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The waiting room for Team Wild Fang only has half of its members. Kyoya is inspecting his beyblade, ensuring that it's in top condition for the upcoming match. Nile, on the other hand, is resting on the couch with a treat in hand.
The treat he’s chosen to eat is pocky. Curiosity about the popular snack had gotten the better of him, and he bought one prior to entering the waiting room. Normally, he would focus on preparing for a match, but he was hungry. A small snack like this could hold him over until the match is done.
Nile sits back and watches the screen. Normally, it would play previous matches with commentary, but the occasional advertisements were unavoidable. They're easy to ignore, as most have nothing to do with beyblade, but the one currently playing catches his eye.
Pocky is a popular snack in Japan, so it's no surprise there would be a commercial about it. Although this one involves a game with the chocolate-covered biscuit sticks.
"Pocky game...?" Nile mumbles to himself after finishing one off. He'd never heard of it before, and the advertisement makes it out to be a simple game.
It reminds him of chicken, but with lower stakes. One pocky stick is shared between two people. Each has to bite and make their way to the center. The only way to lose is to back out or break the stick. There's no real prize to this, unless you count eating the remainder of the stick and having bragging rights. Of course, the commercial never explained a draw, but the implications are obvious.
"Hey, Kyoya, have you heard of the pocky game before?"
"Yeah," Kyoya responds. He doesn't sound interested, but then again, he hardly ever does.
Nile looks at the remaining sticks left in his box. There isn't much left. He can spare a few though.
"Do you want to play? To pass the time."
The question catches Kyoya off guard. His hands are still over his beyblade as he thinks of an answer.
"...Sure."
Kyoya gets up from his seat and walks over to the couch. His hands are stuffed into his pockets even as he sits down beside him.
Nile picks out the best stick, not broken and fully intact, before offering the chocolate side to Kyoya.
Kyoya takes a bite, chomping down his end as he waits for Nile to do the same. With each end firmly held in their mouth, there is no need for them to announce the start. Kyoya moves first, making his way through the chocolatey side of the stick. Nile mimics him, eating through the plain part until he reaches the chocolate. Neither is intent on backing down, as this is a game both want to win.
Nile keeps his momentum up, but there isn't a lot of the pocky stick left. After reaching the chocolate part, he realizes that both of them are getting dangerously close to each other. With each bite taken, both boys had to lean forward, getting closer and closer.
It's rare to be this close to Kyoya. Nile can see the determination in his eyes as well as a flicker of hesitation. The other is doing his best to focus on eating, but even he falters when his gaze meets Nile's.
Both had unknowingly come to a halt. Their game is at a standstill as only a small portion of the chocolate-covered biscuit remains. Nile gulps, wanting to bite more so he can win, but Kyoya does it before he can. He can't back down, not even in a game like this.
Maybe he's overthinking it, but he doesn't want to lose to Kyoya even in a simple game like this. Both were strong, never backing down from a fight. It only made sense for that strong will to carry over to other games, too. Yet, his heart is racing when he realizes the outcome if neither backs down.
So, he takes another bite, and another-
"Sorry, we're late," Damure announces as he opens the door to the waiting room. Benkei is at his side with some snacks for the team, including more pocky.
"Did we interrupt something...?" He asks when he catches sight of the two practically jumping away from each other on the couch as if they were making space for an invisible person between them.
"No," Kyoya answers while avoiding looking at anyone in the room. He keeps his head out of view so no one can see the coloring of his cheeks. "Took you guys long enough to get here."
Nile, meanwhile, is left with the rest of the stick. Thankfully, it hadn't dropped in their moment of surprise from their teammates' entrance. He eats the remainder of it.
"We were just having a snack."
Nile doesn't want to lie to them, but he couldn't bring himself to admit that they were playing that game. Especially when they had gotten so close to each other. Nile can vividly recall the look on Kyoya’s face as their lips were about to meet. His gaze lingers on the box in his hands, broken sticks now lie inside from the sudden and harsh jump back. He’d have to get a new box before offering to try and play a game with Kyoya again.