The group, whom Youta wouldn't consider a tight group of friends seeing as most had only known each other for only days, arrived to Takame's family bakery. He never would've thought her to be a member of a family with a business like this. Mainly because he figured she would've been working here after school instead of joining a sport team.
"You know, Youta's pretty good at baking stuff too." Fuwaka said as they walked inside. "Maybe you should get him for more than just sport managerial services."
"I don't know if we're close enough for you to be bragging about that." He smiled with unease from her praise. He had gotten used to praising these athletes for their deeds on the field. However when the tables were flipped on him, it came off as awkward.
"Takame you came here after your game?" A young girl who had been hanging around the register walked out to greet them all. She stood much shorter than Takame. In fact, she stood a little shorter than all of them. "And it looks like you brought your friends here. That's nice."
"Well, I guess I did…" Takame didn't want to admit that calling the other three her friends would be a stretch. All they've done together was work out in basketball and that only had been for the past few days. "I did really well in my game, so I wanted to celebrate with everyone."
"That's lovely." The girl lit up as she beckoned them all to a table. "I'll grab some nice things, you don't have to worry about paying."
"Thank you." Said Youta as they all grabbed a seat. "Um, are you…" He noted that the woman's name tag meant she had the same family name as Takame. "Are you Takame's sister?"
"Oh you certainly know how to flatter a lady." She laughed at him, leaving the boy confused as to what he said that was so funny. "I'm not that young at all. I'm actually Takame's mother."
"Huh?" The other three couldn't believe their ears when she said this. For a moment, they all believed themselves to have been tricked as a joke. This woman was so short while her daughter was the complete opposite. However she continued to tease this fact, much to Takame's chagrin.
"Mom, please don't be so embarrassing…" She said, which having no reason to lie, meant this woman was indeed her mother. "No one hangs out with me, so I don't want you to scare them away…" The latter statement was spoken so quietly not a single soul heard it.
"It's just some old fashion ribbing." Her mother replied, ending the jokes. "Now I'll go grab some cake because what better way to celebrate than with that?" None of them had any issues with that suggestion as she headed to the back where the kitchen was located to grab one that had been more freshly made.
"I'm just going to run off to the bathroom real quick." He said, getting up and looking around.
"I'll show you." Even though she wasn't working, Takame treated him as if she were. Admittedly this was also an excuse for her to also take a quick trip to the restroom without telling anyone else about it. The pair left, leaving Mitora and Fuwaka together alone as they sat across the other.
"Guess the two of us get left alone a lot, don't we?" Said Mitora, trying to fill the air to avoid awkward silence.
"It's kind of funny how all of us are here together right now." Said Fuwaka. "I mean, the only reason each of us are here is because of Youta, not with each other."
"Are you saying you don't like me?" For a moment, Mitora got concerned. There had never been a person she met who disliked her. So she had no idea on how to handle such a position.
"The opposite, actually." Fuwaka laughed at seeing the person before her break a sweat. "I guess that's what Youta was trying to teach me when he said I was his 'mission'." She put up her fingers to indicate the air quotes around the word, mission. "To be honest, I always thought hanging out at some bakery would just be a bore, but it's not so after all."
"I'm glad he had a positive influence on you then." She sat back in her chair to relax. After everything they had been through, it was nice to finally get away from all the hard work.
"Yeah, he did…" Fuwaka spoke slowly, processing in her mind the meaning of those words. "Say, you interested in him?"
"What did you say?" This immediately got Mitora to sit right back up after she had found a comfortable position.
"You guys said you grew up together, right?" She continued on. "I mean, I don't have any experience with it. But I hear that, well, I'm sure things change a little bit when you get older."
"If you're trying to say that I want to date him… That's not it." Mitora responded, her words trailing off as she made her denial. "It's just that lately, we haven't been spending that much time together since getting into high school. Then when I saw him with you, I thought maybe he had found someone. But I was only worried because I've known him for so long that I want to make sure whoever he loves is a good person."
"Heh, I'd like to believe I'm a good person." She smiled, swirling her finger over the placed out napkin before her as she mulled over her thoughts. "And you know, I think he's pretty good too."
"Are you trying to say…" Mitora hesitated before saying the words she knew she wouldn't be able to take back. "You want to date him?"
"Look, I've never been one to take an interest in someone." She explained. "And I'm not going to say anything to him, it's just not my style. But if Youta ever asked me out, then I'm not going to say no."
Mitora couldn't help but be shocked at such a statement as she looked the girl sitting before her. She didn't think she'd see the day where a girl expressed any romantic interest towards Youta. Not to mention she didn't think it'd be someone who looked like Fuwaka either. Not to be disrespectful of the boy and his ability to be apparently attractive without trying. "So I just wanted to let you know, since you've known him for so long. Maybe don't sit back and let him go if you really don't want it."
"I already told you. I don't have feelings for him. We're just really good friends." Mitora continued to deny it as if it were an accusation, even though there was no court coming to prosecute her.
"We're back." Youta announced his return alongside Takame. "I guess the cake's not here yet? At least, I hope the two of you didn't already eat it all." He laughed, not noticing the slight tension between the two girls. Though fortunately his presence helped ease it without him realizing it.
"I feel like the two of us aren't going to be eating that much anyway." Fuwaka commented as the other two sat back down. While there was the obvious fact they needed to keep their figure in order to continue to compete properly. Mitora got the nagging feeling at the back of her head there may be more than just sports when it came to looking after their own weight.
"Thought you guys had days where you cheated or something." He said, but waved it off as something he couldn't possibly understand as a non-athlete. Finally Takame's mom walked back out with a simple cake in her hands. On top it was decorated with basketball themed frosting art and had the words, "big shot", on it to indicate her congratulations for her daughter's success.
"Mom, I'm not ten anymore." The decoration was not to Takame's tastes due to her worry on how the others may view it. "A simple one to eat was just fine."
"That looks great!" Mitora was on the opposite end of the spectrum as she eyed the cake. I just want to dig straight in, can I?"
"Mitora, this is for Takame." Youta scolded her by nudging the girl with his elbow. "She deserves the first slice for all her hard work."
"Okay, but the second she gets hers I'm going next." He nodded, as if he had the right to give her permission to do so. As everyone got their cake to eat, the boy looked around at each of the girls surrounding him.
He had managed to pass yet another mission and everyone around him was happier for it. This gig seemed rather strange when he first accepted it all for the sake of Mitora. However it seemed perhaps he really was cut out for this after all.