"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Princess."

"Why did you call me Princess?" Nae asked, and Shirou abruptly stopped walking.

Nae stopped with him, waiting for him to finish thinking.

Because her father is both the coach and the sponsor of their small town team, and he literally couldn't say no to her. Or because Someoka had handpicked her, and that meant Nae's special status warranted special attention. There were a lot of reasons that came to mind, including the fact that Shirou hadn't expected her to take the nickname quite so enthusiastically. The daughter of the wealthiest person in Hokkaido was a minor celebrity at their school, for sure, but Shirou had never met her in person.

The rumors hadn't made her sound quite so innocent.

She was a disinterested, somewhat quiet girl, they'd said. The kind who spoke up in class without needing to be called on, but still distanced herself from others. She collected keychains and liked cute things, most especially rabbits.

None of that mattered now. The real Nae, the energetic and bubbly one standing in front of him – that was more important.

Shirou shrugged. "You just looked like a princess to me."

"And do the others call me Princess because you tell them to?" Nae asked. "Or because they want to?"

Atsuya's princess was definitely a sarcastic one, but he wasn't going to tell her that. The other team members had merely accepted their fate.

"It's only natural that our new ace striker gets a special title," he replied, dodging the question.

"Oh, like how Atsuya is the Bear Killer?" Nae asked.

He wondered if she would ask whether or not it was possible for a soccer team to have two ace strikers next. Fortunately, she changed the subject instead.

"Well," Nae crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, a gesture that Shirou was starting to recognize could mean either pouting or thoughtfulness, "if I'm going to be the ace striker, I'm going to need my own special technique. Better start working on one…"

It was hard to believe that anyone could mistake Nae for someone shy and disinterested. She'd shaken up the dynamics of their entire team after only one day. The problem wasn't her personality, because her personality was fine, but she'd clearly been bored on the track team. Perhaps a little lonely as well.

"Let me know if you need help," Shirou offered, before he could even think about the pile of homework that was due the next day or his promise to help Atsuya time his 100m dash later.

"What do you do when you're making a new technique?" Nae asked, pulling another question out of her seemingly endless supply.

"The easiest way to do it is to think about the things you like," Shirou replied. "For me, that's ice skating. I've always admired the way figure skaters move freely across the ice. Or anything to do with snow – because we're surrounded by so much of it, it's an easy concept to grasp."

"And for me, I guess that would be running." Nae furrowed her eyebrows a little closer together, and this time she really was pouting. "Ah, but I wanted to take a break from track, not run around by myself even more!"

"Don't forget that we're all here to back you up," Shirou reminded her. The mere thought of having people supporting her caused Nae to perk up immediately, so he continued, "and why not base it off something cute? Like a rabbit – "

"I love rabbits!" Nae yelled, and she punctuated her enthusiasm by giving him a hug. "Thanks, Shirou!"

The hug lasted for only a second.

After she pulled away, Shirou could still feel where her arms had encircled him. Where the side of her head had bumped into his cheek, and the way her hair had brushed his cheek. It left a tingling sensation, not unlike the pins and needles of when his feet fell asleep, but also not nearly as unpleasant. Warmer, too. If he had to describe it in just one word, Shirou thought, that word would be love.

Normally, it was the other way around – girls falling in love with him over just one look, one touch on the hand or on the shoulder that he hadn't thought much about. But if this was how it felt, he no longer needed to wonder why his various fans fell in love with him so easily.

When Shirou thought about it again, he realized that there was another reason he couldn't say no to Nae. He simply didn't want to.

Nae revealed her new technique the next day, the Shirousagi Dashoot, and more of the team began calling her Princess in earnest. They never should have doubted her athletic ability.

"What did you think?" Nae asked, so unable to contain her energy even after two hours of practice that she was bouncing in circles around him.

"I'm impressed!" Shirou replied.

It was the biggest understatement he could have possibly made.

X

They were waiting for their bus to arrive.

"What's a friendly?" Nae asked.

"It's like a practice match," Shirou replied. It was a little surprising, having to explain something so basic, but he supposed it made sense. Nae had started out not knowing anything about soccer except how to run, and athletics clubs held meetings, not friendlies. "We're not competing for anything – our place in the Football Frontier is already set in stone, and this is just a warm up before then."

"You mean we're not going straight to Nationals?"

He chuckled. "Not yet. But you might get to play in your first real game today."

"Oh, I like the sound of that!"

The bus doors opened. Atsuya charged inside, first in line and the first to claim his usual spot, not too far from the front and next to the window. He flopped onto the bench like it was a competition, and someone else would've stolen his spot if he hadn't been so quick to take it. Shirou was three steps away from joining him when Nae pushed past, her shoulder bumping against his.

Apparently, it was a race after all. A few more team members passed Shirou in the aisle as he stared. Hyoujou, Hakoda, Yukino.

"I want to sit next to Atsuya!" Nae exclaimed, snatching the space next to Atsuya.

"What? No. Go sit with Konko."

Coincidentally, Konko sat down in the seat across from them. She didn't bother trying to conceal her curiosity.

"But I already sit next to her in room. I want to sit next to you, Atsuya!"

Maybe it was because of his newly acquired soft spot for Nae, but Shirou decided the most diplomatic way to resolve this situation was to give Nae what she wanted. "I'll sit with Konko," he offered.

It would be nice. Aside from Atsuya, who barely counted on account of being his brother, Konko was one of his closest friends. He hadn't been able to sit down and have a decent conversation with her in a while.

"We can still talk if we're across the aisle from each other."

"You're enabling her!" Atsuya accused.

The look Konko shot him seemed to be one of agreement. Shirou ignored them both in favor of the happy little bounce Nae made, the way she smiled widely and without even noticing how Atsuya crossed his arms and scowled.

"It'll be good for you," Shirou teased, taking his seat next to Konko.

Konko insisted on having the window seats, same as Atsuya, and she shuffled closer to the end to make more room for him. Another benefit of sitting with Konko was that she was far more conscientious than Atsuya was.

"You need more socialization," he finished, and Atsuya huffed.

"Don't talk like I'm some kind of dog..."

As much as Atsuya complained, it didn't seem to bother him once Nae started asking him about his scarf and then snowboarding and what he'd eaten for breakfast. It was almost like he'd forgotten Shirou was still sitting nearby, and Shirou was able to talk to Konko without distraction in return, until suddenly –

The noise stopped.

Forty minutes into their bus ride, Shirou realized he couldn't hear either of their voices in the background anymore.

Nae was asleep. Her head was resting on Atsuya's shoulder, and every trace of her usual energy had vanished. Her bangs fell to the side of her forehead. Even from across the aisle, Shirou could see where a thin trickle of saliva had escaped her mouth.

It shouldn't have been cute at all.

Except it was Nae.

Then Shirou noticed the white knuckled fists clenching the fabric of Atsuya's track pants, the way Atsuya's entire body was tensed like he was afraid to move, and realized his brother felt the same way. Atsuya's eyes were locked on the space in front of him. If he bit his lip any harder, it was going to start bleeding.

X

"Don't forget that we leave for Kanto in two days!" Nae shouted, as if any of them needed a reminder.

She'd only played in one of the Hokkaido region preliminary matches, and only for a brief few minutes at the start. The last match had been today. Sitting on the bench hadn't appeared to dampen her soccer spirit any, and now she'd taken it upon herself to stand next to the locker room doors like some kind of gatekeeper, giving the rest of her team advice that they hardly needed.

"Rest up, everybody! We all gotta be in top shape if we want to win the Football Frontier!"

"You too, Nae," Yukino, with his perpetually runny nose, sniffled as he walked past. "I'm sure the coach will make your big debut soon."

"Daddy's just waiting for the right time," Nae agreed, nodding. "I'm the star of the team, after all, so I'm sure that's the case!"

"You think so?"

"He's my dad. He can't keep secrets from me."

"Is that the truth?" Shirou muttered wryly. He knew for a fact.

Coach Shiratoya had specifically requested that he, and the rest of the team, keep his plans regarding Nae a secret. And the nature of those plans, particularly "Operation Rabbit Ears", had been so clever that even Atsuya had agreed to do as he asked.

"Which part?" Someoka asked. "That coach is waiting for the right time or that she's the star?"

They walked, just far enough away that Nae couldn't hear them anymore.

"Both," Shirou replied, a little hastily.

To be perfectly honest, he hadn't thought of Nae as the team's ace – until right now, hearing someone question it out loud.

"She shook things up," Someoka said. "I'll give her that."

"I thought that was what you wanted? You specifically said, and I quote, 'Hakuren's play style is too stagnant'."

"I stand by that statement. Atsuya sets the pace for the entire team, and in return he refuses to rely on anyone aside from you and himself. It was good fortune that Nae took an interest in soccer when she did. She may not seem like much at first, but having her on the team has finally shaken things up a little."

"The team has really warmed up to her," Shirou agreed. "And she's practically glued to Atsuya. He's not used to having friendship forced on him."

Someoka laughed. "Well, I'm sure that's not the only reason he's being caught off-guard."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, she's cute."

"Ah, so even the stone-faced Someoka," Shirou teased, making the rare mistake of not thinking before he spoke, "has noticed."

"If you're saying it like that," Someoka replied, "then that means you noticed it too."

Shirou snapped his mouth shut. Someoka hid his embarrassment with a frown. Neither of them spoke much after that, and the walk to the parking lot remained a very quiet one before Atsuya finally caught up and joined them.

X

"Where's Nae?" Atsuya asked, just in time for Shirou to look behind them and see she'd infiltrated the enemy ranks. "Ugh, come on… Can she not socialize with the opposite team for one match?"

Shirou moved to the side a little bit.

She was talking to that female goalkeeper, Norika, that she'd seemed so fascinated with during the match. If not for Nae, he never would've thought much about it – but Raimon had the only female goalkeeper in the Football Frontier.

"And we just lost," Atsuya continued rambling. "It'd be nice if her mood reflected that a little more closely."

"I suppose I should bring her back," Shirou replied.

It wasn't because he agreed with Atsuya. He didn't disagree with Atsuya either, but more importantly, they needed to get changed and go back to their hotel room as a team. Losing at the second round meant packing up to go home a little earlier than planned, and he wanted to get started as soon as possible to make up for the people he knew were going to put it off until the last minute.

His younger sibling, unfortunately, being on that list.

He arrived just in time, with Atsuya not far behind, to watch Inakuni's smallest player spin on his heel and yell "I'm a boy!" directly at Nae.

"Is that what this is about?" Atsuya sighed. "Go talk to the girls on our team if you want to talk to other female players that badly!"

"Atsuya."

"Atsuya!" Nae echoed him, with more of a whine in her voice. "I was going to come right back, I promise!"

"Tell coach we'll be just a few more minutes," Shirou said, knowing his brother was less likely to argue with him than he was with Nae. "And please wash that scarf before you get back to our hotel room tonight. It's starting to smell."

Atsuya made a choking noise. Any time his blind respect for his older brother wasn't enough to make him listen, insulting his scarf always did the trick. He'd only had it since he was four – but he took such good care of it, it had somehow resisted becoming rattier over the years. Atsuya would never let it get to the point where it started to smell, because he lovingly handwashed it at least once or twice a week.

"F-fine!"

Atsuya spun around, looking almost as perturbed as Hattori had. It was a little cruel of Shirou, but he knew his brother would forgive him. Norika was calm enough, but when Nae and Atsuya were around each other for too long, the two of them could never avoid raising their voices anymore.

Lately, it wasn't always because they fighting either, and that had Shirou almost as worried as if they were.

Norika regarded Atsuya's departure with a smile that was equal parts embarrassment and understanding, all of it aimed in Shirou's direction.

"You must play a similar role on your team," Shirou remarked.

"Yeah." Norika laughed, briefly. "It's not easy being the single parent of ten children that are roughly the same age as you."

Shirou would have laughed too, except Nae was pouting again. She liked being called a princess, but not a child. He thought it was ironic. Adorable, but very ironic.

And that should have been it. Norika would fall in love with his smile or his personality or something even sillier, like his hair. Shirou would go back to Hokkaido and Norika would return to Inakuni if she didn't win the Football Frontier, and they would possibly never see each other again.

Except Nae, out of nowhere, asked for her phone number, and Norika immediately turned into a stuttering mess.

Or, to quote Nae directly, "We could go out some time!"

If Nae had pulled out that line before their last Triple Blizzard, they would have won this match for sure.

"R-right. I'll look forward to it."

"We'll make it a date!" Nae replied, after repeating the number three times to make sure she would remember it. Somehow, she managed to remain completely oblivious.

Then she gave Norika a quick hug, promised to message her as soon as she got back to the hotel, and sprinted away to join the rest of Hakuren. Despite what she'd said, Shirou suspected that Nae probably wouldn't wait as long as the bus ride before she was on her phone.

"Sorry about that," Shirou mumbled, unsure of what else to say. "She tends to… have that effect a lot?"

Norika returned his apology with a sheepish smile. "No harm done," she said.

She rubbed her arm self-consciously, no doubt feeling the same tingly, warming sensation Shirou had. Having nothing else to say, Shirou nodded and excused himself.

He glanced over his shoulder on the way back, catching a glimpse of Norika staring at her hands. Hattori was sitting next to his friend, that other Defender with the square face that was twice Shirou's height, on their team's bench, venting.

"She called me a girl!" he complained, and buried his face in his hands. "Agh, but she was really nice about it…"

Iwato nodded sympathetically, while trying to assure him that it wasn't as bad as he thought. Shirou would have agreed with him.

Without even trying, Shirou heard the fragments of another player's conversation – "she was so cute though."

Shirou made a mental list of all the people he either knew or was pretty sure had a crush on Nae, starting with himself. His brother, his teammate, even members of the opposite gender and rival schools.

He was going to have a lot of competition on Valentine's Day.

That last line only exists so I can call this my VD fic this year. There's going to be at least one person in the comments who's going to point out that Valentine's Day in Japan is different than the rest of the world, but this is just fanfiction, okay?

I tried to give all four characters an equal amount of attention, but Shirou and Norika's parts were surprisingly hard to write.