There was an altar covered with beautiful white flowers and a picture of a beautiful woman and a handsome man together.
The men at the funeral were all dressed in black suits, crying over the loss of the man they have pride in following. Everyone here respected the couple so much that they put away all of their work just to be here. It was a tragic accident in which no one had control of.
Despite the unhappy atmosphere, there was a tiny ray of hope left behind from the two couple, a miracle in the form of a tiny baby girl...
"Don't worry, everything will be all right. We'll survive somehow. We'll be fine." 20 year old Kumo held the baby girl in his arms as he smiled at the picture with a kind smile, "I'll cook the meals and change the diapers. Well, I don't know how to, but I'll change the diapers somehow. So you can go on without any worry." He then looked back at the baby in his hold, "I'll protect Shiki and everyone within Hakanai."
38 year old Takai Kumo was forced to wake up from his nap by Shiki, who banged the frying pan with the metal ladle.
"Hime, why are you being so cruel...? I was dreaming about hot girls..."
"Oh really? That gives me more of a reason to ruin your dream even more." Shiki rolled her eyes at the man.
"Sadist!"
"Get up, I made breakfast."
"You really are ready, huh?" Kumo got up in the end; he will suffer even more if he were to laze around in his futon...
When Kumo went to the traditional dining room, Ying and Yang were already eating their breakfast. Kumo grimaced in disgust over Ying's messy eating habit, why does this young man have to eat like a slob? He looked at Yang and Shiki, to see them eating in a civilized manner.
'Is this guy really in his 20's...?' Kumo sat down on the tatami floor and started eating his breakfast.
"Ying, please eat properly." Yang said with closed eyes, drinking his miso soup.
"Ah. You're eating worse than a pig." Kumo answered along.
"That's not true! Besides, having an obvious appetite shows my respect for Hime's cooking!" He then smiled happily at Shiki, who really couldn't give a damn, "Isn't that right, Hime?!"
"Oh yeah, there is something I need to say before I go to school... From now on, this name, 'Hime', is forbidden to leave this house. If I ever catch any of you three call me 'Hime' outside of this house, I can show you I can be one truly, nasty fucker, got that?"
"What?! Why?!" Ying was the only one flipping out about this, "You've always been our Hime though!"
"Yeah well you're going to have to change your way of calling me."
"Wha..." Ying left the table to sulk in the corner of the room, "I am your bodyguard... How can you treat me so...? I am hurt..."
"Let's continue eating. I will kill him later."
"Wha?! So cruel!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shiki made her way to school. Along the way to her school, she saw Kasamatsu and Kise.
"Senpai, look..." Kise pointed at Hakanai Shiki, making Kasamatsu look her way.
Shiki smiled a little. It's because of the game with Kaijou made one thing clear to her: She still loves to play basketball. And it's the meeting with Kasamatsu made another thing clear to her too: She doesn't like to injure others...
"Kasamatsu, I don't need to explain the things I do to you. To me, you're just an outsider to my issues. Whatever I do has nothing to do with you, got that?" Shiki was about to walk past him but she put a hand on his shoulder when she's just beside him, "I will tell you this though, Sano's injuries had nothing to do with me."
"How am I supposed to know you didn't get those guys to injure him on your behalf."
"I know you know what is true."
Kasamatsu didn't know what to say about that. For some reason, he found himself believing in her words. If anything, she seems like the type who wil go straight to Sano and beat him up.
"If I believe you, will I regret it?"
"No you won't." With that, Shiki left him alone and continued her way to school.
"Senpai, what was that all about? The conversation between you two is so freaking cool!" Kise thought his senpai and Shiki was so cool that even words cannot describe just how cool it was! It was as if something from an anime! "Senpai, I think I ship you and that girl together..."
"Shut up! Don't say unnecessary things!" He whacked Kise for that, blushing a little.
The moment she was in Aozora Academy, Hakanai Shiki marched her way into the student council's room and slapped down a form onto the desk.
"The girls' basketball club is back." Shiki said to the student council president.
The glasses wearing male looked at her with a bored look before sighing once, "I told you, there is no way you girls are getting a club."
"I am not asking you, I am telling you."
"You do realize I am not willing to fund your club, right? After what you did to Kanon-chan, what makes you think I will help you?"
Shiki chuckled and she sat down on a chair across from the student council president. She then threw out an envelope that contained photos.
"Because if you don't help me, these photos will be sent to your lovely Mommy and your ever so kind Daddy." The photos contained the president changing his appearance in the art room, skipping cram school and going to play inside the arcade instead, "I wonder what your Dad would say? I heard your Mom suffers from heart attacks so I wonder what will happen to her if she were to 'accidentally' see them."
Panic shot through the president at once; where did she get these pictures from?! He tried not to show panic but it was hard to since she's got something to blackmail him with.
"You wouldn't dare to show it to my Mother... I know you, Hakanai... You're not that cruel."
"President, you are so cute... I was the one who beaten up Sano Kanon after the Winter Cup, I beat her brother and his team in basketball and a physical fight, and I am blackmailing you on the spot..."
"What are you trying to say...?"
"Don't underestimate me, little boy! I didn't come back to school without returning the favor!" Shiki didn't return to follow the rules. She decided that if she was taken out by dirty tricks, she will use even dirtier tricks to get her way.
The president gulped; he underestimated this girl...
"I will be the predator this time. Now, about the club... You will fund it. And I expect to have a fair share. If I find a single yen short, all of these photos will see the light. You hear that, prey?"
"I-I understand..."
In the staff room, Takai Kumo just got announced that he will be one of the school's gym teacher.
"Takai-sensei, you're going to become a coach for the basketball club?" Since he was very good looking, he was already popular among the female teachers. One of his admirer was the Math teacher.
"Ah. I will only be keeping an eye on them though."
"I see, do your best, okay? I am rooting for you."
"I am happy to know you are rooting for me too."
A few minutes into the flirting, Hakanai Shiki slapped the back of Kumo's head with a paper fan.
"Sensei, this is for you to sign." Seeing that she has returned with the club's form, Kumo smiled and happily took it from her, "Okay, you know the drill, we need to recruit more members so that next year the club will stay."
"I know."
"Then, we are ready to conquer Interhigh!" Kumo was about to sign it but the door of the staff room slide opened and in came the girls.
"Good to see you all arrived to hear the good news." Shiki greeted her friends, "We're a team again and we are going to rule the competition."
"Shiki..." Natsuhi was proud of Shiki; they can finally start playing basketball again.
"Senpai, I knew you will do something like this! I can finally play basketball with you under the stadium~!" Harumi hugged Shiki, very happy with the results, "Senpai, let's win this year!"
"You realize this means I will be harsh with the training." Shiki smiled at her, "Prepare yourselves!"
"Eh..." Fuyu didn't like the sound of harsher training...
"Don't make such a dejected face, Fuyu. You and everyone will do just fine." Shiki then realized something, Akina wasn't here...
"Akina-chan, who is that boyfriend of yours?! He can't be better than me..." Ying's voice can be heard.
The girls made way for Shiki to go out and she saw Ying talking to Akina. What was he doing here, and why was he hitting on Akina?
"Ying..." Shiki can feel a vein popping.
"Ah? Hime! Hey there!" Ying happily greeted. Yang was there too but he stayed silent, shaking his head in thinking what an idiot his older twin was.
"You moron..." Shiki reminded herself she will have to beat Ying up when she got home, "Explain why you are here?"
"Ying? Yang? Why are you two here?"
"We are her bodyguards, of course we need to be by her side." Yang explained, "So we decided to sign up and become teachers. I will teach Japanese language and this guy here will teach Chinese language."
"Cantonese or Mandarin! I will teach you either one!" Ying smiled brightly, "Akina-chan, are you impressed by me yet?!"
"Meh, I still like my boyfriend better." The brown haired girl said with a bored face.
Shiki should have figured out Ying will do something to get into school somehow. Great, now she has her team, her guardian, a bodyguard, and a moron following behind her. When she told Kumo to join the school and become the team's coach, she didn't expect the twins to follow as well.
With a click of her fingers, the captain announced an absolute order.
"Let's win."