Thank You, Inei

A giant poster reads across the entrance of the college.

The annual club festival. Great.

Inei looks at the poster with a disgusted look. He walks underneath it, and the basketball coach stands, arms crossed, with a big grin. He then pats Inei on the shoulders.

"Inei, my boy, you know the festival is tomorrow, right?"

Inei raises an eyebrow, confused.

Yeah? Why does that matter to me?

The coach bellows a laugh wrapping an arm around Inei's shoulders.

"Well, you're a starter, and you know the rules. The team's starters are in charge of promoting the team at the festival."

Inei's face goes blank and pale.

What?

The coach walks off.

"Also, you're the main man in charge, so don't mess it up, or your debut will be worthless."

As the coach disappears down the hall, Inei stands shocked and in disbelief.

I hate the festival, and now I must run the basketball station as the head?! What is this?!

Inei puts an angry face on, then continues to walk. Whenever he reaches the classroom and looks at his desk, Azami stands at it with various craft materials scattered all over. Inei paces towards her angrily, and Azami looks at him with a bright smile.

"Hi, Inei! I'm sure you are wondering what this is. Well, I am part of the arts and crafts club, and I was hoping to get your help with it!"

Inei furrows his eyebrows and looks down.

She wants help. I cannot help her.

Inei nods, and her smile becomes radiant.

"Yay! Alright, so this is what I need..."

Within a few minutes, Inei did what he needed to help her, and Azami cleared off the desk.

"Thank you, Inei!"

She takes a seat, and so does Inei, then something hits Inei's desk. Inei looks up to see Chura placing down a bowl of food.

"Inei, can you please try this?"

Inei looks around.

How did you even get this in the classroom? You know what, that's probably better not known.

Inei takes the spoon and tries the soup, taking everything about it. He puts the spoon down and then looks at Chura, eager to hear his opinion. He then grabs a pencil and paper, writing down something on the form. He then hands it to her, and she reads it.

"I should have thought of that! Thank you, Inei! I'll come back to you when I finish!"

With that, Chura exits the classroom.

What is going on?

Then, a volleyball rests on the desk, and Yui stands happily across from him.

Inei looks at her, who hands out a black marker.

"We must get people big on campus to sign our volleyball for display. I grabbed it and am handing it to you. People do not know you yet, but you will after your big game on Saturday."

Right. The first game is on Saturday too. I have a lot going on this week, don't I?

Inei takes the marker and signs it, handing it back to Yui when he finishes, who giggles and grabs the ball skipping off to her seat.

"Thank you, Inei!"

Inei rolls his eyes and puts his head down till suddenly something tugs on his shirt. He lifts his head to see a nervous Yasu with a set of books.

"Um, I'm sorry, Inei, but I got tasked by the book club to select stories that we can present at our booth. We only have women, and our club head wants men so we can show that we're a diverse group. Which of these books would interest a guy?"

Inei looks at them.

Wow, all those books she has are boring.

Inei takes a piece of paper and writes down book titles and authors, handing it to Yasu. Yasu gives a soft smile.

"Thanks, Inei."

She elegantly turns and slowly walks back to her desk.

That should be all of them. I should start planning for the basketball club project.

As Inei begins preparing to plan, a hand slaps against his desk. Inei looks up to see Aneko with different types of clothing.

What now?! Even Aneko?!

Aneko looks down upon him.

"I want you to come with me."

Her voice is severe enough to scare Inei, and him nodding to her request. Aneko looks at the professor.

"Teacher! Inei and Aneko were here, but the festival requires their attention!"

And with that, Inei follows Aneko out of the room, red pasted over his cheeks as everyone in the classroom watches them leave. As they walk down the hall, Aneko looks back, still walking.

"You will be judging clothing for the fashion club. Each girl had to bring in a guy to judge, and..."

Aneko trails off, looking forward sternly.

"You're the only guy I talk with on campus and in general. So hurry up."

Inei notices the sorrow in the statement, thinking as she drags him along.

She sounded despondent when she said that, but I should not push her; she would kill me if I tried to force her to talk about it, especially at school.

When they reach the room, Inei enters with worry, then notices that there are four other guys. The guys are the other four starters on the basketball team. They all look at Inei with edgy looks, one speaking up.

"Hey, Inei, sorry you haven't heard from us, but we are kind of stuck here."

Another one speaks.

"And now you're here. So, this isn't looking too good for our program."

Inei rolls his eyes and sits next to them, writing things down in a journal and showing them what they will do for their project. They all nod and then get terrified.

"Boys! Pay attention! You're judging clothing right now!"

Aneko looks down at them, and the five boys sit quietly. Girl after girl travels through, the boys put up their signs with their honest opinion. Aneko is the last one, walking in beautiful clothing. The boys still rate her a little low, rating around five, seven, five, and six, and then Inei puts up a nine. Aneko blushes a little and then walks off.

"Okay. We have our clothing selection based on the results. Thank you for being so cooperative."

The basketball team starters and girls from the club up and leave, Inei shaking his head and getting up to go. Something grabs his wrist, and he turns to see a teary-eyed Aneko. She sniffles as a couple of tears race down her cheeks.

What is going on with this girl??

She looks him in the eyes.

"Can you help me make a better piece of clothing?"

Inei looks at her.

Even though she's mean, look at her. You can't leave her like this. You can't.

Inei nods, and Aneko smiles.

"Thank you. I want to start with the top."

Aneko hands Inei the top, and he begins to examine it. It's a bright pink top, a floral style on the shoulders, cut short enough to reveal the stomach. Inei thinks for a moment, then searches through the clothes. He finds a teal minidress handing it to her. She pushes it away.

"No, that's an ugly color!"

Inei looks her in the eyes, softly moving her hands, moving them closer to her. She glares and snatches it.

"Fine! To prove you wrong!"

She goes behind a curtain, changing into it.

"You better not peak Inei! I will kill you!"

Inei shakes his head, leaning against a wall a distance away. When she comes out with it on, her hair and eyes glow from the brightness of the minidress. Inei holds a score that says ten and rolls a mirror before her. She is baffled, unable to say anything, looking at it. She looks at Inei, who holds a piece of paper that reads.

"It's not what the item looks like; it's how the person wearing it makes it look."

Aneko looks down at the dress once more after she reads it, then back up. She then looks away, blushing and stubborn.

"Whatever. You're right; it looks terrific."

Inei crosses his arms, and she walks by with a frustrated but determined walk.

"As a matter of fact,"

She grabs him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him behind her.

"I'll wear it for the rest of the day, and if I get compliments, then you win."

Inei keeps his eyes shut, and arms crossed, letting her drag him through the school.

"Damn it! Why does he have to be right?!"

Aneko sits with a defeated look after slamming her fists against the table, lying across the table having been complimented by multiple people just by walking from the room to the study grounds, compliments coming from all four girls when they arrive too. Chura chuckles.

"Well, admittedly, Aneko, it looks terrific on you. He must be very talented in multiple things. I asked him about my soup, and he gave me different ingredients, and it got selected as the main dish."

Azami shows off the craft that he helped her make.

"And look! Majority of this thing Inei built himself! I gave him the idea, and it took him, like, twenty minutes to make it!"

Yasu lays out all the books Inei had referred her to.

"I've already had a couple of guys ask me what I was doing with these books, and that was the point of getting them. Without Inei, I wouldn't have these."

Yui rubs her neck.

"Even though no one cared that he signed the ball, that won't be the issue whenever he plays on Saturday."

Inei stands aggressively, slamming his textbook closed, grabbing it, throwing it into his backpack, and leaving the table. All five girls sit, baffled about what had just happened. A piece of paper stays left where he sat. Azami grabs it and looks at it.

"Did you guys know he was in charge of the basketball team's station?"

All the girls look at each other, then back to Azami, shaking their heads. Yui puts a finger to her bottom lip, looking up, thinking.

"Come to think of it, we have asked him to do a lot today, huh?"

Chura nods.

"We each asked him to take time to help us when he should have been doing his station the whole time. Even knowing that we took away from his time."

They all look at each other, then down at the table.

Azami then looks up.

"Okay, I have an idea."

The next day, Inei shows up with a piece of paper that says "Basketball Team" with no color. He stands at the table, tired and frustrated.

I shouldn't have walked off like that. I probably upset the girls with the way I responded to their discussions.

The coach walks up with a grin.

"Hey, Inei, this has to be some joke. You have something better than a piece of paper, right?"

Inei looks at his coach with a finished look, shaking his head. The coach's grin slowly disappears.

"Come on, Inei, stop playing games."

Inei's eyes don't change, proving that he is serious. The coach gets an angry look, points the finger at him, and goes to say something until a familiar voice rings from down the hall.

"Inei! Look what we have!"

Inei and the coach both turn their heads, shocked looks on their faces. A beautiful poster with fog machines, foods, and exotic colors with a galactic design rolls on a push table, being pulled by Azami, and the other four girls walking beside her bring it to him. The coach looks at Inei.

"I don't know whether to be proud that this is the coolest basketball program design ever or to be super angry that you joked with me that good."

Inei's eyes glow a little brighter, shrugging with nervousness. He walks around, looking at them, who look back at him. Azami spoke on all five of their behalf.

"Inei, we're sorry we took time out of your day yesterday when you should have been doing this. If we had known, we wouldn't have pushed so much on you. But to show you that we truly appreciate what you did, even Aneko,"

Aneko shoots Azami a mean look, causing her to laugh.

"We put all our clubs together to make yours the best possible. So, thank you for your help, Inei."

Inei looks at all of them and does something crazy. He gives a full smile, nodding, grabbing the presentation, and placing it on the table. Everyone focuses on it as it comes through, now flocking to the table, the other four starters walking up and helping. Chura taps on Azami's shoulder and reminds her of something after whispering in her ear.

"Oh! And Inei,"

Inei looks at them with a smile.

"We have a special part that we will return after our stations have us do what we need."

Inei tilts his head, his smile now fading.

Oh no, what are they going to do?

After a moment of time, Inei stands back, looking at the poster. He sees soup and food at the bottom.

So that's the culinary part, then the art and craft part.

Inei sums up that group as the poster in general. He sees different parts written down to be read, such as lineups, history, and other things.

That would be the book club.

He tilts his head.

The volleyball team placed a basketball with all their names on it as support from them. Where is the fashion part? Unless it's the design of the arts.

Inei shrugs.

I shouldn't worry about it. It could end up being something nice.

After a while, he is enjoying the time, people looking and complimenting the poster, wishing him luck on his debut, when suddenly an incredible thing happens.

"Hey, Inei! We're back!"

Inei turns and looks, becoming immediately red as a blush hits his cheeks. Azami, Aneko, Chura, Yui, and Yasu wear cheerleading uniforms. Inei takes a step back.

"We're gonna draw attention to your poster by being cheerleaders!"

Azami says this enthusiastically, Chura smiling big as she leans down, winking and striking a pose.

"It would make sense for me because I'm pretty!"

Yui gives a nervous smile, slightly covering herself.

"As long as it makes others happy, I'm happy, even though this is quite uncomfortable."

Aneko complains.

"The underwear part of this skirt doesn't feel comfortable at all! How do they wear this crap?!"

Yasu doesn't speak, super red and uncomfortable, covering her body with her arms, then Azami whispers in her ear.

"We get to dance, Yasu."

Yasu smiles, blush gone throwing her arms up in the air.

"Then count me in!"

They prepare themselves, starting cheers that the cheer team had taught them. People flock to the station because of the cheerleading, mainly guys, to watch them. The coach walks up beside Inei.

"You know, I never thought you, Inei, would be able to get five girls to cheerlead for you."

Inei blushes, shaking his hands as if saying no that he asked them to.

"Well, regardless, it's causing attention, and the more attention, the more people will be watching your debut. So, don't mess up. Play as you should, and you'll be the next Curry or even greater."

The coach walks off, Inei standing and thinking to himself.

These girls, indeed, have done a number on me, huh? They make me do things. They make me social even though I don't talk. They even have managed to make me genuinely smile since high school.

While he thinks, there is a tug on his shirt, Yasu looking at him with a nervous look.

"I hate to ask, but could you take me for a drink?"

Yasu, genuinely you're just cute in a non-attractive way. You may be even shyer than me.

He nods, walking with her to a drink station down the hallway. One of his teammates tells him they'll watch the stand. For a bit of time, Yasu and Inei walk alone down an empty hallway. They are both silent for the majority of the walk, and Yasu is too embarrassed to speak in her cheerleading uniform when they reach the station. Inei puts in two-hundred yen, then motions for her to get a drink. She pushes a button, and out comes a water bottle. She takes it, opening it at once and taking large gulps, some of it dripping down her chin and off of it as well. Inei looks away with a blush, then begins walking back. Before he takes more than two steps, Yasu snags his sleeve with three fingers.

"Inei, tell me something."

Inei turns and faces her. Her pushing up against him and getting in his face.

"What are your intentions with us?"

Inei blushes, looking away while trying not to think about what is happening physically.

Wow, what is this intimidating part of Yasu all of a sudden?!

"I'll let you think about it even though your face to me gives off an answer already."

Yasu begins walking away from Inei, talking to him even though she is not facing him.

"I left my number on the back of one of the papers on the board. When you're ready to answer that question, you can answer me that way. Thank you for the water."

As she walks, Inei follows behind her.

She was so intimidating, but whenever there is more people that would be considered a group, she was so shy and cute. What situation caused her to think of that question? And why did she ask?

When they reach the station, the guys get too close to the girls. They start reaching out to grab, but the girls move just enough to be out of reach. The girls' faces become uncomfortable and scared. Inei quickly rushes back, placing down a sign.

"If you touch a girl, you will be permanently banned from all sporting events and be suspended from school. Administered by the Dean."

All the boys quickly back up, the girls smiling at Inei for his savior antics, continuing to perform their stunts, taking turns off while the other four do their thing. When Yasu returns with them, Yui takes a step back, sitting next to Inei, who is now sitting. She stretches out and then lets herself go.

"This is no different to me. I wear less in a volleyball uniform. I was initially a little nervous, but only because we had to do cheers."

Inei looks over to her, then back to ensure no one messes with the cheering girls. Then he hears Yui say something else.

"I am going to take a quick nap, but I just wanna say that even though we all pitched in, it was Azami's idea."

Inei looks over at her.

What do you mean it was Azami's idea?

However, before Inei could even think of the question, Yui was asleep in the chair. Her athletic body lays elegantly in the chair. Inei blushes, looking away, making sure the other girls are safe. Over time, Aneko comes walking up, waking up Yui.

"Wake up, Yui. It's my turn for a break. You go up and cheer."

Yui stretches and yawns, getting up and going back to cheering. Aneko takes a seat, not wanting to even look at Inei. Inei keeps looking forward, watching on for their safety, then suddenly, Aneko turns her head away as she speaks.

"I'm only doing it because you judged for my club, don't get any ideas!"

I didn't even say anything, Aneko.

Aneko still looks away, then tilts her head towards Inei, a faint blush over her face.

"However, I guess doing something good every once in a while doesn't hurt."

Inei raises his eyebrow.

Wow. That's a new side of Aneko, and she seems almost sweet. This girl is bipolar!

Aneko brings her knees to her face wrapping her arms around them, half her face hiding behind her knees. They sit like that for a while, just watching and waiting to see if anything will happen. Eventually, Aneko gets up.

"It's Chura's turn. I'll send her over."

She walks off, tapping Chura on the shoulder and pointing to the seat. Chura gives a big grin and a nod, skipping over to the chair, picking it up, and moving it slightly closer to Inei. Inei notices but pretends not to, still looking on. Chura sits in it.

"Hey, Inei!"

Inei looks over, then becomes red. Chura is sitting in her chair seductively, looking at Inei with a lustful gaze.

"Don't you like that we wore these for you?"

Inei looks away, still blushing.

I APPRECIATE that you did this, and it's not that I don't enjoy it, I do enjoy it, not in the way you hint at it.

Chura snorts and bursts into a laugh, practically falling out of her chair.

"Wow! I got you good, Inei! You should have seen how you looked!"

Inei gets an annoyed look on his face.

Yeah, I should have figured she was joking, although,

A flashback strikes Chura kissing Inei on the cheek.

That would support why I thought she'd be acting that way. But this is no time to think of this, and it's festival time. What time is it?

Inei looks at the clock, the hands pointing to five-thirty.

One more hour. Chura will probably be on the brake for fifteen minutes, and then Azami will come to break. I have to put up with Chura for the time being.

Chura punches Inei in the arm with a smile.

"Man, it has you thinking about it, huh?! Well, too bad! You're not getting any of this!"

Inei looks forward, not reacting. Chura looks with a questioning look. Chura begins poking Inei repeatedly.

"Inei? Inei? Are you dead? Inei?"

Fifteen minutes pass, and Inei has a dead expression on his face. Chura is still poking him.

"Inei? You look dead now. Why aren't you responding? Inei? At least move your head."

Inei finally sighs and looks at her, and she smiles, waving.

"Well, I was going to tell you hi, but it's time for me to go now, so bye!"

And with that, she gets up, skipping to get Azami. However, as she bounces, her skirt raises just enough once that Inei sees the very lining of her underwear. Inei gets a nosebleed from it, his face turning red. Azami runs over, noticing the bleeding.

"Oh my gosh! Inei, are you okay?! Let's go to the bathroom so I can grab you some tissue!"

Inei gets up, following Azami to the nearest bathroom. When they arrive, Azami runs into the woman's restroom and returns with tissues, handing them to Inei, who clogs his nose.

"Geez! What caused such a bleed?!"

Inei looks away with a blush.

I'm not telling her why.

Inei then hands Azami a piece of paper that he pulls from his pocket. She opens it and reads it.

"Yui said this was mainly your idea. I don't know how you did it the way I had planned it and beyond that, but I appreciate what you and all of you have done. Thank you."

Azami giggles and looks at Inei.

"Well, you left the design on the table when you stormed out yesterday. And you don't have to thank us, you have honestly done a lot for us, so it's about time we did something for you as well."

Azami turns, walking down the hallway.

"Anyway! Let's head back! We wouldn't want Chura thinking we're alone or she'll go crazy! You know how she gets!"

Inei smiles and follows behind her.

She doesn't realize how much she has already done for me. But that's fine. It shows that she genuinely means it.

Time passes, and the campus bells start to ring at seven o'clock. The students begin leaving the festival, Inei packing up the gear being the last one with the five girls cleaning up.

Well, that is one of the downsides of having the biggest and best stand.

While Inei thinks to himself, Aneko speaks of something that has slipped all their minds.

"Hey, where did your teammates go?!"

They all look around. The four of Inei's teammates have left and are nowhere in sight. Then Azami speaks up.

"Oh yeah! They asked me to tell Inei they would look at other stands!"

Inei looks at her with a defeated look. Yui tilts her head with a smile.

"Oh? And when was that?"

Azami beams as she makes her statement.

"When I checked my phone when Inei and Yasu went to get a drink!"

Inei gives an even larger defeated look.

That was so long ago! They just dipped, so they didn't have to help!

Inei then notices that Yasu keeps glancing at him as he takes down the poster.

Why is she-

Then he remembered what she had told him early when he had bought her the drink.

"I left my number on the back of one of the papers on the board..."

That's right. Yasu's number is behind one of these papers.

Inei sneakily removes paper by paper, catching a glimpse of the back as he pulls them off and down; finally finding one with a number on the back, he folds it quickly and puts it in his pocket without anyone but Yasu noticing. When he does, he finally feels Yasu's glance leave him. Once they pack entirely up, they begin leaving the school, heading their separate ways Inei arrives home a little earlier than usual without having practice. He readies himself for bed, lying down, his phone having three message notifications, one from Azami, Yui, and Chura. Inei passes them and inputs Yasu's contact. Then opens her contact to message her. Her question echoes in his mind.

"What is your intention with us?" well, Yasu, I honestly do not know. It was not even my plan to have you all in my life anyway; it was Azami's.

Inei stops for a moment, then begins typing. When he finishes, he sets his phone down and goes to sleep.