Are We Playing For The Same Team...?

It was an ice cold, early morning at the Mahora Academy Superplex as the high school hockey team stepped out onto the ice for their first tryout of the upcoming season. The Mahora Warriors girl's hockey team was the pride of the school; with the most recorded wins in school history and the most high profile titles won in all of Japan. Last year, the team had suffered a heart breaking lose in the final championship game of the season against a tough team from the Kansai Region. This year, the senior girls were out for blood and looking for revenge.

From the far side of the ice, Coach Takahata was watching as the girls ran through a passing a drill. He was being sure to pay extra attention to the players trying out for the defensive positions as there was only one that needed to be filled. After weeding out the ones who couldn't keep up with the fast paced style of skating as well as the ones who could barely handle a puck properly, Takahata was coming to a slow realization that there really wasn't much for him to choose from this year. Sighing, he blew his whistle and signalled for the girls to take a few fast laps before heading over to him to explain the next drill. After receiving their instructions, the girls split up to form a one on one drill. It wasn't long before Coach Takahata was joined by his assistant coach, Negi Springfield.

"So what do you think Takamichi..." sighed Negi as she watched some of the senior girls flow through the drill flawlessly. "See anyone you like? Anyone at all catch your eye for that one defensive spot?"

Takahata removed his right glove and scratched at his scruffy chin. "Honestly Negi, I'm really not seeing any of the new girls that meet the requirements I'm looking for..."

Negi laughed a little as he scrapped one of his skates along the ice, building up a small pile of snow along the inside of his blade. "Aww come on now Takamichi... you mean to tell me out of the ten new girls trying out, not one fits that one spots requirements?" He looked back up and watched a frown spread across the older teacher and coach's face. "I think you're just being too picky..."

It was now Takamichi's turn to laugh. "I'm not being picky Negi, you're just too young and inexperienced to understand team chemistry..." He reached over and pulled the young kid's helmet down over his eyes. "Hell, you're only 14...genius teacher or not, you still got a lot to learn about the game. At least you seemed to master skating over the last few years..."

Negi rolled his eyes as the girls moved into a two on one drill. "Well, could you at least explain to me what almighty powers this new girl needs to have in order to meet the team's needs?"

"Well, she needs all the basics...that's for sure. A nice hard shot, a good mind for the game, great positioning...all that." began Takamichi. "However, I'm looking for that one girl who can bring some balance to Asuna Kagurazaka's forward line. I mean, Asuna is an amazing player...but damn it is she stubborn and tries to show off too much. Look what happened in that final game last year..."

It was true that the team's strongest center forward and captain, Asuna Kagurazaka, was mostly at fault for the team's lose in the championship game. There was less than a minute left in the third and final period of the game and Mahora was up by a goal. All they needed to do was keep the puck in their possession and run the clock down. The two Mahora defensemen where passing the puck back in forth behind their own net, avoiding the Kansai region's team's forwards. Asuna skated back behind the net and grabbed the puck, much to her team mate's surprise and began to speed off down to the other end of the ice. Everyone followed after her and the other team started to close in. Asuna managed to get herself around the first opposing defenseman, and feeling slightly cocky with herself, attempted to trick her way around the second. Before she even realised what was happening, the girl in front of her stole the puck from her while she was in mid-trick and passed it off to one of her own forwards waiting at Mahora's blue line. From there, the girl took the puck and went in for a last minute goal, tying them up and leading to sudden death overtime, where Mahora eventually lost.

"I need someone who will pick up where Asuna lacks strength..." sighed Takamichi. "It also wouldn't hurt to have someone good and strong to protect our goalie down there...teams have been getting rough on the goalies over the last few years..."

"Yeah that's true..." nodded Negi. "I'm surprised Konoka hasn't ended up with more injuries...especially since she's the top ranked goaltender in the league. You'd think she'd be head hunted constantly..."

"It's just another thing we need to look out for this year Negi..." replied Takamichi as he reached for his whistle. "You mind explaining the next drill?"

Negi nodded with excitement as Coach Takahata blew the whistle and signalled for the girls to once again do a lap then come in for another drill. He watched on from the side, still thinking about the situation his team was in and their desperate need for another leader. There had to be someone out there who would get the job done, maybe it was one of these new younger girls... he shook his head at that last thought. Unless someone stepped up soon, he feared a repeat of last season. Takamichi skated off towards a lone puck to play with while Negi finished up explaining his drill to the girls.

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"Hurry it up Asuna or we're gonna be late for our first day of classes!" yelled Konoka over her shoulder. "Seriously, pick it up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming...geeze Konoka...I thought you goalies were supposed to be a weird and easy going bunch!" replied Asuna as she picked up her pace.

Konoka smiled at her best friend and roommate as the later caught up to her. "You know, normally I wouldn't care...but today just seems a liiiiiiiiiiiitle more important than usual...I got this feeling..."

Asuna rolled her eyes as they rounded a corner. "Oh gods, here we go with the feelings...you weren't up late last night playing with those weird fortune card thingies again were you?" She watched as her friend shook her head but didn't believe her for a second.

After they had finished tryouts that morning, Asuna, Konoka and the other veteran players on the team decided to take their time changing and showering. They were all waiting for the new girls to finish and head out so that they could discuss what they thought about them. The girls that were left behind were a very close, tight nit group who have been in the same class together since their first year of junior high. They had wicked chemistry and seemed to feed off of each other's good and bad points; the perfect team. It was because of this amazing chemistry that any new girl trying out for the team seemed to perform below par because they were scared off. It didn't seem to faze the team though; you had to be worthy to hit the ice with them. When all was said and done, the girls had come to the conclusion that they hadn't seen anyone who fit the spot they were looking to fill. Apparently, they too were suffering the same doomed fate Coach Takahata was.

Konoka just hit the bottom of the school's front steps when she tripped and the books she was carrying in her arms went flying out in front of her. She cursed out loud as Asuna quickly bent down to help. "No, don't worry about it Asuna...you go on ahead. I'm pretty sure Negi will be pissed if you're late on the first day. I'll catch up in a minute."

"Alright...but hurry it up." called Asuna from over her shoulder.

Konoka kneeled down beside one of her books with a sigh, and began to pick them up. She was tired from the early ice time and was beginning to regret staying up late to read her tarot cards. The goaltender was very superstitious; therefore making fortune telling, in all of its forms, her hobby. She wasn't even planning on being up as late as she did until she flipped over a card telling her that someone or something new would be coming into her life. This seemed to peak her interest, and she began to shuffle and select a few more. By the end of her drawings, she had pieced together that her life was about to become more complicated, yet exciting when this new "whatever it was" came to be. Even when she lay down in her bunk at 3:00am, she couldn't seem to get the images out of her head of what she thought it could be. Konoka was still kneeling on the ground when she realized that she was missing her English book. She was about to get up to search for it, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey...I think I got what you're looking for..."

Konoka stood up and turned around, brushing off her knees as she did. She looked up and was startled by the girl holding out her text book in front of her. Konoka had never seen her before, though they looked to be relatively the same age. The girl was slightly shorter than she was, but not by much and was slim but looked to have a very athletically toned build. What caught Konoka's immediate attention was the girl's raven black hair that was up in a side pony. She had never seen anyone else wear their hair this way...and thought it made the girl look rather attractive.

Slightly blushing, Konoka reached out her hand and gently took the book from the new girl. "Uh...thanks. I would have been shot if I lost it..."

The new girl gave a cool smile as she scratched the back of her head. "It's no problem...anyway I gotta get going...see you around..."

Konoka watched as the mysterious girl swiftly made her way up the steps and off into the school. She couldn't help but keep thinking about the girl as she made her way to her own classroom. It was well known, at least within her classroom and especially among her team mates that Konoka Konoe was into girls; hell, at least half of her team was. She was quite popular when it came to the ladies; what with her flawless looks, curvy body and being the top ranked goaltender in the entire Japanese high school hockey association. Konoka would have no problem getting someone to hook up with, she had done it before. When she thought about this new girl however; she somehow felt different. There was something pulling her towards this person...

Could she possibly be this "new thing" my cards were talking about?...There's no way right? I probably won't even see her again...Damn she's hot though, I wonder if she's gay...

Konoka was still thinking about her run in when she finally came to a rest in her seat next to Asuna. Her red haired friend looked at her with questioning eyes as she motioned towards the clock on the wall. Konoka looked up and noticed that she had cut it extremely close, leaving less than a minute before class began. She wasn't too concerned though, since their young teacher wasn't even here yet. The rest of the class around her was completely buzzing with excitement as everyone was talking with one another about their break. No one even noticed ten minutes later when Negi entered the room and called for their attention. The young teacher shook his head and laughed, thinking that he was in for another year of unique antics that only class 6-A was capable of.

"Hello girls, could we all calm down for a moment please..." he tried again, this time the room seemed to lower its voices.

"Oi Coach Springfield, did you manage to get taller over break?" yelled Yuna, a forward and line mate to Asuna.

"Hey, I think I even see a few bits of facial hair coming in..." chimed in another forward from the team, Kazumi.

"If I'm not mistaken...I think our little boy coach is becoming a little man!" laughed a defenseman named Makie.

Negi face palmed and hid a blush as the rest of the class giggled along. He was right; it was going to be another long year. "Aw come on girls...can't I just have one year where we forget that I'm younger than you and remember that I'm your teacher?" He watched as the class playfully shook their heads no. "...of course...Anyway, I would like to apologize for being late. I had a few last minute things to attend to, one of which I'd like to share with you now."

"Ooo what is Negi?" asked the class rep Ayaka Yukihiro. "You always have the best surprises for us."

Negi slowly began to walk back over to the door. "Well, it seems that we have a new student joining our class today... I'd like you all to give her a good welcome...and please, please don't pull anything to scare her off..."

When Negi opened the door, Konoka's eyes went wide and she shifted forward in her seat. Standing at the front of the classroom with a dark yet cool expression on her face, was the mysterious girl who had helped her earlier. She was being sure to listen intently as the girl began to speak.

"Hey...my name is Setsuna Sakurazaki. I just transferred to Mahora from my old school in the Kansai Region..." she took a small bow to the class. "I'm looking forward to joining your class..."

Konoka continued to stare as the rest of the class greeted their new classmate. Suddenly she felt a nudge from beside her. "What do you want Asuna?..."

"Buddy, what are you staring at...blink already it's freaking me out..." she replied in a whisper.

Konoka looked over to her friend quickly with a questioning expression on her face. "Hey Asuna...do you think she's gay? She's totally gay right?"

Asuna rolled her eyes; of course she should have known this was what Konoka was thinking so hard about. "Damn it Konoka... not every girl that catches your eye plays for the same team we do..."

Konoka just blinked at Asuna before returning her attention to Setsuna, who was now grabbing her bag off of the floor. "I have a feeling she's gay..."

Little did Konoka know that everything she seemed to be quietly whispering to Asuna was reaching the sharp and sensitive ears of the girl at the front of the room. Setsuna smirked to herself as she threw her bag over her shoulder and began to make her way to the seat Negi had pointed out to her. This wasn't the first time her sexuality was called into question, and she knew that it wouldn't be the last. She had to admit, the girl she helped with the book earlier was very attractive. She definitely wouldn't mind getting to know her a little better. Setsuna slowly made her to her seat and sat down, and feeling pretty confident with herself, she turned her head to take a look at Konoka. When she caught the girl's eye, Setsuna gave her a wink followed by a small salute before turning her attention back to the front of the class.

Asuna watched the whole interaction take place. "...Did...did she hear what we were talking about?"

Konoka was blushing at this point as she started to fidget with a pencil in her hand. "I...I think she did..."

"Well, I guess we have our answer." sighed Asuna. "Chalk up another point for your feelings..."

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Negi leaned back in his seat and stretched out after finishing going over his lesson plan for the next day. The young teacher had decided to skip out on dinner in order to make sure everything was organized and prepared, just the way he liked it. He looked outside and noticed that the sun was beginning to set and that he should probably make his way back to his room in the teacher's quarters. Slowly, he got up and began to gather all of his things while humming to himself. Just as he was getting to his favourite part of the song, he was interrupted by a loud banging noise coming from the ally way outside below his window. He shrugged it off, thinking that the wind knocked a lid off of a garbage can and continued to gather his things. Again, at least four or five more times, the banging noise continued. Negi was getting annoyed at this point and decided that maybe he should check it out. He made his way over to the window, threw it open and stuck his head out. To his surprise, he saw one of his students.

"Excuse me... Setsuna was it?" he yelled from a floor up from where Setsuna stood. She looked up, slightly startled, and nodded. "Could I possibly ask what it is that you're doing out here?"

Setsuna smiled and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry uh...sir...I didn't think anyone was around at this time of night so I figured I'd come and practice my slap shot..."

Negi blinked in surprise for a moment before responding. "Slap shot?...could you wait there for just a moment?" Setsuna nodded again and went to retrieve her puck from a few feet away.

Negi grabbed his things as fast as he could before he ran out the door, slamming it shut behind him. There was only one position on a hockey team that made the best use of a perfect slap shot, and that was defence. As soon as he heard Setsuna say that's what she was working on, Negi had a feeling like this was the girl they were looking for. Of course, he could be completely wrong; for all he knew Setsuna couldn't even skate or wasn't even that good of a player. Something inside his head had told him though that he should go and investigate. He was slightly out of breath as he burst through the front doors and rounded the corner to the ally way. Standing there waiting for him, was Setsuna with her stick still in hand.

Negi ran up beside her and clapped her on the shoulder. "Could you possibly show me your shot?"

Setsuna smirked and moved beside the puck. "No problem."

The raven haired girl proceeded to roll her wrists as she expertly handled the puck. Next thing Negi saw was Setsuna swiftly bring her stick back, just barely pausing, before swinging forward and making full contact with the rounded black rubber on the ground. In the blink of an eye, the puck flew from the ground and sailed through the air at waist level before making a loud crashing contact with a dumpster. Negi just stood there, looking stunned at the perfect shot he just witnessed. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the girl leaning on her stick casually next to him.

"Setsuna...how long have you been playing hockey?" he asked, glancing back to the dumpster where the puck had made a dark black smudge.

"I've been playing since I was five years old." she replied while staring down at the ground. "I was captain and top scoring defenseman on my old high school team before I transferred out..."

Negi practically exploded from the excitement inside his head. Quickly calming himself down, he pressed on. "Have you considered trying out for our team? We're actually looking for a new defenseman..."

"I...I don't know Negi..." began Setsuna as she looked away. "I sort of...got kicked of my old team after an incident took place...I don't really know if I'm ready to get back on the ice." Her face became dark and Negi noticed that there was some pain behind her eyes.

"Listen Setsuna, I won't force you to join..." he said as he patted her on the shoulder. "All I'm asking is that maybe you come to tryouts tomorrow morning, get a feel for it...and see where it goes from there?"

Setsuna turned away from him and went to retrieve her puck again. She really had been dying to get back out on the ice, but ever since the incident that had went down last season with her own team...she was hesitant. She was still thinking it over when she found her puck and made her way back to the patiently waiting young teacher.

Maybe I should give it a try... no one has to know what happened and I really do miss flying along the ice...

Setsuna sighed as she passed by her young teacher. "Alright, I'll give it a try...what time should I be there tomorrow morning?"

Negi Smiled. "Practice starts at 6 am, I'd like you to come on the ice around 6:15...I need to track down Coach Takahata and let him know what's going on!"

With a final wave to Setsuna, Negi ran off in excitement to the teacher's quarters. Setsuna laughed to herself as she watched her teacher go; he really was just a kid. She was beginning to look forward to strapping on her gear and hitting the ice again. The raven haired girl continued to think about it as she wound up for another shot, a few more hours of practice would suffice before heading back to her dorm to sleep.