Tenchi Muyo! In Love:
Coed Intergalactic Highschool Volleyball Players
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Ryoko laced her sneakers and looked over at the boys' volleyball
team.  Several of the boys were discussing their game strategy
while one ignored the discussion in favor of looking back in her
direction.

/What the hell is he watching me for?/ Ryoko thought. /He should
mind his own damned business./

She stuck her tongue out at the young man who tilted his head in
a gesture of amused curiosity but made no other response.

"Stop flirting at pay attention." the teacher told Ryoko.

"I'm not...oh *fine*." Ryoko turned her attention back to the
game plan being discussed, lingering just in time to see the
boy she'd been watching get the volleyball thrown at him by an
exasperated gym teacher who was trying to get him to pay
attention, too.

Ryoko gasped.

Without turning to face the ball, the boy had simply reached out
with his right hand as it hurled at him, and caught it.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. Who was this guy?!

The two teams faced off at the net. Achika was first to serve.
Nobuyuki returned the serve.

"Good one, Noboyuki!" Achika praised, laughing cheerfully.

"Thanks, Achika." Nobuyuki called back as Ayeka hit the ball
back to the boys' side and it was retrieved by one of his
teammates.

"I got it!" Ryoko called, hitting it back to the boys' side in
sure-fire hard spike.

The chestnut haired boy dove under and hit it back to the girls"
side.

"Impossible!" Ryoko snarled, hitting it back at the boy.

"Just hit it back in the same direction you hit it." The boy's
verbal shrug irked Ryoko.

"Hit this back." Ryoko hit the ball straight down.

Somehow, he did.

"Very cute." Ryoko sulked, hitting the ball back at him

"So are you." the boy smiled hit it back at her.

The rate of exchange grew to a near-impossible speed.

Finally, the boy hit the ball as hard as he could. It went
way beyond the volleyball court and into the Principal's Office.
This caused a number of startled gasps, mostly because the
Principal's Office was on the *other* side of the school.

Ryoko just stared in stunned amazement through the lined-up
holes in the walls that lead to the Principal's office where the
ball was sitting on the fuming man's desk.

*****

That afternoon, Ryoko turned to the boy as they cleaned up the
classrooms together. "Thanks a lot." She snarled at him.

"Oh, shut up, Ryoko." He snarled back.

"Hey! Don't you tell *me* to shut up. Just who the hell do you
think you are, huh? As a matter of fact, while we're on the
subject, who *are*..MMPH!" He eyes widened as the boy kissed her
powerfully on the lips and slipped his tongue into her mouth.
She had half a mind to bite his tongue off, but there was a low
growling sound in his throat and she decided against it. At
first she just put up with it, then she found herself
responding, almost instinctively.

The teacher walked in and cleared his throat loudly.

The two of them pulled back from the kiss and hastily resumed
their chores.

*****

Ryoko and the boy did everything they could not to look at each
other the next day. There was an aura of embarrassment whenever
one spotted the other. It was as if they thought if people saw
them notice each other, they'd know about the kiss.

"Ryoko," Mihoshi told her as the class split up into discussion
groups, "you're with Achika, Ayeka, and Naoki."

"Great." Ryoko sighed. "Thanks a bundle."

"You're welcome." Mihoshi laughed. "I just know the four of you
will get along really well."

(to be continued...)