Bunta: Ne ne, buy gum for me!

Melody: Oh, okay.

Alya: MARSHMALLOWS! * sparkles*

Melody: Alya-chan you like marshmallows too? * sparkles *

Alya: Absolutely! * twinkle in the eye *

Melody: Let's go get marshmallows together then!

Bunta: Oi oi, don't forget the disclaimer and my gum!

Alya: Right! Alya does not own any of the great guys here! Let's go my marshmallows!

Bunta: Don't forget to buy my gum! * shouts after them *


9 - Bunta's Bubble Gum Fetish

It has always amazed me, the speed at which Bunta ate bubble gum. His favourite was always green apple flavoured. According to him, it tasted the best. With its strong aroma, a little sourness, and the rest of it is sweetness. On the days when he ate a lot of bubble gum, he smells like sweets. Not that he doesn't like them.

I was on my way to visit Rikkaidai again, when Bunta texted me. He told me to stop by the sweet store at the shopping district and buy the green apple gum there. Apparently they are the cheapest in Kanagawa. Replying his an okay, I made a turn for the shopping district.

Entering the sweet store, my first impression was that Bunta smelled like it sometimes. Smiling to myself, I took a small basket, and went to the gum section finding the usual gum that I saw Bunta eating. Picking up one packet, I felt that it was too little. Bunta would devour it in less than a day. Picking up two more, I finally decided it was enough, and went on to have a look around.

Seeing the traditional sweets, I took some sugar plums for my mother as she loved them. Putting them in the basket, I went on. Then, something at the corner of the shelf caught my eye. It was green tea marshmallow, and I absolutely adored them.

They were made in small round balls that were absolutely too cute, and the green tea filling inside the small green marshmallow was heaven. Not too bitter, not too sweet and filled with the fragrance of tea.

Putting it into my basket, I looked around somemore, and ended up buying some chocolates, and gummies as a treat for the Rikkai team.

Reaching Rikkaidai, I entered the clubroom and handed Bunta his gum he asked for.

" Thanks!" the red head told me, checking the contents before handing me the money.

" Marui, bought gum again?" Sei-chan entered.

" Sei-chan!" I greeted and glomped him as usual.

" How'd you know?" Bunta asked.

" I can smell it from here. Yukiko-chan, you smell like the sweet store. And you have sweets don't you?" Sei-chan asked.

" You're sharp," I grinned and handed him a small box of gummies and chocolates, " A tiny treat." I said.

" Thanks." Sei-chan gave me a smile before going to his locker.

" Where's everyone else?" I asked.

" Chiissu~" Akaya entered the clubroom.

" Yukiko? And you smell like sweets..." he commented.

" Why does everyone tell me I smell like sweets? Do I really smell that much?" I asked.

" Kind of." Akaya replied.

" Mou! Bullying me! Here!" I said and tossed him the little box.

" Woah! Sweets! For me?" he asked kind of sparkling.

" Yea, I kind of regret buying them for you as you always bully me." I sighed.

" Sorry sorry, my bad. Thanks." Akaya said and went to his locker too.

Subsequently, I gave the rest of the little treats to the team. Niou's reaction was just to coolly go 'Puri', and Yagyuu said his thanks politely, Yanagi who took it and mumbled thanks, Jackal who looked surprised, and Gen-chan who told me that he didn't eat sweets.

" Then give them to your nephew. I bought them already." I said, stuffing it into his hands.

" Fine. Thanks." he said.

" Well, fuk-bu-chou, what are we doing for training today?" I asked.

" Usual." he replied.

" Yay!" I cheered.

Drawing lots, we pick our partners for the practice matches as usual. This time, I happened to pick up the same lot as Bunta.

" Yukiko-chan, let's go." Bunta said, holding his racket over his shoulder.

While we played, I noticed that the green bubble gum never failed to appear at Bunta's mouth in the shape of a bubble, before popping and disappearing into his mouth again. Again, he used his Tsunawatari on me. I dashed to the net, only to find that it had already touched the ground.

" Cheh~" I went and pouted back to the base line, waiting for Bunta to serve the ball.

" Practice your dash if you wanna hit that ball," Bunta hinted, " The split step used by the first year boy from Seigaku also works," he said and blew a green bubble, " I'm only telling you this because you bought gum for me." he gave a grin before serving.

" Hmm... I guess I'd try it out..." I mumbled, " But why because I bought gum for you? Don't the others buy it for you too?" I asked, hitting the ball back.

" Nah, I don't dare to asked Yukimura or Sanada. Asking Jackal is stupid as he knows me rather well, so he simply refuses as he knows the amount I can finish in one day. Asking Yagyuu's even worse, cause he's just going to nag at me, how harmful it can be to my body about how I would get diabetes, and Yanagi adds onto it, with bits of information. Niou's absolutely not going to buy it, though he might put on the super convincing face that he's going to do it for you. As for Akaya, he would buy it, as I'm his senpai, but he buys the wrong brand of gum, and I had to suffer eating that bad gum for almost and entire week." Bunta complained.

" Hmm... But why do you like bubble gum that much?" I asked.

" I just fell in love with it once I ate it the first time a few years back. It has become my favourite sweet now. I can't survive without it. Besides, it tastes so good! Plus it gives me energy for a match~ How can anyone not like it? " Bunta asked, returning my ball.

" Not that they don't like it, but why do you like it to that extent?" I asked.

" Well, to me I think that the reason why I like it so much is that I kind of find comfort in eating it do you know? Its like... when people are young they are given a sweet to make them stop fussing or crying right? Yea, that kind of feeling." he bobbed his red head.

" Hmm, it must really taste nice to you then..." I concluded.

" Of course," he replied.

" Game and match, Marui, six games to three." the score keeper called.

" Ahh~ Lost to you again..." I said.

" At least you've come to the level where you can get three games out of me." Bunta said, messed up my hair and went to assemble at the courts with the other regulars.

Returning to the clubroom, I took out my green tea marshmallows and ate them as Bunta sat beside me.

Akaya entered again, with sweat dripping all over him, " I'm beat~" the seaweed head groaned and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall.

" Are you that tired?" I asked Akaya with the green marshmallow ball at my lips, nibbling on it.

" Nuh? Yukiko-chan? You're eating gum like Marui-senpai?" Akaya kind of announced it to the whole world.

" NUH?" the entire team in the locker room stared at me.

" What? Its marshmallows. Green tea flavoured." I said swallowing the sweet marshmallow.

" Thank god..." they sighed.

" What thank god? I'd be happy if I had a bubble gum eating partner." Bunta said.

" You can have a gum partner, but not Yukiko. We'd all get killed." Niou stated.

" By Sanada and Yukimura," continued Yagyuu only to be cut off by Yanagi.

" And the Seigaku people. Don't forget. She's the apple of their eye. They are just lending her to us cause they could not refuse her pleading." Yanagi said.

" Wah~ Yanagi's so smart! No wonder you're the Master." I grinned.

" Minna, what are you all talking about? Smiling so happily?" Sei-chan entered.

" Bunta's gum partner." I smiled hugging Sei-chan.

" How did your match go with him today?" Sei-chan asked.

" I lost. Six games to three." I pouted.

" WHAT? SIX GAMES TO THREE?" Akaya exclaimed, " I can only get one game out of him! Two at most!" Akaya bawled.

" Then go train somemore," Sanada entered, " Could hear you from outside. Keep it down in here would you?" Sanada said, kind of pissed, " And Marui, stop blowing your gum! The locker room's no place to be eating gum." Sanada said.

" Oops! Got found out!" Bunta said and made a mad dash out of the room.

" Gum's not fine, so is marshmallow fine?" I asked innocently.

" F-fine!" the usual stoic boy turned pink at my pleading.

" Wah~ Sanada's embarrassed~" Sei-chan teased and all the more Sanada turned red.

Running to the door, I shout towards the running figure of Bunta, " Gen-chan said gum was not fine, but green marshmallow were! So lets treat your green gum as green marshmallows!"

" Really?" the red head asked.

" Yep!" I replied.

Immediately, he ran back to the clubroom. And for the following days, when people told him to stop eating gum, he would say, " Its green tea marshmallows!"


Melody: From now on, green gum = green marshmallows!

Bunta: Brings us both good~

Alya: Hai hai hai, reviews are a nod nod okay? And happy birthday to Niou~