Ayona slowly descended the stairs, holding the handkerchief in her hands.
"Do you love badminton Kaoruko?"
She asked.
The pinkette was slightly perplexed.
This girl was supposed to be afraid of her. What was she doing, asking her such a question with such a smooth expression?
A question Kaoruko didn't quite know how to answer.
Badminton had always been the only thing she was good at. The only thing that made her feel good.
Only it wasn't so much badminton that made her feel good. It was the feeling of getting under another girl's skin. To be able to feel superior.
The pinkette frowned nervously at the piercing eyes of the girl before her.
"Of course I love badminton," She flashed a fake supercilious smile. "How can I not when I am so good at it?"
Ayona just kept staring at her.
Kaoruko felt herself getting more nervous.
"... And when I keep beating you at it," She continued.
The brunette just kept staring at her.
Why was this girl not afraid anymore? She had to find a way to let her know who's boss again.
At last Ayona spoke.
She smiled as she walked past the pinkette and said in her soft voice: "Thank you for the handkerchief, Kaoruko. I will give it back to you after I beat you."
A tingling sensation tickled Kaoruko's spine as she heard the door close behind her. Her eyes went wide in shock.
She couldn't allow herself to feel like this again. She had to get over this feeling.
She couldn't allow this girl of all people to make her feel like this!
Several hours later Kentarou and Elena entered the girls' room at the hotel, interrupting everyone discussing their matches.
Elena searched the room for her friend but did not find her there.
"Where is Ayano?" She asked.
"We assumed she was with you," Riko answered with a surprised look.
Kentarou looked troubled and was about to ask Elena where Ayano could be when their prodigy quietly entered the room.
"Hey, Ayano!" Kentarou took her by the wrist. "Nobody has seen you since dinner. Where have you been?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just at the doctor."
The other girls gave each other a startled look. Nagisa frowned.
"The doctor?" Kentarou asked. "You're not ill are you?"
"No. Not yet," Ayano smiled mysteriously.
"What do you mean?" Her childhood friend tried, feeling something was wrong.
"Nothing. Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Elena wasn't convinced, but she nor Kentarou felt they had any chance of finding out what the girl had been doing.
"Alright then. It's time to go to bed everyone. Tomorrow we will discuss your upcoming matches," Their coach announced, smiling at the girls who immediately started to prepare for bed.
The boys' tournament was in full swing and Kentarou was pleased to see the girls showed up to support them.
But once again it seemed that Ayano was missing.
He was starting to get a little worried.
Tomorrow she would play Serigaya Kaoruko and he wanted to imprint the best strategy to deal with her unto his pupil.
His pupil, however, was at that time employing a strategy of her own.
Having intercepted Kaoruko's lackey on her way to fetch the pinkette at the hotel she had managed to get the girl engaged in conversation on a bench under a lush green tree near the road.
"So you have known Kaoruko for a long time?" Ayano asked.
"I... I shouldn't be talking to you," The poor, timid girl stammered. "You are Kaoruko's next opponent."
"I know," Ayano reassured. "But Kaoruko and I talk all the time, so there really is no problem."
Again, Kaoruko's friend saw the dark-haired girl rub the insides of her nose with several pieces of gruff-looking household paper.
"Why do you keep doing that?" She ventured.
"Oh. I'll let you in on a secret," Ayano leaned closer, having seen her opponent approach in the distance.
"I'm trying to get sick. Because I'm afraid to play Kaoruko. If I get ill by tomorrow I can forfeit the match without defeat," She winked conspiratorily.
"Atchou!"
"That's ridiculous," The other girl piped up. "You can't catch a cold that easy or that fast!"
"Oh. But I can. I can catch a cold just by getting sneezed on for a few minutes. And just an hour or so later, I'll be sick."
Ayano seemed to smile triumphantly at the imposed auburn-haired girl next to her. The smile made Kaoruko's friend rather frightened if she was honest.
"What are you doing here?!"
The irritated voice of her pinkette friend made the girl jump up.
"Why are you two talking here?! You should have come and fetched me at the hotel!" Kaoruko glowered at her frightened friend.
"We weren't doing anything wrong. Just talking," Ayano softly answered, hands neatly behind her back while glancing a smile at the girl standing up and looking very guilty next to her.
Kaoruko felt extremely annoyed with the situation. She felt a lump form in her stomach, doubting the loyalty of her only friend.
"I'm going ahead Kaoruko," Ayano smiled. "I don't want to intrude on you."
Why did this girl seem so carefree?
She used to be so easy to manipulate.
"Do you still have my handkerchief, Ayano?" Kaoruko smiled.
"I sure do. It will come in handy I think. Atchou!" Ayano roughly cleaned her nose with another piece of paper.
"Thank you very much Kaoruko. I'll see you later."
Kaoruko watched her opponent turn graciously and walk away. She saw the girl fix a strange look on her for about a second while she turned.
An uncomfortable feeling crept up on her.
"What did she talk to you about?!" She turned on her friend.
The fearful girl quickly sought for a way to relief the pinkette's anger.
"She... She told me she was trying to get a cold."
"A cold?" Kaoruko repeated in astonishment.
"Yes... She told me in secret that she was trying to forfeit because of illness."
Kaoruko grinned viciously.
Suddenly everything became clear to her.
Ayano's carefree attitude made complete sense now.
"So she's that afraid of me?" The pinkette grinned.
"That show of confidence is only because she thinks she can get out of playing me."
Kaoruko started to cook up a plan while her friend stared at her. Feeling relieved that the taller girl's anger had subsided, but frightened of tomorrow.
"Ayano!" Kentarou called.
The girl looked up as she was about to join her friends in the bleachers.
"Come over here!"
The young coach tapped his foot nervously as he saw his pupil approach.
"You look ill," He said, frowning. "Do you feel alright."
"I feel great, coach," Ayano smiled gently.
"where have you been? We need to talk about your match tomorrow.
You have to keep your head clear when you play Serigaya. And you have to try and get her to make those faults like we discussed."
"Oh. I know. But I am fully prepared for Kaoruko. Please Don't worry, coach. Kaoruko won't be a problem."
Kentarou watched the strange confident grin of the young prodigy.
He wanted to say something to caution her, but he didn't want to jinx that confidence.
He had talked with Ayano about his proposed strategy for Kaoruko at length already and there really wasn't much more he could do to help the girl at this junction.
Tomorrow on the court she would be on her own.
He only hoped she would not fall ill.
"Atchou!"
Elena watched her friend with a pained expression as she blew her red nose again.
Ayano noticed and smiled. "Don't worry, Elena."
Her taller friend just sighed and watched Ayano refresh herself in the bathroom with her match against Kaoruko only a quarter of an hour away.
Elena squatted down with her back to the wall.
She really didn't want to see her dearest friend the way she had been before.
"I'm sorry Elena," Ayano said as she squatted beside her.
"I'm making you feel left out again, aren't I?" She gently asked.
Elena smiled quietly and squeezed her friend's hand.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I feel great. I know you are worried about me Elena. But I promise you: I will be alright."
"I want you to win this time, Ayano."
"I know," The smaller girl smiled softly.
"Thank you, Elena."
They didn't talk for a while. Enjoying the murmur of the matches in the sports hall.
"The day my mother left me, Kaoruko had coughed on me and made me ill.
I was so shocked by what she had done that I couldn't concentrate when I played her and I lost by a hair. And then my mother left me and I never saw her again."
Elena was shocked.
"What?! All because of Kaoruko?!"
Ayano nodded and smiled.
"That is why I couldn't win when I played her last time.
I was still overcome by my mother leaving me.
But now I know I don't need her anymore," Ayano said while stretching and getting up.
Elena got up with her.
"Why?! What do you mean?" She asked.
"Connie is my mother's new daughter. She found her while in Denmark and trained her as her own daughter," Ayano said with a strange look in her face.
"Connie needs my mother. She has nobody else. I can live on my own, but she can't. Without my mother, Connie would be lost."
Elena watched the frightfull glint in Ayano's eyes with a feeling of dread.
"Don't worry, Elena. I'm going to win. Because I realized something a while ago. If I want to, I can defeat anyone I ever played," Ayano said with determination. "My mother included."
Elena balled her fists as her friend walked away towards the courts.
Angry at what had been done to her.
Angry at what had caused Connie and Kaoruko and her mother to do those things to her.
But most of all, angry at her own inability to stop what she feared would come from this spiral of hatred.
Kaoruko and Ayano approached each other and shook hands.
"I hope you don't mind me having told the referee about your little trick, Ayano?
I won't allow you to forfeit your way out of facing me," The pinkette smiled viciously.
"Forfeit?" Ayano repeated with a dumb expression.
"I would never forfeit, Kaoruko. I am going to kill you today," She continued with a cruel smile.
"You took everything from me, so I am going destroy you."
Kaoruko grimaced as the smaller girl gave her hand a painful squeeze.
Kaoruko saw her opponent walk to her service court. She knew the way Ayano played.
All she had to do was break through that service and Ayano would be so lost she would own the entire first set.
She watched her opponent concentrate and prepare for a low serve.
At the moment the pinkette moved to intercept, Ayano whipped the shuttle to the place her opponent had just left.
Kaoruko stood frozen to the floor and stared at the smaller girl.
What had she done? How dared that stupid timid girl use a feint against HER?!
"This is just the beginning Kaoruko," Ayano warned with a face empty of emotion.
A few minutes later both girls were moving rapidly back, forth and sideways, rally after rally.
Kaoruko started to look increasingly fatigued, while Ayano played on with a tireless concentration except for the breaks which she used to blow her nose with her opponent's pink handkerchief.
Hayama came and joined his friends in the bleachers with an inconsolably weeping Yu.
The poor girl had never really believed she was going to make it to the next round.
But finding out after her loss that her previous opponent had suffered from a severe case of stomach flu when she played her was too cruel.
"Hi. How's Ayano doing?" He asked as Ayano broke through another of her opponent's serves.
"I can't believe it," Riko muttered agape.
"Yes. This is exactly how she beat me," Nagisa sighed.
"Wow. She's doing that well is she?! I was a bit nervous about her losing to Kaoruko again, but it's great if she can keep up with her."
"Hayama. Kaoruko hasn't won a single game yet," Nagisa interrupted.
"What?!"
The boy turned his face to the court and read the 0-21 score while an exhausted Kaoruko stood shaking on her legs like a wounded deer.
The muscles of the pinkette's legs had been pushed well over their limit.
Now she was finally allowed a respite of her humiliation she let herself collapse on the floor without hesitation.
Tears of despair rolled down her face.
But Ayano didn't let up.
"I decided some time ago to think about how you play against me," The dark-haired girl said after blowing her nose.
"And I suddenly realized something while remembering."
Her voice came from a faraway place, and Kaoruko wanted to keep it that way. She didn't want to look into those cold eyes anymore.
"You don't love badminton, do you Kaoruko? I don't believe you can... Because if you really love badminton... How can you be so bad at it?" Ayano giggled.
Kaoruko cringed. Her muscles were shivering. It felt like a fist was gripping her entrails.
Everybody had seen. Everybody had seen how bad she played when she wasn't in control.
Everyone had seen.
Nobody would ever fear her again.
Nobody would ever respect her again.
Everyone had seen how she was humiliated.
Kaoruko's face contorted into a hideous grimace.
"Did you notice, Kaoruko? Everyone was supporting me."
Ayano's cold voice hunted Kaoruko like a Lynx.
"everyone kept cheering me on. Even your teammates.
There wasn't a hint of hesitation or pity when they applauded with every point I scored."
Ayano tilted her head at her prey.
"You better get to your seat so they can clean the court, or you'll slip on your own sweat after the interval.
Kentarou watched his confident pupil flash him a smile before drinking.
"I can't believe I misjudged Serigaya's ability like that!" He whispered to himself. "Simply by ignoring her mind games Ayano totally broke her game."
The two girls took their places on the court again after the interval and Kaoruko tried all she could to get into the match.
Something had broken in her around the middle of the first set, however. Her movements had become sluggish.
Her mind had become muddled.
Ayano seemed to be able to get the birdie wherever she wanted to from every position on the court.
It wasn't fair. It just wasn't...
Kaoruko collapsed on the floor and started sobbing.
Her trainer came to her and tried to comfort her, but she couldn't stop crying.
In the end, he had to tell the umpire that she couldn't continue the match.
"I've defeated you on uneven terms," Ayano cheered while the two were in discussion.
A shuddering Kaoruko hesitatingly looked up at her victorious nemesis.
She was crushed, destroyed. She was totally humiliated.
The girl who had done this to her sniffed and blew her nose on her victim's pink handkerchief.
"I have a terrible cold. On top of that, I have barely slept these past two nights," Ayano smiled breezily.
She crouched in front of the helplessly sobbing pinkette and cupped her cheek.
"I wanted to be the one to tell you that you will always lose to everyone."
Kaoruko felt her spine freeze at the cold smile the girl that had destroyed her showed her.
Her stomach felt like it was bleeding as Ayano released her wet cheek.
As Kitakomachi's star player walked past her and let the dirty handkerchief fall down on the pinkette's head, Kaoruko's body and mind, unable to take any more, finally broke down and she passed out on the court.
Elena looked with concern at the exchange on the court as the umpire announced that Ayano had won the match.
She didn't like at all what seemed to be happening to her friend and got up, planning to talk to her in the dressing room.
Before she could leave the bleachers however two people passed her by.
The first one was a clearly upset Connie Christensen. The second was... Elena couldn't believe her eyes, seeing Ayano's mother again after such a long time.
Ayano looked up in the mirror at the people entering the dressing room as she was buttoning her shirt after her shower and glared as she recognized them.
Ushika carefully approached her daughter, followed by her Danish protégé.
The uncomfortable silence created by Ayano's total disregard of their presence urged her mother to realize she would have to be the one to start the conversation.
"You did very well today. I remember how you had trouble with that girl last time you played her."
"I lost back then. But I learned how to beat her."
"You have become faster, and you are playing more tactically."
Ayano ignored her mother and glared at the annoyed Danish behind her.
"Next time we play together I'll crush you so hard you'll never want to play badminton again," She challenged.
Connie gritted her teeth at the softly spoken threat.
"Have you met each other?" Ushika asked nervously, her eyes wide as she looked from one girl's angry expression to the other.
Elena's entrance drew all eyes towards her.
"Ayano... Are you alright?"
She glared at the other women and stood next to her friend.
"Yes, Elena. Thank you. I'm alright,"
The smaller girl smiled, looking up at her friend.
For a moment nobody spoke.
Elena was afraid of spoiling any possibility for mother and daughter to reunite, and Connie was afraid to enable that possibility.
"How did the two of you meet?" Ushika asked her daughter again.
"We did some groceries together and talked. It was fun," Ayano responded truthfully while she and Connie exchanged intense stares.
"After that, we had a friendly match."
"That's fortunate," Her mother responded. "I wanted to introduce Connie to you, Ayano."
"Why?"
Ushika winced at the unusually clashing sound of her daughter's voice.
"Because... Because I wanted us to live together again."
"Why?" Ayano asked again. Her cold stare piercing her mother's heart.
"Because you are my daughter. I'm sorry for leaving you. I realize I was wrong now, but I didn't want to burden you."
"I don't need a mother anymore."
Ushika and Connie both looked in shock at the girl in front of them.
"She is your daughter now. You are not welcome here anymore."
"Don't you dare talk to mother like that!" The Danish shouted in spite of the girl that angered her giving her exactly what she wanted.
"I want both of you to leave me alone now. I am not interested in talking to either of you again before we face each other on the court and I defeat both of you," Ayano glared threateningly.
"Ayano..." Ushika muttered with a pallid face.
Connie grabbed her mother's arm, trying to pull her away.
"Come mother. Let's leave. I told you this would be a bad idea."
Ayano observed her future opponent's gentle behavior and concern for her mother with interest.
"Yes, please leave for now," Elena implored, unable to help herself feeling sorry for the woman and the girl who had hurt her friend so much.
Sighing deeply and swallowing, Ushika decided it would be wisest not to antagonize her daughter anymore and hesitatingly gave in to Connie's pleading eyes.
"I'm sorry Ayano," She said after turning to the door.
"I know I must have hurt you. I'll leave you in peace. But I want you to know that I love you and want to try and make up for abandoning you."
"I'm sorry," Elena spoke softly. Observing her friend who was still looking at the door after her mother and sister left.
"I should have tried to stop them, but I felt you would have wanted to see your mother again."
"I don't," Ayano said. "My grandparents take care of me now. And I have my friends," She looked up, smiling again.
"Mother leaving did hurt me. But she can't hurt me anymore. I know who the people are that care about me."
Elena was touched, but she felt that this was not the way Ayano should be dealing with her situation.
"Ayano... I don't think your mother is your enemy. And I know Connie and Kaoruko have been mean to you, but you shouldn't treat them like they have treated you. Let's talk to them together..."
"I think this is exactly how I should treat them, Elena. This is how they really want to be treated."
Elena shuddered at the cold cruel smile her friend showed.
"People who want to be treated with kindness are kind to others, aren't they? So if Kaoruko and Connie are so cruel to me, it can only mean that they want me to hurt them back.
And after what they did to me, I am more than willing to satisfy them."
The next day Ayano was up early.
She quietly dressed so as not to wake up the others.
She smiled, watching Elena sleep. Feeling happy that she had a friend who cared for her so much while she donned her training outfit.
She felt very energetic.
Nagisa had won her march too and she really hoped they would play each other once the preliminaries were over.
As she approached the door to go out for a morning jog she absently thought there was a strange kind of shadow underneath.
Opening the door her eyes fell on a large bundle lying on the floor.
It took her brain a moment to process the surreal image and recognize it as a human being.
Ayano's dumb expression didn't change as she recognized the pink pigtails of the girl lying on her doorstep, but her eyes opened wide and her face turned pale as she noticed the many wounds from which the blood had flowed freely
to drench the floor in front of her.
Her heart vigorously pumped her own blood through her veins as the words she had spoken to Kaoruko rang through her ears over and over again.
"I am going to kill you. I am going to kill you. I am going to kill you..."