Team of My Ear [Open]

[Tsukimori Ryosuke]

Ryosuke watched the pretty Washizu girl carefully, trying to read what she was feeling. He would admit he wasn't the smartest apple in the barrel, and maybe there were a lot of times when he was so self-absorbed in something that he didn't notice if anything was wrong with his girlfriend, but he did try to make a point to help out, to find out what was wrong, if he did. And now, watching the new arrival, he began to wonder just what the hell was going on in her head. She seemed to be stuck in a combination of frustration and admiration, two extremes that didn't quite seem to bode well together.

Ryosuke saw Kaoru look to the door and also glanced at it. He was right beside the exit, would she really make a run for it?

"I mean..." Kaoru was looking back at Mizusawa now. "I guess I don't know you, but this is my third year at this school, and I've known a lot of kids like you. This only reason someone like you would work in a place like this is because you either want or need money this badly. Right? You'll definitely be fired in a heartbeat if this gets out."

Ryosuke subconsciously nodded to himself. Mizu probably would be fired. And now that he thought about it, he didn't want to be the cause of that. He didn't want that looming over his head.

Then she turned around to give whatever Ryosuke had coming. She looked contemplative, at first, then seemed to giggle to herself about something. Ryosuke briefly pondered whether he'd gotten something in the janitor's closet on his face, then hesitated to see what Kaoru would say.

"And you..." A pause. "I think I just want to help you out."

Ryosuke raised his eyebrows. There seemed something only the slightest bit odd with the girl's proposition, especially considering how she'd been acting mere moments before. Ryosuke wasn't one to normally question a girl's motives, but the instincts of his Yankee side were kicking in now, and he was beginning to wonder just how genuine this girl's words were.

"If you aren't doing anything serious, or if you didn't manage to do anything yet, I was hoping no one would have to get in any trouble, but..."

Ryosuke nodded. "That, and I was just here to be a jerk. For the sake of being able to say I got in here and got to laugh at how snobby--no offense--your guys' tumbling team is. But that's it. I didn't touch anything, and that guy across the way wouldn't harm a fly."

Still, Kaoru was eying the door. Ryosuke glanced past her at Mizusawa, wondering just why he'd had to meet this pretty girl under such stupid circumstances, then followed her gesture and moved closer to it. He didn't want to have to act all tough and block the damn door....that seemed even stupider than everything that was currently happening. He didn't want to be a bully.

But now that he thought about it, he didn't want either he or Mizusawa to get in trouble either. The longer he thought about what could come of getting caught, how the Tumbling team would feel, what Wataru would think of him, the more Ryosuke realized that this plan would not, in fact, be going down in his book of intelligent actions.

Ryosuke began to extend a hand to stop Kaoru--damn, this really sucked--when Mizusawa beat her to the door.

"Wait." He pressed his hand against the solid structure, preventing all entry and exits. "We haven't done anything wrong. I only came in here to make sure the room was tidy, right? That's my job."

Then he gestured to the blonde Yankee.

"And....he's just a friend. He doesn't mean any harm."

Ryosuke shrugged his shoulders and smiled, as if to gesture, See what I mean? He wasn't sure if the girl was buying it, but he sure hoped so. And at the moment, he was going to remain silent, because he couldn't quite trust himself to speak. Mizusawa seemed to have this under control.

"Now...what did you mean, we could make a deal?"

[Uchida Kaoru]

Kaoru noted hair boy's interjection as she turned towards the door. "That, and I was just here to be a jerk. For the sake of being able to say I got in here and got to laugh at how snobby--no offense--your guys' tumbling team is. But that's it. I didn't touch anything, and that guy across the way wouldn't harm a fly.

Really? She wasn't sure she could trust anything a guy that looked like him would say, but...

"Wait."

As if on cue, the kid in the glasses rushed past her,blocking the door. The motion was so quick it startled her. It was as if she suddenly had to admit that was was in a room along with two boys she didn't know, at least one of them one of those delinquents she really couldn't stand, and perhaps she didn't have nearly as much power as she thought she did.

Still, both boys seemed very different in their looks, their demeanor... everything. Were they really even friends? Either way, she was finding it very difficult to... negotiate with the both of them at the same time. Maybe it was time to call it quits and cut her losses.

The kid with the glasses looked to her, his gaze more intense than she would've expected. "We haven't done anything wrong. I only came in here to make sure the room was tidy, right? That's my job." he continued. "And....he's just a friend. He doesn't mean any harm."

Kaoru did her best to match the boy's look, but suddenly something struck her as off.

This was when glasses kid indicated hair boy, who gave an innocent shrug. Yeah, really. But for the briefest of moments she found herself wondering if they were telling the truth... This yankee and... this ally of yankees.

"Now...what did you mean, we could make a deal?"

She looked away again and put a hand to her head. She honestly didn't know what she was going to say or do now... but she did know that she was really getting very annoyed. But the two boys seemed that they were laying their hands on the table; for the sake of what shaky trust they had, she felt she should reciprocate.

Without looking up, she began to speak, her voice carrying a bit more urgency. "Look. I really don't want you to lose your job -- I know it sucks but you probably need it. And you, you're really cute and we don't have guys like you at Washizu, y'know? I don't know what you came in here to do and I don't know if I should believe you when you say you're harmless, that you didn't do anything..."

She paused. All of that was true... wasn't it? For some reason, she felt that she'd just said something strange, but she wasn't in the mood to pay "which one doesn't sound like the others".

"If you really didn't do anything, I guess none of those matters..." she trailed off, folding her arms. Her mind was spinning. She didn't know what to say next, whether to keep it up or give up the goat. She was growing tired of this game, and the two Karasumori boys certainly weren't going to be members of her social circle, so why should she care what they think, anyway?

She suddenly looked up, a renewed expression on her face.

"Can I just be frank with you guys? I really wish that you had done something... Because I'm not too fond of our tumbling guys, either. They really are haughty douches. I mean, I don't really want to get in trouble or anything... but if I didn't see you do anything, I guess..." She was suddenly struck with a strong curiosity, one she couldn't help but want to indulge. In what was probably a much brighter tone, and totally disregarding all the worry she had before, she looked between the two boys. "Could you at least tell me what you were going to do?"

She stopped herself. If the pair didn't think she was ADD or bipolar or schizophrenic or whatever psych diagnosis she probably was, they certainly did then. But it was funny, and despite herself, she chuckled under her breath.

[Mizusawa Taku]

Ryosuke seemed to be playing along, Mizusawa noticed, breathing a sigh of relief. Not that there was much to play along too. It was true, they were friends, in some regards. And right now, they also shared the common bond of being totally screwed if this girl told on them. There was a big smile on Ryosuke's face as he shrugged at the girl. Mizusawa couldn't tell if he was still sucking up or just being himself. Then again--this was a girl...and sucking up to girls was what Ryosuke did naturally, so...

But there were far more important things to think about right now. Like what Kaoru would say to his proposition. He could see that her gaze was returning the intensity of his. He was sure she still wasn't buying his story, even if it was far closer to the truth than she could possibly know.

Then she looked to Ryosuke, and finally looked away, seeming annoyed. Mizusawa backed up a bit, to give her space, but his hand didn't leave the door. He needed to know for sure what her answer would be, because even still, he didn't trust her completely--no matter how much his, Ryosuke's, and the tumbling team's fate rested with her decision.

Without looking up, she began to speak, her voice carrying a bit more urgency. "Look. I really don't want you to lose your job -- I know it sucks but you probably need it. And you, you're really cute and we don't have guys like you at Washizu, y'know? I don't know what you came in here to do and I don't know if I should believe you when you say you're harmless, that you didn't do anything..."

Mizusawa stared at the girl, momentarily stunned again. Why was she so easily able to do that to him? It was just...all of her decisions seemed so random and unexpected. He wasn't sure he had expected words like these from a Washizu student...and this time it didn't feel like an act.

But she wasn't done.

"If you really didn't do anything, I guess none of those matters..." she trailed off, folding her arms.

There was another moment's pause, and then suddenly, the girl looked up again with a new sort of look on her face.

"Can I just be frank with you guys? I really wish that you had done something... Because I'm not too fond of our tumbling guys, either. They really are haughty douches. I mean, I don't really want to get in trouble or anything... but if I didn't see you do anything, I guess..." She was suddenly struck with a strong curiosity, one she couldn't help but want to indulge. In what was probably a much brighter tone, and totally disregarding all the worry she had before, she looked between the two boys. "Could you at least tell me what you were going to do?"

Mizusawa couldn't keep his mouth from falling open in surprise. He stared at the girl for a moment, his mouth moving as he attempted to speak. But nothing came out. He really was legitimately speechless. The girl had done something like a complete turn-around in the span of maybe 10 seconds. Something he had not been expecting at all.

And on top of that, he had no idea how to answer her. Because he really hadn't been planning to do anything to the room. He'd just been...curious...to see what it looked like. To see how top tumbling teams got treated. And it was more than obvious now that, all of that, had clearly been a big mistake.

Looking at Ryosuke for a moment, he fumbled with his words. He wouldn't speak for Ryosuke here, just himself. Because he wasn't sure what Ryosuke wanted to say to that, especially when he really had been planning something.

Still staring at the girl with some surprise, Mizusawa wrinkled his forehead as he responded. "I really wasn't going to do anything." Now he felt the truth coming out. "I...just wanted to see what it looked like inside. That's really it."

ooc: OK, I win the crap post award! Someone crown me queen!

[Tsukimori Ryosuke]

ooc: @alex. You usurper! You can't take it! I was already crowned Worst Poster of the years between the beginning of BC and the end of AD! Duhhh! ;P
Kiyama Ryuichiro and Alex....you guys....I really do love your posts. It's like reading a real book when I have to reply!

Kaoru put her head in her hands, looking sort of lost for what they could all do, then finally looked up. She suddenly sounded a lot more serious. "Look. I really don't want you to lose your job -- I know it sucks but you probably need it. And you, you're really cute and we don't have guys like you at Washizu, y'know? I don't know what you came in here to do and I don't know if I should believe you when you say you're harmless, that you didn't do anything..."

Ryosuke bit his lip and nodded. "Yankees, right? Delinquents..." He looked away, unsure of whether he should be grateful that this Washizu girl seemed to be madly into--or good at pretending she was into--bad boys, or down that he immediately came across as the "bad person" type. All in all, he wasn't a bad person, he didn't think. At least not as bad as people wanted to make him out to be. He wasn't the smartest kid in his class, but he did okay, a whole right side better than Wataru, at least. And even though he did have a lot of girlfriends, he tried to respect them. He tried his hardest to. That was why he didn't get begrudging when he was rejected...he'd taught himself that respect.

Such a bad thought about who he was wouldn't have bothered him in the past, Ryosuke was sure. But he'd come to see that things were changing, a lot...after he'd joined the Tumbling team.

"If you really didn't do anything, I guess none of those matters..." Kaoru folded her arms now, looking much different than she had mere minutes before. Ryosuke still thought she was as pretty as he did when he'd first laid eyes on her, but he found now that he was more disappointed in himself than anything else. Or at least, he was increasingly beginning to feel that way. A girl like her...? Why would she ever think anything good about him? In fact, that whole "she must like bad boys" thing didn't even seem realistic anymore. She looked very much as though she'd reached the end of her rope with him and Mizusawa, and that combined with all of Ryosuke's turmoiled thoughts was quite unsettling.

Kaoru looked up.

"Can I just be frank with you guys? I really wish that you had done something... Because I'm not too fond of our tumbling guys, either. They really are haughty douches. I mean, I don't really want to get in trouble or anything... but if I didn't see you do anything, I guess..." A pause, then, "Could you at least tell me what you were going to do?"

Ryosuke snorted and looked at Mizusawa for this one. He'd been oddly quiet the entire time, though he suddenly looked as though he'd swallowed a particularly nasty bug.
There was another pause, and suddenly Mizusawa was looking back at the blonde Yankee, as if waiting for him to respond, before he finally answered, "I really wasn't going to do anything." Now he felt the truth coming out. "I...just wanted to see what it looked like inside. That's really it."

Ryosuke rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. So much for Mizusawa defending him! He'd thought that only one of them would need to speak, and that maybe Mr. Brainy would come up with a good excuse. Ryosuke had already professed that even he didn't know his full reasons for showing up at the school, so what did Kaoru expect to glean from him?

"Well, glad he decided not to include me in that, but yeah...he's not lying. He didn't come here with me--I came on my own." Ryosuke shrugged. "Look, I came here for stupid reasons. Stupid enough that I don't really know what I was going to do anyway. The worst would have been changing around a few letters on signboards or something--" He'd omitted mentioned the trophies, because that seemed a lot worse than just a signboard, "--maybe mucking up a routine chart. But nothing irreparable. And maybe...."

He paused, pondering if he should bite his tongue with this one. Ah what the hell.

"...and maybe because I was curious about....what it's like here. I guess....maybe." Ryosuke decided that the trophy case was suddenly a lot more interesting to look at than the two before him. His face felt kind of red.

[Uchida Kaoru]

OOC: I am SO SORRY that this reply took SO LONG and is still SO BAD. I rushed so I hope I didn't leave anything out and there aren't any big mistakes I probably did a little godplaying here, too... but it was the only thing I could think of to get the plot moving... >.< If it's too much, let me know, and I can change it!

After she spoke, the glasses kid stared at Kaoru for a long time, and the hair boy let out an incredulous snort. Not that she could blame either... she'd just flip-flopped more than a politician with Tourette's syndrome. He frowned. "I really wasn't going to do anything. I... just wanted to see what it looked like inside. That's really it."

To that, hair boy grandly threw up his hands... he didn't even believe his friend? Weren't they supposed to be covering for one another? Not that Kaoru would stick it out for someone like him, anyway... Kaoru looked to the yankee, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, glad he decided not to include me in that, but yeah...he's not lying. He didn't come here with me--I came on my own. Look, I came here for stupid reasons." Yeah, no kidding. "Stupid enough that I don't really know what I was going to do anyway. The worst would have been changing around a few letters on signboards or something----maybe mucking up a routine chart. But nothing irreparable. And maybe...."

There was a pause, and Kaoru flet her mind going about a mile a minute. And then hair boy turned away, his face flushing... Huh? That confused her... a delinquent like himself shouldn't be ashamed for getting caught doing such a petty thing... isn't that what they did?

And the hair boy persisted, sounding a bit... down? "...and maybe because I was curious about....what it's like here. I guess....maybe."

Yeah, okay, Kaoru really needed to take another time out. She turned to a wall somewhere in between the two boys. To her, the game was over -- she just need to figure out a way to fall as gracefully as possible.

For some reason, she was actually starting to believe the pair. Frankly, their team sucked, and Washizu's boys have been the best team in the prefecture for as long as she could remember. That very notion struck a chord with her... was it envy they were feeling? Resentment? What was she feeling towards them right now? Pity... no, pity is what she felt towards the glasses kid before, who had to spend his weekends picking up someone else's trash. Sympathy? No, not quite...

It was understanding.

Wait, was she actually on the same level as these Kara High jokes?

Kaoru narrowed her eyes and looked to the glasses kid. Yeah, that's it. And she snatched those glasses right off of his face and placed them on her own, beginning to look around the room. She eventually caught herself looking the tall hair boy in the eyes, and musing silly ideas of genuineness that made her lips curl into a small smile. She turned back to the first boy, still with that nervous look on his face. Really guys? What is real here?

"These aren't, are they? These glasses are fake," she muttered, taking them off and holding them out for the glasses boy to retrieve.

Kaoru was tired, and either they were telling the truth or they were lame liars. Either way, this was getting old.

She sighed heavily and looked to both of the boys again.

"I got it. I believe you."

There was a moment of silence, during which Kaoru intended to think up her next thing to say. But that moment of quiet was interrupted by a muffled pair of voices... a pair of familiar voices, growing louder... nearer. She gulped.

Oh, crap. Her eyes went wide, and she bit her lip. Without another thought, she grabbed both of the boy's hands and dragged them across the room. She stopped in front of her original destination, the office's closet, before looking both of them in the eyes. There wasn't time to explain what she was going to do. Hopefully they'd understand that it was going to save all three of them a lot of grief in the long run.

So she opened the door, and shoved them in.

The closet was pretty big for a closet; it was where the boys kept their props, costumes, supplies, and records. But it was narrow, and the hair boy landed pretty much was on top of the glasses kid. Kaoru would have laughed if she had the time.

But she had to look around, quickly... there were some rings laying on a shelf near the door. She grabbed a few in one hand, and put a finger to her lip with the other.

That's when the door opened.

"Kaoru, you okay in here? We thought you died," called a singsong voice. A girl dressed in a similar tracksuit to Kaoru bounded into the office, a wide grin on her face. "You get lost or something?"

Another girl strolled into the room, her eyes glossing over the trophy case and the certificates not unlike the blonde yankee did moments ago. Without turning to look at Kaoru, she added, "the boys wanted a few more rings, too."

The girls were her classmates and teammates, Aisawa and Nohara. She didn't particularly like them, though they were always good for a quick laugh and catching up on what was going on in the Washizu social scene if you happened to blink any time in the past week. Probably as good as friends as she had at that point, she figured. But they were getting a little too close...

Kaoru stepped into the closet just long enough to grab a few more rings before slamming the door. Hard. A bit harder than she'd intended to. Oops. At least her teammates couldn't have seen the pair of boys squeezed inside. Then she found herself frowning... why couldn't one of the boys come and get their own materials from their own office? But it really wasn't the time or place to try venting her frustrations... she'd almost gotten in trouble for that.

"Sorry, had to take a detour before I got here. Y'know Sakimura-kun from class 3-B, right?" She shoved half of the rings into each of the other girls' hands and put her own at their backs, steering them out of the room, kicking the door shut as they exited. Now, it was time for a story, and they would listen, and listen well. They always did.

"Uh-huh?" Aisawa prompted, her eyes already glinting in anticipation.

Kaoru smiled and continued. "Well, the other day, he actually asked me..."

At this point, she shut the door had shut, cutting off most of the noise inside and outside of the boy's team office. There were a few seconds of silence before a loud chorus of "Ehhh?!" reverberated down the corridor.

By the time Kaoru was halfway down the hallway down the hall, she was giggling and gossiping about things she really didn't care about. She would forget about the two Karasumori trespassers left in the closet. And as far as she was concerned, there was always tomorrow. Her time to put the Washizu boys in their place, exact justice on any wrongdoers, or of course, shun a delinquent, would certainly come again another day.

[Mizusawa Taku]

"Well, glad he decided not to include me in that, but yeah...he's not lying. He didn't come here with me--I came on my own."

At Ryosuke's choice of words, Mizusawa looked up, surprised.. He hadn't thought Ryosuke would expect him to answer for both of them. After all, Ryosuke was the one who had already called Mizusawa out on his former lie about the two of them not doing anything wrong. And that really wasn't the truth--Ryosuke had actually come here to mess up the Washizu tumbling team's "headquarters". That was why Mizusawa didn't feel too bad about it. He knew Ryosuke would quickly get over it anyway.

Ryosuke shrugged. "Look, I came here for stupid reasons. Stupid enough that I don't really know what I was going to do anyway. The worst would have been changing around a few letters on signboards or something--" He'd omitted mentioned the trophies, because that seemed a lot worse than just a signboard, "--maybe mucking up a routine chart. But nothing irreparable. And maybe...."

He paused, pondering if he should bite his tongue with this one. Ah what the hell.

"...and maybe because I was curious about....what it's like here. I guess....maybe."

Mizusawa saw the other boy's face flush slightly at his confession. Was Ryosuke only saying this because he was talking to a girl? He found it hard to believe that the tough Yankee could crumble so easily just because of the opposite sex. But then again, Ryosuke was known for being something of a player...Maybe he just loved all women. A Washizu guy sure as heck couldn't have gotten that confession out of him though.

Kaoru seemed to be regarding them both with interest and surprise, before turning to face a wall for a moment. Mizusawa wondered what she was doing, if she was thinking of turning them in again anyway, or if perhaps she was going to ask them to help her trash the place--which Mizusawa was definitely not going to take part of, and definitely going to try to prevent. Because he was sure he'd be the one to get in trouble for that, considering he was the only one of the three who was both a Karasumori student and employed at Washizu.

At that moment, he saw the girl turn towards him again, but he wasn't quite prepared for what she did next. Narrowing her eyes, she reached out towards him, her hands brushing past his hair and against the tips of his ears, as she took the glasses away from his face, leaving him stunned and slightly confused. His slightly imperfect vision returned, though of course he could still see well enough. He was further confused when she put the glasses on her own face, and began looking around the room, stopping on Ryosuke again. Mizusawa just stared at her.

"These aren't, are they? These glasses are fake," she muttered, taking them off and holding them out for the glasses boy to retrieve.

Mizusawa just stared at her open-mouthed, reaching out for his glasses again in a kind of stupor, before putting them back on. He wanted to tell her that no, they weren't fake--sometimes he wore glasses to make his vision a little better--but it didn't seem important at the moment.

The girl sighed. "I got it. I believe you."

There was silence. Mizusawa wasn't sure what he could possibly say to that. So she believed them. That was good. Because he hadn't lied to her. But...what did that mean?

Suddenly, there were voices from outside in the hallway. Female voices. And it sounded very much as if they were coming right towards them.

Mizusawa had been staring at the door in some kind of stupor, torn between the realization they might all be caught, and the strange girl he and Ryosuke had encountered, when he suddenly felt a softer hand in his. He didn't have a clue what was going on, only realized that the hand belonged to Kaoru, and that she had also grabbed Ryosuke too, and was dragging them both towards the other end of the room. They stopped in front of the door to a closet, the girl meeting both of their eyes before shoving them into the closet.

Another move Mizusawa had not been expecting. He slammed into the back wall hard, his glasses rattling, leaning forward in time to avoid whacking his head. Unfortunately, Ryosuke was not as graceful, and landed right on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. "Agh--" he choked, as a cloud of dust was sent into the air from their collision. The place was very cramped, and the humidity of it made him feel slightly claustrophobic. He and Ryosuke couldn't stand up straight, it seemed, without their bodies touching somehow. Uncomfortable.

From behind the otherwise shielding presence of Ryosuke's tall form, Mizusawa managed to spot Kaoru grabbing something from one of the shelves of the closet and putting a finger to her lips. Right as the door to the room opened, and the females they had heard earlier entered.

"Kaoru, you okay in here? We thought you died," called a singsong voice. A girl dressed in a similar tracksuit to Kaoru bounded into the office, a wide grin on her face. "You get lost or something?"

Another girl strolled into the room, her eyes glossing over the trophy case and the certificates not unlike the blonde yankee did moments ago. Without turning to look at Kaoru, she added, "the boys wanted a few more rings, too."

Mizusawa couldn't help glancing up at the back of Ryosuke's head, wondering if the other boy was interested in the other girls too, just by the sounds of their voices. He personally had never liked the high-pitched, falsely sweet voices some girls had. He'd never treat someone bad for that reason alone, of course, but it did annoy him that some girls tried so hard to be someone they weren't.

Kaoru was grabbing something else out of the closet now, before stepping back and slamming the door. It seemed to rattle in its frame, making Mizusawa jump behind Ryosuke. He tried to take a step back again, to make a little more distance between himself and the other boy, but nearly tripped on what appeared to be a vacuum cleaner on the floor behind him. Considering how stifling it was in the small room, he breathed heavily against the back of Ryosuke's neck, grabbing onto a nearby shelf to keep himself from falling backwards. He listened quietly as the girls continued to speak.

"Sorry, had to take a detour before I got here. Y'know Sakimura-kun from class 3-B, right?" She shoved half of the rings into each of the other girls' hands and put her own at their backs, steering them out of the room, kicking the door shut as they exited. Now, it was time for a story, and they would listen, and listen well. They always did.

"Uh-huh?" Aisawa prompted, her eyes already glinting in anticipation.

Kaoru smiled and continued. "Well, the other day, he actually asked me..."

But they didn't get to know what Sakimura-kun had asked Kaoru, because a moment later, the girls had left the tumbling team's headquarters, the door slamming shut behind them. The sound of their shrill voices echoed from outside in the hallway, but Mizusawa still didn't feel safe enough to leave, despite the fact that he was very uncomfortable in here with Ryosuke.

Glancing at the back of the boy's head again, he sighed heavily, having been so sure they would be caught. He had to be thankful for Kaoru--at least the girl had been level-headed enough to hide them in time. Shifting his weight a little, he waited a little longer, hoping Ryosuke would know to leave the room soon--it was hard enough trying to breath in such a small space with such a big guy.

[Tsukimori Ryosuke]

Kaoru looked fairly lost after Ryosuke gave his explanation, and he sighed, then puffed out his cheeks. That face on a girl never usually meant good things, from his experience. He didn't want to charm his way out of this one, at this point, and he wasn't sure he could, if Kaoru was already busy trying to play him (which, if she was, he had to admit she was pretty good at).

Then Kaoru's face suddenly changed, her eyes narrowing in Mizusawa's direction, perhaps in order to speculate about him. Then she suddenly moved forward and snatched the glasses right from the other boy's face before putting them on herself. Probably what felt weirdest was when she looked Ryosuke's way. He had an odd sensation inside, something he could only attribute to jealousy. He shook his head to clear his thoughts--he wasn't jealous of Mizusawa, and nor did Kaoru have any effect on him.........maybe. It felt better when he looked away, raising his eyebrows as he folded his arms.

"These aren't, are they? These glasses are fake." She held out Mizusawa's glasses, then sighed. ""I got it. I believe you."

Even Mizusawa looked baffled. Yet determined to regain some of his dignity in this, Ryosule finally glanced back Kaoru's way, his eyes big in disbelief. "You believe us? You believe us after you decide he's....wearing....fake...glass..." Ryosuke's voice broke off at the sound of two high-pitched voices making their way toward the Washizu Boys' Team Headquarters. His eyes darted to the small space dividing the floor from the bottom of the door and saw two narrow shadows stop.

Someone...was coming in.

Kaoru turned out to be faster than Ryosuke or Mizusawa in reacting. Eyes wide, she grabbed both boys' hands--Ryosuke was maybe too shocked to consider that he might have actually liked that fact--and led them across the room for another door. A click later, the door opened, and Ryosuke was greeted with the kind of cramped space he avoided, when he could. He was kind of a big guy. He didn't do too well in small spaces, and if Kaoru was trying to fit three of them in there...

"Kao--"

Ryosuke's sentence--in fact, Kaoru's name--went unfinished as the girl pushed him and Mizusawa into the cramped space with a kind of strength he hadn't imagined most girls had. Then Kaoru signaled for them to be quiet.

Suddenly surrounded by all the Wa-shit-zu Tumbling Team's fancy shmancy equipment, Ryosuke realized there really was nowhere for him to move. And furthermore, there was something warm and...breathing....behind him...
It took a considerable moment or two for the Yankee to realize to realize that the soft, warm thing behind and almost beneath him was actually his classmate and teammate, Mizusawa. He jumped slightly.

The girls started talking to Kaoru in that sort of sly, gossipy-way Ryosuke noticed a lot of the prettiest girls did, then one mentioned going to get rings, and Ryosuke found himself suddenly looking straight at the large hoops just in front of him and Mizusawa in the closet. He made to recoil slightly or try to hide, which he found impossible because of the way he and his classmate had ended up.

Then Kaoru re-appeared. But just for a second. She grabbed the rings and quickly closed the door behind her. Hard. The closet filled with darkness.

Ryosuke clucked his tongue. "She didn't have to slam the door..."

Moments later, he heard Kaoru and the other girls' voices getting futher and further away, and then another door closed. They'd left.

Ryosuke heard--and felt--Mizusawa sigh heavily, then rolled his eyes. He wasn't too happy about this either, and it definitely hadn't been his fault that Kaoru had stubbornly thrown them into the closet this way. Not that he wanted to be on the bottom either....

"Hey, this is not a customary position for me, Mizusawa. Geez, give me a moment." He paused, trying to gain enough balance to actually get himself back onto his feet and out of the closet. "If Wataru and Nippori were here, they'd never let me live that one down. They'd think you and I were gay or something, coming out of the closet like that."

He paused, considering his words, then slapped a hand to his face. "Oh my God, it even sounds wrong!"

Caught between a sense of embarrassment and amusement and a slight daze which Ryosuke could only to believe had to do with Kaoru, as much as he might deny it, he made his way over to the door to the room. Pressing an ear against it and hearing nothing beyond, he finally dared open it and snuck a peek down the hall. The girls and Kaoru were only just making their way around a corner at the end of the hall, but the other direction--the way Ryosuke believed led to freedom--was clear.

"Hey, Mizusawa." The blonde Yankee had become serious again. "You're here with a purpose, right? Coast is clear, so I'm gonna try to get out of here while I can, even if I didn't get to...."

Ryosuke paused in his words, eying the Washizu Team planning chart he'd seen earlier, then smirked. Maybe it was even more of a victory for him in that the Washizu guys would not know he'd had the privilege of almost ruining their game plan. That, and he didn't want to incur Kaoru's wrath.

"Well, yeah. I gotta go. Good luck cleaning for the snobs and all." Before he left, Ryosuke saluted and added, "Uh...don't work too hard for them, yeah?" Then he was gone.


-CLOSED-