Right after lunch time was when everyone from the ramen shop would head out, and yet again it would be painfully empty. The owner still went away at cleaning things and preparing for rush hour again, but soon he would pack up and head home for the day. Hibiki's schedule wasn't very special or anything, just the same old routine, the same old cycles over and over. . .

The flags hanging down from the entrance were pulled back, as the new customer ducked their head and stepped inside the small corner store; Rairaiken's.

"Welcome." Hibiki mused, his back turned to the young man.

With a small sigh, the male took a seat at the front counter on one of the stools. Propping his elbows up on the counter, he brushed some white hair from his eyes before resting his chin in his palm.

"What can I get y-. . ." Hibiki had finally looked over his shoulder, his eyes blinking twice as he saw the man. "It's been a while, Hayate." He acknowledged him. 

"Mmhm." The male hummed. "Soybean paste miso." Without much of a greeting, he tapped a finger on the wooden counter. His carmine red eyes unintentionally piercing through Hibiki. The older man just nodded before getting to work at his order. Meanwhile, Hayate took off his glasses and set them aside, rubbing at his tired eyes with his palms.

"Here for business?" Hibiki asked, regrettably curious as of to why the white haired male was here.

". . . Not really." Hayate replied in a rather raspy voice. "She come by lately?"

"Yesterday." The response was hesitant. This made Hayate lift his eyes to the ramen cook. These eyes of his, their glare cut sharper than a knife. Even when he wasn't looking at you, it felt as if you were being stared down. He'd catch every single one of your movements without you knowing.

". . . With some friends." The atmosphere had suddenly changed, and the pressure on Hibiki's shoulders was getting heavier with each passing second. He felt as if he had to spill everything, despite not even being asked. Hibiki sighed, "the young girl was brought here to get away from you, isn't that right?"

"Things are different now." Hayate scoffed, a humorless laugh slipping past his thin lips. By this, he meant it as impossible for anyone to get away from him now.

"For your own good," Hibiki paused to set down the bowl of ramen in front of the young man. "Stop keeping track of her like this."

"I wouldn't be giving someone like me advice, if I were you." Hayate shot back, nonchalantly picking up his chopsticks. To be fair, giving advice was Hayate's job, taking it from others? Not so much. A supposedly natural born genius was bound to become a little egotistical. Hibiki didn't see much of a point in arguing, or trying to get his meaning across to the other. When Hayate made a decision, he would see it out to the very end even if it costed him his life. 

Currently, one of his decisions was to look after his younger sister without her knowing a single thing about him.

Such a simple task, yet such a heavy burden.

"Keep the change." A few minutes later, after finishing his meal, Hayate place a few notes down beside the near empty bowl. Without another word, he left the store, not to be seen again for a week or two.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"

Slam!

"And the first to ever beat Endou's record is Park-chan!" Brimming with excitement, Matsuno stuck his arms out, giving jazz hands towards the white haired girl beside him. At that, everyone on Park's side was cheering triumphantly.

After defeating Nosei, the team was celebrating at lunch time. Kino and Park had brought a whole set of snacks for everyone, and just for the sake of it, Endou and Park had fought one another in a soda chugging match. Unfortunately Kino wasn't present to witness them being absolute children. Surprisingly, Park won by a landslide.

"The tire throne has been passed down by generations, now it belongs to Park-chan." Handa crossed his arms, almost glaring at Endou.

"I was hustled! You all saw it happen!" The captain piped up.

"Do you even know what that means?" Kazemaru raised an eyebrow, and with his mouth wide open, Endou froze in his place. "That's what I thought." The tealette nodded to himself.

"Maybe next time, Captain." Park chirped, crossing one leg over the other, a kittenish smile on her face. The tire throne consisted of three tired stacked one over the other, and that was pretty much it. She actually needed help getting onto it, and Kazemaru was more than happy to oblige.

"How is it?" Haruna clapped her hands together, almost like a loyal assistant or something of the sort.

"It's pretty nice up he-- whaaaa!" Before Park could finish, while she was shifting to get comfortable, the girl fell right down the middle.

"Park-san!" Haruna almost dropped her laptop.

"You've got to be kidding me. . ." Kazemaru brought a hand up to her forehead. Just then had the club room doors opened, revealing Kino and Raimon Natsumi.

"Huh?" Endou lifted his brows, looking over at the two girls. Kino had given him an apologetic smile, while Natsumi crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"As of today, I - Raimon Natsumi will be the manager for the soccer club." She stated proudly, a smile of victory on her sharp features.

". . . What!?" The entire club gaped in unison, even Park who had just poked her head out of the depths of the tires.