Chapter Three -

Every day was nothing special, neither was it anything new. But, Mika didn't regret going to school as much as she used to. Atsushi was always there, he'd be waiting for her near class, with Himuro for her, and he'd walk to every class with her, even if he didn't share them. She found that sweet, and she liked that, and did as much as she could to compensate. She put all her mind into baking once more and brought sweets and cakes for the tall guy, him not complaining whatsoever.

That evening, when she was watching him practice basketball, Mika was reading a short romance novel, the only kind of novels she would ever read, and paid little or no attention at all to the game. It wasn't as if she was going to miss anything, Atsushi never played seriously. Tatsuya wanted him to, but him showing up to practice itself was a boon, so he didn't complain.

The bullying reduced considerably, since they never found her alone. He would always be with her, or Himuro would be, and the girls would never do anything to make him feel bad. They believed Mika was a friend and weren't even threatened by her stealing their Himuro away since they believed Mika would never attract the handsome boy ever.

That evening, when Mika sat beside the female coach who wasn't actually bothered by her presence, Mika continued reading when the coach suddenly spoke. "Do you and Murasakibara share a relationship?" Mika almost ignored the question, but she blinked and turned to her left to find the coach looking at her sharply. "Uh…yeah, we're friends?" Mika answered and the coach, whose name she wasn't familiar with, just nodded and turned away. "He comes here because you're here. I hope you realized that." Mika made an 'o' with her mouth and nodded once.

"Maybe because I bribe him with sweets?" Mika answered the question with another question and the coach grinned and said, "I don't really care as long as he comes here. He thinks he can get away with it without practice, but even if he's the best player in the world, he needs practice." Mika nodded once again, because honestly, what could you have said in such a situation. "So…I'm responsible for bringing him here?" The coach nodded and Mika cocked her eyebrow.

'So blunt…' the girl thought and turned to Murasakibara who stood where the Center usually stands and stood there scratching his head. "He doesn't like the game." Mika observed and the coach sighed. "That's what he thinks." Mika blinked and turned to the coach once more and said, "He doesn't look like he-""Yes, I know. But, he's more talented than we tend to think. I've seen videos of him play in Middle School and I know he's got potential. He just thinks he doesn't love the game, but deep down he really does. I want him to figure that out."Mika closed her book and said one thing that made the coach smirk.

"Maybe he has to lose once to know it." Mika commented casually, not even realizing the intensity of the statement, and the coach decided not to say anything to that. "Himuro always comes to practice without doubt, and I have nothing to say against the way he performs. It's only Murasakibara who needs surveillance." Mika chuckled and wondered if 'surveillance' was the right word. After practice, Atsushi turned to Mika and said, "Mika-chin, let's go…" Mika nodded and stood up before hearing,

"Name's Masako Araki. Nice to meet you, Snyder-san." Mika chuckled nervously and put her hands forward with embarrassment and said, "It's just Mika…really…"Masako grinned slightly and nodded. Mika turned to where Atsushi stood and walked over there with her bag. Masako sighed and muttered, "Both of them are idiots." And with that the woman left the gym.

Himuro always followed behind Murasakibara and Mika, with a sly grin plastered on his face. Mika was almost let to believe that it was how his face was constructed, because a Himuro without that grin wouldn't be himself. Whenever he saw her he managed to grin at her like that, the very same grin that made girls go crazy over it, but had no effect on Mika. After every practice session, Atsushi came over to Mika's bakery and Himuro would walk to the train station and wait for Atsushi. Mika wondered why Himuro didn't go along with them to the bakery, but never asked.

Until that day.

"Hey, why don't you come with us to the bakery?" Mika asked, scratching her head and Tatsuya grinned once more making Mika beat the back of the boy's head. "Mr. Cocky, I was only asking an innocent question."Mika said and Tatsuya chuckled. "No reason really. I like the train station and besides…" Himuro waved at the two of them and walked away. Mika was fuming. Tatsuya Himuro sometimes got on her nerves.

"He never completes his statements! That's just…ugh! Infuriating." Mika commented next to a very quiet Atsushi who continued chewing on some sort of sweet and Mika sighed once before saying, "Why do you like sweets so much?" Atsushi shrugged and said, "Why do you like egg so much?" Mika blinked and stopped walking for a second.

"How…did you know that?" Mika asked, confused with how Atsushi noticed that. She had never once mentioned her infatuation with eggs, and how much she liked them no matter how they were cooked. Every day, her lunch had a bit of egg in it, but it wasn't something that could have been noticed that well. Was it?

"Your lunch, Mika-chin…you share with me remember?" Mika didn't know why she blushed at that, and she cleared her throat once before saying, "Uh, yeah. I guess I get why you like sweets now." Atsushi grinned like a kid and placed his very large hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "The thing I like about Mika-chin the most is that she never tries more than she can afford." Mika blushed darkly and stared at Atsushi who continued walking to her bakery.

Her heart was pounding against her chest and she fixed her hair, before she caught up with him. He had meant that as a friend, she knew that very well. Atsushi was someone who spoke the truth all the time, and that she appreciated about him the most. He was there for her when no one was, and when he complimented her like that out of the blue, it caught her off guard. "Hey, Atsushi…you're a really friendly guy, you know that?" Atsushi shrugged once more, the sound of him chewing something soft was all she could hear.

And then he hummed, and nothing else was said. She wanted him to say something, but he didn't. When they reached the bakery, Mika was stunned for a second to see her mother there. "Ah, Mika we needed-Oh! Who's this?" Mika blinked and shook her head twice before saying, "This is Atsushi from school. Uh, Murasakibara-kun from school. He really likes sweets and he's been coming here every day for the past week." She turned to the tall boy and said, "Atsushi, this is mom." Atsushi wasn't even paying attention, and his eyes were scanning the entire bakery, his eyes travelling from one confectionary to another. "Mika-chin, how much is that one?" He asked, tugging on her sleeve and Mika blinked at her mother and then turned to where the childlike giant was pointed and muttered the price.

Mika's mother grinned and then said, "Help your friend out, I'll be going out for a while. Have a nice time. Nice to meet you, Murasakibara-kun."Atsushi nodded and waved at the woman who stepped out. Mika would have laughed if she were alone, but she wasn't. After around thirty minutes of selecting snacks and rejecting them, Murasakibara placed an exuberant collection of pastries and bread in front of the girl and waited. Mika scanned through every single one of them and wondered how he was going to afford all of it.

She believed he was rich, but when he opened his wallet, she sighed. "I don't have enough, Mika-chin…can I pay with installments?" Mika chuckled and said, "Ah, it's okay. Pay what you can and take the rest for free, I think-"Atsushi turned to the girl and leaned closer to her face, Mika stepping back with surprise. Even if she was on the other side of the front desk, she blushed like a beetroot. "I can't do that Mika-chin, that wouldn't be fair."

Was he…whispering? Mika let out a breath and said, "Uh…well, you can buy what you can…and um, buy the rest tomorrow?" There she goes answering with another question. Atsushi grinned once more and nodded. After he bought what he could, Mika escorted the male out of the store and then froze once more. "Oh no, this is bad." She muttered and turned to the tall male who was oblivious to what was happening.

A boy, as tall as Mika, no, he was a few inches taller, approached the girl and ruffled her hair, before pulling her into a hug. He had dark brown hair which was slightly long, but not as long as Murasakibara's. He wore a school uniform, and as soon as the boy pulled the girl for a hug, Murasakibara pulled Mika away and stood in front of her. "Mika-""Don't do that to Mika-chin…I don't like it-""Atsushi! It's okay, he's actually my little brother." Atsushi blinked.

The boy, Mika's little brother, whose name was Rin, frowned at the taller male and said, "Is there a problem with me hugging my sister?" Atsushi shook his head and said, "I didn't know you were her brother." Rin sighed. "Boyfriend, Mika?" Mika blushed and beat her brother on the head before pushing him inside. Rin chuckled and left them alone. "Ignore him, he…he's stupid." Mika said, brushing a hand through her hair. Atsushi blinked with confusion with the way Mika behaved, but spoke nothing.

It was only him, Atsushi thought. Only he didn't understand why Mika pushed her brother inside like that.

Author's Note: Atsushi's such a cute dork. Ah well. Yes. So, tell me what you think guys! Read and review!