In a late summer afternoon, the Uranohoshi girl's diving team were having a late practice session for an upcoming diving competition. It is one of biggest events in the year, dozens of schools within the district complete in a 2-day event for a chance to showcase their abilities to public and to find out which team is on top. The event draws hundreds of spectators from different towns; including scouts from some of the top diving teams of in the country. There is tension in the air as sounds of water splashing and chatter fill the gymnasium. The girls are giving it their all knowing this could be their chance to make it to the big leagues. *pfffft* the sound the whistle gathers everyone's attention.
"Okay Watanabe-san, you're up next."
"Okay." shouted the swimmer.
The rest of the girls clear the out of the pool as the gray-haired girl began her ascent, knowing that their star athlete was to take the stage. As soon as the girl reaches the top of the platform, the crowd turns silent, eagerly awaiting Watanabe's performance. The girl looks down at audience and gives them her signature salute. She then turns her attention the edge of the diving board, waiting for her coach's call while finalizing her routine in her head.
"At my Mark." instructing the ready diver
After a brief pause the coach blew her whistle signaling the diver to begin. The girl skipped a few steps across the board, then makes a jump at the edge of the board before catapulting into the air; From there, the diver performs a series of perfectly coordinated spins before hitting the water below. The crowd stood in awe, its if they had seen an Angel descending from the heavens above. The girl swims for a bit before popping her head out of the pool.
"Yousoro" shouted the girl as she smiles and salutes the rest of her team.
She is then met with cheers and applauses as the rest of the girls gather towards her. Meanwhile the coach blew her whistle, smiling at the performance she just witnessed.
"Okay everyone that should do it for today. Go get changed and rest up."
"You were amazing today You-senpai!"
"As excepted of our You-chan."
"Hehe stop it guys you're making me blush."
The three girls were having a small conversation while undressing out of their swimsuit and into their school uniforms.
"Seriously senpai, even the third years are jealous of you. With you leading us there's no way we're going to lose this tournament." The underclassmen said pumping her fist into the air.
"Yup, I wouldn't be surprised if a scout came a scooped you right up You-chan" the second year said as she was buttoning up her sweater.
"You think so? Those guys are hard to impress through" You said as she just finished putting her things in her bag, ready to go.
"Come on have some confidence in yourself senpai, you're amazing in pretty much everything you do, I'm surprised you don't have a boyfriend yet."
"Don't say that, you'll break the hearts of half the girls in school you know." jeered the second year.
"..." You remained silent, staring blankly at the locker in front of her.
"…. wait a minute, don't tell me there really is someone on your mind."
"ehhh!?" several girls in the back that were clearly listening in to the conversation yelled in shocked and concern. Their eyes were now locked on You, hoping what they heard was not true.
"It's not like that, I was just thinking about the competition I swear." Waiting off the crowd surrounding her. All the girls showed a sighed in relief knowing that there shot in love was still intact.
"hehe see what I mean, anyway I'm going to head out. Keep up the good work You-chan."
"Goodbye You-senpai"
As her two swim mates left, You simply waved them off with a smile as she found herself being the last one in the locker room. You sat there in silence, along with her thoughts.
"Boyfriend huh" she thought to herself. Honestly romance was the last thing she wanted to think about. In truth, there really was someone on her mind. A certain orange haired girl, her best friend Chika. The pair had been best friends since childhood, always together side by side; it was weird seeing one without the other. You wanted to be with Chika as much as possible, it was the whole reason why she agreed to join Aquors in the first place despite her busy schedule. You had come to realize that her feeling towards Chika had turned into romance. She wanted to be the one to walk by Chika's side. To have her rely on her in a time need. To be able to say I love you without it being casted off in a friendly manor. But You saw that her feeling was one-sided. Chika was interested in someone else, her friend Riko.
Whenever the two are together, You saw Chika smile brighter than anything she ever seen. She was clearly a maiden in love if she ever saw one. You felt a deep pain in her heart. She would often make up some kind of excuse to leave so she didn't have to see the girl she loved make lovey dovey eyes to someone else. You saw her swimming activities as getaway from the two. She still considers them her best friends, but she felt she needed time by herself to get over her first love.
You sighed as she made her way towards the exit. As soon as she reached the door, her coach stopped to talk to her.
"Watanabe-san may I speak with you for a minute" the coach asked.
"Ok" You replied.
You grabbed her things started making her way towards the exit alongside her coach.
"Another great performance today Watanabe-san, make you sure keep it up."
You winks at coach while flexing her arm "Thanks, I'm giving it all I can!"
"fufu I'm sure you are, I just wanted to make you sure you were all right"
You looked at her with sight confusion.
"I know you have your school idols activities, and with testing coming up I don't want you push yourself."
It's true that her class have exams in the coming up. And not only that, Aquors have been working on a new song and dance for an upcoming live; she hasn't even finished making the outfits for the live. Between that, studying, practicing her routine, and her idol activities; the next few weeks were going to be very busy for Watanabe You.
"I just don't want you to waste this big opportunity. I know it's important to you, but maybe you can put a hold on your school idol activities for a bit. Just until the competition and testing is over."
It would only make sense for You to put aside Aquors for now and focus on studying and her diving competition. But if she did, she would be letting Chika down, and that was something she just couldn't do.
"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll manage somehow" You says, trying the reassure that she had everything under control.
The coach gives a concerned look, not buying You's smile.
"Well okay then, go get some rest, we're counting on you know."
By the time You finally manages to leave the gymnasium, the sun is already setting. A gentle breeze flows across the orange sky with the sun just about the horizon. The school is almost empty as a few students while for the last bus of the day to pick them up. If she were to miss this one, she would be stuck here, forced call her mom to come pick her up.
*sigh* exhausted, You takes a seat on the closest bench, thinking about how she was going to manage her schedule for the next couple weeks. Early morning practice with Aquors, then school, followed by diving practice, then finally coming home only to do more schoolwork and finishing up making the outfits for live.
"Ahhhh!" You lets out a frustrated yell as she lays downs and the bench. The thoughts begin to overwhelm her. The amount of work would break anyone, even someone like You who was deemed to be perfect. Why was she putting herself through all of this? As she closes her eyes to get some rest, all she can picture is the smile of girl she loved. She would do anything to see that smile. Despite that You can't bring herself to confess her feeling, because she knows that smile belongs to someone else. If that's the case, why was she putting herself through all this hardship when there's another person that can make just as happy.
"What am I doing?" You sighs.
"fufufu is appears that my little demon is troubled"
You gets up, looking around for the source of the mysterious voice. She notices leaves began to fall around her from a nearby tree, and at that very moment a blue-haired girl jumps to the ground making her grand entrance.
"No need to be startled, it is I, the great fallen angel Yohane, descending upon the earth to grace you with my presence."
You remained silence, bewildered at the sight she was seeing.
"Yoshiko, what are you doing here?"
"It's YOHAN- ow"
Out of nowhere, a bag falls from the tree and lands on the girl's heads. You couldn't help but laugh at the show her junior was putting on.
"Hahaha at least you managed to make the landing this time" teasing Yoshiko as she brushes off leaves that were still on her head.
"So, what are you doing here? School was out hours ago."
Yoshiko points her finger at You
"Did you forget, you bounded by contract to accompany me home every day. I won't have you go breaking your oath, even if it means making your master wait. Plus, I wanted to see how your practice was going."
"eh? You were watching me?"
"fufu but of course it's only natural that I monitor my servant's training, only the strong are fit to serve this fallen angel."
You became a little embrassed that someone from her group watching her, through it did made her happy.
"So my Overlord, how did your Servant fair in her trails" playing along with antics.
"…Y-you were..pretty cool back there"
You blushes at her response. That was a more girlish answer than what she was expecting.
"Aww thanks, you can be really cute sometimes you know" You says as she rubs her "master" on the head.
"Aaahhh! never mind that, why were you sighing so hard about"
You practically forgot about all her troubles a moment ago. Talking to Yoshiko really did put her at ease.
"Ah, don't worry its nothing"
*stares*
"…what"
"Don't what me, you always do this. Whenever there's something bothering you, you never talk about or ask for help. I don't like seeing you all stressed out like this."
"…Yoshiko"
"You don't have to do everything by yourself you know. As your master, it is my duty to the aid my little angel in their time of need. And it's not just me, all of us are here to help. So rely on us a little more, you got that."
It was rare for You to be lectured like this. Especially by Yoshiko of all people. Its true that You had the tendency to do everything by herself since she didn't want to bother anyone else with her troubles. But she knew that Yoshiko wasn't going to let her go until she told her what was wrong.
"Okay okay, it's not a big deal, I just got a lot on my plate right now and I got little flustered at my schedule for the next few weeks that's all."
"Is that all?"
"What do you mean is that all! I'm really stressing out here you know."
"Fufu" Yoshiko begins to take a few steps back, crosses her finger between her eyes and does her signature pose.
"Don't you worry with, with great fallen angel Yohane by your side. We'll overcome these trails and get you back to your cheery self."
You can literally hear crickets chirping in the background. All the remaining students awkwardly stare at her, as she remains in place waiting for You to praise her.
"Somehow that's not reinsuring." You chuckles.
"Hey! I'm trying my best here!" Yoshiko yells, face red with teary eyes.
You can't help but laugh at her master. Yoshiko truly did bring a smile on to her face whenever she needed it. And even though she acts like this, Yoshiko can be very reliable when you need her. Maybe she can lighten the load here shoulders, so You decides she take up the first year's offer. You stops laughing and give her soft smile.
"Thanks Yoshiko, I'm counting on you okay."
At that very moment, the bus appears ready to take the pair home. You grabs both her and Yoshiko's bag takes her by hand.
"Now then, allow me to escort you home O' great Yohane."
She nods and the two make their way towards the bus. You wasn't sure how the next few weeks were going to play out. They were going to be tough, and she was going to lose a lot sleep. But with the support of Yoshiko and the rest of her friends. She was positive she'll get through it with a smile on her face. Who knows, maybe even Chika would praise her for all her hard work. You smiles at the thought, completely unaware at the blushing girl that was standing alongside her.
Hello everyone, thank you for reading my fist fanfic; I hoped you enjoyed it. Honestly it was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be, a lot longer too. I know I still have a lot to improve on as a writer, so I would love to get some feedback so I know what to work on for future stories. As far as this story goes, I'm decently happy with how it turned out. I did have some trouble near the end coming up with lines for Yoshiko as I didn't want to completely break her character. I'm not sure when I will be able to write a new chapter. When I let my friend read it, she said it was already a decent enough ending, but I want to keep the story going. Anyway thank again for reading and I hope you look forward for my work.