The last person Rika expected to see at the grocery store was Tachibana An. Yukimura and Rika had visited Fudoumine Middle School on Thursday and An had occupied Rika's thoughts for the entire of Friday. Today, on Saturday, Rika had found that Akaya had left for yet another tennis practice. She took this opportunity to call Chiharu and found that she was also training for the swim meet coming up.

Rika made sure to be out of sight as she made her way down the canned food aisle. She had probably embarrassed herself at Fudoumine and she definitely didn't want to meet An again. Being near her made Rika lose all credible thought. She distracted herself with the canned peas and then picked up a can to check the expiry date.

"Hi!"

A hand came onto her shoulder, making Rika jump out of her skin. The can dropped from her hand and fell to the floor with a loud clang!.

"Oh, I didn't mean to scare you" An said with an apologetic smile. Rika stood frozen as An bent down and picked up the can.

"Are you okay?" An asked worriedly.

"I'm fine" Rika replied taking the can and tossing it into the shopping cart.

"It's nice to see you again. I love your dress. It's so cute. I wish I was short and cute like you. But no, I'm tall with lanky limbs" An said.

"How come you're here?" Rika asked.

"Well, Onii-san loves miso soup but homemade, not from a pack. So I come here because they have cheap and good quality ingredients. Do you shop here often?"

"Yeah, I do my weekly shopping here because Akaya eats too much" Rika replied.

"Same for my brother. They eat like they have holes in their stomachs and we have to watch our weight" An laughed and Rika chuckled.

"So, do you want to go for ice cream? I can always go shopping later" An asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good"

Both walked out of the grocery store and headed for the nearest park. Rika paid for her ice cream and headed out to find an empty bench. She found one shaded by a canopy of leaves from a nearby tree. An grinned as she ate her ice cream, commenting that she hadn't had ice cream in a month since she was too busy training for the tennis team.

"You're so feminine and delicate" An said suddenly.

Rika stared up at her in surprise. An was blunt but Rika didn't realise that she would outright comment on her. There were many sides to Rika besides her appearance.

"I don't mean it in a bad way. I mean, boys must be falling all over you because you're so cute and delicate. I'm sporty and most boys don't even look at me" An explained.

"Most boys are scared of my brother. I haven't really dated much" Rika said.

"But you're so pretty! I'm sure you could get any guy in this park" An said.

"I'm not really interested in boys and stuff like that. I do like to dress up and look cute but I do like sports, music and school" Rika said.

"Most girls who I hang out with just want to grab my brother's attention. You're different. Do girls do that to you too? Be friends for your brother, I mean"

"Sometimes. But it's mostly Yukimura senpai they want to see and not my brother. They probably grew bored of me since all I do is read and study rather than go and cheer on my brother during practice" Rika replied.

"Do you wanna do something fun?"

Rika sent her a questioning look.

"I know this new cafe that just opened up. I've been wanting to try their cakes but no one wants to go with me. Why don't we go?"

"That sounds nice but won't you be late getting home?" Rika asked.

"It's okay, I can call my mom and tell her I met a friend. There's no urgent need for shopping at the moment" An replied.

Rika nodded and they headed off to the cafe. It was a pretty cafe with outdoor as well as indoor seating. Rika was taken aback by the red and pink that infused the entire cafe.

"Why is it decorated so much?" Rika asked An as they sat down.

"It's Valentine's Day on Tuesday so I guess they're decorating it for the weekend. Look at the menu. It's got such cute options for couples" An replied, pointing to the menu.

Rika examined the items and then smiled. It was quite adorable but that reminded her that she needed get chocolates for the tennis team. They were all her friends so they deserved the chocolates.

"Are you planning on giving chocolates to someone special?" An asked with a smile.

"No. I usually give chocolates to my brother and the tennis regulars. Other than that, I don't really give chocolates to anyone" Rika replied.

"I do the same but there was one time when I gave chocolates to this guy I had a crush on. I didn't get anything back for White Day" An said.

"I've never got anything for White Day either. We really are two misfits" Rika commented.

"You got that right. Now, lets pick a cake to share"

The door opened and the Rikkaidai tennis regulars stepped into the cafe. Marui's mouth watered for the sweets while Kirihara pointed at his sister who was seated in the corner with another girl.

"Who's that? Rika didn't tell me she was meeting someone today" Kirihara asked.

"That's Tachibana An, Fudoumine captain Tachibana's sister" Yukimura replied.

"A regular on her own tennis team, I believe. She comes routinely to support her brother and his team. Has won several tournaments before moving from Kyushu" Yanagi said.

"We met her when I went to Fudoumine on Thursdays. Anyways, we shouldn't be barging in. It's nice to see Rika with some female company who doesn't use her to get close to us" Yukimura said.

"I found a table" Jackal said.

The regulars sat down at comfortably as they could at one table and conversation flowed easily. Yanagi noticed that Sanada's eyes never lingered from Rika's smiling and laughing face. Yukimura watched An and Rika closely noting Rika's bright smile and openness. It seemed that Tachibana An had broken the shell that everyone had been trying to crack. That shell was Kirihara Rika.