Once the coaches finally ceased their fussing over the dirty blonde teen's wellbeing, emerald green eyes were peering down at the lineup card to announce the next blader, "Hiromi," The brunette teen eventually rose to her feet after Audrey flashed a thumbs up, stepped past Akane and Laying, and headed over toward the bey-stadium.
Her heart frantically pounds against her chest from anticipation and nerves. 'You got this!' She confidently asserts once she gradually ascends the stairs.
The Japanese teen finally saw her opponent: a petite fair-skinned male with short dull greyish-blue hair as two bangs framed his face and thick bushy eyebrows adorned his face.
"So, I'm to face off against the traitorous rogue, who ran away from home with her tail stuck between her legs." The light blue-haired male sarcastically remarked with an unreadable expression as he reached for his launcher and blade.
Ruby red eyes were intensely glaring at the teen while countering, "If I didn't then I wouldn't have the pleasure of wiping that look right off of your face, Claude."
He discernibly huffs a "hm" before he brazenly declares, "You're ten years too early to make that statement, sweetheart."
The duo was mechanically locking their respective blades underneath their launcher, carefully slipping the ripcord inside the slot, and mentally preparing themselves for the start of the battle. They both closely listened to the crowd as they started the countdown, "3…2…1…Let it Rip!"
"And they're off..." Blader Ken's voice shouted but the two bladers only heard "rip" as they yanked their ripcords horizontal.
"Just look at those two go," Rei expresses his amazement within the first few minutes of the battle between Claude and Hiromi. They eagerly watch both teens passionately pour everything into each strike as if they were determined to drive their opponent out of the stadium.
The brunette teen was hearing the sound of laughter before realizing Claude was chuckling after easily evading one of her attacks. "Is that all that you got?" Claude inquisitively poses as one of his hands tames a bang that suddenly flies in front of his face.
A pair of Forest green eyes glance upward at the jumbo screen, watches them relentlessly attack each other but neither budges. She merely comments, "Oi, they're evenly matched,"
Archimedes disagreed even though she intentionally scoped out the other members of Barthez Battalion, who presently attended to their distressed pink-haired teammate.
"I guess riding Takao's coattail might've taught you something…" Claude was purposely pausing during his attempt to rile up the teenage girl as their blades were repeatedly crashing when adding, "…but it's just not enough,"
"Rapid Eagle," The blue-haired male immediately summons his bit beast, a twin-headed eagle, repeatedly flaps its wings and piercingly screeches at the brunette. She swiftly covers her ears to block out the noisily loud sound.
"And there it is…Claude's bread and butter…Rapid Eagle!" Blader Ken eagerly shouted into the microphone while the crowd enthusiastically erupted in cheers at the sight of the twin-head eagle soared over the bey-dish.
"Whose coattails do you think Takao's was riding on?" Hiromi confidently retorts as she copies her opponent's action and summons her bit-beast. "Fly, Chi,"
The silvery dragon was speedily shooting out from the bit chip and coiling itself until its head was directly facing the eagle, who was vociferously screeching again at the presence of its new enemy.
"Both bladers brought out their bit-beasts! This means only one can win! Who will it be?" The brunette rapidly poses while he leans over the edge of the platform. The crowd waits in anticipation at the result of the battle.
"Let's dance, shall we?" Claude suggests before two light blue wings sprout from his back. He gracefully leaps into the air and stridently commands, "Twin Saber,"
Claude and Rapid Eagle soared in the air as blue feathers swirled like a hurricane, which prompted Hiromi to launch her attack or face a stadium out.
The brunette clenches her fists while silvery dragon scales rapidly materialize on her forearms, upper arms, and cheeks. Her Ruby red eyes morph to yellow serpentine silts as large skinny silver horns visibly protrude from her head while she opens her mouth, "Roar,"
Both blades powerfully clashed against each other as sound waves met feathers, a blinding white light emitted upon contact. Everyone around them shielded their eyes from the intense brightness.
Hiromi saw a small dark shadow zipped by before she felt something hard connected with her wrist. The sudden sensation caused her to drop to her knees and shakingly gripped her arm only to feel pain. 'What was that?'
Her Ruby eyes glance over to the left and locate her blade outside of the stadium before she turns her sights back on to her foe only to see him on one knee as his blade finally spins to a stop at his foot.
"Oy, you bastard! What did you do to Romi?!" Takao irately shouted as he hopped to his feet after he saw his girlfriend painfully flinched when she cradled her arm closer to her chest.
Rei and Max quickly seize the angry bluenette, who was ready to leap over ten rows of fans just to give Claude a piece of his mind. He repeatedly demands to let him go so he can kill the bastard.
"Let's take him out of the stands quickly." Hiro sternly orders. His little brother's angry ruckus started to draw unnecessary attention to their group.
Hiromi diverts her sights from the stands and back onto Claude. He merely scoops up his blade, stands to his feet, and leaves the brunette at the bey-dish without a single word.
"Are you alright?" Meifeng was nervously asking after the brunette was sluggishly approaching the group while holding her right wrist to her chest.
"My attack ring is…" She somberly uttered as her bangs now covered her face. She then used her uninjured arm to show a broken fragment from her blade, "…broken."
"We can fix that but let's get your arm bandaged up, okay?" The older of the two calmly says as she guides the brunette over to the bench.
The brunette merely nods her as she accepts the gesture. Lin then calls for "Archimedes" to head out for the team's captains battle.
'Thank you, Hiromi for this opportunity to show off my skills…I will carry this squad to victory.' The curly raven-haired teen inwardly proclaims with an impasse expression on her face while the lower end of her trench coat shifts with each step.
"Yuan's captain, Archimedes, looks pose and ready to bring her team a victory over Barthez Battalion, or will Miguel be the final push to secure a win for his team." Blader Ken announced as the crowd screamed to the top of their lungs.
Claude casually strolled toward his teammates before he was met with mixed disposition. They were excited that he won but the simple fact that his opponent was left injured reminded them about their old reputation.
"How's Mathilda?" He easily diverted the topic as his sights fell on the pink-haired girl, who was propped against the wall of the bench.
Light blue eyes narrow onto his face when he hears his captain's report, "She's fine. She was a bit shook."
The taller of the two was nodding his head while passing by him and wishing, "Well captain, it's on your shoulders now."
At the same time…
"Well that was anticlimactic," Ian was annoyingly grumbling while rolling his eyes at the lack of excitement in the last battle. However that feeling was fleeting after spotting the raven-haired beauty from Yuan approaching the dish.
"Now this is more to my liking," He declares until he suddenly feels a graze across the back of his head.
"Boris said you're too loud." Tala was falsely reprimanding him with a blank expression on his face but inwardly proclaiming, 'She's mine.'
Miguel was now on the end of an intense glare, which was to be expected especially after what happened to her teammate.
A tense calmness manifested between the two as they silently go through the motions to engage each other in a battle of strength between their blades. Blader Ken and the crowd recited simultaneously, "3…2…1…Let it Rip!"
As their blades were spinning around the dish, the blonde was soon feeling the brute of her attacks prompting him to think, 'Sheesh…she's not letting up!'
Some of the more experienced bladers in the crowd shockingly uttered a "whoa" at the sheer power of the raven-haired teen's attacks against Miguel.
Akane and Meifeng were quietly observing the young girl strategically dismantling the blonde with sharp and precise strikes while concluding, 'Audrey wasn't the only one, who has grown stronger.'
The blades viciously clash with each other when she hears a masculine voice firmly demands, "Summon me, child."
"Ignite, Pixiu," Archimedes summons her bit-beast as a tall spiral of reddish orange flames appears from the center of her blade. It then forms a large winged lion with two small curved horns and large fangs that protrude from its mouth. Hot flames crawl across its body before it takes the shape of golden tokens under its neck and throughout its body.
She barely allowed her foe to summon his Dark Gargoyle as she commands, "Arrows of Justice".
Pixiu opens its mouth to gather a sphere of orange energy, snaps its jaws shut around the orb, which explodes into multiple arrows that hone in on its enemy.
"And it's a stadium out for Miguel and his Dark Gargoyle! Archimedes and her Pixiu are the winners!" Blader Ken officially announced as the red blade landed at the side of his boot.
Her bit-beast releases a loud howl to declare its strength before it dramatically dives back in the middle of her blade and returns to her hand.
Archimedes then departs from the stage with a line across her face once she notices a bandage lightly wraps around Hiromi's wrist.
The sight of an intern signaled that it was time for their team to return to the Players' Only room. Meifeng and Hiromi headed to the Infirmary to check on her injury.
In the Players Only room…
An irate Takao was eventually dragged inside a relatively empty room since the hallway teemed with the media.
Max was wearily plopping down after spending his energy wrestling with his teammate so he would not kill Claude. On the other hand, Rei barely broke a sweat during the debacle.
The rest of the teams, who were in the stands during the last match, trickled inside the room only to be met with passionate fury that radiated in waves from the blue-haired teen. It was not until Yuan arrived did it slightly subside, yet there were no Meifeng and more importantly Hiromi.
"She probably took her to the infirmary." Takao listens to his brother's reasons for their absence but he continues to fume until Barthez Battalion finally enters and sits in the front closer to the door.
The Japanese teen promptly excused himself to go to the restroom before he was immediately met with apprehension. "I don't need a babysitter to watch me pee."
Hiro eventually releases his grip from around his arm. He simply slips his hands inside of his pockets while he casually approaches closer to the door.
"You bastard!" The bluette abruptly screamed as he physically launched toward the grey-haired teen and roughly sucker-punched him in the jaw.
The Bladebreaker proudly watched as his teammates begin to instantly fret over him so he deliberately added, "That's for Hiromi!"
A "good" slipped from Audrey's lips because she wanted to be the one to enact revenge against the bastard, but Takao managed to land a surprisingly good hit to the face.
"Let's go!" Kai promptly suggests, which their coach was in total agreement. The Bladebreakers swiftly stand to their feet and follow behind their friend/younger brother.
The dirty blonde agreed with the World Champs walkout and was about to convince her team as well until the sight of interns graced the front of the room. A pout visibly forms on her face since she was now forced to listen to the procedures for tomorrow's event.
Lanying was silently noting the same feeling from earlier in the day before observing the same set of eyes stealthily peering in the girls' direction.
Meanwhile…
"The nurse said if you ice it for 30 minutes and elevate then you might be able to battle tomorrow." Meifeng attempts to cheer her pupil up with positivity but she notes that the young girl remains mute.
'She's a strong girl.' The silver-haired woman assertively declared since she was the glue that bonded the girls together.
"Romi," A familiar voice was calling out to the brunette, who was now looking up to see her boyfriend running towards her while his team was trailing closely behind him.
"Are you alright?!" Takao anxiously asks her. He then peers down at her wrist before he feels his anger begins to rise again.
"The nurse said it was a light sprain." Hiromi was positively asserting while gently lifting her arm upright before wincing at the sudden movement.
He then places one of his hands on her cheeks and proudly relays, "You don't have to worry. I punched Claude in the face."
A smirk along with a shake of her head at his action was all the response he needed to ease the ire in his heart.
"That little brother of mine," Hiro was annoyingly huffing out loud while physically shaking his head, "he was ready to leap ten rows just to knock that brat's teeth in."
Grey eyes closely watch as the two teenagers affectionally interact with each other until she remembers he has a date with that shady reporter lady.
"Hiro, I think you…" The petite woman was interrupted by an intern, who announced that the Bladebreakers' limo has arrived to drop them off at the host hotel.
Meifeng could only watch as they were escorted in the opposite direction since the media flooded the hallway. She kicked herself for not being more forward with the male as her team and the other bey-teams filled the corridor to head home for the night.
[Hotel]
Archimedes settles in the love chair while the other three splays across the sofa. Exhaustion from today's battle finally crashes against their weary bodies. Yet, Wenling was the first to break the silence when she huffs, "It was a long day today."
"You know Takao punched that loser in the jaw." Audrey was dutifully informing her friend about what happened when she was at the infirmary with a frown on her face before adding, "I hope he broke his jaw too."
Hiromi nodded her head when she disclosed, "He told me when he saw me. But I don't want to talk about that, you've gotten stronger Aud,"
An expression of confusion visibly materializes on her face, so she expounds, "You managed to beat Malthida, who is a pretty experienced blader. Even your aura completely shifted to one emotion during the battle."
"I just wanted to win since Ozuma wished me good luck so…" Her voice was trailing off before realizing what she was saying as pink was lightly dusting across her cheeks.
The brunette chuckles at her honest reaction when she overhears Wenling teasingly jabs, "You still haven't told her the best part yet lover girl,"
Now that caught her attention as the dirty blonde's cheeks darken and cuts her eyes away from the two brunettes on the sofa. "We have to face off against Saint Shields tomorrow."
An "oh" expression displays on her face before she glances over to her fellow brunette, who merely shakes her head and dramatically confirms, "We are to do battle against Audrey's crush, Ozuma, and his team."
The trio was lost in their conversation that they did not notice their captain had quietly snuck outside of their hotel room.
With Yuan's Coaches…
The four women entered their respective hotel rooms. Lanying was about to disclose her revelation from earlier in the day until Lin pointed out that there was an invitation on to the side table by the sofa.
She walks over, pick it up, and read, "I hope this invitation finds its way to the correct hands. I would like to extend the warmest invitation to celebrate your representation of our beautiful country in the BBA."
The Amazonian woman reads the date, time, and location of the restaurant before she places the card on the table and faces her close friends. "Looks like that brat was serious about dinner,"
Lanying was nodding her head before the the hotel's room phone was ringing, which could mean three things: one was from the hotel's front desk, two was the girls, or three it was Inoue.
"I'll get it." The goldenrod with green tips declares since she was closest to the phone. She ambles over and picks it up with a "Hello,"
Meifeng suddenly felt Akane gently nudged her with an elbow when she softly whispered, "Aren't you going to go save Hiro from that shady reporter?"
Gray eyes peer over at her friend along with an expression of dejection when she expresses, "Why should I? If I keep bailing him out, I'll only get the cold shoulder."
The white-haired woman understood where she came from and noted the somber tone used when she spoke, so she decided to cheer her up. She gently places her hand on her shoulder when she opines, "If you genuinely like someone then their wellbeing often time outweigh your pride and ego."
"It's your choice, Meifeng. You'll still have our support at the end of the day." She then hears an "okay" from the taller of the two.
[Saint Shields]
"Of all the teams, we have to face off against Yuan!" Mariam exasperates with a roll of her eyes. They casually stroll down the familiar path that lead them to their quaint village.
Joseph physically swung from a green bamboo shot, landed on his feet, jogged up near his sister, and audibly pointed out, "I know someone, who's excited."
Dunga was folding his arms in front of his broad chest, huffing a deep sigh, and enthusiastically grumbling, "We finally get a chance to crush those chicks into the ground!"
Their captain paid no mind to the topic of their conversation since he was lost in his thoughts about what occurred during the match between Audrey and Mathilda. The dirty blonde showed an impressive display of will against a more experienced foe.
'To think this is just her first year…' He thinks in awe as he silently grows excited at Audrey's rapid growth and anxious to face off against each other in a match.
[Hotel]
The raven-haired teen aimlessly roams throughout the host hotel with no destination in mind since she often feels the strong need to 'isolate' herself from her teammates. As an only child, she thoroughly enjoyed her independence and being reasonably spoiled by her father.
An image of her father surfaces to her face when she thinks about him. This causes her to break her famous stoic façade and smiles at the image.
"You have a pretty smile." A familiar voice was opining after catching a glimpse of the rare smile on her face before wuickly replacing it with her typical line across her face.
Obsidian eyes connect with violet, which belongs to none other than the captain of the Blitzkrieg Boys, Tala Ivanov.
He was met with a brief silence until she comes out with, "And you have an annoying knack of pop-ups,"
Tala was smirking at her jabbing before confidently claiming, "I only go out of my way for you."
"Plus, I wanted to offer my services to you." The redhead was adding after seeing pink spreading across her cheeks.
Archimedes was immediately rejecting the offer as he feigning hurt by dramatically clutching his chest with his eyes closed and proclaiming, "Ouch!"
She could only chuckle at his reaction, which was more than enough for him since he was the only one to hear it.
The young man deliberately closes the distance as she tilts her head back slightly to maintain eye contact with him. He then leans forward closer to her lips only to divert to her ear, "I was hoping to give you some pointers to improve your stamina."
Tala removed himself from near her ear only to be rewarded with the sight of an even deeper blush on her face. 'Too cute…'
"Oh, and before I forget…" The Blitzkrieg Boys captain abruptly mentions, which earns her sights on him.
"If you're going to kiss someone…" He was briefly pausing while closing the distance between their faces again before finishing with, "…then do it on their lips."
At the same time…
To say Hiro was not nervous for his date sure could have fooled his dependents as they watched him anxiously fret about his outfit, the time, and his hair before he left for his date.
The bluenette now released a heavy sigh as he stood outside of the restaurant at the designated time. If anything, he was more nervous at the fact that she might have stood him up on their date. 'It wouldn't be the first time,'
He was thoroughly surprised to see the reporter show up on time and explained that she already made a reservation under her name.
Hiro inwardly admired the sight of the woman in a black body-con dress that hugged her in all the right areas. The young man had to repeatedly wipe a droplet of blood that dripped from his nostrils as he partakes in the sight in front of him.
He found her to have a rather charming yet charismatic personality and knew how to carry a conversation on any topic. Plus, she was easy on the eyes.
Her initial questions centered around his childhood, which he did not want to reveal too much about his lack of friends and his "loser" status he earned in high school because he was bullied. So, he jazzed it up just a bit.
"I stayed with my grandfather for a while when I was little. He taught me about Kendo because he wanted to pass his dojo down to his grandchild one day. I always found school to be a bit of a drag, but I secretly excelled in my studies. I even had to have a tutor because I was too lazy to show how much of a genius I am."
An image of a silver-haired teen roughly whacking him in the crown of his head with a Supplementary Lessons book forcing him to wake from his mid-afternoon nap before feeling her tugging on his ear to get up.
He merely pushed the memory to the back of his brain when he included, "I didn't get into Beyblade until I was a teenager plus that's when Takao was born so I had to learn how to become a big brother."
"Aw, it's that sweet love only a sibling can have," She affectionately gushes yet her pen barely moves across the notepad until she poses the question, "And what about your love life?"
'It's completely nonexistent.' His brain honestly answers the question instead his mouth says, "I haven't found the right woman, so I've been dating around."
Her eyes seem to light up at the revelation so she intensively grills him about his romantic life from his perfect woman to an ideal first date to red flags/deal-breakers and even his views on marriage.
To say Hiro was not mentally exhausted from the half-truths he told would be another white lie on top of a molehill of white lies. His brain desperately attempted to recall the previous lies he told on top of the new ones he spun during the exaggerated tale.
"Excuse me for a sec, I need to powder my nose." She promptly excuses herself as she reaches for her clutch and sashays over to the restroom while her date stealthily peeks but maintains his gentleman aura.
'So far so good, she hasn't written anything down which means I have her full undivided attention.' 'Not to mention, she gave me the look…' 'Hiro all you have to do is ask about her then ease her into a second date,'
The reporter freshens up her makeup in the mirror, checks the restroom stalls before she removes a cellphone from her clutch, and dials a number. "Are you ready? We'll be out in ten minutes."
"I'm in position." The masculine voice on the other end confirmed before they hung up and checked the premise again to get a clear shot. He then peered from behind a thick tree trunk outside of the restaurant.
A visible smirk stretches across her face along with the thought of 'Calm down, this will be one of the biggest breaks in your career,' She then drops her phone inside of her purse, tosses her hair, and heads back to her "date".
"Sorry about that…the ladies' room was full." She easily fibs before she sips on the glass water when she hears him say, "It's pretty busy in here so I'm glad you made it."
Her eyes glance at the face of her watch before she implements her plan, "I hate to call this wonderful date short because I love this special quality time, we spent with each other but I do have to get up early."
A 'pang' throbs against his chest as he tunes her words out and only focuses on the red lipstick that paints her lips when he utters an, "Okay,"
At the same time…
The photographer was diverting his sights from the face of his watch after checking the time, quickly kneeling above the hedge line, lining the shot, and carefully twisting the Zoom dial on his camera.
He closely watches as the door swings up to reveals his coworker, who plasters a wide grin on her face as she patiently waits for the blue-haired male to depart from within the restaurant.
Once the Bladebreaker's coach emerged from behind the door, he wore a smile on his face. He rapidly took candid shots as a precaution until the money-making moment arose between the two.
She purposely angled her body slightly in front so that it would look like he kissed her as he considered, 'Got it,'
"We should do this again." Hiro casually tosses out to gauge her reaction on whether he should ask her out on a more personal date. He watches as a smile stretches across her beautiful face. "I would like that."
As they bid each other a "good night", Hiro was on cloud nine until his hand brushes against his pants pocket only to tap his pockets again before he realizes that he left his wallet in the restaurant.
He speedily retraces his steps until he reaches the entrance of the building, catches his breath, and asks the maître de if it was okay to retrieve his belonging. The bluenette carefully maneuvers around the current patrons until he sees his waiter wave him down and hands him over the wallet.
Hiro graciously thanked him as he exhaled a sigh of relief while he pocketed his leather wallet in his pants and showed his appreciation to the maître de as well.
'Tonight, was perfect…' He excitedly concludes until he surprisingly spots his date a few feet away from the side of the restaurant with a cellphone against her ear. So he assumes, 'Is this another shot to extend our date?'
The blue-haired male gathers his confidence and swaggers closer to the woman until he overhears her conversation, "Did you get the shot? If not all my hard work would've been for not."
'A shot? As in a picture or…,' Hiro inwardly thinks as he slows his stride toward his date before he slips behind a brick wall, which provides him just enough darkness to shield his presence from her.
"I already wasted a Friday night with some sappy dope so this good news would make my night. I had him wrapped around my little finger. He thinks I want to date a man, who coaches a Beyblade team. He needs to grow up."
The 'pang' from earlier of a potential love now felt as his heart was being crushed ruthlessly in the palm of the woman's hand as if she simply dismissed their outing for a cash grab and downed his career.
Hiro patiently waited until the woman was picked up by who he assumed was her coworker before he emerged from the shadowy place.
'At least she'll get home safe,' He was genuinely ruminating while heavily weighing the consequences of falling for the woman's follies before recalling a stern warning from the Meet N' Greet a few days go.
"Uhm, Hiro," The shorter of the two speaks up before she discloses, "That woman, the reporter, she's up to no good."
A "hm" emitted from his lips as he narrowed his sight on the woman before he alleges, "It's not my fault she asked me to dinner."
"Enjoy the break while you can," The older Kinoyama advises after he pushes past her and lifts his hand at her.
'Of course, she would be the one to save my ass yet again,' The blue-haired male was privately contemplating about how Meifeng was always looking out for his best interest even if she was going to have to go out of her way.
He gradually merges with the foot traffic of the night goers in the direction of the host hotel. His hand scratches the nape of his neck while he surmises a few things, 'I need to come up with a good apology to her.'
A woman with silver-haired was laying her chopsticks across her plate, cordially thanking the cook for the Tang Yuan (A/n: Glutinous Rice Balls), and the individual who was paying for her meal.
Meifeng easily exits the restaurant since she was right at the door and takes the time to observe the nightlife China has to offer. Yet, her thoughts frequently traveled back to the blue-haired male, who was probably still on his date with that shady gossip reporter.
She scoffed at his stupidity and how he blatantly rejected any other perspective, but his stubbornness was what made Hiro, well Hiro.
Her gray eyes instantly catch sight of a bob of dull blue-hair that belongs to only two people and since it was late in the night, she automatically strikes out the younger of the two.
As she gradually approached the male, she eventually sensed a drastic change in his rather aloof and nonchalant aura, which caused a frown to appear on her face. She broke her silence, "Hiro, are you okay?"
The young man halts in the middle of his stride, lifts his head so that his bangs no longer obscure his sights as his mind automatically registers the familiar voice to the one that presently plagues his thoughts.
A dry lump was forming in his throat as she was observing his movements before simply asserting, "You were right. The reporter was using me as her latest gossip scoop."
Her facial expression contorts to show a frown, which seems completely out of place, when she offers up a, "Sorry,"
Shock coursed through his body since he was sure that she would have rubbed it in his face and how he should have listened to her instead of brushing her off for some other woman like he normally does. Instead, she sympathized with his plight.
"Don't be…you helped me out again." Hiro was genuinely remarking while a smirk was ghosting across his face at her reaction to the word "again".
"Are you on your way in?" He was inquisitively posing to the woman since it was early in the night and could possibly have other plans before heading back in for the night.
Meifang shakes her head 'no' since she starts to feel a bit sleepy from the meal she just eats when she hears his suggestion, "Let's walk together."
A blush lightly dusted her cheeks at the offer as the two eventually restarted their walk in a comfortable silence until they finally arrived at the hotel, entered through the lobby, and boarded an empty elevator.
Once it reaches her floor, she slightly turns toward him so she could wish him a good night only to feel a pair of arms gently circle her lower back and draws her into his warmth.
Her cheeks felt like they were on fire since he initiated the contact, which felt super affectionate even for Hiro. The last thing she heard was "See you tomorrow" as she watched the elevator doors closed and mumbled, "No fair,"