Sorry for the long wait again guys, again stuff got in the way...ANYWAY, here's the next installment!
...just so everyone knows...I'm sooooo excited to write the next chapter...wait until you see what's coming!
Enjoy and please review!
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Provoking A Warrior...
Konoka was crouched at the ready, waiting for the shot to come from the opposing team's forward. It had been a tough tournament game so far, and the goaltender had faced a good amount of shots; only one had managed to trickle it's way past her out of the handfuls she had received over the last two and a half periods. She didn't let that goal get to her though, as the Warriors were in the lead by a good three points. All she needed to do now was focus on keeping the puck out for the next ten minutes and she'd be home free with the championship title in the bag. Konoka furrowed her eyebrows in deep concentration as the puck carrier continued to make her way down the ice while managing to get around her forwards with some difficulty. The goaltender paid special attention to her movements as she crossed the blue line; checking to see if it would be a straight shot or if the forward would attempt a last minute fake and deak. The goalie smirked to herself with confidence as she watched the forward's stick come up for a shot with no indication in her body that she would go for a fake. This was going to be an easy save for the top goalie in the league.
Just as the forward's stick was about to come down and make contact with the small piece of black rubber, she swung around in surprise as a defenseman came crashing down to steal it away. Once she stopped spinning, the forward looked around in a panic before her eyes landed on the girl who had taken the puck from her and was now blasting her way down the ice. Without so much as a second glance at the goaltender, she took off down the ice after her in desperate hopes to help out her own team. Defeated, and her hopes of making an awesome save quickly taken away from her, Konoka straightened up and shook her head; laughing as she did.
Well...I should have seen that one coming I guess. Especially this close to the end of the game...there was no way she would let that kid have a shot at me...geeze...maybe I shouldn't have done so well in helping her with math. I'd have had plenty of shots still if that hot little girlfriend of mine failed the test!
Konoka continued to laugh to herself as she tapped both of her posts beside her before pushing out to the spot just above the goal crease. Despite Setsuna's sometimes annoying ability to keep the puck away from the net, the goalie couldn't be happier that the defenseman had managed to make a passing grade in math class. She was extremely glad that her girlfriend would be staying on the team with her. Now they could make it through this tournament as a team; though, that team was almost torn apart a month ago when the test results were posted.
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~One Month Earlier~
"GODS DAMN IT! NOT AGAIN!" yelled Asuna as she angrily crossed her arms on her chest.
Setsuna laughed while Yuna and Makie broke down and rolled on the floor. "Asuna...I think that it might be time to put the PS2 away...who would have thought that you would get so worked up over a mission in Final Fantasy X-2...plus, you spend way too much time with this game now..."
"I blame the characters in general..." said Makie with a playful smirk. "...if the main three girls weren't so damn hot looking...maybe Asuna wouldn't spend so much time playing!" Setsuna couldn't help but laugh, knowing that this was definitely one reason for her friend to spend so much time with this game.
Asuna tossed the controller irritably on the couch cushion beside her before falling back in a huff. "You don't understand Setsuna...I've been stuck on this part for days...I don't remember it being this hard when I played it as a kid...maybe I should spend more time gaining experience for my characters before I try again..."
"Damn Asuna, if you put as much time into school work as you do with these games...you'd be the top of the class!" laughed Yuna as she tried to sit up, only to be lightly kicked back down to the ground by the pissed off red head.
Just as Yuna was about to jump back up and tackle her line mate which would inevitably start an all out playful war for supremacy, Haruna burst into the common room nearly out of breath. The four girls in front of the T.V quickly stopped what they were doing and shot their attention towards the forward in the doorway. It was quiet for a second, and Setsuna and Makie looked to one another in confusion; trying to see if the other had any idea for the sudden disruption. Finally, Haruna caught her breath and made her way over to the small section of her team.
"Guys..." began Haruna as she straightened out her glasses on her nose. "...our marks for the midterms just got posted online...I did awesome! Looks like the team's still stuck with me for a little while longer!"
Yuna and Asuna cheered while Setsuna sent a smile and thumbs up to the forward. Makie got up from the ground and excitedly hugged her taller friend. "That's awesome Haruna! OOOOOOOO, I should probably go check mine too! I'll be back guys!"
The rest of the girls all decided that they would do the same and quickly followed the pink haired defenseman out the door to head to the laptops in their rooms. On her way to her room Setsuna ran into Konoka in the hallway, and after a quick tackling hug and kiss from the goaltender, the two girls continued on down the hall; Setsuna explaining about the marks being up on the way. As she slowly opened the door to her room, the defenseman began to feel a panicky sensation settling in the pit of her stomach. Sure, she had managed to get through a rather...intense...study session and felt confident when she went into the testing room; but there was a voice in the back of her head that was telling her that something bad was in for the team. When she closed the door, she turned to find Konoka standing there, looking at her with warm eyes.
"Setsuna...I know you're feeling a little nervous about finding out your mark in math..." began the goaltender as she moved towards the defenseman, placing her arms around Setsuna's neck lightly. "...but I know you did just fine, there's nothing to worry about ok?"
Setsuna sighed happily and smiled as Konoka leaned in and kissed her on her nose. She then put her hands on the goalie's waist and looked into her eyes, feeling a little more relaxed as she did. "Yeah...I guess you're right. I'm thinking too much about this aren't I?...you go ahead and look first ok...I'm gonna grab a drink."
The defenseman smiled as she watched Konoka give her a cute little wink and nod before heading over to the coffee table where Setsuna had left her laptop from the night before. She then made her own way into her little kitchen, sighing as she took in the sight of all off the dirty dishes sitting in her sink. There was no way the defenseman was going to find a clean glass at this point, but she shrugged it off and started to rummage through the cupboards anyway. Just as she expected, there weren't any; so she slowly and painfully made her way to the sink and started the water running in order to wash up her dishes. As she cursed at herself for letting things get backed up so bad, she suddenly heard a squeal of happiness coming from the living room.
Laughing and shaking her head lightly, Setsuna turned her head slightly and caught a glance of her girlfriend doing a fun little victory dance in front of the laptop. "So...I take it you did well then?"
Konoka continued to dance around as she answered. "Yep! Nearly all A's and a few B pluses! Once again I prove that there's more to this air head that meets the eye!"
"That's awesome Konoka!" began Setsuna as she returned her attention to a particularly stubborn dried stain on a plate. She then began to mumble to herself. "...what I wouldn't give for at least a B minus..."
"Hey Setsuna...you look busy with the dishes..." sighed Konoka happily as she sat back down on the couch. "How about I check your marks for you and tell you what they are?"
"Yeah sure, sounds good."
"Alright...so what's your password?" asked the goalie while signing out of her school page. "I already know your user name..."
Setsuna suddenly froze and began to feel her face heat and turn a bright red. "M-my password? Uhhh...it's..." she then started to trail off.
Konoka squinted in confusion and turned to face the still frozen defenseman. "Sorry...what did you say it was?"
Again Setsuna trailed off. "It's..."
"Oh come on, just tell me already...you wanna know your marks right?" laughed the goalie.
"Fine..." sighed Setsuna in defeat. "M-my password is...Konochancutie...all...all one word..."
Setsuna could once again feel her face turn a deep shade of red and her ears start to burn as the embarrassment of admitting such a mushy password to her girlfriend completely sunk in. She could only imagine the look Konoka was giving her right now, not to mention what the rest of the team would think if they ever found out; she would be the playful punching bag for weeks. The defenseman started to think about all of the ways she could possibly get herself out of the mocking that would soon ensue; figuring that her best bet was to at least change her password. Suddenly, she heard a soft giggle coming from right behind her followed by a set of arms wrapping themselves around her waist.
"That's really cute Setsuna..." whispered Konoka into her ear with a light kiss to her neck. "...don't be embarrassed, mines lovemysetchan...they can be our little secret ok?"
Relief flooded through Setsuna just as quickly as the embarrassment had set in, only this time the red on her face was from a blush that had stayed from the unexpected child-like cuteness of her name. She should have known that it was useless for her to be embarrassed or think that Konoka would have made fun of her for her password; it was also more embarrassing to think that the goalie wouldn't have done the same thing. Once the small snuggle session at the sink had run its' course, Konoka gave her favorite defenseman one last kiss before leaving her to finish up the dishes and grab a drink while she went back to the laptop. It wasn't long before the typing stopped and there was a sudden uncomfortable moment of silence.
Setsuna sensed there was something off, so she turned to look at her girlfriend. "Uhh, Konoka...wha-what's wrong over there?" she then became nervous and gulped when she saw the vacant stare that the goalie was sending the screen. "...no...don't tell me that I ...failed?" she was then quickly making her way over to the screen as fast as her shaky legs could take her; hockey career flashing before her eyes.
Konoka stuck out her hand to stop the defenseman, and suddenly sent her a tear filled smile of happiness. "Setsuna, you aren't going to believe this but...you managed to pull off an A minus!"
"A...A...mi..nus..." was all Setsuna could stutter out before Konoka launched herself into the surprised defenseman's arms.
"I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!" shouted the goaltender excitedly between the happy kisses she was currently smothering Setsuna with. "I knew you would pass!"
Setsuna snapped out of her surprised stupor, blinking a few times before finally smiling and realising that she had actually done it and was now being heavily rewarded for her efforts. She then laughed a little as she felt Konoka's soft lips brush along her cheek. "Hey, hey now...easy" the defenseman laughed as she watched the goalie look up at her with a cute pouting face before pulling her in for a hug. "I couldn't have done it without you Konoka...thank you so much for your help. I really do appreciate it."
Konoka's smile quickly turned into a devious smirk behind Setsuna. "Well...you know that there will be more tests right?...and it's always good to do some extra...studying...during the rest of the year..." she felt her favorite defenseman tense up under the hug and laughed inside her head. Then, the goalie playfully pushed Setsuna away, heading towards the door. "Let's go tell Asuna the good news...she's been listening to me talk about you and math for the past week and I'm sure she'll be happy to know that everything went well...come on!"
Before the defenseman could make any sort of response, Konoka grabbed onto her hand and pulled Setsuna out the door. As they made their way down the hallway, the two girls ran into the rest of team; all of whom were very pleased with the marks they received and looked forward to continuing their last year of hockey. Sayo even managed to get her first A plus ever in history, surprising everyone as no one knew she had such an interest in post World War I activities leading up to the second war. Kazumi was sure to give the defenseman in question a playful headlock, ruffling up her hair as she congratulated one of her closest friends. Finally after what seemed like one of the longest journeys down the hallway Setsuna had ever felt she had taken, the two opened the door and made their way into Konoka's shared room to find their ex captain.
When they entered however, they found that the lights in the room were off and that Asuna had left the laptop open and laying on the couch. It almost seemed like the ex captain had simply left the room; but neither Konoka nor Setsuna remembered seeing her in the hallway with the others. It wasn't until Setsuna moved more into the room that her ears picked up on it. Somewhere off to the side, was a faint sound of someone crying. Quickly, the defenseman made her way over to the bunk beds following the sound; only to find the usually fiery and energetic red head lying curled up under Konoka's blankets and pillows. Setsuna gently sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her fallen friend.
"Asuna...what...what's wrong?" asked the defenseman in a calm and soft tone. She waited for a response, but none came. Within a few seconds however, she felt a hand tap her on her shoulder. Turning, she found Konoka looking at her with her own tear filled eyes.
"Setsuna...she..." began the goalie as calmly as possible. "...she got a D...in English..."
/~~\\\
After a few hours of sitting in silence and listening to their ex captain softly cry into the goalie's pillow, Setsuna and Konoka finally managed to get Asuna up and out of bed and over to the couch. Konoka immediately went to the kitchen and started to make some tea and grab some snacks. Setsuna meanwhile, sat in silence in the chair across the living room and facing Asuna; wondering what the rest of the team was going to do when they heard the news that their top scorer and all around best friend was no longer qualified to play. The defenseman had her elbows resting on her knees, with her head in her hands; occasionally she would look up and sneak some glances at her friend, but couldn't take looking for more than a few seconds at a time. Asuna just looked so...dead...like her reason for living had been snatched away from her. It was painful to watch the red head just sit there with an uncharacteristic straight face and just staring down at her feet.
Konoka eventually came in from the kitchen and laid down her things on the coffee table, turning to offer her favorite defenseman some tea which she gladly accepted, before sitting down next to her best friend and roommate. She gave a quick glance to Setsuna before sighing and pressing on.
"Hey...Asuna..." began the goalie calmly and in her most caring of tones. "...It's going to alright...I'm sure that Negi must have made a mistake or something...I mean, you did study with Ayaka right? She should have been a good help for you..."
For the first time since Konoka and Setsuna arrived in the room, Asuna's eyes twitched and she brought her hand up to cover her face while she shook her head. "...that's just it...we sort of...well..."
"Sort of what?" piped up Setsuna suddenly as she came back into the conversation.
Konoka rolled her eyes at Setsuna before turning an angry look to the red head. "Asuna! You were supposed to study, not get down and dirty with the class rep! What were you thinking?"
Asuna rubbed the back of her neck, still un-blinking. "I...I wasn't thinking..."
"Friggin right you weren't thinking!" added Konoka under her breath, just loud enough for the red head to hear.
"But it wasn't my fault! You guys were the ones told me to go get help from her in the first place!" whined Asuna as she put her face into her hands. Then she began to mumble. "...plus...she's the one who came on to me...I'm only human guys!"
Setsuna sighed and squinted her eyes as she looked at her friend. "...ok, we did sort of accidently set you up for that...but still...it seems odd for Ayaka to throw away study time for play time..."
Konoka also sent a squinted glare to the red head. "Yeah...something doesn't add up there Asuna...Ayaka would never put anything school related behind something like that..."
Asuna then crumbled. "OK, OK...it was my fault..." she paused for a second to look quickly to both of the girls around her. "...We started to study, and I sorta noticed how Ayaka kept looking at me...after an hour or so...I told her that I understood everything and before she could test me on what I knew...I was on top of her..."
Both Setsuna and Konoka face palmed while the ex captain hid her face in shame. They couldn't believe that their red headed friend would blow her chances to play with her team on her last year, all for a little play time with their class rep. Sure, Konoka and Makie had originally planned for Asuna to go to Ayaka for help in hopes that eventually something would come out of it; but neither would have thought that Asuna would have picked up on Ayaka's feelings so quickly and do something about it when midterms were so close.
Setsuna had gotten up now and started to pace angrily around the room; as an ex captain herself, she knew how important it was to keep team moral up. If the others were to find out the reason for Asuna's failure in obtaining a C plus in English, they would be devastated. She needed to do something now to try and fix things before it got out, and she knew that yelling at her friend wasn't going to do that. The defenseman continued to pace around, chin in hand, deep in thought about what their options were. After a few moments of silence, Setsuna stopped dead in her tracks with an idea.
She put on a serious face and turned to look at her girlfriend and Asuna. The defenseman would need to hammer home a point before she set out on the next step. "Look Asuna...as a team mate, I'm pretty disappointed with your choice of actions...even though you aren't technically the captain any more, the girls all still see you as their leader. They aren't going to be very happy if they find out you chose something for yourself over the team's well being..."
"I know...I'm so sorry..." whimpered Asuna as she tried to avoid eye contact with the defenseman.
Setsuna couldn't help but smile a little at the sound of sincerity mixed in with the sad sound in the red head's apology. She moved closer and sent a nod to Konoka, assuring her that everything was going to be fine before moving in to rub Asuna's head playfully. "...As your friend however...I'm happy for what happened between you and Ayaka. It's about time you found someone to be with, and I'm glad that we pushed you into it. That being said, I feel it's my duty to help you out of this mess...you stay here with Konoka..."
Before either girl on the couch could ask her what she had planned, Setsuna had turned and was out the door. The defenseman quickly made her way through the dorm hallway, not stopping to talk to anyone unless it was to tell them that she was in a rush to go do some training on her own; she needed an excuse to explain the serious and determined look on her face, and everyone knew that when she was in workout mode there was no talking to her unless they were Konoka. Setsuna glanced at the clock at the end of the hallway before she made her way into the stairwell. If she hurried, she could still make it in time to talk with Negi before he left the teacher's lounge after setting up his lesson plan for the following week. She knew that he always spent his Saturdays at the school because she would see him coming or going whenever she went out for runs with Konoka. As soon as she got outside, Setsuna jumped down from the front steps of the dorm and hit the ground running as fast as she could, hoping that her plan would work.
/~~\\\
"I don't understand what's going on..." said Ayaka as she made her way down the hallway. "...what exactly are we doing Setsuna...and why are we being so secretive about it?"
The defenseman quickly looked around the corner of the hall to make sure they wouldn't run into anyone of her team mates before answering. "...I need you to help Konoka and I tutor Asuna..."
The class rep stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the raven haired defensemen in confusion. "What do you mean tutor? I thought that she already knew the ins and outs of English...that's what she told me the other night anyway..."
"Yeah well...Asuna sort of lied..." sighed Setsuna as she turned to look back at the blonde. "...basically...she said that just so she could use her time to...get to know you a little better..."
Setsuna ignored the irritated bursts of regret and annoyance towards her ex captain from Ayaka and continued along the empty hallway to Konoka and Asuna's room. She couldn't blame the class rep for the words that were coming out of her mouth at the moment; she was tricked into sleeping with the ex captain during midterm crunch time, and if the other girls on the team found out, they might very well hold her accountable for Asuna's failure. The defenseman knew that it wasn't Ayaka's fault and was glad that, despite being furious, she still agreed to help the red head out. As they came to a stop in front of her girlfriend's door, Setsuna quickly looked around to make sure that they weren't being watched before opening the door and signalling for the class rep to follow her in.
From the couch, Asuna began to look up to greet Setsuna back. "Hey Setsuna, any luck with whatever your plan wa-whoa..."
Ayaka shot across the room in seconds, grabbing onto the red head's shirt front and pulling her forward as she did. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING ASUNA? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT SORT OF CORNER YOU'VE BACKED US BOTH INTO NOW? WHY WOULD YOU LIE TO ME? DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT YOUR TEAM?"
"Of course I care about my team!" replied Asuna after gulping in fear. She then tried to focus her eyes as best as she could on the enraged class rep. "...I...it's just...once I figured out that you had those kinds of feelings for me...I sort of...couldn't help it..."
Setsuna and Konoka both watched from their places at opposite ends of the room while Ayaka gently loosened her grip on Asuna's shirt. "...still...you really shouldn't have lied to me. You know how important it is for all sports participants to get the required grade in our classes...we could have saved that for later..."
"I guess you're right..." sighed Asuna with a sad ring to it. "I'm sorry...to you and my team...I should have been thinking more..."
"It's fine..." replied Ayaka as sat down next to her. "Anyway...what exactly is the plan now? Setsuna hasn't told me anything...she just showed up at my door and told me to follow her."
"I was just about to ask that myself..." added Konoka once she felt the tension in the room finally settle. "She left so suddenly and was gone for a long time...we started to wonder if she was even coming back..." she finished with a small cute laugh that caused Setsuna to smile and blush.
"Yeah Setsuna..." piped up Asuna. "What's going on?"
The defenseman walked over to the chair she had been sitting in only a short time ago and sat down, taking in the questioning looks being sent to her. She then smiled and leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and folding her hands as if she was in the middle of a business meeting. "I went to talk with Negi about possibly changing the mark on your test..."
"You what?" asked Asuna in surprise.
"Can he even do that?" asked her girlfriend as she squinted and tilted her head. "That would be kind of...cheating...wouldn't it?"
Setsuna nodded her head and placed her index fingers on her lips. "That's exactly what he told me Konoka...Negi said that it was against school policy to change any of the final marks received on tests..."
"Alright...I'm not following you here bud..." said the ex captain deeply confused.
Suddenly, it all clicked into Ayaka's head. "I get it! You somehow convinced Negi to give Asuna another chance at the test! That's what you meant by helping you and Konoka to tutor her!"
Asuna's eyes grew wide. "You got me another chance to play on the team?"
Setsuna nodded and smiled, but before she could give a verbal answer, Konoka had shot from her spot across the room and onto the defenseman's lap in seconds. The goalie then proceeded to wrap her arms around her favorite defenseman and give her a nice rewarding kiss; almost forgetting that there were others in the room. After a few seconds, Konoka broke away and smiled. "That's my Setsuna...looking out for others, and always coming to the rescue..." she looked into her girlfriend's eyes dreamily, that is, until she felt a pillow make contact with the back of her head.
"Yeah yeah...we get it already..." said Asuna as she rolled her eyes playfully. "...Setsuna's your knight in shining armor...geeze..."
"Maybe you should take in a few lessons Asuna..." sighed Ayaka as she crossed her arms.
All of the girls laughed as Asuna mumbled something unintelligible. Setsuna however quickly snapped back to the clear reality that was still pressing in on them. She looked back up at Asuna, all signs of laughter vanishing. "Look, I'm glad we're all happy that you get this chance Asuna...but we all need to seriously get a move on with studying. Negi said he can only delay sending in the final grades into the school board for a day...you have to take the test by tomorrow afternoon, or you won't be back on the ice..."
All laughing stopped as Asuna threw her head straight down to her waiting hands. "I only have less than 24 hours to study and then pass this midterm?" she paused as she watched the defenseman nod; she then whined. "That's not enough time! I'm never gonna get a passing grade at this point! How am I gonna move it up a full letter grade in such a short time?"
Konoka got up from her spot on Setsuna's lap and made her way over to her best friend, gently placing a calming hand on the red head's shoulder. She smiled confidently as bi coloured eyes looked up from hands into her own. "Asuna...it's going to be fine. Sure, there isn't a lot of time...but you're forgetting that you have your best friends and team mates right here with you to help you out..." the goalie smirked and nodded to the side towards Ayaka. "...not to mention a certain class rep who, by the looks of it...would do anything for you...we're gonna get through this test...and we're gonna do it together Asuna, alright?"
The ex captain took a quick glance at the caring faces of her friends around her. She had to admit that just by looking at them, she felt at least some form of confidence begin to make it's way through her. "Alright...let's do our best guys!" she then got up and made her way over to Setsuna, who looked at her with a smile. The red head extended out her hand for the defenseman to take for a shake. "I really appreciate you going to Negi and asking for me to have another chance...you're a really good friend bud...makes me feel more like an asshole for everything that went down at the beginning of the year.
The defenseman shook her ex captain's hand and stood up. "That's all in the past Asuna...and you should know by know that I would do anything for a friend and team mate. Now...how's about we get you back on the team?"
/~~\\\
The little time between Asuna finding out about her second chance and the test soon came to an end, and now Setsuna, Konoka, and Ayaka all sat in silence outside of the makeshift testing room. Each of the three girls looked completely zapped of all energy; they had pulled an all nighter to ensure that they covered everything that they thought would possibly be on the test. Luckily for them, they felt their efforts go to good use as Asuna seemed to pay the most attention to the material that any of them had ever seen. The red head was in the zone, and she was facing this second chance with a new found confidence in her abilities. Hopefully, everything would fall into place for the ex captain during the test and she would come out victorious.
Setsuna sat in complete silence and stared at a blank space on the wall across from her, almost in a trance as her thoughts on what was going on in the room just behind the wall swirled around in her head. It was driving her insane knowing that one of her best friends was sitting in there, gods know if she's struggling or not, with the defenseman being powerless to help her now. She was conscious of the fact that her foot began to tap uncontrollably on the floor, but didn't seem to care considering she felt like her heart was going to come up and out of her mouth. The defenseman couldn't believe how nervous she was; and she wasn't even the one taking the test. Just as she felt as if she was about to tear up from the couch she was sitting on and burst through the door to take the test for Asuna, Setsuna heard a soft mumble coming from her arm. Her head slowly came back to her as she turned and saw that Konoka had finally given in to her worn out body, and lay her head down in a deep sleep on the defenseman's arm.
Leave it to Konoka to fall asleep at a time like this...she deserves it though... between her and Ayaka's efforts last night, Asuna really shouldn't have any issue with passing this time around...plus, she does look really cute like this...it's almost not fair...
Setsuna then smiled lightly and moved in to place a gentle kiss on the top of her girlfriend's head; earning her a happy subconscious sigh and a deeper snuggling into her arm. The defenseman then rested her own against the sleeping goaltender's, and carefully entwined her fingers with Konoka's. A calm then began to take over her body, and she couldn't help but smile a little. After Setsuna's head came back to her completely, she opened her eyes and glanced over to the class rep next to them. She was surprised to see that Ayaka, who was usually such a calm and level headed person when it came to situations like this, was fidgeting with bottom of her shirt; deep with worry.
The defenseman gently lifted her head just enough to make sure she wouldn't be speaking into the goalie's head before clearing her throat to grab the class rep's attention. "Hey...Ayaka...how you holding up over there?"
The class rep was startled by the sudden sound of a voice and quickly came too. She then tried to calm herself down before turning to face the defenseman as she rubbed at her temples. "I don't know Setsuna...I thought that I 'd be a little calmer now, knowing how driven Asuna looked while studying last night...but I can't seem to shake this feeling I'm getting...plus, you're team's gonna kill me if they find out I was a distraction during exams if that blockhead doesn't pass..."
"I don't think the girls would ever hold you responsible for any of this..." said Setsuna with a reassuring smile. "...they all know better than to do that. Especially if they found out how much effort you put in over the last few hours..."
"Still...it doesn't feel good..." she replied with a sigh.
The defenseman laughed a little, causing the blonde to shoot a questioning look at her. "If everything goes well...then I think a certain someone owes you a nice night out. Maybe then she can make you feel good!"
"That sounded dirty Setsuna..." said Konoka with a yawn as she stirred awake.
"Wha-wait...no! That's not what I...shit..." sighed Setsuna in defeat as both Konoka and Ayaka burst out in fits of laughter.
Just then, the door to the room opened and a very tired looking red head slowly shuffled her way over to the couch, flopping down in a heap as all eyes focused on her. The ex captain threw her head back and let it rest with a thud against the back of the couch; eyes closing immediately. There was silence as the three girls sat there staring at her, waiting to hear how she did. Unfortunately the silence was only broken when Asuna began to snore.
"ARE YOU FRIGGIN KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?" yelled the class rep as she grabbed Asuna's shoulders. "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GONNA COME OUT HERE AFTER A STRESSFUL EVENT LIKE THAT AND JUST FALL ASLEEP? WAKE UP, YOU MONKEY BRAINED JACKASS!"
Konoka and Setsuna both face palmed as they watched their ex captain's eyes shoot wide open. "Wha...WHOA HEY, HEY I'M SORRY! I didn't mean too...I was just so tired...besides, Negi said he'd mark it now and come out when he was done to let me know..."
"...You're unbelievable sometimes...you know that Asuna?" added Konoka with a sarcastic mumble, followed by a deep sigh.
It wasn't long before the girls heard the slow footsteps of their young teacher make their way over to the door. As the handle began to turn, each one of them took a deep breath and froze in place; waiting for the fate of their best friend to be revealed. Negi stepped outside and scratched the back of his head as he continued to look down at the paper in front of him. He sighed and shook his head, causing Setsuna and the others to feel like their stomachs were dropping to their feet. It wasn't until Negi looked up and saw their long faces that he smiled and began to chuckle to himself.
"What are you laughing at?" asked Asuna from behind her hands. "...my grade couldn't have been that bad..."
The young teacher continued to smile and shake his head. "I'm laughing because as soon as I came out here, you all looked as if someone had died..."
"Well can you blame us sir?" added Setsuna with a troubling sigh. "...it's kind of a serious thing...possibly losing a team mate and all..."
"I'm sorry to have caused you four more worry..." laughed Negi as he rubbed the back of his neck. "...but I can assure that no one will be leaving the team..."
It took a second, but slowly the girls began to click into what Negi had just said. Konoka blinked a few times before stumbling for words. "...You..you mean..."
"That's right girls..." began the young teacher with a giant smile spreading wider over his features. "...Asuna will be strapping on her skates as a Mahora Warrior once again..."
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~Present Day~
Setsuna quickly made a hard pass up along the boreds for Akira to pick up and take off before she turned and made her way to the bench for a quick change. She was extremely happy with how her last shift in this championship game had turned out; the defenseman had managed to set up Makie for a nice goal from the blue line almost as soon as they got on, as well as made a nice check with an opposing forward who nearly got a shot off in their end. All in all, Setsuna felt that their first tournament went well; they managed to get through each round without losing a single game and even pulled through without T.O.T getting a single undeserved penalty. It would definitely feel nice to come away with a win from this one, especially since they were the hosts of the tournament. The only thing that would have made this tournament better...was if they were here. The defenseman grabbed a quick drink from her water bottle before moving down the bench to join her partner to watch the last little bit of the game.
"I'm so happy that we're gonna win the Mahora Invitational again this year!" cheered Makie as she bumped a gloved fist with her partner. "There's nothing like winning at home, yeah?"
Setsuna smiled and laughed a little as she watched her bouncy pink haired friend. "I'll definitely agree with you on that Makie...but, it still sucks that we couldn't win with a rematch against the Demons...what I wouldn't give for another crack at them..."
"I know what you mean..." began Makie before taking a drink of water. "I still don't understand why they didn't come to the tournament..."
"I heard that they couldn't come because too many of their players got kicked out of the last game they played..." said Sayo from in front of Makie. "Apparently...one of their girls got into a fight on the ice and caused a huge bench clearing brawl...I think I heard that someone even punched a ref in the face..."
Setsuna shook her head. "One hundred lunch tickets if anyone can guess who that was..."
"Definitely that psycho captain of theirs..." sighed Ako as she sent a sympathetic look to Setsuna.
"Uhhhh...speaking of her..." started Ku as she leaned out over the boreds; squinting into the crowd as she did. "...Isn't that her and some of the Demons sitting in the stands over there?"
Every one of the girls within earshot of Ku quickly turned their attention to the place where she was staring. Sure enough, the purple and black colours of the Kyoto Prep Demons' jackets could be seen in a cluster off in the corner of the stands. Setsuna's eyes grew wide as she took in the sight; the only thing running through her mind as the buzzer to end the game went off was what the hell were they doing here? As the defenseman made her way onto the ice to celebrate with her team and shake hands, she was sure to keep an eye on her old team mates. There was an uneasy feeling flowing through her as she went up to collect her gold medal after her name was called. She ignored the cheers sounding off around her, and instead focused on her psychotic ex girlfriend who was now standing behind the glass on the boreds across from her. Upon noting the defenseman's gaze, Tsukuyomi proceeded to breathe hard onto the glass to fog it up. Setsuna's eyes grew wide as she then watched her ex draw a heart in it, with their initials in the center before smiling a creepy smile and waving as she turned to leave.
The defenseman was at a loss for words as she slowly made her way back to her spot on the blue line. While the rest of her team mates were being called up one by one for their medals, Konoka and Makie made their way over to Setsuna to ask what was up; they noticed that she was unusually silent for just winning a championship game. She then proceeded to tell them who and what she just saw; Konoka became furious and Makie proceeded to look around in an attempt to see if she could still catch any sign of the Demons. It looked like they had left, but it was still troubling all of the girls who had seen them there.
As they made their way off of the ice, Asuna could sense that her team was quickly losing their excitement. "Hey guys, come on! So what if those losers were here to watch our game...maybe they finally realized that we're the better team and that they might actually learn something from us! Seriously...let's forget about those freaks and just have a good time...Haruna and Kazumi, I'm talkin' to you! I'm expecting a sweet party once we get out of here tonight!"
The team all laughed at their ex captain's attempt to lighten mood, and also offered some cheers of excitement at the mention of a party. Even Setsuna began to lighten up as she took in the new energy of her team mates. They made their way down the hallway and to their dressing room, laughing and planning all the while.
"Hey Asuna!" yelled Yuna from somewhere towards the back of the group up to where the red head was at the front. "You think that maybe I could have a rematch with you on NHL 2012 tonight?"
Asuna smirked as she reached for the door and started to push it open. "Hell yeah! You're so on Yuna!" she turned to head into the room. "Tonight, I'm go-...WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!"