A/N: Hello everyone! #HappyTzuyuDay <3 I hope you are all well, safe and in good health. I'm sorry to be MIA for so long - so much has been going on lately. Mostly good things so I am glad. I'll be putting a note at the end of this chapter in regard to the journey of writing this story (this chapter in particular) and yeah, I'll see you down there! As usual, please read the Foreword if you haven't, it'll tell you about this series that means so much to me. Okayyyy! What are we waiting for? Leggoooo!

Sana thought long and hard before she came up with the idea of how she was going to let Tzuyu know about her mutual feelings. Tzuyu gave her a lovely gesture, and she wanted to return it with something special too. She tagged along on DubChaeng's little date in town just the day before when Chaeyoung went to get some art supplies. It was there that Sana finally decided how to confess to Tzuyu. So, she took the chance to get herself the supplies she needed for her response.

After her final class for the day, Sana went to the private study booth she usually used with Jeongyeon and Momo. Jeongyeon was there before her, but the Korean watched a random movie on her laptop instead of studying or revising.

After greeting the Japanese, Jeongyeon returned her focus to her laptop. However, she got distracted when Sana started taking out her supplies and placing them on the table. There were a few card pieces, some coloured paper, a cutting mat and a long and white thing she had never seen before.

"What's all this?" Jeongyeon queried with raised eyebrows. 

"It's for Tzuyu!" Sana responded with a bright tone.

"Ahh. Lover girl." Jeongyeon smirked.

Sana winked,  "Mine."

"Yuck!" Jeongyeon reacted as she rolled her eyes, making Sana laugh out loud.

"Do you want to hear the plan?" Sana excitedly asked the Korean after calming down.

"The plan? What plan?" Jeongyeon asked, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"This little project for Tzuyu, of course!" Sana answered, hands gesturing to the pile of items on the table. 

"Not really." Jeongyeon teased. She glanced up from her laptop and saw Sana sulking and couldn't help but grin, "Kidding. Come on then, let's hear it."

Sana beamed and began to explain in detail her plan to her fellow '96 liner, who started to look like she regretted ever asking as Sana's in-depth explanation went on.

+ + + + +

"... And that's the plan!" Sana finished with a proud and accomplished smile.

Jeongyeon blinked and absorbed all she could from Sana's explanation. It was simple, but Sana explained it with so much detail that it became a novel. Jeongyeon then snorted and chuckled light-heartedly.

"That's so cheesy," Jeongyeon commented.

"Cheesy?!" Sana raised her exclaimed, offended. "No, it's not! It's sweet!!"

Jeongyeon grinned again at Sana's reaction. She thought that the Japanese weas way too easy to tease.

"Okay, fine. It's sweet." Jeongyeon agreed, pretending to mock Sana - but it was a sincere response and Sana knew that.

"Thank you," Sana said in mock smugness before she giggled.

Jeongyeon grinned adorably at her friend's antics but said nothing to dampen her spirits. 

"Now, to execute!" Sana excitedly clasped her hands and eyed the items in front of her - ready to start.

Jeongyeon chuckled and glanced at the time on her laptop screen. She closed her laptop because it was time for her to leave for a prior engagement.

"And... that's my cue to leave." The taller of the two mumbled as she got up and stretched her body.

Sana almost looked bewildered as Jeongyeon started to pack her things away. After she poured out her heartfelt plan to Jeongyeon, the Korean immediately left her. How supportive, Sana thought sarcastically. 

Thinking that Jeongyeon was joking, Sana eyed the former for a while, but it seemed like Jeongyeon was serious about leaving. So, Sana reached out to hold Jeongyeon lightly by the sleeves on her elbow.

"Wait, you're really not gonna help me?" Sana half whined, half asked as she pouted.

Jeongyeon chuckled, "Trust me, you don't want my help. Besides, you're a journalism major. You got this!"

Sana pouted deeper as she hoped to guilt trip Jeongyeon into staying.

"Don't worry. Momo says Mina will be here in a bit." Jeongyeon barked a laugh at Sana. "Something about something happening which made Momo have to delay their date. Mina will be here for the time being."

Sana still pouted at Jeongyeon's pending departure, but she supposed that having Mina around was a good alternative.

"Okay, I guess.." She still pouted, making Jeongyeon chuckle, "Where are you going, anyway?"

"Nayeon wants me to accompany her to get some things from town." Jeongyeon answered casually, "You need anything?"

The offer made Sana perk right back up.

"Can you get me my favourite chips, please?" Sana asked, referring to the line of bagel chips Jeongyeon knew the Japanese was practically obsessed over. 

"You got it." Jeongyeon grinned.

"Yay!!! You're the best, Jeongie!" Sana cheered.

"And don't you ever forget it!" Jeongyeon winked before she turned to leave. She turned around again and waved to Sana, "Good luck, squirrel!"

"Yah!" Sana reacted so violently to the embarrassing nickname Jeongyeon called her, making the two laugh out loud.

+ + + + +

Sana found that having Mina around was very useful. The younger Japanese had a neck to be good in almost everything, which was a good thing for Sana. There were a few things Sana could not do right when she attempted to make a box shape with her card. But Mina was patient and ready to help her figure things out. 

When Momo finally arrived, Sana was only 50% done with her project. Mina offered to stay and help, but Sana shooed her off, "Go, go! Momoring's gonna be all sulky if I take her Mitan-time away."

"I don't mind waiting. What is all of this anyway?" Momo asked.

"It's my response to Tzuyu."

Momo's eyebrows creased, "Tzuyu? As in my Tzuyu?" 

"Yah, your Tzuyu?" Sana said in a surprised tone. The term also caught Mina's attention since the youngest Japanese looked at Momo curiously.

"She's mine and Mina's baby," Momo said as if it was a fact.

"Since when?!" Sana asked in an incredulous tone as Mina shook her head with an adoring smile.

"Since..." Momo answered lamely - looking away from Sana and onto the table filled with all sorts of things.

Then, Momo's eyes caught a sketch she assumed Sana did. She picked it up and turned the paper to Sana.

"This is what you're doing?" Momo asked, and Sana hummed affirmatively. 

Momo looked at the sketch again, then at Sana's progress so far, and back to the drawing again, "Need any help?"

"I'm fine. It's getting there. It'll be great! Trust me!" Sana giggled, getting what Momo implied, "You guys go on your date."

Momo and Mina shared a look, trying to figure out if they should leave Sana to her own devices.

"It's supposed to be like this first. I promise. Go ~ really!"

The couple shared another look again and knew they couldn't win against Sana, so they got up to leave.

"Okay, we'll go." Momo said, "Call us if you need us."

"Okay. Don't expect a call." Sana giggled.

The two moved to leave, but Mina turned back, getting Sana's attention, "You're sure you've got this?"

"100%"

And got it, she did.

+ + + + +

Eventually, the weekend came and it was D-DAY for Tzuyu's archery state finals. The gang (along with many other supporters from their university) showed up at the competition venue to show their support.

"Momoring, did we really need to stop for more snacks? We got so much already!" Sana asked as she lifted her recyclable grocery bag with all Momo's food.

They were making their way to the stands of the stadium. Momo had her hands full with a cup of popcorn, a bag of chips and two bottles of tea. The two came together and Momo just had to stop at every food stall to see if there was anything worth buying - there was.

When her companion did not answer her, Sana continued complaining.

"The line was so long, and it made me anxious about whether we'll make it in time to see Tzuyu come in!"

"She's in groups. Doesn't she start after the individual event?" Momo retorted in a dull tone. "The individual event hasn't even started yet!"

"Still!" Sana pouted. Her attention then moved to the snacks they had, "Can you even finish all of this?"

Momo rolled her eyes, "Is that a challenge? Anyway, you could've left first, you know."

Sana paused and looked at Momo as if her fellow Japanese had insulted her, "I could never do that!"

Momo stared at Sana's sincere eyes and felt warm in her heart at Sana's words. However, instead of showing her genuine emotions, the Kyoto native scoffed.

"Ewww." She said before she shoved Sana one bottle of tea, "Here, you have this."

Sana's eyebrows furrowed at the item in her hand, "Isn't this for Mitan?"

"She and I can share", Momo shrugged, hoping to seem nonchalant. 

Then, Sana realised that Momo was being affectionate with her.

"Eh?! You're seriously sharing with me?" Sana asked in surprise before smirking, "You must be very touched by my words then."

"Shut up!" Momo grumbled before she started walking again. She picked up her pace, wanting to avoid Sana's further teasing.

Thankfully, a voice yelled out their names before Sana could say anything.

"Momo-ya! Sana-ya!" Nayeon shouted from her seat, "Over here!"

The two looked up and saw the rest of the gang beckoning them over. The section was filled with supporters from their university. 

The two Japanese made their way up the stands to their friends and sat on opposite sides of Mina, where the empty seats were. Sana was pleasantly surprised at how good the view was, and it didn't go unnoticed by Nayeon and Jihyo. 

"You're welcome." Nayeon nudged Sana lightly, "We were here early to get you the best seats."

"Yeah, we figured you'd wanna see your bae in action." Jihyo chimed in, making kissy faces at Sana.

"Yahhh!! Stop teasing me." Sana whined before she hugged Mina's arm, seeking refuge from the teasing, "Mitan ~."

However, Sana's hopes of using Mina as a shield from the rest came crashing down when the younger Japanese just smirked at her. Then, Mina puckered her lips.

*smooch smooch*

"Mitann!!" Sana whined even more and shoved Mina by the shoulder, causing the gang to laugh loudly.

+ + + + +

The day began with the individual event. Eight matches were played; the semi-final matches, the bronze medal match and the final match. In the end, the results were:

Gold: Jung Wheein of L.I.U.
Silver: Park Junghwa of B.C.U.
Bronze: Irene Bae of S.M.U.

It was the most anticipated since the reigning archery ace, Irene Bae, met archery newbie Jung Whee In in the semis to decide which archer would advance to the finals. In the end, the newcomer had advanced to the finals and earned a place in the national line-up. Irene, who was in her final year, was paid tribute to and took a final bow to the crowd before leaving the competition grounds to prepare for the bronze medal match.

The group event the followed with the first semi-final match to determine the first finalist, where Elkie, Tzuyu and Sejeong (representatives of T.D.U.) competed against B.C.U.

Once they were announced, the crowd welcomed both teams with cheers and claps that eventually scattered out as the archers took to their positions. While the archers tended to their kit for final preparations, it was announced that there would be a 5-minute delay due to certain technical issues. The archers and the crowd began talking amongst themselves to pass the time when suddenly...

"CHOU TZUYU!!!!" Dahyun yelled out of nowhere, standing up and surprising everyone around her. Even with the fair amount of distance between them, she managed to get Tzuyu's attention as the younger turned to look at her.

"GO GET THEM, BABY!!" Dahyun yelled the affectionate words aggressively while her face was as serious as possible.

A blush crept up Chou's cheeks. There was some scattered applause followed by cheers and muffled whispers from the other spectators at Dahyun's outburst. Nonetheless, Tzuyu smiled as the cheer honestly did give her strength. She held her fist in a hwaiting gesture and nodded before attending to her archery kit again. 

Next to Dahyun, Chaeyoung was dying out of secondhand embarrassment inflicted by her girlfriend. Many spectators have started to look at the group and whispered to each other, but Dahyun still stood with that ridiculously serious face she had on. 

Chaeyoung gently held the hem of Dahyun's shirt, attempting to get her significant other to sit down, "Jagi-"

"ELKIE YA!" Dahyun yelled out, getting Elkie's attention. Dahyun moved up to stand on her seat this time, "O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!"

The Korean student dramatically raised her hand to salute Elkie. Other spectators laughed and whispered to each other about how goofy Dahyun was. Elkie, too giggled at her peer's actions before saluting back. Meanwhile, all Chaeyoung wanted was someone to shoot her right then and there.

"THIS IS YOUR YEAR, BOO! YOURS!! BRING IT HOME!!" Dahyun yelled again. This time she gained more applause, though still scattered. 

Elkie felt moved by the gravity of Dahyun's words - it seemed that Dahyun truly understood her feelings. It was no surprise as they were batchmates and close friends. Dahyun had often been the shoulder Elkie leant on whenever she had her bad days. Then, Elkie repeated Tzuyu's actions earlier and saluted the tofu-skinned girl in the crowd.

"T.D.U. I will fight for you!" Elkie passionately promised, gaining more applause and cheers from the crowd.

On the stands, Chaeyoung internally cursed as more and more people were murmuring while casting their sights on Dahyun. She tugged again on Dahyun's top.

"Baby plea-" Chaeyoung pleaded, only to be cut off again.

"SEJEONG UNNIE!!" Dahyun called the last archer, who was already looking at her expectantly. The spectators, too, were expectant of Dahyun by this point. "YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! GO PLAY AND SLAY!!!"

While Sejeong laughed loudly and pumped her fist, parts of the crowd contributed by repeating Dahyun's words, "Play and Slay!!"

Part of the scattered murmurs of the spectators was mocking while the rest were sincere. Either way, it just made Chaeyoung's (and the rest of the crew) secondhand embarrassment go up a notch.

"Hyunn", came the voice of Dahyun's embarrassed and desperate girlfriend. Chaeyoung had given up on tugging Dahyun's shirt and held it. No surprise, Dahyun paid absolutely no mind to Chaeyoung.

"T.D.U. FIGHTING!!!!" Dahyun cheered the university's name with a voice even louder than before. This time, the school pride was felt by all as the crowd erupted into loud applause and cheers. Some even went as far as getting up and cheering with all their hearts.

Dahyun then took it home with a final cheer, "T.D.U. FIGHTINGGGG!!!"

The T.D.U. supporters in the crowd unanimously joined Dahyun, and the crowd (even other supporters) was incredibly hyped. The archers watched in awe at the roaring support they received from their respective universities.

Chaeyoung and the rest of the group joined in on the cheering after recovering from their shock that Dahyun had been the spark that ignited the burning flame. 

Dahyun's face then broke into a satisfied grin before she finally retook her seat. Next to her, Chaeyoung was staring at her in awe.

"I don't know if I'm still incredibly embarrassed or completely in awe right now..." Chaeyoung blinked.

Dahyun proudly smirked when she turned to her girlfriend and booped the latter's nose, "Well, I tend to have that effect on people."

Dahyun flipped her hair sassily before looking back out to the archery ground.

Chaeyoung chuckled, not taking her eyes off Dahyun, "Oh, trust me, that, I know."

To everyone's joy, T.D.U. advanced to finals. Dahyun jokingly took partial credit and no one objected, for they thought it was true. The archers even turned to her and gave her a look of gratitude after Elkie's final shot had guaranteed them a spot in the gold medal match and qualified them for nationals too.

Nayeon and Jihyo were in tears after T.D.U.'s first win of the day, knowing how much it must have meant to Elkie, Tzuyu and Sejeong, who had given their all up to that moment. 

+ + + + +

Before the final match, the T.D.U. archers were quite relaxed as their goal was to reach Nationals. They had done so by becoming finalists already.

However, given the overwhelming support they received from Dahyun (aka Energy Captain) and the crowd, they were adamant about winning the goal. 

Right before her turn, Tzuyu turned to look at her unnies to comfort her nerves and smiled as they cheered her on. She also caught the shy wave Sana gave her when she noticed Tzuyu was looking directly at her. With that, she took a breath and brought up her A-game.

+ + + + +

"I TOLD YOU THIS WAS YOUR YEAR!" Dahyun could be heard yelling when Elkie received the last goal medal from the officials on the podium. The champions and crowd chuckled at the outburst. 

After the medal-giving ceremony, the supporters were welcomed onto the field to take a picture to commemorate the achievements of each of their representatives.

The gang didn't get a lot of chances to interact with Tzuyu as many others wanted to congratulate and take pictures with her. So, they decided to step back and watch Tzuyu shine. Besides, they already planned to celebrate Tzuyu later on in the night.

Eventually, the crowd tattered out. The team, too, were going to go on their traditional post-game team meal and were gathering their gear to leave soon.

"Hyun and I are heading back to clean and set the room for later. I told Tzuyu earlier that I'll text her the details." Chaeyoung said with her hand intertwined with Dahyun.

"Need some help?" Momo asked.

"Yes, please!!" Chaeyoung exaggerated answered.

"Alright, I'll come help." Momo volunteered before turning to  her girlfriend, "I'll pick you up at your dorm later?"

"No need. I'll help you guys clean." Mina shook her head and smiled her gummy smile.

"Alright then, we'll head back. Let's go then." Jeongyeon said.

However, the third Japanese voiced up shyly, "Erm, you guys go ahead. I'll uh.. make my way back."

Jihyo saw Sana's subtle glances at Tzuyu and smiled knowingly. It didn't take a genius to tell that Sana wanted to