It was two days before Rei had to see Minako again. The previous innuendo-laden class and the sudden use of a nickname had Rei feeling... off-kilter. She wasn't sure how she would act when next she saw the other girl. If she was too stand-offish, Minako would know that what she had said bothered her. If she was too casual, it would leave her open to more or worse from the blonde. With all her agonizing, PE came all-too fast.

The locker room wasn't too bad. Minako had never talked to her while they were changing, and generally left her alone while they were in there. However, as the girls filed into the gym Minako caught her eye, and gave her a few suggestive- if a little goofy- looks.

The teacher led them through warm-ups before announcing the game of the day: floor hockey. Rei enjoyed floor hockey. She had a knack for long passes, which allowed her to play back, away from most of the action, and turn the entire game around when she got the ball.

The twist came- as she half expected- when the teacher also announced that he would choose captains to pick teams. Worry settled in Rei's stomach, and the teacher chose three students from her class, and two from the other before announcing the last captain- Minako. Rei hung her head. She should have known something like that would happen.

The captains made their choices in turn. Rei hoped that someone else would choose her first, however she doubted Minako would allow that. Sure enough, when it was Minako's turn to pick, she chose Rei. Everyone else seemed a little thrown off; all of the picks to that point had been boys, and there were plenty left. Rei wasn't surprised at being picked, nor was she surprised when Minako picked Serena next. Then Makoto, Ami, Molly- a friend of Serena's- and Melvin, to finish out their team.

"Aino, I don't think this team will be able to win," Rei said.

"Hm? Of course we can, why wouldn't we be able to?" Minako asked.

"Well, I know we're good and all, but aren't most of the boys a little, you know, faster than us?" Makoto asked.

"And bigger?" Ami added. Minako waved them off.

"It's fine. We're a better team." She pulled Ami and Serena to her. "Nothing can beat the power of friendship!"

"Yeah!" Serena chimed in.

"That's nonsense," Rei said. "You know that, right?"

"It isn't!" Minako exclaimed. "Besides, I have a plan."

The teacher called two other teams to the field, and Minako had everyone huddle around her.

"Now, I know it looks like I just picked friends, but I have important roles for all of you. Makoto, you'll be in goal. I know how good you are at blocking shots." Makoto nodded.

"Wait, we don't have to listen to you," Rei said. "No one put you in charge."

"The teacher did, remember? I'm captain of the team," Minako said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rei was tempted to argue, but figured it wouldn't be worth the effort.

"Next is Molly, Ami, and Melvin defending. Then me and Rei in the middle to control the ball, and Serena at the front to score."

Minako beamed at everyone, and Rei was secretly impressed with the plan. The weaker players could make up for poor play with numbers, she and Minako could hold the middle of the court down- she already knew how well they could work as a team, much to her own dismay- and even Serena couldn't mess up throwing a ball at a net. And if all else failed, they had a big, athletic person to protect the goal.

"That's... a really good plan," Ami said.

"Of course it is," Minako said. "You can just call me Captain Aino!" She threw her arms around Ami and Serena again and raised her fingers in a 'V'.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Captain," Rei said. "We still have to see how it goes against an actual team."

"No other team will have a plan," Minako said triumphantly. "Trust your captain, we'll win."

Rei rolled her eyes, but settled back to watch the other teams playing. The gym had been split longways by cones, and two nets were placed at either end, allowing four teams to play at once. When their turn came, they took the field in the positions Minako had laid out. They were a sharp contrast to the other team, where the students all milled around the center of the field with one hanging back by the goal.

Minako and the other captain squared off, the teacher dropped the ball, and they were off. Minako won control of the ball and passed it back to Rei. She yelled for Serena to run forward and started down the side of the field opposite Rei.

While keeping an eye on Minako's run, Rei pushed forward herself. Two players from the opposing team closed in on her, but one of them got too eager. He rushed forward and Rei feinted then cut back, bypassing him, and gave the other player similar treatment. Minako broke from the defender marking her and Rei passed, hitting Minako in stride. The other team surrounded the blonde, who instead passed to Serena, who swung way too hard, sending the ball well over the net. One of the defenders got to the ball and the other team started a counterattack. Rei and the other two fell back.

"Hey, a little less on the shot next time Serena," Minako yelled.

"Haha, oops," Serena said easily. "I got a little carried away," she said, stopping to mime a pinch to show how little.

Minako didn't say anything. Rei took a brief look at her, noting her lips drawn thin, her furrowed brow. Interesting. Rei was well aware of her own competitive streak, and had guessed Minako had one was well, but she had never seen it before. The other girl had always been the instigator, and, though Rei hated to admit it, had come out of their little games the winner every time. There was a certain satisfaction in seeing Minako lose her cool, even if it was over Serena's general physical ineptitude rather than something she had done.

The other team's attack had passed them and stalled at their defensive line. Molly and Melvin kept chasing the ball from defender to defender while Ami marked anyone who got too open. Minako charged to their aid while yelling for Rei and Serena to stay near the middle of the field for a counterattack of their own.

The other team managed a shot, a little off balance and easily blocked. Makoto sent the ball flying to Rei, who turned up court and ran. Serena had been ahead of her, but she couldn't run as fast as Rei, and was quickly overtaken. Two people had stayed behind for the other team, one, the goalie, directly in front of the goal, the other off to Rei's right. Rei leaned left and shot, but the goalie was in position and stopped it. The rest of either team caught up, including Minako, who looked a little more than angry.

"What was that, I thought I said Serena was forward?" They started backpedaling as the other team advanced.

"Then she should have been forward," Rei said sharply.

"You should have waited. We have to stick to the plan," Minako said equally sharp.

"I thought you would be happy I was taking initiative, knowing how much I don't like doing it," Rei said haughtily.

"I'd be happier if we were winning," Minako said.

One of the opposing players passed them with the ball. Minako cursed quietly and chased after them. Rei let out a huff of air. Minako was getting wound up by something so minor. It was a wonder she could get under Rei's skin so easily.

Minako intercepted a pass and ran the ball to the middle of the court. She yelled for Serena to run ahead, and passed to Rei to avoid pressure from the other team. Rei took the ball forward a little, wondering how angry she could make Minako by charging in again. She decided against it- for now- and careened the ball off the wall back to Minako. Minako took it passed immediately to an open Serena. The ball bounced off Serena's stick directly to the other team's goalie, who sent it to one of their player's.

Again and again the teams ran up and down the field. Thanks to Minako's strategy- and especially to Makoto in goal- the other team never had a clean shot. At the other end, their strategy led Minako and Rei deep into enemy territory, but- thanks to Serena- was thwarted every time. Sometimes she would miss a pass completely, sometimes she would accidentally hit it directly to the other team, often her shots were simply off mark, and most recently, Serena took such a big windup to shoot that one of the opponents took the ball from right in front of her.

"Ah, where did you come from?" Serena yelled in surprise.

"From right in front of you," Minako yelled back as she tried to cut off a pass.

"Oh, that makes sense," Serena said.

"Next time hit it faster," Minako said as she ran after the other team, who were already closing in on their goal.

"Sorry," Serena said in a small voice as she stopped in the center of the court, next to Rei. The two of them watched as their defense pressured the other team into a bad pass, allowing Minako to take it and start, once again, to the other end of the court. Before she reached Rei and Serena, a whistle blew, and the teacher called for new teams to come forward.

Minako groaned. The three girls made their way to the sidelines, Serena apologizing the entire way. Minako waved her off, saying it was fine. Rei studied her closely for a moment. The other girl's shoulders were held stiff, her hands squeezed into fists. Even though she told Serena it was fine, Rei knew how annoyed the other girl was that they hadn't won.

The defenders caught up with them and joined them to watch the other teams, laughing and chatting about the game they played and the games they were watching. Rei didn't join in; instead she split her attention between the action on the court, and a certain nearby blonde. Minako was acting bubbly, laughing and poking fun with the others, but her smile seemed a little… crooked. She was still putting on a face to hide how annoyed she was.

Rei pursed her lips in thought. She wasn't sure what to do with this new information, but anything that could annoy Minako that much could be useful to her.