Ok...this was finished a lot sooner then I expected but it's very poorly written since I've been skipping all over the place...
Sorry...
Chapter Six
"Mizuki, unlock the door..."
"NO!"
"Come on, I'm sure you look fine."
"I LOOK LIKE A GIRL ALL OVER AGAIN!"
Nanba rested his head against the door leading into Izumi and Ashiya's room, his hand twisted the handle once more but it was pointless, the door remained locked.
"You didn't have a problem with it before."
"Those times were different!" she cried out from the other side of the door.
Nakatsu was on the floor on all fours, tears streaming down his face. He wanted to see what outfit Mizuki had to wear this time and he wanted it BAD.
"Mizukiiiiiiiiiiiii!" he whined, pawing at the door with one of his hands like a dog shut outside. "Please come out!"
"What are you two doing?" a flat voice asked behind the two at the door.
Nakatsu looked up, is nose running and eyes red from crying so much, Nanba slowly peered back behind him and a small smirk spread across his lips. Sano was there…Sano the roommate was there…Sano the roommate with a key was there…Sano the roommate with a key to unlock the door was there.
"Izumi." He smiled, stepping away from the door, "Mind helping us out? Mizuki's locked us out of your room."
Sano's eyebrows arched up a bit, "Why?"
"He's gotten dressed up in what he has to wear at the shin-dig today and got nervous so he locked himself inside." He knocked a knuckle on the door, "We've been trying to coax him out but he just won't listen."
Nakatsu peered up at Sano hopefully, waiting for the other teen to pull out his key.
"Alright…I'll get your prize." Sano sighed, reaching into his pocket and removing his keys, not knowing that Mizuki was listening in on this and her back was pressed against the door to hold it shut. (Like that would work…)
Oh no! Don't do it Sano! I don't want to go to the festival! They'll find out, they'll find out!
Mizuki stiffened as she heard the lock click and she immediately braced her feet on the floor, pushing her back against the door so that when Sano tried to push it open, she forced it back shut.
"Hey!" Sano frowned, he tried it again, this time pushing harder against the door and he head Mizuki's protesting grunts on the other side of the door. "Knock it off, Mizuki!"
She suddenly went with the door, slamming into the wall, yelping like a wounded dog. The teens immediately hurried inside and Sano slammed the door shut as Nakatsu touched Mizuki's shoulder and eased her away from the wall. She had braced herself with her hands do her face was fine, her palms were a little red from the collision though…
"Well, well, well…not bad…" Nanba observed and the others just realized they could see her now, she lowered her eyes as all three boys observed her.
Mizuki had been forced into a dress again, the slits so high that they resembled a Chinese dress' revealing her legs and the sleeves were…well…non-existent, the top fastening around her neck like a strange collar, her back completely revealed. This was what made her so nervous…one, the amount of skin and two…she couldn't wear her vests!
She nervously touched the wig she had on her head, the long strands of hair in an awkward style but one that suited her face, leaving her with bangs and a few strands hanging in front of her ears. It felt weird to have these eyes on her…she wanted to kill Rio for loaning her this dress. What was she doing with this thing anyway?
"Yes I think we've made the right choice in making Mizuki a prize, I think I might even join in the contest now." Nanba said, touching his bottom lip, what a shame that he's a guy…he looks cute and sexy at the same time…
Nakatsu's haw dropped. No! Not that letch too! I can't let him win and take my Mizuki from me!
Sano was the only one completely devoid of speech or thought, all he could do was stared at Mizuki as she fidgeted with the flaps of the dress, pinching them closed to try and hide her legs but it wasn't working.
"Like what you see, Sano?" Minami asked, nudging the teen with his elbow, snapping him out of it abruptly.
Cheeks burning, Sano looked away from Mizuki, "It's ok." He murmured, "Don't you have to get him to the Combination festival now, Nanba?"
"Yeah, I should go ahead and take him." He nodded, "Come on, Ashiya, lets get you over there, the majority approves so you have to come now."
"I have to sit on that thing?" Mizuki asked, staring at a Pedestal on the other side of a rather familiar looking cushion lying at the base of a wall where the competitors were to climb up the wall with only a knotted rope on the other side for them to use to climb up, they were then expected to jump down from the top of the wall, land on the cushion and the first person to reach her would receive his prize.
"That's all you have to do." Nanba smiled. "That wall isn't the only obstacle in this competition you know…"
"It isn't?" Mizuki asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, you didn't think we'd have a simple wall climb to win a person, did you?"
She averted her eyes, "Then what else is there?"
"Well, first we start off with a hundred meter dash—not that difficult in my opinion—and after that you have a more complicated process of crossing the shrine's pond on small foam slabs that you can easily fall off of…" he tapped his chin as he tried to remember the rest, "There's a little thing through that cluster of trees, another race, a small challenge and then a sprint to this wall, the guys will be pretty tired because this shrine and its grounds are pretty huge and any damage given to the place, that student's school will have to pay to have fixed."
Mizuki stared. I'd be dead as soon as the race was over…
"Um…Nanba? How can a player get disqualified?"
He leaned against the pedestal, "Well, they fall down in a race…fall into the water at the pond, wimp out in the trees, fail the challenge or you fall in the sprint. They're really pushing these guys after all, you can expect some to fall out of exhaustion, you can take breaks but that will put you way behind and there will be cameras surveying the competitors so no one can really cheat effectively…that gets you out as well."
"T-They really out-did themselves for this…haven't they?" Ashiya stammered, wide-eyed.
"Well a person is still a person no matter how cute they are. We can't give you up with a meager sport such as a 100 meter dash, can we?" the senior winked.
((Sorry I'm skipping though so much, I'm really tired at the moment.))
Mizuki shifted a little on the pedestal, her arms were stiff as she held onto a tiny monitor that Nanba had given her so that she could watch the competitors from where she sat, the cameras would only let her see so much and she wasn't sure if she could freely root for Nakatsu since he had already told her that he would be in the competition. What really worried her though was the thought that a girl might try to compete in this…what would she do if a girl won her? What exactly does one do with a person that they win?
"It's really high tech…I didn't think they'd do stuff like this on the grounds of a shrine…I thought these were sacred places…" she turned on the little monitor, turning the little dial on the side so that she could hear the murmurs of the announcer. The sound on this thing was horrible but at least the picture was in color…
"Attention, the Competition is about to begin, all competitors please come to the starting line, all competitors to the starting line now, please."
Mizuki could hear the distant cheers over the fuzzy noise coming from the little screen. She watched it as one of the cameras zoomed in on the people lining up at the line; people were taped off from the beginning of the masked off line and the make-shift track way that led towards the shine's pond. It was amazing how much space this shrine had…were there supposed to be shrines this huge?
"There's Nakatsu." She smiled thoughtfully, seeing the blond make his way to the line, standing near a boy with spiked hair, he must have been from another school since Mizuki didn't recognize him. There were quite a few students from Osaka there…but there were also many other students and even a few girls were there, their faces a bit flushed from the cheering crowd and then looking off in the direction they would have to run. Then she noticed Nanba and someone else with him approaching, they had a hood pulled up over their head but looked rather tall. She scanned over the sea of students, spotting Sano among the crowd briefly before a few students standing in the way blocked him out from the camera's view. Mizuki groaned; she wanted to see if there were any traces of regret in his face for not joining!
"All racers present?" the announcer's voice asked but Mizuki couldn't see anything but the backs of teens now.
I hope they switch cameras for me soon…
She clung to the screen and waited, all racers must have been present because she no sooner had clung to the screen that the camera's angle changed and the video screen revealed the challengers bracing themselves for the ok.
"GO!"
Her heart skipped a beat as the competitors took off, the girls were keeping up pretty well with Nakatsu and the spiked haired teen, Nanba was pretty close with the sweat-shirted one and a few others lagged behind, seeming to pace themselves.
Nakatsu was running like the wind and already at the edge of the pond, a look of pure confidence on his face along with sheer enjoyment. He liked this challenge, already off to a good start, the hooded teen was slowing a little for some reason and Nanba was carefully stepping out onto the foam steps, unsure of leaving sure footing. The blonde's grin revealed one more thing all of a sudden as he sprang out from the shore and tried to land on one of the foam floaters…overconfidence.
Mizuki gasped as Nakatsu dropped right down into the water, he immediately sat up, panting and pale from shock that he had already fallen in, one of the girls screamed as she too fell in nearby and Nakatsu shivered as more water was splashed onto him in the already brisk weather. Perhaps if the sun had been out…he wouldn't be so cold…
"Poor Nakatsu…" Mizuki murmured, solemnly, touching the screen where the shrinking image of Nakatsu was fading out. He had seemed so determined to win…she thought he would, Nakatsu 's life was soccer, she expected that to be an advantage but he was also kind of a klutz as well…
The camera left Nakatsu behind, following the others carefully crossing the foam floats, arms out to balance themselves on the wavering pads. Ashiya was shocked by how well some seemed to be staying on the things even though they were tipping strongly to the right or the left.
Two strangers toppled into the shallow pond, immediately scrambling out to escape the cold water unlike the dazed blond had earlier. Spiked haired teen was getting ahead of Nanba and the sweater kid along with one of the remaining girls and three other strangers. The competitions was already growing slim…Mizuki was beginning to wonder if anyone would even make it to the wall without collapsing.
Spike had reached the other side! Hoods was right behind him and hurrying after him as Nanba paused and glanced back at the girl for a moment as she faltered near the edge of the pond. He soon took off after the other two, leaving her when she reached the shoreline at last, some coming up faster then before. But Spike, Hoods, Nanba, and the girl were already making their way into the crowded tree trunks of the cluster of forestry on the shrine's grounds. Mizuki could still hear the cheers of the students that were lining the pathway as the monitor suddenly flickered and blacked out.
"HEY!" she shook it a few times, "Is this one of those areas without cameras or something? What gives!"
Mizuki shook the screen much more violently, almost dropping it a few times and finally resting the useless monitor on her lap as she sighed, looking up towards the wall, barren of any of the competitors since they were just now getting into the forest. It wasn't fair…she wanted to see what they had to do inside that cluster of trees!
Maybe she could get the winner to tell her what happened when they get there once they catch their breath…
A scream rang through the grounds and Mizuki jumped, clinging to the screen as it flickered back to life, the camera was shaking as if someone was running with it, which was most likely what was happening. The girl was in the picture sitting on the ground, her head hung and fists clenched. IT looked like she was in pain or at least frustrated with defeat.
"It's not fair! Kazuma made me fall!" she whined, pointing off screen but no one listened, the camera turning around in time to catch a silhouette swing out of sight beyond the tree trunks.
"What on earth…" she murmured as the cameras changed again, revealing Hoods running out of the greenery followed by Nanba, a stranger with a silver earring bouncing with his running strides glinted in the sunlight and Spike appeared behind him, trying to catch up. One more person ran past but no more followed, the third person must have failed as well.
The teens were dropping like flies!
"This is amazing! Competitors are dropping left and right and we're not even to the next obstacle yet!" the announcer cried, his voice echoing through the grounds.
Mizuki shifted again on her pedestal, My butt's starting to hurt…
"AND ANOTHER ONE DROPS!"She stared at the screen, Nanba was lying on the ground, his chest heaving.
"Nanba!" she gasped.
"Looks like fatigue's got the best of this poor guy…""Oh, Nanba…" she touched the screen again, "There aren't any contestants from Osaka now…"
From the looks of things…it was true…no other contestants from Osaka were on the track now as they were completing a task of kicking soccer balls through a little maze, something Nakatsu probably would have beaten in a heartbeat.
It was down to three now, Spike, Hoods, and Earring…either one of them would never see her again after this thing…so if they did win her, she'd be safe if they didn't learn which school she went to…maybe it was for the best that no Osaka students had made it this far…then she would have had a much tougher time in keeping her secret after this competition…maybe Hoods was Kagurazaka…he wasn't into guys so things would probably be fine…but why would Kagurazaka suddenly want to compete for her? Maybe it was just the challenge he wanted…
The boys slowed to a stop, they all were suddenly standing there, each one panting heavily, Mizuki could see Spike's legs trembling and Earring looked wheezy, Hoods was harder to determine since his hood was up, all she could see was how he was bent over.
"Looks like the sprint's going to be post-poned for a moment…" The announcer said, Spike sagging to his knees, still breathing heavily. Hoods straightened up, still panting but he was shifting from one leg to the other, Earring flat out collapsed onto the pavement, closing his eyes and appearing to surrender but he soon sat back up, his face was strained but his gaze determined…
Mizuki swallowed.
The teens gathered at the chalked line, the wall was within site and the announcer was starting to fire himself up again, "Get set!"
They crouched into position.
"GO!"
Mizuki's fingers grew white by how tightly she clung to the screen, Kagurazaka was falling behind, Spike pulling ahead and Earring a close second as they sprinted towards the wall, the ropes dangling tauntingly. Any moment now Mizuki would have to look up at that wall and see the head of the victor…but until that moment she was going to watch them get to that wall.
Kagurazaka was running a bit faster now just as Spike's hands closed around the rope. Then Mizuki saw something she hadn't seen since Sano's practice…this was different though…this was much stronger then it was when Sano did it…
Hoods…no…Kagurazaka vaulted himself into the air…he was high-jumping the wall!
Mizuki lifted her eyes up to the body that arched gracefully over the top of the wall, his back arching a little and keeping himself from flailing as he flew, clearing the wall and soaring for a moment longer, the wall wasn't that high, mind you…but it was high enough to make someone not in high jumping have to climb to get up it. Everything went into slow motion as the high-jumper descended right into the blue cushion, immediately rolling over and off of the pad and jogging over towards Mizuki, Spike and Earring were neck and neck at the wall but it didn't matter now…Hoods had reached her and he stopped right in front of her, leaning forward, bracing his hands on his sighs as he panted heavily.
He slumped to his knees and Mizuki immediately slid off the pedestal and knelt in front of him, touching the shoulders of the winner.
"I…did it…" he panted. Mizuki froze. This wasn't Kagurazaka's voice…
One of Hoods' hands reached up, resting on her arm and he lifted his head, his other hand pushing back the hood. Mizuki's eyes widened at the weary smile on the teen's face.
"S-Sano!"
Bet you were expecting that. I knew you guys didn't want to wait so I sat up till two o'clock in the morning writing this thing and it's horrible but it gets to the final chapter a lot faster and that is the chapter you guys all want to see I think. I hope I can accomplish a good finale for you all, you've ben wonderful reviewers and I'm doing this for you guys alone, no longer for myself. I hope you're not disappointed in the last chapter.