Both Fujino and Hino jumped, and shared a look. Their eyebrows furrowed together as they looked over their hosts shoulder.

Rai looked over her shoulder with an apologetic look.

"This. I'm sorry for this," she sighed, setting her school bag down. Then she kicked off her runners and slipped on her slippers.

"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!"

Rai dropped her shoulders, and took in a deep breath. She motioned to the rack for her guests, and they hung up their bags before putting the guest slippers on.

A door slammed shut followed by a large gasp.

"DO NOT SLAM THE DOOR! COME BACK OUT HERE! THIS IS-"

"Mum." Rai lead the way into the Ozaki's new house. Sara's back was to the group as she shouted at Rai and Asa's bedroom door.

"UNACCEPTABLE! YOU KNOW-"

With an annoyed sigh Rai brought her fingers to her mouth. They slipped under her tongue and she blew.

A loud whistle rang throughout the house, both Hino and Fujino covered their ears.

Sara stood straight and turned around, her face flushed red at the sight of guests.

"Rai! You didn't tell me you were bringing home guests." She smiled at the two teenagers behind her daughter.

"Because I didn't know," Rai sighed with a shrug.

Sara shook her head at her daughter, before growing a large smile as she looked away from her.

"Well, why don't you girls-" She stopped, and and pursed her lips. The woman looked Hino up and down, trying to be discreet. But ultimately failed.

The brunet stiffened, and squared their shoulders. Hino lifted their chin, and raised an eyebrow.

Fujino opened her mouth but was hit by her friend.

It was Rai's turn to grow a deep red.

"Kids. Why don't you kids go on into the living room. I'll grab some snacks." Sara decided, putting on another smile.

Rai looked behind her, checking Hino's face. They had grown a small smirk and nodded to their host.

The brunette let their shoulders drop and grew a soft smile.

"Come on." She waved, giving her shared bedroom door a wary look. Then she showed the way to the living.

As they passed, the guests gave the bedroom door a look over.

The teenagers entered the room, Fujino was the last and she stopped in tracks. Her eyes grew wide.

"Are you-"

"YOU HAVE A WII?!" She shrieked, staring at the old white box underneath the TV.

Rai jumped, and looked at the worn, loved but worn, box. She nodded slowly giving the dark haired girl a weird look.

"Y-yes?" She answered, looking to Hino. "Is she...okay?" Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"CAN WE PLAY WII SPORTS?!" Fujino begged running towards the gaming console. She dropped in a squat and stared at the box.

"She's fine," Hino assured, wincing a bit at the high pitch squeal.

As Rai gave them a weak smile, the dark haired girl looked over her shoulder at the host.

"Do you have Just Dance?" Her eyes widened in curiosity, then she gasped and let out another squeal. "DO YOU HAVE MARIO KART?"

Rai leaned back and stared at Fujino. After a moment she laughed.

"Yes to all three."

She let out a loud cheer and smiled with a toothy grin.

"Can we play?"

Hino stared at their childhood friend in a dumbfounded stare. But she completely ignored it, and stared bright eyed at Rai.

"Please?" Her pupils widened and her lip stuck out.

The brunette looked at Rai, shaking their head subtly. Their eyes widened, and their hair swung around their face as they shook it faster.

"Why not?"

Hino sat crisscross on the arm of the couch, smirking down at Rai.

She was sprawled across the couch, her chest raising and falling. A thin layer of sweat decorated her skin as she watched Fujino with an open mouth.

Her skirt flew as her legs kicked up from a crouching position, matching the icon on the screen.

Fujino's body didn't waver as it held a perfect form to the notes of Rasputin.

Her icon buzzed green with perfects as Rai's angrily vibrated with red X's. But she didn't mind, she barely even noticed, Fujino's precise movements had her entire attention.

With a sweep of her leg, the song finished.

"How does she do that?" Rai asked with wide eyes. Hino just looked at their best friend with a prideful smirk.

Fujino jumped up standing straight, a large grin in her face.

"Wanna do another one?!"

Rai's face paled and a weak smile spread across her face.

"Uh, you've already done every song on the disc. Aren't you tired?" Not a single head of sweat dripped down her guests skin.

"Nope! Do you have another Just Dance?" Fujino sat on the coffee table with her hands between her legs.

The host quickly glanced at the book of discs, of course they had a few, but Rai wasn't excited to tell her that.

"Why don't we play Mario Kart now," Hino offered. "We can all play that way."

A small frown replaced Fujino's grin, and she slumped in her spot. She threw her head back and whined.

"It's not fun if we don't have four people. That fourth square is also annoying when there's three players!"

Hino raised their eyebrows and crossed their arms. They stared right at the pouting teen.

"Mari, you can't-"

"Hold on." Rai set her remote down and left the room.

The bedroom door was still shut but that didn't stop her, it was her room too. With a soft knock she entered the room.

The best Mario Kart player in the Ozaki household had her legs up on the wall, with her back on Rai's bed. Her phone hovered over her face in her hands.

The sixteen year old raised and eyebrow, and cleared her throat.

"The Wi-Fi is better over here," Asa responded, not bothering to look away from her phone.

"Wanna play Mario Kart?" Rai crossed her arms, leaning against the doorframe.

Her younger sister stopped tapping the screen, puckering her lips as she thought. Then she shrugged her shoulders.

"So you want to play?" Asa shrugged her shoulders. "Is that a yes?" Another shrug. "Or a no?" Wordlessly, she shrugged again. "Come on As-"

"PLEASE PLAY WITH US!" Fujino cried as she entered, bowing with her nose hovering above the ground.

The young teen dropped her phone in surprise, letting out a yelp.

Asa rubbed her nose as she sat up and looked over the guests. Her eyes narrowed as she got off the bed.

"Please?! Mario Kart is only fun with four people!" The dark haired girl begged with wide eyes.

"Why four? It's for any amount of people between one and four," Asa challenged.

"Because it...it just is?!" Fujino offered, dropping her shoulders and looking at her feet.

The fifteen year old uncrossed her arms and shrugged, passing all three students.

"Good enough for me."

In the end, Fujino had grown frustrated with the controls and ended up driving backwards most of the time.

It wasn't until they drive on the the Rainbow Road track did she quit after driving off the track numerous times before the first checkpoint.

The dark haired girl sat with her knees pulled up against her chest, watching the screen with a pout.

Rai had set her controller aside, terrified to get in between the intense rivalry.

Both Hino's and Asa's eyes were calmly glued to the TV. Their focus was sold to the game, neither of them blinking as the raced neck in neck.

Bowser. Yoshi. Bowser. Yoshi. Bowser. Yoshi.

Not a single word was spoken as they drifted around corners and jumped ramps.

All the teenagers barley breathed as they watched the screen. The race was so close with the duo passing each other instantly back-and-forth.

Finally the finish line loaded on the screen, and neither teen had gained enough of a lead to know who the winner would be.

Rai was unsure how the racer's felt, but her heartbeat rang throughout her ears,

A part of her wanted Asa to be finally dethroned, but another wanted her long standing winning record protected.

The characters raced neck and neck, nearing the finish line.

With only a few seconds, Rai held her breath, watching as Hino's character stayed in the lead. Within the last moment, Bowser passed the finish line, claiming first place.

Rai finally let out the breath she held captive in her lungs.

Asa set down the controller, and stared at the screen. Hino set their hands in their lap, and looked over.

"Apparently I need to get back on the track. Don't think this will be the last race, but know this is the last you'll win," Hino spoke, holding a hand out.

A large smirk spread across Asa's face, and she reached out to shake their hand.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you try."

Neither one of them let go, both their hands shaking up and down as they held into the others hand in a tight but respectable grip.

They also both refused to look away or blink.

Rai's eyes flickered back and forth between the two, her eyebrows raising in a touch of nervousness.

As she began to clear her throat, Sara entered the room.

"My husband is going to pick up take out on his way home, you're both welcome to stay for dinner if you want," she offered with a kind smile. A fake one though, making Asa roll her eyes and pick up the Wii controller and exit out of the game.

Fujino's eyes widened, sparkling like the stars as her mouth stretched into a grin.

"Please! We'd really like to! Thank you Ozaki-san!"

Hino nodded and gave a small halfhearted smile before watching the screen as Asa switched the satellite channel to the PS4.

Sara's fake smile grew and she tilted her head before leaving the room.

As her back turned, the youngest stuck her tongue out and faked a gag. Then she selected Mortal Kombat and passed Hino a controller.

While those to battled back and forth, continuously running the clock out, Rai pulled out a deck of cards.

She started to shuffle them and faced her other guest.

"Do you know how to play rummy?" The sound of the cards folding followed her words, and she looked up at Fujino.

The dark haired girl set her legs down and contorted her lips.

"Let's play...poker!"

At the sound of the card game Hino looked over their shoulder. They raised an eye brow and grabbed their childhoods friend eye contact.

With a shrug Rai shuffled the cards again and started to deal the cards.

Hino shook their head and narrowed their eyes.

Fujino took the cards and slowly looked away from her opponent. Her bright eyes looked through her eyelashes and gave a subtle grin.

"Haha! Finally!" Asa cheered when her character knocked out Hino's.

They cursed and turned their attention back to the TV, readying their controller.

The first round went to Rai. Not much of a hand, but it beat Fujino's.

"This isn't fun, we gotta bet something!" She took the cards, and started to shuffled them.

"Why do you want to bet?" Rai asked, a little surprised that Fujino was well versed with the game of poker. "We could bet snacks-"

"How about five hundred yen?" The girl swayed as she shrugged.

Rai raised her eyebrows and leaned back a bit. She picked up her jaw and nodded, a small sum of money lost or gained wouldn't make much of a difference to her right now.

After collecting a few bills from her room, she returned and set five hundred yen into a pile with Fujino's cut.

Victory came for Rai three times, each time collecting her pay.

"One more game," Fujino insisted, stopping her opponent from putting away the cards.

"I-I don't really think that's a good idea. I don't want you to lose your money on a silly game-"

"One more game this time two thousand yen!" She declared with a fire of determination in her eyes.

Rai frowned, and stared at the cards in her hand.

Fujino lost three times, each time the bet was five hundred yen, meaning she lost fifteen thousand yen in total. If she won this round she would win back her loses and an extra five hundred yen.

Finding the fact a bit odd, she pursed her lips. Rai gave a small smile to her hands and shuffled the cards.

She placed her wager in a pile with her opponents and dealt the cards.

Her eyes looked over Fujino's face. Not a single drop of emotion danced through her face. Unlike before where she had frowned, smirked or sighed.

In the end, with a complete bluff of nothing, Fujino won.

Rai couldn't help but laugh as Fujino took her winnings back.

"For someone who's dog is better at math than she is, I can't believe Mari is such a good poker player." Hino shook their head with a sigh.

Fujino looked up from her wallet and stuck out her tongue.

There was knock on the door, making the teenagers look over down the hall. The sound of someone struggling with the door knob followed.

Then it opened.

"I'm home!" Mosu huffed, announcing his arrival.

Asa looked away from the screen and grinned. "Food!"

At the same time, Hino took the opening and landed multiple combo attacks. The score was now even 1-1.

"Player 2 wins," the game announced making the youngest Ozaki turn around. She dropped her jaw and quickly shut it, sending Hino a small glare.

Rai set the cards on the coffee table and led the way to the kitchen. She gestured to the table, and the guests followed Asa and sat down.

"How are my girls!" Mosu exclaimed at the sight of his daughters.

He caught the his second child in a shoulder hug and placed a kiss on the top of her head as she tried getting into the cupboard.

"Good, how was work?" Rai asked as she pulled cups down.

"Great! The staff there is super nice! Really-" he stopped when he saw the guests. "Hello." He waved awkwardly. "Who might you two be?"

"I'm Fujino Himari, nice to meet you sir!" Nodding when Rai lifted the jug of ice tea.

"Hino Tomi," they answered when Mosu looked to them.

His eyes grew wide when he heard the voice. He blinked a few times, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand.

Rai stopped pouring the drinks and looked up nervously.

She watched as her dad looked up, thinking like he was trying to remember. His mouth moved, as he shut his eyes. He opened them and nodded.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Ozaki Mosu, I go by he/him." He watched Hino, a bead of sweat collected on his skin.

Hino only stared at him their eyes wide. Their lips tugged up in a small smile.

"They/them," they replied, taking the glass of ice tea from their host. Mosu dropped his shoulders in relief.

"I use she/her!" Fujino, Asa and Rai added altogether.

"And I obviously use she/her." Sara gave another smile as she placed the take out on plates.

Rai cringed and shut her eyes in embarrassment.

Silence settled over the group, Sara continued to set plates down, and created some sound. She didn't bat an eye at the silence, taking a seat beside Rai.

She began to reach forward for a plate of food. The sleeve of her blazer skimming the top of some of the food.

"Sorry," she muttered as she retracted her arm.

Then she carefully pulled her arm out of the sleeve. Then bundled up the piece of clothing so the sauce wouldn't spread to the floor when she tossed it to the corner.

Rai turned back in her seat and kept her hands to herself, letting someone else dig in. No one did.

After a minute Mosu cleared his throat as he set a servette on his lap.

"Don't all dig in at once!" His wife laughed, offering a plate to Fujino. The guest took the plate and was the first to dig in.

As the plates of food were passed around, Rai noticed that the bottle of hot sauce was absent.

She excused herself and stood up, putting her back to the table as she walked to the fridge.

"RAI!"

"Woah, what happened?"

"My gods!"

Rai jumped and slowly turned around, her eyes wide. They swept over the table, Asa had a large grin snickering at their mum, who's jaw nearly hit the floor. Mosu's eyes were large in anger.

Fujino had her lips pressed together and diverted her gaze, beside her, Hino flushed a light pink. The second hand embarrassment decorated their face.

A soft breeze drifted through the open window behind Rai, brushing softly against her back.

"What happened to your shirt?" Her dad asked, his voice and face void of his cheery demeanour.

Fujino began to open her mouth, stuttering over her words.

"It ripped," Rai rushed, making her parents raise an eyebrow. "I was goofing around and it got caught on something and ripped."

"Goofing around?" Sara asked, the shock subsiding and was replaced with a hard look.

The brunette cursed mentally, trying to keep her cool as she scrambled for a better excuse.

"We were racing, and I tried to grab her shirt. But it ripped," Hino added dropping their head. "I'm sorry, I can replace it."

Rai let her chest drop, and crossed her arms, shaking her head.

"I already told you, it's fine. You don't need to replace it, it's just a shirt," she scolded, staring right at them.

Then she twisted around and went to the fridge for the hot sauce.

"Rai, change your shirt," Mosu cleared his throat as she trotted back to the table. The girl grinned before slipping into her bedroom.

After she came back wearing a dark green sweater her cousin sent from overseas, they all eased back into the meal. The chatter quickly rising up again.

"So are two are in the same class are Rai, right?" Both guests nodded. "Have you always been lived in the area?" Mosu continued, tilting his head.

"Unfortunately," Hino answered, then jumped. Their hand zipped under the table and they gave a scowling look to Fujino. She only smiled and nodded to the man.

Asa snickered earning a small look of disapproval from their mum.

When Sara kept eye contact with the youngest child, Rai tensed. Her eyes flickered between her sister and mum, making her shoulders grow stiff.

She stopped serving food into her plate, and took a shaking breath.

Her eyes widened when Asa's mouth began to open, a pit opened in Rai's stomach at the same time.

Fujino furrowed her eyebrows, and looked over to her childhood friend. They gave a small shake of their head with a sharp warning flashed through their cool eyes.

"I'm home!" The front door opened, making way for the eldest Ozaki daughter.

Rai's chest fell along with her shoulders, a small smile of relief spread across her lips. Hino relaxed too, all while Fujino dropped the confused look and whipped her head to face the hallway leading to the door.

Yumena appeared, setting her camera on the counter to her right.

"Sorry I'm late, time slipped away at the club." She smiled but stopped when she saw guests. Her gaze scanned Fujino first, then went to Hino, her eyes hardened at the sight of them. But as her eyes reach their skirt she stopped. Her gaze softened and looked over to her parents.

"No worries, come sit! We just started dinner," Sara greeted, gesturing to a seat at the table.

She took a seat beside Mosu and began to help herself to the food. As she did so, Yumena looked up at her younger sister.

"It's good seeing you make friends so quickly, Rai-" then she turned to look at the guests "-I'm Yumena, her older sister."

"Hi." Fujino waved with her cheeks full of food.

The dinner then launched into a questionnaire for the guests. Mosu asking every question he could think of like he was an interrogator.

But without batting an eye Fujino answered the questions.

"Are you in any clubs?" Sara asked, breaking the heavy interrogation.

Hino have a short shake of their head. "No, but I tutor. My other client found someone else so it's just mostly Mari. She can't do math to save her life but when it comes to cards she's a whiz."

The offended look was wiped from Fujino's face, and replaced by a small blush.

"Oh, Rai! You could be a tutor too!" Yumena spoke, looking to their mum who nodded.

"That'd be perfect! You're great at math, and English. Plus it might help you make some extra cash!"

Rai started to contemplate but stopped, and shook her head.

"I'm really not, besides I'm a terrible teacher." Her response made Fujino frown, her mouth began to open. The brunette stared wide eyed, and softly mouthed 'Miya'.

The girl snapped her mouth shut and nodded, letting the conversation shift.

Once dinner was finished, Hino and Fujino insisted on staying to help clean up. The three second years took their time cleaning up.

The Ozaki's then bid farewell to their guests.

"It was nice having you kids over, you're welcome back!" Mosu waved, with Sara nodding beside him.

"You're coming back, Hino. I'm not letting that tie settle anything!" Asa shouted with a hard look of determination.

They grinned over their shoulder, and nodded. "Start training, because I was going easy."

"See you guys tomorrow!" Rai waved, ripping her nervous eyes off of Hino and Asa's exchange.

"Bye!" Fujino waved back with a large grin, before turning back to Hino.

Once the duo passed the front gate, the Ozaki's disappeared into the house to do their own stuff. Rai was the last, closing the door behind her.

Rai squeezed her hair with her hair towel as she entered the shared bedroom.

Asa was already beneath her comforter, playing on her phone.

The older girl payed no mind to familiar site and hung up the wet cloth, exchanging it for her hair brush.

She sat in silence as she brushed the reminding tangles out of her hair.

After that, Rai pat her hair once more, squeezing any water left in from the shower. Once she was done, she shut off the lights and she climbed underneath her own blankets.

Her chest quickly set into a soft rhythm, expanding and compressing as she breathed softly.

She let her mind wander, eagerly awaiting the numbing hold that sleep brought her.

"Rai?"

The call brought her back to Earth, and a low but soft vibration let her little sister know she was listening.

"What actually happened? To your shirt I mean," Asa asked, making her sister roll to face her. Rai sat up on her elbows, a small smile crept into her face. She was surprised Asa waited this long to ask.

Five minutes in, Asa had discarded her phone. Ten minutes in she had sat up right and was hanging on every word. By the time Rai had finished explaining, Asa had a frown that looked permanent on her face.

"What an ass!" She scowled in disgust, shaking her head.

Rai nodded and grinned softly at her sisters response.

"You know, I've got a year before I end up at Inarazaki. I could easily corner him and beat his smirky little face in." Asa's eyes gleamed with a spark of evil that made her sister lean back.

"No, I've got it under control."

Instantly the look of revenged was destroyed by a frown.

"The last time you said that you got kicked from school."Asa raised an eyebrow in protest, then motioned around the room.

The older brunette only waved her hand dismissively.

"I know what I'm doing." The response made Asa groan in exasperation and throw her head back.

"Rai! Come on! If you screw up again, mum and dad are going to realize the first time wasn't an accident!"

The girl's body stiffened, and the mood shifted. She shifted in her bed, settling into it.

The bitterness of the memories flooded into her, but oddly enough it only fuelled her need and desire for revenge.

"I'm not screwing up this time," Rai bit back rolling onto her side, letting her back face Asa.

Her mouth opened as she tried to find a way to fix her words. However, seeing her sisters mood change so quickly, she let the grain of guilt sit in her mouth.

Asa let out a sigh and pulled the covers over herself and let the silence settle in the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It was an accident!" She claimed for the millionth time. Which was complete bullshit, but she was sticking to her story.

"Regardless, your small pranks have built up. This just pushed the floodgates open." Her school file dropped onto the wooden desk with a heavy slap making her flinch.

She ignored her parents gazes and looked at her hands folded in her lap.

"The pranks were harmless, and this was an accident, surely you can let this pass?" Her mum smiled sweetly,

The principle grimaced and pulled himself forward resting his forearms on the desk.

"I'm afraid not. Your daughter's exhausted every disciplinary action and accident or not, she must be held accountable."

While silence filled every corner of the stuffy office, a bitter sense of victory filled the young girl.

"Ms Ozaki Rai, you are expelled."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rai was quick to get ready in the morning, nearly choking on her breakfast. Her hair wasn't even dried as she shouted goodbye from the entrance.

The youngest Ozaki watched her sister with concern. The first time was harmless, but again? There was only so many times she could get away with revenge.

The brunette jogged out the front door and into the street, just in front of her upperclassmen.

"You're in a hurry."

"Haven't you caught up with your assignments yet?" Kita added, one of his eyebrows lifted while his lips stayed in a straight line.

Rai paused and gave them a sheepish smile.

"I misread the instructions, so I've got to do it again." Both boys nodded, deeming it reasonable before she fell in step with them.

"Have you picked a club yet?" Kita turned his head, watching her.

She shook her head, Rai hadn't even looked at the clubs offered. Well, she glanced at the list, but there were the classics like art, drama, sports. There were a few different ones like fashion, and Green Earth club. She was too busy with other things right now.

A small cylinder bottle bumped in her bag, jabbing into her back.

Her head lifted up and a small grin flashed across her face, before Rai looked innocently over to Ojiro.

"The sports clubs have locker rooms right?"

Ojiro nodded. "All sports clubs do, they're more like club rooms though. Separate from the gyms."

"So even the volleyball club?"

"Yes, even the volleyball club," Kita answered with an annoyed expression. "We're one of the volleyball powerhouses of Japan, of course we have a club room." He scolded with narrowed eyes.

Rai's eyes widened and her cheeks burned. She looked away from his glare and cleared her throat.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I swear Kita-san."

"Smooth," Ojiro hissed at his captain making the female raise an eyebrow. Both volleyball players glared at each other, making their underclassman contort her face in confusion.

She gave them a funny look as they wordlessly conversed.

"You guys are a powerhouse team, so how long do you have to practice for?" Rai gave a small smile.

"An hour and a half before school and two after. Sometimes longer." Kita's face dropped a bit.

Rai nodded and hid her smirk. She picked up her speed when the passed the school gates, and ran up the steps.

"See you guys later!" She waved and disappeared into the school.

A large smirk spread across of her face and she walked past the second year hall, right to washroom.

She dropped her bag in the sink counter and hopped on it, taking out her phone.

After waiting half and hour Rai hopped of the counter and put her phone in her bag. Then she walked out.

She left the school building and headed right for the gyms.

Once she got near the gyms she looked for the club rooms, and checked the plaques on the doors.

After not finding the volleyball room, she climbed the stairs to the second floor.

"Basketball. Tennis? No..." Rai mumbled as she walked slowly down the covered balcony. While she had roughly an hour to get a quick chore done, if any one was to forget something or had to go to the club room for any reason, today would be the day.

She quickly glanced over the railing, checking the gyms for anyone leaving. So far she was okay.

"Volleyball! Ha! I've got you now, you bastard!" She cheered to herself and turned the doorknob.

Locked.

A small puff of air left her mouth. Rai wasn't surprised but she was a little disappointed.

After giving it an extra jiggle, she crouched down and pulled a Bobby pin out of her bag. She stretched the thing metal with her teeth, making it long. Then with one hand holding the handle and the other holding the makeshift lock pick, she started unlocking the door.

Her eyebrows knit together as she tried, for the first time in awhile, to unlock the door.

She tried to work quick, the longer it was taking the more anxious she got. The louder Asa's words from the night before rang in her head.

The Bobby pin slipped in and around the lock, but never unlocking it.

"Are you seriously trying to pick the lock? With a Bobby pin?" A voice scoffed making Rai freeze.

Her movements stopped and her tool slipped from her fingers. A loud thumping grew louder in her ears as she shot from her crouched position. With a gulp she slowly began to turn around.

I think I'm getting the hang of cliffhangers ;)

I had a bit of a hard time with this chapter due only to the fact that I didn't have a plan. This was pretty much just a 'filler' chapter. But it was necessary, building relationships and stuff like that.

Thank you for reading!

Lots of love

-DBR