Disclaimer: I own nothing but an incomplete set of the DVDs (which will be complete shortly).
Chapter 14, "One For The Money, Three For The Show".
The unyielding ringing of her alarm clock woke Tomo from her light slumber. However, after remembering what day it was, she brightened up. Today was the day of the Sports Fest. And that meant she could totally destroy Kagura and prove her wrong. 'I can just see it now. I'll beat her by, like, half the marathon, and she'll have to take back all that crap she spouts about me sucking at sports! You'll get yours, Kagura, just wait!' she told herself as she jumped out of bed to get ready. In no time, she was out the door, running to the school in order to beat Kagura and possibly Yomi.
Glancing at the sky, it was a great day, but looking over to the West found a few stray clouds lingering. Passing through the gates, she pushed through the throngs of people, into the school. She changed her shoes, and ran full speed up the stairs to Yukari's class, nearly tripping along the way. Opening the door, the sight of Yomi smirking greeted her.
"WAA. What the hell! Do you live here or something?!" she yelled, stomping up to the now annoyed brunette.
"It's called waking up early. You should try it some time. So, are you ready to get beaten, like always?" Yomi asked.
"My dear Koyomi-chan, waking up early stresses the body in preparation for such a big event, so I took the liberty of sleeping regular hours." the short girl explained, stressing the name in an obnoxious manner and waving a finger.
"And how do you figure that? Nothing you do seems to help anyway. You couldn't win if you slept for a couple years." Kagura said, entering the room.
"Must I bring up the ch-" Tomo started, before her mouth was grabbed by both girls. "Don't even say it!" they said simultaneously.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Silencing the truth will make you stupid, girls." Tomo told them, slipping out of their grasp.
"Like you've got anything to tell, Tomo. Now everyone shut up!" Yukari shouted, effectively shutting the classroom down. "Now, as you all know, this is an important battle this year. My money to pay for an expensive dinner is at stake," the teacher began, earning the dread of her students and a shout from the next room, "and so I'm counting on you all to deliver me- err, US, to victory! Go team!" she finished.
"Uhm, Miss Yukari! You should totally buy us juice if we win. And that doesn't count every event!" Tomo piped up.
"Why are you aiming so low? We need ABSOLUTE VICTORY! Class 2 will be demolished this year, just like before! And for that, we're relying on Sakaki and, of course, Kagura! Why do you think you're even here?" their sadistic teacher cackled.
"Class 2? What's so special about them?" Kagura whispered.
"That's Miss Kurosawa's class." Osaka told her, as the athlete glanced back to the front. 'I knew it.' Yomi and Kaorin thought.
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"Alright, Yomi, this is nothing. You can do this. This is what you've planned for all week." the tall girl spoke to herself as she walked out into the field. The numerous other classes were setting up their stands, and she was moving to do the same with the other girls. As they readied, she stretched and warmed up while Tomo, Chiyo, and Osaka went to participate in the shooting contest.
"WAA! Yomi and Kagura aren't even in this! I wanted to rub my huge victory in their faces!!" Tomo wailed, walking to her position and glancing at the other two. Kagura stood with Sakaki and looked from the sidelines.
"Geez, they're hopeless. Let's just try our best." she stated, looking up to the other girl. Sakaki simply nodded, looking elsewhere at another interest. She blushed absentmindedly at the thought and returned her gaze to the shooting contest, which was over by this point. She could see Chiyo cheering, as she'd made one in the basket. Next, Kagura watched as Tomo and Chiyo got ready for the ball rolling contest.
"We're gonna do our best! Right, Chiyo-chan?" Tomo gave her a thumbs-up, to which the small girl nodded enthusiastically. At the gun, in a brutal display of force, Tomo ran forward as fast as she could, leaving Chiyo behind. The small girl ran forward, and , catching on, was flung forward, and subsequently run over by the ball.
'Ugh. Leave it to her to overdo it like that.' Kagura sighed, putting a hand to her head in frustration. She walked over, and helped Chiyo to her feet. Making their way back to the group, they noticed Osaka staring blankly toward the field.
"Hey, What's up, Osaka? You look kind of...out of it." Tomo asked, to which everyone sweatdropped.
"I'm waitin' for the obstacle course. I wanna get the candy." the spacey girl drawled.
"Candy? HEY! Why aren't I getting any candy?! This is discrimination!" Tomo yelled.
"Will you give it a rest? It's part of the course. You stick your face in flour and get the candy." Yomi explained as they announced the start of the event.
"Why is Osaka doing it anyway? Isn't she, like, the worst person to do a puzzle or something?" the wildcat continued.
"Well, she said she really wanted to do it..." Yomi trailed off as they watched her get past the net and to the flour box. As Osaka dunked her head in, she pulled back out, and stuck it back in, laughing. Earning scowls from the rest of Class 3. After it was over, they surrounded her.
"Here, Miss Osaka. Wipe your face off with this." Chiyo offered her a towel.
"YOMI! You, Chiyo, Osaka, and me are up for cavalry battle!" Tomo announced.
"What?! Why us four?" Yomi demanded. "Let's rock-paper-scissors to see who goes where!" Tomo suggested.
"Rock, paper, Scissors!" they shouted, Tomo putting forth scissors, while the other three were paper. "HA! I WIN! Hoist me up, you peons!" she declared, to which Yomi chopped her in the head. Chiyo at the bottom, with Yomi and Osaka supporting her started to not look as well as they'd hoped.
"We should redo, because someone was late." the largest girl growled.
"Aww, c'mon. Who throws a game like that? Right, Osaka?" Tomo shot back.
"...Ya sure are good at rock-paper-scissors, Tomo." she replied after a moment.
"Ya see? It's settled!" the lead girl said, mounting up.
"This is the worst possible combination." Yomi muttered as they lined up. The gun shot off, and the teams were at each other.
"Hey, let's move! We're entering the fray too!" their horseman declared.
"Chiyo, are you alright?" Yomi asked, concerned for the tiny girl at the bottom. "I-I'm f-fine." she answered.
"To the right! Right!" came the order. "Uhh. Which one?" Osaka fumbled, looking back and forth.
"The one you hold your chopsticks with!" Yomi answered. To her horror, Osaka let go of Tomo to check the side, nearly toppling them all over. "If you've got it, then get a hold of her!"
"What's with this? Use your stupid brute force!" Tomo yelled.
"You're the stupid one here!"
"HEY! Mutiny, eh? I'm the captain of this ship, and if you don't like it, you can go overboard!" Tomo screamed.
"Gladly!" Yomi answered, at which point Chiyo lost her balance, bringing them all down.
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"Come on, Yomi. You know I didn't mean it! It was just the heat of the moment." Tomo tried to quell the angry girl, to no avail. Instead of answering, though, she simply stood her ground and went to get herself and Chiyo some juice. Handing Chiyo one, she popped the other open.
"C'mon, babe, you know you gotta talk to me sooner or later. You know ya love me like that!" the hyper teen emphasized, hitting a weak spot in the indignant girl.
'That's precisely the problem.' Yomi mentioned internally as she brought up the can to take a drink.
"W-WHA? JUICE? But Miss Yukari's getting us juice!" Tomo wailed, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"That doesn't mean we can't drink anything all day. We need to rehydrate ourselves, right?" Yomi replied, taking another drink.
"Drink water then! You should be drinking water!" the other girl tiraded.
"You can if you want. Go on." came the blunt reply. And Tomo did run off, to which Yomi smirked. But she was back in a matter of seconds, and without warning, grabbed Yomi's drink and gulped the whole thing down. "HEY! That's MINE, jerk!" she yelled. After thinking for a moment, though, she considered the situation; Tomo had just drank from the same can, in the same place. '...A-an indirect kiss?' she blushed at the thought, but was interrupted by Tomo.
"Hey, look at that." she pointed to a woman walking near the parking lot.
"Mr. Kimura's wife..." Chiyo said, awed. They followed her discreetly, can still in hand.
"Let's see how good a person she is." Tomo whispered, rolling the ca in front of her. They watched as Mrs. Kimura chased th can, only to run head-first into a pole. Recoiling, she picked the can up and threw it in a trash bin.
"Wow. She ain't that bad after all!" Tomo said, as the older woman turned and came up to them.
"Hello! Oh, you must be Chiyo-chan, right?" she greeted, causing the child prodigy to blush.
"Ah, yes, ma'am. Uhm...how did you know my name?"
"My husband is a teacher here, and he told me that a cute little girl attends this school." she explained, smiling. They noticed her carrying a small lunch box with her as well.
"Aw, a home-made lunch from a loving wife!"
"Oh, no. he calls it a 'love-wife lunch'." she told them, to which they all blanched.
'L-Love-wife?' Tomo and Yomi thought internally. "So, err. What do you like about Mr. Kimura?" Tomo asked, oblivious to the rudeness of the question.
"Well...he's really cool! You know how clothes from the 70's came back, like in a trend?" she stated, another large smile adorning her face. This left the girls nearly out cold.
'N-no, I don't understand. No matter how many cycles there are, Kimura doesn't fit in any of them!' Tomo told herself.
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"Next is this year's Cheerleading Contest," a voice announced over the speakers, "please line up in front of the judging panels."
Chiyo, Tomo, and Osaka were this years participants for Class 3. As they began, it was quite obvious that Osaka wasn't keeping time with them, but that was beyond the judges, whose concentration was on the cute little girl in their ranks.
"She's even more adorable than last year!"
"That's Class 3, right? My vote's on them!" came numerous voices from among the panel. As others gathered to watch them, Yomi and Kagura were watching Tomo, who as usual was putting 200 percent of her effort into her cheers. A smile graced Kagura's lips as she made her way over to warm up for the marathon. Yomi looked over at Kaorin, who seemed to be without a partner for the three-legged race. Yukari called on Sakaki, the de facto running leader of the class, to take Chihiro's place.
Something twinged inside Yomi, but it was something minor nagging in the back of her head, and she watched the two run. They placed first, as expected, and it was finally her time to shine in the next event. 'Alright, Kagura, it's about time someone wipes out that arrogant stance of yours. And I'll make sure it's me.'
They lined up at the starting point, Yomi and Kagura along side Tomo, Sakaki near them, and Chiyo and Osaka hanging more to the rear. At the gun, they were off, Tomo sprinting forward for a large lead over the others. Kagura balked.
"What is she thinking? She'll totally wear herself down doing that. I knew it all along! So much for her 'full-proof plan to beat me'." she said between breaths, keeping along with Sakaki. Her target of interest changed, however, as Yomi slowly passed by them. They glanced at each other momentarily, before Yomi charged ahead to catch up with Tomo. Losing her cool, Kagura did the same, and before long they caught up with the faltering wildcat.
"What's wrong, Tomo? You're not tired, are you?" Yomi asked, chuckling at the beaten girl.
"You shut up. I'd like to see you finish this without getting tired. Besides, you could burn the calories anyway." Tomo retorted, earning her a swift jab to the head.
"Then I'll see you at the finish line!" her taller companion shot back, running ahead, Kagura coming up from behind. The swimmer slowed down momentarily to keep pace with Tomo.
"Hey, you alright? You really shouldn't be so impulsive." she mocked the other girl's normally confident tone.
"Don't even start. This isn't over yet, so I can still kick your ass!" Tomo declared, her energy recharged, and she began sprinting again. Kagura could only stare and gape.
"Where the hell does all that energy come from?!" she cried as she ran to keep up with them. Yomi had come to first in their little bet, and was intent on keeping it that way. She could vaguely hear the bickering of the couple behind her, but put it out of mind, focusing on the turn at which they would head back to the school.
'Yes, I've made it this far! I just have to pace myself, and it'll be fine!' she reassured herself as she made the halfway point.
"N-no, I can't lose! I'll look like a total idiot if they both beat me!" Tomo whined as she passed the same point, watching kagura easily pull up to Yomi in the distance.
"I'll give you credit for doing this good, but I'm afraid that date is mine!" Kagura snickered, watching the grimace on Yomi's face, fully aware that the less-conditioned girl was doomed to cramp up or simply slow down.
"We'll see...you just wait, it's not over 'til it's over."
"I couldn't have said it better myself. See ya!" She said, and moved to pull ahead, but was startled as Tomo flashed past both of them, racing toward the school. Struggling to keep up, the other two girls chased her for several kilometers, to no avail. Finally, both their love interest and the school came into view, and Sakaki was a little behind them, long with a couple other students.
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'This is it! The final stretch!' all three girls told themselves simultaneously. The positions had Tomo 1st, with Yomi and Kagura tied for 2nd.
"I won't lose. I won't!" Yomi gasped, trying desperately to gain the advantage on Kagura. Tomo's boundless energy ceased at the last moment, and both girls passed her with little trouble. Needless to say, the boastful girl didn't take this too well, and struggled to return, but ultimately it was useless.
The faculty, especially Minamo, watched, shocked, as Yomi made a final flash ahead of Kagura, taking the win.
Seeing her victory crumble before her, Kagura let herself collapse, exhaustion overwhelming her. She fell to her knees, gripping at the ground beneath her in anger and disbelief. Yomi stood ahead, supporting herself weakly as she managed a small smile.
"When you lay the cards down, determination beats experience in the most unexpected ways." she whispered to herself, relief flooding her. She'd take Tomo out, and Kagura would finance it to boot. Mind backtracking, Kagura glanced back as Tomo passed the finish line, in a far lesser place than she'd started out at. Kagura allowed herself some sort of happiness as well, walking over to support the weakened girl.
"I have to admit, you keeping the lead that long was impressive. I'm ashamed, though...I lost." she began to give way, letting herself slacken up.
"Don't feel that way. Sure, you didn't win. And you got beaten by Yomi, of all people," Tomo said, as Kagura narrowed her eyes, "but you looked great out there. And, hey, it's all for fun, right? Am I right? of course I am! So cheer up, girl." Tomo's eyes sparkled as she made an honest, but decidedly misguided, attempt to get her girlfriend's good demeanor back up.
"Thanks, Tomo. I guess you did alright, after all that big talk before." she laughed, poking Tomo in the head.
"Hey, hey, let's not dwell on the past! Besides, I totally lead that for almost the whole thing. So don't get started!" they took comfort in each other's assurances, eyed by their prime competitor. As they were about to continue, a small rumble of thunder was heard in the distance. Looking at the sky, it had clouded up without their noticing, and were getting darker by the minute.
'Doesn't look like we'll be having our date tonight. But I can wait. Now I can set everything up in advance.' Yomi schemed as she walked over to join the others.
"Hey, Yukari! About that juice." Tomo started, looking for their teacher, who was currently off antagonizing Class 2. It had been announced that Class 3 had one, yet again.
"What do you expect? We're the best team there is!" Kagura shouted, wrapping her arm around Tomo's shoulder. Sprinkles of rain began to fall, and the students retreated inside to discuss the events amongst different classes.
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Thunder roared and lightning flashed outside, as Tomo sat on Kagura's bed, talking to the other girl about her athletic career. "Anywhere that's got a good swimming team is where I'm shooting for. I'm almost certain I can make it professionally." Kagura elaborated, looking at a list of colleges in the area. her attention switched to Tomo, who was looking out the window rather than following the discussion. "Something wrong?" she asked, getting up to sit on the bed with her.
"We're going for completely different places. If we both do our own careers..."
"We might end up separated." Kagura finished for her. Tomo nodded forlornly. "That's something we'll have to look at when the time comes. But, for now, we should just fool around and live it up while we can, right?" Kagura asked, which put Tomo back in a good mood.
"Oh, and by the way," the room's proprieter said, getting the guest's attention, "since I beat you so badly today, I think I should get a reward." with that, she took hold of Tomo and kissed the unsuspecting girl. Before she could respond, she was on her back, Kagura deepening the kiss. Before long, she felt a hand caressing the side of her face, and the kisses start to descend.
She was at a loss for words, and was utterly melting into the attention. But lust gave way to reason, and she firmly stopped Kagura in her tracks. The athlete doubled back, realizing what she'd started, and she hastily released Tomo and backed away.
"I...I'm sorry, Tomo. I just...I didn't realize what I was doing, and, and I thought you wanted it...I'm sorry!" She cried, waving her hands around.
"It's alright, settle down. I do want it, but...not here...not yet. It's too soon." Tomo blushed crimson, breathing loudly as she savored every bit of what had just occured. "And, kinda warn me next time, okay?" she added, to which Kagura grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry again. Uhm. But, can we still...?" she pried, and Tomo gave in, embracing the other girl and indulging in a less straightforward, but just as passionate, display before they decided to go to sleep. It seemed that, despite her failure at the Sports Fest, kagura still won out in the end, in more ways than one.
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End of Chapter 14.
And, here she is. A more orderely timeline will procede now that I have a good grasp of where to go from here. And I'll try to keep updating on schedule. So, for now, see ya! Goota start on the next one. XD