Mizuki and her friends watched with bated breath, as Nanba shook his head at the underclassman that had come onto the stage with the results. He frowned, but at last he took the paper and lifted the microphone to his mouth.

"The winners," he gritted with as much false cheer as he could muster, "Are the students of Dorm 3, who beat Dorm 2 by a total of six pies," he was forced to wait as wild cheers erupted from somewhere on his left. "That leaves Dorm 1 in third place. Well done Osaka High, at another year's Pie Eating Contest!"

Nakatsu blinked. "We came in second place," he announced.

At that, Umeda sighed dramatically. "Well, it's better than I expected out of you lot. But now I won't be getting that man's number. A whole night of bar hopping gone to waste." He shook his head and pushed himself out of his chair. "I'll be leaving now, you bunch of second rate pie-eaters."

"Oi!" Nakatsu shook a fist at the elder doctor as he made his way across the courtyard. "You weren't interested in the pies at all, were you?"

"Relax." Sano placed a hand on Nakatsu's shoulder, and the blonde froze at the gesture.

I'm sure he knows that Sano's still mad at him, Mizuki thought as she witnessed the exchange.

"Don't hurt me," Nakatsu pleaded, as the high jumper's grip tightened menacingly.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it."

Mizuki turned as Nakao caught her attention, and she gave him a smile. "We didn't do so bad. You should have helped us."

The delicate boy shook his head. "Not a chance. But I did come to congratulate you."

Nakatsu was valiantly striving to avoid a swing from Sano as he called out a greeting. "What's this? Nanba's lover suddenly cares?"

Mizuki hid a laugh and instead frowned while Nakao stuck out his tongue in defense. "Who was counting enemy pies? I didn't see you making an effort to figure out what we were up against. You just assumed we'd win without doing any research."

"But you also enjoyed watching the older boys get messy, didn't you, you little fruitcake?"

"That's not very nice, Nakatsu," she chided, just as Nanba brutally shoved aside two students in his rage and haste to get to them.

"What kind of performance was that?" he seethed, seizing Nakatsu by the ear as he spoke and tugging harshly. "You let Dorm 3 beat us, and now Tennoji will never let me hear the end of it. This was my last year to win, too."

Mizuki couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for him. Well, this was lots of fun, but I guess it WAS Nanba's last chance to win. He tries so hard to be a good RA…

"Ow! Let go of my ear," Nakatsu hollered, swatting the upperclassman's hand away, "It's not my fault. The rest of them are amateurs when it comes to pie eating!"

Nanba only twisted harder. "Says you who claimed to be sick and only participated in the last five minutes."

"LEGGO!"

Finally Nanba relented, scanning the group for Nakao, who to his horror was staring at him with sparkling eyes that seeped with devotion. "And what about you?"

"M-me?" Nakao gasped, blushing a pale pink upon being addressed by the older boy.

"Why didn't you compete? We only lost by six pies. Even someone like you could manage that." He frowned when Nakao drooled instead of answering, and he slapped a palm to his forehead in defeat. "Oh well. At least you goons had fun."

Nakatsu pasted a sly grin across his face, aiming the look at Nanba. "Why didn't you participate, Minami?"

"Uh, well…"

Mizuki blinked, realizing that Sano had disappeared during their conversation. She scanned the crowd for him while Nakatsu said something about having a rematch now that he was back in action. Where did he go? I wonder if he's really that mad about having to eat so much pie? With a silent glance at her bickering friends, she crept off to locate her roommate.

She found him relaxing on a bench, far away from the chaotic aftermath of the contest. His hands rested casually in his pockets, and his lean form was slouched against the seat while he tilted his head back with his eyes closed. She took a moment to watch him in silence.

No one should be allowed to look that good, she thought to herself as she took a seat next to him without a word.

"Asleep. Like I thought," she exclaimed aloud when he didn't move. She didn't bother to keep her voice low. He really CAN sleep anywhere. Then she reached over instinctively to brush a smooth strand of dark hair from his brow.

"I'm not asleep, you know," he alerted her at once.

KYYAAAA! "Th-then why didn't you say anything?" She flinched and pulled away. Oh no! Oh my god! He's going to think I'm some sort of—

"Calm down, Ashiya." A command. Why is she always so jumpy? He cracked one eyelid open and met her worried gaze. "Did you honestly think I could sleep after eating so much?"

She knew he hated apologies, but somehow she still ended up doing it. "Well I…um…sorry." She finished in a rush.

"Stop apologizing," he mussed up her hair in irritation. "Anyway, I guess it wasn't all that terrible." He watched as her face lit up.

"Really? See, I told you it would be fun!" She was beaming with the biggest grin he'd ever seen.

Sano returned to slouching against the bench with his eyes closed. "Don't get excited. It wasn't because of the pie or the competition." What am I saying?

"Is that so? Then what?" Is he trying to tell me…

"I had fun because you were there, Ashiya." Then he flushed a modest rose hue. Great. Why did I even say that?

Ahh! Did he really just say he had fun because of me? "Th-thanks," she murmured, blushing as well. "Um, what will you do now? Do you want to take Yujiro for a walk with me?"

He stood up and took her by the hand, guiding her to her feet. "Sure." Then, "Hey. There's pie on your face again."

Her nose crinkled in disbelief. "Is there really? I thought I got it all off." The next thing she knew, he had leaned in and planted a kiss on the corner of her mouth. Wh-what… She stood stunned, watching as he licked his lips before bringing a finger to her face in awe. To her utter horror, it came away with a glob of red on it.

Ack! So there really WAS filling still on my face! Why me?

Sano observed her hectic expression before chuckling lightly. "It's cherry. And it's really sweet."

"B-but you don't like sweet things!"

He shrugged and began to make his way down the path, toward where Yujiro was tethered. "I think I may have just formed a soft spot for cherry pie."

Mizuki ran to catch up to him. "Sano…" The effect of his kiss still lingered.

He shushed her with a glance. "Let's get the dog and avoid walking where there's any food. I think I'm gonna throw up."

She laughed and nodded her head. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea…"

FIN.