A/N: Hi, guys and gals, happy holidays! Sorry for the late update. I was so sure I'd be able to write a lot this time around, but the weather has been against me. I've been getting reaaaaallly sick lately, on and off, so every time I'm home, I just sleep. :c forgive me

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 29

She could remember it as if it were yesterday, the hands that pulled her along towards the adventure of the day. Often, they would try to find magical creatures that he insisted were real, and they would crawl through bushes, eyes looking towards the trees or the skies to find a glimpse of such entities. He would smile and babble away about everything he knew about them, insisting they were real and that together, they would find them all.

She remembered feeling so happy and so excited, and every day they spent adventuring was always a breath of fresh air, something she looked forward to.

That was before, though.

Back then, every summer, when Mika was younger, her parents would sometimes take her to the playground near the office where they worked to keep her occupied. As an only child, she always found it hard to find someone to play with because the kids at the playground usually lived near each other, so they had more opportunities to interact. She was the oddball who dropped by one out of twelve months, so she would usually find herself alone on the swings, jealously watching the other kids play tag.

But, sometimes… there was a boy with gray hair who would come by. He was taller than the other kids, and he came by almost as infrequently as Mika did, but his easygoing smile and boisterous laughter always had the others flocking to him.

Yet for some reason, he would always take the time to talk to Mika. He would sit down next to her and just randomly talk about the recent episode of a cartoon that he had watched the previous week, and somewhere along those special playground days of that year, she had grown a crush on him.

(She couldn't remember his name. All she could remember was a blurry face, lips moving silently spelling a name — what name…?)

At some point, he stopped coming.

So did she, when she was shipped off to live with her uncle, and then she had more things occupying her time.

But she never forgot his kind eyes, or how happy he was to talk to her.

He made her feel special, noticed, and liked.

Sometimes, as she took a break from her studies and gazed out of her room at her uncle's house, she would think about those summers and think about how she never even got to say goodbye, or if he found another person to entertain with his stories.

Sometimes, she wished that they never drifted apart. Had they both stayed, would they have grown up together? Maybe they would have gone to the same schools, been in the same social circles, maybe they would have gotten together? She could imagine him, taller and broader, smiling as he picked her up from her house to go to a nearby festival together. He would laugh when she couldn't hit the targets properly, and he would do it for her and win her a prize. They would sit on the grass and watch the fireworks together, the excited shouting and the deafening explosions seemingly silent as she would look at him and think to herself how nice her life was.

After allowing herself this brief escape into fantasy, she returned to her studies, locking away thoughts of the gray haired boy deep in her heart.

.

Was it any wonder that she was so happy that she had found him in Teiko? Haizaki Shougo looked exactly like the boy from her childhood. She couldn't let him slip away again. That was why she had to stake her claim, and to keep Akashi Seijuuro away from him. Haizaki had made her feel so important. Had that all been a lie? Why was he sharing his attention and affection with Akashi?

She didn't understand why she didn't mind that he was friendly with Momoi Satsuki, too, but she didn't have it in her to hate the bubbly girl who was friendly with her. Unlike Akashi, who always stared at her with blank eyes, Satsuki was always filled with warmth, always happy to talk with Mika.

(Maybe she had just been lonely.)

Ranting to her uncle had helped alleviate the festering resentment for Akashi, but she hadn't… she hadn't meant for this to happen.

Two days ago...

"Ryoutarou-san, how did you and Ayame-san meet?" Shougo asked as Ryoutarou turned down the volume of the television, which was showcasing a basketball game from abroad. Today was a slow Saturday, so he and Seijuuro decided to visit Shuuzo. Akemi and Sora, his siblings, were out with their respective friends, so it was just Shuuzo and his father, Ryoutarou, in the house. The latter was currently in bed as his doctor told him to be on bed rest and to not exert himself. Meanwhile, the former was downstairs, preparing chocolate smoothies for Shougo and Seijuuro.

Beside him, perched on the window seat of the room, Seijuuro looked up from the book she was reading, curious about the answer.

Ryoutarou chuckled. It was easy to see where Shuuzo got his looks from. Even with his tired face, his eyes were still so full of life, reminding Shougo and Seijuuro of Shuuzo whenever they were in a match. "Back in high school, she was one of the smart kids, so she was hard to approach. She always looked at me as if every word out of my mouth was so stupid she couldn't believe I was speaking such things to her — and to be fair, I was pretty dumb back then. But, I always found her pretty, even when we were just too different."

"So, how did you guys end up talking?"

"One lunch break, she was studying at her usual spot under the cherry blossom tree. She was with her usual group of friends. My friends and I were nearby, playing around with a football. I was trying to impress her with a rabona but I ended up kicking the ball to her face…"

Shougo cracked up and started wheezing. "Ryoutarou-san, you were a loser!"

"Hey!" Ryoutarou huffed but he ended up laughing along with the younger boy. Shuuzo, who had just entered with two smoothies, rolled his eyes, having heard the conversation. He handed the laughing Shougo his smoothie, before heading to sit next to Seijuuro.

He leaned in to whisper to her, "I haven't heard him laugh in a while."

"Nice to hear, isn't it?" Seijuuro smiled at him.

He returned her smile, lifting her drink so she could take a sip out of the straw.

"Tastes nice. You've improved."

Shuuzo smirked slightly, pleased by the compliment. "I remembered to add extra chocolate powder and sprinkles, as requested many times."

"Finally got it right," Seijuuro grinned, before tuning back into the conversation.

"— and then Ayame finally said yes!" Ryoutarou said proudly. At this, Shougo cheered.

"Ryoutarou-san, you became pretty cool, huh?" Shougo said with stars in his eyes. "I wouldn't have the balls to do that, but I guess it paid off for you!"

"Excuse you—"

Another round of laughter ensued, and both Shuuzo and Seijuuro were pleasantly surprised to note that they hadn't heard Ryoutarou cough the whole time.

"Is he getting better?" she asked him quietly, taking another happy sip of the cold drink.

Shuuzo nodded. "They recommended some more rest, but they have high hopes for his recovery. A lot of the recent tests came back with good news, so they're thinking that medication might be the final step before he's completely okay."

"...Is there any help you might need?"

Shuuzo shook his head firmly. "We have it covered, Sei. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Seijuuro frowned but acquiesced, choosing to trust that things would indeed get better.

The day after the visit to Shuuzo's house…

Fireball (Sunday, 05:02 AM): so i have extra tickets to that new virtual reality event, anyone free today

Maelstrom (Sunday, 05:04 AM): I'm free. But, why are you awake at 5 in the morning? Who are you?

Fireball (Sunday, 05:04 AM): im a changed man if u must know

Maelstrom (Sunday, 05:05 AM): Ok.

Chop Chop (Sunday, 05:11 AM): ?

Chop Chop (Sunday, 05:13 AM): i have to drop off akemi and sora for an event at 7, so i can meet you guys at 9?

Fireball (Sunday, 05:14 AM): ayt bet, hbu Bubbles

Maelstrom (Sunday, 05:16 AM): I doubt he's awake yet. In fact, I'm going to take a nap again if we're meeting at 9. Goodnight.

Maelstrom went offline.

Fireball (Sunday, 05:17 AM): Chop Chop wake up Maelstrom if she doesn't message by 8… you know what happened last time

Chop Chop (Sunday, 05:21 AM): yup i'll make sure she's awake

Fireball (Sunday, 06:30 AM): Bubbles wake up

Fireball (Sunday, 07:37 AM): Bubbles AWAKEN

Fireball (Sunday, 07:49 AM): Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles

Bubbles (Sunday, 07:52 AM): I'm awake

Bubbles (Sunday, 07:54 AM): Oh shit nice omw to your house Fireball

Fireball (Sunday, 07:57 AM): pog

Fireball (Sunday, 07:58 AM): Chop Chop almost 8

Chop Chop (Sunday, 08:08 AM): don't worry Maelstrom is awake

Chop Chop (Sunday, 08:10 AM): we'll see you in a few

.

The quartet met at the gates of the amusement park, where Shougo eagerly decided that the start of their day 'absolutely, must be' the haunted train ride, something he insisted on because 'if you get scared, you're more awake because of fight-or-flight' or something along those lines. The four of them slipped into one empty compartment, Shuuzo and Seijuuro sitting in front of Shougo and Kazuya, before the train came to life and made its way through the tracks. The windows behind their seats were large, which didn't really do much as the first few minutes of the ride consisted of dimly lit walls and the occasional shrieking sounds that echoed throughout their path.

Shougo shivered, causing Kazuya to snort.

"You were the one who suggested this," Kazuya reminded him.

Shougo glared, shoving his hands into his pocket. "The aircon's cold."

The compartment's air conditioner was on full blast, and their chilly breaths added legitimacy to Shougo's claim. Of course, all three of his friends knew otherwise.

The train suddenly screeched as it slowed down and eventually stopped. Seijuuro looked through the window behind Shougo, where the narrow corridor they were in was surrounded by lit torches with green flames. There was also a small pathway behind Shougo, big enough for a person to walk through. Looking behind her confirmed that there was a similar pathway behind her.

She wasn't too worried. Haunted trains, haunted mansions… Events like these at amusement parks involved real and alive human beings being paid to scare people off. Ergo, no matter how terrifying they looked when they showed up — and she knew they would show up at some point — they were still just human beings who wouldn't do any physical damage.

Satisfied with her definitely-logical train of thought, she looked back at Shougo again only to let out a high-pitched 'eek' once she noticed a girl with long hair covering her eyes, letting out inhuman noises and tracing the silhouettes of Shougo and Kazuya. When the latter two noticed, they, too, started screaming before pointing at something behind Seijuuro and screaming even louder. At this point, she chose not to look behind her. Instead, she shamelessly clung to Shuuzo's arm and buried her face on his shoulder.

Shuuzo glanced at the shaking redhead beside him and snorted, taking a brief glance at the two humans outside their compartment attempting to scare them. Well, it worked on three out of four, so he supposed they did a good job. He rested his cheek on Seijuuro's head in an attempt to comfort her.

After a few more moments, the train began to move again and not once did Seijuuro lift her head until he told her that the ride was over.

There's less to be said about the virtual reality event that Shougo had tickets to. It was zombie-themed, where you and a few others played as survivors of a zombie invasion. Your objective was to find more supplies to help sustain the group, shooting the zombies that found you. The headgear they wore wasn't too heavy, so on that end, the experience was comfortable. Everything else was just way too real.

The game's environment looked hyperrealistic, and the sounds the zombies made were very loud and in-your-face. After just one round of the game, which Seijuuro had done well at, she placed the headgear in Shuuzo's hands and momentarily left to buy herself a chocolate milkshake to calm down. Shuuzo also played just a few more rounds before joining her on the bench, watching as Shougo and Kazuya executed the strangest moves.

"It's like babysitting kids, huh?" Shuuzo said as he stretched his legs.

"Agreed," Seijuuro groaned as she yawned and leaned back on the bench.

Shougo and Kazuya finished around half an hour later, energy levels still high as they dragged Shuuzo and Seijuuro to the smaller booth games. Most of their day was then spent on trying to win prizes, where Kazuya was the most successful, bagging not only stuffed toys but also snacks.

Their final destination, to Seijuuro's relief, was the ferris wheel. By now, the sun was already setting and the afternoon sky was painted with various shades of orange and pink, with a hint of indigo signalling the emergence of the night sky. Shougo and Kazuya, being ahead of them in line, were ushered into one compartment, a special one that featured a life-sized figurine of a trending cartoon. They happily ignored the fact that they were supposed to be in one compartment together, cheering and fawning over the unicorn figurine.

Thankfully, Seijuuro and Shuuzo were allowed to keep their privacy in the final compartment. The conductor safely secured them inside and the ferris wheel began its new round.

They were sitting across each other, knees touching ever so slightly. Unlike the train, the air wasn't too chilly, though it was cold enough for Seijuuro to keep her jacket on. After such a hectic day, it was nice to just lean back into their seats and watch as they began to float higher and higher above the ground.

It was a peaceful silence. Shuuzo stared out the window, seemingly deep in thought and just enjoying the silence that came from the absence of their two stooges. For Seijuuro, who gazed at Shuuzo intently, it seemed to be the ideal moment.

If she chose to lean in slightly, hands on his knees to catch his attention, and if he looked at her in surprise with those warm eyes, she would tell him just what she thought about them: 'I like it when you look at me. It makes me feel like I'm the only one you see'.

Maybe he'd blush, or feel nervous, and ask, 'What are you doing, Sei?'

She would lean forward and say, 'I've been feeling this way for so long, and now just feels like the right time to tell you that I like you, Shuuzo. Not just as my best friend. I like you. I want to hold your hand when we walk outside. I want to be able to hug you and know that not everyone will be hugging you the way I do. I want you to be my first kiss. And maybe it's too early to say this, too crazy to even think about, but I'd also want you to be the one I end up with once everything at home is sorted out. My first and last.'

He would stare at her intently, and she would flush, realizing how blunt, how direct, how vulnerable she was in this moment. She would clench the fists that rested on his knees and say, 'You don't have to reply. I just wanted to tell you what I've been feeling. It's been driving me crazy, and I—"

And maybe, just maybe, he'd put a pause to her rambling by leaning even closer to her, faces merely centimeters apart. He'd have a hand cupping her face, thumb caressing her cheekbone, saying, 'Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that?'

His intense gaze would take her breath away, and she would take a shuddering breath as he leaned closer to make their lips connect.

Velvet. His lips would feel like velvet as they molded themselves with hers. Her eyes would flutter shut, leaning into the kiss and just letting herself feel nothing else but how warm he was, and how loud the sound of her heart beat was.

When they would pull away for air, he would pull her into him, hugging her tightly, telling her, 'I like you, too — in that kind of way', and—

"Do you think those idiots would realize that they're putting themselves in danger by sitting on the same row as the unicorn?" Shuuzo asked, ending the little daydream she had slipped into. She took a moment to adjust to reality: he was far apart from her, and he wasn't even looking at her. Instead, he was pointing at the two idiots who were putting too much weight on one side of the compartment, laughing while posing for pictures with the unicorn.

This helped her refocus, quickly and forcibly churning out the images that had entered her mind and putting them into a mental waste bin. She chuckled and said, "They'll realize it one way or another. Some things you have to experience to learn."

"Tell me about it," he rolled his eyes but kept his focus on the two in concern.

Briefly, Seijuuro's eyes flickered to his lips before she looked away.

The sky had visibly darkened by the time the ride was done. Tired from the day's events, the quartet agreed to part ways, Shougo and Kazuya going one way, and Seijuuro and Shuuzo going the other. Although Kon had offered to pick Seijuuro up, she texted back saying that she would be walking with Shuuzo today. After all, nowadays, it wasn't often that she had him all to herself for an extended period of time.

It was a continued, peaceful silence that accompanied them as they walked through the well-lit streets. Seijuuro and Shuuzo strolled along the street, pinkies almost touching.

She turned to look at him, wondering if this was the right moment to just be blunt about the feelings that she chose to bury. She noticed that he was looking at her, too, mouth opened as if to speak, before his eyes widened.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. He had reached out to pull her towards him, lips forming words she couldn't hear, and then pain at the back of her head.

There was nothing after.

.

In her mindspace, gold was all she saw. A beautiful, sparkling color in the eyes of a face that wasn't quite her own.

.

When she came to, she heard a soft, gentle beeping of a monitor, sheets rustling slightly as she moved her aching arm. An IV had been hooked on to her, with a now-awake Shuuzo moving from the sofa on her right to stand beside her.

Her head pounded with a painful migraine, but she was well enough to see that there were white flowers on her bedside table.

"Sei, you're finally awake," he said in relief, and she could see the bags forming under his eyes. "You've been out for almost two days."

"...What happened?"

Shuuzo scowled. "Someone tried to attack you last night. That Saito girl from Shougo's class? She's being questioned right now."

Now that there was something he could make the boy feel guilty about, he smirked.

Akashi Hirohito was not a dumb man. It took great intellect and determination and an understanding of people to get to where he was right now. True, the company was practically handed to him on a silver platter as was his right as the Akashi heir, but he had gone through great lengths to prove himself worthy of it. All the present board of directors were handpicked by him, and the fact that they remained in those positions for decades, and that they helped drive increased profit for the company, was a testament to his charisma and ability to instill loyalty from the right sort of people.

He wasn't going to let his son's poor excuse of an heir ruin all of his hard work.

The girl was a genius, and he would admit that willingly. She had the Akashi blood, after all, and her intellect was proof that she wasn't as hopeless as she could've been.

But, her biological sex, her personality, her hobbies, it was all wrong and unbefitting of the next Akashi leader. Why his son allowed her to spend time with 'friends' instead of utilizing her time to improve herself or to seek potential allies, or why she was allowed to continue with an unladylike sport, was simply unreasonable.

He didn't know where he had gone wrong in raising Masaomi. Masaomi had been shaping up to be the perfect heir, but that vile, common woman had rid him of his good sense. He had been set to marry Suzuki Mari, a respectable woman from an equally respectable family, but he had broken his arrangement with her for a waitress with neither an outstanding family with millions' worth of assets, nor an exceptional university degree. He had given up so much for so little, and it was disappointing and embarrassing.

Masaomi had known the costs. Had Suzuki Mari not been an understanding and supportive woman towards Masaomi's choice — and Kami knows what possessed her to do so — the company would have lost the benefits from allying with the Suzuki family. She had the good sense to continue the partnership with the Akashi family, and that had been the sole reason that prevented Hirohito from separating Masaomi from that woman at all costs.

He had been expecting a better heir from their marriage, in the hopes of being able to teach the child what it meant to be an Akashi, but Masaomi continued to disappoint.

A healthy baby girl was born, and Hirohito knew that the hope of having a decent and acceptable heir to the company was slowly slipping away from his grasp. Thankfully, reports on the girl showed she had some intelligence and the shrewdness needed to lead the company.

Masaomi was lucky that Hirohito was still willing to extend some assistance to reform the girl. Half the time, he was convinced she was shaping up to be a satisfactory heir, but she sadly had her mother's blood, and he would need to take action to stamp out any unwanted developments.

Hirohito leaned on his chair as the screen of his computer showed pictures of the girl's daily life. Breakfast, school, and going to a convenience store of all places to 'hang out' with her 'friends'. Being informed about the girl's routine was something he started doing the moment she became betrothed. (The Furihata family wasn't quite on their level, but they were still an acceptable choice so he would at least allow her that. Still, she could have gone for that Rossi boy. The connections he had…)

Image was everything, after all.

But, it was this surveillance that had led him to the golden egg: Nijimura Shuuzo. He wasn't blind. It was clear as day what the teenager felt for the girl, even if she was somehow oblivious to it. Of course, the girl was betrothed and once she was wed to the Furihata boy, he would have lesser problems. Yet, his eyes narrowed on one particular picture of the girl and Nijimura sharing a sundae. The girl may be unaware of it, mayhaps in denial of it, but the Nijimura boy's feelings weren't one-sided at all.

Hirohito knew she wasn't stupid. She would never enter into a relationship with that boy while betrothed. She, thank Kami, understood at the very least that she needed to maintain her image — something he wished his son had considered but the foolish boy had gone and broken off his own engagement — but he wasn't going to take any chances.

This was his world, and he was in control.

He dialled a number and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Yes, Akashi-san?"

"Get me everything you can find on Nijimura Shuuzo and his family. He's a raven-haired third year at Teiko."

"Will do, Sir."

"I want the information by the end of the week. Do not fail me."

"Copy that, Sir."

With a satisfied smirk, he leaned back on his chair and ended the call.

His empire would remain unsullied.

He would make sure of that.

A/N: Well… shit really is about to go down. JKBFDKSBJFKS but, I swear we are also — ideally — reaching the end, maybe after a bunch of chapters. There are many little plotlines I made over the years that I plan to wrap up, and Mika is just the start. Her relevance to the story ends by the next chapter. So, stay tuned! There's a lot more to cover.

SOME REPLIES TO REVIEWS FROM PREVIOUS TIMES ALSO BEC I'M SLOWLY BECOMING A TERRIBLE REPLIER

ita123, Akemi-Pink, Shion Lee: it is indeed good to be back c:

PopperPaper: JDFKDSBFKS OK FAX Masaomi has indeed been away for too long. We'll see him next chapter. On Mika - I honestly only added her randomly back then but I think she'll serve her purpose by the next chapter (the last time you'll see her, don't worry!)

Bbbrrr2003: wait this is on reddit? KJSDFKSBFKS a slay. Some characters are really random bec I felt the KNB world could have much expounded on these characters. I hope I did them justice. Hirohito is indeed evil with a capital E. Mika... you'll find out about. I'm happy I was able to make the GOM chaotic and I totally agree with AkaFuri not being quite the ship for me, hence this fanfic. Will definitely touch on the Seirin team one of these days c:

Shadowing: Hope you liked this chapter, too!

Vivienee001: Hirohito will get what he deserves soon enough

YuriCrystalMoonlight: I hope the Shuuzo-Sei moments in this chapter were to your liking! c:

OMAKE: The King and his Queen

(Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Lock, but goddamn the amount of motivation this anime gives me, I swear. Also, treat this as an AU AND TREAT THIS AS A SPOILER IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE RECENT BLUE LOCK EPISODE. I wrote this prior to the recent episode's release, so at that time, I didn't know how the second half of the U-20 match would play out.)

The crowd's cheers were supposed to be deafening, but all he could hear were his deep breaths and his thumping heartbeat. Adrenaline had rushed through his veins for the whole match, and now that it was wearing off, he could feel how tired and how victorious he was.

Barou Shouei had scored a goal, contributing to Blue Lock's defeat of the U-20. He had reasserted his place in Blue Lock, showed everyone just why he was the king of the field.

And it felt so damn good.

His team was cheering loudly around them, Bachira and Isagi attempting to jump on Rin while Nagi and Reo shared a fist bump. Annoying donkeys.

His eyes scanned the crowd, seeing so many faces and beaming smiles and shining lights because they were all here to celebrate his - their - victory. He knew that family members had been invited to watch; he didn't miss Isagi's surprised face when he saw his parents, or the team's gossip when they spotted Chigiri's sister. But, he knew his father was abroad for work, and his mother was likely taking care of his little sisters, whose bedtime was hours ago.

He had no one but himself today.

Family members were let onto the pitch, and everyone was cheering for someone, save for him and Rin. He hmph-ed, grabbing a towel from the bench and wiping his sweat away.

He was a winner today, and he had proven how good he was, but something felt missing.

He glanced at his towel, tracing over the little stitch of a pudding, his favorite snack. Seijuuro had done that when he first bought the towel in preparation for his stay in Blue Lock, insisting that he needed something to remember her by. He remembered scoffing, wondering why she spoke as if he would forget her after the program. She just rolled her eyes and did the stitch anyways. He had called it dumb but every time he used the towel, he did think of her - thinking of what she must have been up to in the few weeks that he had been gone without any way to communicate with her.

Both of them were career-driven people, their passions determining the structure of their lives. It was one of the reasons why he loved her after all, because he knew with or without him, she was going to achieve her dreams.

Still, they hadn't gone this long without talking. Every night, they made it a point to just talk about how their day went.

He knew it was InterHigh season for her. She was obviously going to win, so what score did she get? Did she have better stats this season?

There were so many things he wanted to tell her: how he's been, how annoying the donkeys he roomed with are, how he's gotten so much better…

He was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard Otoya loudly whisper to Karasu, "Oi, oi, who's that cutie over there? Think I could ask her out?"

Barou normally wasn't one to care about trivial moments like these, but he needed something to momentarily distract him from the loneliness that was settling in the more he thought about his girlfriend.

He glanced at Otoya and followed his line of sight to see… his girlfriend?

"Sei?" he let out in surprise, hands falling away from the towel that was slung around his shoulders. At this, Otoya and Karasu's eyes comically widened, the duo easily dragging the rest of the team to watch this with them.

"Shou…" the pretty redhead in front of him said, eyes turning slightly watery as she uncharacteristically ran forward and tackled him into a hug, her arms easily wrapping around him, head burying itself in the crook of his neck. "Congratulations on your win."

Still somewhat speechless, he placed his arms tightly around her waist, easily balancing the both of them as he finally inhaled her strawberry scent again. "Don't you have a game today?"

"Shuuzo and Shougo dropped me off," Seijuuro said, leaning back to look into his red eyes. "I wouldn't want to miss your game. I made sure I had a ticket. You were amazing. I'm proud of you."

His eyes softened as the grasp he had on her tightened slightly. "I'm not sure what we're doing after this, but if we're not doing anything…"

"We can take a taxi back to my place? I called your kaa-san, and she said you could come home with me today," Seijuuro grinned.

He scoffed in amusement, setting her down on the ground and patting her head. "Wait for me, then? I'll come back in a few."

"I waited weeks. What's a few more minutes?"

Maybe it was because he was so exhausted from the game that he wasn't thinking straight, or maybe he just really missed her a lot. Maybe it was both.

He leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, surprising her since he preferred to keep his affection private, but she leaned into the kiss and snuggled into him further.

He ignored his choking teammates.

ADDITIONAL TIME — Bonus 1:

"Sei?" Barou let out in surprise, hands falling away from the towel that was slung around his shoulders.

Rin turned around and furrowed his brows, prepared to verbally lash out at his brother, but he found a different redhead instead. "What?"

ADDITIONAL TIME — Bonus 2:

"How come the king has a girlfriend but I don't?" Karasu whined.

"I'm just surprised he even got a girlfriend…" Bachira said.

Nagi nodded his head. "How does she deal with a clean freak like him…"

"Truly a Queen…" Isagi said in wonder.