Yuzu held back a sigh, one of exasperation. Over the course of the last five months, she had to deal with a lot, including making herself ousted as a gyaru, earning a friend named Harumi with that title, gaining a step-sister who seemed more trouble than it was worth and finally joining the basketball team. As much as she preferred fashion over athleticism, colleges did like to see that the female participated in extracurricular school activities. And thus, her recent position as the small forward on the team began.

But this, this was testing her limits. Her step-sister, Mei, had been more involved with the school extracurricular activities by the time they had become step-sisters, having become the head of the cheerleader squad. It was hard to imagine, a stoic face going with that stereotypical preppy personality and the rather revealing cheerleader uniform but she made it work somehow. That part didn't bother Yuzu much. It was nice knowing someone had her back while she was on the court.

No, the part that bothered Yuzu the most was the number of fangirls surrounding Mei. Renowned as the ice queen of beauty, it wasn't hard for several girls to fall for her. Perhaps it was flattering but for the blonde, it was beyond irritating.

Staring at the black-haired ice queen, Yuzu wracked her brains wondering why she was so irritated at seeing the swarm of fangirls. Sure, she found Mei attractive and sure, she maybe wanted her in a romantic sense but still! What was so great about Mei that every day, without fail during practice, these fangirls would come by and confess their undying love for her? What was so great about Mei that no matter how many times they got rejected or ignored, they would come back wanting for more?

Actually, she can't talk on that second account. She may or may not have been guilty of doing the same thing. But still! What was it? What about this scene was bothering her so much?

All of a sudden, one of her teammates, Yuki, shouted out," Mei, look out!" And without thought, Yuzu leapt forward with her hand stretched out to receive the ball. Except there was one problem.

Instead of her hand receiving the ball, somewhere else decided to receive it. And that was somewhere else was her face. Almost instantly after the ball landed on her nose, the force of the hit causing her to the back of her head against a nearby bleacher. She clasped her most likely broken nose, curling up in pain. Her head was ringing from the hit. Disoriented, she was vaguely aware of a hand moving to clasp her cheek in a most loving manner, a soft voice calling out her name. Then what felt like seconds later, she felt two people lifting her up on each side of her but who they were, Yuzu couldn't tell. She heard something about "nurse" and after realizing she was in safe hands, let go of reality, slipping into unconsciousness.

Yuzu woke up with a jerk, well tried to anyway. The headache ringing in her head was still ringing about, throbbing when she tried to sit up. Squinting, she tried to recognize her surroundings, recognizing it as the nurse's office. It took her a few moments to remember, remember that she had tried to catch the basketball from hitting Mei to only then receive it on her face.

A blush instantly enveloped her face at the remembrance of how clumsy she was and even worse, it was in front of her crush! Thankfully she noticed the presence of someone else before she proceeded to bury her in the pillow and roll around in anguish.

Wait was that person who she thought she was? Could her most likely concussion be causing her hallucinations? "Mei?" She called out, her eyes wide with confusion. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at practice with your teammates? Don't you guys have that big competition later this week?"

Looking up from her book, Mei gave her that piercing look she was known for," First off, I'm here because a certain someone thought it would be nice to get injured while being my rescuer. Second, I should be and I do but," she cleared her throat, tucking her hair behind her ears in an attempt to dissuade her blush," There are some things a bit more important than such trivial matters."

Yuzu had to admit, she was floored from the statement before responding with a grin," We should probably tell Mama what happened. And I'll probably have to rest from activities for a while, get a proper check-up."

Just then, Harumin busted in the door, shouting," I heard what happened! You okay, Yuzu?!" She leaned closer to the bed, trying to inspect how injured Yuzu was besides the obvious huge bandage on her nose and the gauze wrapped around her head. "You have to admit, it was kind of stupid to leap out like that without any thought." She scolded.

Yuzu shrugged off the concern, opting to trap the other in a headlock. "I'm fine! Probably need some bedrest but after that I'll be free to do whatever you want! Like shopping, discounts and a girl's night!" She sealed her promise with a knuckle rub to Harumin's head. As flattering as it was to see Mei when she woke up, it was as equally flattering knowing her best friend would rush to her side like this. "But for now, I need to get the green light from the nurse and head back home. Don't want to worry Mama more than I already have when she hears the news later."

And with that, the nurse came by to check up on Yuzu. Conclusively, it wasn't sure if Yuzu did have a concussion or not but given the situation, better be safe. And so, Yuzu left with Mei with instructions to be careful for 24 hours and be aware of any upcoming symptoms such as vomiting. Harumin had left earlier, Mitsuko calling for her.

Things cooled down after that eventful disaster. With home came dinner and after dinner came a bath. Ume had insisted for Mei to take one with Yuzu, in case the other slipped in the bathroom. And given her track record, it was hard to not believe something of that sort wouldn't happen.

And as much as Yuzu enjoyed taking a bathe with Mei, there came the downside of having to resist temptation. Growing up stoic and poised, it was hard to read the other. Often times, Yuzu dismissed Mei as uncaring, not able to get much of a reaction out of her. But as time passed, it became noticeable that the latter struggled with visibly showing emotion, having kept her thoughts to herself. In this way, Mei was protecting herself but from what, Yuzu didn't know as of yet. If there was one thing she prided herself on though, it was making others smile.

But back to the problem at hand: Mei's alluring naked form next to her and her struggling to hold down a blush. It was best to not make eye contact lest her affection be discovered. That's where her thoughts were. In reality though, it was really hard to not succumb to the velvet feeling of Mei washing her hair. She wasn't sure where the good deed was from, probably as a reward from her "rescue" but hey, she'll take what she can get. Even if that was at the cost of her face being as red as a tomato.

"Hey Mei." Yuzu called out, tilting her head back to look at the other in the eyes. "I won't be around for school tomorrow since Mama wants to take me for a check-up so don't feel too lonely without me alright?" When did she get this bold?

In return, Mei gave her a small snort of disbelief, her fingers massaging Yuzu's head at this point. "Only if you promise me the same." Promise was a fragile thing, especially when placed in another's hands but Mei didn't feel that need to hold back. After all, they both knew they would miss each other if just a bit.

"It's a promise!" Yuzu winked, leaning against the bathtub. "A promise that I won't feel super lonely without you, Mei!"

Here they were again, running around in circles. Mei, exhausted from the day's events, opted to head to sleep right away with Yuzu staying up to finish her homework. She couldn't even blame the piling work on her injury. Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator.

She looked back over her shoulder here and there, grinning at the sight of her stepsister all snuggled up in the blankets. It was adorable in a way. So adorable Yuzu couldn't resist taking out her phone to snap a picture. Glancing at the clock on her phone, it was amazing she didn't yelp. It was already 1 a.m. and Yuzu wasn't even halfway through her make-up work.

Then again, she had the whole day off tomorrow so might as well keep at it. Well into the night, perhaps around 4, the blond gyaru fell asleep, her items scattered on her desk, her head in the crook of her arm. And that was the position Mei found her the next morning. With an almost tender motion, she brought out an extra blanket, placing it over the other. It didn't hurt to sneak a small kiss upon her broken nose as well. Consider her debt fully repaid, Yuzu.

Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own Citrus and its content and characters.

I have to admit, this was fun to write out, attempting to bring the characters alive. As a thought for you readers, I do not intend to make this a story with an actual plotline. Rather, it will be a collection of moments between basketball player gyaru Yuzu and ice queen cheerleader leader Mei and of course, I'll sneak in the other characters as much as I can. Also, another thought to keep in mind, since this is an AU, this is also an AU where Mei's father decided to take over the academy. He will still not be around so often (due to work, parties, etc.) but keep in mind Mei is not being groomed to be the heir to the academy as of yet hence her cheerleader position.

I would really appreciate it if you left your thoughts for this chapter and thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this.

As a side note, my tumblr is fadingphotographyfinancewolf and I would appreciate your support there too! Thank you again!