There was a burst of nervous laughter as the group of girls all tried to push past each other into the locker room, each trying to be the first to claim a locker. Shishido Rika had hung back, not as concerned as it seemed the others were as to whether her locker was near the showers or near the door. When she filed in last to claim the final locker on the end near the door the others were already pulling their lockers open and dumping their school things inside.
"Ugh, alright, whose idea was it to have stripes? Because they're hideous."
"I'm the one who picked the uniforms. Is there a problem, Utsusemi?" Atobe Keiko turned away from her locker to face their side of the room, her hands on her hips and her head tilted haughtily to one side as if daring the other girl to continue.
Rika glanced up at Taki Utsusemi and watched her and the redhead on her other side exchange a glance and an exaggerated eyeroll.
"At least they aren't horizontal." Utsusemi muttered under her breath, loosening her tie and unbuttoning her white dress shirt; her brown school blazer having already been neatly hung inside her locker.
Rika tried not to stare as the redhead, Mukahi Miu, gave up on the buttons and simply tugged her shirt over her head, but she failed miserably; unable to pull her eyes away as the action revealed a pale yellow push-up bra that obviously didn't conform with the school dress code. It wasn't until Miu caught her staring and stared right back in an unspoken challenge that Rika tore her eyes away and worked on loosening her own tie. Rather than stripping out of her clothes as the other girls seemed all too eager to do, Rika turned to the center of the room to retrieve the last black gym bag that had once been part of a neat line of exact duplicates.
A small tag was attached to one handle that had Shishido Rika printed in alternating blue and black gel pen, each line perfectly placed and elegantly scripted. Rika largely ignored it and dragged the bag back to her locker before opening it and rifling through the contents. Sure enough there was a white tanktop inside with vertical black stripes down one shoulder and larger blue stripes down either side. But when Rika pulled the tanktop out of the bag and held it up in front of her it was clear the top was a few sizes too large for her small frame.
"Um, I think they mixed up the uniforms." A quiet voice commented from across the room, and Rika looked over to see the much larger Kabaji Muneko holding up a top that was several sizes too small. Beside her, Keiko gave a rather annoyed but dignified snort.
Rika decided to let her sweat it out for a moment before putting her out of her misery. "I think someone just switched ours. Here." Rika glanced over at Keiko, not being very subtle about just who the someone was, and shouldered her gym bag before walking it over to exchange it with Muneko's. It was more of a trek than she'd thought it would be, dodging around the other girls in various states of undress and trying to keep her eyes on the elegant snowflake patterned mosaic tiles. She had almost made it there when a stray elbow collided with the top of her head and Rika turned toward the culprit, one hand already balled into a fist and ready to strike.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Akutagawa Junko whirled around, and before Rika could even blink the petite little blond had stood up onto her tiptoes and placed a kiss to the side of Rika's head. The scowl on Rika's face turned into a look of shock and remained even after Junko had turned back around to continue getting dressed. She swallowed the threat had been on the tip of her tongue and stubbornly turned her shock back into a frown, stomping the rest of the way across the locker room and dropping the bag to the floor with a loud thud. Without waiting for Muneko's reaction Rika grabbed the other bag and was halfway back across the room with it before she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You forgot this." Muneko said politely, dangling the little name charm between two fingers.
Rika hesitated before reaching up to gently take the little charm and palm it. "Ah... thanks." She replied awkwardly, keeping her eyes trained on Muneko's and not on the plain white sports bra that left little to the imagination. Definitely not on that.
Rika kept completely to herself as she returned to her locker and discretely changed from her school uniform to the sports one, exchanging one article of clothing at a time and tugging uncomfortably at the skirt when she was fully dressed. "Okay, I think I still have someone else's uniform, this skirt is way too short."
Silence met Rika's suggestion, and when she finally turned around she found the other girls staring at her and the skirt she'd managed to pull down almost to her knees. Beside her Utsusemi and Miu had hiked their skirts up so high she could swear she saw a flash of the white short bottoms underneath, and most of the others weren't much better.
"Or not." She finally conceded, her only relief coming in the form of the two other freshmen in the far corner who were both trying to figure out how she had managed to get her skirt so low without it falling off.
Keiko was the first to leave the locker room, her skirt fluttering up in the wind as she opened the door, and Muneko was right on her heels; both of them outfitted in their new uniforms complete with pristine white tennis shoes and with rackets in hand. Rika hurried to finish tying her shoes and grabbed her racket to be the third person out the door, making sure to hold her skirt down with one hand as she walked outside. She let the door close behind her without a second thought, but at the last second saw the other girl that had been trying to sneak through the door behind her and Rika barely caught the door with her foot in time.
"Sorry." Rika muttered over her shoulder, waiting until Ohtori Chisako had made it outside before she let the door finally close.
"Don't worry about it." Chisako replied, beaming at Rika before hurrying off after the others.
It took a few minutes for them to all file out onto the courts, and a few more after that before their coach, Sakaki Taru, made an appearance. In contrast to how all the girls were in their uniforms and ready to play, Taru was dressed in a pale lavender pantsuit and surveyed her team by walking slowly around the group. It reminded Rika of the way her riding instructor examined her horse's tack before each lesson, the kind of scrutiny that made your palms go sweaty and your heart race. Taru had almost made it all the way around and back to her original position when they all heard footsteps approaching and turned their heads to watch the lone girl walking toward their group.
"You're late." Taru said calmly when the girl was within earshot, though her tone was stern enough to make even Rika flinch though it wasn't directed at her.
"I'm sorry, coach. It won't happen again." Oshitari Yumi responded evenly, keeping her tone respectful but not backing down when she became the new object of Taru's frank assessment.
"Be sure that it doesn't. You may go." Yumi nodded her head, not quite enough to be considered a bow but apparently enough to satisfy their coach.
As soon as Taru's attention had shifted back to the group at large, Yumi took a few steps toward the locker room and then glanced back toward them when their coach's back was turned. Out of the corner of her eye Rika caught sight of a silent exchange between Yumi and Miu; something about the number four and then a few more words and Miu tugged on her skirt.
"Something wrong, Shishido?" It took Rika a moment to realize Taru was talking to her and that she had evidently been frowning enough to draw attention as she attempted to decipher Miu's cryptic message. She hesitated with her response just long enough to see Yumi flash her a wink and blow a kiss at Miu before walking off toward the locker room at last.
"N-no, nothing."
"Good. Then let's begin. I want Taki and Ohtori against Kabaji and Akutagawa on court three. Mukahi against Shishido on court two; and, when she manages to catch up to the rest of us, Oshitari against Atobe on court one. Hiyoshi, you can take your pick from the sub-regulars and take a court when one frees up. Get moving."
There was a chorus of acknowledgments from the group, though when Rika passed Hiyoshi Warabi on her way to court two she could easily tell the other girl was not pleased.
Even knowing that, it still surprised Rika when everyone filed off to their respective courts and Warabi bee-lined her way toward Keiko.
"Come on already, Rika! Stop staring at Hiyoshi's ass."
Warabi stopped in her tracks and turned toward Rika, and for a moment Rika froze; still trying to process that yes, Miu had said that. But rather than try to find some clever retort, Rika turned around and grabbed a ball from the basket beside her before serving unexpectedly right toward Miu's head.
She managed to get out of the way, just barely, and caught the ball with the tip of her racket, sending it flying a good fifty feet straight up into the air. Miu came away from it laughing rather than intimidated, but when Rika's next serve from the correct place near the center of the baseline fared just as badly against the face of her racket that laughter dissipated.
It was a difficult game for the both of them. They had known each other since elementary school, been playing tennis against (and sometimes with) each other from the day they met. By what was now the beginning of their second year in junior high they knew each other's play styles well; knew how the other was going to return most shots and how to counteract it. But to Rika that was what made the match that much more competitive, and when she won seven games to five it made her victory that much sweeter.
Miu very reluctantly walked to the net and limply shook Rika's hand, her mumbled "Good game" so quiet Rika read it on her lips rather than heard it. But as they turned to walk alongside each other on opposite sides of the net toward the only remaining game on court one Miu spoke up and Rika should have known that silence wouldn't last.
"I still say that ball was in."
Rika gave a quiet but disgruntled snort, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear that had come out of her ponytail. "It was not. It was out by at least six inches."
"Bullshit." Miu muttered angrily but quietly again, pouting rather obviously but not taking it any further.
Rika let it go as they joined the rest of the regulars crowding at the sideline of court one, and she watched the ball go back and forth a couple of times before she realized she was standing beside Yumi.
"It's four games to two." Junko whispered excitedly, rocking forward onto her toes as her eyes tracked the ball.
Rika frowned in thought and looked back toward the game, watching the aggressive way Warabi took control of the next point and was surprised that she had only won two games so far.
Yumi glanced sideways at her and must have interpreted the confusion in her eyes correctly, because she muttered "It's Hiyoshi's service game."
It took Rika a moment to realize what was meant by that, but she thought back on the way Junko had said the score. Four games to two, not two games to four. Yumi must still have been watching her, because Rika heard a soft chuckle from beside her when her eyes widened in shock.
"Keiko underestimated her." Muneko muttered so quietly that Rika barely heard her.
The game went on in silence, the group of them watching as Keiko won the next two games with relative ease to tie it up.
Rika's attention was drawn away from the game as Yumi left her side to walk over to Miu, leaning down to whisper in her ear so quietly that even on the silent echoing courts Rika couldn't hear her. Whatever she said made Miu turn toward her with a slow smile and then catch her lower lip between her teeth as though she was really thinking hard about what Yumi had said. Eventually she nodded and the two of them walked back toward court two, starting their own game when it was clear the current one was going to go on for awhile.
It ended six games to four in Keiko's favor, but Warabi didn't back down on a single point and made her fight tooth and nail for each one. When it ended Warabi looked disappointed but empowered, and she held her head high as they both walked to the net to shake hands.
There was a sudden burst of chatter as they both reached the sidelines with Keiko being oddly quiet, though she made an occasional haughty comment. The game behind them came to a close within a matter of minutes, but Rika couldn't tell who had won because as they walked back over they were both grinning.
As soon as Yumi reached them Keiko practically pounced on the chance to get away. "Ready for our game?"
Yumi raised an eyebrow but smiled in response. "We can play tomorrow, when you're rested."
Everyone else went silent and Rika exchanged a glance with Junko when they both spotted the flash of anger in Keiko's eyes. There was a tense moment where everyone waited for Keiko to respond, but before she could Miu spoke up.
"Yumi just doesn't want to miss her soap operas. Practice is almost over."
"Is it really?" Junko piped up, turning to Keiko with her brown eyes alight. "You said we could all go out for ice cream after the first practice. If you start playing now we won't get out of here until it's closed."
Evidently that wasn't the right thing to say, because Keiko smiled and twirled her racket anxiously in her left hand before switching it to her right. As soon as she looked back up Junko's smile fell into a pout because she could see the answer in Keiko's eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll make it quick." Keiko turned toward Yumi, her chin stubbornly held high as she took a ball out of her pocket. "You're already warmed up, right? First to eight. Let's go." Without waiting for Yumi to answer she turned back toward court one and started walking toward the west side of court, bouncing the ball in front of her with her racket as she went.
"I'll even let you serve." Keiko called back over her shoulder and lobbed the ball she'd been bouncing and a second one from where it had been tucked under one side of her skort bottoms over to Yumi's side of the court.
Rika had to give her credit, she kept her word and finished the match quickly though it went eight games to five. They were only a half hour past the end of practice when Yumi and Keiko shook hands, but it was clear everyone was ready to leave. Most of them had gone up to sit in the bleachers and watch, but Junko had fallen asleep on the bench at the sidelines with her head resting on Muneko's thigh.
Keiko walked over to the bench with a spring in her step, and when she reached them she leaned down to push a stray golden curl back out of Junko's face. "We can go now."
Rika heard Keiko update Junko on the score as she and the others returned to the courts and she rolled her eyes as Junko congratulated Keiko as though it was something new for her to win.
"I'm going to go report the score to coach and then shower off. Whoever wants to can meet me by the school gates in a half hour and we'll go for ice cream. I'll see the rest of you tomorrow morning." With that said, Keiko strode off toward Taru's office, leaving the rest of them to shuffle toward the locker room for showers.
If there was one thing Rika noticed as she stayed toward the back of the group it was that although Yumi's mood remained calm and cool as always, Miu's had soured considerably. Yumi was trying rather futilely to cheer her up again and wrapped an arm around Miu's shoulder to lean in closer and whisper in her ear again. To Rika's surprise, by the time Miu reached the door and pulled it open there was a hint of a smile on her lips.
Rika tried to ignore them as they filed inside and headed for her locker, but it was hard to do when Miu unabashedly stripped and tossed her uniform into her locker before walking stark naked off toward the showers with her towel in one hand. It didn't help that Yumi's eyes followed Miu as she walked off, nor that she followed a moment later in the same fashion.
Rika kept her eyes down and gathered her things for her shower, taking shampoo and conditioner with her along with her towel and staying fully dressed until she reached the glass shower door. Even when she did take her uniform off she held her towel up around her body and was glad she did when Junko jogged carefully by with her pink towel tucked around her, eager to get to her shower quickly in order to get that ice cream she was obviously craving.
Rika ducked into the shower a moment later and hung her towel over the shower door as she fiddled with the water controls to get it to just the right temperature; not too warm and not too cold. She took her time showering, washing her hair thoroughly and filling the shower stall and likely a large portion of the locker room with a light citrus-y scent. Even when she was done washing Rika lingered in the shower, stalling under the warm spray and letting it relax her until she started feeling drowsy.
After the second time she swayed sleepily on her feet Rika gave a sigh and turned the water off, grabbing her towel and throwing it over her head. She stood there with her eyes closed until the cool air against her damp skin made her shiver and then carefully dried first her hair and then her body before wrapping her long hair in the towel and piling it on top of her head. As far as Rika was concerned she was confident that she had this showering at practice thing down to a science as she opened the door and peeked out before grabbing her school uniform from where she had left it just outside and carefully changing into it so that none of it got wet.
By the lack of sound coming from the locker room Rika was fairly sure she was the last one there, the majority of them likely out getting ice cream and kissing up to Keiko. But just in case she was wrong Rika didn't step out into the hall until she was full dressed save for her socks and shoes. Using her towel as a modified shoulder bag she wrapped the wet shampoo and conditioner bottles in it and gathered the tennis uniform under her other arm before walking slowly back into the locker room.
Rika was so relaxed from her shower that she made it a few paces into the room before she realized she wasn't the only one there. In fact, there were two other someones there standing in front of her locker. Rika scowled and very nearly said something before it dawned on her that Miu and Yumi weren't just standing in front of her locker. Yumi had Miu pressed up against the locker door and there were kissing.
Shocked, Rika quickly backed up around the corner toward the showers, glad she wasn't wearing her tennis shoes because as fast as she had moved she probably would have tripped over them.
Rika stood there frozen and pressed back against the wall around the corner, still trying to process what she had just seen, but any hopes she had about having misinterpreted it disappeared when she peeked back around the corner.
Miu had an arm around Yumi now, her fingers curled gently into the fabric of Yumi's shirt at the small of her back and holding her there. But what really got Rika was the whimper; a soft needy sound from the back of Miu's throat that echoed in the empty locker room. It made Rika's breath catch in her throat and her heart pound so loudly she was sure it would give her away. But the noise that did give her away wasn't her heart at all; it was her shampoo and conditioner bottles wrapped in her towel hitting the tiles with a muted thump.
Yumi was the first to look back toward the sound and Rika quickly hid behind the wall again, but when the towel had fallen from her hands her makeshift bag had unraveled. It was the traitor of a conditioner bottle that rolled across the floor toward them, and Rika closed her eyes and prayed that neither of them would come to check where it had come from.
"Rika?"
Rika winced at the sound of Miu's voice, cursing the fact that Miu would actually pay attention enough to know what kind of hair products she used. Taking a deep breath, Rika squared her shoulders and bent down to pick up her towel and shampoo bottle before stepping out of hiding to go after the one that had betrayed her.
"Stupid conditioner." Rika muttered under her breath, refusing to look up at either of them until she had all her things gathered again and was only a couple of paces away. "Can I get into my locker?"
As soon as Rika looked up into those wide blue eyes Miu looked away, her cheeks flushed and her body hesitating to move away where she was still leaning back against Rika's locker even though Yumi had moved a pace to the side.
When Miu didn't move Rika shifted awkwardly and glanced over at Yumi who had a smug little smirk on her lips but turned away to walk back to her own locker, leaving Miu to fend for herself.
"Thought you left." Miu finally responded grumpily, though she still didn't look up and Rika knew she wasn't as recovered from her embarrassment as she was pretending to be.
"I was showering. You mind moving?"
Miu made a face at her but shoved away from her locker without saying anything, another clue that she was still a little on edge. Not any more than Rika herself was after walking in on them though, so Rika figured she deserved it. Even though it was true you learn new things about your teammates every day, that was one little piece of information she could have done without.
As Rika opened her locker and quickly traded her shampoo and conditioner bottles for her school bag she heard a loud smack from her left and had to fight to keep her eyes forward. Repeating the mantra of I don't want to know did wonders for her resolve.
Rika was out of there in record time, her shoelaces stuffed into her shoes rather than tied and her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail at the nape of her neck; but she was out of there and that was all that mattered. The locker room door slammed closed behind her and Rika let out a sigh of relief, shouldering her school bag and heading for the school gates.
She had almost made it halfway around the building when she very narrowly avoiding running into someone going the opposite way. Frustrated, Rika stood her ground, ready to give the person an earful until she realized that it was Chisako and she shut her mouth with an audible snap.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
If it had been anyone else Rika would have doubted the sincerity of their apology, but since it was Chisako, Rika bit back her anger as much as she was able. "Fine. Where are you headed in such a hurry?"
Chisako smiled a little sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck nervously before replying. "I left my racket in my locker. I need to go grab it before they lock up for the night."
Chisako tried to rush off toward the locker room, but before she could a flash of a memory of walking in on Miu and Yumi made Rika reach out and grab her wrist before she could get away. "You don't want to go in there."
A look of confusion passed over Chisako's face and she tilted her head to one side. "But, my racket?"
As much as Rika saw she wanted her racket for whatever reason she didn't let go and Chisako was too polite to pull away without at least having a reason why. "Believe me, you don't want to go in there. We have practice in the morning anyway, you can do without it for tonight."
Chisako didn't look completely convinced, but she reluctantly nodded anyway.
"Come on. I'll walk with you to the train stop."
Finally Chisako's reluctance faded and she smiled. "Alright."
As they walked together to the front gate of the school Rika vowed two things to herself.
First, she was never going to take a shower that long after practice again; and second, next year she was definitely not going to be the last one into the locker room.
Not by a long shot.