"I don't trust her…"

Gordon looked up from his notes and towards his younger brother, who was pouting. It wasn't unusual to see his brother act so childishly. Smart as he was, he could be somewhat immature at times. But it usually took Gordon asking to get just what he was being pouty about.

He closed his notebook and then sat up. "And by her, I assume you mean Akielah?" he asked. He couldn't really think of anybody else his brother would be referring to.

Helmut crossed his arms. "Of course I mean Akielah. I still don't know what you think you're doing by letting her hang around. It isn't as if we need her. She's just here to leech off of our family connections," he said bitterly.

Gordon nodded. "I completely agree. I don't think she is a necessity to our victory, and she is indeed here to make use of our family connection. She told me as much when we first met," he said simply.

"Then why should we keep her around?" Helmut asked.

"Because she's useful," Gordon said simply. "Just because we can win without her, doesn't mean we shouldn't make use of how valuable she is. Not using every advantage at your disposal is not a mistake I want to make." He saw the confused look on Helmut's face and continued. "Let me put it this way. Even if you knew you could win a fight with one hand, it doesn't mean you'd go into it trying one behind your back. It's no use to hinder yourself."

Helmut understood what his brother was saying, but… he still didn't like it. Or Akielah for that matter. She came off as way too devious and clever. He was supposed to be the devious and clever one around here. "I still don't like her…"

"I'm not particularly fond of her either. But just tolerate her for now," Gordon said. "If she would ever do anything against our better interest, don't you think I'd pick up on it? Of course you probably would far before I did. And if there's any legitimate reason we should cut her loose, I'd trust you to inform me."

Helmut looked down, still pouting, but feeling a bit better about his brother's words. He had been feeling uneasy about how much time his brother had been spending talking with that girl. But having him confirm that he'd trust her to have her get lost the moment he spotted she was up to something reassured him.

He had always served as his brother's right hand, and if that stupid fox girl thought she could break up their brotherly bond she had another thing coming.

"Hey there boys!"

Both Gordon and Helmut looked up as Akeilah walked towards them. Helmut scowled as soon as she saw her, and Gordon's expression remained even. "Got that info on Fifth Street you wanted. Doesn't seem like there's any real problems to deal with, but I was thorough with my research all the same," she said.

Gordon hummed as he took the notes from her. He had figured there wouldn't be any real threat from Fifth, which is why he didn't accompany her this time. But it was good to be at least a little cautious all the same. "Good. I'll be sure to go through them later."

Helmut huffed. "If there's no real problems then why did it take you so long? I mean it shouldn't have taken so much work to scout a bunch of losers, right?" he asked.

Akielah turned towards him curiously, then smirked. "Well, like I said, I like to be thorough," she said, adjusting her glasses. "But if you'd like to take some time away from practice to scout some of the weaker teams, feel free. I'd enjoy the time off. And it isn't like you need that much practice anyway."

Helmut's eyes went wide for a moment, and then he glared at her. "And just what do you mean by that?" he asked. His usually innocent looking expression was nowhere to be found, and he looked far more like his brother when he was angry. "If you're trying to imply something then don't be coy. Say it."

Akielah laughed and waved her hand. "Oh, I'm not trying to imply anything. I just figured with how good of a libero you are you could afford to skip a practice or three," she said. "I mean I was a libero too, and game recognizes game, right?"

Helmut kept glaring at her for a few more moments, but then huffed and looked away. He really couldn't stand that girl. Akielah kept looking down at him and then towards Gordon, who was taking a brief skim through the notes. She couldn't tell if Gordon really didn't notice, or was just pretending not to. But she recognized what was happening.

Helmut was jealous.

Her own little brother was the same way when she and Olivier used to date. Hang out time with his 'big brother' was getting soaked up by her, and he would always get all pouty and sulk about it. Of course her brother had been much younger, but considering how childish and close to his brother Helmut was, it wasn't all that surprising.

A devious smirk made its way across her face. She could have a little fun with this.

Gordon got up and began walking off. "Well, I'll be on my way then. Helmut, if you or anyone else are going to stay behind, please lock up the gym. I paid off the staff for the keys but they do need to be returned in a timely manner," he said, tossing him the keys. Helmut caught them and nodded, but before Gordon could get too far Akielah made her move.

She wrapped her arms around Gordon's waist, leaning her chin onto his back. "Hey Gordon, before you go, why don't you walk with me so we can go over the notes together for a bit? I mean we want to make sure we have everything covered, right? And two eyes are better than one."

Helmut stared at the close contact between his brother and Akeilah, a look of disbelief on his face. Gordon was not a fan of close contact or hugging, like at all. The fact that he would always give him a pat on the head or shoulder was a huge sign of just how close they were. So Akielah squeezing up to him like this was just… nuts!

"What are you doing?" Gordon asked, looking more annoyed than anything.

"Nothing. Just throwing a suggestion out there. I mean you're always talking about how we need to do every little thing to win, right?" she asked, looking over her shoulder towards Helmut. "And I think some one on one time between us would help us sort out a perfect counter strategy."

Helmut glared at her once more, and Akielah bit back a laugh. Gordon sighed and shook his head. "For god's sake…" he muttered. He looked over his shoulder towards his younger brother. "Helmut. You do know that falling for stupud little taunt like this is exactly what she wants, don't you?"

Helmut grunted and crossed his arms. "I know…"

"And please let go of me. There's something called personal space, and I'd thank you to respect it," Gordon said, sounding very annoyed.

Akielah dropped her hands and stepped back. "Fine, fine. I guessed I teased the baby Vanily enough for now. We really should go over the notes though. Not for Fifth Street, but for McClintock. They're actually going to be a threat to us," she said.

"Alright," Gordon said before turning back towards his brother. "Helmut, cool your head and calm down. We're Graham De Vanily men. We don't get rattled by such juvenile taunts. And we certainly don't let our positions get intimidated by those outside of the family."

Helmut hummed, and but once again felt a bit better at his brother's subtle reassurance. He nodded. "Right. I'll lock up before I leave." He was his brother's right hand. This dumb girl wasn't going to change that.

Gordon nodded back to him and then began walking out, and Akielah followed after him. The exchange between the two brothers was not at all lost on her, and once they got out of the gym she walked up beside him. "Aw, that's so sweet. You're actually a pretty coddling big brother, aren't you?' she asked.

"Hmph. I simply told him the truth. Useful as you are, Helmut will always be the one I rely on. He's a member of my family, and my little brother. Who else could I truly trust to get things done in my stead," Gordon explained.

Akielah clicked her tongue. "You're so dramatic. You sound like a shonen character."

Gordon narrowed his eyes at her. "You have a very unique talent for grating people's nerves," he said.

"So I've been told. But you must think it's worth dealing with since you're keeping me around, right?" she asked slyly. "Unless there's some other reason for it. It would be so cliche if you ended up falling in love with me or something. But right in line for a cold hearted shonen character."

Gordon suddenly stopped, and then turned towards her. "I'm giving you a fair warning. I put up with your devious little nonsense solely because of how good you are at collecting information and breaking down the other team's strategies. If there's ever a point where I feel like it's causing a serious divide or friction in the team however, I don't think twice about getting rid of you. Understood?" he asked, sending her the sternest glare he possibly could.

Akielah didn't even flinch. "Oh wow, so scary," she said, smirking back at him. She waved her hand. "But you can relax. We made a deal. We win the national championships, I get an interview. I wouldn't screw that up just to get a few laughs out of you and your brother. So we're on the same page."

Gordon looked down at her, annoyed. There weren't many people he couldn't intimidate, and her being added on that list bugged him. "Good."

"But while we're on the subject of being offended and touchy, you could at least humor a girl's pride and pretend to be a little flustered when she flirts with you," Akielah said, pouting at him. "I get you didn't want to tick off your brother, but c'mon. Give me something here."

Gordon scoffed. "Would you prefer the fake smile and flirtatious words I shower with those airheaded girl's outside of the team?" he asked.

"It'd be better than nothing," Akielah said, shrugging her shoulders. "Oh maybe I should just step up my game a little and get a real reaction out of you. I mean, if I caught something like that on camera it'd be worth millions online. And even if I didn't, it'd just be pretty nice to see."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "It'd take a hundred years for you to even have a chance to fluster me. But if you insist on embarrassing yourself, then so be it."

Akielah smiled as she kept walking alongside him. He really was a stubbornly stoic one. But getting him to freak out was a challenge she just might be up for taking. She honestly didn't know if she could, but just the chance to see it was enough to tempt her into trying.

She was the daughter of the fox and a turtle. She was obviously very clever, but she could be pretty patient when she needed to too.

A/N: Some Akielah, Gordon, and Helmut content lol. Helmut is really attached to his brother. He wasn't like this new girl taking up time with his big brother. And Akielah... well, she just isn't gonna let the chance to tease the little dude about it some. And Gordon just isn't trying to deal with this mess (for now).