Disclaimer: I own nothing not a car, a house, or even a bicycle. So, I most certainly do NOT own Rurouni Kenshin or it's characters or their likeness.
This chapter is pure indulgence (as if my other stories aren't) and I hope it turned out well. Really White Day should have come before this, but let's ignore that, okay? Great!
Something to note:
Dodge ball in Japan is different than in the U.S. From what I've seen these are the rules (please remember there are many variations). They play with only one ball (a volleyball, ouch) and there's the basketball tip off to decide whose side gets the ball. There are ten players to each team, and each team starts off with two players already in the outfield. The outfield is the perimeter around the dodge ball court. The players that start off in the outfield can join the main court players at any time, but they can move around the outfield. They usually position themselves on the opposing side so that their teammates can pass them the ball. Catching the ball does not equal an out, and if you are hit you go to the outfield. Once there, you can catch the ball and attack the opposing team and if you hit them then you can join the main players.
I hope that's understandable. Anyways, please read and review. I hope you enjoy it. More notes at the end.
"Is this a good idea?"
"Absolutely not."
"This won't end well."
"Absolutely right."
"But we are still doing this."
Takagi Tokio, Kamiya Kaoru, Takani Megumi, and Makimachi Misao all nodded their agreement.
"This isn't going to be pretty," Tokio sighed.
"Who said this was a good idea?" Kaoru asked Misao.
"Why are we doing this again?" Takani rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, sports day was not her favorite.
"For the students, someone has to be around to temper down the animals."
"The students?" Kaoru scrunched up her nose as she asked. Surely they could be a bit rowdy, but they weren't bad kids.
"No, them," with that Megumi motioned towards the men. Okita, Nagakura, Saitou, Himura, Sagara, and Shinomori were all stretching a competitive gleam in each of their eyes.
The women watched as they stretched.
"Am I the only one that thinks it's strange to see them in shorts?" Misao broke their quiet appreciation, her eyes lingering on Aoshi's exposed legs.
Kaoru's voice took on a sly tone as she said, "Like you aren't enjoying the view."
"I am." Megumi laughed deeply and heartily even as she said, "Who knew Ken-san had such muscular legs!"
"Fox!" Kaoru spluttered, turning red either from anger or embarrassment. "Keep your eyes on your own man!"
"Hoho! Have you finally confessed?"
". . . shut up!"
Tokio shook her head and smiled. It was mid-March and even with the promise of spring the gym was still freezing. That, however, did not stop the men from sporting shorts, and they were giving the women quite a show (even if they weren't aware that they were).
Smack!
Tokio blinked, her hand slowly going to rub the top of her head, where the volleyball (their dodge ball) had made contact. "What the h-"
"Language Takagi." Saitou warned, one eyebrow raised. He then smirked that self-satisfied smirk that both annoyed and made Tokio's heart melt, "Focus Takagi. There's no room for –"
"Your ego," Tokio finished for him, he let out a breathy chuckle, "and yet we still have to suffer through it."
"You wound me Takagi." Saitou grinned. "Let's hope your dodge ball skills are as sharp as your tongue."
"That's enough flirting you two, we have important business." Nagakura, the homeroom teacher for class 2 and Japanese history teacher, said with a knowing smile.
Tokio rolled her eyes and in a flat voice said, "That wasn't flirting."
"Oh good," this from Okita, who of course had to have a say in everything. "I was starting to worry about your . . . skills."
". . . What does that even mean?" Tokio asked, but before Okita could explain the other members of their team began to focus in on their conversation.
"Yo! What'cha talkin about?" Sagara Sanosuke asked before going into a lunge.
"Strategy." Nagakura Shinpachi smiled, unlike Okita he was not prone to torturing his co-workers. Usually.
Okita wiggled his eyebrows. "Yes, strategy."
Kenshin, decided to put them all back on track. "That's a good idea. Who is going to start out in the outfield?"
"Whoa whoa," Sano stopped stretching and scrunched his eyebrows together, "why do I get the feeling that's not the strategy you meant?"
"Idiot." Saitou muttered under his breathe, not even bothering to look at the other man.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT?!" Sano jumped up and growled at Saitou.
Shinomori Aoshi's voice cut through Sano's outrage, "We are wasting energy here."
"Save it for the game," Himura stated as he retied his shoes, his mind already on the game.
As Sano continued to grumble and berate Saitou the women shared a long-suffering look, and sighed in unison. They attempted to reason with the men.
"Remember this is just a game."
"And they're our students."
"So how about we take it easy it on them."
"Maybe we should let them win?"
The men barely heard or registered the comments, but Saitou's response summed up how they felt. "Life doesn't let you win and the sooner they learn that the better."
Students leaned over the railings or sat on the ground with their faces between the bars of the second floor that over looked the gym - that was currently serving as the dodge ball court. The sports festival was a chance for students to air out their competitiveness, as classes battled one another for the top spots in each activity. But just as exciting, maybe a little more exciting, was the teacher/student dodge ball match. This year was proving to be one of the best.
The teachers had not held back and only Megumi, the school nurse, had been hit. She now stood around the perimeter with Kaoru and Aoshi (both of who had started out in "outfield"). The students had not been so lucky; they had been picked off one by one and now only three stood.
Poor Yahiko was one of the only students remaining. He knew the game came down to him; his teammates wouldn't be much help. They hadn't been much help after all. So he gulped, narrowed his eyes, and prepared to give it his all. If he was lucky he would catch the ball and in turn, hit someone, or someone in the outfield would catch the ball and pass it back to him. It wasn't looking good though.
Okita passed Tokio the ball, and Yahiko wasn't sure he would be able to dodge. Tokio was the girl's softball coach after all.
"Damn." Yahiko could see no way out of this. He wasn't thinking about the points anymore, they had already lost there. No this was about his dignity, and he was preparing for a brutal loss as Nagakura said, "Takagi-sensei go for Myojin-san."
Tokio drew back her arm, and let it go. There was a loud smack as the ball made contact.
Everyone went silent. Moments before the students had been screaming out their teacher's names in encouragement, but they had gone deathly silent in shock.
"I am sorry." Tokio said, not sounding or looking sorry. In fact, there was a slight upturn of the lips.
Saitou whirled around to face his attacker and teammate (more like traitor). "Takagi . . ." His voice was full of deadly warning. He could feel the throb at the back of his head but he resolutely refused to massage the growing lump, Tokio had quite the arm. "What are you doing?"
Tokio shrugged, "I am sorry Saitou-sensei, my aim must have been off." Then with obvious laughter in her eyes she said, "You're just so tall, you know."
"Okita, take her out."
"Okita, don't you dare."
Saitou and Tokio both turned and shouted, "Okita!"
Okita looked at Tokio and then at Saitou and then back at Tokio before shouting at no one in particular, "Don't tell me what to do!"
"Guys, we have a game to play. Can we focus on the opposing team?"
Tokio grinned as she got an idea, "You're right Nagakura-sensei." With that she grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the opposing team's side. Tokio then looked at the other women and said, "Let's even the odds?"
The remaining women turned to each other and nodded. They followed Tokio's example and moved to the opposing side.
"Oi! I don't need your help." Yahiko growled to his homeroom teacher, Kaoru.
"Yahiko-san, you shouldn't talk to Kaoru-dono like that," Himura sighed.
At the same time Kaoru shouted, "Don't talk to your teacher like that!"
"This is bigger than you." Megumi said as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder, it hit Yahiko in the face.
"I'll give you extra credit Yahiko-kun if you hit any of them," Tokio said as she prepared herself.
"Extra credit on my math test?" Yahiko seemed to mull this over for a few seconds, "You're on."
Misao hopped from foot to foot, her excitement evident, "Now this is going to be fun."
"Well it's going to be something." Megumi said, she had been losing interest but this new turn of events was something she could get behind on.
"Take out the kid first." Sanosuke said. "He's their weakest link."
"Shinpachi you traitor," Okita said as he spun the ball in his hands.
"I didn't choose this," Nagakura sighed and made to walk back to the other side, but the women quickly took hold of him.
"Nagakura-sensei always liked the underdog," this from Aoshi.
"That was very cold of you Aoshi-sama!" Misao pointed an accusatory finger at the man.
"Sounds fairly in character to me." Okita said.
"Will everyone calm down? We've already won." Himura tried to soothe them, but no one was listening.
"Enough chit chat, let's play." Saitou snarled, and Okita obeyed. He launched the ball with enough force that it was guaranteed to leave a bruise upon contact.
No one was taking points anymore, or following the rules. No, this became an all out war and no one was even sure what was going on. Each team threw with everything they had, that later that day every single member of the teacher's dodge ball team would be sporting several volleyball sized bruises. It would have continued had Hijikata not come in and put a stop to it. As he was venting out his frustrations at his teacher's the ball came soaring towards him, hitting him in the stomach with enough force to send him to his knees. The students roared, as Okita said, "Sorry! It must have slipped!"
Thank you for reading! I admit that this was harder to write. It's hard balancing so many students and since my stories are pushed along by dialouge it's hard. For me at least. I am not sure I did it justice, it was a lot better in my head. Okita is also angry that he did not get enough time in this story. Also, what is flirting if not strategy?
