[IC] Battlefield of Love!!<3!! ~1:Will I ever get his attention?~

[Hiss13]

Just her luck. The only option before her seemed to be making her way through the gym. She was definitely not going to try the boy's locker room. After all, she was pretty strict about making sure people didn't go into the opposite locker room. So, the only option was the shed.

But going through there meant…

She sighed, wrung her clothes and hair to get as much water off her body as possible, and then made her way out of the locker room, hoping to sneak past everyone and not get noticed by Nicu. As long as she was not noticed…

[Chevaleresse]

Sora visibly flinched at Evelyn's glare. Looking down, he replied in his usual faint voice, "N-no, I don't." After a moment or two of silence, however, took a breath and was about to speak when he noticed motion out of the corner of his eye.

"S-Seema-san?! What happened?"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Of course I don't know where the staff room is." Nicu made an almost annoyed look, and facepalmed. He smiled afterwards though. "But you know I had the wrong idea of you Evelyn. It's a nice thing to do, to try and return this. You too Sora, you're trying to help as well. Let's go find the owner of the purse!"

Nicu was impressed by the kindness showed by both Evelyn and Sora.

As he was about to leave, Sora exclaimed Seema's name. He looked at the entrance to the girl's locker room finding the drenched girl. "S-Seema did you take a shower or something?" Nicu's face went clear red, he was probably not used to seeing girl's bodies. "You know you are supposed to take off your clothes when you take a shower right?"

[Hiss13]

She had been seen. Noticed. Game over. Her stealth mission had failed on account of being noticed by Sora.

But the worst part had to be being noticed by Nicu. The soaked class rep's face began to take a maddening red hue as she struggled to speak. "I tried to fix one of the showers…" she muttered, turning her head down. "…and it sprayed me…"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Nicu blinked twice. After a few moments of silence on his part, he broke out in laughter. He laughed, laughed, laughed, and walked off into the boy's locker room. A few moments later he left, with a towel in hand.

"Man, that's embarrassing. How do you even manage to do that?" He outstretched his arm, handing the towel to Seema. "Here dry yourself off. Did you get it fixed at least?"

Nicu is smiling! He was impressed by Seema's... Showering skills? He might have also liked seeing her in wet clothes...

[Hiss13]

If her face had not been at its reddest before, it definitely got redder as the boy laughed. Luckily, he at least was understanding enough to bring her a towel.

"I think I fixed it," she took the towel from his hands and immediately began drying herself off. "Thanks." A small, yet simple smile appeared on her reddened face.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"That's really cool." He smiles back. "Good job. You are welcome." Nicu scratches the back of his head, looking back at the gym. "Do you think we are done here? I want to go home."

The gym's door burst oside, kicked open by a young man. A student!

"Let's go guys, we gotta get some practice in before the tournament." A spiky red haired boy walks in, hands behind his back. Following him comes a brown haired boy, his hair cut in a perfect bowl cut. Behind him... An identical boy? And then another one? They must be triplets!

"You know it bro."Said the first one.

"Sure bro let's go!" Said the second one.

"Bro, you are right on!" Said the third one.

The four completely ignore your group. They make their way straight to the court. As he is walking, one of the triplets trips over a broom, falling face first into the ground.

"What the... Who left this shit laying around!?" The red haired boy raged, immediately turning his glare on Nicu. "Yo yo yo yo yo... Was this your doing?"

"Huh?" Nicu seemed caught of guard, as if he was daydreaming.

"I haven't seen your face around here before. How are you going to make it up to my blood brother for this disrespect."

"Bro that really hurt."

"Yo bro not cool!"

"Kick his ass bro!"

Nicu seems completely confused, and isn't responding...

[Nova]

This day is a wonderful one. Cleaning duty on an otherwise nice day, Seema on your back, and when she makes a mistake, the ever so graceful Nicu jumps straight to her rescue.

To top it off, another group of four invaded the gym, didn't watch their surroundings and a loose broom tripped someone over. Now, they've turned towards Nicu and shout all sorts of obscenities at him, words you'd expect from such lonely, unkempt people.

Nicu has dropped dead silent, occasionally glancing to his sides while the four boys draw closer to him as if they're ganging up on him.

I guess someone is a bit afraid of thugs...

Evelyn coughed loudly to draw some attention, then started her verbal barrage toward the boys:

"What do you think you're doing! First, you waltz right into here, interrupt our work, then mess everything up by tripping over and dirtying the floor with your filthy clothing! You will apologise to me right this instant!"

Evelyn shook the bag of cookies in her hand, surprised nobody had remarked on them yet.

Maybe these can be of use now against the boys. They're simple minds, after all.

"Yes, you will apologise for the mess you made, and help us clean after that! Only when you comply will you be rewarded!"

Evelyn held up the cookies, and pulled them back in the blink of an eye. She stepped forward and raised her voice again.

"Foul delinquents!"

Evelyn raised her brow towards Nicu.

"You too, Nicu. You're at fault as well for leaving the broom there, after all. Now apologise to me for your clumsiness, and you'll get your reward."

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

The four boys gulp. They are very seriously intimidated.

"Bro, yo I don't wanna mess with her." The first triplet starts

"Yo, bro she has cookies as well. If we clean this we get cookies." The second triplet continues

"Can I have the cookies please bro?... I uh mean... Ma'am..." The third triplet ends.

Nicu is snapped off of his daze from your speech as well.

"But..." He is about to protest but gives up halfway through. He grumbles. "I guess I shouldn't leave things lying around I'm sorry."

Nicu seems thankful of your intervention. You helped him in a tight spot, and he noticed it!

However the redheaded boy doesn't give in! "No, no no no no! Listen here new kid, this is the gym. It belongs to I, Jake Trent the captain of the basketball team. You can't just come here on your first day with three girls."

"I said I was sorry, I don't mean to start any trouble."

"These three girls are in the school's Princess Network." Jake interrupted him, quite rudely too.

"Bro yeah the princess network!"

"You know bro? Where all the boys choose the school's cutest girls!"

"If you try and date any of them all of the boys will beat you up bro."

"So" Jake scratched the tip of his nose. "We'll make a deal. We challenge you to four on four basketball. If you lose, you won't ever talk to any girl at this school ever again. But if you win, we will leave you alone. Deal?"

Nicu clenches his fist. "You sure talk a lot of trash. Yeah, I'll take you on. You've got a deal."

"Bro what an idiot."

"Yeah bro, he said four on four basketball."

"You need a team of four to play that type of basketball you idiot."

"I've got a team." Nicu grinned, as he turned around back to the girls. "You guys are the only ones I can depend on. Can you help me out here?"

[Chevaleresse]

Sora blinked several times before the request processed. "M-m-me? You want me to play basketball with y-you?" His quavering voice and stature displayed obvious apprehension at the project, but after a moment he nodded, jerking his head down and up again hard enough that it looked like he should have snapped it. "I'll do it. I'm not very good though. . ." The effeminate boy's physique wasn't exactly suited to the sport - or any sport at all, really - that much was true. Soft limbs and a height of 164 centimeters put him at a rather glaring disadvantage here.

[Hiss13]

Seema wondered why she had failed to intervene when the four delinquents had begun to gang up on Nicu. She was relatively dry…at least, as dry as she could be after squeezing her clothes into the towel Nicu had given her. The blush on her face had subsided at least since her clothes no longer fit to her form.

Even so, residual embarrassment stayed on the girl until the delinquents made their basketball challenge. As class rep, she could not let this slide. "I'll do it. There's no way I'm going to let this absurd bet slide."

[Nova]

The delinquents had marched upon Nicu, and, despite everything, had the nerve to challenge him to a match of Basketball, the sport of peasants. A four-on-four competition in the just-cleaned hall would decide Nicu's fate. Nicu had accepted, looking behind him at Evelyn and the others.

So these four delinquents... Against Nicu and his team. This'll be a fun match to spectate. Nicu seems fairly capable, and seeing him slamming these unruly youngsters in the ground will be a suitable revenge. That is, if his team's any good.

Evelyn looked to her sides to see who would make up the remainder of his team.

Sora, on her left side. That makes two.

Seema, on her right. That makes three.

And the final member of Nicu's team...

Where's the rest of the cleaning crew? Weren't we here with more? What is happening?

...was meant to be none other than Evelyn herself.

I'm not doing this.

"I will NOT-" Evelyn spoke, but cut her words short when she took one more look at the challengers, their overconfident smirks plastered on their faces. She turned and looked at Seema, then at Sora. Then, at Nicu.

But I've got no other choice...

"I will. Let's just get this over with."

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Nicu smiles thankfully. He looks back at the bullies and crosses his arms. "That's my team. So are you still game or are you going to chicken out?" His eyes gleam with confidence. The bullies take a step back and grit their teeth, but Jake Trent doesn't give up ground.

"You have 5 minutes to prepare!"

You use those five minutes to change clothing, switching to any gym clothing you may have. Nicu however, doesn't have his gym clothing. Instead he takes off his uniform's coat, leaving him in his shirt. He rolls up his pants making them look more like shorts.

"Bro the girls they look so cute right now, they are ready to kick our asses."

"Man bro, I wish I could be on their team..."

"I know what you mean bro."

Jake trent crouches, as if trying to be sneaky and pokes Nicu behind his back. "Hey I know we are competing and everything but..." He looks indecently at the girls. "... Who's your favorite? Who looks the cutest?"

Nicu looks flustered, he looks away and pushes the basketball captain away. "I don't think about things like that, get away from me you pervert."

However, in his blushing state you catch Nicu sneaking a peek at Evelyn...

However, soon enough the game is about to start. A few students have gathered around after all the noise the group made, and they start filling the bleachers. One of the students steps up to be the referee and goes to the middle of the court with Jake and Nicu. Behind jake are the three triplets. To Nicu's right is Sora, directly behind Nicu is Seema, and to his left is Evelyn. The referee shouts "Play ball" and throws the basketball in the air.

The two captains in the air, but Nicu jumps higher. He reaches out with arm, and slams the ball to his left passing it to Evelyn!

However as soon as Evelyn catches the ball one of the triplets is right in front of her blocking her way. Nicu is already running forward aiming for the hoop. Evelyn can either pass the ball to Sora or Seema, or try and juke the triplet!

[Nova]

Ball. Sora. Nicu. A boy named Jake. Evelyn. Seema. Ball.

Evelyn hadn't expected a simple game like basketball to be quite this hectic. One of the triplets is rapidly nearing her. Nicu is already bound to the hoop.

How do you even throw the ball correctly?

But on the playing field, there's no time for thought. She must act.

Instinctively, Evelyn attempts a high ball towards her right-hand side, hoping that, in its course, it might just reach Seema. From there, only luck will decide what happens to it.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

The ball jumps to Seema's hands no problem! She can run forward getting past the center line, however soon enough her path is blocked by another one of the triplets. She can attempt to get through the triplet or pass the ball to her left, to Sora. She could also shoot the ball over the triplet and pass it to Nicu who is up ahead.

[Hiss13]

Seema instinctively stopped as the triplet ended up right in front of him. She was fairly confident in her agility but…trying to get through him would not be a good idea…I already lost my momentum.

In that case, there were two options. In Seema's mind, the choice was obvious. She made the attempt to shoot over the triplet in hopes that she would be able to get the ball to reach over to the transfer student.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Seema's throw goes over the triplet head, and too fast for him to react. On the other side Nicu is ready and catches the ball. He jumps impressively high, over the captain of the basketball team and slams the ball into the hoop! Score! Your team starts with an advantage!

Nicu wipes the sweat of his forehead and goes straight towards Seema, patting her on the head. "Good pass." He definitely noticed your skill!

The game goes on...

It's a complete stalemate. After one team scores, the other one scores right afterwards. You are stuck in an endless tug of war for some good 10 minutes. Both teams are panting and tired. The referee announces "Next team to score wins the match!" This is it!

As the ball jumps into the air, after a series of throws and passes and dribbles the ball somehow ends up on Sora's hands. If Sora looks around he'll see Nicu being surrounded by the three triplets. He can't leave their triangle, he is completely stopped in his tracks.

"I figured out your strengths." The captain of the basketball team Jake walks towards Sora very casually. "Without him, I don't think you princesses can score. So just give me the ball Sora, it'll be fine. Then you can come hang out with me and the others instead of that loser."

Both Seema and Evelyn are completely uncontested, with a well placed pass he could pass the ball to them. Or maybe he wants the glory of the final score to himself...

[Chevaleresse]

Sora hadn't expected the game to come down to him. Rapidly glancing between Nicu, the captain, his other two teammates, and the basket, he panicked. Essentially closing his eyes and picking at random where to throw the ball, he hurled it with all his (usually rather meager) strength, sending the ball hurtling directly toward. . .

. . . the captain's forehead.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Sora's panic throw hit the captain straight on the forehead. The captain fell over clutching his head and the ball flew straight into the air.

"FOUL!" The referee declared. He started to make his way into the field to assist the player, but Jake simply lifted up his hand to stop him.

"No!" Jake shouted in denial. "It was not a foul. I hit my head against the basketball on purpose, a princess would never hurt me!"

The referee was about to protest but the basketball captain simply repeated himself this time louder. "NEVER!"

As all things that go up must eventually come down, the ball that had gone straight into the school gym's celling fell down onto Evelynn's hands. The hoop is clear, this is the chance!

[Nova]

Like a boomerang, the ball that was thrown found its way back into Evelyn's hands. And with it, the fate of the game was once again in her hands.

In an attempt to focus, Evelyn shut her eyes as she counted to three...

...and launched the ball towards the hoop with all her might and elegance.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

The ball flew quite elegantly through the air. Everyone in the gym simultaneously tensed up as the ball flew straight towards the hoop. Flawlessly, it went in and passed the net. There was silence. Until the referee blew the whistle and announced.

"GAME SET! Team Nicu wins the game!" The crowd cheered, the referee cheered, and the basketball team cried. Nicu went running towards Evelyn.

"Awesome Evelyn!" He raised his hand in a high five. "You really saved my butt there, I didn't want to spend the rest of the school year without talking to half the class. Plus you sure showed them!" Slowly the crowd in the bleachers started dispersing, and the basketball captain left as well, screaming "THIS ISN'T OVER YET!". The triplets followed after him.