Girls just want to have fun (Girls only)

[Asukura Aoi]

Aoi was happy: her team mates had done an extremely good job at practice.
And now they were all in their locker room, chatting about the latest gossips or planning dates with their boyfriends.
Aoi was sitting in one of the benches, already knowing how she'd spend the night.
One by one the other girls left to go home; her best friend Maki volunteered to stay back with her, but Aoi gently declined.
As team manager, she had to be the first to check the new choreography: steps, dance movements, techniques.
She had to be sure the final result would be good enough to make them have the perfect score and qualify for the championship.

Aoi grabbed the stereo, locked the room and headed back towards the gym.
That morning she overheard a conversation between members of the men's RG club and found out they wouldn't use the gym for the night, like they often did.

Aoi positioned the stereo in a nearby chair and let the music start.
She stepped onto the mat and closed her eyes: she imagined her team mates stilled in their positions, then slowly performing graceful but accurate movements, combined flips and dance steps.
She fell in a sort of dreamy state, the picture of the final pose followed by a huge round of applauses clearly visible in her mind.
But her eyes shot open when all of a sudden the music changed: Aoi had totally forgot that there were other songs listed in her CD.
She stepped out of the mat to stop the music and removed her jersey, before she restarted the CD.
This time, she knelt in her position and as soon as the right time came, she started moving.
It took her more than four times to get it almost to the way she wanted it, even if she was still a bit too slow when performing a serie of backflip followed by a split.

Tiredness and hunger started to take over her body (it was already 7 pm and she hadn't eat something since lunch), but she was a perfectionist.
So she kept dancing and jumping and flipping and tumbling on and on till she collapsed on the mat.
The CD kept playing and Aoi closed her eyes, trying to make her breath regular again and relaxing even for a moment.
She did it.
She could finally perform the whole routine the way she wanted it.
Tomorrow she'd have to show it to her team mates: she had no doubt Maki wouldn't take long to memorize it; however a few other girls might need more time (the choreography she choose wasn't an easy one).
And she also had to check the solo performances.
It's gonna be a long day she thought.

Aoi slowly stood up, but she was so tired she couldn't move: taking care of her brothers, paying attention in class, practicing hard for the whole afternoon...
Her body started to feel heavy.
I definitely need to sleep...
But the stereo was still on and suddenly a song that Aoi loved started playing.
She smiled: it was the same song she often sang at home, while preparing lunch for her brothers or showering or cleaning up the house or... well, always.
And that song worked like a spell: suddenly Aoi didn't feel so tired anymore and unconciously she started moving around, following the rhythm.
And soon Aoi started to sing and jump around, the lyrics stamped in her memory.

She was too caught up with the song and her eyes were still closed.
She didn't notice the gym door being opened and someone stepping in.
Aoi kept dancing and singing... until she turned around to strike some sort of idolish pose and opened his eyes.
And that's when she realized she wasn't alone.

[Watanabe Nanako]

Nanako kicked a loose stone that was on the sidewalk, taking a drag from her cigarette as she walked. There was a light breeze and it was a bit chilly outside, but other than that the weather was quite nice, and she had been planning on just going for a walk to get out of the house…but that was when her cell phone had beeped. The sound made her steps falter slightly and she came to a halt, not all that used to receiving any messages.

Pulling out the device, she flipped it open and read the message. Her lips screwed up slightly. “Ugh,” she groaned, and she would have raised her hand to her head, if it wasn’t for the cancer stick between her fingers. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and typed a quick ‘Sure’ as a response, before flipping her phone shut sharply and pocketing it again. Mumbling to herself and kicking another stone, she turned around and starting heading in the opposite direction.

The message had been from an old friend. Satonaka Mari - the sweet, ever-caring girl that Nanako had once went to school with. Though, that was before she changed. Mari had always insisted on keeping in contact with all her old friends, and Nanako had been no exception. Any time she got a new cell phone and new contact info, she had to share it with Mari. Not to say that Nanako necessarily replied whenever she got a message from the other girl, but still.

Now, however, it wasn’t as though they were miles apart. They now lived in the same town, went to the same school, her grandmother regularly spoke to Mari’s mother. So, really, she had no choice but to respond to Mari’s messages now. She may have been a yankee, but she they did used to be friends. Yes, ‘used to be’… Past tense, she thought to herself. She didn’t have any attachments anymore. She didn’t need any.

The message had said that Mari was about to head to the school gym shortly, also asking if Nanako had wanted to keep her company while she practiced. The thought was annoying, but having Mari just ask her about why she refused in person the next day at school would also be annoying, so she figured that she might as well just agree. Of course, she was exaggerating slightly, but she would never admit to it.

By the time she reached the school, she was almost on the last drag of her cigarette. The building was dark, with the exception of some lights on the outside and some of the classroom lights still on from where, presumably, some students and/or staff had stayed behind. Walking further, she was nearing the gym as she took the last drag from her cigarette, before dropping it on the ground and crushing it under the bottom of her sneaker. The sounds of music then caught her ears and it seemed to be coming from behind the closed gym doors.

Curious, she moved closer to the gym doors, opening them and taking a step in. There was a girl, that was certainly not Mari, was dancing and singing along to the music coming from a stereo perched on a chair. Leaning her shoulder against the doorframe and crossing her ankles, Nanako watched the girl’s movements with a sharp eye.

The girl’s movements were graceful, and Nanako had to stop herself from analysing the girl’s every movement. Dancing was just another thing that she had pushed aside. Soon enough though, the girl’s dancing came to an end as she turned around, about to strike some sort of pose, and finally noticed that Nanako was present.

A chuckle escaped Nanako’s lips, as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Yo. Satonaka here?” she asked in her rather unique voice. Unique, because it wasn’t your typical ‘high-pitched Japanese girl’ kind of voice, and was instead a little huskier but still high enough to remain slightly feminine. She uncrossed her ankles and stood up a little more.

Just by looking around the gym, she could tell that there probably wasn’t anyone else here. And there was also the fact that the girl in front of her had been dancing around and singing as though nobody had been watching in the first place… Nanako’s chest twinged at the thought, but she just shook her head slightly to fight off the thoughts.

Just as she was opening her mouth to speak again, for lack of anything else to do, Nanako was interrupted with a calling of her name from behind her. Leaning off the door and standing up properly, she turned around in time to see Mari coming towards her. “Oh, Satonaka,” she said, half-heartedly raising a hand in greeting. It almost felt strange calling Mari by her surname, since the last time they had met they had been good friends, but it was Nanako’s own way of maintaining a distance from the other girl.



((ooc - outfit here~! I think this is gonna be fun =D))

[Satonaka Mari]

Mari set her cell phone down on her bed after flipping it shut and put on her blue and pink tracksuit trousers and jacket over her practice clothes so when she got to the gym, she would only need to take them off and wouldn’t need access to the locker room. As she was tying her hair back into a ponytail, her phone beeped. Finishing tying her hair first, she then picked her phone up to look at the message.

All the message read was a simple ‘Sure’, but Mari still smiled anyway, despite the shortness of the reply and the lack of enthusiasm she was sure was behind it. At least Nanako was replying to her messages now. She didn’t message her all the time, but most of the time when she did over the past week, she had gotten a response from the quiet girl. That in itself was an achievement, Mari was sure, but she didn’t know exactly why Nanako was replying now.

Grabbing her bag and placing her cell phone inside it before zipping it up, Mari hurried her way downstairs, bidding farewell to her parents and siblings before she slipped on her shoes and headed out the front door. The walk to the school was long enough that she had a little time to think about things, and she had forgotten to lift her ipod, so listening to music was out of the question.

Seeing Nanako again, and seeing how she had changed… It upset Mari, to say the least. She almost felt that, if she hadn’t left only a year before Nanako ‘changed’, then maybe she wouldn’t have changed at all. The reason she had changed was because she didn’t really have anyone, right? Well, Mari had resolved to fix it. Maybe not entirely, but at least partly. She didn’t want her old friend to be on her own anymore.

It took perhaps ten minutes worth of more walking before she spotted the school gates up ahead. Speeding up a little, she cast a look around the street, just in case Nanako was approaching too. Absently, she wondered if Nanako was already at the gym, or if she was going to be later, and if the latter, then how much later?

She was jogging towards the gym when she spotted the familiar silhouette of her old friend standing at the gym doors. “Nanako!” she called out, trying to gain the girl’s attention. It was only then, though, that she realised that music was playing from the gym. Someone else was here? Wondering if it was another of the girl’s or if it was the boys team, she sped up her pace a little, ending up beside Nanako a moment later.

“Oh, Satonaka,” Nanako said, lifting a hand in greeting. Mari couldn’t deny that it hurt a little for the shorter girl to call her by her surname after they had been so close in the past, but she wasn’t about to dwell on that. She could always fix it, right? Her usual smile lighting up her features, she said a “Hi!” in greeting, before finally looking past Nanako and into the gym.

Her smile got wider upon seeing her team’s manager. “Oh, Aoi-chan, hello!” she greeted her friend happily. Looking between the two girls, it suddenly dawned on her that they wouldn’t know each other. Taking Nanako by the shoulders, she steered her further into the gym. “Nanako, this is Asukura Aoi. Aoi, this is Watanabe Nanako, an old friend of mine. She just started here at Kara High at the beginning of the week.”

Continuing to smile, she nudged Nanako a little more into the gym and the yankee girl sat down on the bench against the wall of the gym. Setting down her bag, Mari took off her jacket as she turned to face Aoi. “Trying out the new routine?” she asked, leaving her tracksuit trousers on for the moment as she started to stretch her arms and upper-body.



((ooc - note that she’s just wearing her normal training clothes~ I don’t like this post and it was kinda rushed…but oh well.))

[Suzuki Keiko]

ooc: I had this cute outfit planned, but then realized I wrote it like she was still in her school uniform so XD Oh well. I'll dish out her cute outfit later.


Keiko hovered outside the school gates. She didn't have to work that evening, yet at the same time didn't want to go home. She briefly thought about waiting for Atsushi, she even ventured over to his classroom, but ended up shying away. It had been a while, and she wondered what her friend was up to. She worried about him, always hanging around Yankees...

She toyed with her bag, poking at the school icon. A crow cried out from a tree, focusing her attention upwards. The sun was starting to set and a hardly anyone was in the courtyard.

Still...

Keiko turned around, her front now facing the school. Maybe Atsushi was in the gym, maybe they could end home together, maybe... She started forward, her fingers no longer fidgeting with her bag as she made her way to the gym.

She could see the lights were still on and her hopes rose. From outside, a song filtered in through the crack of the doors, and after a moment to calm herself, she braced against the door, pulling it open.

The first thing she noticed was that Atsushi was not in the gym.

The second thing she noticed was that there were three girls in the gym, two on the mats while one sat on a bench near the wall, all the while a CD played in the background.

Two of the girls Keiko recognized from the last Gymnastics meet. She had to admit, they were awfully good. But the third girl... She was Watanabe, the delinquent girl who barely shows up for class, and when she does, her seat is next to hers...

Keiko felt herself start to shiver, the cold suddenly biting at her exposed legs. Why couldn't the school let girls wear pants when it started to get really cold? She mentally shook her head, feeling out of place in the giant gym.

She slowly started to back out of the gym, hopefully before any of the other girls noticed her. Atsushi wasn't around, Watanabe was there, their first interaction still sore in her mind, and it would be better if she went on home.

[Asukura Aoi]

Aoi was about to scream out for the surprise: first of all she wasn't alone as she thought she was and blushed realizing she must have embarassed herself; second, she was pretty sure the other was a yankee and she didn't like it one bit.
Aoi tried to recompose herself while eyeing warily the other: had they met before?
She doubted it.
When he heard the other girl chuckle, Aoi sent her an annoyed look.
If that girl had something to say against dance or rhythmic gymnastic, Aoi wouldn't back up: she was ready to defend what she liked the most.

“Yo. Satonaka here?” the other girl asked.
Satonaka? Mari-chan?
Aoi wondered how that girl could know her team mate.
Did Mari ended up in something fishy?
But then Aoi remembered Mari tended to be friendly with everybody, yankees included.
So they were friends...?
When he noticed the girl was staring at her, Aoi realized she still had to answer to her question.
"Huh no... I am all alone here..."
Just when she was about to ask the girl's name, she heard Mari's voice calling out for a name.
"Nanako!”
The girl at the door turned around, greeting Mari who showed up next to her a few seconds later.
Now that her friend was there, Aoi felt a bit relieved.
She didn't really like the thought of staying there in the gym, only her and the yankee.

“Oh, Aoi-chan, hello!” Mari said while pushing the other girl into the gym.
Aoi noticed she was wearing her training clothes and inwardly smiled: typical of Mari to keep practicing whenever she could, even if she was the best of the team.
“Nanako, this is Asukura Aoi. Aoi, this is Watanabe Nanako, an old friend of mine. She just started here at Kara High at the beginning of the week.”
Old friend?
Aoi was sure Mari never mentioned this girl; but there was something on her friend's eyes.
Was it sadness?
Aoi wondered for a brief moment what happened: did they had a fight a long time ago?
Did something change when Mari was living somewhere else?
She got pulled out from her thoughts when Mari stepped into the mat and walked towards her.
“Trying out the new routine?” Mari asked.
Aoi nodded: she noticed Nanako going to sit on one of the benches near the wall.
Whatever... I don't care if she watches as long as she doesn't disturb Aoi thought.
She turned around towards her friend who was stretching out.
"Yes. I can show you"
Mari nodded and left the mat, sitting next to Nanako.
Aoi stopped the CD and restarted it, quickly going to take her position.
She took a deep breath, trying to ease her mind.
It was in that moment, just a second before she had to perform, that she fell in a deep state of concentration, as she usually did every time.
She quickly stood up, all her weight on her right leg while she lifted the other towards her back and meanwhile extending her arms; when her hands reached her foot Aoi stilled for five seconds before starting a serie of catwheel and flips.
And so she kept dancing and moving, focusing only on the music and her movements.
When she ended the routine doing a split and keeping the pose, she heard someone clapping hands.
She turned around and noticed Mari standing near the border of the mat, clapping her hands with an enthustiastic smile gracing her lips.

Aoi stood up and motioned her friend to come over.
"If you are done with your stretches, we can start practicing this"
Mari nodded and moved towards the center of the mat, kneeling down like Aoi did before.
"Okay, when you hear the music start, count till 10 then stood up quickly. Lift your leg and arms at the same time. Count till 3 from the moment you lift your leg till the one when your hands reach your foot. Keep the position for 5 seconds."
Aoi stood aside, watching her friend do exactly what she said.
Mari was really good: besides Aoi, she was the first to memorize routines.
Her movements were always graceful and precise.
She was definitely a natural gymnast: since the day they first practiced together Aoi knew her friend could make it big.
"Okay, now from that position, do 3 consecutive cartwheels then stop and turn around to face the center of the mat"

While Mari did what she said, Aoi noticed a sudden movement from the corner of her eyes.
She quickly turned around: Nanako was still sitting on the bench, her eyes fixed on them.
Then she looked at the door and saw a girl standing there, as if she wasn't sure if she could step in or not.
"Can I help you?" Aoi asked.


[ooc: I wrote too much, gomen
What if we make the girls go out to eat together?
Just want to remind you Aoi is really hungry ;D ]

[Maeda Chiyo]

ooc: hopping in, minna, i hope it's okay outfit here


Chiyo breathed a sigh, silently closing the door behind her.
She really loved her brothers but they could be annyoing. Extremely annoying. Especially when you have four of them and all you want is to relax for a moment, while all want to do is competing with each other. Competing over who can turn his music the loudest.

The young girl definitely didn't feel like going deaf just because of her brothers stupid behaviour, so she decided to go out for a while. Maybe they would have calmed down when she came back from her walk.

Chiyo didn't have any special goal when she left the house. She just wanted to get out of there for a while.

As she ran past the school she noticed that there still seemed to be people in school. At least some of the classrooms lights were still on and Chiyo doubted that someone forgot to turn them off.
Seriously, what do people do at school this late ?!, she thought. She sure could think of better things to do than sitting in one of those boring classrooms after school finishes and doing... yeah, whatever they do there.

Walking further, she noticed the lights of the gym also still being switched on. This again was something totally different from the classrooms lights being turned on. Probably the male tumbling team, huh.
Coming here this late an hour to improve her tumbling was way more imaginable for Chiyo than staying here for so long to study. Apart from the fact that it didn't matter where she was, studying was always a torture.

She decided to get a glimpse of the boys parctice and walked toward the gym where, to her surprise, she didn't see any of the guys. One girl was standing at the door, some others seemed to already be inside the gym.
Chiyo came closer to the gym, standing next to Keiko the next moment.
“Oi, c'mon, you decided to practice without even telling me ?!“, she asked as she saw Aoi and Mari. Chiyo didn't really know the other two girls, she remembered seeing them occasionally, but she didn't really know who they were. She wasn't the best at remembering faces. To be honest, she wasn't the best at remembering anything at all – including their routines.

She was always one of the last to remember their routines so Chiyo thought she should be the one practicing now, not Aoi and Mari who probably could do their performace while they were sleeping.


ooc: ah, sorry, it's short!

[Watanabe Nanako]

Nanako eyed Mari for a second, before looking back at the other girl that was on the mats. She seemed relieved that Mari was here now, and she wasn’t going to be left alone with a yankee. Not that Nanako wasn’t used to that by now. She wasn’t about to start anything, anyway. Well, not unless the girl had said anything that would have made Nanako want to start a confrontation.

Before she knew what was happening though, Mari had taken her by the shoulders and was pushing her into the gym. “Oy!” she protested, pulling herself out of the taller girl’s grip, even though by this point she was already in the gym. Huffing, she crossed her arms across her chest once again.

“Nanako, this is Asukura Aoi. Aoi, this is Watanabe Nanako, an old friend of mine. She just started here at Kara High at the beginning of the week,” Mari said, introducing the two other girls to each other. Nanako only spared Aoi a nod, before turning her gaze elsewhere. Looking around the gym at the large mats, she was curious to see Mari do the rhythmic gymnastics she now loved so much. After all, it had only been dance that the taller girl had really been into when Nanako had last seen her.

Being nudged unexpectedly by her old friend, Nanako ended up taking a small step the side before she steadied herself, turning her head and giving Mari a look. Rolling her eyes, she reluctantly went and sat down on the bench at the wall, leaning back against the cold stone and crossing her legs and arms. She wondered only briefly to herself why she even bothered to do as Mari suggested, but it all came back to the fact that, as much as Nanako didn’t want to admit it, deep down - deep, deep, deep down - she still considered Mari a friend.

She could admit though, that is was…strange that Mari still cared about her and had welcomed her so warmly. But, then again, that was always the way that Mari had been. She didn’t hold grudges, and she ever rarely got angry. In fact, even getting the girl annoyed was an achievement, never mind getting her properly angry. Nanako had only ever seen her angry once in the two years that she had known her.

Nanako sighed, tapping her fingers against her arms as she watched Aoi show Mari some parts of the new routine, before calling Mari over so the other girl could try it out for herself. Mari caught on fast, most likely because of her dance training. Her movements were still as graceful and elegant as Nanako had known them to be years ago.

Movement at the gym doors caught her attention. Turning her head, Nanako looked at the newcomer. The girl was Suzuki, from her homeroom class. Nanako only spared the girl a glance, before pulling her lighter out of her pocket and flicking it open and shut out of habit and for something to do. She felt rather useless just sitting there on the sidelines and doing eff all.

Another girl came into the gym, and her appearance surprised Nanako slightly. Blonde hair…? Wasn’t ? So unless she was just rebelling, the only other explanation was that the other was also a…yankee? From her attitude though, it was uncertain. She seemed too…cheerful and bright - too much like Mari to be a proper yankee.

“How the f*ck did I get myself into this…?” she mumbled to herself, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. “I blame you,” she said, gesturing in Mari’s direction. With an annoyed sigh, she stood up and walked over to the stage in the gym, going up onto it and sitting on the edge, crossing her legs, and making it clear that she was unhappy to be there.


((ooc - I hate this post D: Mari's next~))

[Satonaka Mari]

Mari pretended to ignore Nanako’s protests and just continued her stretching as Nanako sat down on the bench. The yankee girl needed to be around people more again. Mari was sure that it was one of the ways to get her to be more social, and not so intent on being alone all the time. No matter what her friend said, no one really wanted to be alone, right? Everyone needed company, at least once in a while. It would just be…sad, to be alone all the time. She herself loved having company; in her opinion, it made things more fun.

When Aoi said she could show her the new routine, she smiled and nodded and headed over to sit beside Nanako on the bench. Aoi’s movements were precise and flowed together smoothly. The routine was beautiful, each movement matching the rhythm of the music. The beauty of this sport is what had attracted Mari to it in the first place. As a dancer and musician, she could appreciate the music and the dance elements, and all of that combined with the gymnastics, the first time she had seen it, had held such a beauty and grace.

Once Aoi had finished, Mari stood up and walked over to the edge of the mat, clapping her hands. "If you are done with your stretches, we can start practicing this," Aoi said, and Mari nodded enthusiastically, smiling. While she had entered a few meets in the individual contests, she did enjoy taking part in the group events occasionally as well.

Kneeling down beside Aoi, she did as the other girl directed her to, counting out the beat in her mind as she had always done when learning new dance routines or practicing. Lifting her leg into the arabesque, Mari held it for three and then took a hold of her foot, holding the clean, graceful shape for the required five seconds. Her ballet training came in handy for these dance-type moves, and she held the position perfectly.

"Okay, now from that position, do 3 consecutive cartwheels then stop and turn around to face the center of the mat," Aoi instructed next. Still counting out the beat in her mind, Mari done as instructed, keeping the movements smooth and graceful. After she had finished, though, she heard Aoi speak, and wasn’t directed at her.

Stopping what she was doing, Mari turned her attention to the newcomer at the gym doorway. She vaguely recognised the girl that stood near the doorway. Was she a third year? She felt like she had seen her around somewhere before, but she couldn’t place exactly where.

Before the girl could even get a word in, however, a blonde girl walked in behind her, and Mari immediately recognised her as Chiyo. She really liked the second year. They had similar personalities, and always tended to be cheerful. They got on well, but then again, they were both so friendly that it was a bit of a given that they would be friends. “Oi, c’mon, you decided to practice without even telling me?!” Chiyo asked.

Mari laughed. “Gomen, Chiyo-chan. I wasn’t planning on anyone else being here except me and Nanako.” She gestured in the direction of her old friend, pretty sure that Chiyo would have no idea who she was talking about otherwise. “I don’t think Aoi-chan counted on anyone else showing up either,” she laughed, looking to the team manager before looking back at Chiyo. “But the more the merrier, right?” She smiled brightly.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked to see Nanako standing up and moving. Mari was slightly hurt, and she wondered if it had been what she said that had made Nanako stand up and go over to the stage to sit. What was wrong with ‘the more the merrier’? Well at least she didn’t leave… she thought to herself, her smile wavering slightly as her gaze lingered on Nanako before it brightened again and she turned to face the other girls.



((ooc - them going out to eat together after a bit sounds good, Alice and on a side note, I don’t like this post very much.))

[Suzuki Keiko]

The two girls on the mats were really good at gymnastics, that much Keiko knew, her retreat on hold as she watched them. So it surprised her when the one girl, the shorter one on the mats, turned her attention to the double doors. "Can I help you?" Aoi asked. A second later, someone appeared next to her, the newcomer’s voice loud in her ear. “Oi, c'mon, you decided to practice without even telling me ?!“

Keiko… did not expect the blonde hair. Or the person in general. Her delinquent detector faltered, if only for a moment. The girl looked like a Yankee, but… was much too cheerful. And since when do delinquents do gymnastics?

”Atsushi has Yankees in his Rhythmic Gymnastics Club.” A voice in her head whispered. She shook her head, willing the voice away. That was the boys’ problem.

The Yankee girl was no longer next to her, already in the gym, talking with the other girls from the gymnastics club. Watanabe was messing with her lighter, even from far away, Keiko could tell the girl was muttering about… well, anything. A second later, Keiko watched as Watanabe got up, moving over to the stage area, settling herself on the edge. Again, it wasn’t that hard to tell the female Yankee didn’t want to be here, in this gym, with all these other girls.

”Then why is she even here?” Keiko forced her eyes shut, willing, once more, for the voice to go away. It was none of her business why any of these girls were in the gym at this time of night. She just wanted to see if Atsushi was in the gym, which he wasn’t, and now that she knew that, she could turn around, and go home. Simple.

That was when the second girl, the taller one, spoke, but not to her. “Gomen, Chiyo-chan. I wasn’t planning on anyone else being here except me and Nanako.” She gestured in the direction of her old friend, pretty sure that Chiyo would have no idea who she was talking about otherwise. “I don’t think Aoi-chan counted on anyone else showing up either,” she laughed, looking to the team manager before looking back at Chiyo. “But the more the merrier, right?” She smiled brightly.

Keiko’s eyes opened, but more in shock than anything else. The taller girl, what was her name again?, just called Watanabe by her first name. Were they friends? Keiko got the impression during their first meeting that Watanabe didn’t have friends, didn’t want friends, and made that plainly obvious, to her and to the class. Not that Keiko wanted to be friends with a delinquent anyway…

She hesitated by the door once more. If she chose to stay, she could still be as far away from Watanabe as possible, the girl was on the stage, she could just stay on the benches, and she might even learn Tall Girl’s name. For future reference. Tall Girl seemed like the ideal heroine she could never think up of. A happy teenaged girl who was friends with everyone, regardless of who they were, and was hated by no one.

Keiko took a deep breath, finally stepping inside the gym. She made her way around the mat, taking a seat on the now vacant bench. This was fine. She would watch, maybe talk a little, to Tall Girl. Yeah. That was the plan. She liked this plan. It was simple enough to follow. And if all else failed, she could just say she was meeting with someone and had to leave.

Yeah.



ooc: Okay. THIS was a crap post. And I'm sorry I didn't really make the action go anywhere D:

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc: this post is made of pure fail
I asked sasu if I could make Chiyo do something and she said it was okay.


ic:

Aoi was confused: first this yankee girl showed up, apparently a friend of Mari; then Mari herself came to the gym as well.
Then there was this girl, maybe a third year student like them, who didn't reply to her question.
And now Chiyo.
Aoi didn't know if she was going to facepalm or just leave.
She just wanted to practice the new routine.
She really didn't mind Mari, actually it was a good thing she came, because if Mari could learn and perform the whole thing fast, she would be able to help Aoi and teach it to the other girls.
Aoi still didn't know what to make of Nanako, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but there with them.
Why is she here? she thought.

Aoi stole a glance to the still "nameless" girl, who didn't look too comfortable but kept silent and just sat down on a bench.
It can do no harm if she stays and watches.
Chiyo was a completely different thing: the girl had almost no attention span, yet she managed to do great on performances, leaving Aoi completely puzzled and confused every single time.
When Chiyo walked up towards them, Mari greated her.
“Gomen, Chiyo-chan. I wasn’t planning on anyone else being here except me and Nanako.” She gestured in the direction of her old friend, pretty sure that Chiyo would have no idea who she was talking about otherwise. “I don’t think Aoi-chan counted on anyone else showing up either,” she laughed, looking to the team manager before looking back at Chiyo. “But the more the merrier, right?” She smiled brightly.

Aoi raised her eyebrow, not really going along with her friend's idea.
She noticed with the corner of her eyes that Nanako was now sitting on the edge of the stage.
Aoi sighed, trying not to think too much about the presence of the yankee girl there with them.
"Hello Chiyo. Mari is right: I stayed behind to try the new routine, I had no idea she would show up with her... friend"
Aoi looked again at the girl sitting on the bench, trying to figure out if she could remember her name.
Aoi said nothing about her to Chiyo, not really sure if her words could make the other girl more uncomfortable than what she looked.
"I was just showing the routine to Mari. If you want, I can show it to you so you can both try it out together"
Chiyo nodded and stepped out of the mat.
Aoi walked over the stereo to restart the CD once again and then quickly moved to get her position.
After all the practice that evening, Aoi had been able to perform it easily and with barely no mistakes.
When she finished she kept her pose for a few more seconds, before stepping up to stop the CD.
"I know it's a bit complicated, but if you start practicing this now, it won't take you too long to memorize it. Wanna try?"

Aoi stepped on the mat again, and knelt down to the start position, waiting for her two team mates to join her.
"Okay first of all-"
And then it happened.
A low, deep growl.
It lasted for barely three seconds, but more than enough for Aoi to widen her eyes in surprise, before clapping her hands over her stomach.
She felt, more than saw, the other girls' eyes on her and she had the decency to blush and bow her head.
"G-Gomen..."
Aoi had never felt more embarassed.
Well, there was that time with that jerk at her old school, but it was a different story.
"I didn't eat much for lunch... and I'm really hungry"
She knew she was blushing madly, still massaging her belly.
While she had been busy practicing, she had forget of her hunger.
But with all the newcomers and her attention slipping to other things, Aoi couldn't take it anymore.
She really needed to eat something soon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ooc again: Chiyo should be up next. Feel free to godplay Aoi a bit if you think it's really necessary.
Somebody please save Aoi and take her to a ramen restaurant

[Maeda Chiyo]

“Gomen, Chiyo-chan. I wasn’t planning on anyone else being here except me and Nanako.” Chiyo's eyes followed the direction in which Mari had gestured. She eyed Nanako for a while before she smiled at the black-haired girl. Seems like Mari-chan has some… strange friends, she thought. Not that this was a bad thing. Chiyo really liked the style of the yankee-girl. But still, it just looked like Nanako didn't really want to be here.

“I don’t think Aoi-chan counted on anyone else showing up either,” she laughed, looking to the team manager before looking back at Chiyo. “But the more the merrier, right?” She smiled brightly. Chiyo looked kind of astonished when she heared Maris words. “So you met here by chance … All of you ?!“, she asked slightly surprised. So there were five girls, including Chiyo, who seemed to have had more or less the same idea.

"Hello Chiyo. Mari is right: I stayed behind to try the new routine, I had no idea she would show up with her... friend" So they really did meet by chance. Was Chiyo the only one of them who thought this was funny in some way ? “The new routine, huh ?!“ She couldn't wait to see the new routine! On the one hand she loved new routines, on the other hand she hated them. Well, she didn't really hate them but in the beginning it always seemed to be too much to remember for Chiyo, but after a while she always somehow managed to do it. Probably mostly because the female tumbling team was a bunch of very talented girls who sometimes had to be very patient with her.

"I was just showing the routine to Mari. If you want, I can show it to you so you can both try it out together" Chiyo nodded and stepped out of the mat. The blonde monitored every single step of Aoi who now showed the whole routine to them. It looked great, of course, but it also looked complicated. After Aoi had finished Chiyo clapped her hands enthusiastically. “This was great, Aoi-chan, I really like the new routine!“, she said, smiling brightly.
"I know it's a bit complicated, but if you start practicing this now, it won't take you too long to memorize it. Wanna try?" Yes, it looked complicated. In Chiyo's opinion too complicated, but that was what she was thinking every time after seeing a new routine. “Yeah, let's try it“, she replied. She would have to practice day and night to remember this, but it would be worth the hard work.

"Okay first of all-" Aoi's words were interrupted by a deep growl which came out of her somach. "G-Gomen..." The blonde tried her best not to laugh. Really, she tried. But she just had to burst out into laughter. "I didn't eat much for lunch... and I'm really hungry" Aoi seemed really embarrassed about what happened, so Chiyo tried to stop laughing. “Haha, it's okay, really!“, she said and nodded her head.
“How about we try the new routine tomorrow and go out eat something for now …?!“, Chiyo suggested looking at Aoi, then at Mari and Nanako. “You're coming, too …?! It's my treat!“ Not that she had much money and paying for all of them sure wasn't the best idea she ever had, but she just felt she had to treat them.

Chiyo looked at Keiko who still sat on the bench. “You're in, right …?!“ Well, now that all of them were here they all could go out and eat something together. “Oh, uhm … I'm Chiyo!“, she suddenly introduced herself. Going out with people you just met was one thing, not even knowing their name was another.

"Soo~ ... Let's go eat ramen, girls!" She smiled at everybody in the round. They just had to come, all of them. Chiyo sure wouldn't take a no as answer!

[Watanabe Nanako]

Nanako continued to flick her lighter open and shut, resting her left elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand, as she watched the other girls rather disinterestedly. Suzuki had sat down on the bench that Nanako had just vacated, and the yankee girl found herself wondering exactly what her quiet classmate was doing here. Though, to be fair, everyone else in the room except Mari was probably wondering the same about Nanako’s own presence in the gym.

“Hello Chiyo. Mari is right: I stayed behind to try the new routine, I had no idea she would show up with her…friend,” Asukura said to the blonde girl after Mari had finished speaking. Nanako scowled, raising an eyebrow at Asukura. If Nanako hadn’t moved so far away from the other girls she would have said something, regardless of whether it would upset Mari or not. But instead, she stayed where she was, not particularly wanting to move from where she was so far away from the rest of the group.

The hand that held her lighter eventually stilled and she closed her fingers around the engraved lighter, resting her hand on her lap. She kept her chin where it was, resting on top of her palm, and fingers resting against her cheek. She listened to what was being said between the other girls, all the while wishing that she had never agreed to come in the first place.

Her dark brown gaze followed Asukura’s movements as she now showed the routine to the blonde newcomer, her critical eye yet again watching everything very carefully. "I know it's a bit complicated, but if you start practicing this now, it won't take you too long to memorize it. Wanna try?" Asukura said, and Nanako exhaled sharply through her nose. She felt rather ridiculous, just sitting on the sidelines with nothing to do. She had an idea why Mari had invited her along though, besides wanting to get her out, of course.

That was when something happened. Being too far away, Nanako hadn’t heard what had happened, and she straightened up slightly, lifting her chin a little off her palm, wondering what was going on. The blonde started laughing, before calming herself after a moment. “How about we try the new routine tomorrow and go out eat something for now …?!” the blonde girl suggested brightly, and Nanako’s frown appeared again. Mari beamed and agreed, before looking over at Nanako. The yankee shook her head at Mari, silently disagreeing, to which the taller girl responded to by walking over towards the stage.

“Don’t,” she said slowly to Mari as the tall girl reached the steps, her voice low and she was pretty sure that no one else except Mari could hear, considering the distance between the two of them and the other three girls. “Don’t you even think about it. I’m not going. You dragged me here already, you’re not dragging me anywhere else.” She turned slightly where she was sitting, however, so that she was facing more towards her old friend.

In the second it had taken for her to turn around, Mari’s facial expression had changed. Nanako wasn’t entirely sure what it was, or where to place it, but she knew she had seen that look before. “Don’t give me that look,” she said in response to the expression that now adorned Mari’s face.

Nanako narrowed her eyes at Mari slightly. “Why should I go?” She watched as Mari’s brow creased slightly, before the taller girl spoke. “Because you need to socialise more. You need to get used to being around other people except when you’re fighting.” Nanako blinked, before scoffing and shaking her head. “I’m not going,” she said again slowly. “I have no reason or obligation to. I don’t even know these people.”

She was ready for Mari to answer her back, but what she wasn’t ready for, nor expecting, was for Mari to just haul her to her feet and part of the way down the steps. “Oy!” she protested again, just like not long before as she had been pushed forward into the gym. She pulled her arm free as soon as she regained her balance, and by this point they were standing at the bottom of the steps, not far from the gym doors. Nanako looked from the other girl’s to Mari for a moment, and sighed, rolling her eyes and rubbing her temples. “Ugh, fine, whatever…” she said begrudgingly, finally agreeing.



((ooc - Imma be god-playing Mari and Nanako a bit in both their posts, but it’s allowed because they’re both mine XD haha~))

[Satonaka Mari]

Mari glanced over at Nanako once more before looking back at Aoi and Chiyo. “So you met here by chance … All of you ?!” Chiyo asked, and Mari laughed, nodding her head. “Yeah, we did...as strange as that is.” It was a little strange, all of them meeting up here by complete coincidence, but it didn’t really matter, right? In fact, Mari saw it as a good thing, if anything. Chiyo and Aoi were her friends, after all, and if them meeting here by accident meant she got to spend time with them, then so be it. It was a welcome surprise.

“Hello Chiyo. Mari is right: I stayed behind to try the new routine, I had no idea she would show up with her... friend,” Aoi said, and Mari glanced over at her. There was something in her tone she wasn’t sure about, but she could easily hazard a guess as to what was behind it. After all, Aoi had hardly been welcoming to the Yankees on the boy’s team, and Nanako was also a yankee... It wasn’t all that hard to piece together.

She only wished that other people would be more accepting and less...judging, if that was the correct word to use. She gave everyone a fair chance, but then again, she had never really been hurt by anyone before, either emotionally or physically. She knew that some people had their reasons for not being as open and trusting as she was, but it still sometimes made her sad to see it. She knew that the Yankees on the boy’s team were actually nice people but, she supposed, not everyone else was willing to look that deep, or to look past the reputation.

“I was just showing the routine to Mari. If you want, I can show it to you so you can both try it out together,” Aoi said to Chiyo, and the blonde girl nodded. Mari smiled, knowing that this could maybe do Chiyo some good, getting to see the new routine a little earlier. She knew that the younger girl sometimes had trouble remembering the routines, and she liked to help her whenever she could. She watched Aoi perform the routine again, taking in each step and trying to memorise it herself, though it probably wouldn’t be long before she did.

They were about to try and practice the routine again, when Aoi’s stomach grumbled when she was in the middle of speaking. Chiyo tried to hold in her laughter, but ultimately failed in doing so as the laughter spilled past her lips a moment laughter. Mari gave a small giggle and shook her head as Aoi apologised. “No, no. No need to apologise,” she told her friend.

“How about we try the new routine tomorrow and go out eat something for now …?!” Chiyo suggested. Mari nodded, smiling widely. “That’s a good idea!” She turned to look at Nanako, who just shook her head silently. Not feeling deterred in the slightest, Mari started making her way over to the stage and up the steps at the side. “Don’t,” Nanako said, frowning at her. It was Mari’s turn to shake her head. “Oh, don’t be such a spoil sport,” she said teasingly. “Don’t you even think about it. I’m not going. You dragged me here already, you’re not dragging me anywhere else.”

Mari frowned this time, before she gave Nanako an imploring look. She only wanted to see if she could get Nanako to be like her old self a little more, and not so...closed off and alone all the time. She still didn’t know exactly what had happened to make her old friend this way, but she wanted to at least try and fix it. “Don’t give me that look,” Nanako said, before narrowing her eyes. “Why should I go?” she asked next.

She paused for a second, contemplating how to answer. “Because you need to socialise more. You need to get used to being around other people except when you’re fighting,” she answered, deciding to just be straightforward. But, as expecting, Nanako was being as stubborn as ever. “I’m not going.” Twisting her lips slightly, Mari decided that she wasn’t taking no as an answer, so she walked forward until she was behind Nanako, and hauled the slightly smaller girl up onto her feet by grabbing onto her arm.

Ignoring Nanako’s protests, she led her off of the stage to the bottom of the steps, before the yankee girl pulled her arm free. There was a pause for a moment as Nanako looked between Mari and the other girls, before sighing in resignation. “Ugh, fine, whatever...” she agreed reluctantly, and Mari grinned at her. Turning to the other girl’s she said, “So, will we just get ready to go then...?” She started to head over to where her bag was sat on the bench.



((ooc – this post and my last one... I don’t like them D: but they needed to be written.))

[Suzuki Keiko]

ooc: First off I would like to apologize about the crapness that is this post.



Keiko fidgeted in her seat, the gymnastics girls were conversing on the mats while Watanabe played with her lighter where she sat on the stage. She could see the looks the manager of the team was giving the female Yankee, and it made her feel uneasy, though she wasn’t sure why.

She continued to watch them as the original girl on the mats performed her routine to the blonde, ready to try it again with her two teammates, when a stomach growled. Keiko blinked, it was awfully loud, whoever’s stomach it was, and saw the same girl on the mats looking apologetic. The blonde on the mats burst into laughter, “Haha, it's okay, really! How about we try the new routine tomorrow and go out eat something for now …?!” And then she turned to the rest of the girls, excluding Keiko, “You're coming, too …?! It's my treat!”

It was then that she turned towards Keiko, as if she just remembered she was there. “You're in, right …?!” Keiko blinked again, sitting up straighter at the question. “Oh, uhm … I'm Chiyo!” Keiko nodded at the name, but kept her mouth shut.

That was when Tall Girl beamed at the idea, turning towards Watanabe on the stage. The female Yankee instantly resisted, even as Tall Girl continued to pester her, even to the point where she hauled her off the actual stage. Keiko gaped at that. She didn’t expect that.

Tall Girl continued to smile even as Watanabe pulled her arm free, “So, will we just get ready to go then...?” She started towards the bench, and Keiko felt herself fidget even more.

She never agreed to go out and eat with these girls, especially not with Watanabe there, and quickly got to her feet, “Ah…” Her voice died out on her, and she coughed, trying again, “Um, that’s a nice offer and all…” Keiko’s eyes dropped, her vision full of her shoes, “but I should really… be getting home.” Tall Girl was nearer now, and Keiko quickly took her bag, holding it up. “Uh, here.” She nodded; not catching what her face might look like, and gripped her own bag’s strap tightly in her hands.

“Um, sorry for disturbing you all.”

[Satonaka Mari]

Mari ignored the barely audible grumble of complaint from Nanako behind her. She knew her old friend was going to be far from happy, but she was completely determined to get her out more. Hopefully she wouldn’t just end up being moody all night, because that would be no fun, and she was sure that it would only fuel people into staying away from her, which was the opposite of what Mari wanted.

It was just as she was walking towards the bench that the girl seated there finally began to speak. “Ah… Um, that’s a nice offer and all…but I should really be getting home,” the quiet girl said, looking awkwardly down at her feet. Then she lifted Mari’s bag and held it out towards her. “Uh, here.” Mari smiled at the girl, even if she never saw it. “Thank you.”

Mari had opened her mouth to say more, but Nanako beat her to it. “You came all the way out here to sit for, what, ten minutes at most? And now you have to go home? I don’t buy it, Suzuki,” the female Yankee said slowly, her steady gaze on the quiet girl. Mari raised an eyebrow in surprise. The two of them had met before? Although, when she thought about it, it probably wouldn’t have been a very nice ‘meeting’, if she knew Nanako.

“Nanako,” she admonished, a slight frown on her face. “If -” However, her old friend interrupted her. “Don’t. Look, I won’t go, okay? Let’s face it, no one except you wants me there anyway. And I doubt Suzuki wants me there either,” Nanako said, arms folded and lips twisted into a deep frown. “Well you hardly give people a chance to want to spend time with you anyw-” But, yet again, Mari was interrupted.

“Drop it, alright? I didn’t even want to go in the first place.” Nanako was as stubborn as ever, and Mari thought to herself that there were some things about her old friend that hadn’t changed at all. “Have a good night,” she said, a slightly sarcastic tone in her voice as she turned on her heel and headed towards the gym doors.

“No, wait!” Mari hurried forward, grabbing onto her arm just as she’d only taken a few steps. She looked from Nanako back to Suzuki. “You’re both going,” she decided, and she knew that Chiyo would be with her on that one. No one was going to be left out. Not to mention she was a little curious as to why the girl had dropped by the gym and sat in on the practice in the first place.

Once again ignoring Nanako’s annoyed muttering as her friend reluctantly nodded, Mari let go of her. “Oh,” she said, remembering she hadn’t even introduced herself to Suzuki. “I’m Satonaka Mari.” She gave the girl a bright, friendly smile.



((ooc - it’s crap, but it fills in the gap, so I guess it’ll do... Also god-playing Nanako, because I can.))