Ace!

Written by: Chiaki Nozomi

Class 03 – Stamina

Disclaimer – Card Captor Sakura doth not belong to Chi-chan. Wherefore dost thou get that idea?

Warning – Mild language and implied language and slightly ecchi humor.

Li smirked as he stripped. Kinomoto looked ready to cry. Now her fate rested in the palms of his hands. He stepped in the shower and turned the water to the coldest setting. Rarely did he take hot showers. Besides, the chill would help him decide his roommate's fate.

If he told her the truth, she probably would end up begging him to keep her secret and through that she would become his slave. On the other hand, her reasons for attending the school intrigued him. How many girls would go to the extent of dressing like a male and going to an all male college for something they wanted?

Li sighed as he washed the remainder of the shampoo from his hair. For time being, he would keep her secret. Things were bound to get interesting once as the years rolled by. And if it ever got boring, well, he had her little 'quirk' tucked away to spice things up.

"Although," he thought as he sponged himself dry, "that doesn't mean I won't tease her." He tied the towel around his waist and walked back into the room.

Sakura's eyes were fixated on the door, waiting for Li to emerge. And he did. Oh, he did. Sakura couldn't help but stare, momentarily forgetting her current worries. Li looked good, but now he was slightly wet and wearing only a towel . . .

Li smirked, "Are you sure you're not gay," he commented, then sauntered to his dresser and pulled out clothes. Sakura's mouth dropped. Gay? Did that mean he didn't notice her female attributes last night? "Are you going to take a shower? Class starts in an hour, and you still have to eat breakfast."

Sakura jumped out of bed, grabbed her uniform and vest, and dashed to the bathroom. Before she closed the door, however, she snuck a glance at Li's now naked tush. She smiled with approval.

By time she got out of the shower, Li had already left downstairs to breakfast.

The day passed by quickly, and Sakura enjoyed all her scholastic classes. However, the one class she looked forward to occurred at the end of the day. She grabbed her racket and change of clothes from her dorm room, then almost ran to the tennis courts.

They already assigned lockers with names, and Sakura noted with satisfaction that she was the first to arrive. She quickly changed and walked to the court.

The school's coach greeted her with a wave. He looked kind, and rather . . . energetic, Sakura thought as she took note of his bright orange t-shirt and matching laces. As he neared Sakura noticed he had slightly graying hair and dark skin.

"And who are you," he asked, looking down at Sakura. Good thing her brother stood a foot above her, because the coach seemed as tall as him. At least the coach didn't call her 'monster'.

"Kinomoto Kira. I'll put my tennis skills in your care," she said as she bowed. The coach laughed.

"Good, good. Are you a freshman," he asked, and Sakura nodded. "And were you the number one player on your last team," he continued, and Sakura nodded. "Well, I hope you didn't get used to it, because that's not going to happen here."

Sakura's eyes widened. She couldn't tell if it were a joke or an insulting comment. She settled on laughing nervously and nodding. Li entered the courts and the coach gave him the same lecture. However, Li responded, "That's what you think."

The coach's eyes widened with surprise and Sakura prayed for Li's safety. Then the coach started laughing. His true laugh was loud and booming, and if he had a belly, Sakura was sure it would be bouncing up and down.

The next person to enter had blue hair and wore glasses. Sakura squinted; she knew him from somewhere. As he came near, the coach again gave the same lecture. He responded by saying he would do his best.

The boy sat beside Sakura on the bench. "Did you find the ramen stand," he asked.

Sakura nodded. "It was delicious!"

The boy chuckled. "I see. That's good. You are?"

"Kira. Kinomoto Kira."

"Hello Kinomoto-san, I'm Hiragizawa Eriol."

"Nice to meet you," she replied, taking an instant liking to Eriol. He was polite, charming, and nice – everything a certain somebody was not. Eriol turned around and introduced himself to Li, nodded, stated his name, and kept silent. Sakura chuckled softly.

"Don't worry Eriol-san. He's just like that."

"Really," his eyes widened, "Did you two go to the same school together?"

Sakura shook her head. "He's my roommate." Eriol's mouth made an 'o' and he smiled up at Li. Li arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. Their attention diverted quickly to the next member, a somewhat short, normal looking man. His hair and eyes were brown, he had no special features, and had they passed on the street, Sakura would never have noticed him.

His reply to the coach's speech – "I understand." He turned to the trio, "I'm Motosuwa Hideki. Nice to meet you." The three greeted him back and introduced themselves. The coach looked down at his clipboard and frowned.

"There's one spore left . . ."

"Sorry I'm late," a man called, and dashed toward them.

Sakura's eyes widened, "You! You're that pervert from last night!" Everyone turned to look at her, and her face flushed.

Akizuki, however, was not fazed at all by her comment. He simply winked and turned to the coach. "I'm Akizuki Ryouma. Please let me take care of you!" Everyone's jaw dropped and several laughed uneasily.

The coach cleared his throat, "Now that everyone's here, I'll introduce myself. The name's Toshida Yuuya. I'm sure all of you were the best in your old schools, but as of now you are beep! Now listen up you beep, I have no tolerance for tardiness," glaring at Akizuki, "Whining," glaring at Sakura, "Smartasses," glaring at Li, "And quitters! We are the number one school in the nation, and have been since before you or your granddaddies were born! Now get off your lazy ass and run one hundred laps round the courts!"

Everyone jumped up and began their laps. Toshida-sensei stood in the center, with a mini-megaphone. "Come on you beep! My Momma is faster than you and she has only one leg! Li you beep! Don't ignore me! Akizuki, stop staring at beep's ass! Listen up you beep! My passion is to see you suffer! Stop breathing like my grandpa's beep! Don't stop Kira and Hideki or else I'll have to beep to your beep and then beep beep beep!"

"This is like the military," Sakura muttered as she fell to her knees after the final lap.

"Torture, pure torture," Motosuwa mumbled as he sat. Everyone but Li said their curses, and Toshida-sensei walked over to them, grinning.

"Good job beep! You're the first bunch I've had to actually complete that! I'm proud of you beep!" Everyone nodded their heads, too exhausted to say anything further. "Every day before we practice, we run fifty laps around the courts. On Saturdays we run one hundred. Tomorrow we start the tournament to determine who among you is the best. Now suit out, you're stench is making me sick."

"Yes sir," everyone mumbled and slowly rose to change out in their dressing room. Sakura didn't change; rather she grabbed her change of clothes and started to leave.

"Going somewhere Kira," Akizuki asked and Sakura turned to face him. She flushed slightly; three of her teammates were half naked, and Akizuki had only a towel around his waist. Sakura laughed while inching towards the door.

"I forgot a towel."

"Oh, don't worry, I have an extra," Eriol said, and Sakura forced a smile.

"It's okay, really. I don't want to be a bother. . ."

"Don't tell me it's because," Hideki trailed off for dramatic emphasis, "You have a small beep!"

Sakura, grateful for the exit line, replied an enthusiastic "Yes!" and dashed out the room. The males watched her leave, shocked.

"Did he just say what I think he did," Hideki asked dubiously.

"I believe he did," Eriol replied. Li, unable to contain himself any longer, started laughing. The others stared at him in shock for a moment before joining in.

Sakura quickly took a shower and changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a t-shirt. Her stomach growled, and she grinned. Twas time for dinner! Sakura happily walked to the cafeteria, and smelled curry as she neared. Her stomach growled again in appreciation. She walked inside and saw the guys seated in the back corner table.

Hideki saw her and called out, "Hey Shorty!" Sakura shot a confused glance, and they all started laughing.

"Shorty," she muttered while grabbing a plate, "Where did they get that from?" She walked to their table and sat between Eriol and Li, who were as far away from Akizuki as possible.

"So," Hideki said, "Did you guys bring any stuff?"

"Stuff," Sakura repeated, confused. "Eriol-san, what is this 'stuff'?" Everyone stared at her once more in disbelief.

Li sighed and shook his head, "It's called porn Kinomoto." Sakura's face reddened.

"T-that . . .N-no, I didn't."

Hideki's eyes widened. "You mean . . . you didn't bring any porn?! I never knew men like you existed!"

Akizuki laughed, "Well, he did say earlier it was small."

"Size doesn't matter," Hideki replied.

"Yes it does," Akizuki retorted with a playful smirk. "Would you like to borrow some of mine, Hideki-cha~n?

"Sure, what do you have?"

"Yaoi." Hideki's jaw dropped, and the trio started laughing.

Sakura bit her lip; was everyday going to be like this?

Sakura closed her math book, smiling. "Done!" She checked the clock, ten. She better go to sleep or else she would be late. She glanced at Li, who read a book. She smiled in relief. She could tell him about her 'problem.' "Li-san, can I tell you something?"

"What," he replied, annoyed.

"Umm . . . I kinda have a problem. You see, I sleepwalk."

"I could tell," he muttered under his breath.

"Sometimes I go into other people's bed, sometimes I talk to people, other times I fall asleep in weird places. It happens every night. I just wanted to warn you." Li nodded and returned to reading his book.

Sakura, feeling slightly better, clicked off the light on her side and fell asleep.

Li glanced at her sleeping form and cracked a small smile. Yeap, college life was pretty interesting. He took a mental note of his page number and shut off his light. Soon he too fell asleep.