"Hey, Z?"

"What is it Akatsuki..?" the boy clad in white and purple asked without taking his eyes off a scroll he was reading.

"Why do you always end up reacting differently when a girl is nearby?" his younger brother decided to ask.

Zanya froze when he heard the word 'girl' and began to stutter. "M-me? D-different? No, it must be you! I d-don't think I act any different around g-g-girls then with guys!" Zanya said, prying off his little brother's question.

"Okay… If you say so, Z.." Akatsuki said, walking off away from his brother.

Zanya continued to read the scroll as he pushed up his glasses to hide his blush that spread like wildfire. "…. Akatsuki?"

There was no response from the young boy.

Zanya looked up from the scroll and looked around the yard to see that Akatsuki was nowhere to be seen. The boy sighed as he looked over at his buddy, Nanomachine Ninja, Tsukikage.

"Nin…" Tsukikage said as he shrugged. The indigo haired boy left the field with Tsukikage following him to look for his brother around the city.

"He must be over at Gao's house again…" he mumbled. "And… Kuguru is there…." he continued as he face palmed himself both physically and mentally.

"Nin.." Tsukikage said, holding out a scroll that said, 'That would sound painful without your gloves.'

"Let's go fetch Akatsuki…" he told his buddy.

"Nin!" Tsukikage repeated, pulling out another scroll that said, 'I'm staying in my card form, though.' and another right after that said 'Have fun.'

"WAIT! TSUKIKAGE!" Zanya called out, but his buddy had already returned to his card.

"Arghhh…. I'll just pull him out and leave immediately…" he muttered to himself.

"I really don't know why Drum always gets mad if I eat his pudding. I mean, Mom can make it anytime and IT'S NOT MY FAULT I DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I EAT!" Gao exclaimed.

"Well, it's my pudding! Made especially for me! THERE WAS A NOTE NEXT TO IT TOO! READ BEFORE EAT KID," Drum argued back.

The two pair started glaring at each other and looked away from each other, letting out a 'hmph!' while doing so.

"Gao, you're being unreasonable. I mean food is food, sure, and you're family can make more and all, but you should've read the note first to see who it BELONGS to," Baku tried reasoning with the boy as he took takoyaki off Gao's plate.

"H-hey! That was mine! And you're one to talk you freeloader!" Gao cried. The two boys and Drum began to fight over the takoyaki piece while the others sat and enjoyed the food.

"BOYS! QUIT IT WITH ALL THE COMMOTION AND JUST ENJOY! I'LL MAKE MORE PUDDING, BUT DON'T GO TAKING IT AWAY FROM EACH OTHER!" Gao's mother lectured.

"Hmmmm… fine…" the three pouted.

"Anyways, guys… What do you think we should do right now? Besides arguing of course.." Kuguru asked the group.

'I'm going to slip soon….' Akatsuki thought.

"Gaooooo! You dropped a card earlier in the hall!" Hana called to her brother.

"What card was it, Hana?" Gao asked curiously.

Hanako flipped the card over to read the name and handed it back to Gao. "It's one of your Gargantua Punisher cards you got from Tasuku-senpai," she told her brother.

"Oh, thanks, Hana. I'll go put it away now…" Gao said, standing up from his seat.

"Be careful next time, Gao!" the little girl called after the self-proclaimed Sun Fighter.

Zanya continued walking around in the city before heading off directly to Gao's house to face the group and the only girl among that group.

'I will make him train double time if I have to..' the boy muttered to himself. 'Hm? Looks like Tasuku-senpai is working hard today,' Zanya thought as he saw the prodigy's car speed by.

"Haa… I should head over to Gao's now.." he said out loud before walking into a pole. "AGH! Oww….." Zanya groaned as he rubbed his forehead.

"So, do you plan to do anything during the weekend?" Kiri asked the group.

"Hmmm… I was planning to go to the Castle shop to watch some buddyfights and take on some challenges if anyone is up for it.." Gao said in deep thought as everyone picked up the plates of food off the table.

A large piece of cloth fell from the ceiling, revealing the young ninja clinging on the ceiling for dear life with a pair of toilet plungers.

"I-I'm going to slip soon….!" Akatsuki warned as he fell on his back on top of the table. "Owwwww..!" the young boy groaned in pain.

"Hey, Akatsuki. Hiding from Zanya again?" Baku asked as Gao handed him a plate of Takoyaki.

"Om…. Mmm.. Yes and no," the blue haired boy answered with his mouth full. "This is so good….! Hm? Where's Tetsuya-senpai?"

"Oh, right. He had something to do today with Asmodai, so he didn't come," Kiri replied.

"AKATSUKI!" Zanya called. Everyone in the group let out a loud sigh and headed to the front yard to see the boy.

"Hey, Zanya. Want to come in and eat?" Gao asked, pointing a thumb behind him.

"S-sorry, but Akatsuki and I have training to do," the boy told the group in a hurry to leave.

Kuguru eyed the boy carefully and jumped in front of him. "You're not getting away this time~!" the purple haired girl sang.

'I-it's a g-girl! T-too close!' the boy panicked. "W-we're busy though!"

"Come on, just stay for a bit, pleaseeeeeeeeeee?" Kuguru asked with a fake pouty face.

Zanya looked away and covered up his face to hide his blush. "..F-fine.. Only for today though.." he mumbled as the girl grabbed his arm and dragged him in.

After an hour of eating and talking to the entire group for his little brother's and secretly Kuguru's sake, everyone began to leave the house to get back home in time.

"Bye, guys! See you tomorrow!" Gao said, waving at them until everyone was out of sight.

"Zanya!"

Zanya froze in place when he heard Kuguru's voice calling for him.

"Akatsuki you head home first… Tsukikage, please escort my brother home," the boy asked as the ninja appeared out of his card.

"Nin!"

Tsukikage pulled out a scroll that said, 'Sure. Good luck~' as Zanya sighed and waved them off.

"Hey, Zanya! Do you have a moment?" Kuguru asked the boy.

"Uhhhh… S-sure.." he answered the girl, trying not to break eye contacts with her for once.

"Great! Well, thanks for staying with us for the day!" the girl said with a slightly visible blush on her face.

"Y-you're welcome..?" Zanya stuttered.

Kuguru let out a small giggle as she leaped at the boy and gave him a hug.

"U-uwah!"

The two collapsed onto the concrete floor with Kuguru ending up on top of Zanya. "O-oh! Hahaha, my bad!" Kuguru apologized as she got off the boy and sat down next to him.

"I-it's fine, hehe.."

An awkward silence began to rise between the two until Zanya decided to make a move. The boy sat upright and suddenly moved in closer to the girl, letting his lips land on her cheek. Shocked by his own action, Zanya flinched and scooted back a few inches from her.

"…. U-UHHH, W-WELL, I-I GOT TO GO NOW. B-BYE!" he stuttered and stood up quickly, only to be stopped by the girl and getting a kiss on his own cheek. Kuguru gave him a soft smile after she moved away from him.

"O-okay then! B-bye, Zanya!" she said, running off to the other direction and waving to the flustered boy.

"R-right…." he responded, waving back as a smile started to creep up onto his face.

Uhh, I had a person request me for a fanfic of ZanyaxKuguru, TasukuxTsuki (their oc)xGao, or just TasukuxTsuki. I just did what I read first, hahaha… Hope I don't disappoint…? （/･_･/)

~stormy003