As if Mondays aren't already terrible days, she also has morning practice at six in the morning. She groans as she drags herself out of bed and gets ready, remembering to grab her dive bag and backpack on her way out the door. Henri offers her a small smile as he opens the car door for her.

Coach Maes has them warm-up with arm circles and lunges, just as Heero does, before ordering them into the pool to swim laps. He barks orders, voice loud over the splashing as he corrects their form and berates them on their speed. After the laps comes the actual swim practice.

"Khushrenada!" he barks, accent thick as he pronounces her name. "Why are your legs reversed?"

"Does it matter?" she asks. "I thought we could use whichever leg we wanted."

He frowns at her. "Fine, try it and see what happens." He blows his whistle and all four swimmers take their position. Another whistle blow and they push off.

. . ... . .

Mariemaia is exhausted, mentally and physically, by the end of the day. Her muscles are sore and she debates on skipping her afternoon swim, but it's become too much of a routine by now. She trudges downstairs to the locker room as soon as Henri drops her off at Preventers. She pauses at the bottom of the stairs, seeing Trowa leaning against the wall. She can't stop herself from staring in surprise. He's dressed in loose pants and a tank top.

"No swimming today," he informs her.

"What?"

"Do you have any other clothes?" he asks, eyeing her pleated skirt and school sweater disdainfully.

"My gym uniform," she replies.

"Good, put that on and meet me out here." She stares at him for a moment before disappearing into the locker room to change. She shoves her bag into her locker, snaps the lock into place and rejoins him. "You'll probably want to tie your hair back," he tells her.

"Where are we going?" she questions, pulling her hair into a ponytail. He leads her across the hall to the gym and she frowns. They bypass the machines and end up in one of the small rooms at the back of the gym. Trowa closes the door behind them and she sees that there are two mats laid out on the floor. "Yoga?" she asks, surprised.

"Heero was right. We need to build up your stamina and strength. This will help." He removes his shoes, leaving them by the door.

"You do yoga?" she questions.

He raises an eyebrow, taking a seat on one of the mats. She kicks off her shoes and follows him, mimicking his pose on the other mat. "It improves flexibility," he replies, lips twitching but not actually forming a full smile. "Don't worry; it won't be too difficult."

"And I need flexibility to swim?" She narrows her eyes and this time he does smile at her.

"No, you don't. You need strength, focus, and better breath control." He crosses his legs, hands resting lightly on top of his thighs. "Now, are you ready to try it?"

"Fine," she sighs, resigned.

"Good, close your eyes."

Twenty minutes later, Mariemaia feels sweat rolling down the back of her neck and beading along her temples. Trowa's voice is calm, soothing, as he helps position her into the downward facing dog pose. Her right leg trembles as he adjusts her hips so that her feet are flat on the floor. "Hold it for five deep breaths," he tells her. "Stomach in," he adds.

"Are you calling me fat?" she gripes. He presses a hand to her abdomen and she sucks in a breath, tensing her stomach muscles.

"Good, four more breaths." She groans as sweat drips off her nose. "Three…two…one…okay, relax." She drops into child pose, which may be her favorite, and breathes deep. "Come on, sit up. We'll finish with some meditation and then you're free."

"That's it?" she sits up and looks at the clock. "Only thirty minutes?"

"Do you honestly think you can handle more?" he asks. She frowns, chews on a hangnail. "I didn't think so."

He resumes the lotus pose and Mariemaia mimics him as much as she can. Her legs aren't as rotated or flat, but she is able to do a passable job. She lets her breathing even out, following his calm directions. She can feel the tension draining from her shoulders even as her left foot goes numb. It's peaceful, just Trowa's voice and her quiet breathing.

"Do you need something?" Trowa asks. She opens her eyes, surprised, and sees Heero Yuy leaning against the closed door of the room. She hadn't heard him arrive. "Or are you finally listening to me about meditation?"

"Une's looking for Mariemaia." He has a smirk in place. "I volunteered to find her."

Trowa shakes his head, unfolding himself from the lotus position easily. Mariemaia feels like her legs have gotten stuck in the unnatural position. Trowa crouches in front of her, helps her unfold herself. "Not bad for a beginner," he states. His lips twitch into that ghost of a smile again. "Much better than Heero's first time," he tells her quietly. She catches Heero's eye roll out of the corner of her eye and suppresses a smile of her own. "Tomorrow you'll be back in the pool. Drink lots of water tonight."

She nods, slipping her feet into her shoes and hurrying out of the room. She can hear Heero asking Trowa how it went as the door closes behind her.

. . ... . .

Heero is waiting for her in the pool room after school. "Where's…?"

"Trowa?" he asks. She nods, mouth thinning. "Still refuse to say his name?"

"It's not his name," she snaps. He tilts his head, considering her, and she crosses her arms over her chest. "Where is he?"

"He had somewhere else to be," he replies. "If you'd rather skip today…" he trails off, eyebrows raised. She huffs and moves over to begin her warm-ups.

"No, it's fine. He just didn't mention anything."

Heero doesn't reply, simply tells her the dryland exercises to perform. He corrects her form easily, demonstrates the proper techniques, and she mimics as much as she can. By the end she's panting and he hasn't even broken a sweat.

"Why are you helping me?" she asks as she gets into position on the block. She glances at him, not surprised that he's watching her. "He said it was boredom."

"I told you, you have potential," he replies. Her eyes widen at his words and he shakes his head. "Come on, Trowa's told you about your toes before."

She readjusts her stance and a few moments later hears the bang of the starter pistol. She pushes off cleanly but Heero calls her back before she can get a few laps in. "You're still slow," he tells her, crouching down. "You have to get over the sound of the gun."

"Maybe this is how fast I am," she protests, pulling herself out of the water.

Heero steps back and studies her silently for a moment. "You don't believe that," he states. "You wouldn't be practicing so hard if you did."

She opens her mouth, closes it when she can't think of a response. Heero nods and tilts his head toward the starting block. "Let's try again," he says.

She climbs on the block, assumes the usual position. Heero watches her for a moment, holds the gun out, and pulls the trigger. She jerks, body automatically tensing, and she enters the water. She comes up gasping and glaring.

"What the hell was that?" she demands. She freezes when she sees Heero standing on the side of the pool, gun still in his hand. "It looked like you were going to shoot me."

"If I did, it wouldn't hurt you," he states, "it's just blanks." She pulls herself out warily and he watches her. "You're still thinking of Dekim."

"I was not."

"You are, each time you hear the gun go off your shoulders tense and you pull back before you push off. Trauma lingers." She sets her shoulders, clenches her jaw.

"Were you really chained to the bottom of the pool?" she asks.

"Yes," he answers simply. "It helped with learning to conserve energy and not to panic. You won't have to do that," he adds.

"That's reassuring." She sits on the ground and after a moment he sits next to her. The pool laps at her calves as she dangles them over the coping. "Were you worried about getting in the water?"

"The first few times," he admits, nodding. "It only made it worse, panicking. Once I realized that it was fine."

"I don't know why it bothers me," she mumbles. "I don't even think about it until someone points it out. I just freeze for a moment."

"Your subconscious associates the sound with pain," he replies. "We have to train it not to." He gets to his feet. "Come on, try again."

He has her dive fifteen more times; stopping her each time a few laps out and making her do it again. On the fifteenth one he lets her go and then she hears the starting pistol go off while she's still in the middle of the pool. She jerks and looks up at him in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

"You need to start thinking of it as normal," he replies. "Each time you hear the pistol, swim faster." He reloads the pistol, snaps the magazine back in place. "No diving, just swim your laps."

By the time he's run out of blanks, she's exhausted. He holds a hand out for her and hauls her from the water, hands over her towel automatically. "Better," he states.

Her legs feel like rubber as she walks toward the locker room. She's almost through the door when she pauses and turns to Heero. "I can't come tomorrow. Lady Une has a dinner and Henri can't take me home."

Heero shrugs. "We'll figure something out." He exits the pool room and she sighs, pushing through to the locker room.

. . ... . .

Coach Maes stares at her as she pushes off from the block for the third time during morning practice. "Khushrenada!" he barks. She looks up and he has a thoughtful look on his face. "What made you decide to reverse your legs?" She shrugs and he frowns. "Well, it seems to be working. Keep at it."

She smiles as she resumes her place on the block, ignoring the snide comments mumbled by her teammates. "Alright, ladies!" Coach Maes calls. "When you hear the whistle, dive and then the 100 meter breaststroke. Take your marks."

The whistle sounds and Mariemaia enters the water cleanly.