T.K.'s Note:
THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENT ACTIONS. DISCRETION IS ADVISED. I sound like a television program warning...
Currently Listening to:
Hold On ~Yell~ (NEWS vs. Jonas Brothers) by Masa Mixes. This song is what you call a "mash up". I like it =). It feels like a theme music for a lovely game of dodge ball... at least in my opinion.
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh! casts and the plot line mentioned in the anime and manga. I do, however, own the plot line aside from the ones mentioned in the anime and manga as well as Miyazaki Cho, Michiyo Naoko, Tanaka-sensei, Ito-sensei, Kato, Takashi, and Ken.
Final Note Before Reading:
Don't be afraid to send reviews =). Thanks to a reviewer named Lily for correcting my Japanese usage =]. The Japanese used in this chapter was from a phrase book and online references so I apologize if the grammar is a bit off -.-
Chapter Three: Dodge Ball.
.:: :: ::.
Cho heard silent cheers from a distance for those interested in the sport.
"Now here are the rules;" the male gym teacher, Tanaka-sensei, continued. "In the first game you are not allowed back into the outlined court. In order to get someone out you must hit them below the shoulders. However, you may NOT hold onto the dodge ball for more than three seconds. Any longer and you are out. If you dropped the ball while trying to catch it you are also out. If you threw it at someone and they caught it you are out. If you threw it at their head, you are out, same as vice-versa. You can block your opponent's attack if you have possession of another ball however, if you drop the ball you are out. You are allowed to throw a ball to your team mates, not at. Once you are out, you walk to the other side of the gymnasium and try to take out your opponents. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT cross the court border. Any questions?"
Nobody raised their hand. Ito-sensei took charge.
"Okay, we have divided the team and it will be a battle of the sexes. You men may be strong, but you are not so graceful on your feet. Let's see if you can step up to the plate and defend your title."
Cho was a little confused. Anzu briefly explained to her.
"Every year it's a battle of the sexes. The guys' team has won the title for the past 3 years. Last year was close though with Naoko on our side, but she was accused of knocking someone unconscious and was disqualified from the game."
"Was the person okay?" Cho asked concerned as well as becoming shocked for a dodge ball to be travelling at a speed that defied the laws of physics.
"Oh yeah," Anzu reassured, "he was fine, just a minor concussion, that's all."
"Concussion?" Cho exclaimed.
"It was not my fault," Naoko added. "Stupid boy tripped over his own foot and hit his head against the wall."
Cho was snapped out of horror when the gym teachers continued their debate.
"Well, it's better than screaming, 'oh my, don't hit me!'" Tanaka-sensei teased.
"Michiyo-san," Ito-sensei called out. "Take them down."
A few teenage boys' eyes widened when they realized Naoko was present.
"May I sit this one out?" a male joked.
"Alright, everybody take your stand at your end of the gymnasium. On our signal you run to the centre of the court to retrieve a ball. Once the game commence we'll add another dodge ball. After five minutes we'll add the last dodge ball giving a total of three. Everybody ready?" Ito-sensei asked.
"Hai!" the class announced.
"Take your places," Tanaka-sensei called out.
Everybody in the gymnasium walked to their respective ends.
"San, ni, ichi, go!" Tanaka-sensei called out and blew the whistle to start the game.
"Three, two, strawberry (ichigo)?" Cho asked herself as the whole class ran to the centre of the gymnasium.
The swift teenage boys were able to retrieve the first ball. After one of them quickly threw the ball to the opposing team it bounced off a couple of girls. They were called out and sent to the other side of the gymnasium. A couple of excited school girls were able to send a few boys out of the court, but had their guard dropped when celebrating, causing them to be out themselves.
The second dodge ball was thrown into the game and caused some girls to scream as one sped towards them. They were sent to the other side and the female population in the court kept decreasing. Naoko grabbed a ball and whipped it across knocking 3 defenceless boys in the process.
Amazed by Naoko's aim, Cho was able to glance at the speeding ball leaving Katsuya's hand heading towards her. She quickly held onto the ball while stumbling onto her rear.
"Jounouchi-kun, you're out!" Cho teased as she stuck her tongue out.
Katsuya was surprised that she was able to catch the ball as he walked to the other side of the court. The game continued as Naoko was able to bring the male population slightly lower. Cho was skipping around the court and she spotted her shoelace untied.
"Oh, that's not safe," she said and she kneeled to tie her laces.
Naoko realized Katsuya ready to attack his prey, namely clueless Miss Safety over there. Naoko quickly grabbed a flying ball and threw it towards the cannon dodge ball.
My team is not going to lose just because she decides to be careless!
"Anzu-chan!" Naoko called out.
Anzu turned around and caught sight of Naoko rebounding Katsuya's attack. Anzu caught the rebound dodge ball and was ready to set Naoko. Naoko then threw her ball to the corner of the gymnasium for her team mates to take possession. As a teenage boy ran to block the reception Anzu tossed her ball to Naoko as she spun around before whipping it towards the naïve boy.
"It's a trap!" his team mate called out, but it was too late as he was hit by accelerated dodge ball.
Naoko and Anzu gave each other a high-five and both took notice of the final dodge ball. In a split second, Naoko realized a ball speeding towards her. Stumbling over her own foot Naoko fell to the floor with her arm in the air. The ball bounced off her arm before landing onto her bottom and a boy called her out.
"No, I'm not!" Naoko defended. "My arm was above my head!"
"You're cheating!" the boy accused.
"It's not cheating, it's called 'working your way around the rules'," Naoko stated.
"That's actually pretty smart," Tanaka-sensei whispered to his counterpart.
"You're out, Kato-san," Ito-sensei called out.
The boy dragged his feet to the other side of the gymnasium, furious of how Michiyo found a loop hole in the game. Naoko shrugged off a new-formed enemy and continued to play.
Katsuya spotted the unprotected Queen of Dodge ball. Naoko turned to her team mate and asked, "Should I volunteer myself to be out so that I can knock down the guys on the other side?"
"Say no more! You're gonna get it, Naoko-chan," Katsuya snickered.
Just as the ball left his hand, Naoko took a step forward.
"Don't think I didn't see that one coming, Jounouchi-kun," Naoko teased.
Naoko spotted another victim and made a surprise attack on him. Unfortunately for her, he was a little faster and pulled the same stunt Naoko pulled a while back.
"You're out!" the victim cheered.
"No one mentioned being out if I hit anything above the head," Naoko explained. "Tanaka-sensei stated that you are out when you hit your opponent at the head, not anything above the head so technically I'm still in the game."
The gym teachers chuckled by the girl's reasoning.
"But why was Kato called out?" questioned the boy.
"Sorry, that was my fault," Miss Ito apologized.
"Does that mean Kato is allowed back into the game?"
"No," Naoko burst his bubble. "He's already on the other side of the court so he can't come back."
Naoko played a smile of accomplishment.
"GEEZ, NAOKO-CHAN," Katsuya called out. "How many loop holes have you figured out?"
"So far, this is all I came up with, Jounouchi-kun," Naoko replied.
Then Naoko discovered that Kaiba's back was facing her. It was her cue for a surprise attack on the arrogant CEO. Naoko grabbed a ball and whipped it across... but then Cho stood up from tying her shoes.
SMACK!
"ITAI!" Cho exclaimed as she squatted while grasping the back of her head.
"NAOKO!" Anzu yelled.
"What?" Naoko yelled back. "She got in the way!"
"She's just upset that Miya-chan was all over her Kaiba-kun," an enemy snickered.
Cho looked up to see if the accusation was true while Naoko whipped her head to the birdbrain who recited the comment.
"Dare to repeat that?" Naoko roared in her mind.
Her enemy, Ken, continued to snicker.
"Would you be so kindly to repeat that?" Naoko asked calmly, yet had a glare horrifying enough to make someone want to stick their foot into their mouth.
Ken turned to the voice the question belonged to and was muzzled as he caught her glare.
"Michiyo-san!" Ito-sensei cried. "Why? You were supposed to take them down."
"You're out!" Tanaka-sensei called.
The boys outside the court cheered as the Queen of Dodge Ball was out. However, they were quickly silenced as they realized she was closer (and have easier access) to the remaining troops within the court.
"Game on," Naoko commented as she walked by a few boys. Some were quivering to become victims of Naoko's game play and they thought of the unthinkable: they volunteered to be thrown out of the court by purposely fumbling the dodge ball.
"What in Japan are you doing?" Kaiba snapped.
"We rather are in one piece than be whipped by her!" his team mates explained, pointing to the devilish smirk plastered onto Naoko's flawless face.
Kaiba sighed and bounced a ball off of his team mate's back.
"Nani?" his confused team mate announced.
"Since you're not going to last long I might as well do the honours," Kaiba remarked, obviously annoyed by his coward team members.
"We're on the same team!"
"Eh, Takashi," Naoko called out, while tossing the ball into the air and back onto her hand repeatedly. "I'll gladly do the honours if you thought what Kaiba-sempai did was unfair."
Disregarding the rule of taking out your own team mate, Takashi jolted to the other side of the gymnasium without a second thought.
"Speaking of honours, you're next!" Naoko threatened Kaiba.
Naoko whirled the ball towards the standing teenager, but her attack was intercepted by another dodge ball. Furious for having her attack backfire Naoko turned her attention to the defender.
"WHY DID YOU BLOCK MY ATTACK, MIYAZAKI?" Naoko roared. "WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM!"
"Why did you block my attack on Kaiba-kun, Chiyo-chan?" Cho yelled back.
That struck Naoko's nerve.
"Remember, Miya-chan," Anzu begged, "either Sempai or Naoko-san!"
Cho turned her attention towards Kaiba. He said something inaudible to Naoko due to the constant cheering of both teams. Naoko whipped her head away, obviously annoyed with his remark as he snickered. Cho shrugged it off as she saw a dodge ball zoomed across her face.
That was close!
Naoko continued to reduce the male population as Cho tried her best not to get caught. Cho saw a ball rolling to the centre of her court and decided to chase after it.
"No, don't go after it Miyazaki!" Anzu called out before slapping her forehead.
"Come here, little bally!" Cho cooed.
She picked it up and threw it to the other side for Pitcher Naoko to take control. Cho was getting exhausted so she decided to sit down.
"MIYAZAKI, GET YOUR BUTT UP RIGHT NOW!" she heard Naoko command.
"I'm tired!" Cho whined.
Cho exhaled and then opened her eyes. She realized the male team had all three dodge balls.
Uh-oh...
"Three against one? No fair!" Cho pouted.
Cho was getting up and just as her rear was in the air it got smacked by one of the dodge balls.
"AY!" Cho exclaimed as she quickly shot up.
"She's out!" a boy called out.
As soon as Cho stood a ball hit the back of her head.
"Itai!"
"No, she's not!" Naoko called back.
"What now?"
"Her ass was above her head. She's still in the game."
Cho stuck out her tongue at the boy.
"You know what, Naoko-sempai?" the boy started to threaten, but was then muted as he spotted her with a dodge ball in hand once he turned around.
"Go on," Naoko challenged.
The boy whipped his head around to run the other direction, but he was too slow for Naoko as she sent a direct attack.
Now there were five remaining on the male team and 3 left on the female side.
EEEEEK!
Make that 2 remaining on the female side. One bounced off Anzu's chest as she arched her back to prevent a dodge ball from touching her back.
Cho continued to get hit at the head and Naoko was becoming furious for the foul play. Naoko decided to do something about it. One of her team mates tossed her a ball and Naoko whipped it to the boy who kept hitting Cho's head.
"ITAI! NAOKO?" Ken yelled.
"Sorry, that was an accident!" Naoko lied.
The game continued and Cho seemed to get into predicaments involving her head (or a limb above the head) being hit by a dodge ball, such as tripping on her own foot or trying to move out of the way before getting hit by another.
"Clumsy child," Naoko thought.
Although Ken was already out, he continued to damage Cho's brain cells by impacting the rubber ball to her skull.
Mou takusan! (That's enough!)
There were three dodge balls on the female's team outside of the male's court. Since it was a plan to toss Naoko the dodge ball, Naoko took the first dodge ball and threw it at Ken's head.
"Itai! What was that for?" Ken yelled at her.
Naoko walked towards Ken as the next ball was tossed to her and she whipped it towards Ken again, this time a little harder.
"What is your problem, Naoko-sempai?" Ken exclaimed.
"Naoko-chan!" she heard Anzu called out, fearing for the damage about to happen.
Naoko stopped 2 feet away from Ken. The last ball was tossed to Naoko. Ken feared for his life as he placed his arms in front of his head. Just as she was about the whip the last ball she saw his team mate from the court running to his aid. She made a last-minute change of plans and lightly tossed the ball to one of the remaining troops before walking away. He was taken by surprise and fumbled with the dodge ball. The worrying team mates were dumbstruck as they let out an anime sweat drop and a sigh of relief.
"Finish him," Naoko said to her team mates as she walked by.
Ken pulled his arms away from his head and faced a pack of glaring eyes.
"Nani?"
Ken took it as a cue to run. He quickly got up and dashed away from Naoko's fan club. They all ran after him.
Cho sat up after rubbing her head for a few minutes. She spotted Ken running for his dear life away from the stampede of raging teenage girls. She heard a few classmates chuckle at the matter as well as her gym teachers.
"Miya-chan, are you okay?" Anzu called out from the edge of the court.
"Daijoubu da (I am fine)," Cho replied.
Cho stood up. She observed her surroundings and found the entire class viewing Ken's misfortune as if there was an idiot trying to provoke furious cattle in a bull ring. Cho found a red rubber ball on the floor and took it as an opportunity to win the game. She shifted her eyes to make sure the coast was clear and slowly slid against the floor.
Naoko was slightly amused about her fan club and was even more amused when she spotted Cho sliding her bottom on the floor like a dog scratching its rear. She rolled her eyes and her mind clicked as she figured Cho's intention. Naoko slowly slid a foot to the left as she caught sight of an available dodge ball. She passed by the gym teachers as she continued to slide her feet across the waxed gymnasium floor. She heard the gym teachers' chuckle and she signalled with her eyes the plan to bring the boys down from their throne. Naoko was surprised Tanaka-sensei let her continue her plan as she picked up the dodge ball.
Cho held possession of a dodge ball and stood up. While everyone was being entertained, both she and Naoko took it as a favourable convenience. Cho threw the ball at a defenceless teenager. Kaiba realized Cho's attack and whipped his head around to find Naoko. Naoko was behind Kaiba and threw her dodge ball. He quickly leapt in the air to avoid Naoko's attack.
"Damn you for your reflexes!" Naoko cursed.
Naoko took sight of Cho aiming her next dodge ball towards Kaiba. Kaiba glanced to his left and found Naoko empty handed. He grabbed her right wrist.
"What in Japan are you doing?" Naoko exclaimed.
Kaiba pulled her onto the court. Naoko was confused and tried to get out of his grasp.
"What are you doing?" Naoko asked.
Her eyes widened as she deciphered his intention.
"No, he wouldn't even dare!"
Naoko shot her attention to Cho.
"NO! Miyazaki! Don't throw it!" Naoko pleaded, but unfortunately the dodge ball left Cho's hand. "This is inhumane!"
"Protect your Leader," Kaiba said as he hastily grabbed her shoulders and forced her in front of him.
The next second became a blur for Kaiba as he tried to comprehend his current situation.
THUD.
"We're at school Sempai," Naoko said as she held him onto the ground after tripping him. "And that's what you get for using me as a human shield!"
"Atta girl, Michiyo!" Ito-sensei called out. "Show whose boss!"
The whistle blew as time for gym class ran out.
"Close game," Ito-sensei called. "But unfortunately, the male team won by one player. Hit the showers and enjoy the rest of your classes!"
After a few cheers from the male class, the gymnasium was sprawled with teenagers exiting the facility. Naoko helped Kaiba up and both spotted Cho lying on her back feeling exhausted. Cho had one hand on her forehead as she panted. Ito-sensei came to her aid and handed her a juice box. Cho quickly sat up and happily sipped her beverage.
"Unbelievable," Kaiba said.
"What a child," Naoko scoffed shortly after before parting to their designated change rooms.
T.K. - Hope you liked this chapter of Just a Crazy Girl =). If you have any suggestions about my story or for improvements don't be afraid to send a review or message =).