Chapter 14.

December was a time for final tests, but for the sport teams the last month of the year also meant they had tournaments scheduled right after the beginning of the long awaited and deserved winter break.

Preliminaries for the Winter Cup had long started back in early November, but as they were the Interhigh runner-ups, they automatically entered the tournament, therefore, they didn't need to worry about those and were simply focused on the tournament itself. After the summer Interhigh results, they had been working even harder than before, and everyone was pretty fired up; the team captain in particular. In fact, Sendoh was one of the ones, who was working the hardest, as it would be the last time he would be playing with the boys since the third years were going to quit the team at the beginning of the new term to let the juniors and the new captain take over. He was aware of the fact he had been a bit of a lousy captain for the rest of the boys regarding his unpunctuality, and usually relied on Koshinoi as far as off court issues were concerned, however, he wanted to enjoy this last tournament and give it his very best yet. It would also be the last time he would be facing off some of the players he had been building up some kind of friendly rivalry with in an official match, so naturally his levels of excitement were over the roof.

As for the final tests, those were already done and long forgotten, so he luckily could shift his focus to some other more interesting things such as his hobbies, and spending time with Aya, whom he hadn't seen at all lately. If he barely saw her before the final tests week started, those times certainly decreased to zero once the finals week started, as she would go straight to the library right after the last period. They would talk on the phone every now and then in the evening, but it was just not as nice. He just missed her so much, and he knew it was the same for her. However, those were sacrifices both of them were willing to make. Aya because of her future, and him because he fully supported her and her dream.

'Don't tell me you messed things up again, Akira. You never learn.'

'What?' He responded, seemingly a bit out of place as he was far too busy thinking on his own business.

'Just asking whether you messed things up again.'

'Of course I didn't. What are you on about, Hiro?' He groaned. 'It is all good. Just thinking how much I miss her.'

'Well, she will be less busy now, won't she? And she will also resume attending practice. Anyway, lover boy' He sighed as he rose from his chair. 'I'm going to go to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. Fancy anything?'

'Such a reliable vice-captain, Hiro.' He chuckled. 'Thank you. Could you grab me a yakisoba pan, and some onigiri?'

'Roger that.'

As Koshino was about to turn on his heels to head to the cafeteria, Sendoh had a sudden idea.

'Hold on—' He tore a piece of paper off his notebook to quickly scribble something on it before he handed the folded piece of paper to his friend. 'Will you take this to Hikoichi?' And by Hikoichi, he undoubtedly meant Aya. 'Please.'

'Instead of your vice-captain, I am just your errand boy.' He shook his head, but took the piece of paper anyway and put it in his pocket, and then walked out of the classroom, heading first to class 2-7.

Koshino was still very much far from amused being his best friend's errand boy because he couldn't quite understand why the hell Sendoh was so adamant about keeping it a secret at school. The fact that he managed to keep it a secret for almost two months was an impressive feat itself, but he couldn't understand it. He had asked him several times before, but he only laughed it off every single time, downplaying it. He even wondered if poor Shibazeki was fully on board with that idea, given that girls would usually get upset over their boyfriends not wanting everyone else to know. On top of that, he'd get wind of the silly rumours circulating among her classmates, and his best friend didn't seem at all bothered by the fact her classmates thought he liked her, or what was worse, that they were dating. It was an absurd situation, but Koshino cared deeply about him, hence, despite not understanding his motives, he would do anything for his friend.

'Hikoichi, message for you,' he said as he approached his desk to leave the note, not sparing Aya a glance, so people wouldn't keep making up more rumours. 'See you later at practice.' He bowed his head slightly at the girls before he left the classroom to finally head to the cafeteria.

'I believe this is for you, Aya-chan,' he whispered and handed Aya the small piece of paper.

'He sure is fast,' Kaori pointed out, 'we barely made it out alive from our last final test just now.'

'Well— We haven't seen each other much for the past few weeks because of the finals, so it is only natural.'

Hectic would be a more suitable word to describe how the last few weeks had been for her. Studying did, in fact, take up most of her time. When she wasn't at school, she was either at the library or at home studying and while they did try to study together at first, so they could at least see each other, it failed miserably, therefore, he suggested they didn't see each other until the very final test was done and over with. Aya refused at first, despite how serious she was about her finals and following her perfectly detailed studying schedule. However, he kept on insisting and ultimately, she ended up agreeing. Sacrifices had to be made after all.

'So, what is it?'

'Nothing, Kao-chan!' She smiled widely, keeping the note in the pocket of her cardigan as soon as she read the message. 'Anyone fancy anything from the cafeteria?'

Kaori, Megumi and Hikoichi looked at each other, confused looks on their faces, as Aya stood up from her chair with a bright and wide smile they hadn't seen since… Mere seconds after, Kaori and Megumi both sent each other knowing looks before they glanced at Aya. It wasn't very hard to tell what kind of message was on the note.

'Melonpan here, Aya.'

'Strawberry milk, please, Aya-chan, if you would be so kind.'

'No rush!'

'Copy that.' She nodded quickly before she practically rushed out of the classroom.

Aya was over the moon as soon as she read the contents written on that small piece of paper.

Meet me at the photography club's room.

And as always, a basketball and a moon at the end of the note. Ever since they started sending each other notes via either Hikoichi or Koshino-kun, or leaving them in their respective lockers, they signed with the same symbols, so they knew whose notes those were from, given that Sendoh received love letters from other girls on pretty much a weekly basis. Aya wasn't surprised in the slightest, since the girls thought he was single, so they were all trying their luck, and while Aya was a bit jealous about that fact, she also admitted it also took the spotlight away from them, so all was well.

'Akira?' Aya tentatively asked after she quietly closed the door behind her once she was in, eyes squinting slightly in an attempt to adjust to the red lightning of the photography club's darkroom.

'Really, my unpunctuality is certainly rubbing off on you,' he said from behind her, immediately wrapping his arms around her.

'…!' Her breath hitched in her throat. 'You startled me!'

'Did I?' He laughed softly, turning her around, so he could see her expression. 'My bad.'

'Idiot.' She playfully hit his arm, one of her cheeks puffed out cutely, as she then hugged him, burying her face in his chest. 'I missed you so much.'

'I missed you so much too. I thought these finals would never end.' He breathed out a long relieved sigh while placing his arms back around her in a warm, tight embrace. 'Did you do well?'

She gave a single nod in response, while he dropped a few kisses here and there atop of her head, falling silent to bask in the warmth of the moment. As Aya had recently discovered, his heartbeat easily became one of her favourite sounds to listen to; finding its rhythm soothing, hence why she always buried her face in his chest first, eyes closing to then move her head ever so slightly closer to his heart, so she could fully listen to that beautiful sound. And as Sendoh himself already knew, but also recently confirmed, he really liked playing with the long strands of her hair. However, it wasn't only loving cuddles they had missed from each other. Pulling slightly away from her, he placed both of his hands on her cheeks, caressing them with his thumbs before he leaned down to her lips, of which distance she closed by rising on her tiptoes, kissing him fully. And as always, a gentle and tender kiss at first, yet they slightly separated not long after, a content smile on each of their faces as they gazed at each other.

'This never gets any easier, does it?' He pecked her lips one last time before straightening up his back, smiling at her in amusement.

'You are just too tall,' she said.

'Meanwhile you are perfectly way shorter.' He laughed, then booped her nose affectionately.

'Silly.' And she couldn't help but smile, nose scrunching up slightly. 'Anyway, how come we had never thought of the photography club as a meeting spot?'

'Must be because we are a pair of idiots.'

'That must be you! Not me.'

'We are a couple, so my bad traits are slowly rubbing off on you.'

'That is simply not true.'

'It is very much true. Unpunctuality is the first one of them.'

He laughed once again, pinching both of her cheeks gently before he locked the door, just in case. Under no circumstances would he have another similar situation to the one in his bedroom last month, and let alone at the school. Aya meanwhile was inspecting the photographs taken by the club members, trying to spot his works among the other ones.

'So this is where you reveal your photos, right?'

'Photography club kindly lets me use it whenever nobody is in. That's why I'm sometimes late in the mornings. I come to collect my photos before anyone else sees them.' He nodded. 'Like photos of you or us. As for my scenery photos, there must be a few of those hung up there with the other ones.'

'It would be really bad if someone found out, hm?' she said as she reached for one of his hands.

'Is it really okay with you if we continue keeping it a secret?'

'It's okay.' She gave him a reassuring smile while squeezing his hand. 'There are just 4 months left until you graduate, so things will calm down by next school year.'

Graduation wasn't a topic they often discussed, as that filled them with nothing but sadness. Keeping their relationship a secret at school couldn't even compare to the fact they wouldn't see each other as much once the new school year started, however, at least they had the spring holiday to make up for that.

'Despite quitting the basketball team once the new term starts, you know I'll still walk you home after practice, don't you?'

'I do.'

She nodded at him, stopping at one of the empty tables at her back, propping herself up with both of her hands, so she could sit on it, her legs hanging in the air, then he took a few steps closer to her, standing in front of her.

'Ah. This is now better.'

In response, Aya leaned forward to peck his lips a few times, her smile only widening more and more as he returned all of the quick and short kisses back before his hands came up to set on her cheeks, as he usually did.

'Let's go out somewhere later after practice. We haven't been on a date in ages.'

'Can't.' Her lower lip jutted out in a small pout. 'Sleepover at Kao's tonight.'

'That's— that's not fair,' he said in a voice Aya thought to be incredibly adorable —like a little child protesting.

'Jarrett-san is away in Tokyo, so we all thought it would be a good idea to have a sleepover after final tests.'

'Are you girls going to be talking about Rukawa, again?'

'Wh—what do you mean by that?' She tried to laugh it off. 'We do not talk about him. I mean— we do, but what's with that face?'

'So, you think he's so handsome and cool, don't you?' His tone turned suddenly inquisitive, as he looked intently into her eyes.

'Don't tell me you are jealous.'

'Of course I'm not. I'm just teasing.'

'Silly.' She smiled sweetly at him.

And then silence. His eyes were still intensely fixated on hers, while she tried her very best to hold his stare, and Aya was thankful for the red lightning in the room, since that meant her reddening cheeks would perfectly blend in. His gaze alternated between her eyes, her lips and then her neck, before setting back up on her eyes once again, as he was gently untying her braids to let her hair down before he put it back up on a messy bun instead. Once he did that, she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly, a curious expression across her facial features, to which he simply showed a sort of cryptid smile in response, before he drew himself closer to her face, lips finally meeting again. Like before, it was a delicate and subtle kiss, each of them making sure to savour the moment and each other, as he then slowly separated from her lips to trail small fleeting kisses from her cheek, to her chin, to the spot of her neck leading up to her ear, and then down her neck, stopping at the area where shoulder and neck connect to briefly look up at her for approval, which she gladly gave by tilting her neck towards him.

Kissing did indeed feel really good, but as soon as she felt his lips caressing her neck, she couldn't help that funny feeling from building up again, nor the way gasps left her lips at the slow, wet kisses over that sensitive zone. Slowly, his hands came to rest on her hips, holding her gently, while one of hers did the same on his arm, gripping tightly every time she felt his tongue touching her skin. He continued kissing her neck, even daring to nibble on her skin, earning —which he thought it was— a soft moan from her. Upon that sweet sound, he dropped one last kiss to the curve of her neck before moving his face back up, taking in her expression. The way her lips were slightly parted, breathing in and out, and how tightly she was grabbing his arm. She looked absolutely beautiful, and tempting. Very tempting. But before he could collect his thoughts, Aya surprised him, yet once again, by moving her arms up to wrap them around his neck, lips crashing against his. Unlike the gentle kiss before, it was intense and passionate, letting the other know how much they'd missed them. The hands that were at her hips now travelled down her thighs to sneak under her skirt, finally touching the bare skin of her thighs, and the more he touched it, the hotter it felt under his fingers, almost like burning. The kiss simply continued growing in intensity, filling the sweet silence of the room with their sounds and heavy breathings. The same way he was touching her skin, she felt the need to do the same, and so unwrapping her arms, she brought them to the collar of his gakuran and undid the first button, then fumbled her way down, undoing the other ones, and yet before she could even reach to slide her hands under his tee, she was met with his hands grabbing hers, which prompted her to slowly break the kiss, mainly also because of the need for air.

'Akira?'

'I—I want us to continue this, trust me—' He paused between his words, gasping for air, as so was she.

'Then why?'

'I know I won't be able to stop myself, Aya.' He sighed deeply, leaning his forehead against hers.

'But it is not fair…' She whispered. 'I never get to touch you— I want to know how your skin feels too…'

'And you will. I also want to feel that, but today— I feel like I pushed my limits. The more I touch you, the more I need to have all of you, and honestly school is really not the best place nor timing.'

'Sorry— I didn't mean to push it.'

'There's nothing to be sorry for. My worrywart girlfriend.' He added on a fond note. 'If anything, you know—I'm happy we are on the same page about this.'

'Me too.' She inhaled sharply to then let out a long and deep sigh, still feeling her chest going up and down from the intensity of the moment. 'I didn't know I had this kind of thing in me though…' She muttered.

'What thing?'

'You know. This.'

'Oh, that. Hormones are a funny thing.' He laughed as he helped her down the table.

Hormones certainly were a very funny thing. From the few things she had heard about it, or read in manga, it seemed as if the hormones thing was something more associated with boys than girls, hence, the surprise to find out girls seemed to be able to also feel it so intensely as boys did. It was obviously her lack of knowledge in the matter, but she felt happy she was exploring it with someone she dearly loved, and loved her back the same way.

'I think we should be heading back to our classrooms before lunchtime is over,' he said.

'You should do your buttons, I think.' She suggested.

'And you should fix your hair, although it looks adorable, if you ask me.'

'But—' She pouted. 'You made such a beautiful bun. I love it.'

'I'm happy you like it, but like—' He gave her an amused grin. 'I have the feeling some spot on your neck might be slightly red.'

As soon as he mentioned that, Aya quickly undid her bun and covered her neck with her hair, tying it into two low pigtails, so her hair would stay in place, hopefully covering whatever redness her skin might have.

'I told you I have some difficulties stopping myself around you.' He laughed while putting one arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. 'So you shouldn't really complain nor blame me.'

'It will be bad if someone sees that! You are such an idiot, Akira.'

'To be fair, it is probably the red lightning so it will be okay.'

Still laughing, he let go of her to go unlock the door, opening it slightly to check the corridor was empty before the two of them could sneak out of the photography's club room without being seen, since the photography darkroom was in a corridor far from where the classrooms were located, so it all worked out fine for them, or so they thought. As they were reaching the corner where they had to turn in order to go back to their respective classrooms, they ended up running into the person they least wanted to see.

'My, my! Isn't it my favourite two people ever?' Kasumi chirped, clasping both of her hands together. 'I haven't seen you in such a long time.'

'What do you want, Oda?'

'Me? Just greeting you two, of course.' She smiled. 'Fancy running into you here.'

'We have nothing to say to you,' he said.

'My!' She giggled and covered her lips. 'Such hostility today. Are you all that sure being with her didn't turn you sour and bitter? Ah. What a waste.'

'Your ugly personality sure is a waste—'

'I would advise her to learn her place if I were you, Akira. Anyway, as usual, I've got more pressing matters to attend to. Clock is ticking.' She warned.

'What do you mean by that?'

'Just that. Clock is ticking.'

The same way Kasumi showed up out of nowhere, she vanished into thin air by the time their minds finished processing her enigmatic words.

'Do you think she'll do something?'

'We shouldn't let our guard down. I'll see you later at practice.'

Pressing a simple kiss to her cheek, he was the first one to head back to his classroom before she also did the same, just on time before the lunchtime was finished.

'The trip to the cafeteria surely took you a long time.' Kaori pointed out as soon as Aya made it back to her desk. 'I said no rush but you took ages.'

'Very packed,' she replied, 'Megumi?'

'Megumi-chan is already back in her classroom,' Hikoichi responded to her question, 'were melonpans sold out already, Aya-chan?'

'Melonpan?' She asked, clearly confused by the question.

'She didn't go to the cafeteria, but to attend some other matters, Hikoichi,' Kaori added in a low, teasing tone.

'Other matters?' The boy gave a confused expression, eyebrows furrowed before his eyes opened in realisation. 'Oh.'

'Very pretty change of hairstyle, by the way. Wonder what happened to your braids.' She teased.

'S—stop that…!' She shushed her friend with a wave, cheeks in a bright red colour.

And fortunately for Aya, Kaori ceased her teasing for the time being as their home room teacher entered the room, just on time for the next period. But Aya… was simply too distracted to even pay attention to whatever the teachers said during the remaining periods they had for the day, her mind only being filled with one thing —undoubtedly him. Now that final tests were finished and over with, she allowed herself, again, to daydream about her boyfriend, and especially after what had just happened that day. However, she still thought it wasn't fair at all. He got to kiss her neck and caress her thighs while she hadn't even been able to do similar things. Of course, she respected and understood his point, yet she really wanted to do the same.

'Daydreaming still, are we Aya?' Kaori's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

'Very much so…' She admitted. 'What is it?'

'Classes are finished, so you should be heading to the gym. Megu and I will be going too, so then we can all head to mine for our sleepover.' She smiled widely.

Waving goodbye to Kaori, she grabbed her school bag and headed to the female locker room to first get changed into her sportsgear, making sure her two pigtails were still covering her neck before going to the basketball court, where some of the guys were already there doing their warming up, and to her surprise, Akira was already there as well. Smiling widely at him, she sent him a quick wave before going to stand on her usual spot, which was next to coach Taoka, unless she had to help Akira with anything.

'You have never attended practice here before, have you?' Megumi asked Kaori as both girls were watching practice from the doors of the gym.

'As if I would do it willingly, Megu-chan. You like it though, don't you?'

'I do. That's how I met Aya-chan.' She smiled kindly.

'She mentioned it so many times. It was very sweet of you.'

'Poor Aya-chan looked so helpless when she was suddenly thrown into this craziness not long after the start of the school year.'

'We have to thank Hikoichi for that,' Kaori said, 'weren't it not for him, Aya wouldn't have met Sendoh. And the three of us wouldn't have become friends either.'

' Fate again.' Kaori thought. There were chances of Aya and Sendoh meeting anyway, given they had a sort of meet-cute at the beginning of the school year, but it wouldn't have turned out the same way, weren't it for Hikoichi pushing for her to become the manager. Thoughts about fate undoubtedly dragged her mind back to Rukawa. The black-haired male had been in her mind longer than she would like to openly admit, and even when she dropped by Next Door Records the other day and saw Shin, despite the older male giving her butterflies and all of that, her mind was still set on the Shohoku boy. Watching the Ryonan boys practice actually also made her think of Rukawa, and while they were insanely good too, nobody came closer to him in her books as far as skills were concerned, or how cool he looked all the time while on court. Although she knew her dear best friend would fight her on that and would probably give her a full on presentation about how her boyfriend beat everyone else in those departments —she had no proof but zero doubts either that Aya was perfectly capable of doing such a thing.

'Ready to go?' Aya asked the two of them as soon as she came out of the locker room, back in her school uniform.

'Ready.'

'Is he coming all the way to my place too?' Kaori pointed at Sendoh after he approached them.

'Always so nice, Kao-san.' He laughed. 'Why yes. Think of me as… another Hikoichi.'

'Very hard to do so.'

'Ah… that sounds impossible, Sendoh-senpai.'

'It is impossible, Akira. I said it once already, didn't I? Hikoichi is— Hikoichi. Honorary member of the Shibaharu sisters.'

'Shibaharu?'

'Yes!' She nodded. 'Shibazeki, Orihara and Mitchell.'

'I still think Melonpan sisters is a better name—' Kaori noted.

'That still is a terrible name,' Aya remarked.

'We all love melonpan, so it is a fitting name.'

'Kaarage sisters?' Another suggestion from Kaori.

'That is even worse!' Aya laughed loudly.

'Melonpan sisters sounds cute though.' Sendoh chimed in.

'That's because it is a great name! Thank you.' Kaori grinned widely while raising her hand to high-five the male.

'Tempura sisters sound awesome, Aya. You should consider that one too,' he suggested before breaking into laughter.

'That sounds worse than worse. When did the two of you become such great friends?'

'I wouldn't say great—'

'But very good friends.'

Seeing her best friend and boyfriend getting along was something Aya was wishing for ever since she started dating Akira, so to finally see they actually got along well and they regarded the other as very good friends made her happy. She knew Kaori would deny it over and over, but Aya knew she had a sort of soft spot for him, otherwise they wouldn't have such playful banter. Although that did explain something.

'You told him I said Rukawa was cool and handsome!' Aya gasped and pointed an accusing finger at Kaori.

'I might or might have not.' She shrugged. 'Ah… I'm not so sure.'

'Of course you did! I know for a fact Megumi didn't, so that leaves you as the only culprit!'

'There is only one truth—' Kaori added in a sort of solemn tone.

'That truth is you telling him.'

'You are very much mistaken, Aya-chan. The only truth here is that you said those words.'

'I only agreed to what Megumi said, which is an objective fact we all here can agree with!'

'To be fair, you said he was cool, Aya-chan.' Megumi nodded.

'Honestly, I even agree with it,' he said, nodding with a gentle expression on his face. 'Is Rukawa a recurring conversation topic or—?'

'Oh. Didn't she tell you why?' Aya asked, giving Kaori a knowing smile. 'Too bad she forgot to mention that little detail.'

'The why is not relevant to this.'

'But it is, Kaocchin.' Aya kept on grinning widely. 'The thing is, we were talking about him because Kaori lik—'

And before Aya could even finish her sentence, Kaori's hand swiftly came to cover her mouth, preventing her from spilling her darkest and most embarrassing secret to her boyfriend, but clueless as ever Sendoh, just watched the scene before him in sheer amusement, laughing as he, obviously, didn't understand at all what was quite going on between the two girls, despite it being very painfully obvious by the way Aya was hinting at it. Once she was sure Aya wouldn't attempt to say anything further regarding Rukawa, she slowly retreated her hand, giving her a scary look. Aya wasn't going to tell him about the whole thing, but there was something very fun, and cute about the way Kaori was still very much in denial about her feelings towards him, and to be fair, Akira wouldn't notice unless he was told directly about it —sometimes his oblivious nature was a positive thing.

The three girls kept on chatting for the rest of the way to Kaori's house while he remained in silence, save for the few words he said here and there, observing how Aya acted whenever she was with her friends. She usually wasn't the overly talkative type, but when she was with her friends, it was the complete opposite, and needless to say the three of them had a very amusing dynamic. Kaori was the strong and straightforward type, but with soft sides, whereas Aya was the sweeter and softer type, yet she had a very strong character in her, and Megumi was the serene and quiet presence both Aya and Kaori needed in order to perfectly balance their friendship, and the honorary member of the group, Hikoichi, was undoubtedly the lively and full of excitement type every group needed. As for his closest group of friends, he was the airhead everyone loved, despite getting on his friends nerves from time to time, whereas Hiro was the voice of reason, brutally honest sometimes, serious, but a loyal friend, and as for Fukku-chan, he was the quiet and also very honest type, who would blurt out silly things from time to time, albeit tad sensitive deep down. Aside from his close friends from high school and basketball team, he also occasionally met with Maki from Kainan, and sometimes Shoyo's Fujima also joined them. Both of them were one year older than him and already attending university, but they kept in touch after the two graduated last year. In fact, Maki and him sometimes ran into each other at the beach during the summer when he was out fishing and the older guy was surfing. Sendoh usually got along well with everyone he met, however, he liked to keep his circle of friends small, as too many social activities would clash with his preference of being on his own doing things he liked.

'Megumi and I will be heading in first before the two of you get all lovey dovey, etcetera.' Kaori smiled at the two of them. 'See ya next week, dawg,' she said in English.

'Have a lovely weekend, Sendoh-senpai.' Megumi, as ever so polite, waved at him.

'Enjoy the sleepover, melonpan sisters.' He showed a thumbs up at Kaori, who did the same in return before she and Megumi went inside the house. 'So.' She turned to look at Aya, grabbing both of her hands gently. 'Sunday date?'

'Can't,' she said with a small pout, 'I have plans with my mum after practice.'

'I'm starting to think you are avoiding spending time with me.'

'That's not it. My mum wants to take me shopping.' Her pout only got more prominent. 'I do want to spend time with you, and I miss spending time with you so much…'

'I know that.' He poked her nose before kissing her pout away. 'I'm just teasing you. But we are going on a date next weekend, okay? I'll come kidnap you if I need to.' He joked.

'Both Saturday and Sunday dates.' She nodded. 'Why don't you come over for dinner this Sunday though? I know it is not the same, but mum and Kyô have been asking about you.'

'Very gladly so.'

'And could you please ask Kanae-nee too? My mum would love to meet her.'

'I'll ask her.'

She then reached for one of the ends of his scarf to pull him down closer to her so she could peck his lips in return, and a few more times before she hesitantly pulled away in order to head inside Kaori's house, waving at him before closing the front door behind her.

'They surely are so sweet and lovey dovey, aren't they Megu?' Kaori said as soon as Aya walked further inside to meet her friends, who were already in the living room.

'They really are, Kaori-chan.' Megumi smiled kindly.

'What's with you two now?' She laughed, a subtle pink hue spreading to her cheeks.

'Nothing, just pointing out how sweet you were while saying goodbye.' Kaori grinned.

'Very sweet how Aya-chan pulled his scarf, right?

'Kaori… and not you too, Megumi…!' Her cheeks got even redder if possible, grabbing one of the cushions from the couch to cover her face with it.

'Anyway—' Kaori paused. 'We should decide on what activities we will be doing!'

'Movies and eating sweets until our tummies hurt!' Aya suggested.

'We should also order pizza, shouldn't we?'

'Good idea, Kaocchin.'

'Pillow fight.'

'Truth or dare!'

The three of them continued on suggesting more and more ideas until they finally settled on the usual activities, such as watching a movie later on while having pizza, and also eating ice cream afterwards, karaoke, etc. Since it was already rather late in the evening, they first made sure to order a pizza before getting changed into something more comfortable such as their pyjamas while they waited for their pizza. For Aya, it was the first sleepover she'd been to in a very long time. Sure, she'd been to sleepovers in elementary school, but none once when started middle school, let alone her first year of high school, therefore, this being her first real sleepover made her feel thankful and happy she had two great friends. What else could she be asking for?

'You know what, girls?' Kaori suddenly asked as they were in the living room, channel surfing trying to find something to watch later.

'What is it, Kaocchin?'

'We could also invite Ayako-chan and Haruko-chan to a future sleepover.'

'That sounds like a splendid idea.' Megumi chimed in. 'The more, the merrier, right?'

'I'm sure it would be lots of fun with them too,' Aya said while nodding in agreement, 'awfully close to the Shohoku team, aren't we, Kao?'

'I've been named the Ryonan spy by that wild monkey.' Kaori rolled her eyes.

'Well, to be fair to him, I'm pretty sure he thinks you are one if you drop by often.' Aya laughed.

'Not as often as you two think.'

'Surely not…' Both Aya and Megumi said in unison, giving each other playful looks.

Before Aya and Megumi could start their teasing session, the doorbell rang and Kaori quickly went to open the door, paying for the pizza to then take it back to the living room where they could eat it while sitting on the floor, watching anything that could be playing on the tv at the moment since they weren't too picky about it, as they were far more entertained by eating the pizza while chatting with each other than the actual tv itself. And as for Kaori, while she had few sleepovers here and there when she was living in LA, nothing could compare to being able to have a sleepover with Aya, and Megumi too of course, after so many years, as, obviously, teenagers slumber parties were completely different from the ones they used to have when they were kids.

'What are your plans for the winter break?' Megumi asked.

'Winter Cup,' Aya replied, almost right away, 'and spending time with Akira too.'

'Unwillingly being dragged to Tokyo for the Winter Cup, as well. Pops booked us accommodation near the stadium, so he can attend as many matches as he can.'

'As expected of Jarrett-san. I'm happy I'll see you there though.' Aya smiled widely. 'What about you, Megumi?'

'My family will probably want to go skiing as we usually do during winter break. But I'll do my best to attend at least one important match.'

Megumi had never had many close friends before, therefore, school breaks were mainly spent with her family because they loved to travel a lot, but now that she had two really close friends that she considered to be almost like her own sisters, Megumi didn't wish to spend as much time with her family and rather be with her friends. And fortunately for her, her parents were pretty open-minded and kind, so they always made sure to ask Megumi beforehand in case she had any plans with her friends. Her mother, Sayuri, was a bridal gowns designer —the reason why she was much into fashion— whereas her father, Takashi, worked in film production as an editor. They sometimes got really busy with work, but she always had her three older brothers to look after her, albeit they could be a bit too much from time to time. Seijirou was the oldest of the four siblings at 24 years old, and worked in finance. Daiki, 22, was a professional tennis player while Kei was 21 years old, studying art history while also being on the track team of his university, and while Seijirou already graduated a couple of years ago, he used to be on the baseball team of his school and then university, therefore, Megumi grew up quite surrounded by sports, so despite her love for fashion, she also enjoyed sports, albeit she was more of a watcher than someone who actively did sports, since she happened to be pretty bad at them.

Once they finished their family size pizza, they decided it was a good time to hold an impromptu karaoke session, however, given that Kaori and her father mostly only had English speaking artists albums in their music collection, they deemed it best to pass on the chance of singing since neither Megumi nor Aya knew any lyrics to any English song, and probably wouldn't even be able to sing along to it, therefore, they settled on grabbing a tub of chocolate ice cream from the freezer to eat it while they watched a movie that was currently being broadcasted on TV.

'We should have rented some movies, we are so dumb. There's nothing good on TV right now.' Kaori complained.

'We should have, but alas.' Aya agreed while scooping up a full spoonful of ice cream.

'Tora-san Makes Excuses is a fun movie at least.'

The film itself was a comedy film about Tora-san's nephew, his love interest and his rival for the love of the girl, so at least it was a fun film to laugh about and have a good time without thinking too much. Although, the three of them made sure to take mental note of renting some films for the next sleepover: while Kaori happened to have several VHS at home, all of those belonged to her father's kaiju and sci-fi collection, meaning nothing that could possibly pique the interest of three high school girls. Film itself was fun, but halfway through the third commercial break, and prolly slightly bored by it, the three of them ended up engaging in a cushion fight, which was started by Aya.

'Bold of you, Aya, to think you can beat me at pillow fighting.'

'When did you come up with such a line?' Aya bursted out laughing, trying to hit Kaori, who dodged the hit skillfully.

'The line sounded like something Rukawa-kun would say.'

'Oh my god, Megu, you are absolutely right!' Aya laughed even louder, although wincing in pain once Kaori hit her.

'Right?' Megumi said in her usual sweet voice, but seized the chance of Kaori being distracted to hit her.

The three of them continued trying to hit each other with the cushions, even running around the living room and into the entrance, back to the living room again as they tried to escape from whoever was trying to hit them. Kaori and Aya were the ones who were most into it, also trying to tease each other meanwhile and because they were so distracted by trying to push each other's buttons, Megumi emerged victorious from the battle.

'I think I won.' Megumi smiled softly while giving both Kaori and Aya a peace sign with both hands.

'That was a very clever move, Megu.' Kaori admitted.

'Very smart indeed.' Aya agreed. 'That was very fun though. Remember when we used to do that when we were kids, Kaori?'

'I sure do. You always ended up winning back then, because you were a wild beast.'

'Wild beast?' Megumi asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

'She looks very harmless now, but Aya used to be very wild when she was a child, always running around, climbing up the trees and fighting the boys.'

'I find it— very hard to believe… Aya-chan seems so soft, calm and collected now.'

'I sure loved fighting the bullies and spending the whole day exploring.' Aya smiled wide. 'I guess that's the perk of growing up with an older brother. You are the wild one now, though.'

'Am I?' Kaori tilted her head, pretending to think. 'Looks like our roles have changed now, but we are still more or less the same deep down.'

'We really are. I do wonder how Megumi used to be when she was a child though.'

'Me? I was very quiet. I don't think I have changed much…'

And that bit was pretty much true. Megumi had always been the quiet and reserved type. Her three older brothers were already active and lively enough, therefore, she had a more calm demeanour compared to her siblings. She was also very sweet, always keen on helping whoever needed it and as her mother often would say, she was too kind and pure at heart, as she always saw the good in people, even when they were mean to her.

'That was exhausting after eating that much ice cream, though,' Kaori said as she was lying down on the couch.

'I think it is time for truth and dare.' Megumi nodded.

'It sure is. Who should be starting?'

'How about…the older one starts while the younger one asks? And so on. I am the oldest since my birthday falls on the 20th April, while Kaori-chan is on the 12th August and Aya-chan happens to be the younger one on 7th October.'

'Sounds very fair.'

'So Megumi-chan.' Aya started off. 'Truth or dare?'

'Ah… truth.'

'Is there anyone you currently like?'

'Not at the moment.' She answered, showing a kind smile.

'No one at all?' Kaori asked.

'At all.'

'At all…. at all? Ito-kun from our class often asks us about you though.' Aya added.

'Ah, he's nice, isn't he?' She chuckled.

'Boring is the particular word you are looking for.' Kaori nodded. 'Anyone from the infamous basketball team maybe?'

'Everybody on the basketball team is pretty intimidating… I wouldn't know how to approach them. It will happen at some point though. I'm not in a rush.'

'Right?' Both Aya and Kaori agreed easily, smiling at her friend.

'So I guess now it is my turn to ask Kaori-chan. Truth or dare?'

'I feel safe with Megumi, so dare.'

'I dare you to eat a spoonful of wasabi.'

'Easy peasy, girls.'

Kaori grinned widely and went to the kitchen to grab both the tube of wasabi and a spoon to squeeze some wasabi on it and then eat it. She loved spicy food, but that might as well have been too much as she actually put way too much wasabi on it, so her eyes started to well up while heat rose to her cheeks from the spiciness. Unable to hold it in any longer, she ran back to the kitchen in order to drink some cold milk, while Aya and Megumi were laughing in the back.

'Awful, but quite the success. Now it is my time to ask. So, Aya truth or dare?'

'Both sound equally bad coming from you… Dare.'

'I dare you to hop around like a bunny by the front gate for one minute.'

'That seems feasible.'

Grabbing her coat, Aya went outside of the house while Kaori and Megumi remained inside by the open door, watching Aya check her surroundings first before starting to hop like a bunny by the front door, and although she felt very embarrassed seeing the looks of the people who happened to see her, she managed to complete the dare. For the next rounds, the three of them just picked dare to do the silliest dare any of them come up with. From eating more spoonfuls of weird food to asking the neighbour for some sugar, which Megumi successfully managed to complete.

'It is time to up the game, I think. Truth or dare, Kaocchin?'

'Dare, again.'

'I dare you to call Rukawa-kun and tell him how afraid you are of rabbits.'

'It's not as bad as I expected but—' She laughed. 'He's going to think I've gone mad.'

Shaking her head at both girls, Kaori walked to where the landline was and after checking her father's telephone book, she dialled Rukawa's number, deep down hoping he wouldn't pick up as it was rather late and he was likely to be sleeping already, but to her dismay, a sleepy, and very angry, Rukawa picked up the phone.

'I don't care who you are, but you disturbed my sleep, so I'll be hanging up.'

'Rukawa?'

'...Kaori-san?' His angry voice seemed to have subdued slightly, but still sounded like he wasn't too pleased.

'The very same.'

'Why are you calling so late?'

'You see…' She laughed. 'Have I ever told you that rabbits scare me to death?'

'Eh?'

'Yes. It's just seeing their small paws and ears, hopping around like they are about to come and get me… it is terrifying, don't you think?'

'...'

'That thought always keeps me up at night and it is a recurring nightmare—'

'Good night.'

As soon as he hung up, both Aya and Megumi finally stopped holding their laughter after listening to the whole conversation as the phone was on speaker mode.

'He is going to hate me for sure for having woken him up to tell him such a stupid thing.'

'But that is the beauty of dares.' Aya nodded, still laughing loudly.

'Truth or dare, Aya?'

'Mhm… I'll pick truth this time.'

'I wonder what we should ask her, Megumi.' A wide grin formed in her lips as she leaned towards Megumi, the both of them whispering amidst giggles. 'What's the farthest you have gone with Sendoh? It's for science.'

'What science are you even talking about?' She immediately started blushing. ' Well— not that far really. Just making out.'

'Kaori-chan and I were wondering since she spotted the subtle red mark on your neck and the sudden change of hairstyle after lunch.'

'No shame at all, doing such things at school.' Kaori shook her head in disapproval. 'Where did you meet, anyway? Is there an actual secret spot in the school?'

'The photography's club darkroom. They let him use it whenever it's empty.'

'Of course he'd take you there. What a rascal.'

As it was way past midnight already, the three of them deemed it best to simply go to bed as they were pretty tired from the long day at school and fun they had. They first brushed their teeth and then they all went to Kaori's bedroom, where two futons were already laid down for Aya and Megumi. Once they wished each other goodnight, silence fell in the room, albeit neither of them could quite fall asleep yet. Aya was the first one to break that silence.

'Thank you for being my friends, Kao and Megu, and for having my back. I couldn't ask for better friends.'

'I'm happy I met Aya-chan and Kao-chan, and that I can call the two of you my best friends.'

'What's with the sudden mush?'

'Just say it Kaocchin.'

'Fine.' Pause. 'I'm grateful to have the two of you in my life.'

'Sisters, right?'

'You are right, Megumi. Melonpan sisters.'

'That name is still a no from me.'

'Tempura sisters sound better.'

'Akira and you enabling each other was something I should have seen coming.'

'An unlikely duo.'

'Good night, girls.'

Kaori responded with a soft laugh before the room became silent once again until it was her breaking the silence this time.

'I don't know what to do about Rukawa. I really— do like him. As much as I want to keep denying it.'

'What's the matter about it, Kaori-chan? We are happy you are admitting to it though.'

'The matter is that I don't think I could ever get between him and basketball. And to be honest, I don't think dating and things like that are too far up on his priority list.'

'He certainly gives off those vibes,' Aya said, 'but I would try if I were you, Kaori. Regret is no good at all.'

'Aya-chan is right. You have to be brave when it comes to love issues.'

'That's surprisingly bold from Megumi.'

'Bold but true. You have to take the initiative because I doubt he'll do that if ever.' Aya nodded to herself.

'Thing is, I also like somebody else.' Kaori added in a lower tone hoping it would be inaudible for the two girls.

'Our Kaocchin is such a temptress.' Aya laughed. 'Do we know him?'

'He works at the record store I usually go to, and Rukawa happens to know him too, since he goes to the same record store, so… it only makes everything more complicated.' She couldn't help but sigh.

'Aren't you just looking for excuses not to face your feelings for Rukawa-kun, Kaocchin?'

'I am not.' She paused. 'Maybe. I don't know…'

'The more you fight against your feelings, the more those will grow. Remember we are here for you, Kaocchin.'

'Exactly. Whatever you might need, Aya-chan and I will always have your back.'

Perhaps Aya was right and she was just looking for excuses not to face her feelings for him, because being in denial about them somehow sounded better than to face the possibility of rejection and heartbreak. She had seen how much distress and sadness Aya was in for weeks, and she didn't want to feel anything remotely close to that kind of disappointment and pain, however, as Megumi said, maybe she should be just brave enough to try her luck with him, regardless of the outcome.

By the time they woke up the following morning, it was already noon since they went to bed pretty late. Aya wasn't planning on going to bed so late, since she had to attend training the following morning, but for the first time ever, she ended up missing it altogether. Maybe Akira was right and his bad traits were unfortunately starting to rub off on her. Since training had long finished already, Aya decided to just join Kaori and Megumi for lunch and a stroll afterwards before they bid each other farewell as Megumi had to get back home while Aya and Kaori did the same. Now, they loved spending time together, but each had hobbies they liked to focus on, therefore, Aya and Kaori also waved goodbye to each other and headed into their respective homes. On one hand, Kaori wanted to spend some time songwriting whereas Aya just wanted to do some reading and embroider a little bit, since embroidery made her feel at ease.

Having skipped practice, she made sure to wake up extra early on Sunday, so she could be the first one to arrive at the gym. They rarely had training on Sundays, but coach Taoka specially requested the school board to let the basketball team use the gym on the weekends in order to prepare for the upcoming tournament. Once she arrived, she went straight to get changed and proceeded to prepare everything the team would need for the day, as slowly the boys and coach were beginning to arrive; Sendoh being one of the early birds.

'It's not only unpunctuality that's rubbing off on you, but also skipping practices. My, my.'

'I didn't do it deliberately—'

'Too much fun with the melonpan sisters?' He asked, pinching her cheeks gently.

'We went to bed really late, and by the time we woke up, it was way past noon…'

'It's cute though,' he said, 'my bad traits rubbing off on you, I mean.' Grinning widely, he quickly leaned down to peck her cheek.

'Sendoh, Shibazeki!' Coach Taoka called them. 'Enough of this nonsense! You idiot, start your warm up and you, Shibazeki, here with me!'

'Sorry, Taoka-sensei.' He showed the man his usual kind smile. 'I was just reminding our dear manager that skipping practices is not acceptable' he said, sending Aya a wink before going to start the warm up.

Meanwhile Aya's both cheeks puffed out in annoyance at his words, as that prompted coach Taoka to lecture her on how skipping practices wasn't okay. The nerve he had to say such a thing when he had been arriving late or skipping a few practices here and there altogether for the past 3 years. Of course that she knew he was teasing her, once again, but that didn't mean she wasn't annoyed, but she decided to simply let it go for the moment, and hopefully she would get it back at him at some point, eventually.

The rest of the practice ran smoothly, and Aya could tell everyone was more high-spirited than usual, although with high-spirits also came a sort of anxiety about the Winter Cup. They were the runners-up from the summer Interhigh, so under no circumstances were they allowed to underperform, if anything, they must exceed everybody's expectations, and everyone was working even harder than they did before the Interhigh. Akira, in particular, was the one who seemed in the highest spirits. Despite his lack of regard towards punctuality, he always delivered in practice, being an exemplary captain to everyone in the team whenever they trained together.

'Coach Taoka reprimanded me for skipping practice thanks to you!' Aya approached Akira after practice was over, handing him his towel.

'Is it really thanks to me though?' He laughed. 'You skipped practice, not me.'

'Still, not fair at all.'

'Not fair, but so cute. I'll see you later, okay? I'm going to stay to train with the boys for a longer while.'

'Then I should stay too! You guys will probably need extra help—'

'Go and meet your mother, Aya.' He smiled at her. 'Kanae is coming to pick me up here, so we will head to your house later on.'

'See you later then.' She pecked his cheeks a couple of times before rushing into the locker room to get changed.

Aya didn't usually spend time with her mum now that she was spending her spare time with either Akira or her beloved best friends, therefore, once her mother asked her to spend a girls' afternoon with her, she didn't hesitate and accepted right away. Already back in her casual clothes, she waved goodbye to the boys staying at the gym, especially her boyfriend before setting off towards the meeting spot with her mother, which happened to be the local train station. Her mother owned a car, but she regularly took the public transport because driving everyday to Yokohama —where her office was— was very inconvenient and sometimes the train took less time than the car during rush hour. As her mother previously told her, she took her shopping, which was something she loved doing with her when she was a child, not because she loved or understood fashion at all, but because she liked seeing her mother happy, although back then, she could be really annoying regarding Aya refusing to wear dresses. However, now that Aya was a teenager, she could appreciate clothes shopping the same way her mother did —or at least some way close to it.

'It really seems like yesterday when you used to run around and vehemently refuse wearing dresses, but look at you now.'

'Mum…'

'You are turning into such a young lady, Aya.'

'I am not, mum.' She laughed. 'Interests are different is all. Kaori said I used to be like a wild beast though.'

'And you were, dear. Everything good at school? And with Akira-kun?'

'All good! I have really positive feelings about my final tests. Team is training really hard and Akira is the same as always. We are doing really well…' She confessed, a subtle pink hue colouring her cheeks. 'He's just amazing, mum.'

'I'm happy to hear that, darling. As long as he treats you well, that's more than enough for me as your mother. Is his sister staying for dinner?'

'Kanae-nee? She is! I know you will love her, mum. Although I hope Kyô will behave…'

'Is Kanae-san pretty?'

'She is beautiful.'

'Then I'm sure your brother will behave.'

Unlike Aya, Kyô happened to be the outgoing and lively type, who had a very active social life, which also applied to the many girlfriends he'd had ever since he was in high school, and Aya only hoped Kyô wouldn't even attempt to try and flirt with Kanae, albeit she was sure the older female would tell him off were that to happen. With her mother's help, Aya was able to find a couple of cute winter outfits she hoped she would get the chance to wear pretty soon, perhaps next weekend, and after the long shopping afternoon, they decided to chill at a cafe while having tea before heading back home in order to prepare everything before their guests arrived. At Aya's request, Midori kindly decided to prepare simmered fish, as it happened to be one of Akira's favourite dishes.

'Niichan, could you open the door please?' Aya asked from the kitchen, as she was helping her mother.

'Sure thing, sis. Aren't you too soft tonight anyway? You rarely address me so respectfully.'

As told, Kyô went to open the front door, smiling wide at seeing Sendoh at the other side. 'Welcome, Akira. Come on in and close the door behind you.'

'Good evening, Kyô-kun,' he said, bowing his head at him, 'come on in quickly, neechan. It is cold.'

'It's your fault for standing there blocking the way, Akira.'

As soon as Kanae walked in after her younger brother, Kyô couldn't help but stare at her, almost even gasping in surprise.

'Hold on. You know…' He trailed off. 'You are pretty cute.'

'Not interested.' She practically ignored Kyô while she was taking her shoes off. 'You were right when you said your brother was a moron, Ayacchi.' She raised her voice, so Aya could hear her, prompting her to immediately come out of the kitchen.

'Mum told you to behave! What did he say, Kanae-nee?'

'He was flirting with her,' Akira said, 'attempting to.'

'A very poor attempt, if you ask me, but cookie points for daring to try.'

'You are such a moron, niichan…' Aya shook her head. 'Kanae-nee, this is my idiot older brother, Kyô. And niichan, this is Kanae-nee.' She introduced them both.

'In my defence, I was not flirting, but just pointing something out. My flirting game is better than that, sis. Please.' He rolled his eyes, mildly offended by his sister's words.

'I don't want to know anything about that!' She huffed and then turned to Kanae to greet her, but the older female just pulled her into a hug. 'I missed you, Kanae-nee.'

'As I did too, Ayacchi. Aren't you turning even cuter every time I see you?' Kanae hugged her tightly, while patting her head.

'That is not possible. You are just exaggerating.'

'What do you think, brother? She's just getting cuter and cuter each day, isn't she?' Kanae continued to hug her tightly, even kissing her cheeks from time to time.

'She is, but let go of her already—'

'If anything, she's just getting more annoying by the day. Akira this, Akira that. All she does is gush about him 24/7.'

'Is she?' She laughed loudly. 'Akira is just the same. Aya this and that, every single moment of the day.'

'I do not talk about him 24/7, niichan!' She huffed.

'You don't?' Akira asked, visibly surprised by that.

'I do, but…' She pouted. 'Stop that Kyô, you are an idiot!'

'I would love to keep teasing you, sis, but I'd like to spend some bonding time here with my favourite boy. Let's go for a few free shots at the nearby park?

At the suggestion, Sendoh agreed almost immediately while Aya dragged Kanae away from the two males to the kitchen, still feeling very annoyed by her older brother's teasing, similar to how mildly irritated he was by Kanae's teasing as well. Kyô went to grab a basketball and a hoodie from his room before meeting Sendoh back in the entrance, in order to head to the nearby park in the area.

'Do you play too, Kyô-nii?'

'Not as well as you. This is actually Aya's basketball, but she keeps it in my room for some reason.'

'Why would she keep a basketball?'

'As soon as she became the manager, she bought a basketball with her weekly's allowance and started coming here often to try and play,' he said, passing the ball to the younger male. 'She is sometimes joined by this short guy from her classroom.'

'Hikoichi?' He asked, furrowing his eyebrows in light confusion.

'I think that's the name.'

'This is news to me. I didn't know she was trying to improve beyond the basics.' After scoring once, he later passed the ball back to Kyô.

'Go figure.' He shrugged and tried to aim to score, but the ball hit the rim, which Sendoh skillfully grabbed to score again.

'She could have asked me to teach her.' He absent-mindedly began dribbling, while looking up to the night sky, sighing.

'My sister probably felt embarrassed to ask you, so don't think too much about it.'

'You think?' He tilted his head slowly. 'Just thought she'd ask me since I'm her boyfriend.'

'And exactly because you are her boyfriend she didn't ask you' He chuckled, and seized the chance to steal the ball.

'I think I don't follow—'

'Much to learn you still have, young padawan.' He laughed at his own words. 'Knowing Aya, she probably wants to surprise you, so pretend to know nothing about it.'

'I know nothing about it though. What are you on about, Kyô-nii?'

'Good, that's the spirit. Akira, the journey to the depths of the female mind is not for the faint of heart. You can try to understand them, but they will always surprise you.'

'Like the uncool way you were trying to flirt with my sister, you mean?' After Kyô stole the ball from his hand, he did the same back at him, in one swift motion.

'I wasn't.' He laughed again. 'Just a joke to break the ice. She is cute, though, but I would never try anything with the sister of my own sister's boyfriend. Kanae-san seems… intense though.'

'She is witty and incredibly smart, albeit caring and kind too.'

As the conversion escalated, their free shots ended up becoming a sort of impromptu, and fun, one-on-one, which, without any doubt, Sendoh ended up winning, despite not fully using his skills at its maximum capacity.

'You really are awesome,' Kyô said, getting up from the ground with the other's help, 'let's head back home before my sister thinks I kidnapped you.'

'She would never.' He laughed and began walking next to Kyô.

'She would. It's nice she's back to being as lively as she used to be.'

'What do you mean by that?' He looked at the older male.

'You know, she was a wild beast when she was a child, but when Kaori moved out, and our parents started fighting, she just began to keep to herself.'

'She's mentioned that a few times, but I didn't know it was that serious.'

'It was. One of the many reasons why our mum wanted to move somewhere else and start fresh. Aya really needed a change. Our parents divorce really took a toll on her because our mum wasn't mentally in the best place, and to be honest, I'm a handful— so she took on the role of the mature person at home. But now, she's just back to simply being a highschool girl, whose only concerns are studying, her boyfriend and friends.'

Aya herself had already told him about the difficulties she had during middle school and the impact her parent's divorce had on her, the family and its dynamics, yet hearing from Kyô how serious those problems were made him worry about her, again. He was sure she would come to him if anything was not right, but still he couldn't help his protective side. Aya could stand up for herself, yet he wanted to be able to protect her from any harm.

'So yeah, as her brother I'm glad she's happy at the new school. You boys brought such a positive change in her that I should be treating you all to something nice.' He laughed.

'You are always welcome in the gym after our training.'

After the short walk back, both boys walked straight into the dining area, where Aya, her mother and his sister were finishing serving dinner.

'About damn time, Akira! Mum raised you with better manners than to leave us dealing with dinner.'

'It is better if Akira is nowhere near the kitchen, Kanae-nee…'

'Savage.' Kanae patted her head while grinning widely.

'I'm really regretting introducing the two of you… everyday of my life.'

'Let's all sit down, shall we?' Midori, as calm as ever, announced and beckoned the youngsters to sit at the table.

Kyô and Aya took their usual spots, while Kanae sat down next to Aya and Akira did the same next to Kyô, and opposite Aya while Midori took the the head of the table, most likely to calm everyone down, were they to engage in some chaos, given everyone was prone to that, especially the older siblings.

'Where do you study, Kyô-san?' Kanae asked out of curiosity.

'I'm doing biochemical engineering at Yokokoku. And you?'

'Business administration and marketing at Keio.'

'If Kyô-nii is studying biochemical engineering, why didn't you ask him to help you with science?'

'Akira, you truly are so densely stupid.' Kanae sighed while shaking her head.

'Well—'

'Aya would never ask for my help when she already had the help from the guy she likes.' He laughed. 'A very clever move, sis.'

'Getting the help from the guy you like is certainly a fantastic move, Ayacchi.'

'It is the 101 of getting the attention of the person you like.'

'I didn't fail on purpose for him to help me!'

'You didn't, but he still kept on helping you when you probably didn't need it.'

'Exactly, sis. Your science marks have always been good anyway. Young idiots in love.'

'Couldn't have said it better myself, Kyô-san.' She grinned at him.

Meanwhile Aya simply remained in silence while huffing to herself, glaring at both her brother and Kanae, who seemed to get along better than she had expected, given their brief exchange earlier on. From time to time, she also looked at Sendoh, who was just smiling in sheer amusement at the nonsense Kanae and Kyô were coming up with and enjoying his dinner.

'Hey sis. I'm very surprised you didn't tell your dear boyfriend here you used to be a wild beast when you were a child.' He teased, brows quirking upwards.

'Why is everyone using those words when referring to me!'

'But you were a wild beast, Aya— remember that time you fought those boys from the next door neighbourhood because they were playing in our area?'

'Niichan…'

'Or this other time you were pranking people with bugs you used to catch? Or running around everywhere.'

'Aya used to be like that?' Kanae bursted out laughing. 'That's adorable, Ayacchi.'

'Her hair was really short so everyone thought she was a boy instead.' He laughed more.

'Pffft—' And Kanae laughed louder as well. 'Akira used to run around everywhere too, pretending to be a superhero with his friends, which drove our mother crazy because he was her dearest baby boy and couldn't handle the fact that Akira was such an energetic silly boy.'

'You don't say—' Kyô looked at Akira, trying to hold his laughter back. 'His hair though?'

'One of his many clever ideas. He used to have beautiful hair down his eyes, like a pretty boy but at some point he decided to do that to his hair.'

'I think—' Aya paused. 'I think he looks handsome either way.'

'Biased opinions don't count.' Kanae pointed out.

'They do count. And it's the only opinion I'm interested in hearing regarding my looks.' Sendoh nodded a couple of times, flashing Aya a fond smile.

The more Kyô and Kanae continued to exchange embarrassing stories about how Aya and Akira used to be when they were kids, the more embarrassed they were feeling by the whole situation, looking at each other and sighing in defeat as they knew little to nothing could be done whenever their older siblings were acting like that. Thankfully for them, her mother put a stop to it and skillfully changed subjects to something lighter such as the upcoming Winter Cup, which both Aya and Akira deeply were thankful for, yet Kanae and Kyô were still laughing to themselves.

'It's been a wonderful dinner, Midori-san,' Kanae said as she was helping bring the plates to the kitchen, as so was her brother.

'Thank you for everything, Midori-san.'

'It's always a pleasure having the two of you, so please don't hesitate to come again.'

After both Sendoh siblings helped Midori with the plates, they returned to the dining area where Kyô and Aya were already bickering, as it was usual.

'You are the worst, Kyô! Why would you have to tell those stories! You are an idiot!'

'Just fulfilling my duty as your older brother, sis.'

'I hate you!'

'You love me.' He smiled widely. 'I told you she was wild, wasn't she?' He turned to look at Akira, who was simply smiling at the scene.

Aya gasped immediately at seeing him, words being cut off as soon her demeanour toned down. "I am not—"

'If it makes you feel any better, I think you look adorable when you get angry like that.' He smiled at her, quickly pecking her cheek, which managed to calm her further down.

'Cheesy alert.' Kanae butted in. 'Thanks for having us. It's been lots of fun and Kyô, do not hesitate to tell me more stories like that.' She bumped her fist with his. 'Let's go, brother. It's Monday tomorrow.'

'Likewise, Kanae. Please come back again.'

Shaking her head, yet once again, Aya guided them back to the entrance to see them off.

'Take care, Ayacchi and see you soon, okay?' She smiled at her, giving her a tight hug before she headed out of the house first.

'See you tomorrow at school,' he said, 'I have the feeling we made quite the mistake introducing our siblings to each other.'

'Couldn't have said it better myself…' She showed him a soft smile before rising on her tiptoes to briefly peck his lips, which he gladly returned. 'Goodnight, Akira.'

'Goodnight, Aya.'