Passion and Power

Chapter 44

As Yunjin stared like a deer in the headlights through the cracked door of their hotel room, Hanni scrambled to find a robe nearby, but only managed to find a hand towel nearby. She haphazardly draped over herself, slammed the door and quickly unlatched the chain, then made a break for the bathroom. There she found a robe and re-appeared soon after inside the room to find Yunjin now inside the room but looking a bit in shock, holding a large, very melty bowl of ice cream.

"What the hell, Hanni?"

"Sorry! Uh..um...I was...taking a nap. It was hot so I took off my..." She rambled on as she moved to snag the ice cream and move quickly away.

"Never mind! I don't want any details."

"You're the best, Yunjin. Thanks for the ice cream!" Hanni said around a large mouthful.

"Yeah, I know. The things I do for you, I swear..."

"How about some netflix?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure. But no chill! I think you've had enough of that already..."

Hanni looked wide-eyed but didn't say anything, just shoveled in more ice cream, realizing she hadn't gotten away with anything at all. Despite the embarrassment, she had no regrets. She still felt a glow from her orgasm and pleasing her alpha, and nothing could take that away.

***

Over the next two days the team continued to go hard at practices. Following the last one before their first match, Kazuha sent them off with a pep talk and command to get as much sleep as possible. Since they were one of the top-rated teams, their first draw was from the group of lowest-rated teams. Their first match would be against Thailand, and their coach seemed more worried that they would take the win for granted than about their performance. Hanni was excited to play them, she'd met a few of the players and they seemed thrilled to be there at all. It was their first year qualifying for the World Cup.

"OK team. Tomorrow's the big day! I know you think this game is going to be a cinch, but that is exactly how they could beat us. We have to bring our best game - every single time! This is the big leagues ladies! If we lose, we're done. There are no do-overs. I want every one of you to go in there with your game face on. No mercy!"

That night Hanni and Yunjin talked through all their fears about the start of the tournament. Yunjin was worried because she would be starting the first game in a position she didn't feel was her strongest. As team captain, Hanni was carrying concerns about her own performance along with Yunjin's concerns and the rest of the team's worries. She'd met with each of the players individually in order to see whether there were any particular concerns or situations she should be aware of that could affect their play. She wanted to help them anyway she could. It seemed like a good idea, and she appreciated those that confided in her, but she felt a bit like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. After sharing their concerns they watched 'the Simpsons' to blast logic and worries from their minds, then tried to sleep.

In the end, none of their fears came to pass, though the first half was a nail biter. By halftime each side had scored a point. In the locker room during halftime each player sat waiting for their coach to appear and to verbally rip them a new asshole. In the end, what she did was more scary. As they waited for the coach to appear, Hanni tried motivational pep talks with each of her teammates, tried to calm their fears and shake them out of their stasis. They all waited anxiously for their coach to appear until it was nearly time to get back to the field. At that point Kazuha breezed in, seeming eerily calm. She didn't get angry or yell as they'd anticipated. She walked to the center of the team with a thinly-stretched calm demeanor.

"Well? I don't know what to say. You've all given up so much to come this far. Are you going to just...lay down, now?"

The team was silent.