Dodgeball. Love it or hate it, it's a staple of gym teachers everywhere. Personally, Rei didn't mind dodgeball. It was straightforward, and usually it was easy to get out if she didn't feel like putting forth any effort. Although with Minako playing, she was sure she'd be trying harder than she'd like. Rei sighed as the teacher led them through their warm-ups. At least it would be easy to avoid Minako.
After their warm-ups, the teacher separated the classes onto either side of the lines that made up the basketball court, with the half-court line forming one boundary and the out-of-bounds line forming the other. The teacher bisected the court with a line of small cones, and placed hand-sized foam balls between them.
Each class took a side and stood behind one of the lines on the floor. When everyone was ready, the teacher blew his whistle to start the game.
Everyone rushed forward. The boys who got to the middle first immediately started throwing the balls. It was chaos, with shouting and movement and foam projectiles flying everywhere. Rei hung back, content to watch the game unfold.
After the initial rush of brave- or foolhardy- kids, the sides fell into a rhythm of volleys. One side would hold most of the balls and throw them all at once. The other would count their losses, gather the balls, and return fire. She spotted Minako on the other side, darting forward to get a better angle, and jumping back to avoid return fire. There was an opportunity there, if she wanted to take it. And considering that she never had the chance to tease the other girl first... she found herself snatching up the next ball that came her way.
She waited patiently for a good shot. Minako had to be distracted, and preferably in the middle of throwing when she made her move. She inched towards the other side to be ready at a moments notice, and it happened. Minako had a ball, and moved forward to throw. She was intent on her target and Rei readied her ball. Just as Minako pulled her own arm back, Rei stepped forward to throw- and was promptly hit by somebody else. She let out a deep sigh and dropped her ball before trudging to the sidelines to sit with the other students who were out.
She watched the dwindling sides half-interestedly. Minako was still in the game, as was Makoto and, miraculously, Serena. Every time something was thrown at the twin-tailed blonde, she slipped, or tripped, or fell just in time to avoid it.
Minako was bouncing around, actively rushing in and out of the action. She had started to direct her side like a field marshall, ordering one flank forward to attack followed quickly by a volley from the other flank.
On Rei's team, Makoto seemed to be the last player who could be able to turn things around. Most of the boys were out, targeted systematically by Minako. So Makoto's remaining teammates took turns protecting her, sometimes with their own bodies, to allow her to fire balls at the other team. She had an absolute cannon of an arm, her height and sheer strength allowing her to put enough speed on her attacks as to make them uncatchable. And while a lot of her shots were errant, they did a good job of scattering the other team.
Still, it wasn't enough. With their dwindling numbers, Rei's team couldn't protect their ace for long, and eventually the tall girl was knocked out. The rest of their team quickly followed. Minako and her teammates cheered and celebrated their victory.
The teacher called for the boys from each team to play a round against each other. Rei watched with baleful eyes as Minako made her way towards her. Rei's glare had no effect on the chipper blonde.
"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" Minako asked after she plopped heavily onto the ground.
Rei responded with a noncommittal noise.
"Don't be such a sourpuss, I haven't bothered you in days," Minako said.
"I know," Rei said. "It was such a nice streak. Shame you had to go and break it."
"Well you looked like you could use a break. I know you can only handle so much of me at once," Minako said, tone playful, eyes gleaming with laughter.
Rei frowned. "I can handle anything you can dish out." As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them. Minako's face turned devious.
"If that's the case, Rei, then I can stop holding back. It's nice to know you can handle me. Maybe I can give you some more after class."
Rei ground her teeth.
"Or you could give me something. We could handle each other, if you prefer."
Rei stared forward as Minako's words washed over her.
"There are a lot of innuendos I don't say, but now that I know you can take it, I'll be giving it to you hard."
Rei snapped. "That's it. One more crack like that and you'll find out if you can talk through a broken jaw."
"Ah, Hino, I thought you said-"
"Choose your next words carefully, Aino. They might be your last." Minako pouted.
"That's no fair. You said you'd be able to handle my cracks."
Rei started towards Minako. The blonde giggled and scampered out of reach.
"Come on, that last one was a little funny," Minako said.
"Aino, sometimes in life, we make poor decisions. When we do that, we have to live with the consequences of our actions. For instance, I chose my words poorly before, and I had to listen to your lame 'innuendos.' You chose to direct those at me. Now, you have to face the consequences." As she spoke, Rei shifted to her knees and slid towards Minako. The other girl scrambled behind the other students to keep some space between them. Rei followed.
"Ah, but you said you could handle it. There shouldn't be any consequences for me," Minako said.
"I'm handling you just fine. After all, this is how I handle pests."
"With violence?"
"With a lot of violence," Rei said.
Minako 'eep'ed' and turned suddenly. She had led Rei to where Makoto sat with Ami and Serena, and took the opportunity to hide behind Makoto.
"Help me, Mako, your classmate's gonna kill me!"
Makoto turned her head to Rei, took in the look on her face, and shook her head.
"If it's Hino, I'm sure you did something to deserve it," she said to Minako.
"Ami, Serena?" Minako implored.
"Don't drag us into this," Ami said.
"What did you do now?" Serena asked.
"Well she said she could handle my cracks and-" Minako started. Rei growled, cutting her off. Makoto smirked at her, and Serena clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles from getting out. Ami was the only one who seemed to be somewhat in control of herself, and even she had to turn her head and pretend the wall was very interesting.
"You should know better, Hino, if you give this one anything she'll turn it dirty," Makoto said. "Especially one like that."
"I'd be fine if she would just accept her punishment," Rei said.
"Discretion is the better part of valor," Minako said from her hiding spot behind Makoto.
Rei didn't respond. Instead, she turned to look at the ongoing round of dodgeball. It seemed to be winding down, with the boys from Minako's class winning against the boys from her own. As she watched, Minako's classmates were setting up for a finishing volley. She smirked, and turned back to Minako.
"You can hide now, but just wait until we get out there," she said.
"Ahaha, now let's not do anything crazy," Minako said.
"Don't worry, everything I do to you will be within the rules," Rei said.
Minako waited a beat before responding. "Don't threaten me with a good time."
Rei pursed her lips. She really should have seen that coming.
"Yuck it up, Aino, 'cause it's our turn to play."
The teacher's whistle blew, signaling the end of the round between the boys. Minako looked at the floor, then back to Rei. She gulped.
The teacher indicated for the girls to take the makeshift-field. Rei flipped her hair and strode onto the floor. She took her place at the end of the court and stared across the way at Minako as she got in position. When they were both set, there was a moment where their eyes met, and she felt a thrill of tension shoot through her. She took a steadying breath, and the teacher blew the whistle to start the round.
Rei took off, sprinting hard to beat Minako to the center line. Unfortunately for her, the other girl was a little more athletic. Minako grabbed a ball, had her arm back to throw, and Rei slid. The ball just missed hitting her, and she picked up one of her own- too late, as Minako danced away, out of range.
Rei retreated as well, content to play it safe. The girls of either class were slower to start than the boys. Both sides were milling around, a few girls with foam balls, but no one was throwing. Rei made her way over to Makoto.
"I think we should get things started," she said.
Makoto gave her a sidelong glance. "Minako must have really pissed you off, huh?"
"Honestly, it wasn't even that bad. But it would be nice to beat her at something for a change," Rei said.
Makoto grunted approvingly. "I can get behind that," she said. She hefted her projectile before winding up and firing it at the opposing team. Girls shrieked and scattered, and a ball came flying back at them. Rei knocked it aside with the ball in her hands. She looked at the culprit, and found Minako sticking her tongue out at them.
"Yeah, this is going to be satisfying," Rei said. She threw her ball at Minako, making sure to aim for the other girl's legs so she couldn't catch it. Minako dodged, and the match picked up in intensity. The other students started to attack more often, dropping the numbers on either side down. Where before Minako had the chance to corral her troops, Rei instead kept her busy ducking and dodging with well-timed strikes.
With no direction to help them, Minako's team didn't fare any better than Rei's. Both teams were steadily losing players, although Rei noticed that Ami and Serena were both still in the game. Ami seemed to be hanging back, sometimes darting forward to cover Makoto's blind side, and Serena's preternatural luck was still in effect, as everything that came her way just missed hitting her. Before long, the five of them were the only players left.
There was a lull as the girls surveyed each other. Rei noticed Minako and Serena both breathing hard, but she wasn't faring any better. Ami seemed to be barely able to stand; her knees were shaking, and she could barely hold a ball up in front of her. Makoto still stood tall, although she winced when she moved her arm a certain way. All the throwing she had done must have been taking a toll on her. Neither side could handle much more.
"Come on," she said to her teammates. "They're almost done, and we've got an extra person. A couple more throws and they'll be done."
Makoto smirked. "You say that, but we haven't been able to hit them in either game."
"They're more tired now," Ami said, shakily. "But then, so are we."
"Let me and Makoto handle the attacking," Rei said. "Just keep on protecting us."
Ami nodded. Rei looked across the gym at the blondes on the other side. They had been conspiring too, and they separated as she watched. Serena was holding one ball defensively in front of her, Minako was holding two, one in each hand, and was clearly looking for an opening. It would be dangerous, but they were running out of time- both because of how tired they all were, and because class would be ending in a few minutes.
"Ready?" She asked Makoto.
"You know it," the other girl said.
"Go for Usagi," Rei said.
Makoto gave a shout and went into her throwing motion. Rei stepped up as well and let a ball fly at Minako, to keep her from interfering with Makoto. But instead of even trying, Minako dodged her attack and dropped the balls she was carrying. She dove just as Makoto let go, and instead of a ditzy, easy target, suddenly the ball was traveling towards a ditzy, dangerous target. It struck Minako in the stomach, but she was prepared for the weight of the throw. Both arms came up to surround it, and she successfully held on to it. She had caught Makoto out.
Rei almost yelled in frustration, but a near-miracle occurred. A slow moving projectile struck Minako in the arms before falling limply to the ground. Both girls looked at Ami in wonder. The small girl had seen what was about to happen, and although she couldn't stop it, she had timed her throw well enough to get Minako out. Rei could almost kiss the other girl for giving them a fighting chance.
"Take this!" an excited yell came from Serena. The girl threw the ball she was holding. Rei watched incredulously as it headed directly for Ami, and was stunned as it curved instead towards her. Too stunned to get out of the way in time, and the ball struck her, knocking her out of the round.
All five girls watched the last ball roll away. In the span of a couple of seconds, the three best players remaining had been taken out of the game. The students on the sidelines cheered at the sudden development, shouting support for either of the remaining girls. Minako, Makoto, and Rei slowly trekked off the floor and sat, together, still trying to process how they had all been knocked out.
Meanwhile Ami and Serena squared off against each other. There was a moment where the two locked eyes, and on some unknown signal they both moved. Serena reached a ball first, and triumphantly threw it- directly into the ground. Ami picked up a ball and lofted it at Serena. Minako started, and yelled for Serena to catch it. She nodded and put her hands up as the slow-moving ball arced towards her. Her team on the sidelines clamored excitedly, but their shouts turned to warnings as Ami picked up and threw another ball.
Her first ball had been thrown weakly, and high enough that it would take a long time to come down. Her second was thrown directly, and while she didn't have the best arm, it was much faster than her first throw. Fast enough that it beat it there, and struck Serena, knocking her out as well. Rei's team cheered wildly, hardly believing that someone had fallen for Ami's trick. Rei herself had a much easier time believing it, even with only limited exposure to the twin-tailed girl. Beside her Makoto and Minako both burst out laughter.
The teacher whistled the end of class, and the students began to file into the locker rooms. Makoto ran over to Ami to congratulate her, leaving Rei alone with Minako.
"Well, I lost," Minako said. "I think that should satisfy your bloodlust."
"It doesn't," Rei said immediately. "Considering I wasn't the one who hit you."
Minako considered her words for a moment. "I guess that means you'll be trying to get back at me still."
"Perhaps," Rei said airily. "I certainly won't warn you if I am."
"Guess I'll have to keep an eye on you," Minako said.
"As if you don't already."
Minako giggled. "A closer eye on you then."
Rei rolled her eyes.
"I won't make it easy on you," Minako said.
"I wasn't expecting you to," Rei said.
"And I'm not gonna stop bothering you- it's too much fun."
"I wasn't expecting you to do that either. Despite how you took it earlier, I can deal with you just fine. I don't care what you cook up in that perverted mind of yours."
"Hmm hmm, I guess we'll have to see about that. I guess class is about to get more interesting, huh?"
"That's not the word I would use," Rei said.
Minako chuckled and latched onto her arm. She pulled her close, moving her mouth next to Rei's ear.
"We're going to have a lot of fun together, Rei-ko," she whispered, before slipping away into the locker room. Rei stiffened, and watched her go.
