As the team bus rumbled toward the stadium, Uno stood at the front, explaining the strategy to everyone. His blue hair gleamed under the bus lights as he spoke with conviction, and Denise, his co-captain, watched him with a mix of admiration and affection. She couldn't help but wonder if Uno felt anything more for her than just friendship, even though he had previously declared their "date" to be 'completely platonic.'
**Denise's POV**
Her thoughts swirled as she looked at Uno. *"I really hope that Uno likes me. I did give him my dorm number and my phone number. I showed him most of my new moves, and he always looks so proud."* Denise pulled up her hood to hide her blushing, but it wasn't hidden that well. Jada, sitting nearby, noticed the faint red marks on Denise's hooded face.
"Oooh~ Somebody has a crush on the captain~" Jada teased.
"Shut up, please."
"Alright then. Geez..."
**Nobody's POV**
After a few short minutes, they arrived at the White Star Torpedoes' home stadium, The Thousand Stars. As they disembarked, Uno waited for everyone else to get off, checking if anybody had left anything behind. During his final checks, he accidentally bumped into his co-captain, knocking both of them to the ground.
**Uno's POV**
*Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIIIIT! Why am I in this situation?*
Denise scrambled to her feet. *"Ahhhh, I d-don't know what to do!"* she thought frantically before bolting away. I stayed on the floor, completely baffled, with a small pink tint on my cheeks. Am I blushing?
"Since nobody left their stuff, I think I should head to the locker room."
I got up and began walking to the arena. The murals of their legends never ceased to amaze me, even after all the times my team had been here for matches against our rivals. I still saw new things every time.
As I kept walking, I noticed a mural being painted of their current squad. Their captain's mural was complete, and her right-hand compatriot was almost finished, while the others were still outlines.
**Nobody's POV**
After admiring the mural, Uno arrived at the locker room and was surprised to see everyone chatting away. The girls were discussing who they wanted to see get together, the boys were playing cards, and some were horseplaying. Uno sighed and prepared to yell.
A few minutes later, after some stern words from Uno, the Hypower Eleven were training. Uno and Denise were practicing a new hissatsu move together.
"Uno, can we take a break for a moment?" Denise asked.
"Why?"
"Because we are human, not robots that play football and never get tired."
"Fine, go rest. I'll join you in a bit, I need to hit Lorenzo in the face."
"Wait... WHAT?" Lorenzo exclaimed, hearing Uno's plan.
Denise skipped to the bench while Uno executed a perfect Frozen Icicle on Lorenzo. Afterward, Uno walked over to Denise, who was looking through her phone's photo gallery. As he approached, she closed her phone and prepared to make her move.
**Denise's POV**
*Ok, you can do this Denise. It's no biggie. He's seen you sick and in your cute pajamas.* I thought to myself. *It's now or never.*
"Say, Uno, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"What is it?" he asked.
"Why did you choose me as your co-captain and not Lance?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.
