Today is the day, the day of the sports festival. I've been so excited all day, I could barely stay still! The week went by quickly, but… I still don't know what my parents are planning! I tried to talk to Ootori about what my parents were planning, but it seemed like he would try to avoid the topic by changing the subject. I figured that I shouldn't try to push him any further... as much as I wanted to.

"Miya?"

I made eye contact with Kaoru-kun through the mirror I was currently facing as he continued to tie on the uniform's white headband on for me. "Hai?"

"You know... you kinda remind me of a cookie."

"A... cookie?" Why... Oh no... No, no, no… I fell into his trap!

"Yeah, a cookie because you're small, super sweet, and I just want to…" He moved to whisper in my ear. "eat you up~" He blew in my ear which made me burst out laughing.

I pushed him away. "You're so ridiculous, Kaoru." I rubbed my ear, trying to get rid of the ticklish feeling that was still there.

"You gotta admit, it was pretty good."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure it was." It wasn't long ago that Kaoru-kun said that he was going to make me "swoon" because unlike other girls, I just tried being friends with them instead of courting them to dating me, so Kaoru says that I'm "immune" to him, Mitsu-senpai, and Taka-senpai. I'll be honest, I have no idea why this so-called "immunity" was so important to him, but it's fun having something between us.

"Emi-chan, Kao-chan!" We both turned towards the door at the mention of our names. We both saw Mitsu-senpai at the doorway waving at us. "C'mon! It's almost time for the sports festival!" He grabbed our hands and pulled us all the way outside to our place on the academy's sports ground.

When we made it to our group, Kaoru-kun went over to stand with Ootori-senpai while Mitsu-senpai and I went towards the front to see the whole field. I felt someone wrap their arm around me and I turned to see Yuuma-san, who flashed me a bright smile.

Yuuma Ueda is his full name. During the time of our practices, I slowly became friends with him. Yuuma is apart of the Basketball Club and he says that he knows Kaya because he is in the same class as her. Yuuma is really nice and I've noticed how he considers everybody else's feeling before his own.

I smiled back at the gleeful teen. "Hi, Yuuma-san."

"Are you ready for the games?"

I nodded. "I haven't competed in such a long time. I'm super excited."

"Oh, yeah... I forgot that you're family was-"

"Nē, Nē, Emi-chan," I turned to Mitsu-senpai who was gently tugging at my uniform sleeve. "You should go with the other girls before the first contest starts." He said sweetly, but he had a smile that was like sugar-coated venom, which sent a small shiver down my spine.

I ignored the feeling and smiled at him. "Okay, Mitsu-senpai." I waved goodbye to both Mitsu-senpai and Yuuma-san as I made my way towards our group of girls.

The other girls in my team made idle chatter with each other as I gazed out towards the field. I don't think they understand what a sports event is… The field had sets of tables spread out with a small decoration on it. I sighed and leaned against a nearby wall. I closed my eyes and listened to the rapid beating of my heart that wouldn't slow down because of all the excitement going on. I only snapped my eyes open when I had heard the loud voice of the announcer through the speakers.

"Now, at last, it has started! The first contest is the "Bread Guessing Contest," which is limited to the girls." Upon hearing the voice, my team moved forward to have a seat at their own assigned table while the announcer continued to explain the contest. "An Italian classic table set has been placed in the center of the field. It is a modest present from the Chairman to the ladies in commemoration of the festival. Each table has three types of croissants. These were offered by the famous Ricchie and Roi Grand Hotel in France, who bake their bread in a magnificent, traditional way." Once all the girls from both teams had taken their seat at their designated table, the "referee" waved a small flag that read "start."

I looked at the variety of croissants within my basket. I pulled the first croissant out of the basket and studied it. I tore it in half, seeing a creamy, dark substance within it. I took a small bite and immediately gagged at the recognizable bitter flavor. Knowing that I was in front of a huge crowd, I did not want to spit out the bitter piece of food out for everyone to see. I took a deep breath before begrudgingly swallowing the croissant. I placed the rest of the croissant aside and grabbed the second one. Instead of tearing it open, I just bit into it, only to find that this croissant also had a creamy substance. It had a slight taste of vanilla. I set the second croissant aside and took a sip of my tea before grabbing the last croissant. I bit into it, expecting to taste another cream that wasn't exactly my taste, but instead, this croissant was filled with strawberries and cream. My hand immediately shot up as I continued to nibble at the croissant I had officially labeled as my favorite. A waiter made his way towards me, holding two signs. One with a red 'X' and the other with a blue 'O.'

"Are you ready with your answers?" He asked me.

I nodded eagerly. "One is pain au chocolat, but instead of the regular chocolate it has it has dark chocolate." I glared at the said croissant. "There's also the croissant à la vanille, which, I must say, isn't as sweet as it should be. Add another tablespoon of sugar and a splash of vanilla and it'd be perfect! The last is a fraises et croissant à la crème." After I finished my statement, I plopped the last piece of the croissant in my mouth while I watched him look at me warily.

The waiter cleared his throat and lifted the sign with the blue circle. "Y-you are correct."

I smiled happily and stood up from the table and made my way towards the "finish line." I stood beside a second year I've come to know as Ayame Jounouchi. We both nodded at each other in both acknowledgment and as a congratulating gesture and we both waited patiently and quietly for another girl on our team to guess the three croissants correctly. What was a little weird to me, though, is that the red team had a bit of a problem with the croissants chosen for them, which caused a small argument to arise where the boys of the red team were.

In the end, only two other girls came to join us which gave us four points for the first contest. We were happy about it, but it's too early to celebrate this small victory.

We made our way back up to our section after the declaration of our win. I listened to the announcer as I walked over to sit beside Yuuma. "The red team should concentrate! They got a totally late start! The white team has reached the goal!"

I clapped lightly, cheering on our team, but my hands slowly came to a stop when I heard familiar voices from behind me. I went to turn around, but I froze when I felt a pair of hands smooth through my hair, playing with it.

"Leader, our opponents are suddenly self-destructing!" The voice from behind me said. Kaoru...

"They're really stupid." Mitsu-senpai…

"So that was why you suggested making the best ones participate in the bread eating contest." The Student Council President…

"As expected of Kyoya-kun! If something can leave them in a terrible condition, you'll see it." The Student Council Secretary, Kanan Matsuyama.

"It's too early to rejoice." Ootori-san's smooth voice cut through everyone else, clearly calling for attention. "The ones who lose concentration during a match are the ones who lose. With this stream, let's steadily earn points."

I felt a chill go up my spine. The whole group was giving off a dark aura. I hugged myself and stood up to move to a place where the air wasn't as deathly chilling.

"Emi?" I around to see who was calling me and saw Kimi making her way towards our section. I smiled and patted the seat next to me. "I knew you would participate in the bread eating contest. You're like a... a supertaster." I laughed at her statement. "Why are you laughing? It's true! Whenever you eat something, you automatically know what's in it."

"Yeah... but not with regular food. I can only know what a person is missing in a certain sweet."

"Like cake… and chocolates... and caramel... basically anything that's sweet. You're a master of conquering all sweets that are ever created."

"Well, I do work with my dad whenever he comes up with a new candy or a flavor... I guess it comes naturally to me."

"Are you going to participate in another contest?"

I nodded. "The candy crafting contest."

"I wonder who's going to win that?" Kimi said sarcastically.

I looked at her and saw a big smile on her face which made a smile bloom from me. "I wonder, wonder, wonder."

We both burst into a fit of giggles, enjoying the small amount of time spent together, but it quickly ended once we had heard someone call for Kimi.

"Kimi." Our giggles died down and we looked for the person who was looking for the teen. Isaki stood behind her with her arms crossed and her light blue eyes narrowed. "Come on."

Kimi nodded before turning back to me, mouthing a quick 'sorry' before leaving with Isaki.

I sighed and stared at my feet, suddenly finding them more interesting than everything else around me. I closed my eyes tightly trying to hold back the sad feelings that I felt inside me. You're okay, Emiya. It's okay. Everything will be fine. I continued to lie to my brain to try to stop its denial of what I kept on repeating in my head.

"... Emi… miya… Emiya?"

My eyes snapped open to see Kaoru who had a look of worry on his face. "Are you okay, Little Bunny?"

I knitted my eyebrows together and crossed my arms. "Bunny?"

He smiled and looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, she's fine, Kyoya-senpai!" He turned back to me. "You gotta go, Bunny. It's your time to shine."

"Huh?"

"The candy crafting contest, silly."

I gasped and jumped up from my seat. "Move, Kaoru." I pushed at his chest to try to move him, but instead, I miserably failed. "Come on! Move!"

He hummed in thought. "Okay, I'll move… only if you kiss me." He leaned forward with his lips puckered.

I scrunched up my nose and placed the palm of my hand over his mouth before he could reach my face. "In your dreams."

"Kaoru, please let Anzai go before we are disqualified from the contest." I heard Ootori-senpai say from behind Kaoru.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed triumphantly.

"Okay, senpai." Kaoru turned to me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You escaped this time, but don't worry. I'll get you to kiss me sooner or later, Little Bunny." He whispered to me. He then smiled and ruffled my hair. "Anyways, good luck, Emiya!"

I stared at Kaoru wide-eyed. He'll... kiss…? I gently moved him out of my way, trying to ignore sudden flutter that I felt in my chest. I mustered up the best laugh I could as I passed him. "Y-yeah, sure. That was funny, Kaoru."

I made my way through the other members and reached the stairs that lead to the field where they were setting up for the last contest of the first half of the sports festival, but I froze when I heard Kaoru's reply. I looked back at him, seeing the most innocent smile ever. I felt my face heat up slightly and I ran down to the field to try to run away from the flustered feeling I felt from his words.

It wasn't a joke, Emiya.

Once I reached the field, I was greeted by one of my team members who had been assigned to be one of the judges as they had led me to my station. Once we had reached my station, my team member gave me a small description of what type of candy that they had randomly selected, which were lollipops, and pointed out the different moldings and flavors that were given to me. After they finished, they left with a "good luck," leaving me alone. I noticed a boy from the red team besides me, looking over the items.

He noticed my glance and looked at me. He smiled charmingly and I immediately recognized him as the chairman's son, Tamaki Suoh. I returned the smile and bowed out of respect for my family. "It's an honor to compete against you Suoh-san."

Suoh-san kneeled in front of me as I watched in confusion. He gently took my hand and kissed the back of it which made my face bloom in a bright crimson. "Non, non, it is an honor to meet such a beautiful rose such as yourself." My face heated up more and I pulled my hand away before I got even more embarrassed.

I traced the back of my hand with the index finger of my opposite hand. "O-oh, um, th-thank you." I turned back towards my station and tried to get myself distracted from the sudden flattery that was given to me.

"Now, it is the last contest of the first half of the sports festival, The Candy Crafting Contest!" I was taken out of my thoughts when I heard the announcer's booming voice. "Each contestant must shape candy according to the to the given theme as they head for the goal." As the announcer stated this, the judges showed us both a sign. The theme was cute animals. I took a deep breath and carefully pulled out seven different flavors. Hmm… Seven cute animals. A bunny, a puppy, a monkey, a kitten, a penguin, a bear, and seahorses. I silently gushed at the animals I personally thought were adorable.

I immediately went to work. I turned on the stove and placed a pot over the heat. I measured and added a half of cup of the sugar and a fourth of a cup of the corn syrup that was given to us. I mixed it carefully as it heated up. Once it had started to bubble a bit, I turned down the heat and started to separate the mixture equally into seven small bowls - I had to repeat the step a few times because some of them weren't equally separated. I added the seven different flavors I chose - strawberry, chocolate, cherry, grape, vanilla, orange, and watermelon - and quickly mixed them into their respective bowls. I started to pour the candy over the sticks into their molds, ignoring the cheering from the crowd so I wouldn't mess up. Once the mixtures were completely in their respective mold, I watched them carefully as they settled into their shapes.

"Wow, look at Suoh's technique! Such a serious expression!" I had to resist every fiber in my body to look at him. "He is easily creating an object appropriate enough to be called an artistic masterpiece!"

No way! I crossed my arms and started to tap my foot impatiently. When I heard more cheers, I felt myself become more irritated and I couldn't help myself from peeking at Suoh-san. He was completely doing it wrong. I smiled to myself, now knowing that I was going to win.

"Now for the results!" I quickly, yet carefully, pulled out the lollipops and set them on a plate to bring to the judges. "First up, we have Tamaki Suoh from class 2A! Now for the result of his performance… ah… it's horrible! All members of the jury gave him bad points. The red team scores badly! Because of this the red team now has sixty-three points and the white team one hundred and eighty-three points!"

I heard my team cheer and I giggled as I heard Yuuma-san shout out, "Thank you, Suoh-san!"

"Now, for our representative of the white team, Emiya Anzai from class 1B!" I smiled and walked towards the judges who eyed me warily. I placed the plate in front of the five judges and took a step back to see their reactions. A cameraman went up to the judges and displayed my work on the screen for everyone to see. "The result is amazing! There are no cracks or disfiguration and the lollipops are with the theme. Will the judges try them?" As the announcer asked this, the five representatives grab the lollipop that caught their eye and tasted them. They all lifted up red circles and I smiled as I heard my team cheer again. "The taste is satisfactory! This makes the white team score one hundred and twenty points!"

I bowed before grabbing the plate and running back to my team, where I was immediately greeted with Mitsu-senpai. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a hug. "That was awesome Emi-chan!"

He eyed the two leftover lollipops on the plate and I couldn't help myself from giggling. "Do you want one, Mitsu-senpai?"

"Do I?!" He hummed in thought and stared at the strawberry-flavored bunny and the grape-flavored kitten. He gently took the bunny and plopped it into his mouth. "Wow, these are really good, Emi-chan!"

I smiled and placed the plate down on a nearby table before grabbing the other lollipop. "Thank you. Really, it's all about being simple." I opened my mouth to sample my own sweet, but it was suddenly taken from my hand.

"Wow, Sugar, these are good." I turned to Kaoru who had my lollipop in his mouth.

He winked and I pouted, crossing my arms. "Kaoru-kun! That was mine!"

"Oh, it was?" He pulled it out from his mouth and pulled it towards me. "Here." He had a smile on his face and I knew exactly what he was doing. "Do you not want it anymore? Oh, well." He shrugged and went to put the sweet back in his mouth. "I guess you won't get to experience the wonderful taste of your lollipop."

"No!" I snatched the lollipop from his hand and shoved it into my mouth. I had to hold in my laugh from seeing Kaoru-kun and Mitsu-senpai with the same expression on their faces; eyes wide and mouths agape.

Kaoru shut his mouth and smiled as he crossed his arms. "I told you, I would get it, Emiya."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I tried to think back to our past conversations to try to figure out what he was talking about. Then it hit me. I'll get you to kiss me sooner or later... My eyes widened and I punched his arm as I felt my face get red. "No! The lollipop doesn't count!"

"So indirect kisses don't count? Oh, so you want a real kiss?" He asked before leaning in so close that our noses were almost touching.

"No!" I screeched. I pushed his face away as I felt my face heat up even more.

Kaoru laughed and gently patted my head. "I'm just messing with you, Emiya." He walked passed me and I watched as he walked towards Ootori-senpai.

I sighed in relief and placed my hand on my now rapidly beating heart. I heard a huff from beside me and I looked over at Mitsu-senpai who had his arms cross and a pout on his lips. "Mitsu-senpai, are you okay?" He didn't respond. He only furrowed his eyebrows and walked towards the same direction as Kaoru-kun. "Mitsu-senpai?" I felt sad that he didn't respond to me like he usually does.

I sighed and moved to the railing to look out towards the field where the Red Team would start their cheerleading performance. I stepped onto the bottom of the railing to make myself a bit taller so I could see better rather than being eye-level with a metal bar.

Someone walked out onto the field dressed very… extremely for a cheerleading performance. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at who was the first to appear. My eyes widened once I recognized the face. Kaoru-kun?! "I am the Muse God of Fire Poetry." No, his twin, Hikaru. "I was given the glorious strength of imagination." I smiled and leaned on my arms as I continued to listen to him. His voice is so enchanting… so relaxing… "Actors and Nobles, we are on the battlefield from this little scene." He would be a great storyteller and seeing the way he carries himself right now… he would be an amazing actor. I could listen to his voice forever. "Now, under Agincourt's Sky, there are countless shaking helmets without any strength left." I felt disappointment wash over me when he ended and let Suoh-san appear.

"Whose wish is the one expressed just now?" He paused. He held a determined expression on his face. "It is not my wish to fight alongside cowards who fear death. However, Gentlemen! If you fight today's battle until the end, you can return safely to your homes. I think that in times when today's battle is spoken of, you will be able to strengthen your chest and feel proud of yourself. People are forgetful. Even if others forget about all about today, the recollection of this days honour and happiness will still stay fresh in our memories. If you fear defeat and leave this place, then you will curse yourself afterward. This is why even if we are only a few people, we will be the group who is granted happiness. On this day, in this battle, those who shed blood, each of them will become brothers!" There was a visible difference in the Red Team's mood. Ah, I see what he did. I smiled at the thought. He was lifting their spirits. "Then, Gentlemen, let's go! God is blessing all of our brothers!" The White Team started to cheer loudly.

I felt my smile widen and I clapped for them. But… then I realized something which made me slow my clapping to a stop.

That wasn't even a cheerleading performance!