Kiyoshi Teppei

*Beep beep*

*Beep beep*

A hand reached out from under the warm covers and turned off the alarm. Yui blinked and rubbed her tired eyes while groaning. She had spent the whole night working on a couple of chapters for her webnovel and only slept at 4 am.

It had been a few days since the last inter-high match for Seirin and Kagami had finally replied to her message the night before. She was very happy of course and chatted with him for a while which was why she ended up spending the rest of the night typing.

After a warm shower and getting dressed, the still half-asleep girl made her way downstairs to get the breakfast ready. The menu for today was miso soup, salmon and tamogoyaki. She cooked rice and prepared a pot of green tea to go with everything.

Her family came down moments later following the scent of food and Sora's mouth watered.

"Ah it smells good Yui-chan,"

Everyone took seats at the table and collectively said, "Ittadakimasu" before hungrily digging in. As usual, Yui's cooking was amazing and they wanted seconds.

"Oh I almost forgot, Otou-san and I will be busy today but our groceries are running out. Could you guys go buy some today? I have the list ready," Nanami looked at her children. They murmured a reply, "Sure. We don't have anything to do anyway,"

"Great! And also, I believe Atsu will be returning next month or maybe some time after,"

"Huh? Why? It's not the holidays," Ryu wondered aloud.

"The Winter Cup," Yui informed.

"Right. I forgot about that. It seems Yosen will be taking part in it," Niko mumbled. "Ne Yui-chan, ya think Atsushi will win?"

Yui almost snorted but restrained herself. "Who knows. Atsu-nii is strong and talented but there's a dark horse this year,"

"Oh? Who is it?" Ryu inquired curiously.

"I'm afraid you'll just have to find out on your own. It wouldn't be fun if I spoiled it for you now, would it?" Yui smirked and Ryu pouted.

Just then, Hiroshi moaned and rushed to the toilet. He came back a while later with a pale face. "It seems I won't be able to go shopping. My stomach seriously hurts,"

"Eh? Is my cooking?" Yui asked worriedly.

"No. It's been sore since last night. I think a have a stomach bug," Hiroshi groaned as he slumped on the couch.

"Well we're all adults....kind of, so I think we'll be fine even if you don't accompany us," Niko said handing the guy a warm drink.

"Right. Just try not to cause trouble,"

"Yeah yeah,"

Yui had a bad feeling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

'I knew it' Yui thought as she watched her siblings get dragged out of the store by the security. She resisted the urge to facepalm when Sora dramatically reached out to her and she turned her head in the other direction pretending not to know him.

It had only been a few minutes since they arrived at the store when Ryu and Sora started joking around like 5-year-olds and Niko ended up joining them (like the mature adult she is) and the trio were later thrown out of the store for disturbing customers and shoppers.

Yui just messaged them saying she would complete the shopping and they felt bad. They decided that they would get the fish from the fish market while Yui continued the shopping at the grocery store. Therefore, at least they would be doing something useful.

Yui sent an 'ok' and continued walking through the isles and picking out items from the list.

'Let's see...soy sauce, chilli paste...hmm, garlic..'

Looking down at the list, she failed to see and oncoming body and bumped into it.

"Ack, sorry," Yui stammered looking up. She almost fainted when she saw the face looking down at her with a smile.

"No worries miss. It was my fault also,"

"K-Kiyoshi Teppei?" Yui exclaimed. Suddenly, realising what she said, Yui slammed a hand over her mouth and cursed.

Kiyoshi blinked and asked, "Have we met before?"

"Ah no. We haven't. I just know you since you play for Seirin's basketball team,"

"Oh is that so? Still I didn't think people would recognise me. Are you a fan of basketball?"

"More or less. My friends and brother play."

Yui grumbled to herself. 'This guy is way too easy to talk to.'

"Oh? Which schools do they play for?"

"They–" Yui stopped herself from speaking further and instead said, "I would tell you but you'll probably find out anyway during the Winter Cup,"

Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow. This girl was quite unusual and it seems she knows more than she lets on. He was curious and therefore asked, "Do you wanna grab some ice-cream after this?"

'Um didn't you just meet me?' Nevertheless, Yui agreed and when they finished from the store, the two headed to the ice-cream shop opposite the road.

"So how much do you know about Seirin? It's not everyday someone recognises me just from the games." Kiyoshi asked taking a lick of his chocolate ice-cream.

"Fufu, you got me. You could say I'm a fan of Seirin. I know everyone on the team and their specialities," Yui figured telling Kiyoshi is harmless. It's not like she'd be telling him spoilers anyway.

"Oh? Then what's mine?"

"Kiyoshi Teppei, 193cm, 81kg, birthday is June 10th. Position: Centre. Former Ace of the team. Speciality: Vice claw and unpredictable plays. Nickname: Iron Heart. A member of the Uncrowned Kings. Despite your innocent facade, you're quite the manipulator."

Kiyoshi stopped walking and stared at the girl in awe. Though that last bit stung a little, he was surprised at how much she knew. "You're not a stalker are you?"

Yui spluttered, "N-no. Well maybe a bit but I told you right? I am a fan of Seirin. You're teamwork is one of the best I've seen."

"I see. What about our captain?"

"Hyuuga Junpei. 178cm, 68kg, birthday is May 16th. Position: Shooting Guard. Captain and mental core of the team. Speciality: Clutch player, he is good at shooting."

"Alright how about number 5?" Kiyoshi wanted to test just how much she knew.

"Izuki Shun. 174cm, 64kg, birthday is October 23rd. Position: Point Guard. Izuki is the playmaker of the team. Speciality: Eagle Eye."

"Sugoi, you really know us don't you? We're a relatively new school so I didn't think someone would pay this much attention to us."

"True but I'm a special case. I look forward to seeing your performance for the Winter Cup. I doubt you'll let me down," Yui said. Just then, there was a buzz in her pocket. "Oh sorry. Do you mind?"

"Not at all,"

Yui smiled and answered her phone. "Moshi-moshi?....Hai, etto, I'm near opposite the road from the store...hai...hai. Okay bye,"

"Something happen?" Kiyoshi asked popping the leftover cone in his mouth.

"My siblings will be picking me up soon so I'll just wait here."

"I see–" Kiyoshi was cut off when his phone started buzzing as well. He opened it and read the message.

"Looks like I have to go. I'll wait till you see your car. Can't leave a cute girl by herself now can I?"

"Eh? Oh you don't have to."

"It's no trouble. I won't die if I'm late,"

'You might if Riko was the one who messaged you.' Yui thought.

The two waited together and chatted and before long, Yui spotted a familiar vehicle and license plate and bed farewell to the Iron heart after exchanging contacts.

And just like that, Yui made another friend.