Break Period Lifting
"A-Asahina, perhaps…"
"Nope! I can-I can do it!"
Asahina jerked her head backwards and balanced on her rocking heels. She grunted, her arm muscles tensing as she tried to lift Oogami into the air. With a strenuous gasp, Asahina tried once again only to heave out a weak sigh.
Oogami offered a mute grin. It was amusing watching her smaller, yet toned girlfriend try to pick her up. While she was able to easily sling Asahina onto her shoulders or back, Sakura found herself in Asahina's grasp when she tried to do the same for her. She was certain not even Ikusaba, who was glancing over at them with a spark of curiosity of in her gaze from the other side of the classroom, could lift her.
Yet, in the middle of break period when most of their classmates decided to hang out elsewhere for lunch or napping, Asahina insisted once again that she could pick up Oogami. She had proclaimed a several times before that she could do it if she tried harder than ever, but those efforts culminated in failure. She would be left panting out heavy gasps while her cheeks burned with a scarlet hue that matched her favorite jacket. Her entire body would ache with the arduous exertion while Oogami comforted her, promising they would continue training later.
Despite feeling her feet lift off the ground for a brief second, Oogami heard a faint popping sound from Asahina's shoulder and remarked, "Asahina, you might be going too far."
Asahina shook her head, gnawing down on her back molars. "Nooope! This time, it's gonna be for sure! This time!"
Asahina's louder insistence drew the attention of Ikusaba and Enoshima. Enoshima was painting her sister's nails and smirked, tossing the nail polish in Ikusaba's face. The soldier simply snatched the bottle before it could strike her and set it onto her desk, keeping her freshly painted nails without a hint of smudging. Enoshima snorted, making Ikusaba wonder if she should have allowed the polish to stain her clothes when it was thrown.
"Trying to break your back, Asahina?" Enoshima jeered, resting her knuckles to her cheeks.
"I'm gonna lift her this time! I'm doing it!" Asahina shouted, and Oogami glanced down at her feet, feeling lightness touch her feet.
"Yeah, yeah. If you call two centimeters lifting someone off the ground," she sneered, giggling a strange tune.
Ikusaba hummed, tilting her head. "Well, her form isn't so bad. She could-"
Enoshima jerked her head back to her sister and narrowed her poisonous glare. Lowering her voice, she hissed, "Shut up, shut up. I wanna watch Asahina despairingly break her back trying to lift that monster. Besides, if you're gonna talk, then you'll stink up the room with your bad breath."
Ikusaba grimaced, her shoulders hitching closer to her earlobes. She focused her attention on her shiny sheen of nail polish. She opened her mouth to reply, but Asahina's grunting drowned out her budding comment.
"Gonna-gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!" Asahina proclaimed, throwing her head back as far as she could, with all her might, she squeezed her girlfriend's waist.
In that moment, Oogami felt gravity ease up. Her eyes widened, and she shot her bewildered gaze to the tiled floor reflecting the fluorescent lights. Asahina, using all the strength in her core, raised Oogami inches off the ground, and with her arm jutting out faster than lightning, she hooked around Oogami's legs.
Oogami wondered how maidens felt all their lives. She had never been one to tap in to her girlish side. All of her spare time was focused on training her mind, body, and spirit. Even though feminine dreams certainly appealed to her, she thought she would never be able to experience a fairy tale moment.
Yet, Asahina held Oogami like a bride. With slightly quivering arms wreathed behind Oogami's back and knees, Asahina broke into a wide grin and beamed like a knight gazing down at her princess. Oogami's cheeks colored like fresh strawberries, feeling her hair flow out behind her. It was as if they had become the happy ending of a storybook romance.
Enoshima's mouth flopped open. She furrowed her brow and found herself speechless. Her calculations of Asahina making a fool out of herself completely shot to zero, and instead of feeling despair for her friend's supposed injury, the crease in her brow deepened.
Ikusaba sighed out a breath of awe, but it was quickly halted when Enoshima leered at her. She peered back at her nails, raising them to her eye level and blowing on them. Looking through the spaces of her fingers at Asahina and Oogami, her palm hid her budding grin.
Oogami murmured Asahina's name, but Asahina's expression quirked with her eyes going wide and her mouth dropping. Sensing Asahina's knees beginning to buckle, Oogami leapt out of her grasp and steadied the smaller swimmer. She gripped Asahina's shoulder, traces of worry vanishing when Asahina collapsed into a nearby chair.
Laughing, Asahina stretched her sore legs and flexed her arms, her toned arms hidden underneath her Hope's Peak uniform. "Sakura-chan, I did it!"
"I'm impressed, Asahina. With a little more strength in your legs, then I'm certain you would've been able to hold me for much longer," Oogami said, nodding.
"Get a room!" Enoshima snapped, and Asahina chuckled, tilting her head in a way that made Enoshima roll her eyes.
"That was pretty cool," Ikusaba piped up, and Asahina and Oogami grinned at her, offering the chance to train with them. Glancing over at Enoshima's scowling face, she shrugged. "Sure. Just after my nails dry."
"Awesome!" Asahina gushed, punching the air.
Oogami snickered, mirth filling her heart and leaving her peaceful. She took her spot next to Asahina as Enoshima began filing her razor sharp nails. Noticing Ikusaba gazing at them, she inclined her head and returned to Asahina. She listened as Asahina rambled about what kind of donuts would be good to have after training. With her body still as light as a feather, Oogami felt true bliss.