Jeez, I'm pretty late this time! Sorry about that, I had a 12-hour-shift at work, I was busy the whole day. My feet hurt, haha.

Big thanks to...

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Forgive me, this chapter is short and I'm tired - it's 3 am here in Germany right now. I returned from work not long ago and I want to sleep, haha. But I couldn't not update! Sorry for spelling mistakes and stuff!

Thank you for all the lovely follows, favorites and reviews!

THIRTY SIX

The sound of swords clashing against another filled Mia's room as she and Nanami lay sprawled across her bed. The black haired girl stared at the television in front of them, the controller in her hands moving with every button she pressed - as if the light movement would help her win against the enemy they were facing.

Mia squirmed around, her tank top felt suddenly way too heavy. The heat had been getting worse; the last few days were filled with sunshine and temperatures which were enough to boil an egg if you'd forget it outside. She was probably exaggerating but the warmth came so quickly that her body had no time to adjust to it.

"My parents said we're going to visit my grandparents next week." Nanami started to say, her eyes still glued to the screen. "We should definitely meet afterwards then."

The orange haired girl nodded, watching the figure on the television move and turn with eagerness. They had finally beaten the damn level from last time and were now on their way to the boss of the first half of the game. Nanami had always been better at those. And because today was the first official day of their summer break, they decided it was time to finally beat the video game they had bought an eternity ago.

"Yeah." The girl agreed afterwards, uncertain if her friend had even seen her nod.

"What should we do then?" Nanami asked absent-minded. "The beach? Cinema? I'm not a fan of karaoke, though."

Mia mused over the options they had, she didn't really like Karaoke as well. Mainly because she wasn't a good singer and she tended to start to glow like a fireball whenever she was nervous or embarrassed - which happened often. Karaoke was like a suicide mission in her case. The orange-head rolled onto her stomach, watching her friend continue to play before she started to speak again.

"...we could play some basketball."

Nanami paused the video game, her calm face turning towards her. "You've become pretty interested in basketball lately, huh?"

The girl beside her could feel the familiar heat crawling beneath her skin, reaching for her ears and cheeks as she tried to avoid the heavy gaze of her friend. "It's just fun. Really."

Nanami quirked a brow, her doubt obvious even though her face always remained strangely calm - it was a sight Mia had gotten used to long ago. However, the moment her friend looked back at the screen in front of them, even she could see the light curve of her lips. It was a light, teasing smile.

"Uh-huh."

The orange haired girl scowled at her, knowing what thoughts filled her head.

"Shut up."

"Anyway." Nanami murmured, swiftly changing the topic before they could start a heavy discussion. It was too hot for such things. "I can't wait for the barbeque. It smells great."

At ease that they attention returned to their game, the noises of battles and music filling their ears once again, Mia nodded. The scent found a way into her room through the open window, the sound of fire crackling quietly while meat came in contact with burning metal found a way into their hearing senses. Probably because hunger already tickled their guts.

"Yeah...dad always grills on the first day of summer break."

"You're father is huge." Nanami deadpanned, her eyes narrowing at an enemy who dared to attack her in the game.

Mia on the other hand started laughing. "Yeah, he is."

A comfortable silence engulfed them as they continued playing their video game. They took turns whenever one of them died or just didn't want to face a certain part or riddle. It was a routine the two girls had created after they had become friends. Because they didn't share many hobbies, they had struggled to find something they both liked. Surprisingly they had a mutual interest for games which soon led to many other small things they loved to share with another.

Now it was hard to imagine spending their free time without the other. Mia cursed the animated monster on the screen which had killed her, handing the controller over to her friend as her mobile phone started ringing.

Quickly the teen got up, approaching her desk to fetch the small dark device. It didn't take her long to realize who the caller was, the display clearly stated that it was 'Momoi Satsuki'. Slightly confused, Mia mouthed a 'sorry' to the black haired girl, flicking her phone open to accept the call.

"Momoi-san?"

"Excuse me for disturbing your afternoon, Nidori-san."

Well that certainly didn't sound like Momoi. Not even like a girl. It was the voice of a guy. Puzzled she glanced at her phone, making sure that she had indeed received the call from Momoi's phone and not someone else's. But there was no mistake...maybe the pink haired girl turned into a man? And now she called her out of panic because she didn't know what to do? It sounded a lot like a manga she had read not long ago; the plot had been filled with weird and crazy events.

"Uh..." Was the first thing Mia was able to utter after her thoughts took a strange turn.

"My name is Imayoshi Shoichi, I apologize for the sudden call - I'm the captain of the basketball team."

Oh, okay. Her mind whispered slowly, even though that introduction only created more questions than it answered. She had no idea who the captain of their school's basketball team had been up until now and she couldn't really see why she should know it now. Her gaze slowly found Nanami's as her friend had stopped playing, both of them waiting patiently for an explanation of some sort.

"Nice to meet you?" Mia tried carefully until suddenly she could hear the familiar pitch of Momoi's voice in the background. Whether it was a good or bad sign was still unclear.

"Same here. I heard from Momoi that you started to like basketball, we're practicing tomorrow - maybe you'd like to come as well?"

The orange-head didn't know what it was, but the deep voice on the other line sounded strange. It was hard to point out what it was, but the call itself wasn't really normal either. Maybe she only thought like that because she had rarely talked with a boy around her age on the phone before? Aomine had sounded so weird as well. The slight static, the change in tune. The closeness to her ear.

"It would be great to see you, Nidori-san!" This time it was definitely Momoi's voice which called out, there was slight rustling on the other line as well. Probably caused by the bubbly girl herself.

Confused Mia still stared at Nanami, shrugging with her shoulders to signal her friend that she wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Secretly she mouthed what was happening; the lilac colored gaze of the black haired girl was staring at her lips to make out what she was saying. It took her a few seconds before she whispered in return.

"Don't know - we could go together?"

Satisfied, the orange haired girl aimed her attention back to her phone. "Can my friend come along as well?"

"Of course. How about around noon then? We're allowed to use the school's gym."

"Uh, okay."

"See you, Nidori-san!"

Momoi's voice was the last thing Mia heard as Imayoshi ended their call. Slightly baffled she still stood there, right in front of her desk. The small device in her hand felt suddenly heavy as the girl bit her bottom lip in thought. How come all this was happening right now? It wasn't like she minded playing basketball and seeing Momoi wasn't bad either. But why would the basketball club offer her that?

Well, maybe Momoi asked them...that sounded a lot like her.

"...why does it feel like my life only gets weirder and weirder?"

"Dimension paradox." Nanami explained seriously.

"Nanami..." The orange-head drawled, her forehead set in wrinkles.

"Just saying." Her friend replied nonchalant.

"Well...maybe you're right."

"Of course I am."

Mia couldn't help but smile at the other girl.