2.34: Pying BallWe ended up splitting into teams, with Aoi and me on one side and Riko and Yuna on the other. The two boys who had invited us joined each of our teams, and a couple of other cssmates filled in so the numbers evened out to four on each side of the net.

  A small crowd of male students lingered around the edges like vultures, clearly torn between wanting to jump in and simply watching us with unabashedly lewd interest.

  “Okay, first to fifteen!” someone called. “And no brutal spikes, Kurobane-san! We’re not pros like you!”

  Riko pouted dramatically. “Aww… so much for being the ultimate spiker.”

  “Define brutal,” Aoi shot back with a grin. “We still need to have some fun, don’t we?”

  “Hells yeah!” Riko ughed.

  “Anything that would reasonably break bones, I’d say is off the table,” Yuna added calmly. “Please aim below that threshold for everyone’s sake.”

  “Fine, agreed,” the same boy said quickly. “Just don’t ftten my nose either Kurobane-san.”

  Everyone ughed.

  I swallowed as I took my pce on the back line. I’d watched Aoi py in the past and had picked up the basics, even if I cked real technique or technical knowledge of the sport. The net loomed in front of me, feeling less like equipment and more like a forbidding challenge.

  “Hey,” Aoi murmured, lightly bumping her shoulder against mine as she took her spot in front of me. “Breathe. You’ll be fine.”

  Admittedly, I enjoyed watching her back as she moved, especially what was beneath that. Her bikini bottom clung to her in ways that couldn’t help but excite me.

  “Saying that’s like a death fg,” I managed to whisper back.

  The serve came over the net, light and easy. Aoi received it effortlessly and bumped it up with amazing grace. The ball arced toward me.She fshed me an expectant grin over her shoulder.She passed it to me intentionally!“I’ll get it!” I shouted, lunging for it.

  The sand shifted under my feet and my timing slipped, despite my earlier training. I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. For a heartbeat, I was sure I was about to misjudge it and smack myself in the face with the ball.But my body remembered how to move on sand.

  I adjusted mid-step, compensated for the slide, and met the ball squarely with my forearms. It popped up in a retively clean arc, wobbling just a little.

  “Yes!” Aoi ughed. “Nice receive for a total rookie, Susu!”

  Aoi was already stepping into her approach, tracking the arc, pnting, jumping, and snapping her arm to spike it cleanly over the net before anyone on the other side could even react.

  There was a startled shout over there and a scramble of hands and legs, but the ball hit the sand untouched between Riko and Yuna.

  She nded lightly and turned to me with a grin. “Nice, Susu!” she said, gesturing quickly with her hands. “Keep them like that. The pop you gave the ball is exactly what a spiker needs. Clean, controlled, and easy to pce.”

  She mimed the motion she’d used briefly, her fingers spreading, her wrists loose, pushing upward. “They’ll take it from there like this. Whenever you get under the ball, focus on control and direction. Be aware of where everyone is.”

  I nodded, grateful for the impromptu lesson. Hearing her praise still felt better than any grade I’d ever gotten. “Yes! I’ll do my best!”

  Yuna picked up the ball and tossed it across the net and one of the guys on our side caught it, rotating to the rear of our court.

  “Rotate!” he shouted. I followed my teammates’ clockwise rotation and found myself in front with Aoi. “Everyone ready?” He yelled. Everyone nodded and he served. The ball cleared the net in a slightly wobbly arc.

  On the other side, Riko moved to intercept. Her adjustments were subtle with quick steps, shifting her weight, turning her shoulders. Something about how she moved made the hairs on my arms rise. She wasn’t just reacting.

  I had no idea Riko was this talented! Isn’t she a go-home like me?

  Aoi stood a little straighter, her eyes sharp, her mouth twisting with interest as she recognized Riko as a real rival in this match.

  Riko slid into exactly the right spot and received the ball with a crisp bump, sending it toward Yuna, who surprised me too by moving smoothly into pce and setting the ball with calm competence.

  And then Riko took a fast approach off Yuna’s set, pnting her feet in the sand and jumping. Her arm snapped into the ball with decisive force, driving it hard and low across the net, angled deliberately away from me and Aoi, who had rotated to fnk me toward the open sand behind me.

  The ball zipped back over, straight for an empty patch just behind me.

  “Shinohara-san!” someone yelled.

  I twisted and dove for it.

  Sand burst up around me as my body moved before I could think, twisting and extending my arms. The ball brushed my forearms and I popped it as directly upward as I could, but it wobbled towards the boundary as the breeze caught it. I prayed it wouldn’t drop out of bounds.

  I slid in the sand, gasping, half-buried in warm grit that clung to my faintly sweaty skin in pces.

  “Nice save!” Aoi called. One of the guys in the back was already moving under the ball.

  He set it to Aoi, a little unsteady. Aoi hustled into position and knocked it over with a quick thwack. Yuna lunged for it but missed by a hair. The ball thumped into the sand.“Point!” Aoi whooped. The boys on our side yelled behind us in excitement.

  I pushed myself up, panting, my heart pounding hard. My arms stung from where I’d hit the sand, my hands aching faintly where the ball had struck.

  “You okay?” Aoi asked, dropping to a knee beside me.

  “Yeah,” I said, still breathless. “I’m shocked that I made it!” I giggled.

  “You did great,” Aoi said, her eyes bright. “You even adapted from that position. Not bad!” She gave me a cool thumbs up. “That shows how good your reflexes really are. That kind of thing is usually trained for over many years, you know?”

  I basked in Aoi’s praise.

  Riko approached the net, her gaze focused on me. “That dive was something else. I thought I could score on you, but you were better than I expected, Sumire.”

  I wiped sweat from my forehead. “Tch… you went for me because I’m a newbie.”

  “I couldn’t help it.” Riko giggled, scratching her head. “But it didn’t work out like I thought. Anyway, don’t think it was just dumb luck,” she added, blushing. “Your body reacted well. I was watching you the whole time. Your training is really shining through!”

  Aoi frowned slightly, pouting. “I was about to say that myself, idiot. Stop stealing my lines!”

  “You can still praise her more,” Riko replied, smirking.

  “Tch…” Aoi said. “Repeating what you just said would ck impact, so remember in the future to keep your praise for Sumire-chan to yourself. I might stuff the volleyball down your throat if you keep that up.” She huffed.

  Yuna called out from across the net and gave me a small thumbs-up, herself. “Just keep moving like you are, Shinohara-san. You absorbed the impact and moved well."

  “Yes!” I grinned.

  “But pace yourself a little more,” Yuna added, her tone still light. “Even if you nd well, you’ll keep scuffing up your beautiful skin, especially your knees and elbows.”

  I gnced down at my knees, noticing the faint scrapes where the skin had rubbed. “Oh. Yeah. Guess I am trying a bit too hard.”

  “Oi. Way to help our team win, Arisugawa-san,” Riko called, sounding both approving and mildly reproachful.

  Aoi giggled. “Sure, her legs might get scratched up, but in combat, we expect to take some damage.”

  “Fine,” Yuna sighed. “Then I’ll make sure I take care of everyone’s scrapes tonight.”

  Aoi, Riko and I winced. We could already feel the sting of antiseptic on our scratches and abrasions.

  The game continued. Despite my great start, I couldn’t help making mistakes and plenty of them. I misjudged distances, hesitated, and flinched when a ball came faster than I expected. But I also managed several more clean receives, sets, even one almost accidental block, and a return that actually managed to score when it tipped over the net and dropped into an impossible-to-reach spot.

  Each small success felt like fireworks going off inside my chest. I felt more excited and alive pying a sport than I ever had before.

  At one point, Riko leapt for a spike, and I caught a clear glimpse of her full body stretching as she practically flew up to meet the ball. Her toned torso rotated, her arm swinging in a crisp, graceful arc, her spike impossibly accurate for someone who allegedly hadn’t pyed before like me.

  The ball nded in the sand next to one of the boys in the front.

  After smacking the ball, Riko nded lightly on her feet. Even though she cimed she wasn’t a martial artist or on a team, her instincts were surprisingly razor-sharp, but there were things that we didn’t know about each other.

  She gnced at me across the net and smiled openly like she was quietly seeking approval.

  I blushed and froze for a heartbeat, but I managed to give her a thumbs-up.

  Her smile bloomed more than I expected. She looked far too happy over such a small gesture.

  The expression on her face triggered a smile on my own face. She’s kind of cute.

  The game continued in overtime, as we’d tied with the point that Riko had won. After a few more rallies it ended with our side barely winning by scoring two more points. Everyone colpsed onto the sand in a sweaty, ughing heap.

  After that, we returned to our towels and the parasol that we’d cimed and Riko ran to the shoreline to cool off in the water.

  “I’m done,” I groaned, flopping onto my back on my towel, staring up at the sky.

  “You’re nowhere near done,” Aoi said, dropping down beside me. “But honestly, the way you’re picking this up is impressive. Did you notice it? How your body just reacted?”

  “I noticed,” I said, still catching my breath. “Sure my knees and legs sting from when I went all out, but I was able to py a little.” I let out a small ugh. “It actually felt good.”

  Aoi’s smile softened. “That’s what it’s supposed to feel like. You’re learning to trust yourself more.”

  A bright, steady warmth stirred in my chest.

  On my other side, Yuna sat up and began rummaging through her bag by her towel. “I’ve got ice packs and antiseptic if anyone needs,” she said. “And drinks, for anyone who’s thirsty. Shinohara-san, here.”

  She pressed a chilled sports drink into my hand, pulled from her cooler.

  “Thanks, Arisugawa-chan,” I said, sitting up, pressing the cool bottle against my hot neck before opening it. “Ahhhhhh… feels good!”

  “Do you have any aches that need to be massaged out?” She beamed as though I’d complimented her.

  I blinked for a moment, wondering why she looked so happy.

  Oh right… I used -chan, didn’t I?

  I blushed. “I’m fine. My arms and knees sting a little but nothing’s bleeding.”

  “If you change your mind, let me know.” She winked.

  Riko stood near the waterline, water beaded on her skin, her face turned toward the waves and her shoulders glistening with sweat. Her bikini bottom was entrenched in pces, caught where the sand had shifted them. She was breathing a little harder than usual, but her posture was good.

  I smiled, heat creeping up my neck as I rose and walked from my towel her way, checking myself on the way, adjusting my bottoms with my index fingers, snapping them back into pce before adjusting my top with care.“You okay?” I called.

  She gnced back, her eyes softening. “More than okay. I feel really alive.”

  I felt the same way.

  I stood beside her leaning in, lowering my voice conspiratorially. “You might want to shake some of the sand out.”

  Riko looked confused for a second, then caught on and quickly adjusted her bottoms, ughing. “It doesn’t bother me much. If you’ve got it, you should funt it.”

  I ughed with her. “Not exactly my take, but I admire your guts.”

  We ughed together.

  “You really are getting better at everything tely,” Riko said. “That body of yours is surprisingly resilient and quick.” She hesitated, then added, “Did you like what you saw?” Her cheeks colored as she looked pointedly away, but then spoiled it by peeking back.

  Warmth rushed to my face and I turned aside. Her bikini bottom had revealed every curve of her backside.

  The embarrassment of having looked tangled with something else. Pride. Pride in my own body. Pride that I could keep up, even just a little, with people like them.

  I popped the cap off the drink Yuna had given me, taking a long swallow, and let out a slow breath. I really did feel alive. More than ever.

  “Could I have a sip of that too?” Riko asked.

  My breath caught, my face burning again as I stared at her.

  She giggled and raised an eyebrow.

  Then Pon-chan made a strangled, chittering sound, still tethered to the beach umbrel near the court.

  I turned toward him.

  He was staring out at the horizon along the shore, his fur puffed up and his leash pulled tight.

  “Pon-chan?” I rushed over, a knot forming in my chest. “What’s wrong, little guy?”

  He didn’t blink.

  His gaze was locked on something I couldn’t see in the distance.

  Relwing