Chapter 10
Rin watched the boys run sprints from her relaxed position, under the shade of big oak tree on top of a hill. The cold morning air had all but vanished to be replaced with the scorching heat of midday.
She sipped idly on her ice water as she watched the panting, sweating boys return for another sprint up the short hill. Although the hill itself wasn't that tall, the side Iwaki had chosen for the boys' to run was pretty steep.
After about the fifth sprint, she could see the weaker ones really begin to suffer. She felt bad for them, but reminded herself that everyone had to start from somewhere. She shifted her position against the tree trunk and sighed in contentment. She certainly didn't miss the crazy training exercises her fitness coaches would make her team do.
It was a welcomed break, but in the back of her mind, she was worried about falling behind on her conditioning. She had been participating in some of the boys' training, but it wasn't anything really intense.
I might have to talk with Coach about a personal training regimen I can do on my own. I don't want to get out of shape. Rin took another sip of her cool drink as she thought about it. For now, though, she would enjoy the relaxation and worry about conditioning another time.
She leaned her head against the trunk and closed her eyes. Even though she was in the shade, she could still feel the heat touching her exposed arms and legs as she sat there. It was like sitting in a hot bath, only without the water. It felt very nice and relaxing.
"Rin!" A voice called to her. She opened one eye and scanned around, looking for whoever had called her name. She saw Nana standing at the bottom of the hill, waving an arm at her. "We're going to another place, are you coming?"
Rin sighed and then slowly got to her feet. She really felt like saying she would just stay there, but she knew she would get lost if she didn't follow the others.
Nana smiled at her as she trotted down the hillside, taking care not to spill any of her water. "Having fun?" The other girl asked.
Rin nodded and lifted her glass for another sip. "It's really hot out here. I feel bad for them."
"Would you like to join them?" Nana asked.
Rin stared at her incredulously. "For real?" She shook her head, causing the end of her ponytail to slap her cheek. "No way am I doing any kind of physical exertion in this weather. Especially when I don't have to," she added as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.
Nana shook her head in mock disappointment. "I expected more from you, Rin. You've gotten lazy since you came here."
Shrug. "What can I say; I am a lazy person by nature." She looked around and saw that there was no one else in sight. "Where did everyone go?" She really didn't feel like being lost in the woods.
"They went that way. Don't worry; I know where we're going." Rin followed her companion a short distance to the sight of the boys' third training exercise for the day and she stared at the sight before her in a look of confusion.
"Exactly what are they doing?" She inquired as she studied the scene in front of her.
"Fishing," Nana answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it really was. The boys were knee deep in a small lake, looking down into the water intently and hands poised to strike.
"For what?!" Rin exclaimed as she watched one boy dive for a fish and trip. He floundered in the water for a second until he figured which way was up.
"Fish, obviously," Nana said patiently.
Rin gave her a patronized look. "I mean why?" Nana chuckled.
"Do you want the official or unofficial answer?" She asked.
"Which ever one," Rin said as she sat down on a rock on the shore next to Nana.
"The unofficial answer is, 'For amusement,'" she pointed to where Iwaki and Coach Kondo were standing on a different rock, trying hard to keep the silly grins off their faces. Rin sighed and rolled her eyes.
"The official answer is to help with balance and hand-eye coordination along with balance," Nana continued. "See, the boys have to pick a rock to stand on under the water and they aren't supposed to fall off when they try to catch a fish."
Rin nodded as she saw Kakeru wind-milling his arms as he fought for balance after an unsuccessful grab.
A rustling next to her made her look at Nana who had taken her shoes and socks off and dipped her feet in the water. She let out a relieved sigh at the coolness of the water.
"Is it cold?" Rin asked. She hated cold water and was one of the reasons why she would never swim in a pool unless it was heated and her dislike for lakes was even greater.
Nana grinned at her. "It feels really good! Try it!"
"I don't cold water," Rin grumbled, as she dipped a finger in to gauge the temperature. "Hmmm, not that bad," she decided as she pulled her finger out and then kicked off her sneakers and socks. She slowly slid one foot in the water, inch by inch. "Oh, not bad," she said in surprise as she put the other foot in. She swished her feet around, making the water ripple.
"See? It feels amazing," Nana answered. She nodded in agreement.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the lakeside. The girls had packed a big lunch for everyone and they all enjoyed it while teasing the boys about their god-like fishing skills.
Before Rin noticed, the air had cooled down and the sun had hidden itself behind the mountains. The light flashing colors of the sun set filtered through the canopy of leaves above the forest.
Iwaki called the end of training and the crew trudged back to the hotel. Rin walked a bit away from the others, looking around her and wishing she had brought her camera. The scenes of the forest preparing for sleep were beautiful. Everything was quiet, a soft lull before the night creatures came out. Photography was one of her favorite hobbies and one that she was quite good at, if she had anything to say about it.
She decided to skip dinner, and go to the hot springs. She was hoping to beat the after-dinner rush of kids to the springs. Well, at least the ones who hadn't been tagged. She was the first to the girls' room and swiftly gathered her stuff for the baths before the rest of the girls came.
The springs were empty when she approached and she enjoyed the quiet while it lasted. The outdoor springs was surrounded by a tall, wooden palisade to keep out prying eyes. She knew that the boys' bath was on the other side of the wall on the right. She could hear a few voices from there already.
She sat on the bench before the pool and pulled out her phone and sent a snapshot to her friends in the States, showing them the springs. She knew that Liz would be super jealous.
After she had sent the picture off with a smirk, she carefully rolled the phone in her clothes and stowed them in a locker in the changing room so it wouldn't get damaged.
She returned to the poolside and sat at the edge and dipped her feet in the steaming water. She sighed in relief at the feeling of the hot water meeting her skin. With a small splash, she submerged herself up to the chin and floated aimlessly.
The heat of the bath, combined with the cool night air made for the perfect hot springs scene. She kept her entire body under the surface as she explored the bath. It was natural, with rocks sticking out of the water to lean on and such.
"Hey, Rin, are you here?" She paddled back to the entrance and saw Nana standing there with a towel wrapped around her.
"The water is great, come on in," Rin invited. Nana slid in the water as well and let out a long sigh of contentment.
"I love hot springs," she said as she looked up to the open sky and the stars above. She leaned against a rock, water up to the base of her neck and closed her eyes.
Rin continued to wander aimlessly around the bath and inspected every corner. She could hear louder noises coming from cross the wall they shared with the boys and guessed that more had joined them. She really felt bad for the ones who weren't able to use the springs that night, but she quickly tuned her mind to other things.
Making her way slowly back to Nana, she asked, "Where are the other girls?" She leaned against the rock next to her friend.
"They are coming. They said they had to do something first," Nana replied quietly.
"Mmm," Rin hummed in acknowledgement, "I want to stay in here forever." She made a small tidal wave as she drew her arm in an arc through the water.
"You might pass out from the heat," Nana cautioned.
"I'll be careful," she answered.
About ten minutes later, the other girls came through the entrance and got into the bath as well, each sighing in relief as the heated water relaxed their muscles. They had a good conversation about sports and other stuff as they sat in the pool.
Nana told some stories about her experience in America while Rin told some whacked out stories about her friends and their prank-pulling at school.
"One night, we helped with some of our friends' senior prank which was to blockade the entire school," Rin shared. "We snuck in at, like, 12 am, and then we put all the desks against the all the doors in the school. It took around four and half hours to completely block all the doors. The superintendent's secretary was the first to show up and when she tried to open the doors, none of them opened because all the doors opened inward and they were all blocked!" Rin snickered at the memory.
"So wait, if all the doors were blocked, how did you guys get out?" A girl asked.
"We used a window escape and ran into the woods at the back of the school. We climbed a tree and sat there laughing our heads off as they tried to open the doors. It was freaking hilarious!" Rin slapped the water in amusement. The other girls chuckled too.
"Have any of you done anything prank-like lately?" She asked.
The girls all shook their heads. "What?! Why not?" She exclaimed in shock.
"Well, we never felt the need to, really," a girl answered.
Rin gaped like a fish on dry land. "Wha-How?! It's so fun! Especially the people's faces! And it's even better when you don't get caught." She grinned evilly as she reminisced about all the previous stunts she had done. There was the time with the frogs, then that time with the duct tape (that was a sticky one ;p) and then there was the whole fiasco with Jordan and Liz and the handcuffs. She burst out laughing at the memory.
The other girls looked at her like she was crazy, but before anyone could say a word, there was a loud crash and some frantic yelling.
As one, all the girls' head turned towards the source of the crash and saw that a section of the wooden wall that separated the girls' and the boys' bath had collapsed...spilling a pile of boys into the girls' part of the bath.
It was a scene of utter chaos as the boys tried to deny everything and run away while most of the girls screamed in shock and ducked under the water, still screaming; and then there was Nana and Rin who went after the boys with a vengeance, wrapped in pristine white towels.
Rin swiped at the ankles of the first boy she caught. It just so happened to be Oda. He stared up at her in horror and embarrassment written all over his blushing, red face. He was clearly a guilty one.
"Just what the hell do you think you pervs were doing, peeking in the girls and not to mention, collapsing the wall?" Rin growled threateningly at the cowering midfielder underneath her foot.
"We didn't do anything, I swear it!" Oda struggled and screamed like a girl.
"That is the biggest BS lie I've ever heard," Rin snapped. "What a bunch of idiotic perverts!" She glared down at him and cracked her knuckles and grinned evilly. "I think it's time for some well-deserved punishment."
With that, her quarry paled significantly.
Another chapter! SHOCK!