Tenshi purposely took the route to her calculus class that would take her past Neko and Mi-chan�s lockers, hoping to see either twin so she could talk to them about what happened last night.
They both were there. Her heart leapt at the sight of Neko there. And though she had started out across the hall, she somehow found herself in front of their lockers with nothing to say.
She started simple. �Koneko�.�
Neko slammed her locker shut and walked away without a word.
�Damn, what�d you do to her?� Mi-chan wondered aloud.
�Nothing,� Tenshi answered remorsefully. �That�s the problem.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko had decided she hated history, liked math, and would probably enjoy Japanese more if she could remember the stories. Luckily, Mi-chan was there to help her out again with the plot of their last assigned reading. That was a life-saver!
Actually, it kinda was like how Tenshi had been there last night to help her with Twelfth Night. She had quite enjoyed it at the time. Now she decided that Tenshi had just been showing off. And Neko had fallen for it.
Well, she wasn�t going to let Tenshi toy with her emotions anymore!
She stood beside Kimahou, listening to the song the choir was singing. This was different from the ones they sang yesterday. But she had the music in hand and after listening to the soprano section for awhile, she thought she probably had a handle on it.
She joined in, happy to know something at least. She loved to sing. That was apparent. It made her want to experience other activities she had been engaged in before she had lost her memories. She hadn�t been involved in any extracurriculars yet because Mi-chan had taken her home right after school the day before, but she was anxious to start. What had Mizuno Neko enjoyed?
As she and Kimahou left the classroom, she got to find out. Mi-chan was waiting for her.
�Come on. I�ll take you to pole vault practice before I run to fencing.�
�Pole vault?� Neko wasn�t so sure about that. She remembered that one of the first things Tenshi had told her was that they were on the pole vault team together. �I- I don�t remember how.�
Mi-chan scowled at her weak excuse. �That didn�t stop you from getting a good mark on that pop quiz yesterday. Besides, we�ll tell your coach. He�ll understand.�
Neko reluctantly allowed Mi-chan to take her to change and to the track where the rest of the pole vault team was standing around waiting for practice to begin.
�Neko-chan!� A red-haired older girl exclaimed. �You�re back! Where have you been?�
Neko stared blankly at her. �Uh, hi�.� She hoped Mi-chan was picking up the panic signals Neko was trying to send her. Why wasn�t she helping out?
�Rika-chan!� someone called from behind them. Instantly, Neko tensed up. She knew that voice only too well.
�Rika-chan,� Tenshi clapped a hand on the red-head�s shoulder as she arrived on the scene, �I don�t think you�ve ever met Koneko�s twin. I would like to introduce Mizuno Michiru. Mi-chan, this is Takahashi Rika. She�s one of our best pole vaulters.�
�Yeah, right,� Rika said laughing. �No one compares to you and Neko-chan. You guys shine like stars when you hit the sky.�
Neko blushed. She wondered how much Rika was exaggerating because she and Tenshi were right there.
�Anyway, it�s nice to meet you. I�ve seen you watching some of our meets.� She held out her hand to Mi-chan. Neko thought it was kind of ironic, since she had even less of an idea of who this girl was than Mi-chan did. Mi-chan shook her hand as Rika continued, �Of course, I figured you for Neko-chan�s twin.� She turned back to Neko. �So, why did you miss Tuesday?�
�Oh, yeah, you should go tell Coach about that.� Tenshi took Neko by the shoulders and steered her away from the curious Rika. �You didn�t really want to explain it to her, did you?� she said by way of defense.
Neko didn�t, but she didn�t like how her space was being encroached upon by this arrogant pest. �Get away from me,� she hissed at her.
�Well, okay. You can explain your problem to Coach alone.�
Neko glanced back at Mi-chan. Surely she would help her. But Mi-chan was eager to escape Rika and to get to fencing. Seeing Neko was safe with Tenshi, she waved and turned to leave.
*No, don�t leave me with her* Neko thought helplessly. But her thoughts couldn�t reach Mi-chan, and she had to watch her leave.
�I�ll tell him, Koneko,� Tenshi said softly into her ear. �Don�t worry about it.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
�Ne, Coach?�
�Ah, Tenoh-san. I see Mizuno-san�s back again. How is she doing? Ready to vault?�
Tenshi grimaced. �Well, she�s kinda having problems actually. You might not believe this, but she doesn�t remember how. She has amnesia.�
�You�re kidding!� His tone was a mixture of concern and exasperation. Well, he had every right. This was Neko�s second major incident this year, not to mention the three unexcused absences, and that wasn�t counting Tuesday.
�Look, Coach. She�s a natural,� Tenshi insisted sincerely. �She just doesn�t remember the basics. There aren�t anymore meets this year. Let her relearn.� He looked doubtful, but Tenshi was unrelenting. �I swear she�ll be up to her usual standards before the next school year,� she pleaded to him.
�Fine. You have until the end of the term.�
�Me?!� Tenshi glanced back at Neko. She was going to hate her� even more.
�Who else is going to get her back? Look, I know you have to worry about the tryouts for the Japanese professional team next year, but you�re the only one better than she was, and I have the rest of the team to worry about.� He smiled encouragingly. �I don�t want to lose her any more than you do. If anyone can get her back, it�s you.�
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
�Well, I have some good news and bad news,� Tenshi said as she returned. Neko felt she looked a little too excited for Neko�s liking. �The good news is that Coach is going to let you stay on the team and have some special training to get you back on track.�
�What�s the bad news?� Neko asked suspiciously.
�I�m going to be your trainer,� Tenshi said, avoiding her eyes.
�Oh, you�d like that wouldn�t you?� Neko said, incredulous that this scheming bully would go this far. �For me to be dependent on you. For a little one-on-one training, ne?� She turned to go.
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