"Kotone-chan~!"

Kotone stopped, turning to see who was calling out to her. Much to her surprise, it was Mibuchi Reo jogging and waving happily to her.

"Ohayo, Mibuchi-san." Nevertheless, Kotone smiled and greeted him, waving a little as he finally caught up. She didn't quite understand why he took a liking to her but she had been seeing a lot of him lately. Even during basketball practice, sometimes he would come over to where she sat on the bleachers and make small talk with her. After a while, Hayama and Nebuya had started coming over to bother or tease him about being too much of a ladies' man (much to her chagrin). After the past few weeks, she had actually gotten pretty comfortable with the regulars on the team. They were a little more lively than she was used to (after all, she was mostly used to Asa-chan tuning out her whines) but she was starting to get used to their personalities.

"Kotone-chan, you can call me 'Reo' you know? It's a little weird if I call you by your first name but you don't do the same." Reo lightly poked her in the side to get her attention.

"Oh, yeah, Reo-kun." Kotone laughed, lightly swatting his hand away. "What do you need anyway?"

"I wanted to ask-"

"Oi, Reo!" He was interrupted by Nebuya who had abruptly come up behind him and roughly wrapped his arm around Reo's shoulder, grabbing him into a muscle-y side hug. "Ohayo!"

"Eikichi! I told you that hurts!"

"Hey, Reo-nee, Eikichi! Ohayo~" Hayama was next to wrap his arm around Reo's shoulder, only serving to further irritate him. "Ah, ohayo, Kotone-chan~"

Kotone tried to hold in her laugh as she watched the three of them comically fight. Finally, she heard the bell and so she waved a quick goodbye, "I'm going ahead! Bye~"

With that, she slipped into the classroom just in time for the bell.

~x~

Kotone breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the bell. It was finally lunch time. Although school really didn't bother her that much, Yamato-sensei had a way of drawling that made anyone in the vicinity yawn and want to drift off to sleep. While she may have been smart but she was no exception to the rule.

Although a quick glance at Akashi, who sat a few seats behind her, revealed that he seemed to be immune to it. Of course, that was to be expected of her rival. He was damn near perfect after all.

"Ah, I'm so hungry~" Kotone got out of her seat, stretching a little as she made her way to Asagi's desk. She was stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling from outside the door.

"Kotone-chan!" She turned to see it was Reo again, a gentle smile on his face as he leaned into the classroom.

She found this a bit strange because even though she had gotten more comfortable with the male, she shot a glance at Asagi that said 'I have no clue either' and was quickly answered with a shrug and a gesture for her to go ahead anyway. So still got up and made her way to the door, sliding it shut quietly behind her. She turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised. "What did you need, Reo-kun?"

"I got interrupted this morning. Why don't we go get something to drink while I tell you?"

Kotone glanced back in through the classroom window, quickly meeting eyes with Asagi who waved her on. She nodded and almost involuntarily her eyes focused next on Akashi, who was giving her a steady stare. She had just enough time to wonder what he was thinking before she turned away somewhat embarrassed. What did it matter what he thought anyway?

"Yeah, let's go." She nodded and quickly pulled him down the hall away from the classroom. Though, she knew she was out of sight she still felt a little strange about just leaving like that. Almost as if she had to explain herself. Which she had no obligation to do, and so she brushed the nagging feeling off and went on her merry way.

When they finally found a vending machine, Kotone didn't waste any time choosing her beverage. She always got the same thing, warm green tea.

"You're a tea drinker?"

"Yeah, I love tea. Green tea is my favorite though."

"Hmm, that's weird." Reo hummed to himself as he surveyed his choice in the machine.

"Eh? How so?"

"Well, usually it's grannies that say that kind of thing. You're really spirited so I didn't peg you as a tea drinker at first." He elaborated as he finally made his choice, pushing a button for some kind of soda.

"Hmph...I don't know whether that's a compliment or an insult…" She grumbled as she scooted over to make space for him.

"I mean well~"

"So what were you trying to tell me this morning?"

"Ah, I was going to offer you a proposition." Reo turned towards her, this time a little more serious. "I wanted to suggest that you ask Sei-chan to be the manager."

It took Kotone a minute to first process that he was talking about basketball practice and then another to process exactly what he was asking of her. "Is this a joke or something?" She replied in a flat tone.

"Eh?" Reo seemed surprised, obviously thinking that she would have more of a positive reaction. "Why not? You would be a good fit!"

"Reo I don't know anything about basketball." Kotone scoffed, shaking her head lightly. "These past few weeks are probably the first time I've spent in the gym without it being required."

Reo let out a little laugh at her statement, but still he persisted, "But managers don't need to know much about basketball. All the position really entails is stuff like getting drinks for the team, making sure everyone has a towel, bringing little snacks for the team during training. Stuff that will come easily to someone as intelligent and organized such as yourself."

Kotone felt her resolve crumbling a little at the flattery she received. It had been so long since anyone stroked her ego, "Well, I am pretty intelligent…and organized...actually I'm all around great, hehe~"

Reo resisted the urge to sweatdrop as he watched her shower herself with a few more compliments. But he was close to convincing her so he persisted, "Yeah...you are…"

"Of course I am." She chortled for a few seconds more before she realized what she was doing and awkwardly cleared her throat. She met Reo's gaze head on, much to his surprise, "But what's in it for me is the question."

Reo hummed a little. She was sharp though she acted a bit air-headed at times. She caught onto his intentions easily. "Well, first off it'll probably look better to universities since you aren't currently in an extracurriculars yet."

Kotone mulled this over for a second, before a wicked smirk appeared on her face. "There's gotta be some other reason though."

Reo sighed and finally came clean, "I don't wanna run errands anymore, it's annoying! Why should I have to run errands for Eikichi-kun and Kotaro-kun anyway?!"

Kotone just chuckled, amused by his real motive, "Well...I'll think about it. I would be more worried about Akashi's response if anything."

"That's what I was thinking. But if it's you, I'm sure you can convince Sei-chan." Reo sighed and opened his drink. He took a long gulp seemingly unaware of the accusing look she gave him.

"What are you talking about? I'm pretty sure Akashi-san hates me anyway…and he's so unpredictable..." She grumbled.

"We'll see~" Reo just gave her a slight smile as he got up and threw his finished drink into the nearest trash. "I'll see you at practice, Kotone-chan~"

Kotone ignored his departure, and instead sat still mulling over his proposition. Manager, huh? Well she did like watching their practices, and Reo was right, she needed some extracurriculars under her belt.

It couldn't hurt, right?