A Meeting of Like Minds

Spring had sprung and the grounds of Fukui were awash with colours. The weather was warming up, and the days were longer. The girls of the school were also full of life, filling the air with laughter and chatter as they made their way across the campus from one class to another.

Ritsuko Miyamae was standing in the gym, waiting for her next class to arrive. Her long dark hair was tied in a braid, and she wore a blue leotard with a yellow stripe diagonally across her chest, over black tights and a pair of white trainers. She paced the gym floor, checking that everything was ready. She picked up one of the gymnastics ribbons and ran her fingers along the ribbon itself. She wound some around her hand and pulled, the sound bringing a smile to her lips, her tongue running along her lower lip. Shaking her self from her thoughts, she put the ribbon down and turned just in time to see her class enter.

She walked over to the centre of the gym and smiled at the gathered girls. 'Okay then, today we're going to be working on basic movement,' she explained. 'And, if there's enough time left, we might work on some ribbon work.' She smiled at the girls as they began chattering slightly. Ritsu clapped, bringing their attention back to her.  'Okay, let's get started!'

Gymnastics might have seemed like an odd choice for one of Tamami's classes. She was an artist after all, and while she was certainly a very physical artist the kind of activities one normally did in gymnastics were less inclined towards what she actually did for show and more towards her more...behind closed doors tastes. But that was exactly why it had caught her interest. The kind of flexibility that gymnastics built and subsequently demanded would serve her well if she ended up using herself as a subject.

Plus, the teacher for this particular subject had caught her attention more than once.

Like just now. Tamami had entered the gym early, just in time to see her playing with one of the gymnastics ribbons in a rather...fond-seeming manner. It caught her attention, although there was little she could do about it at the moment. Especially not when the teacher had put it down in time for the rest of the class to enter. She needed some way to indicate her interest without making a scene. Maybe a code of some sort. Or maybe it was better to just ignore it, since Miyamae-sensei was a teacher. But if she approached it as simply wanting to talk about mutual interests (if she was being honest, that was probably how it would end up anyway) there shouldn't have been a problem.

For now, at least, she simply did as instructed, doing the movements reasonably well. But she did keep shooting quick glances towards the ribbons. And towards the teacher.

Watching as the girls got into position, forming three rows of five in a rough semi-circle, with Ritsu in the centre. She smiled as she went through the warm up stretches, the girls a split second behind her. They warmed up for ten minutes before Ritsu moved onto the basic movements. She lead the girls through the basic movements that they could do without any equipment. Sure, they were fourth years, but it never hurt to go through the basics again. Once she was happy they could do the basic movements still, Ritsu moved onto using equipment.

She got the girls to move some of the equipment from the edges of the gym to the centre, before they began to use the equipment. Ritsu walked around the room, observing how the girls were doing. If someone were watching closely, they would notice she was paying particular attention to the vault horse. She observed all the girls using all the equipment at least once, then said it was time to move on. 'Time for the ribbons and hoops,' she said, an edge of excitement to her voice, if you knew what you were listening for.

Ritsu helped the girls move the equipment out of the way, before she brought out the ribbons and hoops. She handed out a hoop, then a ribbon in that order to each student. Though, she broke that pattern once, when she handed a ribbon to a girl, Tamami Nakahara. Ritsu handed her the ribbon, held her gaze for a split second longer than normal, then looked away. As the last of the ribbons and hoops had been handed out, Ritsu moved the basket to the side, a smile on her lips. She'd noticed Tamami glancing at the ribbons, and at her, since the lesson had begun. She hoped the girl understood what she was trying to say, with her gaze a moment ago.

As the girls went through the movements with the ribbons and the hoops, Ritsu watched, giving advice and compliments when needed and warranted. All the while glancing at Tamami as the girl went through a ribbon routine.

Tamami was a ways past the basics, but she could at least understand the desire to go through them again. It was the beginning of the year, and she doubted that everyone had practiced over spring break or during exam time last year. She certainly hadn't. So a refresher on everything was fine with her, even if she wanted to get to some of the more fun stuff again. They did, at least, get a chance to work with some of the equipment for a moment before moving on to hoop and ribbon work.

The ribbons themselves, at least, were just a means to an end. What one actually did with them wasn't as fun as what she could do. But with the way she had seen Miyamae-sensei playing with one, it seemed like they were thinking along similar lines. That was something that would have to wait until after class, though. Even so, Tamami noticed the teacher's gaze when she handed her a ribbon, and met it with a thin smile. She'd noticed where Tamami was looking. Had to be it.

So while Tamami went through the routines as instructed, right near the end of it she flicked hers around in a way that would cause it to wrap around her. She tripped on it and fell, but anyone with a trained enough eye would notice that she did so in a way that would minimize potential injury. When she landed, she was tangled up a bit in the ribbon. "Ah...my mistake," she said, although she had definitely done it on purpose.

Seeing how the girls were moving, Ritsuko knew that they hadn't practised at all during the break nor their exams. Not that she blamed them, at least not during exam time. But they could have at least tried to keep it up during the holidays. She sighed and shook her head, reminding herself that not everyone was as into gymnastics as she was.

Watching as the girls went through routines with the ribbons and hoops, Ritsu was pleased that they were finally getting back into it. They had finally loosened up and their movements were flowing. It was a wonder to behold. While she didn't have much of an interest in students, she was too much of a professional for that, she couldn't help but wonder what some of them looked like, tangled up in the ribbons. Though she also liked to think about certain teachers in the place of the students. And what they looked like tangled up in the ribbons.

She mentally shook her head, pushing those thoughts from her mind, lest she become... unnecessary. She swallowed, looking over the class with her teachers eyes. She smiled as she saw that there were few mistakes, and those she did spot were small, and quickly corrected by the girls themselves. She was pleased to notice that it was near the end of the lesson, and no one had fallen over. Then she watched one girl fall.

Ritsu watched as the girl fell, her eyebrow arching as she noticed that the girl fell in a way that would minimise the chance of injury. The way the girl landed, Ritsu could see that she was fine, though she probably had a bit of a bruised pride. But as Ritsu walked over to her, she recognised who the girl was. Her cheeks coloured as she noticed the way the ribbon was wrapped around her, the way it pulled tight in certain areas when Tamami moved. This was no mistake, she realised. The bell for the end of the lesson rang. Ritsu shook her head, clapped her hands. 'Okay, girls. That's it for the day! Put everything away, then go get changed.' She turned to face the tangled Tamami. 'I'll help Miss Nakahara out of her predicament.' She placed her hands on her hips, a frown on her face. 'Then you and I will have a chat about your... clumsiness.' There was a sparkle in her eyes, and a smokiness there that only Tamami would notice.

Was it too obvious? Tamami hoped that the rest of the class hadn't realized that she'd fallen on purpose, at least. After all, no one else had managed to trip themselves up, so she was either doing it on purpose or was (to them) now suffering from some seriously wounded pride. Well, her pride didn't get hurt that easily to begin with, unless she messed up really badly with her art. This? This was nothing. And also intentional, but only the teacher needed to suspect that.

Fortunately, she had managed to pull that 'stunt' right in time for the bell. She hadn't had the chance to even bother untangling herself, or even do much more than squirm enough for the ribbon to pull tight around her in a few spots. That was fortunate, because Miyamae-sensei immediately dismissed them, claiming that she'd deal with Tamami herself. Perfect. That was an opening to talk, at least, and wherever it went from there, she would just have to see.

She still wasn't expecting much, though - this was still a teacher. But the way her eyes seemed to sparkle as she approached Tamami suggested that there might be some manner of interest there after all. Not to mention the way she mentioned 'clumsiness' - like that wasn't actually what she was saying at all. "Thank you for helping, Miyamae-sensei. I apologize for messing up like that." There were still people around. Had to keep up the act of clumsiness for a little longer.

Watching Tamami on the floor, tied up was, unfortunately, considering the situation, rather an exciting sight. It took all of Ritsu's willpower not to smile at her. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at Tamami as she wriggled in the restrictive ribbon. She pinched her arm a few times, to try to keep herself calm. 'It's fine,' she said, though the look on her face said the opposite was true. But again, the look in her eyes was different. It was a look that only Tamami could see. 'You just need to get back used to it again.'

Once everyone was gone, and the door had shut, Ritsu put her fists on her hips and smiled down at Tamami. She licked her lips as her intense gaze bore into the girl. 'Now,' she said. 'Let's see about getting out... untied.' She knelt down besides Tamami and reached out, took hold of the end of the ribbon. 'So, what are you playing at?' she whispered, pulling the ribbon tighter rather than untying it. She let it fall loose again, then pulled. 'Why did you get yourself in this situation?' She pulled it tighter still, enjoying the sight of the soft ribbon biting slightly into the skin of the bound girl.

Mixed expressions. Tamami studied the teacher as the other students left, noticing the mix between reassurance in her voice, disapproval in her face, and...excitement in her eyes. This had certainly gone in an interesting direction, especially since it was seeming more likely that she had been right about Miyamae-sensei. At the same time though, the wait and anticipation for where it could go was far more arduous than the situation she had found herself in.

Well, of course it was.

"Ah..." Tamami winced as the ribbon was suddenly pulled tight, instead of being undone. She squirmed, as though in pain from the act, but it was mostly for show. The teacher would be able to see it in her eyes - the sudden tightness was making Tamami rather excited as well. So much that she was actually a little disappointed when she let go. Fortunately, that didn't last long. "Mmhh...I-ah," Tamami struggled to respond between wincing as the teacher pulled it even tighter, causing it to dig slightly into her skin. Ohh, not bad at all. "I thought we might have similar interests, Miyamae-sensei. I got here early and saw you before class started."