FASH: Yosh! I just got Kaleido Star: New Wings in the mail the other day and me and my little sister stayed up until four in the morning to finish the whole season, it was so awesome!

""-speech

''-thoughts

Hiruma could feel his eyebrows just dying to twitch and his hands were positively itching to grab hold of a firearm of any sort, but he had to stay calm, or at least look like he was calm. He couldn't scare the boy in front of him away before he had his little chat with him.

"You." Hiruma brought up his right hand and pressed it harshly against Sena's forehead. "Are getting far to distracted." Sena looked up at him curiously. "What do you mean by that Hiruma-san?"

Alright, screw being calm! "Fucking shrimp! You're not focused on practice at all!" Hiruma yelled as he shot a round of bullets into the sky, smirking when he saw most of the team wince, even though every one but he and Sena were on the field.

"So you'd better pay attention! The most important game of our fucking lives is only a couple of days away!" "But Hiiruuumaaa-saaaan, it's not my fault! I was completely fine until you told me about the blonde thing." Hiruma grit his teeth together. "Well then, stop fantasizing about what dating them would be like and focus on football!" Sena turned as red as his uniform. "I-I'm not thinking about-" "Save the excuses for later now GO FUCKING TRAIN!" Sena nodded and quickly darted to Monta's side, the receiver patting his shoulder for comfort as Sena repeated his mantra. 'Just don't think about them, just don't think about them, just don't think about them!'

Of course, with the threat of an angry Hiruma after him it was a lot easier to concentrate during practice, although once practice was over, it was another story entirely...

"Sena?"

'Do I look girly? Is that why? I mean sure Hiruma-san's forced me into the cheerleaders outfit, but that doesn't mean anything!' "Sena!" 'Sakuraba-san and Mizumachi-san seem so straight! I mean, Mizumachi-san tries to peek at girls in the bathhouse! You don't get much straighter than that!' "SENA!" "Uh, yes Suzuna-chan?" "Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Suzuna had woven her way around him and was now skating backwards in front of him, grinning.

"So Yo-nii was right! You are thinking about what it's like to date them aren't you?" "What! No! No! I would never-" "Awww! You're so cute when you're in denial. So, which one do you like the most?" Sena slumped forward, practically crying and yet thankful that they weren't having this conversation on a bustling street instead of the deserted residential neighborhood that they were in.

"Suzuna-chan, stop making fun of me. I like girls." Suzuna's grin widened. "Oh yeah, name one girl you have a crush on." Sena stopped mid step and frowned, eyebrows drawing together. "... I don't have crushes, but if I had one, it would be on a girl." "How can you say that?! Or more importantly, how can you have never had a crush on someone?!" Sena furrowed his eyebrows together. "But Mamori-neesan is a girl, that would be just weird. And you, you're a girl!" He exclaimed, pointing at her. Suzuna scoffed. "Thanks for noticing." "Why are you walking me home anyways? Don't tell me, you-you h-have a cru-crush on-" "NO! I just want to know which one you like more!" "I don't like either of them in that way!" "I'll be the judge of that, I bet you have a bunch of Sakuraba posters hung up in your room and that you-" "You!" Sena pointed at her. "Are not allowed in my room!" "Oh, so you have something to hide, right? Right?" "Taki-san." Suzuna flinched before scoffing and rolling away.

"Fine, I'll just find out when you're in a less sour mood. Get lots of rest for tomorrow!"

'Honestly, do I seem like the kind of guy who would have posters of a teen idol up in my room?' He sighed dully as he walked up to his front door, hand slowly reaching out for the doorknob when his cell phone began ringing. He reached for it sullenly, having a sneaking suspicion that it was Suzuna and she was going to try and weasel a confession out of him, because he'd never have the nerve to hang up on someone.

He carefully brought the phone to his ear while opening the door and letting himself in. "Hello?" "Hi Sena!" Sena nearly sighed in relief when he heard Mamori's voice, slipping his shoes off before making his way to his room. "Hi Mamori-neesan, what did you want to talk about?" "What are you're plans for tomorrow?" Sena blinked. "Tomorrow?" "Yes tomorrow, you know, the twenty first of December, your sixteenth birthday." Sena nearly tripped over his own feet. "My God, I forgot." "Well I don't blame you, you've been working really hard, you deserve a break. And know, getting down to business, what kind of cake would you like me to make for your big day?" "You really don't have to bake me a cake Mamori-neesan." "Nonsense! It's a ritual, you make cookies for me, I make a cake for you, we can't just abandon tradition!"

Sena let out a weary sigh. "Alright we won't 'abandon tradition' as you put it and just make me what you usually make." "Aw, why don't we spice things up a little this year?" "If you want to." "Alright! I'll talk to you soon!"

Sena snapped his phone shut as he entered his house, Mamori had seemed a lot more excited than usual. 'Maybe she's happy that this year I have more friends to celebrate with, not just her.' And there was no doubt in his mind that Hiruma would know it was his birthday, and that probably meant:

Special Birthday Training.

Sena shuddered at the thought.