It was the day of the competition, Ryosuke’s mixed emotions was slowly eating him. The pressure was getting heavier and heavier in every second that passed caused by the upcoming contest, also from what he heard from Mirai.

He got up from his bed, wore his bunny slippers then checked his mobile phone. He was surprised by the number of calls he received from his sister Saki that he missed. Ryosuke’s pulse raced, his sweats became cold, “something must have happened” he thought as he dialed his Saki onee-chan’s number. He heard a few rings but no one seemed to answer his call until the ringing stopped.

“Hello?” he heard from an unfamiliar husky voice

“Hello? Is this Suzuki Saki’s number?” he asked

“Yes, May I know whose talking?” the voice answered

“This is her younger brother, Ryosuke. Who are you?” Ryosuke asked

“I’m Saki’s------friend, Matsua Yuya. Something happened to your sister” Yuya replied that triggered the lion inside Ryosuke.

“YOU! You’re that idiot who got my sister pregnant aren’t you?! What did you do to my sister this time?!” Ryosuke exclaimed with all his anger inflicted in his voice

“NO! you’re wrong, I’m just a friend------a friend” he answered weakly “She got admitted here in a hospital due to fatigue” he added

“What?! I thought—I---I thought she was fine.” Ryosuke wondered

“Yes, she was with you, but last night, she went and asked me where Miura, the father of the child she’s bearing, was. He went missing a few days ago, and when we found him, he was already dead. Saki wasn’t informed immediately, so when she knew about it, Miura was already buried. She cried then fainted and was sent to a nearby hospital” Yuya explained

“Where is she right now?” Ryosuke asked then Yuya told Ryosuke where the hospital was. Without any second thoughts, he went to the said hospital.

His heart was pounding, he forgot all the matters of the contest

“Saki-neechan fainted” that thought filled his mind

The hospital was 45 minutes away, and when he got there, immediately went to search for the room his sister was staying, room 405. He held the doorknob with hands shaking.

For some reason, he felt nervous. Though the sole purpose of being here at the hospital was to see his sister, now that he’s here, he wanted to back out and go home. Not that he was guilty, but he just didn’t want to see his sister in such a weak situation. Hands were still on the knob when suddenly the door suddenly flung open. His hands were still gripping on the knob, head looking up to the skinny person who opened the door.

“You must be Saki’s brother, come in” he said, Ryosuke immediately recognized the voice. It belonged to the person he talked with a while ago. Though there were some changes, the voice still belonged to the guy.

“You must be the person on the phone, Yuya, right?” he replied

Ryosuke went in and saw his sister sleeping. A smile flashed upon his face, “She’s okay” he thought

“I’ll just go get us something to drink” Yuya said

“I would prefer strawberry” he said confidently though Yuya didn’t ask him.

“Sure, I’ll leave you alone” he replied then went out.

The room was filled with silence. Mixed emotions stirred as Ryosuke slowly walked towards his sister. Somehow, he was relief but on the other hand he was sad. He caressed his sisters cheeks then smiled “nee-chan, don’t just go out again like that without informing us” he said

Saki’s eye’s opened and saw Ryosuke, “Ryo-chan, what are you doing here?” she asked

“I should be the one asking that, what are you doing here?”

“I---I--- went out--- when I…” stuttering Saki replied as her tears welled up on her eyes

“Yuya-san told me eyerything. You went out when you found out that your baby’s father was buried right?” he told Saki confidently and left her speechless

“It’s alright nee-chan, but be sure to worry about your baby next time. I still want to see that kid” he jokingly said

Smiling, Saki ruffled Ryosuke’s hair and said “Ryo-chan, thank you, I’m fine. All I need is rest”

Suddenly, Ryosuke felt a tingly sensation around his thighs, as though something was vibrating. He picked his pocket and found out that his phone was ringing.

“He—hello?” he nervously asked

“Ryo-chaaaaan! Where are you? Don’t tell me you just woke up or I’ll kill you!” Mirai shouted

“Aaaah! Sorry, what time is it?”

“Hah! You just woke up you!!! It’s almost time” angry Mirai shouted “Nevermind---- AFGHJKLKFJHBRN” she said then turned the phone off

“Wow, your girlfriend must be very angry” Yuya jokingly said from his behind after hearing a loud gibberish frustrated shout from the phone

Hearing that, he blushed “She’s my childhood friend ju----” he said but Saki interrupted

“Soon to be GIRLFRIEND”

“Oh you woke up, how are you feeling?” Yuya averted his eyes from Ryosuke to Saki then walked towards her.

Unconsciously a smile flashed upon the young lads face. He was staring at Saki as though he has a lot to say but he had hidden it underneath his smile. Ryosuke immediately knew the meaning of ‘just a friend’ Yuya said earlier. He felt the same resent a before. When he thought Mirai was a lesbian, he smiled.

“Nee-chan, you have such a nice friend. I’ll call Ayame-neechan about this” he said as he dialed Ayame’s number. He then told her everything, she said everything’s fine and that she’s coming to the hospital.

After that Ryosuke went out since he has a competition to attend to.

On the otherhand, Mirai was dead nervous about the contest. Contenders were slowly arriving but her partner hasn’t yet arrived.

“Ryo-chan” she muttered. As if on cue, someone tapped her shoulders. Thinking it was Ryosuke, she had the ‘you’re dead’ look on her face as she looked behind her. To her surprise, it was Kanata.

“Oh! Kanata-kun, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me—you..?” she asked wearing an awkward grin on her face

“Yup, I’m in” he replied

“I never expected that!” she exclaimed

“Neither do I, seems like I was the only one from our class who knew how to cook” he replied

Mirai and Kanata had a good conversation, Mirai kept on laughing when Ryosuke arrived. His brows met, there he go again, that Kanata guy.

“Mi-chaaaaan, sorry” he shouted, hiding all his jealousy away

“Ryo-chan, why were you late? It’s about to start you know” she said with relief

A few minutes later, the contestants were called in for the contest was about to start.

Mirai felt like her knees were weakening, but Ryosuke held her hands, for some reason, she felt relieved. Yes, she had someone with her right now. Not just some man, but the guy she liked, she smiled as the Master of the Ceremony kept on talking, entertaining the audience.

“Why were you late Ryo-chan?” she asked softly “You we’re not at home” she added

“I went to the hospital” he replied

Hearing something like that from Ryosuke, Mirai gave him a surprised look. “Saki-neechan was admitted. Long story, I’m gonna tell you later” He said then gave Mirai an assuring look.

Contented with the look on Ryosuke’s face, Mirai once again looked towards the audience. From the crowd, she saw Umika, gesturing a ‘Fighting!’ sign together with Chinen-kun

She smiled then gave them a small wave. She then blushed since Umika gave her a wink, she knew what that meant. She noticed Ryosuke holder her hand. She blushed once again.

On the otherhand, Ryosuke felt dead nervous, it’s the real thing, he’s holding Mirai’s hand to cheer her up.

“Calm down! You’re cheering for her! That doesn’t mean she likes you IDIOT!” he thought

After the Mechanics were announced the Judges were introduced.