Gunners High

Chapter 21:

Mind Over Matter

For Mami Tomoe, the endless days of shooting practice were due to pay off. By a miracle, there was one opening for a spot on the Japanese Youth Olympic Games team in the 10 metre air rifle discipline. However, it could only be won at the tournament that would take place on Jan. 9 at the Mitakihara Town Shooting Range, which was now being used for a variety of events.

The winner of this tournament would then qualify as a potential Japanese entrant at qualification for the 7th Asian Airgun Championship in March with two other qualifiers from across Japan. One would represent Kyushu and Shikoku, and the other would represent Hokkaido. The Japanese competitor with the highest score in 40 shots would represent Japan at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. It was the type of pressure that Mami trained days for, in between school and exams.

All the while, Homura Akemi was monitoring Mami's progress, while Nagisa Momoe was given the task of recording Mami's scores for future records. The goal was to hit a score of 509 over the course of a round, which had never been done. There was some talk that history would be made, but it never was taken seriously. Mami was glad that it never was a serious point of discussion. It allowed her to continue with her training, after the hoopla and celebrations of ringing in the New Year.

The only downer was that Madoka Kaname was in a different part of the world and would not be back for another year plus. Madoka promised Homura she would return, and Homura was handling life without her well, but there was a part of her that continued to pine. As it pined and pined, Homura was consigned to being Mami's coach and mentor, despite being her junior. What mattered for Homura now was that Mami was successful as a shooter. She couldn't worry about Madoka now. It wasn't worth the hassle.

Air rifle was not much of a tradeoff from trap shooting. Instead of moving clay targets, now Mami was essentially doing archery...but with a rifle. And an air rifle that she purchased in December from her wages at work, to go with her own golden diabolo pellets she called her "cake bullets." It was a peculiar nickname, but it stuck, given her affinity with sweets and tea. As a matter of fact, air rifle was much easier than trap. The only reason why Mami was doing air rifle was because there was no trap shooting at the Youth Olympics.

"Mind over matter," Homura said as Mami fired away at the range after school on Friday, the day before the meet. "You ever heard of that maxim?"

"I have." Another shot, and a 10 marked down by Nagisa.

"Give me your definition of it."

Mami finished her round with one more shot, twirled around, twirled her twin drills and spoke. "It's a proverb that is often used to emphasize the overall needlessness of a single or a couple of specific things, often referring to material goods, money, wealth, even love or the love act, power etc. in one's life when saying it."

"Go on."

They took a seat as a staff member collected Mami's pellets and returned them to her. "Generally said if the affected person should free himself from materialism or minor important things, thus set his mind over those and hence care about more crucial things, not seldom his own well-being for his plans on particular upcoming events might seriously damage his health, his reputation or the like, thus could cause him more harm than intended before - therefore mind over matter settles the issue in advance by barring the person from dealing with the issue(s) himself. This proverb also perfectly goes with the generic Buddhist and his lifestyle for he strives for a life without profane belongings or devaluing materialism. Typically, money, power or tangible richness can change one's character to the bad and in order to prevent the person from becoming alike he should always keep mind over matter in his mind. Or her mind, I should say."

"I could be a man, too. I might be a man in a woman's body."

"You might?"

"No, I'm just going off on a tangent. Go on."

"As I was saying, Akemi-san, one doesn't have to be a follower of this or any religion and rather a plain human being that wants to underline the importance of a preferably even-tempered lifestyle. That is why mind over matter can also be easily said to a person to help him calm down and relax if he is on the verge of taking care of something and additionally is in a hurry because of that. Furthermore, mind over matter can also be employed by people who are living in pure abstinence of something (sex, nutrition etc.). The proverb might indeed help them on the way to their aim/project. Moreover, mind over matter in fact supports rationalism, a philosophical theory that focusses on the idea in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive."

"I wouldn't say that is a true definition. I just see it as using willpower to overcome adversity, Mami."

"Is that so?"

"One thing I have noticed about you when we talk about these sorts of philosphical subjects is that you overcomplicate it. You don't make it simple. You make it unnecessarily high-level, and that's not good. If you simplify matters, it will go a long way."

"I guess it is seemingly problematic to precisely define the phrase when taking all aspects potential to happen in life into consideration, Akemi-san."

"Nagisa-chan, what was her score?"

"Um..." She looked at her tally sheet. "That was 400."

"Again?"

"Mami-san has been hitting 400 for the past 10 days we've been here, ever since she decided to prepare."

"Anybody can hit 400 these days, with technology and everything improving in leaps and bounds," Homura pondered.

"Is that bad?" Mami asked.

"No, no, no, it's actually good that you're going perfect with your rounds. So now it's really down to the bonus shots that could make or break everything."

"All right."

"In this instances," said Homura as the three of them exited the range, "willpower will be needed to hold off adversity. I expect that you will be up against it tomorrow."

"I'm not going to let anything hold me back. But I won't fret if I don't win this sweepstakes of a contest since this is my first meet. Akemi-san, do you want to stay at my house for the night so we can talk a little bit more?"

"Nagisa-chan will be fine with it, right?"

"I'll be good!" she said to Homura, beaming.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it."

The three of them returned to Mami's house later that night to perhaps get some rest ahead of the meet. "Mami-san, Homura-san, I will just play on the console, can I?" Nagisa asked.

"Sure, just be sure to turn off the PS3 when you're done," Mami replied.

"Yay! Football!" She was off.

"Nagisa-chan plays FIFA 14?" asked Homura to Mami when they went upstairs to Mami's bedroom.

"No, she actually plays tackle football. College football, I think," she replied. "I don't know too much about the sport, but apparently Nagisa-chan like watching the NFL and the college teams, so I bought her NCAA Football and Madden 25."

"They have it here, huh? I guess if she understands the controls it won't be a big deal. Hope she gets some sleep."

Mami began to get out of her school uniform as Homura lay on the bed. "She sleeps like a baby."

"Wow. Your underwear looks like your magical girl outfit. Like an adapted costume or something."

"That's what it is. Like it?" She went to the bed and lay next to Homura.

"I love it. It accentuates you and says a lot about who you are." Homura slipped a hand underneath her frilly yellow bra. "You don't mind if I make you feel...even more better, right?"

"Don't worry about it, Akemi-san." Homura proceeded to strip to her black underwear and wrap her arms and legs around Mami, continuing to fondle her breasts with love. "It feels wonderful, the way you touch me like this."

"Mmmm-hmmmm. So, there's 180 different shooters from all over Honshu that are invited to this meet, and you're one of them. What do you think?"

"I didn't think I was going to be invited but the headmaster told me that I got invited a few weeks ago for this air rifle meet. I don't even do air rifle because it's not my cup of tea, but when I learned that it was actually a bit easier than shooting at moving targets. You're fixated on one spot you have to hit. It's...easy..."

A sigh from Mami and Homura continued to massage her glorious rack, sucking them as well before Mami obliged to take off her top, leaving only her bottom. She traced lines on Mami's torso and hips, causing her breathing to be hitched and excited, before taking delight in Mami's butterscotch and cocoa butter-scented hair.

"And you have to hit it again and again and again. You can't miss the spot. Mami Tomoe, why do you smell like buttercream frosting?" Homura whispered, parting Mami's bangs a little.

"Because my shampoo has that scent?"

"It's delectable. Being this arousing will get you ahead in life."

"I can forgive the pun. I'm not gonna lose it anyway."

"I'm glad."

Homura was sliding her hand underneath Mami's frilly panties, caressing the yellow bowtie in the middle. "I can't lose my head over these types of things. I can't lose my head over these types of things. I won't. Not when you're with me."

Homura took off her underwear and flung it aside. "I'll make sure you get that perfect score and win the meet. Because I do everything out of love."

"Come to me, Akemi-san."

"Mami..."

Homura took off Mami's panties and the two of them shared a long, rich, buttercream-flavored kiss, holding hands as she lay on top of her. Touching her face, the tears came out of Mami's eyes as their tongue danced and Homura laid her all on Mami, grinding on her thighs excitedly, her face red as a rose. Mami's hands graced Homura's soft buttocks as she gave them a nice squeeze before moving up her back, triggering a squeal of delight from Homura. Their legs were tangling each other and both Homura and Mami wanted to draw out each other's inner satisfaction, each other's carnal desire, each other's commitment and need.

Soon enough, Mami took off her hair ornaments and her hair was let down. Homura took off her headband and now they had nothing on but love and passion all over their bodies. They needed to consummate to get the energy they needed for a difficult meet coming tomorrow. This was critical. Mission-critical.

Two hours passed, and Mami was feeling Homura's sex drive of love enveloping her, giving her energy, momentum and confidence. She thrashed her head back and allowed Homura more access to her forbidden spots so she could really reach a high for the longest time. Homura obliged and went all in, causing Mami to cry out her name with ecstatic vigor.

"Akemi-san! Akemi-san! Ahhhh! Faster! Harder! I need you!" Homura was on top of Mami, nibbling at her flower, awaiting an explosion of her all. "Yes! Yes! Yes! This is...this is...I'm gonna...ahhhhhh!" The two of them came, and Mami fainted, allowing Homura to snuggle in between her breasts, as if it was a pillow. The two of them fell into a deep sleep and a warm embrace.

"Uh, Mami-san, are you and Homura-san okay?" Nagisa asked she opened the door, only to see the two of them sleeping naked. "Oh my..." She saw that her nose was about to bleed. "This isn't good, I'd better go back downstairs to fix this. Oh my, oh my..." Nagisa was not used to seeing lewd acts and lewd noises, but she was going to get desensitized to it in due time, the way things were going.

At about 6 a.m., Nagisa woke up from sleeping on the couch and returned to the room, where Mami and Homura were still sleeping like babies. "Um...it's morning?" she asked, her face still red like a rose.

"Ahhhhh, thanks for reminding me," Mami said, waking up first.

"Damn, already?" Homura said. "That went quicker than we thought. You got a good night's sleep, Mami?"

"Akemi-san, it was fantastic. You're gonna go take a bath first, or?"

"No, after you. I have to look some stuff up your laptop."

"Fine, then."

"Homura-san, are you okay looking things up without anything on?" Nagisa asked.

Homura quicky put on her underwear before going to Mami's laptop. "A young girl like you should not have her imagination run wild because it's not healthy."

"Ah, but I can't help it!"

"Slow down, that's all I got to say. All right, it says here that registration is at 8 sharp and the tournament begins at 9. Nagisa, can you go make some breakfast?"

"Only if I can add some cheese and crackers."

"Do what you want but make sure it's filling because we're gonna be at the shooting range all day."

"Okay!" Off went Nagisa to prepare breakfast with a hop, skip and jump.

"Last name?" asked the attendant at the shooting range.

"Tomoe."

"First name?"

"Mami."

"You are bib no. 145. Here you go. Good luck."

"Thank you."

"Ready?" asked Homura as Mami went to get her air rifle after putting on her bib. With this being a major event, there was a full crowd on hand.

"Mmm-hmmm."

Homura went over to Mami and stroked her twin drills. "Do your best, okay?" she said, kissing her. "You need to win."

"I get the feeling I will be rewarded, right?" Homura bit her lower lip. "Okay, I got it." Nagisa was schlicking discreetly, clearly stimulated by the love scene between the two of them.

All the shooters were in their places, awaiting the signal from the official to begin. A beep, and the shooting started. Mami was cool and collected as ever, firing 40 of her volleys inside the 10 ring. Once she finished, she was allowed another 10 shots in the final phase and she earned a score of 509, the first-ever time that an official perfect aggregate score was achieved anywhere. Her concentration was so strong and so committed that she was able to finish within 20 minutes. And that phrase, "Mind Over Matter," was in her head once again.

"You did it," Homura said to Mami, hugging her. They were surrounded by a flurry of cameras from the press. The security had to form a barrier.

"At last, I am one step closer to finally getting it done," she said with a big smile on her face.

"Nothing but 10s and 10.9s," Nagisa said, showing Mami her scorecard. "Incredible!"

"Well, that's what happens when you know how to shoot," said Mami, who received her trophy and diploma before answering some questions from the press.

"Is this real life?" asked Nagisa to Homura as she watched Mami answer the media as if she was a professional sports athlete.

"It is."

Her hands were on her cheeks. "Oh my…"

"Mind over matter," Mami mused as the three of them went back to Mami's house to celebrate qualifying for the Asian Games. "Nothing can be more true. So now I get to go to the 7th Asian Airgun Championships in Kuwait City, and I've never been to Kuwait."

"It's a pretty hot place, and since I'm your coach, I'm required to be there. It's good to also have a little bodyguard as well."

"Really?"

"I'm a demon. I will make sure nothing bad happens to you on your trip. I expect you will qualify for the Youth Olympic Games, but you have to do the work."

"Mami-san will do the work, don't worry!" exclaimed Nagisa. "She was fantastic out there. I can't believe it! Amazing, amazing, amazing!"

"I like your confidence, but she will be taking on the best shooters from all over Asia in March, so she has to be ready, Nagisa," Homura said.

"Okay!"

"And I won't be overconfident, either, I can tell you that," Mami added.

"Good call. Okay, here we are," Homura said, opening the door, only to see that Sayaka and Kyouko were already inside.

"Miki-san, Sakura-san, what are you doing inside my house?" Mami asked, hands on her hips.

"Door was open, so we needed something to eat," Sayaka said, munching on cake.

"The cake here is excellent!" Kyouko added.

"Don't tell me, you're eating my...?"

"No, we brought this ourselves. It's just that Homura forgot to close the door," Sayaka snarked, causing Homura to blush.

"Ow!" Homura received a headbump.

"You know this could have gotten worse than it did, Akemi-san," Mami said. "Shame on you."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Homura said, falling down at her feet and hugging Mami's thighs so much as to lick them. "Homu."

"Stop being so perverted this time of the day already, enough!"

"Oh yeah, by the way Mami, you did it, right?" Kyouko asked.

"What?"

"You qualified for the Asian Airgun Championships, is that right?"

"What?" Sayaka exclaimed. "M-M-M-Mami-san qualified for a shooting meet in Asia?"

"It was on the radio. Mami is close to qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games."

"Oh man! Are you trying to be like Homura and Madoka in being an Olympian?"

"Well, that's kind of the point..."

"Wow! Well, I think you can do it. But why the Youth Olympics? Why not the actual thing?"

"Because Rio is a few years away, and Mami doesn't wan't to wait that long," Homura said as Nagisa rested on Sayaka's and Kyouko's laps. Kyouko, naturally, petted Nagisa's head.

"Sheesh, she's tired already, huh?" Kyouko said to the others.

"She gets tired real easily at times," Sayaka added.

"Go ahead and relax, but don't eat everything in the refrigerator," Mami said, heading upstairs, Homura following her. "I'm going to study for my college entrance exam."

"I'm helping her out as well," Homura added.

"OK! Mami-san fight-o!" Sayaka exclaimed, fist in the air. None of them were impressed as a sweat drop came down Sayaka's head. "Eh?"

Nagisa was drooling wildly, triggering a deeper blush from Kyouko. "Sayaka-chan, you're so loudksdjkjsdfgjdkjgdgd..."

Her eyes were spiraling out in despair as she slumped over in defeat. "Ahhhh, mou!"

END CHAPTER 21