Azumanga Rumble

Chapter 4

(Blue Team leads 9-7, after 3 events)

"The next events will be a two-part water event!" Miss Kurosawa called out, "The first will be a five-on-five canoe race, while the next will be a swim meet. So, everyone choose your group. All 16 of you will compete."

Both teams huddled up to decide who will go first.

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In Blue Team's side, the group decided on Tenma and Eri to compete, on account that they couldn't swim.

"I guess I'll swim for the meet," Mikoto stated, "If I recall, you three, namely Tenma, Eri, and Akira, can't swim much."

"Right! So, for this canoe race, it'll be Sawachika, Harima, Takano, and both Tsukamotos," Hanai bellowed.

"Wait! Karasuma can swim?" Tenma thought.

Karasuma appeared in a kappa suit and suggested that he'd go last. Mikoto and Eri stifled their laughter, knowing how silly he looked.

"I didn't find it funny, girls…" Tenma muttered.

"Say, don't you think that attire will be under regulations," Mikoto giggled.

Hanai shouted, "Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures!"

They all agreed and cheered on.

At the Red Team's side, they have already decided on the order: Tomo, Yomi, Chiyo, Osaka, and Kagura will be in the canoe, despite the leg injury Kagura had earlier.

"Are you going to be okay now, Kagura?" Yomi asked.

"Well, I cannot go in the water for a while," Kagura responded, "It's just a sprain. Coach told me to stay off some of the grueling events."

"Sure… and we'll see if Yukari can fill in for you, after you pop a chest stitch," Tomo laughed.

"Shut up, dummy!" Kagura shouted.

"Ladies! Break it up!" Yomi cried, "If we keep feuding, we'll never win against those jokers in blue; and I DON'T mean the police!"

Tomo and Kagura calmed down. So, the girls decided that Chihiro, Kaorin, and Sakaki will swim for them. Kaorin agreed, but only if she swims with Sakaki. The girls refused. For one thing, they haven't heard the rules yet.

Meanwhile, Chiyo and Osaka learned that Tenma will compete in the canoe race. They devised a plan to get rid of BOTH sisters.

"I finally have it, Miss Osaka," she stated, "I believe I'll finally be rid of both Tsukamotos."

"Why both?" Osaka asked.

"Simple, I never told you. Yakumo Tsukamoto is WAY cuter than Tenma, which is bad for me, since Tenma's cute little string bean pigtails jabbed at me… inside." Chiyo huffed.

"But that still doesn't explain the plan," Osaka said.

Chiyo held up a small tree snake.

"I was thinking of putting a black mamba in her canoe, but that sounds very dangerous," Chiyo stated, "You see, this tree snake may be harmless, but when Tenma looks at this snake with its cute eyes, she'll freak out! Priceless!"

"I get it! And when the blue team sees the snake, they'll jump out of the canoe and we'll win!" Osaka grinned, "You're a mastermind!"

Chiyo suddenly hushed Osaka, knowing that she saw Miss Itoko coming in their direction.

"So, have you decided on who will be in this race?" She asked.

"Miss Osaka and I will be in the canoe," Chiyo said, "We'll be fine."

Miss Itoko left, while Chiyo let out an evil glare from behind her back.

"That was close." Chiyo said.

She gave the snake to Osaka and said to put it in the canoe.

"Okay, you got it!" Osaka remarked, "Once I put this in the canoe, Tenma will be gagged and choked by that snake!"

Osaka dashed off to the canoe, while Chiyo was in concern.

"Let's hope Miss Osaka better get it right," she thought.

At the Blue Team's side, Tenma grew confused about the canoe.

"So, how do you row in this matter?" She said in confusion.

Yakumo showed her how to push backwards with the paddle. Tenma then was happy that she was learning well. They both agree that this must be a team effort.

"Hanai-Senpai really is working up this motive," Yakumo said, "I mean us, him, Akira-Senpai, and Harima-Senpai will be in the race."

"HEY! I'm the captain!" Tenma shouted, "We have the lead; how bad can it be?"

Osaka appeared, without the sisters knowing, and placed the snake in the canoe. Unfortunately, she placed it inside a small burlap bag and hid it in the front of the canoe. She let out an evil grin and giggled.

"Surprise, Tsu-ka-motos," she whispered.

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The race was about to begin. Both canoes were at the starting point, except it was 6-on-5; Hanai was in the Blue team's canoe.

"Uh, why are you in our canoe?" Akira said.

"You need a leader for your canoe! And since we outmatch the girls, and even outweigh them, I'll take the lead!" Hanai bellowed.

"Of course…" Akira muttered.

Miss Kurosawa explained the rules:

"Each group must row in the river. They must row from shore-side in the river and back. According to Itoko, the pathway in the river is 50 feet; which means they must row at least 100 feet to get back. If any member of the group jumps out of the boat, they must get back on the canoe, or they will be disqualified. Disqualification ALSO occurs when the entire team crosses first, but with at least one member on their team absent. Winner gets 3 points."

"Is everyone ready?" Kurosawa called.

"Good luck, Tenma!" Chiyo-Chan called out.

"Thanks, Miss Mihama!" Tenma called back, "Even for a kid, you sure are caring!"

"You're welcome!" Chiyo cried out.

She then muttered, "You're gonna need it, you pigtailed prima-donna."

"READY!" Kurosawa cried, holding a starting gun up high.

BANG!

Both canoes began to move. They kept paddling ferociously and drifted off into the sea.

"Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!" Tomo cried, as the Red Team paddled simultaneously.

"ONE! TWO! ONE! TWO!" Hanai shouted, with the Blue Team working in motion.

The blue team had only Hanai up in the front, calling each member to row alternately. When he goes "one, two", Eri and Yakumo paddled at one, while Tenma and Harima paddled at two. The red team just paddled simultaneously, with Chiyo paddling lightly and Osaka waving air. The others did it normally, by rowing like clockwork. They both disappeared from a distance and have yet to return. This led to the rest of the group to perform part two of the water event.

"While we wait for them to come back," Yukari insisted, "Let's get this next event over with."

"HEY! Don't say what I was gonna say!" Kurosawa shouted.

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Two hours later, both canoes were neck and neck, heading into the buoy. The red team crossed first and turned around to get back. The blue team followed behind.

"It's working! We're winning! We're winning!" Tomo cheered.

"Damn them!" Harima shouted, "We're not gonna lose!"

"Tenma… I promise I'll do this for you!" He thought.

He started to glow in a gold hue and paddled in a fierce mannerism.

"HARIMA!" Hanai cried. "What the hell are you doing?"

It turns out that Harima's fierce rowing was a miscalculation; he steered so fierce, it led the entire canoe spinning in circles. The blue team was far behind, with Eri and Hanai flying off the canoe.

"Hmm, maybe that snake we put in was not needed after all," Chiyo thought, looking far away.

But she was wrong, when the snake popped out of the bag. It landed on Yomi's leg.

"YAH!" Yomi shrieked.

"Hey, Yomster, what happened?" Tomo asked.

Yomi stopped rowing and looked down, seeing the snake Chiyo and Osaka got.

"SNAAAAAAAKE!" She shrieked.

The canoe started to go out of control. Chiyo-Chan was not only frightened, but angry. She turned to Osaka and shouted at her.

"Miss Osaka! What did you do?" She cried.

"I did what you said! Except I didn't know which canoe it was, since it looked the same!" Osaka cried.

As Chiyo was about to lash out at our favorite space cadet, the blue team's canoe arrived and was gaining on the red team's.

"Huh? But how?" Chiyo cried.

The blue team started to paddle on, except that Harima was tied up in the front, while Hanai took his place.

"Maybe Whiskers can calm down," Eri snuffed.

"KEEP PADDLING!" Hanai cried.

Chiyo grabbed her paddle and scooped the snake up from Yomi's legs.

"Miss Yomi, hold still!" She cried.

She flung the snake into the blue team's canoe, landing on Eri's head. The red team continued on.

"Thanks, Chiyo-Chan! Man, was that scary!" Yomi cried.

She ignored Yomi and turned to look at the blue team, who slowed down slightly.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she growled, "But at least it found itself in the right boat!"

Tenma stopped rowing and saw the snake. She quietly held the paddle up high and swung at Eri from behind, trying to knock off the snake.

"Miss Tsukamoto!" Hanai cried.

WHAM!

Tenma swatted the paddle onto Eri's head, knocking her out cold. The snake fell into the inside of the boat.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?" Hanai shouted, "YOU MORON!"

"THERE WAS A SNAKE!" Tenma shrieked.

"A WHAT?" He cried.

The blue team staggered around trying to get the snake out, but didn't. They all suddenly started to jump out of the canoe and into the water. They tried to grab the snake. Akira grabbed the snake with her hand and threw it into the air. She called the others to head back in, while the snake was airborne.

"WHOA! That was scary!" Tenma panted, as she continued rowing.

The canoe continued to row, but vaguely, since Harima is tied up and Eri is unconscious.

"What about Sawachika?" Hanai cried.

"PADDLE! NOW!" Tenma screamed.

"GO!" Akira cried.

Where was the snake headed? Well, it went into the red team's canoe, landing on Tomo's back. Tomo began to wriggle and giggle.

And after two hours, both canoes were heading into the home stretch. The red team was way in the league. Tomo was shaking continuously, which led to Yomi feeling that the canoe started to shake.

"Tomo, are you okay?" Yomi asked her, "Stop shaking, you idiot!"

Tomo said nothing. She dropped her paddle and laughed very loudly. Everyone was concerned, but Yomi looked in her back, which Tomo was signaling.

"Let me see," Yomi snubbed.

But, when she saw the snake, she began to tremble in fear. Chiyo and Osaka were smiling and cried that they are close to the finish line. Yomi then cried in a blood curdling scream.

"TOMO! THERE'S A SNAKE IN YOUR SHIRT!" She screamed.

Tomo then laughed in fright, whatever that means.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" She shrieked.

"All right! Tomo is doing the snake charmer's dance!" Osaka cheered.

She and Chiyo turned around and saw Tomo wriggling, with Kagura and Yomi trying to free the snake.

"But… how?" Chiyo gasped.

The girls tried to help, but the canoe began to rock. Osaka started to dance even more.

"Miss Osaka! Sit down!" Chiyo cried.

"AAH! Get this snake off my back!" Tomo shrieked.

Yomi reached for her back, while Kagura was losing her balance.

"Tomo, hold still!" Kagura cried.

"HEY! Get a mongoose and hurry!" Osaka called out.

"MISS OSAKA!" Chiyo hollered.

They began to slip a bit. And then…

SPLASH!

All five girls fell into the water. The snake escaped, floating in the water. Tomo was relieved.

Meanwhile, the blue team rowed past the 4-man red team and crossed the finish line.

"We're the first to cross first!" Eri cheered.

Miss Kurosawa announced, "Red Team disqualified! Blue Team wins the canoe race!"

Chiyo sank to the water in embarrassment and anger.

"I'm going to kill Osaka, when I get the chance," she muttered.

Tomo then thought, "Say, who put that snake in our canoe?"

"Beats me," Yomi replied.

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Blue Team leads 12-7

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Mikoto was stretching her legs, getting ready for the swim meet, the 2nd part of the race. However, Sakaki appeared and went towards her.

"Hey… um… excuse me…" she stuttered, nearly staring at her breasts, "Uh, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, uh, hi," Mikoto smiled, "Sakaki, right? I've heard good things about you: the most athletic woman in the Red Team."

"Well, no," she said, "I'm… I'm mostly a pure speed girl, but I don't run or race really far."

"Oh? I'm sorry to hear that," Mikoto smiled.

She then noticed that her breasts are bigger than hers.

"I envy you and your bust size, Sakaki," she giggled.

Sakaki covered her chest in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Imadori, with a bandage in his face, crept behind Mikoto in stealth.

"Sorry about that. So, will you be racing in the swim meet? It'll be an honor to race you in the water."

"Oh, okay then. You, too." Sakaki giggled.

Imadori popped out from behind and dived into Sakaki, heading towards her breasts.

"D! D! D!" He screeched.

But as Sakaki stood in fright, Kaorin jumped in and tackled Imadori to the ground. She began to pummel him and scratch him like a bear.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MISS SAKAKI!" She screamed.

Mikoto and Sakaki were shocked.

"Should've known…" Mikoto muttered.

Sakaki thought, "How did she get here fast?"

"OW! Yes, it hurts," Imadori winced, "But it's all worth it!"

Sakaki turned away and saw a blue bird on the tree branch. She blushed, as Mikoto snickered at Imadori's punishment, dished by Kaorin.

"How cute," she thought.

"Hey, whenever you're done, can you take him to first aid?" Mikoto asked Kaorin.

Kaorin ignored her; she continued to maul at Imadori.

Miss Sakaki, I love your body; just I hate men who want to play at you in perversion!

To be continued…