�Hey, Koneko!� As the team jogged past the bleachers, Neko saw Tenshi waving to her, as if to confirm that Tenshi would still be interested. Tenshi occasionally came to watch Neko�s practices and to hang out with her old teammates. Sometimes they even pushed her into participating (�Hey a little practice never hurt anyone!� she cheerfully answered their pleas each time).
Neko was extra glad Tenshi was here today. She had been happy to see Tenshi with that rose this morning too. Tenshi had gone out of her way to show Neko that she had just been distracted last night. And Neko felt she had made it clear that that was okay.
As the guys started vaulting and the girls began their drills, Neko darted over to the stands. �Ne, Tenshi, did you come to show off your pole vaulting skills again?� she teased.
�You know I only come to see you show off yours,� Tenshi answered, laughing. She leaned over the railing for a small kiss, which Neko was naturally willing to give her. Then she smiled sweetly and said, �Go pole vault, Koneko.�
Neko beamed at her and ran to join the team.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Despite Tenshi�s assurances that she only came to watch Neko, she was talked once again into vaulting today. Neko didn�t mind. She held her breath as Tenshi ran towards the bar, pole in position. The bar was at 15�6��, a height Tenshi could get over almost every time. She hadn�t quite mastered 15�8�� as well, but the older girls wanted to show off her ability to the younger girls, and refused to let her practice the height she had only gotten over a few times, in favor of the height she typically could do. Still it was always suspenseful to watch.
Neko�s heart flew with Tenshi, as her fianc�e made the attempt. When she watched Tenshi, Neko could almost feel the exhilaration of going over the bar, of soaring through the air until you were caught by gravity. It was almost as thrilling as if Neko was vaulting herself.
As soon as Tenshi landed, the whole team was on their feet to congratulate her, but none as quickly as Neko. �That was great!� she exclaimed as she gave her lover a joyful hug.
�Yeah, it wasn�t bad,� Tenshi said distractedly.
Neko let go and looked up at Tenshi, worried about her sudden change in mood. But before she could say anything, Tenshi was dragged away by the sophomores, who had only heard of the great Tenshi that ignored gravity as she went over the bar.
Neko watched Tenshi as she was pulled away, feeling very ignored indeed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
�Shimatta!� Mi-chan swore, as she lost to a newbie. Fencing against him should have been cake, but she had been distracted.
Her team might have thought she was just being a sore loser, but she really was swearing about something completely unrelated. *Neko fell off the edge of the universe again!*
Well, not literally, Mi-chan admitted to herself. That�s just what she had dubbed the times in the last few days where her link to Neko had disappeared. She couldn�t imagine anything that could possibly cause that to happen beyond Neko dying or actually falling off the edge of the universe, and she refused to keep thinking the former each time, so she had adopted the latter as her motto. Besides, each time, Neko was okay when Mi-chan next saw her, although never as giddy as that first time.
*Could our link be breaking up?* A new theory entered her mind. *That�s it? We get 18 years, and �poof!�, our link vanishes? Am I being fazed off it?* She shuddered at the thought. The twins� eighteenth birthday was just around the corner. She didn�t want to imagine going through the rest of their lives without being able to feel each other�s feelings, without being able to communicate with their minds. How would she share her most intimate secrets with Neko? How would she know when Neko needed help? *Don�t leave me alone, Neko-chan.*
Neko suddenly seemed to reconnect, and interestingly enough, was feeling quite lonely herself, from what Mi-chan could tell. *Doushita?!*
*Where are you?* Mi-chan asked her.
*Don�t answer a question with a question. And I�m at pole vault.*
*Don�t move.* Mi-chan ran up to Tenoh Haruka, her fencing coach (and Tenshi�s okaa-san). �Ne, Haruka-san, do you mind if I leave a few minutes early? I�m not feeling too well.�
Haruka gave her an understanding look. �I wondered how Naomitsu-san got the best of you. Of course. Get some rest and be ready to cream your teammates on Thursday,� she said with a wink.
�Thanks.� Mi-chan feigned sick long enough to get out of the gym, then sprinted to the track, keeping her eyes open for yoma, or forcefields, or anything else that could explain why Neko�s mind was suddenly getting blocked from hers.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Mi-chan caught up to Neko at the track, most of Neko�s team had already left, but Neko sat on the steps of the stands, waiting for Mi-chan to arrive. As Mi-chan got closer, she took a careful look around, but she didn�t see anything out of the ordinary.
�What�s wrong?� Neko asked. She raised her eyebrows at Mi-chan�s appearance in her fencing attire � a red tank top, which still hid her chest guard, and white knickers embroidered in red with their family name. Mi-chan knew she probably looked ridiculous out on the track in those clothes, normally she would change in the locker room before going out or home, but today she had just wanted to find Neko and see if she could figure out what was going on.
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