Chapter Ten

Author's Note: I decided to post two chapters this week (nine and ten) since I might not be able to update next week. I'll try my best. Anyway, I hope you like them both! :) [[Sorry about all the typos in this chapter. I wrote it pretty late. I'll try to edit eventually...]]

Disclaimer: If I owned FFXIII, I assure you that there would be no question as to whether or not Fang x Vanille is canon. Enough said, I think.

The morning was cold and dreary, but all the teenagers in the orphanage were lined up in the dining hall with excited grins on their faces, chatting as they waited for announcements from the matrons. That afternoon marked the first day of a festival celebrating the final harvest of the season. During the week of the festival, the remainder of the crops in the village would be taken from the earth and preserved so that they could feed everyone during the colder months of the year. Although the majority of the orphans, aside from those who were apprenticed to farmers living nearby, would not participate in the harvest other than to observe the festival, the orphanage traditionally held a competition each year. Everyone over the age of twelve was given the choice of participating in a game of rice ball for the entire village to watch.

Rice ball was rather simple. Leftover rice from the dining hall was packed into a tight ball the size of a child's head and wrapped in a tightly sewn sleeve made out of a rice sack. Then two tall wicker baskets were placed on either side of a forty foot field on the eastern border of the village. Teams were divided into two equal groups and the goal of each player was to get past the three goalies and shoot the rice ball into the basket to score a point. However, if the basket toppled over and the rice ball fell out, the point did not count, so the shooter had to be precise. Players were not generally assigned certain positions on the field, but team captains usually attempted to match up players with those on the other team who were of similar size or had a weakness that one of their players could exploit. The game was known to become a bit heated, especially during the orphanage tournament. It was strictly forbidden to intentionally injure another person, but the only punishment for unfair play was to allow the other team a free goal.

In the orphanage's game of rice ball, the judges would be Head Matron Solstice, Head Matron Essle, and Head Matron Kalli, who was also available for medical treatment if necessary. Generally the majority of the village children, including those from the orphanage who were not yet old enough to participate, came to watch the game. In addition to that, many adults from the village came to show their support. Venders would line their stands on the side of the game and sell treats and warm bread. The field was even decorated by volunteers.

Vanille fidgeted at Fang's side as she waited for the matrons to begin.

Fang raised her brows, grinning as she nudged her gently in the arm. "Are you excited or nervous?"

"Excited," Vanille squealed, beaming. "Last year I was too sick to play."

"I remember." Fang chuckled lightly. "You almost took my arm off trying to get out the door, or did you forget I had to make Jeni get Matron Kalli while I pinned you down?"

Blushing, Vanille protested, "But I really wanted to play."

Fang laughed lightly and patted her shoulder. "I had the bruises to prove it."

"Sorry." The pink-haired girl pouted.

"Don't worry about it." Fang grinned and cast her attention to the front of the room as Head Matron Solstice stepped in front of them.

"Good morning, boys and girls." The older woman wore a pleasant smile on her face. "The weather's not very good today, but the rain isn't too heavy. Anyone who doesn't want to play in this weather is welcome to leave, but it seems like we should have a great game so you may not want to go just yet."

"There's your chance to leave," Fang whispered playfully in Vanille's ear. "Want me to tell Head Matron that you don't wanna participate?"

The younger girl replied by elbowing her taller friend in the side, which only caused Fang to chuckle lightly and nudge her arm.

"No one wants to leave?" Head Matron Solstice examined them for a moment before grinning. "Good."

Truthfully, the majority of the people who had not wanted to participate—namely adolescent girls, much to Vanille's chagrin—had already opted not to participate by neglecting to attend the meeting after breakfast. Among the eighteen players that had shown up, there were only four girls.

"We have a lot of fun playing this game every year, but we also have to keep the rules in mind." Head Matron Solstice smiled. "All of that will be explained to you at the field, but I do want to remind everyone right now that although we matrons understand that this game can get a little rough, any unnecessary force will be punished. This is supposed to be a friendly game to help all of you strengthen your bonds to each other. After all, this orphanage is a family."

The head matron surveyed them for a moment as though to make sure that everything had sunk in.

"All right, now we'll get on to what you've all been waiting for." Solstice smiled faintly. "The team captains. The first team captain received an honorable mention last year for his heroic goal that won his team the game." Grinning, Solstice exclaimed, "Konnor, would you step forwards please?"

"Yeah, I will!" Konnor replied enthusiastically, high fiving Fang as he walked by her.

"Our other team captain played extremely well last year and was elected by her former teammates to be the captain this year." Solstice tilted her head and smiled warmly. "Mollia, please step forwards."

The sporty redhead whose adorable feminine looks and boyish behavior won her the heart of almost every boy her age in the entire village stepped forwards with a grin of triumph.

"Choose your teams wisely now." The head matron looked amused. "In the spirit of chivalry, we'll let Mollia choose the first player."

"Hey, Mollia, pick the strongest guy you can, 'cause my team's gonna kill yours!" Konnor taunted.

"Konnor, that was inappropriate," Solstice scolded. "Don't make me reconsider making you team captain."

"Aw, come on, Head Matron, I didn't mean it literally."

"I was gonna play nice, Konnor, but since you said something cruel…" Mollia smirked. "Who says the boys are the strongest? My first pick is Yun Fang."

Konnor's eyes widened. "Hey! That's my best friend."

"Well, now you get to lose to your best friend." Mollia grinned cruelly.

Fang shrugged, smirking faintly as she walked toward Mollia. "Sorry, Konnor. You should've kept your mouth shut. Any team I'm on is gonna win, no question."

"Oh, yeah? We'll see about that." Konnor narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as though trying to figure out his next move before proclaiming, "My first pick is Vanille."

"Why would you pick her?" Mollia raised her brows in confusion. "No offense, Vanille, but I mean…"

"Careful, Mollia." Fang laughed lightly as the pink-haired girl glared at the redhead. "She's got more fight in her than it seems just by looking at her."

"Really?" Mollia shrugged. "Well, whatever. I choose San Dollon."

The team captains continued calling names until everyone had been evenly divided into two groups. Konnor's team consisted of Vanille, a thirteen-year-old girl named Evi, and the majority of the boys with whom Konnor always ran around playing pranks. Many of them were Fang's friends as well, which gave Vanille hope that perhaps everyone could just have fun instead of playing dirty. After all, she knew that many of the boys on the other team were friends with Konnor as well.

Vanille bit her lip as she wondered if they stood a fighting chance against Fang. Even though all of them together were most likely stronger than the other girl, she was just so clever.

"Now that your teams have been decided, you may all have one hour to prepare for your game. Do whatever you need to do, but make sure that you reach the field on time or you will be disqualified." Head Matron Solstice smiled faintly. "I suggest that everyone changes his or her clothes if you don't want to ruin what you're wearing. There's a lot of mud on the field."

Vanille examined the strapless purple shirt and knee-length bleu skirt she was wearing with a pout. "I can't ruin this outfit. It's one of my favorites!"

Evi, the only other girl on their team, grinned excitedly. "Don't worry, Vanille. My best friend played in last year's game and taught me this really cool trick. I'll show you how to make a quick outfit out of the pieces of a few sacks."

"Where's your friend now?" Vanille inquired with a grateful smile.

"Oh, she chose not to play this year since she'd rather spend time with her boyfriend." Evi rolled her eyes. "She says they're gonna get married, but we're too young for that."

"It's so sweet that they're in love though," Vanille replied with a romantic sigh. "Maybe they'll get engaged now and then marry when they're a little older. Wouldn't that be sweet?"

"Yeah, I guess." Evi shrugged. "Anyway, let's tell Konnor we have to go change our clothes. I'm not ruining what I'm wearing either."

They walked toward Konnor, who was standing in front of the remaining players on their team as he instructed them to block certain players on the other team and explained why. When he spotted Vanille, the grin on his face was genuine.

"There you are, Vanille." His features brightened. "You're our star player today."

Vanille's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Because you get the most important job out of everyone here," Konnor explained excitedly.

"What do I have to do?" Vanille blinked away her confusion.

"You get to block Fang." Konnor smirked triumphantly. "She'll never see it coming."

The younger girl furrowed her brows. "Konnor, Fang is a lot stronger than me and she's taller."

"Yeah, but I've watched her play every year. She always fights dirty and doesn't mind throwing around the person blocking her, especially if it's a boy. I know Fang won't hurt you, so you're the only person who might actually be able to keep her at bay."

"Maybe." Vanille flushed faintly because everyone was looking at her. "She's still a lot stronger though. She could just push me out of the way."

"If she tries that, just burst out crying or something." Konnor grinned cruelly. "While Fang's fawning over you, we'll be taking the game."

Vanille pouted, since she knew that Fang hated it when she tricked her with fake tears. However, on the inside she was a little excited by the prospect of having such an important role in their game. Fang was arguably the strongest player on the other team, so being asked to block her seemed like receiving some kind of honor.

Evi tugged on Vanille's arm. "Can we get ready now? We don't have a lot of time."

"Sure." Vanille tilted her head curiously. "Are you new in the orphanage? I haven't seen you before, but I'm only a year older."

"I came just this year." Evi lowered her eyes sadly. "My parents had an accident. I have a brother, but he's sixteen and doesn't have enough money to take care of me right now."

"I'm really sorry," Vanille murmured sincerely, placing her hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. We're all here for similar reasons, right?" Evi bit her lip. "No one here has family, so I'm kind of lucky to still have my brother."

Vanille nodded, forcing an optimistic smile. "Do you wanna be friends? You seem really nice, and you're one of the only girls our age who showed up today, so you must be really fun."

"It's because my brother's gonna be there to watch." Evi clapped her hands together excitedly. "He taught me how to play rice ball, so I'm wanna make him proud."

"That's sweet." Vanille followed the other girl toward her room. "Do you think you can explain the rules to me? I know Head Matron'll go over them, but I've never played before."

"You've never played before at all?" Evi looked shocked.

Vanille shook her head, smiling sheepishly. "I was too sick last year."

"Oh. Well, don't worry. It's a really easy game."

The two of them walked through the orphanage to Evi's room as the thirteen-year old explained all the rules to Vanille and recommended several different ways to block and steal the ball from others. She continued explaining as the two of them reached her room and attempted to figure out how to transform the sacks into presentable clothing. They used special shears and a needle and thread to create rather stylish shirts that bared their midriffs and short skirts with shorts underneath.

"These'll be distracting for the boys on the other team," Evi giggled as she glanced at her skirt in the mirror and made sure that she could bend down comfortably. "They'll break their necks trying to look up our skirts before they realize we've got this fabric underneath."

Vanille grinned, amused. "Won't it be distracting for the boys on our team, too?"

"I hope not." Evi laughed. "If it is, then we'll just have to do all the important stuff and get honorable mentions. Can you imagine being team captain next year?"

"It'd be fun," Vanille nodded, crossing the room to stand in front of the mirror and look at herself. With a grin, she exclaimed, "We look so cute. We're like twins."

Evi smiled excitedly. "Twins who are gonna kick butt!"

"Yeah!" Vanille turned around to high five her and mused that she was rather glad to have met this girl.

Xxx

When Evi and Vanille had finally finished getting ready, they skipped down the hallway together to meet the rest of their teammates. The other team had already left for the field, and Konnor looked antsy for their arrival as he paced back and forth.

"I think we may be late," Vanille whispered as she peeked around the corner. "Konnor's grumbling about us."

"Do you think he'll be mad?" Evi frowned nervously.

"I dunno." Vanille patted her friend's shoulder reassuringly as they crept around the corner. "Hopefully he won't yell at us. If we leave now, we'll probably get there on time."

Konnor heard them approaching and turned to glare, but the dark look on his face melted away as he took in the outfits that they were wearing. His eyes traced the lines of their clothing, causing both of them to blush, and his features softened into a smirk.

"This is too good to be true," Konnor exclaimed triumphantly. "We'll win for sure. Great job, girls."

"You like the outfits?" Vanille smiled brightly.

"They're absolutely perfect." Konnor glanced over his shoulder at his other teammates, questioning with a chuckle, "How distracted are you guys right now?"

"Not as distracted as the boys on the other team are gonna be. Mollia and Fang are pretty, don't get me wrong, but they're dressed like boys today. Everyone's gonna wanna stare at these two."

"Exactly." Konnor pumped his fist triumphantly. "We're golden."

Although he would not say it out loud, Konnor thought that Vanille and Evi's outfits were the best surprise that either of them could give him. After all, whether or not the boys on the other team were actually distracted, Konnor was positive that Fang would have an even more difficult time focusing on the game when Vanille was dressed in such an attention-demanding outfit. He knew that his best friend could not resist the pink-haired girl in her normal attire, so she wouldn't stand a chance with the way Vanille was dressed now.

"All right. Let's all get to the field before they disqualify us," Konnor ordered suddenly, motioning for them to follow him quickly outside.

Xxx

It was drizzling lightly as they crossed the town, so by the time they reached the field, everyone's clothes and hair were a bit damp. The chilly wind was difficult to bear at first, but Vanille knew that once she began running around the field attempting to keep up with Fang she would be much warmer. In fact, she thought it was quite wise to wear so little clothing even though some of the matrons might disapprove because no matter how much she had to exercise she would not become overheated.

After Head Matron Solstice explained all the rules and stressed once again that any undue violence would be punished, the two teams met on the field, each person rearranging themselves in an attempt to stand across from the person that their captains had instructed them to block. The matrons that would serve as referees stood on the side of the field with whistles carved from tree bark tied on strings around their necks. The players were all anxious to begin, especially because the crowd was quite large and everyone wanted to prove themselves the best player.

As she waited for the game to begin, Vanille noticed that many people were staring at her and blushed faintly. She was a year older than Evi, and her body was a bit more developed than the other girl's, so she attracted more attention than anyone else on the field.

"Remember that you each have to run to the person you're blocking the second the horn is blown," Konnor called out carefully over the pattering of the rain on the ground. "Mollia told them who she wants them to block, and she probably didn't pick the same people I did, so you have to get in the way of the person you're blocking and force them to stay with you."

Everyone nodded in affirmation.

"Vanille, I bet Mollia told Fang to block me, so really get in her face, okay?" Konnor glanced at her over his shoulder.

Nodding, Vanille bent slightly at the knees, resting her hands against her thighs. She took a deep breath to prepare herself for the challenge placed in front of her, because she did not want to let her team down in spite of the fact that Fang was taller, faster and stronger than her. There was little she could do to stop the other girl other than to count on the fact that Fang would not hurt her. She hoped that the other girl would not seek revenge for the way that she had kicked her in her sleep over the years.

A horn signaled the beginning of the first round as one of the matrons tossed the rice ball between the two teams. Every player scrambled for the ball except for Vanille, who turned toward Fang and ran as quickly as she could. It would be too late if Fang reached the ball before she reached her friend, so she pushed herself harder than she ever had.

After the low-pitched sound of the horn rumbled through the field, Vanille practically dove across the line, blocking Fang's path and refusing to move. The taller girl was so surprised that she stopped in her tracks and stared down at her.

"Konnor's got you blocking me?" Fang raised her brow curiously. "Why would he do a thing like that?"

"I dunno." Vanille tilted her head to the side and clasped her hands together beside her back, smiling faintly. "You told Mollia yourself that I've got more fight in me than most people can tell. Maybe Konnor could see that, too."

"Vanille, I know you've got a lot of spunk," Fang murmured as she struggled to keep her eyes locked with Vanille's instead of looking at her distracting body. "But you're not strong enough to take me down."

"Fang, that's not nice," Vanille whined. "You dunno how strong I am. You've never had to fight with me or anything."

"And hopefully I never will, since I'm stronger and I'd hate to hurt you," Fang replied with a smirk as she finally gave in and allowed her eyes to wash over the length of the other girl. She struggled to keep her cheeks from flushing and feigned disinterest as she demanded, "What in the name of Anima are you wearing?"

"Do you like it?" Vanille bit her lip and spun around so the other girl could look at her. "I was worried about ruining my clothes, since I don't really have anything that's not nice, so Evi helped me make this. It almost made our team late, but it was worth it, don't you think?"

Fang's eyes widened as she studied the other girl and opened her mouth to answer.

"Fang, what are you doing?" Mollia suddenly screamed.

Both girls looked up, startled, and realized that while they were chatting on one end of the field, everyone else had run to the other side and Konnor had successfully scored his team's first goal. He was jumping up and down triumphantly nearby Mollia, who had her arms crossed and was glaring at Fang.

"Goal one goes to Konnor's team," Head Matron Solstice shouted. "Each team will return to their own side and await the horn that signals the second round."

Konnor raced across the field toward his own side, but he paused next to the two of them.

Vanille, thinking that Konnor would be mad at her for not paying attention, immediately babbled, "I'm really sorry. I just wasn't paying attention. Fang and I were talking and I lost track of—"

"Don't apologize." Konnor smirked at Fang as he spoke. "You were perfect, Vanille. Let's get back to our own side."

Fang narrowed her eyes as she watched the two of them walk away, but she could not help but return the adorable smile Vanille threw over her shoulder as she walked away waving.

"Get your head in the game, Fang," Mollia commented with a frown, giving her a curious look as she appeared at her side.

"Huh?" Fang resisted the urge to flush as she smirked. "My head is in the game, Mollia. I knew Konnor's head would swell if I let him get the first point. I dunno where he gets off thinking Vanille's gonna be able to stop me, but the real game starts next round."

The redhead eyed her suspiciously. "So that was part of some kind of plan?"

"Sure, it was." Fang narrowed her eyes, still grinning as she muttered to herself, "He's got his plan, and now I've got mine."

"What's his plan?" Mollia demanded, her brow arched.

"A tricky one," Fang replied vaguely, eyeing Vanille from across the field. "And I'm accepting his challenge."

"Well, just make sure you stop him next time." Mollia narrowed her eyes. "I don't want you getting…distracted by the other players."

Fang chose to ignore her, since she was not entirely sure what to do about the accusation in the other girl's voice. The knowledge that Vanille was a decoy to distract her from blocking Konnor changed her entire game plan, because it would be difficult to escape from the other girl without harming her unless she outsmarted her, which she did not think would be hard. Vanille was very bright, but she knew herself to be one of the cleverest girls in the village.

When the second horn rang through the air, Fang glanced at Vanille, who was running towards her, before turning around and running in a wide half-circle around the other players rather than going after the rice ball. Her plan to evade the younger girl worked flawlessly, since she was too fast for Vanille to catch up to her, and she was easily able to catch the rice ball after Mollia stole it from one of the other team's players and passed to her.

Konnor, who noticed that his plan had not worked twice in a row, immediately moved into position to block Fang, who was forced to return the ball to Mollia before Konnor could force her any farther down the field. Mollia caught the rice ball and quickly tossed it to Torre before one of Konnor's teammates could shove her out of the way, and Torre ran the ball all the way to the goal where he practically flew into the air to throw it into the basket. Unfortunately for him, Konnor had broken away from Fang and raced down the field, proving himself the star of the game as he intercepted the ball at the last moment and raced back toward his own goal. Along the way he passed to several different players, but eventually the ball returned to him.

Konnor was eventually blocked by one of the other team's members and had nowhere to go. A quick study of the field caused yet another smirk to cover his features, because two of the players had been underestimated and thus left unblocked by Mollia's teammates. Konnor immediately tossed the ball to Evi, who had to dive to the ground to catch it and then scramble out of the mud to escape from Mollia. In turn, Evi threw the ball to Vanille, who was standing on the other side of the field near the other team's goal with no one to block her since Fang had focused her attention on the players that she thought more likely to succeed.

Vanille caught the ball and smiled gleefully when she realized that she had a clear shot at the goal. There was no one to block her, and each of the goalies was cornered by someone on her team. The shot that she flung at the other team's goal was effortless, and the ball dropped gently into the wicker basket, scoring her team their second goal.

"Yes!" Konnor cried from across the field as Fang crossed her arms and frowned. Smirking at his best friend, Konnor teased, "You better step up your game, Fang. If you'd been blocking Vanille, your team wouldn't have just lost that point."

"I can't block everyone at once, now can I?" Fang grumbled impatiently as she turned away from him.

Konnor merely laughed and returned to his own team, because he knew that Fang could be competitive and didn't want to get punched in the arm.

When Fang returned to her own team, Mollia shouted, "Everyone gather 'round. We're calling a time out, Head Matron."

"It's a little early in the game for that, but go ahead."

Everyone huddled around Mollia and waited for her instructions as the redhead massaged her temples in thought.

"All right, we're off to a bad start, but they've only got a two point lead so we have time to make up for it." Mollia frowned. "The reason I called the time out is because I want everyone to know that there's a mercy rule in this game. Even though we play to fifteen points, if the other team reaches eight points and we don't have at least two, we lose. We need to get a few points right now to keep that from happening, so we're changing tactics."

"There's one more minute until the game starts again," Solstice called gently from the sidelines.

"Thanks, Head Matron," Mollia shouted politely before returning to her teammates. "Fang, I want you to block Vanille from now on. Obviously Konnor's using her as some kind of distraction in each play, so I want you to make sure she's out of the game from this point forwards. She was distracting you earlier, so do the same to her. Everyone else, block whoever you were already blocking, but keep your eyes peeled for the ball and take any chance you can get. Torre, I know you were blocking Vanille before, but now I want you to block Cesor. I'll take care of Konnor myself."

"If I'm supposed to distract Vanille, does that mean I won't get any plays?" Fang placed her hands on her hips. "I wanna take part in the victory, too."

"This is just temporary until we get a few points in." Mollia pursed her lips. "If you can think of a way to be a hero while still keeping your little friend at bay, do whatever you can, but don't let her score any more points just because no one's paying attention."

"I can think of a way, so you just make sure you throw the ball to me when I'm open." Fang smirked as she walked away. "I'll make sure we get our first goal this round."

"I hope so." Mollia frowned skeptically. "Don't disappoint me."

"I never disappoint," Fang replied, winking over her shoulder.

When the horn that signified the third round sounded, Vanille immediately faked left as though she would go after the rice ball since Konnor had anticipated that Fang would not bother trying to block her and instructed her to get as close to the ball as possible. However, her older friend stepped in her path rather quickly, a wide grin on her features.

"Hi, Vanille." Fang paused in front of her, a smirk on her face and her hands on her hips. "We didn't get to finish our little chat before." Raising her brow, she added, "And I'm still wondering about that outfit. Don't you think it's a little too skimpy for a sports game?"

Vanille blushed, attempting to peek around her at the other players. "Fang, we can't talk right now. We're right in the middle of a game. What about the others?"

"Oh, don't you worry about them." Fang glanced over her shoulder. "They look pretty busy."

"Konnor will be mad—"

"Him? He's a baby chocobo on the inside," Fang replied dismissively, smirking like a cat as she took a step closer.

Vanille stepped backwards, smiling nervously. "Fang, what're you up to?"

"What d'you mean? I'm just being my regular innocent self," Fang replied with a grin as she watched Mollia seize the ball over her shoulder. When the redhead began running toward herself and Vanille, she took another step toward the other girl. "So, whose idea was the tiny skirt anyway? You gotta be careful wearing something like that in a game like this. One wrong move and you'll give everyone a show."

"E-Evi came up with the outfits, but I helped sew them," Vanille replied, tilting her head innocently. "There's special fabric on the inside to prevent anything from showing if I fall, see?"

Vanille turned sideways and lifted the edge of her skirt as though to show her. Fang nearly became distracted, but she would not allow herself to let her teammates down, so she decided to check on Mollia again instead.

With a gulp of nervous anticipation, Vanille suddenly burst forwards, attempting to race past her friend while she was not looking. Unfortunately, Fang immediately put out her arm and caught Vanille around the shoulders, reeling her back towards her. She hugged Vanille to herself as she turned them so that Vanille's back was to the rest of the field, effectively making it much easier for herself to watch Mollia's progression. It was clear from the other girl's path that she had no intention of allowing Fang to get the first goal when glory could be hers.

Meanwhile, Vanille struggled against her. "Fang, let me go!"

Fang ignored her embarrassed friend as she watched one of the goalies corner Mollia, making her only option to throw the rice ball to the person closest to her: Fang.

"This isn't fair, Fang. You're too strong," Vanille protested. "Everyone's looking."

"That's the nature of the sport, Vanille," Fang replied gently.

The dark-haired girl met eyes with Mollia and knew that the other girl would throw to her.

Grinning at Vanille, she mumbled, "Forgive me, okay?"

"For what?" She pouted.

Fang ignored her, immediately releasing Vanille with one hand only to wrap her free arm around her waist and trip her with her right foot. Vanille let out a squeak of surprise a she fell backwards, but Fang supported her as though they were dancing together, not allowing her to hit the ground as her arm remained securely around her midsection. She motioned for Mollia to throw to her and caught the rice ball with one hand, cradling it to her body as she immediately lowered Vanille gently to the ground with her other arm.

"For that," she answered with a teasing grin.

Vanille seemed too surprised to answer.

Fang burst into action, racing toward the goal and spinning around a player who had attempted to block her to give herself a clear shot at the goal. The second that the ball left her fingers, the goalie that she had avoided tackled her to the ground, but the ball swished fluidly into the basket.

The audience erupted, shouting praises for Fang while simultaneously laughing at the way that she had passively subdued Vanille, who most people assumed had about as much strength as an infant. The younger girl, for her part, was extremely embarrassed by Fang's actions and determined to get revenge.

As Fang attempted to pass her to her team's side of the field and await the next round, Vanille grabbed her arm and cried in frustration, "This means war, Fang!"

"Bring it on," the dark haired girl patronized, giving her shoulder a squeeze and teasing, "little Vanille."

"Oh, I'm gonna make you pay for that," Vanille muttered as her friend strolled away.

"Vanille, you got a plan for stopping her this time?" Konnor inquired as he came up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Not yet, but I'll have to think of something." Vanille pouted guiltily at the ground. "I'm really sorry about that. Fang's just so strong…"

"I know. It's like she's part beast or something." Konnor chuckled. "Anyway, I've got the perfect plan for you."

"Really?" Vanille smiled faintly. "What is it?"

Konnor smirked widely as he leaned forwards and whispered in her ear.

Vanille's eyes widened and she blushed darkly. "W-Will that really work?"

"I'd bet my future on it," Konnor replied enthusiastically as he mused that Fang would never forgive him.

"O-Okay." Vanille bit her lip and glanced across the field at Fang, who was watching the two of them with a raised brow.

When Konnor moved to his place on the other side of the field, Evi slid in next to Vanille and whispered curiously, "What did he tell you to do? Your face was on fire."

"Oh, um…he just said to…use my entire body to block." Vanille lowered her eyes. "He probably said it because I'll be stronger that way…"

"That's what made you blush so much?" Evi teased, grinning. "Are you sure you're older than me?"

"Well, he just said it a little differently than I did."

The truth was that Konnor had told her to make sure to press herself against Fang as much as possible, especially focusing on using her chest to her advantage. Vanille wondered if that would actually successfully distract Fang, since she doubted that Konnor would suggest the same tactic against Mollia. Konnor was Fang's best friend in the world, so if he was positive enough that that would work that he would bet his future on it, did that mean that Fang—?

The horn suddenly blew, causing Vanille to snap out of her nervous thoughts. Without a second to lose, she raced across the field toward Fang.

"Back for more?" The dark-haired girl teased as she watched the rice ball fly over her head. "Well, you'll have to catch me fist, Vanille."

The older girl immediately turned and raced after the ball, so Vanille strained her legs trying to run fast enough to catch her. Thankfully, the player that had caught the ball fumbled it, causing everyone to dive onto the ground just as a thin autumn fog began to roll in. In the confusion of the dog pile, Vanille was able to tackle Fang to the ground by grabbing her legs from behind.

"Vanille, I hope Konnor doesn't have you convinced that you're strong enough to hold me down," Fang challenged as she successfully turned herself over underneath the other girl and prepared to throw her off.

Thinking about what Konnor had said, Vanille blushed deeply as she immediately scrambled on top of Fang and made sure to press one of her legs between Fang's. She rested heavily against her, grabbing Fang's shoulders as though to push her down.

Fang felt her breath quicken as Vanille's soft skin pressed to hers. The feeling of the other girls leg pressed against her was only slightly more distracting than the way that the younger girl's breasts pressed against her abdomen just below the bust. To make matters even worse, the sack that she had sewn into a shirt was not made to bend with the human form, so a bit more cleavage than before was visible.

"Vanille…" Fang gasped, her eyes widening as the other girl seemed to squirm against her. "What are you doing?"

"I-I'll find the strength to hold you down even though you're stronger," Vanille exclaimed immediately, forcing her voice to sound innocent even though she was really just following Konnor's instructions. "I won't let you get the ball!"

Fang's cheeks were red and her heart was racing faster than ever before, but she knew that she would never live down the embarrassment of the other players noticing their struggle. She was grateful for the combination of rain, fog and mud that seemed to conceal them from the audience, but she knew that it would not last forever, so she held her breath, placed her hands on Vanille's shoulders, and gently rolled the girl off of her. As though to completely sever herself from the situation, she jumped off of the ground as though someone had lit a fire under her and took a few staggering steps away. Her mind told her to get back into the game and chase the other players down the field, but she was still rather shaken by the warm tingling feeling that seemed to fill her body.

Vanille, looking just as flustered as her friend and barely able to stand up from the way that her nerves raced inside of her, did not look at Fang as she stood up and ran past her toward the others. She felt extremely guilty for making the other girl feel uncomfortable, but she was also privately quite pleased about the fact that her tactic had worked, which really only made her feel more like a culprit. She just enjoyed the fact that Fang might find her distracting.

"Good job, Vanille." Konnor clapped his hand on her shoulder after the goal had been scored and they had returned to their side.

"R-Right…" Vanille frowned faintly.

"Don't worry. Fang won't be mad at you." Konnor chuckled at the guilty look on her face. "She might kill me, but you're totally fine."

Vanille looked away, shifting uncomfortably. "Even still, I'm not gonna do that again, okay? It was…not very nice."

"All right." Konnor smiled faintly. "Playing dirty doesn't suit you anyway."

The rest of the game moved by rather quickly. Fang, who seemed to take Vanille's threat to make war on her quite seriously after the tactic that had left them both rosy-cheeked, became much more vehement about blocking the younger girl. In fact, Vanille remained unable to even touch the ball for the rest of the game. There was a time when Fang had actually picked her up and moved her out of the way so that she could catch the ball without the younger girl's interference. Vanille, constantly embarrassed by the way that Fang could so easily overpower her, had responded by playing just as hard. Fang was about to make a heroic catch at one point in the game, but Vanille, determined not to see the other girl succeed after the way that she had constantly stopped her, actually jumped on her back and covered her eyes with her hands, drawing laughter from the entire crowd. Fang had not wanted to throw her off because that might hurt her, so she had had no choice but t let he teammates go after the ball as she struggled to think of a passive way to defeat the other girl.

When the last round of the game finally arrived, the teams were tied with fourteen points each. All the players were exhausted, covered in mud, and soaked from the rain. Even though everyone had enjoyed themselves, they were all ready for the game to be over, especially because it might take hours for each of them to sponge all of the dirt off of themselves in the stalls at the orphanage.

"This is the final round," Head Matron Solstice explained dramatically over the sound of the cheering audience. "Whoever scores this point will win the game."

Each time was given one minute to huddle, so Konnor pulled all his teammates close for one last speech.

"All right, here's the game plan. We need to keep Fang at bay because she's their fastest runner. Vanille, I'll leave that to you since you seem to have her under control at this point." Pausing to grin, he added, "Jumping on her back like that was a nice touch. You definitely got revenge for what she did to you earlier."

Vanille grinned proudly, causing the rest of her teammates to laugh.

"Everyone else keep your eyes on Torre, Mollia and Devin. They're the best three players on the team besides Fang. Get to the goal no matter what, and don't let them have that ball. I want to destroy them."

"What if they catch the ball when the horn blows?" Vanille asked.

"They won't," Konnor assured her with a confident smile.

On the other side of the field, Mollia gave her own speech.

"We've all played really well today, so it's time to go for the gold," Mollia exclaimed with a pleasant smile. "This team's got a pretty good lineup, but we're better. We're all strong, so I wanna see some tackling this round. The game's been too civil so far. If we have to make them eat dirt to get that final goal, I'm okay with it."

A few players cheered.

Mollia took a moment to chuckle at their reaction before her face grew serious again. "Torre, make sure you tail Fang during this round. If she's open to make the final goal, make sure Vanille doesn't stop her."

"Don't worry about Vanille," Fang argued, narrowing her eyes. "I'll take care of her."

Mollia frowned but nodded. "Okay, fine, but don't let her take this from us."

"I said I'll take care of her," the dark-haired girl replied dismissively.

"Okay." Mollia laughed before turning to the others with a grin. "Just to encourage all of you, I've got a little surprise for whoever scores the final goal. We dragged a chair down here so that the rest of us can carry the winner back to the orphanage. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"What if the winner's too heavy?"

"No one here is too heavy for all of us," Mollia argued, grinning. "Now, get out there and show the other team what we've got."

Everyone cheered before racing away. As she watched the others move down the field, Mollia placed her hand on Torre's shoulder and held him back.

"Fang's crazy if she thinks I don't see the way she let's Vanille get away with whatever she wants," Mollia mumbled quietly. "Obviously she doesn't have what it takes to neutralize Vanille, so don't hold back just because she's a girl. Get in there and stop her so she can't stop Fang."

"Are you sure she can stop Fang? She looks harmless," Torre argued.

"Don't you see that that's just what Konnor's been counting on this entire game?" Mollia snapped. "Just stop her."

Torre shrugged and nodded before racing to his place on the field and listening for the horn.

The second that the horn sounded, everyone on the entire field seemed to run for the ball and several struggles ensued. Eventually it came down to Mollia and Konnor struggling to take the ball from each other, but Konnor was ultimately able to overpower her, shoving her out of the way. He crouched down with the ball in his arms to escape the horde of people without being noticed, but Fang was immediately on his tail as he raced across the field toward the other team's goal.

Vanille chased after Fang as quickly as her legs would carry her, but she was unable to catch her before the other girl had taken the ball from Konnor and turned the other direction. The younger girl tried to keep up with her, but she was not given the chance because several other members of her team cornered Fang, tackling her to the ground in a giant mass, and reclaimed the ball. When the other girl sprung up to catch them, Vanille jumped in front of her. However, Fang was too quick to spin around her and keep running.

With a pout of frustration at being matched with someone who was clearly too fast for her, Vanille immediately lurched forwards. A hand on her shoulder stopped her acceleration, snapping her backwards as a shoulder rammed into her back. Vanille shrieked in pain and surprise, falling forwards and landing mostly on her left knee, which was wrenched in a way that caused her to cry out loudly. She immediately turned no her side and hugged the wounded limb close to herself as she looked up at her attacker with tears in her eyes.

Torre did not appear to care that he had injured her as he looked around for someone else to engage.

Fang, hearing the other girl scream, immediately abandoned her quest for the ball and turned around to see what had happened. When her eyes found Torre standing a few paces behind Vanille without a care in the world, her fists clenched involuntarily. She attempted to control herself by reminding herself that she would be disqualified if she just marched up to him and punched him in the face, Fang stomped toward him to give him a piece of her mind.

Her anger was a little greater than she had anticipated, causing her to grab Torre by the shirt collar and get in his face.

"What're you doing, Fang? I'm on your team," Torre gasped, looking shocked. "Do you want us to lose? Get out there and help Mollia."

"You know, I don't really give a damn whether we win or lose," Fang snapped, wrenching him sideways so that he was forced to look at Vanille, who was watching the two of them with wide eyes. "She's hurt. Are you gonna apologize?"

"Apologize? This is a violent game, Fang," Torre protested irritably. "If she couldn't take it, she should've decided not to play like the orphanage girls who knew what was good for 'em."

"What's that about girls?" Fang shouted angrily.

Torre's eyes widened as he seemed to realize his mistake. "Er…"

"If you ever do something like that to Vanille again," Fang growled irritably, "I'll show you just how violent this game can really get. Got it?"

He had no time to answer as Fang shoved him hard and he flopped onto his back with a grunt of surprise.

Fang immediately crouched at Vanille's side, placing one hand on the younger girl's cheek and the other on her shoulder. She smiled sympathetically when Vanille leaned into her touch.

"Are you okay?" Fang demanded worriedly.

"Fang, my team just got the ball," Vanille protested with a faint smile as she pointed to the other end of the field where Mollia was screaming for her teammates to get Konnor. "You have to help them. Don't worry about me."

"I'm always worrying about you," Fang replied with a playful grin as she examined the nasty black and blue splotch forming on her knee. "Does it hurt badly?"

Vanille shook her head. "I'll be okay. Just finish the game so Matron Kalli can come look at it, okay?"

Fang nodded and tenderly brushed her bangs out of her face. "I'm gonna go win the game and then I'll be right back."

Vanille nodded, grinning in spite of her pain. "Good luck, Fang!"

Fang saluted her before racing down the field after Konnor. Torre, who seemed to realize what had had done, glanced over at Vanille with a sheepish look. "I'm sorry for tackling you so hard back there. I got caught up in the game."

"It's okay," Vanille replied nervously as she forced herself to sit up.

Her knee hurt pretty badly, but she thought she would probably be okay. Since she couldn't stand up on her own, she watched the rest of the game from her spot on the ground.

Just when Konnor was about to score the goal that would win the game, Fang snatched the ball right out of his hands and raced down the field. Irritated, Konnor chased after her and tackled her to the ground, but Fang threw the ball to Mollia. The redhead then tossed the ball to one of her faster teammates, who carried it down the field and threw it toward Konnor's goal. One of the goalies managed to escape the person blocking him long enough to kick the rice ball away from the goal at the cost of his ankle, which almost immediately began to swell. In the confusion of the goalie's injury, Evi was able to snatch up the ball and run around the goalies, but Mollia stopped her by firmly snatching the ball out of her hands. When she was seconds from winning the game, Konnor appeared out of nowhere and tripped her, causing her to fumble the ball. Once again, the rice ball was swept toward the other side of the field, but Torre, who was still on the ground, stuck his foot out to trip Konnor. When the ball fumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time, Fang picked it up ad ran to the goal so quickly that no one could catch her. The moment that she triumphantly slammed the ball into the goal caused the crowd to erupt with applause and cheers.

"The game goes to Mollia's team!" Head Matron Solstice cried excitedly, clapping as she walked onto the field. "Yun Fang, having scored the final goal, will be a captain next year if she is still living in the orphanage."

Those words caught Vanille's attention, but she was distracted by Matron Kalli, who appeared at her side to tend to her knee.

"Fang, you did it!" Mollia cheered, high fiving her as her other teammates appeared to congratulate her. "Whenever you're ready, we'll carry you back to the orphanage."

"I'll pass," Fang exclaimed as her worried eyes traveled down the field to where Vanille sat in the mud cringing in pain as Matron Kalli gave her some relieving herbs to chew. "It looks like someone else needs carrying for now."

Mollia frowned curiously. "You really care about her, huh?"

More than anything, Fang thought, though she did not voice the words aloud. As she began to move away, she mumbled over her shoulder, "Good game, guys! I'll see you back at the orphanage later."

Fang quickly crossed the field and crouched at Vanille's side, placing her hand on the thigh of her uninjured leg as she glanced at Matron Kalli. "What's the verdict?"

"She should stay off her knee for a day or two, but it isn't a serious injury. It's just badly bruised." The medicine woman frowned faintly. "Someone will have to carry you, Vanille. I'll send for a wheelbarrow."

"Don't bother." Fang immediately offered, "I'll take care of her."

"Are you sure? It's a long way back." Matron Kalli raised her brows.

"It's not that far." Fang smiled. "Besides, I've done this before. This one gets pretty lazy when she's been in the flowers all day."

"I do not get lazy," Vanille argued, sticking her tongue out.

"Then what do you call it?" Fang teased, raising her brow playfully.

Matron Kalli smiled faintly at the two of them. "Well, I'll let you get going then. Put some ice on that knee later, Vanille. You don't want it to swell."

"Okay." Vanille nodded obediently before glancing at Fang and biting her lip. "How're you gonna carry me? I can't even get up."

"Sure you can. I'll help." Fang pulled Vanille's arm over her shoulder and gently lifted the girl onto one foot. "When I turn around, hold onto my shoulders for balance while I'm crouching down. Then just wrap your arms around my neck."

"What if I slip?" Vanille inquired nervously.

"I won't let you slip," Fang assured her.

Matron Kalli watched with an amused smile as Fang helped the other girl onto her back, and when the head matron came up beside her to ask what was going on, the two of them shared a hushed conversation, both chuckling lightly.

"Are you all right?" Fang asked over her shoulder when Vanille was finally settled.

The younger girl nodded.

"Then we're off." Fang glanced at the matrons over her shoulder and demanded with a faint grin, "What're you all staring at?"

Everyone seemed to laugh as Fang turned to carry Vanille back to the orphanage. The younger girl was fairly light, so it was not actually uncomfortable to give her a piggyback ride.

Vanille did not want everyone to see the way that her face flushed, so she wrapped her arms tightly around Fang's neck and buried her face in the back of her shoulder as they walked. The rain began to pour even harder, causing her to shiver against her friend as she listened to the sound of Fang's boots sloshing through the mud. Even though the weather was terrible and it was cold, she was grateful that her friend cared about her enough to help her.

Xxx

"We're almost there," Fang mumbled eventually.

Vanille opened her eyes and looked up expecting to see the orphanage, but their surroundings were unfamiliar to her.

Nervously, she inquired, "Fang, where are we?"

"It's a surprise."

Vanille pouted. "I don't have the energy for a surprise."

"You don't need energy for this surprise," Fang replied teasingly.

Fang carried Vanille inside of a small building with a homey front room decorated in bright colored paints and flowers with ornate clay vases. She noticed that there were several long hallways leading away from the room, but she could not begin to guess where they were.

Setting Vanille gently down and pulling the girl's arm over her shoulder, Fang inquired, "Think you can limp from here? The ceiling's a bit low. I don't wanna bump your head."

"Where are we?" Vanille repeated nervously.

"This is the hunters' bath house." A small grin grew on Fang's features. "I thought you'd like to clean up after the game."

"A bath house?" Vanille's eyes widened. "You mean, there are actual tubs with warm water? Hunters are allowed to bathe whenever they want?"

"Yep. That's one of our privileges," Fang replied with a grin.

"I'm so jealous!" Vanille whined.

"You could always become a hunter," Fang joked.

Vanille smiled faintly at that. "Am I allowed to be here? I don't wanna get you in trouble."

"We won't get in trouble. There's no one here to see you, since no one went out to hunt today. So, how about it? I know you usually only get to take a full bath twice a month in the orphanage. Wouldn't you rather get rid of the mud the easy way than sponge it all off later?"

"I'd love to," Vanille replied gently.

"I bet everyone who played in the game would love to."

Fang and Vanille both jumped as Chief Torren appeared from one of the back hallways running a towel through his wet hair.

Knowing that she was caught but unwilling to turn back, Fang complained, "Oh, come on, Chief Torren. You're not gonna make us leave, are you? Vanille's hurt. A soak in the tub will do her good, and it's not like she could really stand up to clean herself in the orphanage stalls."

"She'll have to stand up in the stalls here to rinse herself off first anyway." Chief Torren eyed them curiously. "Will you help her?"

Fang flushed faintly, for she had not considered that. "If she needs me to."

"These baths are meant for the hunters," Chief Torren reminded Fang.

Crossing her arms stubbornly, Fang grumbled, "Well, I guess you'll just have to go tell Head Matron on me because I've already got her here and I'm not gonna tell her no after I already got her hopes up."

"It wouldn't be right for me to tell Solstice anything since I didn't see you here," Chief Torren replied with a yawn before turning down another hallway. Over his shoulder, he called, "Oh, and Fang? Make sure you clean up if you get dirt everywhere."

Fang stared after him, her eyes wide. "Sure thing."

"We didn't get in trouble." Vanille giggled happily. "Fang, I thought you said Chief Torren never lets you get away with anything."

"He usually doesn't, but maybe he's got a soft spot for cute girls like you," Fang replied, raising her brow and grinning playfully when the younger girl blushed. "Come on. I'll help you limp. Think of me as a crutch."

"I'm tired. Can't you just carry me?" Vanille gave her puppy eyes.

"The ceiling's too low," Fang replied with a chuckle. "Come on. You've got your first hunt next year. You've gotta be strong on your own sometimes."

"I don't wanna go on my first hunt," Vanille protested.

"If we're lucky, Chief Torren'll let me go with you."

When the two of them reached the room that Fang usually used, Vanille gasped at the beauty of it all. The walls were green and blue and the floor was made of tile.

The baths were filled with natural spring water, which was then boiled and left to cool. Fang doubted that the water would be very warm that day, since no one was expected to use the tubs, but she knew that it would be relaxing nonetheless.

"This place is so pretty," Vanille chirped as she studied the designs painted on the walls.

"Yeah, it's nice." Fang motioned toward the stalls at the end of the room. "First you'll have to pour some soapy water on yourself to rinse most of the mud off. Then we can get in the tub."

Vanille was embarrassed by the idea of allowing Fang to help her wash herself, so she assured her friend that she would be fine and limped into her own stall. It took her a while to strip off her tight clothes and pour enough water over herself to rinse away the mud, so by the time she was finished and had wrapped a towel around herself, Fang had already gotten into the tub. She noticed that her friend had worn her towel into the water, so she did the same.

"Do you usually wear a towel?" Vanille inquired gently as she struggled to climb in.

Fang immediately stood up, water dripping from her hair, shoulders, and the towel that clung to her attractive form, and helped to support the other girl as she slid into the tub.

"I don't when I'm alone," Fang explained conversationally, "but usually there's a bunch of hunters in the tub together, and it's not polite flashing your privates around, so we all wear towels. I especially have to, since they're really not used to having a girl around."

"Do they ogle you?" Vanille giggled.

"'Course they do. I'm gorgeous," Fang teased as she sank back into the water. "How's your knee feel? I mixed some healing herbs into the water while you were cleaning up."

"It feels all right." Vanille scooted shyly closer. "Thanks for helping me."

"No problem." Fang wrapped her arm slowly around Vanille's shoulders, gathering her confidence as she pulled the younger girl closer to her and rested her cheek against her wet hair. "I'll be taking you back to the orphanage the same way I got you here, since I don't think the limping is good for you."

Vanille made a noise of acknowledgement as she closed her eyes and timidly rested her cheek against Fang's shoulder. The feeling of the older girl's wet skin against her cheek was so inviting that before she knew what she was doing she had wrapped her arms around Fang and pressed against her. Her cheeks lit up red like roses, but she knew that Fang could not see her face.

Fang felt her features softening as she peeked down at the younger girl. "Is everything all right?"

"Mm-hmm," Vanille buried her blushing face deeper in Fang's shoulder, nuzzling against her. "Thanks for letting me come here. This is really relaxing."

Fang wrapped her arms slowly around the younger girl and waited to wake up from what had to be a wonderful dream. "I agree. Maybe I should sneak you in here more often."

Vanille giggled and pulled back to look at her. "Do you think Chief Torren would let you? This place is so nice."

"I dunno if I could get away with it, but I'll try." Fang frowned faintly. "Though honestly, you might not wanna come on a regular day. Usually this place is crawling with hunters who've been out for a week or so and haven't gotten back to their wives yet. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you were here, but considering how pretty you are, it's probably not a good idea."

Vanille grinned brightly. "You think I'm pretty?"

"You don't think you're pretty?" Fang eyed her skeptically.

The younger girl merely grinned happily, wrapping her arms around Fang's neck another time as she leaned against her.

Fang smiled warmly, holding Vanille close to her as she mused that she would definitely be bringing her back to the bathhouse. In fact, she suddenly had the urge to bring Vanille anywhere that they could be alone on as regular a basis as possible. Her most cherished moments were those when the two of them could be close. After all, it was difficult to imagine, as Vanille's fingers traced a timid pattern along her collar bone, that she was alone in her feelings. It had been easier not to notice the way that the other girl looked at her when they were younger.

Vanille suddenly pulled away from her, looking down into the dark water. "I think there must be some soap left on the bottom of the tub."

"Why's that?" Fang raised her brow, mourning the loss of the other girl's embrace.

"I can feel it beneath my foot." Vanille giggled. "It's really slippery."

"Be careful." Fang smiled.

"I will." In spite of her words, Vanille almost immediately slipped into the water, crying out in surprise.

"Vanille!"

Fang reflexively reached for her, taking her arm in one hand and touching the small of her back with the other as she pulled her out of the water and pressed the other girl to herself.

"Are you okay? I—" Fang paused, her eyes widening as she felt the slippery skin beneath her fingers. "Vanille, your towel…"

Vanille flushed and peeked down at the way that the water rippled around her chest, revealing a bit more cleavage than before as her body pressed against Fang's towel. With a nervous giggle, she murmured, "It's lucky this water's opaque from all the bath salts."

"Yeah, very lucky…" Fang replied distractedly as she watched Vanille's towel float on top of the water. Her hand nearly shook against the bare small of Vanille's back. Her skin was just so warm and silky, and the only thing between them was Fang's towel.

"Maybe it's not such a good idea to bring you back here after all," Fang mumbled with a thoughtful frown.

"Why not?" Vanille pouted innocently, her hands pressing to Fang's shoulders so that she would not slip again. "I know I'm clumsy, but you were here to help."

"Well, you know, Chief Torren and all…"

Fang suddenly leaned forwards and reached out to snatch her towel back from the other side of the tub. As she handed it to Vanille, she mused that it had been fine to swim naked together in the lake because the two of them had not been so close to each other, but the tub was so small that it was much more difficult to resist all the desires that floated around in her mind.

"Oh, right." Vanille took a step away so that she could wrap the towel around herself again. "I don't want you to get in trouble, Fang."

"I'm already in trouble," Fang mumbled, her mouth feeling dry as she watched the water wishing that it was not quite so opaque.

"What d'you mean?" Vanille tilted her head curiously.

"Hm? Nothing." Fang pretended to yawn. "Maybe we should get out and head back."

"But this is so relaxing." Vanille pouted. "We've hardly been in for half an hour. If I can't come back again, I want to really enjoy myself."

"Well, with your knee and all…"

"Don't worry about me, Fang," Vanille murmured as she moved closer, nestling against the older girl and timidly snuggling into her arms. "Please, can we stay just for a little while?"

The bare skin of Vanille's leg brushed against Fang's thigh, and the contact between their skin caused her to breathe in deeply.

"Okay," Fang murmured breathlessly, running her fingers up Vanille's back as she tried desperately to control herself. "But only a little longer."