Note: Obstacle course is similar/inspired by KBS's 'LET'S GO DREAM TEAM' Season 2. ((:
Enjoy the Chapter!
-X-
Chapter Twelve: B is for Battlefield
-X-
"I'll give you thirty seconds to analyze the obstacle course. If you have questions as to how any of them work, I'm right here." I nodded cautiously at Kakashi's instructions.
Ahead of me stood the obstacle course. It was giant: not some tires next to each other on the ground, or some ropes for me to climb, or some bars for me to swing across – perpendicular windmill-like contraptions spun in opposite directions of each other, rotating and spinning platforms that lifted, giant foam-like claws that clamped down on me at the very end if I didn't make it fast enough. Kakashi was on ground level, since the entire obstacle course was suspended over water, thus a level above ground. If I completely fell into the water at any point, that was considered an elimination.
I bounced on the balls of my feet, shaking my hands out. There was so much pressure, too much pressure going first. It didn't help at all that I knew Tanaka's eyes were on me with that stupid devilish glint. Both teams were seated on the sidelines of the obstacle course, which rounded like a half-moon. Every movement I made, every mistake I made, they'd be watching – and judging, for that matter. I cleared my throat, wiping my head of these insecure thoughts. I had to have confidence in myself. I glanced over at my team, waiting on the benches in anticipation. Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, Sasuke and Gaara were all sitting side-by-side with each other, and I grinned at them reassuringly. They all smiled, nodding back as everyone on my team shouted words of encouragement. The Komets were quiet.
"Ready?" I nodded cautiously, knowing full well that it didn't matter if I was ready or not: Kakashi wasn't going to wait for me. "Press the button to start. Press the button to end."
I took a deep breath in, sending a silent wish that luck would be on my side.
And then I pressed the button.
-X-
The first obstacle looked simple – a fact that I was very angry with myself for underestimating. Ten rotating cylinders aligned next to each other, close enough for you to make it to the next one if you propelled yourself forward strong enough, but far enough for you to plummet into the water below if you lost your balance or went too slow. I gasped as my foot slipped under my pace, but I thankfully kept my balances and made it to the other side, with the help of sprinting like my life depended on it.
Jogging to the next one, I snatched the bars with all my might and tried to use momentum to make up for my lack of arm strength. I had played on monkey bars all the time as a kid, but these ones were designed to pour gallons of water down onto you every time you reached a new bar. I struggled to concentrate, to ignore the weight of my soaking clothes, and to hope no one could make out the shape of my feminine figure beneath the wet, clinging fabric. With much difficulty and chagrin, I made it passed the bars, proceeding onto the next challenge.
I could hear my team shouting praise and words of motivation. The first two obstacles must have looked like child's play to them despite the complications – the real challenge was posed at obstacle three to the end.
Next up were the swinging balls of doom. Yes, I know it sounds corny, but it was really the first name that came to mind.
Kakashi had warned me: they were heavy – made from the same material as punching bags, and from the speed they were swinging, I would be knocked right into the water if I was hit. Knowing I was pressed for time, I ignored words of caution and hurtled forward, eyes darting back and forth for incoming –
I winced when one collided my arm. I halted, waiting for one to pass, went forward, stopped, waited, ducked, went forward. Smiling, I dodged another; another; and I was more than halfway there.
But my joy was short-lived as a force rammed into my side. My first instinct was to hang on. It was like a horror swing-ride, no safety belts, no safe-distance for me to fall. I gulped, realizing how much harder I had just made my life. I had attached myself to a ball of doom, swinging a full one-twenty-degree angle.
I could swear I saw Kakashi 'face-palm' and turn away. Thankfully, I was able to time myself while coming down and successfully balance myself on the board. I maneuvered past the last few swinging obstacles. I slipped upon landing on the mat, but slammed my hands down to stop from falling off the edge and into the water. My team was quiet as they watched me hoist myself up. They clapped when I finally stood back on my feet, ready to move on. I turned around to flash an apologetic grin at Kakashi. I could swear he was laughing at me.
I took a few steps back before bolting forward and launching myself at the horizontal mills, suspending several meters above the water. My shoulders strained with the impact, but I only focused on the timing to ascend onto the next one. It came closer, closer... until finally I let go of one arm to try and reach out to grab it. I grimaced, face scrunching as I quickly retracted and held back onto my bar. I couldn't. I was too far. My arms were too short. I was too tired. My upper body strength sucked.
More shouts of condolences, reassuring me that it was all right and that I was doing great: to try again. I grit my teeth, adjusting my grip on the bar to move farther to the edge. As the bar came closer, I let out a painful grunt to transfer my weight, successfully grabbing onto it.
The two mills rotated opposite directions, tearing my arms farther apart, and as my teammates yelled out in the realization of what was happening, my grip gave in and I fell 3 meters before crashing into the water.
-X-
She rejected the towel. She rejected the water. She rejected the consoles. She rejected the sympathy.
As Tanaka stepped up to plate, Akira sat away from her team, still drenched in both water and sweat. Her cheeks were rosy, and her breathing still somewhat ragged. Her hair was slicked back, but as she leaned forward in her seat, fingers laces together with her head ducked down, strands fell in front of her face.
She accepted the failure.
And when Tanaka finished the obstacle course with a stellar time of 2:35, she fell deeper into her depression, head dropped in defeat. It was like she had never emerged from the water at all. It surrounded her, imprisoned her, making it hard to breathe and her movements slow.
One by one, the boys pressed the button to start. One by one, the boys pressed the button the stop their time. Other teammates both from the Flames and the Komets had also messed up and not made it to the end, and she felt so, so sorry for them. It did not, however, make her even the slightest bit more comforted in her failure. Even the ones who had completed the full course had some very close calls as well, the results varying with each individual's speed, efficiency, and even cleverness. As each player finished, they made their way over to the bench and sat, not saying anything.
And by the end of an hour, everyone had attempted the course.
She followed them silently; still unforgiving of herself. Her eyes lidded. She could hear the rejoicing. She could hear the frustration. Some failed even earlier than she did, but it did nothing to comfort her.
After all the other boys had started to head back to change and get ready for lunch, the five boys stood up together and peered down at her tense features. She had fallen asleep on the spot.
Kakashi watched as the five boys gingerly awakened her, knowing she'd throw a fit if they chose to carry her. Slowly, like a newborn calf, she propped herself onto her feet and shuffled alongside them.
They accepted her meek thank you.
-X-
"This kind of makes me feel better," I remarked, shoving another spoonful of lasagna into my mouth. "Okay, maybe a bit more than 'kind of'."
"For someone your size, you sure can eat a lot."
"Shut up, Kiba. Isn't that your fifth burger?"
"Yeah. Isn't that your tenth plate?" I raised a hand, feigning the gesture of smacking him and he laughed, crossing his forearms to block. I grumbled, but quickly went back to indulging in the red-orange goodness.
Sasuke raised a brow. "I thought girls obsessed about their weight."
The cafeteria was loud with chatter, and the tables far apart, so no one could really hear in on the conversations of other tables. I swallowed my last spoonful of lasagna and began cleaning my plate with scrapes.
"They do." The boys at my table gave me a look. I frowned. "What? Do I look like I should worry about my weight?"
"It's not really about..." Kiba shrugged. "Well, you don't work out. And you're supposed to be an athlete."
"I'm a growing boy!" I quipped, earning more 'looks'. I huffed, licking the cheesy goodness off my spoon. "You're just jealous because you're being out-eaten."
"Oh, is that a challenge?" I rolled my eyes, putting my spoon down to refill my plate. I only got a bit on my plate each time! That being said, I was going for my fifth plate... or was it my sixth? It didn't really matter...
Feeling a bit conscious of my belly, I directed myself towards the salads and fruits. I looked around briefly for the tongs, only to realize there was only one pair and it was in the rows across from me, being used by somebody.
"Hey," I said, my view of them being blocked by the metal encasing around the buffet, "could you pass me the tongs when you're done?"
"Sure," he replied, ducking down lower to hand them to me.
"Thanks!" I replied, bending lower to complete the transaction.
"No pro..." I glanced up, meeting his eyes just as he chose to glance up, "...blem."
Oh, come on.
He gave me a devilish smirk. "Akira-san, was it?"
Anger sizzled within me, making me stand up straight so we were once again blocked by the metal frame. I tried to keep my voice even as I acknowledged, "Kouji Tanaka-san."
Standing up straight, he was tall enough to look over the frame, and he rested his forearms on it for a better view of me. I half hoped that the metal frame was somehow conducting so much heat that it'd third-degree burn him. He was only wearing a T-shirt, anyway.
"So... I hear you're a girl." I glowered at him, keeping composure and making sure not to say anything that might give me away.
To distract me, I began picking fruits and vegetables onto my plate. "Really, dude? I don't even know you, yet you call me out to go first for the relay, and now you're calling me a girl? The fuck did I do to you?"
My rude language and acting seemed to throw him off, but only temporarily and he rapidly fired back, "Which room are you staying in?"
It was my turn to be thrown off with his forwardness. "Excuse me?"
"Room number," he repeated, eyeing me curiously. "Yours."
It took me a brief moment to realize what he was doing, which only further pissed me off. Okay, so it wasn't entirely his fault that I wasn't able to complete the obstacle course, but he sure played a huge-ass-freakin-role in it! Give me a break, buddy!
"Because I've clearly lost enough brain-cells to tell a Kyoto Komet," I snorted. His eyes lost their curiosity almost instantly, and maybe he was beginning to believe this lie I was acting out: that my name was Akira just by coincidence. It was a unisex name after all, and common!
"I don't know. That fall you took looked like it shacked you up a bit." I gave him the best glower I could muster. Which isn't very impressive, from what I've been told by a certain Uchiha, only to be further supported by the fact that Tanaka laughed at me. Loudly. "I'm open for lessons, in case you want some pointers."
"On what?" I dropped the tongs, realizing that my plate was piled up with fruit. "Being a douchebag? Not interested."
With that, I turned around and noticed that Neji and Sasuke had both gotten out of their seat and had been walking towards me. They followed me with their eyes as I walked past them, carrying my full plate of fruit, and sat back down in my seat.
"What happened?" Kiba blurted bluntly. Neji and Sasuke took their seats again.
"Nothing," I grumbled, stabbing as many melons as I could with my fork – which was only two – and shoving them into my mouth. My jaw was powerful despite my physical exhaust, and the boys around me blinked.
"It's clearly not nothing," Neji pressed, as I shoved my melons into my mouth. "What did he say to you?"
"Well, he called me a girl," I watched as their eyes grew dark with menace, "but I think I convinced him out of it."
"Other than some physical aspects, nothing about you remotely resembles one," Shikamaru piped up. I elbowed him in the side.
"He was being a jerk," I sighed, munching nonchalantly.
"As if that's a surprise," Sasuke muttered under his breath, leering into his cup of coke.
"But what did he say?" Kiba whined, like a girl begging for information about her crush. I heaved more fruit into my mouth.
"It's not worth you guys getting protective," I explained, painfully swallowing before going on. "We didn't say much. He asked me for my room number—"
Kiba interrupted, "Room number?"
"—which I obviously didn't give to him, and then he asked me if I wanted some pointers for the obstacle course or whatever." Stab. Stab. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. Swallow. "Whatever, I don't care about him. You guys shouldn't worry, either."
"I don't see why we should," Gaara was leaning back in his seat, arms crossed, "seeing as the look on his face tells us everything."
We all followed Gaara's shaded gaze to Tanaka's table, his eyebrows drawn low and his mouth stuck in a permanent scowl. He was texting somebody, thumbs dancing over his cell phone pad, but as soon as he snapped it closed, he looked up and met eyes with me. He seemed surprised that we were all looking over, but the shock soon reverted back to malice as he pulled out his chair and got up to leave with his friends.
"Looks happy to see us," Neji remarked offhandedly, smug with the discomfort Tanaka had felt with us. I smirked, finishing up the last of my fruit plate.
"He probably figured it out. Everyone eventually does." I looked at Gaara, who had just spoken. He was staring straight at me, prominent cerulean eyes intimidating in every way. The boys around me shifted, beginning to break out into smirks.
"Figured out what?" I demanded, slightly offended as to why I wasn't let in on their little inside joke.
"That regardless of what sex you are..." Gaara leaned forward in his seat to further threaten me. I remained obstinate. He approved.
"You're not someone he can mess with."
-X-
Foot drills suck. Or, well, they suck when you've been doing them for over an hour.
"FASTER, MAGGOTS! HIGHER! Is that all you've got? That's pathet—NINETY DEGREES, NARA!" Anko bellowed, triggering another ten migraines.
I struggled to even out my breathing as our high-knees progressed in speed and height. The other teams were watching us 'warm-up' giving us blank, wide-eyed looks that were probably fright, pity, amazement, or amusement. Or all of them, really. They were huffing after some of their own team foot drills, but even their coaches were staring at Anko with a mix of reverence and repugnance.
"Two more laps! RUN IT! Let's GO, GO, GO!"
We were a particular few. Some teams might have been divided in the type of motivation they responded to.
Not us. Not the Konoha Flames. We responded to insults, we rose to the challenge, and we would prove you wrong.
"Is that really all you've got?" Anko clicked her tongue, but her face was broken out into a mad grin. She was crazy, that woman. Absolutely senseless.
All the teams were watching us. Judging us. Looking for the players leading the lineup. Fast and furious players went out quickly, the ones with stamina stayed long after the others have dwindled.
One by one, we passed Anko, who held out water bottles for us to optionally snatch, and we began our cool down laps. A few weeks ago, I would probably be laying somewhere in the nurse's office, begging to sleep for days and never wake up. Now, our rigorous physical pursuits had me grieving for breath, feeling like every cell in my body was doing the polka, my lungs numb, throat being slashed apart, and my head thundering like a sledgehammer, but I was alright.
At the end of our cool-down laps, we assembled on the grassy turf, where Anko let us have a ten-minute break to cool off before our next lesson. She disappeared, probably to fetch Kakashi, but no one gave a crap.
"Ak—Akira..." Kiba struggled. I slowed down my pace to match his. He was by far the better sprinter, but I took pride in being the better long-distance runner among our team's players. "F-Fuck, I... w-want to d-die."
"Then... stop... talking..." I advised. He groaned, rolling his eyes into his sockets, and for a second I really thought he'd black out. He slowed to a staggering walk, and I stayed by his side in case he really did lose consciousness.
Our team's players began pacing in circles, walking out their exhaust, knowing that sitting and collapsing wasn't the solution. The other teams had stopped watching us, already starting on their coach's lesson.
I found Shikamaru within the group of people and gave him a wave. He caught my eyes and nodded, but we said no more. Talking was painful. Moving was painful.
It didn't take Anko long before she came back with Kakashi, bickering to him about who-knows-what. It looked rather one-sided since Kakashi's eyes were dull and lifeless. With his mask on, it didn't look like he was talking. But then again, he probably wasn't. Anko hollered once more at him before turning to leave.
"Hm." Kakashi smiled. "Looking beautiful this afternoon, ladies."
Our death glares didn't faze him. His eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Don't hate me. Your own coach did this to you, remember?" Maybe it was because the rest of the team was moving around, not paying attention, but Kakashi seemed to be making more eye contact with me than usual. But then again, I could be hallucinating. I looked down at the ground and was momentarily shocked to find that I was stationary. I felt like I was being propelled in circles, up and down, and floating.
"But you can hate me for this." He made a flicking gesture with his fingers. "Anko lied. Break's over. We're starting practice."
And for the first time since I began this whole charade, I began to really wonder if this was such a good idea.
-X-
These boys signed up to play soccer. So Kakashi let them play soccer.
They played small games, not quite scrimmages. He stood and analyzed their habits, things they needed to work on, things they had quite solidified. He analyzed the players, memorizing their individual habits and noting down in his head what their strengths and weaknesses were.
Pass. He passed.
Far right. He drove far right.
And... upper, left corner. The goalie snatched the ball from the air.
Kakashi exhaled slowly. The players rotated on and off the field. Anko came back from her break to watch her team in progress, unintentionally yelling things out at them even though Kakashi preferred to see what they could accomplish themselves without the guiding words of a senior, first.
Their midfield players were particularly strong, and the defense far better than average. As much as Kakashi didn't like Anko, he had to hand it to her: she whipped up a mighty fine team. He was always able to get picky with her players.
"Goalie."
"Nara Shikamaru," Anko recited. "What he lacks in motivation, he makes up for in brains. Got quite a few clean sheets (1) from that lad."
His eyes traveled down the field. "Eight."
Anko snorted loudly. "None other than the younger Uchiha himself: like a mold of his brother, that one. I thought I was rid of him when we graduated Anbu, but they give me another one."
"Four."
"Gaara. 'Of the Sand' or some scary shit like that, but I swear his parents were trolling around with that child when they named him. Even if it's Sand Gaara, that's still sad."
Finally, he raised, "Nine."
Anko scowled. "I gave you a bloody class list, you lazy-ass! Look at it!"
"Nine." A violet eyebrow rose up in alarm, before settling down back into its furrow. Feeling peculiar, she answered.
"Hayashi Akira: poor kid still hasn't hit puberty. Probably never will. Transferred this year. Lacks technique, but I've got faith in his spunk."
This surprised Kakashi. It wasn't like Anko to say things about faith. "Spunk?"
A prideful smirk spread across the violet-hair's face. "He has a lot to offer – a lot of potential, that one, but only if he can really grasp a firm hold and harness it. The Maggots know it too."
"He failed the obstacle race," Kakashi offered, observing to see if surprise, disappointment, or disbelief would display on the woman's face. He found none. She chuckled.
"I could see the dejection on the kiddo's face at lunch. So that's what it was." Anko shrugged offhandedly. "Don't go easy on that kid, Hatake. He'll be able to tell, and he'll hate you for it."
"I wasn't planning to," he retorted dryly. She smirked, turning to leave again. Most coaches liked to stay with their team and observe their progress, co-operating with the Camp coach to offer help and guidance, as well as analyzing their team's behavior. Anko was different.
"Oh, and don't just watch the kid. Watch how the rest of the team reacts to him," she advised finally, entrusting her team to Kakashi.
-X-
Being a Central Forward allowed me to sometimes switch to Central Midfielder. When the ball wasn't nearby, I was usually able to sneak forward and play a bit of midfield, which was always a plus. Midfield was always where the heat of the game was, and as much as kicking the ball into the goal was my responsibility, snatching the ball from the opponent always did a little something to motivate me.
Kiba passed to Neji. I intercepted and ran down the field, feeling my hair whipping my neck, stinging my eyes.
I evaded Shou by less than a meter, and knowing I couldn't get greedy, I passed to Gaara out of the corner of my eye.
Takeru, diving in from the right. Gaara saves. Shoots to Sasuke. Sasuke runs.
My mind was flying, unable to take in anything but the events on the field.
Sasuke is running, running... Shou's at goal. Ready. Ready. His path is clear, his path is- NOT CLEAR!
My mind screamed, and my legs propelled me forward as Max zooms in for the kill, blue eyes fierce with the aim of stealing.
"UCHIHA!" I shouted. Sasuke was quicker than I would've guessed and saw Maximus coming from behind, making me love him for a very brief few seconds.
But then he passes me the ball. I dropped my jaw and glared at him as hard as I ever possibly could.
YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO PASS TO ME! I shouted at him through my eyes. He flushed, knowing full well what I was saying. I was surrounded and as hard as I tried, with 3 senior players all my skill level, the ball was flying down the opposite direction from their goal, and headed for ours.
Sasuke ran up from behind me and slapped my back in apology. I squeezed his shoulder to tell him it's fine, and gave him a grin. He smirked back.
Our defense was as strong as the opposing player's offense was. Kakashi must have purposely put this game in such a format, where he could really see the sections shine by themselves. I snuck him a glance, just because he happened to be a few meters away, and I caught his eyes again. The ball was getting dangerously close to our goal, but Gaara is a bullet. He stopped Kiba in seconds and whizzed down the field, eyes combing over the field to find us.
"FOUR-SIX!" Sasuke and I shouted at the same time. Unfortunately, as we were playing players from our own team, they knew exactly what we were doing. I could almost hear Gaara cursing from where he is when players starting diving to seize the formation they knew.
Luckily, our team saw this coming.
"SIXTEEN," I change orders, "WITH PISTACHIO!"
Our opposing team – ahh, confusing isn't it, since we're all Konoha Flames – faltered, wondering what on earth I was talking about. But Gaara was clever, and his reflexes not even close to failing him.
Pistachio was code for Five-Four, with 5 consonants and 4 vowels. Of course, I hadn't made him calculate it on the spot. We had agreed to our codenames beforehand. Gaara had to keep the ball as long as possible, not passing until help came in unless he made it down the field.
Sasuke raced me down the field, eager to relay ourselves down the field. Everyone had trouble keeping up with Gaara. He was given the position of the stopper for a reason; he was fast, intimidating, and would bulldoze the living crap out of you if you got in his way.
But he was tired. You could only sprint for so long, evading and zig-zagging at the same time, before you fell from your top speeds. I made eye contact with Hikari, who had already been running in. He somehow read my mind, possibly, because he raced in like a Knight in Shining Armor and saved Gaara from sprinting another 100 meters. Sasuke and I were ready. Before I realized, I was shouting,
"CLIMB! CLIMB!" Four-One. Left assists Right. Sasuke got ready for my assist, meaning he would shoot the goal.
It happened in less than 2 seconds. First to Five.
We won!
I laughed, giving my teammates high fives. Gaara's breathing was labored, and I smacked him hard on the back. He gave me a look. I just smiled cheekily back and thanked him for pulling through.
"Not only do they get Shikamaru as goalie, they get our team Striker! Come on, Kakashi!" Kiba whined, and the team erupted into laughter and joking condescending tones. Kakashi shook his head, not bothering to remark on Kiba's complaint because it was obvious he wasn't serious.
Kakashi settled us down and began the debriefing, no room for a break. I found myself nodding and in awe. He had no notes, no utensils of recording. He was simply reciting them from his brain and memory. The feedback he gave was detailed and focused on individuals or sections, as well as broad and directed towards the entire team. A compliment, implied or not, slipped in here and there, but all-in-all, Kakashi was telling us what to improve on. The only time he focused on what we did well was when he felt it was significant enough to drill in and make sure we remembered.
"... began running in, be more sure of yourself next time. Number Six. You're usually the left wing backer. You should know not to..."
Neji nudged me, and I looked over to find a water bottle. I thanked him quietly and poured some in my mouth, careful not to let my lips touch. When we were all sweaty like this, the last thing we wanted was for sweat to coat the mouth of the bottle and have other people drink our bodily fluids.
"Number Nine. Striker," I choked on the water and quickly lowered the bottle, letting some droplets dampen my jersey. The guys chuckled at me and cracked a few jokes. I smiled apologetically.
"Here, sir..."
"Your dribbling and stamina are weaker than the rest of the team, as is your footwork." I frowned. "There are many times when you were stationed in midfield where you could have assisted with the offense, creating a very good scoring opportunity as you had more than two players ready for an assist and attack up front. The first couple of times, I had overlooked it as you not seeing it, but it soon became evident... why you're the team's striker."
"If you cannot play midfield," he announced, "stay off midfield."
-X-
"I can't- THE FRICK WAS THAT?" I bellowed, stomping into the room with a heavy heart. Now that we were finally out of earshot, I could fully release my rage. "I mean, was I so bad that he had to-? I can't-... I SUCK!"
"You don't suck, Akira," Neji growled. Kiba opened his mouth to make a nasty joke, but I shot him a look that threatened his reproduction abilities.
"Relax," Shikamaru replaced his dirty shirt with a clean one. I focused on tracing the pillow lining. "Just prove him wrong next game."
"We're having dinner in an hour, right?" Kiba remarked offhandedly, prancing over to my side with a schedule.
"That was so embarrassing," I sighed. "He didn't say anything when we played the second time, but I could tell by the way he was looking at me that he wasn't impressed at all."
"No one cares about the coaches," Sasuke said, lacing the shoes to his indoor runners.
"I don't care about the coaches," I retorted, "I care about what the coaches think about how I play! They know their stuff, right? And it's not like they were disappointed with everyone. Just me! I feel like luggage for the team now! Worse than luggage! I'm probably what's making you guys exceed the baggage weight limit!"
"We're not at an airport. Reminder that 'they' is actually only Kakashi," Kiba made himself comfy on my bed. Gaara didn't look like he cared as he walked into the washroom. "Anko thinks you play fine."
"But it's still my problem!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, growing impatient. I noticed. "It's not a problem, Akira. He'll get over it when he sees that you can play. You'll get over it when you see that he sees you can play. Don't be so troublesome..."
"...But what if I'm not good enough?" I whispered.
"What was that?" Kiba muttered, a little too distracted with the television ahead of him. He was flipping channels again. I glanced around to see if any of the others guys had heard what I said clearly. They were all staring at me, faces masked with an emotion I didn't entirely know how I to read.
I shrugged and forced a smile. "Nothing. And yeah, you're right. I'll just have to show him that I can do better!"
Sasuke and Neji smirked, while Shikamaru gave us another dose of his troublesome speech. I chuckled and kicked his butt with my heel, while he turned around to glower at me before finishing changing.
Gaara came out from the washroom and gave Kiba a glare, in which he quickly retracted his arm from my shoulder – wait, when had he put that there? – and jumped off the mattress.
"Shotgun shower!" I called. The boys groaned, probably angry that they had forgotten to call it out first. They began reserving positions and fighting over who got to go next while I retrieved my clothes.
"Don't take too long, you pansy!" Kiba teased.
"Or what? You'll come barging in like last time?" I walked in the washroom with a smug smirk, knowing how red he must have been turning, as well as the angry glares from the rest of my roommates. Strange creatures, strange creatures...
The lights flickered three times before the room was fully illuminated. I stared at myself in the mirror, covered in dirt. I looked down to see artificial turf smeared all over my legs and behind.
I began stripping. Once I was rid of my bra and underpants, I stood in front of the mirror, soaking in the sight of my naked body, memorizing the lines and faint curves that allowed me to pull off the male charade. For the longest time, I thought I was caught in between – a tomboy. Perhaps a bit more female than male, but if I asked myself seriously which gender I identified with, it'd still be female. But maybe that was just my understanding of it. Just because I didn't 'fit in' with others girls, didn't make me less of a girl... right?
But as I took a deep breath in and narrowed my eyes, I reminded myself that I was a girl.
Akira Hayashi is a girl, I recited to myself, stepping over to the shower. I turned the hot and cold dials until the temperature was to my liking.
There's nothing wrong with being a girl. I glanced once more at the mirror, covered in filth and residue.
I stepped into the steaming chamber, the water instantly washing away the layer of grime that clung to me. I worked my hands down and over all my limbs before submerging my head under the showerhead.
I combed a hand through my short, damp hair and let the water run out from my mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut.
"If you cannot play midfield," he announced, "stay off midfield."
Kakashi was telling me that I played like a girl.
End Chapter.
-X-
(1) Clean Sheets are equivalent to 'Shut-Outs', where the team prevents the opposing team from scoring any goals.
Oohh, here comes some sexism and gender adventures. Are you excited? YOU SHOULD BE EXCITED.
Or not, Haha, hope you guys enjoyed! I didn't put the 'played like a girl' in quotations, because I felt like it took away from the statement. But you guys know I don't agree with the saying of 'playing like a girl', right? Hope I don't get reviews arguing that it was insensitive and stuff. D:
Reviewing would be spectacular! Hope you guys are enjoying Winter Break!
