her inspiration! I could snap that skinny neck of hers, making it painful for her to breathe before crushing her windpipe for good!" Kou twisted her fingers like claws and pretended to strangle Momoi, closing her fingers over thin air.

"Women are such a vicious race..." Hanamiya chuckled. "One thing goes wrong and it's a war. Hardly ever an open fight, just hare and hounds. Oh, and you never back down..."

Kou's eyebrows shot up above her hairline. "Then I'm questioning your gender, my friend because the description fits you perfectly."

Hanamiya laced his fingers over his stomach, glaring at her.

"Did you speak with Imayoshi?" He asked monotonously as he watched Kou plopped on the chair beside him and propped her chin on her elbow.

"Shoichi says hello," she informed, her face expressionless as she spoke. "He also called me lazy. Bastard. And he told me to tell you to move your arse if you want to spy on them, instead of sending your minion — that's me."

Hanamiya gave a prolonged sigh. "I have to pay him a visit then. Was he suspicious of you?"

"I left him in the most paranoid state I could have forced on him."

Hanamiya squished the tip of his nose, apparently the whirls in his mind already turning in a direction only known to him.

"I've been thinking," Kou mused, facing her friend, who looked deep in thought. "I know I said Aomine has no weak spots but I came up with something. He's barely seventeen yet he's extremely tall. If we aim for his joints, we can get a nice result. Especially elbows and toes."

"Well, I thought the same," Hanamiya informed, leaning over the table and taking the box his friend gave him. "His body's not fully developed. It's his only obstacle. Funny thing. Aomine is his own restriction." He opened the lid, revealing the homemade chocolates he'd received from Kou every Valentines for the past 7 years. "Did you know that the scout from the Boston Celtics is coming to their next game to recruit Aomine for their club?"

"But he's just barely a freshman," Kou frowned. "Isn't it too soon?"

Hanamiya chuckled. "They're starting earlier because by the time he's in a senior, his value will be ridiculously high and the major part of the Basketball's finest will want to win him over," he explained patiently, trailing his finger over the edge of the box. "Aomine's next game is with us. It'll be twice as pleasurable to off him, while the headhunter's watching..." He trailed off taking random chocolate between his fingers and held it before his nose. "I'm sick of chocolates. I've head enough of them for the rest of the year."

Kou sighed at the sudden change in subject. When it came to Hanamiya, one had to get used to such quirks.

"Who would have thought that after you got rid of your glasses, you'll be so popular with the ladies?" She teased. "That's why you're hiding here? Because of your fangirls? The hell if I know what they see in you."

"Don't be stupid, Miho," he sneered, carefully examining the candy. "Those idiots are a nuisance I can bear one day a year. And thank god for that they gather their wits only on Valentines..."

"Oh really?" Kou mocked, watching lazily as he popped the chocolate into his mouth. It was amusing to see Hanamiya's expression changing as the chocolate melted. She thoughtfully took a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her friend, already knowing how the things would go from there.

Three.

Two.

...
"Seven years and every single year it's the same!" Hanamiya growled, snatching the tissue from her hand and spitting out the content of his mouth into it. "I. Hate. Strawberries. How many years will it take you to remember that tiny detail?! Don't give me any sweets if you can't get this into that empty head of yours! I hate strawberries!"

"I can't really tell..." Kou tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But I think the better question is how can you still be accepting my chocolates, since you know I do the same thing every year?" She got on her feet and jumped at his other side, pulling the box of chocolates closer to herself. "This one's hazelnut," she informed, pointing at the rounded candy in the middle. "I run out of strawberries in the end, so I used nuts." Kou shrugged and snatched the chocolate before Hanamiya could get it, and pushed it into her mouth, cracking it loudly only to spite him.

"I wanted that," he grumbled swiftly getting on his feet.

Kou swallowed the chocolate loudly. "Too bad it's gone."

All of sudden the girl found herself caged at the table, Hanamiya, even though not much taller than she, towering over her, his bangs brushing past her forehead. Kou could feel his chocolate breath teasing her senses.

"I don't believe you," he muttered closing the proximity between their lips.

Firstly she stiffened, her eyes growing large but as you felt his hands moving to her hips, lifting her up on the table, she leaned into his kiss. She sneaked her arms over Hanamiya's neck, one of her hands gripping a fistful of his shaggy hair the other one pulling him closer to herself by his neck. The kiss started calmly but as she responded with such an eagerness, Hanamiya pulled away teasingly, smiling against her lips, his hands firmly resting on her waist. The girl narrowed her eyes at his smirking face, before pulling him back in yet another kiss, this time not letting him go so easily. Miho's breathing quickened along with her heart race as you felt the heat emitting from Hanamiya's body every time she arched her back wanting to feel him with every fibre of their bodies. She moaned as their chests brushed for another time, making her shiver with anticipation. Kou began to lose control, and what was scary about it, she couldn't even tell when it happened.

Kou gave a small sigh as Hanamiya slowly sneaked his hands over the hem of her sweater, his warm fingerprints grazing the skin of her stomach. She had no sense of time at this moment. The two of them could have been there for an hour, or maybe a minute, she couldn't tell. But as Hanamiya pulled away, gently nibbling on her lower lip, his breathing rapid, one thing was obvious. She didn't want this kiss to end. It felt cold without his lips on hers, even those few inches that separated their bodies were too much for her to feel satisfied.

That sensation sobered Kou up enough for her mind to resume its work. So in spite of her own instincts, she hesitantly let go of his silky hair and rested her forehead against his. Kou heard Hanamiya sigh, as she trailed her knuckles over his jawline. His skin was flushed, the sensation of his warmth sent shivers down her spine. He leaned into her touch, his arms tightening around her.

"Every year the same..." Kou said quietly, placing her palm over Hanamiya's heart, pushing him back. "You'll never learn."