Fumika's POV

Fumika was currently on the phone with Henri, informing him about how the quarterfinals went and about Team Ichigo.

"So it ended up being a tie with Ichigo and Andou losing, and Kashino and Hanabusa winning?" Henri clarified.

Fumika nodded as she gazed upon the water and the flowers, "Yeah, Ichigo ended up losing because of the Kiwi and Andou lost because of his fear causing sleep deprivation. Kashino and Hanabusa-kun both won their matches."

"I see. So have they decided what they were going to do with the match?" Henri asked through the phone. He had left the academy to complete a business and asked Fumika to call and tell him about how the quarterfinals went.

"Yeah. They has a quick debate and decided it would be best to give it one more chance and have a rematch between the two teams and the theme is 'friendship." Fumika informed

"Well then, do call after it's over and inform me on how it went. The Grand Prix is slowly coming to an end and soon we will leave for Paris. Are you ready?" Henri reminded/questioned

Fumika's movements stopped short as she clenched her hand but took a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm ready, on your signal we'll leave for Paris and get ready for the Paris Grand Prix." Fumika answer unwaveringly.

"Good." Fumika knew that his face was probably serious and stern after hearing her claim."After The Grand Prix, we congratulate the winners and give the team the invite to the Paris Grand Prix, We will leave immediately afterwards." Henri informed.

Fumika gave a solemn nod and okay signaling she understood, There was a moment of silence before Fumika spoke up, "Um...I."

Fumika paused, her face full of hesitation as she remember what Henri did the day of the beginning of the Grand Prix. Her hand automatically went to the top of her hair as a blush surfaced across her cheeks

She then remember Henri's attitude and how he complain to her subtly that he hated how Marie relied and depended on him. She shook her head to get rid of the blush and took a deep breath, "Never mind, It's not important. I'll call you when I have the results."

With that said, Fumika didn't even wait for Henri's answer as she hung up and sighed. She looked at all the flowers and the lake, she shook her head with a silent determination before standing up and heading toward her.

Ichigo's POV

"I heard that all of you turned in notifications of absence." Lemon said, smirking. "I was getting worried that you turned your backs and ran away." She stood in front of them on the stairs, a hand on her hips.

Ichigo smiled as she looked back at her teammates. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you're wrong. In order to understand the prompt, we took a trip to deepen our friendship." The four had gone to Andou's family restaurant after he had run away, and there Ichigo had truly realized the bonds between the Sweets Princes and her.

Lemon seemed nonplussed, but still she kept up her act, turning her chin up. "I- I forgot to tell you, but at the Paris campus, I'm Henri Lucas-sensei's favorite student. My transfer was because he said that if I was able to grasp the skills of making Japanese confectionary, I would be able to make even more wonderful sweets."

Ichigo opened her mouth to speak, but Andou interjected, expression stern. "What about that? Henri-sensei isn't the one making friendship sweets. It's our teams. The current us are able to make unbeatable friendship sweets."

Lemon looked shocked, slowly looking down, wordless.

As Ichigo started walking up the stairs, she patted Lemon's shoulder. Lemon startled, looking up at her. Ichigo gave a wan smile. Lemon may have been a prodigy, but she was still young. To have all this pressure on her at her age must have been daunting.

Kashino caught Ichigo's cuff. Ichigo glanced at him as he mouthed, 'I'll handle this.'

She nodded, beaming as she turned back around and ran back up the stairs after Hanabusa and Andou.

-o-

"There isn't a very large difference between the teams," the judge began, looking at the other judges, "but, considering the theme of 'Friendship', I think we can tell who the clear winner is."

When scores showed themselves on the board, Ichigo cheered, eyes twinkling as she gazed at her teammates. A commotion brought her down to earth, as Lemon had escaped the judging room.

"Lemon-chan! Ichigo cried out, running after her. She chased her until she reached the garden, where Lemon sank down by the benches, puffing and out of breath.

"Lemon-chan..." Ichigo said. Lemon tensed, eyes facing the ground. "Can I talk to you?"

Lemon stood up and brushed off debris from her knees. "If it's about friendship, then forget it," she muttered.

"I was recommended by Henri-sensei too." Ichigo blurted out. Lemon stared at her, eyes filled with disbelief. "But... I couldn't do anything. I was discouraged and there were a lot of times when I wanted to quit. The Sweets Princes... they've helped me every step of the way and it's thanks to them that I was able to make it this far into the Grand Prix."

Lemon gave a faint smile. "Senpai, you're too kind. I purposefully used an ingredient that you didn't know about to make you lose."

Ichigo shook her head. "No, it's my fault for not knowing the basics."

"And, I want to tell you the truth." Lemon said, "Although I said that I came to Japan because of Henri-sensei's recommendation, he actually scolded me for bragging that I had gotten the highest score in the Paris campus. He said that I must be able to learn from anyone, and I transferred here to understand what he meant. I wanted to see if you were as great as Henri-sensei had described."

Ichigo flushed. "No way, Henri-sensei's made me sound too awesome."

"Actually," Lemon replied, "now that I've met you, I think I understand what he meant. I will return to Paris, but not because I lost the match. I want to be able to be honest about to myself like you are. And... I want to start over again with Henri-sensei. Senpai, the next time we meet, I won't lose to you, okay?"

Ichigo nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "Okay."

AN:

skylight: I'm sorry for such a late update, it was all my fault. Kozakura had already written her part but I was too busy (and lazy) to write my part. Now it's finally done!!!! Also, I want to apologize for my writing being so cheesy. I don't know how to write any other way ;-;

Kozakura: hi people, yeah, cheesy ending out of my control so don't blame me for the weird unusual ending. All credits of Ichigo's cheesiness I have no clue how that happened weird end has nothing to do with me and belong solely to the one and only Skylight! Hohohoho. Bye. See you next time.