Onakura Pt. 01

* All persons in this story are 18 years of age or older *

"Oh no!" Sakura exclaimed, bolting upright in bed and whipping her head around to see that her digital alarm clock was off again. She felt intense panic at the possibility that she had once again overslept.

"Sukie!" her brother Benjiro shouted from down the hallway, and his fast-paced footsteps could be heard as he ran toward her room and suddenly appeared in her doorway wearing his pajamas still. "The power went out again, hurry!"

Just as quickly as he had appeared, Benjiro was gone now as he hurried back to his room to get ready for school. Sakura whipped her comforter away and flew out from under it, practically falling onto the floor in her rush. One of her camisole straps had fallen down around her arm and caught it awkwardly at the elbow so that when she went to move her arm she ended up twisting herself in her top and spinning around. She dizzily fell onto her butt and fought against the camisole until she was finally able to yank it over her head and throw it aside as she searched for her uniform in the mess of clothes that was her closet.

Benjiro nearly slid across the smooth floor in his socks as he returned to her doorway, his uniform shirt half unbuttoned still as he was tying his necktie. "The power is still out. We'll have to grab something to eat on the way."

Sakura, now sitting on the floor topless but facing away from him, glanced back at him fearfully. "Is there time? What time is it?"

"Half past eight," he replied.

"Fuck!" Sakura hurriedly found a white shirt and necktie just like her brother's, along with a navy blue skirt. "There's no time. Coach is gonna be so mad at me!"

"What about my coach?" Benjiro countered. "Have you ever seen him when he goes off on tardy members?"

Seemingly unaffected by his sister's partial nudity, Benjiro finished adjusting his tie and fixed his shirt as he watched her stand up in just her flowery panties and turn to him with the shirt in her hands. She threw it on, forgetting about a bra, and quickly buttoned it. She pulled the necktie around her collar but didn't bother to tie it yet.

"No bra today?" he asked her, having seen her B-cups as she buttoned her shirt.

"It's fine. No one will notice." She pulled on her skirt and looked up at Benjiro, who was watching her get dressed. "Hair, Benji."

Benjiro snapped out of it and straightened himself before nodding obediently and disappearing down the hall to brush his hair. It was often a disheveled mess but for whatever reason he was not prone to cutting it very often. He was brown-haired but Sakura was platinum blonde, though both of them had blue eyes. Sakura was a bit on the skinny side but her slightly wide hips made her ass her best feature. She wished her boobs were bigger but at least they existed at all considering how thin she was.

Benjiro was pulling on his shoes by the time Sakura made it to the front door. It was a ten minute walk from their house to the train station and she was calculating how long it would take to detour to the convenience store that she and her brother frequented to snag something for breakfast. It was highly unlikely that they would have time to do that and still catch the train. Normally they would stop on the way (when they woke up on time) if the power was out and they weren't able to cook for themselves or grab something to go. Their parents were usually pretty strict about making them eat healthy, especially considering how important their physical health was to their club activities. Sugary cereals or foods full of preservatives weren't allowed and they were expected to make themselves an omelet with rice or something of the sort.

If only the power would stop going out in their house! It wasn't their fault that it kept happening but their parents wouldn't allow that to be a good excuse. Neither of them wanted to disappoint their elders, and their coveted spots in the club were to be respected and maintained at all costs.

They were both out the door and practically running to the train station, taking the familiar route down their street and across the residential sector. This was a beautiful spring morning and the blooming flowers along the way would have been a wonderful sight to take in, had they not been so rushed. Once they were on the main walkway that followed the highway, it was a straight shot to the station off in the distance.

"Did you do your exercises last night?" Benjiro asked her, the first words he spoke since they left the house.

Sakura nodded. "Fell asleep before my time was up though. As usual. You?"

He nodded as well, walking right behind her along the walkway and keeping up with her brisk pace. "Got up to seven finally."

Sakura's eyes widened as she glanced back at him. "Seven? That's awesome. That should pay off big time. Can you maintain it though?"

"I hope so. Takes a bit of abdominal strength once you do it that many times though." Benjiro rubbed his stomach, feeling the soreness still. "I can really feel it in my core."

Sakura found that interesting. Her exercises weren't so much direct physical strain, and she would have to remember to respect that aspect of it for her other male teammates.

"It must have been hard to sleep after all that," she acknowledged.

"Not too bad," he said as they got to the end of the walkway where it dumped out into the main city. "Interesting dreams though for sure. Are we stopping or not?"

Sakura took her phone out of her jacket pocket and looked at the time. "Fuck, if we do then we will for sure be late. I don't wanna risk it. Can you make it until lunch?"

Benjiro shrugged. "No choice really. It's fine."

"Make sure to do protein then," she advised him. "Don't wanna pass out as things get tense."

"Oh god, remember when Koji stayed up all night and didn't eat before finals?" Benjiro laughed to himself. "So embarrassing."

Sakura nodded. "It can happen, especially in this sport. Can't neglect the nutritional demands of such intense activity."

They got to the train station right as the train was arriving, thankfully, and stopped at the pad to wait for the gates to open. Sakura fidgeted a bit even though they made it in time. Benjiro noticed but didn't say anything. He knew that they were both usually on edge in the mornings, especially on Wednesdays like this when they were expected to do club activities. Monday, Wednesday and Friday were graded performance evaluations that counted toward their school endorsements. They wouldn't be in danger of getting failing grades as long as they had an acceptable excuse, and Tuesdays and Thursdays they were free to skip club without any repercussions, but of course the dedicated members never missed a single day if they could help it.

Once the siblings were boarded and sitting in their seats for the fifteen minute train ride, they could finally relax a bit and review their homework or try to fit in a quick nap before class. Benjiro pulled out his cell phone and plugged in his earbuds as he pulled up his classwork. Sakura could have done the same but they typically did it together anyway. She held out her hand expectantly, and he handed her one of the earbuds so they could share. Both of them were glued to the screen of his phone as they studied together. The train was filled with people now, other students going to class like them and also adults on their way to work. It was just the typical busy pace of city life and all were well accustomed to it. No one really took notice of anyone in particular.

Benjiro swiped his thumb across his screen to scroll through something, but Sakura nudged him.

"I was watching that," she complained.

"Sorry." He swiped back.

She stared at the screen silently for a minute as the train picked up full speed and they were off to school. Benjiro was watching it too but he wasn't as interested. He did enjoy the closeness of her leaning against his arm as they shared the earphones. There was something comforting about that after a full night of homework and intense study. He just wanted to relax and enjoy moments like these, while she was very focused on studying. Conversely, after school and club, she was prone to relaxing while he was usually one to immediately want to study and prepare. Fortunately each of their clubs seemed to fit their styles and it worked out for both of them in that way.

"Kira needs to see this," Sakura said suddenly. "This is exactly her thing."

Benjiro took note of the contents of this particular study video. "That's funny, Juni in my club would probably be the same. Seems to work for him really well."

"Juni...is that Junichiro from Northside?"

Benjiro nodded.

"I think I saw him compete once. Pretty good showing really."

"Yeah, and he's sooo humble about it, but everyone still likes him anyway."

They rode in silence for a bit more and Benjiro let Sakura scroll on his phone since she was apparently more interested in specific study content. He had to fight to keep himself focused but he knew that he would perform better if he did. Sakura seemed to have little trouble this morning and he could see that she was doing her internal muscle contractions in a tense/release pattern. No one else on the train would have noticed because it was so subtle but he could always tell. Her physical control was one of her strong points and he knew that she was revered in her club for it. Other students looked up to her as an ideal of how to perform in many ways.

Sakura eventually looked down at something other than the phone screen and nudged Benjiro again. "Focus, bro. Gotta be able to do it on demand."

Benjiro looked down and nodded. "I wasn't paying attention. Thanks."

He paid more serious attention to the video now and matched Sakura's silent muscle exercises. Clench, release, clench, release...they were usually pretty good about their routines and didn't need to remind each other. Since they weren't in the same club it wasn't as if they had anything to gain from the kind reminders, as if they were teammates who needed to boost each other's scores. They just viewed it as a mutually beneficial rivalry of sorts, like any of the same things that two siblings did. Gentle reminders, sarcastic comments with no malicious intent, and of course celebratory acknowledgements were very common between them.

Sakura was proud of her brother, immensely so. She knew how much dedication their club activities took, how much time it cost them from having a real social life and enjoying other things that young people normally did. They viewed their club with more importance and dedication than anything else in their lives right now. They were only nine months apart and because their birthdays are in the same calendar year they ended up being in the same grade, so they had always done things right alongside each other growing up. Same classes, same activities, and now same club. Of course he was in the boys club and she was in the girls club but they had so much in common that it seemed second nature to do everything together.

Sakura eventually straightened and let out a deep, calming breath as the train neared their stop. Benjiro put his phone and the earbuds away and did the same. He had to be especially careful to relax himself to keep anyone from noticing him, and Sakura respectfully allowed him an extra moment to calm even though she was ready to stand and leave. After he finally stood, she followed suit and the two of them waited their turn as the passengers all poured out.

Once they were on the train station landing and out the gate, Benjiro and Sakura headed a short distance across the street and toward the giant education complex where their school was housed. Hundreds of students were all converging on the building now, all dressed in matching school uniforms and most of them belonging to various other school clubs or social groups. Benjiro and Sakura had made a few friends among them but mostly they associated with those in their clubs.

"See you after," Sakura said as she bounded down one of the hallways away from her brother. Then looking back with a smile: "Don't forget to breathe!"

Benjiro smiled and nodded, then went the opposite way down a different hallway. Classes were just the normal subjects for most of the day, and the club was the last period always. Rightfully so, considering how intense it usually got. It would be hard to do it any other way.

Throughout classes, Benjiro alternated between paying attention to the subject at hand and reminding himself to prep for club later. Between two classes he got a text from one of his fellow club members, Hideki:

Hey don't be late today, just saw Coach and he seemed really stressed...

Benjiro just thumbs-upped the message but didn't reply. That wasn't unusual for their coach to be stressed. The man was a walking aneurysm, always worried about whether the school would support the club and if they could meet its strict requirements for memberships. It seemed there was more and more oversight into school activities lately with all the governmental pressures these days. There had been talk recently about some new school board members imposing new rules and restrictions for all school clubs. Benjiro hadn't heard any details but he figured their club would be safe from elimination, due to the nature of what they did.

Entrance into this special club was not just a matter of keeping good grades. That was still required, but there were other qualifications that Benjiro had to meet just to be able to apply. The club was centered around physical health and special community service which the government had been stressing lately. It just happened that Sakura was interested as well, although there could be reasons why they were both drawn to the activity. Their parents were fairly involved in the community and were considered respected figures, always serving on parent councils and volunteering to help anyone who needed it. That sense of giving back had rubbed off on their children and they considered it an honor to qualify for the club.

Once the last period arrived, Benjiro headed for the clubhouse, which was just a small classroom tucked away in a corner of the second story past the gym. It wasn't hidden really but it was a bit out of the way for an actual classroom. Other school clubs met in classrooms throughout the building or in common areas after classes were out. Since this one was technically an official class held during school hours, they had their own dedicated space but it was relegated to this small space that barely accommodated a dozen students comfortably. Their club of only six students had plenty of space and they had certainly made it their own with the way they arranged the furniture inside.

Just before he reached the clubhouse, someone came running up behind him and caught his attention. It was Onsu, a dark-haired boy with thick glasses who always seemed to have his shirt untucked for one reason or another. Benjiro nodded at him as he quickly approached.

"Hey Ben," Onsu said, catching his breath a bit. "Did you hear?"

Benjiro frowned and shook his head. "No, what?"

Onsu looked a bit concerned. "Coach has some big announcement today. Don't know what though."

Together they entered the clubhouse and saw that they were the first ones to arrive. It was just a typical classroom but the chairs were all facing each other and there was a large table in the center with six small crates, each labeled with a club member's name. There was a podium at the front of the classroom for the coach, and a few papers were scattered across the face of it.

Benjiro took his jacket off and hung it up on the wall where a line of hooks were attached, and set his backpack on the floor underneath it. He slipped out of his shoes and turned back to Onsu.

"Maybe the club is in trouble," he said, though he didn't want to admit it.

"No way!" Onsu exclaimed, also removing his jacket and shoes. "We've worked too hard to let it go now. Especially this close to a match."

Benjiro nodded in agreement. It would be a shame to consider these past few weeks a waste, if they weren't able to show off their stuff at the next club match. They were supposed to go up against a club from another school in the Quarterly Lineup, where schools from other provinces would compete against each other. Each school usually only had one club for each activity, or two if it was coed and they did internal competitions. At least for this club, coed was not allowed for obvious reasons. It was pretty rare to mix boys and girls unless it was an intellectual competition. Anything physical was separated into gendered groups.

The classroom door opened again and another student entered, followed by two behind him. Hideki, a taller boy with brown hair who was perpetually serious it seemed, and Paolo, the foreign exchange student that barely spoke their language. He was particularly gifted though so that wasn't a barrier for his admission into the club.

"Hey guys," Hideki said as they entered. "Something big today, huh?"

Benjiro shrugged. "Onsu was just telling me but neither of us knows what."

Paolo said nothing as he shed his jacket and shoes and took a seat. He crossed his leg over his knee and waited patiently for everyone else to arrive.

Another student came in and raised his hands into the air. "Hey bitches!"

It was Junichiro, the student Benjiro had mentioned to his sister earlier on the train. His sleeves were rolled up, his tie was loosened at the knot, and his hair was spiky as usual. He smacked Benjiro on the back as he passed him, not bothering to take his jacket or shoes off as he slumped into a chair two spots away from Paolo.

"Junichiro-san," Hideki warned, "Coach is going to murder you if he comes in here and finds you with your shoes still on."

Junichiro made a mocking face but obediently kicked his shoes off toward the coat rack. They didn't land anywhere near but Benjiro picked them up and neatly set them aside for him. Right as he stood back up, the last member of their club entered the room, Koji. He was the shortest of them all and had sandy blonde hair, making him easy to spot among the rest of them. He placed his jacket on the last available hook without saying anything, and then went to take a seat by the others.

"Is ok?" Paolo spoke up, his accent thick.

Koji nodded, even though he looked a bit down. "Yeah, I'm fine. I forgot to bring my assignment for chemistry, again. I'm gonna fail out for sure."

"Don't worry about it," Onsu said, sitting next to Koji and patting him on the shoulder. "I'll help you next time, ok?"

Koji nodded gratefully and smiled at him. "Thanks, man. I just don't know where my head is lately."

A slamming sound could be heard down the hall from inside the classroom, and then some shuffling. That was the trademark sound of Coach dropping a book and then losing his papers all over trying to pick it up. Benjiro popped his head out into the hall and saw the middle-aged man looking as frazzled as ever. He was average height, thin, balding, and had wire-framed glasses. He looked like the most stereotypical male teacher Benjiro had ever seen.

"Need any help, Coach?" Benjiro asked.

Coach looked up but waved dismissively. "We need to get started right away today. There isn't much time before..."

He trailed off as he pushed past Benjiro and entered the classroom. The other students stood respectfully when he entered, and with a wave of his hand over his head while he hurried to the front of the room, they all obediently sat down again.

"Listen up," Coach said as he dumped his stuff down on the podium with a thud. "Today is gonna be a little bit different. I don't really know how to say this, so I'm gonna play a video that will do all the talking."

Everyone looked at each other and exchanged strange looks, unsure of what Coach could possibly be referring to. Benjiro had his phone still in his pocket and thought to check it for a message from Sukie, since news that affected one of their clubs usually affected both. He didn't want to be rude in front of Coach though since he was their teacher and clubmaster. He waited silently, but remembered to do his muscle exercises as he sat waiting.