Author's notes:
So here is the second chapter for this month and the end of the sixteenth finals.
Next month our two Kitakomachi athletes will face the finalists of last year's Inter-High for a spot in the semi-finals.
Let's cheer Ayano and Nagisa on because they are up against their toughest challenges yet.
I would like to beg for some feedback here. Is everyone still happy with the way I have been writing this story?
Are the matches fun or are they boring? Is there enough of a balance between action and drama? Is there anything you would like me to consider doing differently?
Are you still happy with the way I am handling the situation between Ayano and her mother? Are you enjoying my original characters and are you happy with the balance between OG's and main characters?
Please let me know your thoughts.
Otherwise, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Enjoy chapter 7 and see you in the new year ;)
Sitting quietly, Mashiro watched her father's hands as they began to tie her shoelaces.
The tall and slim bespectacled man in the beige trousers and white shirt with thin light-blue lines was kneeling before the ten-year girl in the salmon-pink T-shirt and skirt while she sat on one of the benches that lined the walls of the dressing room they were in.
Standing in the middle of the room, typing away on her cellphone was her mother.
The plump woman was dressed in a long green dress with a dark green sash around her waist.
"Ito-chan told me that there are athletes who can hit a shuttle so hard it's launched with the speed of a bullet train," Young Mashiro enthusiastically talked. "I'm going to train hard so I can do that too someday."
A cold smirk from her mother shut her up.
"The speed of a bullet train? Where did you hear that nonsense?
You believe anything anyone tells you," The woman commented dryly without taking her eyes from her phone.
"And you are going to do that? I think someone should do a little less dreaming and a little more studying."
Cowed by her mother, Mashiro sat quietly watching her father's hands again.
She tried to calm her nerves for her upcoming match by looking at her laces intertwining. But an incident that happened a few weeks ago pushed itself up into her mind.
"Father?"
"Hmm-hmm?"
"Can you teach me how to properly tie my own laces? Some girls at school were laughing and said I tie my laces in a funny way."
"They weren't laughing at you, Mashiro," Himari Nakamura said with a giggle.
"Yes they were! They asked if I was a five-year-old."
"There's always someone mocking you," Mashiro's mother sighed. "Do you think people like girls who are constantly making themselves out to be the victim of others? You did the same to Hiro-kun when you were six."
"Hiro was a really mean boy who pulled my hair and did the same to other girls!" Mashiro reacted in frustration. "And every time you saw him at school you were being super nice to him! Why do you always take the side of kids who are mean to me?"
"Hohohohoho!" Her mother laughed bombastically. "Now I'm taking sides against you. You really do have a lively imagination."
"There. You're ready for the match," Ken Nakamura said while standing up with a cold expression.
"Thank you, Father," Mashiro said. "But after the match, can you teach me how to tie my laces?"
Her father frowned and glared at his daughter.
"How am I supposed to teach you how to tie your laces?" The man with the thin short black hair shrugged. "Didn't you just see how to do it?"
"But… The laces were covered by your hands," Mashiro timidly protested. "If you can properly show me, I can…"
"What a ridiculous idea," Ken huffed while sliding his hands in his pockets. "You'll learn that stuff as you grow up."
Mashiro knew that further appeal was pointless.
Her father nor mother taught her much of anything before nor after that discussion. She was always supposed to just know or learn on her own.
If there were things she was inept at which her parents would coldly sneer at her about or suddenly burst into a rage over, it seemed they expected her to have learned those things "as she grew up".
And as she grew up, Mashiro learned that raising a child was never a verb to her parents.
It was something that was just supposed to happen.
About forty minutes later, Mashiro sat in approximately the same spot after having showered and dressed
The poor girl was bawling her eyes out while the kind, talented, upbeat girl from Nagoya Prefecture who she became friends with a year or two ago sat to her right with a concerned look on her face.
"Uwaaaa! It's so unfair!" Mashiro cried while balling her fists in her lap in frustration. "Why can't I ever beat her?!"
"Don't feel so bad about it, Mashiro," Chizuko tried to soothe her friend by gently rubbing her shoulder. "You will have other chances at beating Ogatsu-san."
"It's the third time we played each other and I really thought I could do it this time," Her blonde friend sobbed.
A compassionate smile appeared on young Chizuko's face.
"I noticed you were weeping while you left the court, but you waited until you were alone with me to let it all out?"
"I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry," Mashiro bitterly wept.
"Saeko always gloats after she beats me. But I'll beat her next time. I swear.
I will show her AND my parents."
"That's the spirit!" A pleased Chizuko declared while pulling her slightly taller friend closer with her left arm.
"I think the main reason she was able to beat you is because she is faster. I'm sure that if you increase your cardio training and practice your footwork more you will make things a lot harder for Ogatsu-san next time.
And, you know…? You should balance your weight onto your toes a little more. It makes it much easier to move about."
"You think so?" Mashiro hesitatingly asked while wiping her eyes. "I could win if I do that?"
"I can't promise that," Her friend said. "But I think her speed on the court is what gives Ogatsu-san the edge over you.
I think that if you put in more time training your footwork you might overcome that."
"Thank you, Chizuko," Mashiro smiled gently. "You are a real friend. I'll follow your advice."
The two girls looked up when the door to their far right was opened and Mashiro's mother and father walked in, followed by the girl's 16-year-old oldest brother, Itsuki, and Chizuko's parents.
"You girls seem like you are having a nice little chat," Mashiro's mother chuckled. "That was a great game you played there, Mashiro. Pity you lost in the end, poor thing."
"Thank you, Mother," The ten-year old tomboy quietly smiled.
"You are becoming quite the athlete," Chizuko's father observed while standing near the door with his arms crossed.
"I really thought you had the match in your pocket until the latter half of the third game. You must be tired after all that."
"Oh… Please don't be giving her any ideas, Yamamoto-san. Or she'll be lazing in front of the television all day again," Mashiro's father joked in a subservient tone before laughing amusedly with her mother.
"Well, I'd want to have it easy too after such a tasking match," Chizuko's mother smiled.
The woman walked over to Mashiro and rubbed the girl over her head.
"Chizuko is always praising your progress. She and her trainer think you are going to become a great athlete one day."
"I would love it if I can become as great as Chizuko and play a match against her in the Inter-High competition one day," Mashiro enthusiastically smiled.
"Sounds like someone is starting to get her head in the clouds," Ken Nakamura joked before laughing heartily with his wife while his son Itsuki stood by and grimaced in annoyance behind his father's back. The boy was peeved in part because he was tired, but mainly because he too - on occasion - was treated to the same casual bullying.
Most of the time, people would merrily join in with such "banter", but Chizuko's parents rarely did, to the dismay of the Nakamuras.
"If you are ready we'll get to the car, Mashiro," Himari Nakamura kindly said. "Your brother and father are tired and I still have to start work on dinner."
"Why?! Can't we stay for a few hours longer? I want to watch Chizuko's match since I can't watch her tomorrow."
Yuto Yamamoto saw the crisis developing and shared a nod with his wife who seemed to think the same.
"Mashiro is free to stay the night, Nakamura-san. We can easily bring her back to you tomorrow," He told Mashiro's father.
"Oh no, Yamamoto-san," Ken Nakamura smiled with a wave of his hands. "Mashiro has to catch up on a lot of work for school."
"It's not that much," Mashiro quietly protested.
"... And we have to go visit my Mother tomorrow. So we really can't leave her with you."
"That's too bad. But I understand how your grandmother would want to see you, Mashiro. You and Chizuko will be able to see each other in action many more times in the future, I'm sure. And know that you are always welcome in our house."
"See you later, Mashiro," Chizuko hugged her friend as they got up. "I'll do my best for you."
About a quarter of an hour later, Mashiro saw her father get behind the steer of their car while her mother closed the door on her side.
"Did you have a nice day, Itsuki?" Mashiro asks her oldest brother before she and the boy were shocked by their father reaching back and slapping Mashiro's left cheek.
"Congratulations! You did a great job at embarrassing us there! Crying like a spoiled brat after losing a match! What will the people think of us?" Her mother scolded her weeping daughter in a loud harsh clashing tone.
"I didn't even notice Mashiro was crying," Itsuki tried to intervene.
"Stay out of it!" His father furiously yelled, striking fear into the 16-year old boy.
"I can't believe how spoiled you are!" Himari yelled at her daughter.
"We bring you all the way here for your match and you repay us with public humiliation!"
"As if anyone cared about me weeping!" Mashiro yelled back in tears. "You care more about what "the people" think of you than you do about our feelings!"
Itsuki hadn't drawn many parallels between how he and his sister were often treated by their parents.
Their father and mother were quite adept at making each of their children feel that one of the other two was at fault when they were being treated like this.
Mashiro's words, however, made him remember the time when he had been brought to the same realization.
"Don't talk back to your mother!" Ken Nakamura screamed.
After having cowed Mashiro into silently sitting while staring at the back of her mother's seat he turned around and started the car.
"It's always the same with you children," He loudly seethed.
"And then you have the gall to try and get out from your punishment by begging Yamamoto-san for a sleepover.
But you will be punished when you get home! Make no mistake! You are spoiled rotten and you will never learn."
While Mashiro stared hard at her mother's backseat and wept silently while balling her fists in frustration over the injustice of her parents' treatment, her oldest brother started awakening to a realization.
A realization that would very slowly and with violent episodes grow into a goal of total independence which would take much time and frustration to gain.
Mashiro looked to her far left at the score on the large display at the edge of the court.
19-21 11-9
Saeko proved as difficult an opponent to her as she had always been. But Mashiro had won the first game.
She was the number two of female youth badminton and this wasn't going to go like when they were kids anymore.
No matter how good Saeko was at reading her. No matter how psychologically loaded this match was for her. Today was the date of Mashiro's reckoning with her nemesis.
The blonde tomboy saw her opponent leave her seat and walk toward her side of the court.
Her eyes wavered to the seats occupied by Chizuko and her friends as she got up and walked forward.
The people who were able to make her smile when the intense insecurities and the treatment she received from her family, schoolmates, or the random strangers whom she didn't fail to meet at the most unexpected moments and who thought it was worth their time to bully her for a minute or so when they did got her down.
The people who were her support through life more than they probably even knew.
With that support literally behind her and the painful memories she had been recollecting fresh in her mind, the King of female youth badminton stepped onto the court.
Drawing the attention of all with her blonde crown, her bright green T-shirt, and her white skirt, Mashiro leaned forward with spread legs.
She momentarily clenched her jaw as she remembered her mother's derogatory laughter, her father's sudden attack, and Saeko's smile after scoring the winning point so many years ago.
"Just so you know, Saeko, I changed my mind!" She yelled at her most consistently dangerous opponent after her best friend.
"Did you?!" Saeko asked with a blank face while standing ready to serve.
"This absolutely is a grudge match to me!"
'Against you. Against Mother. Against Father. Against Haku. Against Mei. Against that guy with the disgusting alcoholic breath who started ranting against me and warned me not to cross him before he stepped off the train just because he saw me playing with my cellphone. Against that woman who made fun of me in the shop because I had trouble calculating how much I owed her. Against that elementary school teacher who bluntly told me I would end up working in a low-wage job because he didn't see me do any better with my background and grades…'
Saeko tilted her head and watched the light in Mashiro's eyes burn.
'I will get my revenge. I will beat you all!'
"Good!" The brunette tomboy slowly grinned. "Let's do this!"
"Come on, Saeko. You can still win this," Hina Tagajou muttered while watching how her friend shot the shuttle just over the net, only for Mashiro to return it on the far right of the FreGirls student's court just beyond her reach.
"Relax, Hina," Saki Misato smiled. "It's been a very exciting match, but Saeko always knew how to surprise Shirogane in the second game when they faced off in the past. Today won't be any different."
"She better. For the sake of the club. Because I'm very concerned about Chikage's ankle. I don't think she is going to be able to finish her match."
Saki frowned at the shorter girl with the short boyish brown hair who spoke to her with such apprehension.
"I know what you mean," FreGirls' vice-captain admitted. "Chikage has been laughing it off, but it really seems painful.
I know that just like Yuika she wants us to win this tournament very badly, but when I was able to talk to her alone earlier I forbade her from endangering herself against Shinoda-san.
Even if neither Saeko nor Chikage goes on to the next round, we still have Yuika and Connie. They should be enough to achieve the win for us."
Hina watched the girl with the long light-brown ponytail with large eyes.
"Thank you for that, Saki," She said. "I hope Chikage will listen to your advice. I want us to win. But I don't want her to hurt herself."
Mashiro dropped the shuttle just over the net with her serve, but Saeko moved forward easily and returned the birdie in the same manner, setting up the blonde for a long shot towards the back of the brunette's court.
Saeko intercepted the projectile while it was heading for the left side of her court, and sent it towards the right side of Mashiro's court.
Diving forward with her long upper body leaning into her attack, Mashiro returned the shuttle close to the net.
This pressed her opponent to come closer and Saeko picked up the birdie just before it would have dropped on her court.
Mashiro thought she had the brunette cornered and shot the shuttle far back to the left of Saeko's court again.
'Shouldn't have done that, Your Highness,' Saeko grinned. 'Old mistakes are hard to unlearn, aren't they?'
With a quick smash, she whipped the shuttle against the floor of Mashiro's court right beside the blonde's left foot.
Both athletes took up positions in the center of their courts after that.
Mashiro stared her smirking opponent in the eyes. Her body and mind focused.
'Go ahead Saeko,' She thought to herself as she saw the brunette serve the shuttle. 'But this match won't go like our previous ones.'
When the shuttle came right at her, she dropped it right over the net before Saeko could get to it.
"14 - 12. Come on, Mashiro," Chizuko muttered while wringing her hands in her lap. "You're in control. Don't let her get to you."
"She's getting back into the match," Benjiro observed. "Ogatsu-san is starting to get more serious too."
"Yes," Chizuko smiled while she saw the FreGirls athlete whip up the shuttle Mashiro had dropped over the net.
"They are both showing the strain of wanting to win this game. They are making more mistakes. Especially since Mashiro is trying to force them both out of their comfort zone."
"Yes. I thought I noticed a change in dynamic," Chizuko's mother chimed in while watching the match with utmost concentration.
"Ogatsu-san and Mashiro both like to control the court," Benjiro stated. "Their matches were always a battle to take control from each other.
Playing this close to the net consistently doesn't suit either of them. They feel constricted."
"I wonder whether Mashiro has been training especially for this," Chizuko said while her friend won her thirteenth rally of the game. "This kind of match isn't something Yuika would relish either."
Mashiro didn't hesitate to serve and directed the shuttle straight towards her opponent.
Saeko returned the projectile to the left side of the blonde's court where Mashiro played the shuttle low over the net.
Saeko dove forward and whipped the birdie up in a high arc.
But Mashiro didn't allow it to go far. The Seishin Gakuen High School student intercepted the projectile and hit it straight towards her opponent, who shot it with high speed towards the back of Mashiro's court.
Mashiro intercepted again, starting a fast back-and-forth with the athlete in the black-and-blue one-piece uniform with a white cross on a red background.
People started to clap to count the returns. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Saeko had succeeded in driving Mashiro back and dropped the shuttle just over the net, but the blonde tomboy lunged forward with her entire upper body and whipped the shuttle low over the net on the right side of her opponent's court where it landed just in bounds.
"They're tied!" Akemi exclaimed. "I can see the concentration on their faces. You were right, Mariyana. This is such an exciting match."
"I know right? I can see Mashiro's bikini-straps through her shirt. And she looks so cute with her sweat sticking her short hair to the sides of her ears!"
Akemi and Izumi shared a wry grin while their friend leaned over the railing around the balcony with an expression of utter delight on her face.
'Alright, Mashiro,' Saeko thought to herself with a dogged grimace while she returned the blonde's serve. 'If this is how you want to play, let's have ourselves a glorious internecine war.'
Mashiro played the shuttle back in a low arc over the net at the right edge of Saeko's court, bringing the brunette closer and closer.
But Saeko successfully deceived her opponent and forced the young woman in the green T-shirt and the white skirt to make a deep forward lunge in order to return the shuttle which she had dropped just over the net on the blonde's side.
Gaining time to skip backwards to the center of her court and necessitating Mashiro to send the shuttle far back to her opponent's court, the FreGirls athlete took control of the rally and dropped the birdie over the net on the side of the blonde.
Mashiro needed to return the projectile faster than she was comfortable with and ended up sending it to the back of Saeko's court where it landed just outside the line.
Trying to use the same upsetting strategy as her opponent had been using, Saeko quickly took position on the left side of her court to serve.
Mashiro received the birdie and immediately dropped it low over the net on the right side of her opponent, who quickly lunged forward to whip the shuttle up in a high and long arc.
Chizuko saw her friend skip backward and raise the racket over her head.
The Seishin Gakuen High School student shot the shuttle straight at Saeko, who needed to react quickly to send the projectile back.
Having taken control back from her opponent, Mashiro dropped the shuttle low over the net on the right side of Saeko's court.
The brunette dove forward and hit the shuttle high over the net, forcing Mashiro back.
But Mashiro still managed to smash the birdie straight at Saeko who failed to hit it back and lost the point as it tapped her on the shoulder before dropping to the floor.
Meanwhile, two girls wearing long black trousers and thin long-sleeved sweaters with hoodies that covered their heads almost entirely - apart from the comically large sunglasses they had hooked behind their ears - stepped in front of the two Japan Badminton Association volunteers who were manning the table at the entrance to the tournament hall.
"That's a stamp for each of you," The slender young man with short black hair behind the table smiled cheerfully while he held out the rubber stamp and pushed it onto each girl's left hand.
"Are you girls alright?" The brunette with the two short pigtails next to him asked their new customers with a concerned frown. "It's a little clammy with all those showers outside to wear such heavy clothing, isn't it?"
"Ah…!" The shorter of the two girls suddenly reacted in a panic. "We… We…"
"We have a skin condition," The taller girl stated decisively. "We develop a slight rash under tube luminescent lighting. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine just like this."
"Oh? I'm sorry for prying," The female JBA volunteer reacted with her hand covering her mouth from surprise and shame. "Poor girls. I'm glad you can enjoy badminton while dressed like this."
"It's fine. We always get remarks like that. It doesn't bother us. We are very happy to be able to see our favorite players perform," The taller girl smiled with a tilt of her head while pronouncing the word "favorite" in a slightly harsher tone than the other words.
The peculiar duo walked through the double doors and towards the railing around the balcony over the tournament hall where they stood still to watch the two matches in play.
"I still think we shouldn't have come today if you don't want to be recognized, Ka… Kojiro," The shorter girl muttered quietly. "The less we appear in public, the less chance there is of us running into someone who sees through our disguises."
"I'm aware of the risk, Musashi. But I couldn't stand having to watch pirated footage of the matches with admittedly erudite but hushed comments on my smartphone.
I'd die if I couldn't be here."
The face of "Musashi'' below her large sunglasses showed a pout as if to say: "You almost did die before the tournament even started."
"Can you feel the drama in the air?" Kaoruko sighed while she stood upright with her arms spread.
Miki regarded her friend with wonder. Kaoruko finally seemed to be returning to her former self.
The short brunette knew that the pinkette had complained about a lack of motivation and direction to the psychologist who visited her in the hospital.
Miki tried as much as she could to help her friend regain her confidence and interest in badminton whenever she visited her. But there was no replacement for visiting an actual tournament.
The brunette smiled happily while hearing Kaoruko speechify.
"That's Nakamura Mashiro and Ogatsu Saeko dueling in a game as close-matched as they come.
The King of female youth badminton and Fredericia Girls' Demon General of the Bloody Scythe.
These two ancient rivals are finally facing each other again many years after Ogatsu-san's fourth victory over Nakamura-san," Kaoruko stated eloquently.
"This match is of almost as great a historical significance as a meeting between Corrales-san and Christensen-san or Hanesaki-san vs Yamamoto-san would be.
The Gods are mocking our ultimate insignificance by having it take place in the sixteenth finals instead of the half finals as it should."
Saeko Ogatsu thought of all her friends in Fredericia Girls badminton club for whom she fought with all her might to win the next four rallies and break the match open.
She had never before played such a skilled or determined Mashiro and was pushing herself like she had those two times she faced Chizuko Yamamoto.
With her hands firmly around the grip of her badminton racket, the brunette narrowed her eyes at her equally taxed opponent.
The brunette returned Mashiro's service to the far right of the blonde's court.
Mashiro stretched out her right arm and dropped the shuttle low over the net, forcing Saeko to come close and whip the projectile up and over the net again.
Being forced to close the distance, Mashiro lunged forward and hit the birdie just over the net where Saeko picked it up and sent it far to the back of her opponent's court.
Mashiro danced back and skilfully shot the shuttle just over the net from that great distance.
But Saeko hadn't changed position and was able to quickly return the birdie to the left side of the blonde's court.
Mashiro again attempted to drop the shuttle over the net, but Saeko anticipated the move and sent it to the back of her adversary's court.
Pushed into the defensive, Mashiro hit the shuttle to the FreGirls student, who again returned it to the left side of her court.
Mashiro landed on her left hand and knee while hurriedly sending the shuttle back, but quickly got up to send Saeko's attack to the back of the brunette's court.
Taking the time she won to regain her equilibrium, Mashiro dropped the shuttle Saeko returned to her low over the net.
Saeko was able to reach it in time, however. And when she dropped the shuttle low over the net on Mashiro's side of the court, the blonde was unable to hit it high enough.
The projectile hit the net before landing on her court.
"18 - 17 Ogatsu-san can win the game in three rallies," Kaoruko stated while Miki came closer to the railing around the balcony.
Both watched the dramatic conclusion to the second game, aware of the emotional investment of both players.
"Who do you hope will win?" Miki asked her friend while watching Saeko's service with bated breath.
"I have struggled against both players at times in my career," Kaoruko said. "But ultimately I feel more sympathy for Nakamura-san. I feel like I understand her better as a person."
"Right."
"But as athletes… I value them both equally."
Mashiro prepared to serve. Having tied the score again after a short rally, the blonde deftly dropped the shuttle over the net on the left side of Saeko's court.
Saeko sent the projectile back in the same low arc but wasn't prepared for Mashiro to return it to the back of her court.
The brunette had to skip backward fast and raise her racket high before hitting the birdie straight towards her opponent.
Mashiro returned the shuttle low over the net again with a smooth flick of her wrist.
With a quick lunge, her opponent returned it to the right side of her court.
The blonde leaned to the right and sent the projectile to the back of Saeko's court, where the brunette raised her racket over her head and hit the shuttle hard to the right side of Mashiro's court again.
Mashiro easily intercepted the projectile and returned it to the right side of Saeko's court.
The FreGirls athlete hurried there and narrowly reached her goal, sending the shuttle in a low arc over the net on Mashiro's side of the court.
Mashiro swerved to the left of her court. But even though she had the advantage of time, the blonde still had to lunge forward with her long upper body to whip the shuttle up and send it in a low arc over the net before getting back to the middle of her court.
A hushed "Oh!" escaped Izumi's lips as she observed the action.
The lanky girl with the short white bowl cut regarded Mashiro's movements with wide eyes as the blonde won the rally.
Then she slightly raised her eyes.
It was obvious from the shocked expression on Mariyana's face as they looked each other in the eyes that the Bulgarian had noticed the exact same thing she had.
Izumi didn't know what her friend would do with that knowledge nor whether she should inquire about the subject.
The displeased grimace Mariyana made before turning her eyes back on the match didn't provide her with a hint as to either question.
She supposed it would only come up if Maryiana faced Mashiro on the court next. And that was between the two of them.
Gritting her teeth, Mashiro positioned herself over the line in the middle of her court to serve.
They were only two points separated from match point.
Saeko was not letting up, but she had successfully broken away from the psychological advantage the brunette had over her.
'There's no question that I am going to win!' The young woman vowed to herself while addressing all the people who hurt her in the past.
'You may all be able to lord it over me in everyday life, but here I am King. And I'll have you acknowledge me so.'
Saeko nimbly returned Mashiro's low-arched serve and treated Mashiro to the same.
Mashiro then played the shuttle over the net on the far right of her opponent, who had to lunge forward and whipped the birdie up in a low arc over the net to the blonde's left.
Mashiro lunged forward and returned the projectile, but Saeko had taken a comfortable stance in the middle of her court close to the net.
The brunette quickly hit the shuttlecock against the floor of Mashiro's court.
"Saeko…" Saki sighed in awe. "I wish you could see this, Yuika."
"I never saw Ogatsu-senpai play like that," Yõkuro grinned at the girl with the light-brown ponytail. "What an amazing match! Nee-san will be proud of her no matter the outcome."
"I… I think she might actually beat Shirogane," Hina gasped while bringing her bottle of ramune to her lips.
Reacting quickly to Saeko's service, Mashiro returned the shuttle to the middle of her opponent's court.
Saeko whipped the birdie up over the net far to the left of the blonde.
Her adversary directed the projectile in a straight line towards the back of the brunette's court.
Saeko calmly returned the shuttle in a high arc, wanting to gain time.
Mashiro saw an opportunity, however. She raised her racket over her head and jumped up, smashing the shuttle onto the court of her opponent.
"19 - 19!" Benjiro Watanabe exclaimed. "Take the match point, Mashiro. Go for it!"
Chizuko sat with her hands clasped next to him, her eyes fixed on her friend.
Mashiro's matches always made her more nervous than her own.
Mashiro served the shuttle in a low arc over the net, Saeko already having come forward in anticipation.
The FreGirls athlete returned the projectile just over the net on Mashiro's court, but her adversary quickly hit the birdie towards the back of her court.
Saeko reacted fast and turned her body to the right, hitting the shuttle with a backward motion of her right arm.
Her opponent in the green T-shirt and white skirt quickly whacked the shuttlecock back.
Caught by surprise, Saeko failed to hit the target and had the point awarded against her.
Following up her win with a quick serve, Mashiro hit the shuttle Saeko returned to her to the back of her opponent's court.
Saeko dropped the birdie just over the net, to draw the blonde near, but Mashiro sent it straight to the back of her court again.
The girl in the black-and-blue one-piece uniform with the white cross on a red background stepped back and raised her racket over her head.
With a hard wallop, the shuttle flew towards the far right of Mashiro's court, forcing the blonde to move quickly to the right.
Having reached the shuttle just in time, Chizuko's friend dropped the projectile just over the net on the far left of her opponent's court.
Saeko lunged forward and ended up kneeling with her right knee on the court as she stretched her right arm out just shy of touching the shuttle before it landed on her court.
With a deep sigh, the young woman with the wild dark-brown hairdo hung her head and leaned on her right arm, resting the hand which held her racket against the floor.
Applause for her and her victorious challenger burst loose from the balconies on every side.
"I'm sorry Yuika, Chikage, Hina, Saki, Suzu, Connie, Watari-sensei, Shindou-sensei," Saeko muttered while gripping her racket hard. "I couldn't do it. I came close, but I failed.
I really wanted to take this win for us. We have so many strong contenders ahead of us still. Sadly… The match didn't work out in our favor.
But… Really…."
The image of a ten-year-old Mashiro with tears in her eyes rushed before Saeko's closed eyes.
"I win this time, Ogatsu-san."
The FreGirls student raised her eyes up at her King.
Mashiro stood right at the net, looking down at her kneeling form.
"I am no longer that little girl you used to push around," Mashiro firmly stated.
"I am the King of female youth badminton. And I will confirm as much to your captain when I meet her on the court again."
"Of course, your Majesty," Saeko genuinely smiled. "I was aware from the start that things would likely end up this way of course. We all have our qualities…"
Mashiro stared at her defeated foe. She didn't know what reaction she might have expected, but it was obvious to her that what she got was devoid of any acting or pretense.
"The qualities of a King…" Saeko said as she got up. "The qualities of a peasant."
The brunette walked up to Mashiro and bowed.
"This lowly peasant did what she could to stop you, but she failed. Congratulations on your victory, Nakamura-san.
I will cheer you on during your confrontation with Corrales-san, so please deal with her as you did with me just now."
Mashiro smiled at Saeko's wink.
"I will, Ogatsu-san. Thank you for a great match. I will never forget how we fought each other today."
"You better not. And you better improve. Because I'm going to try much harder to beat you next time we face each other."
With a heartfelt smile, both left the court and walked towards their coaches.
"You did great, Saeko," Souichirou Watari told his student when she sat down in the plastic chair next to him and took a gulp from her bottle of water while drying her sweat with the towel he handed her.
"Thanks, sensei," The young woman with the short wild brown hair smiled.
"I'm still sorry I couldn't bump Nakamura-san out of the tournament for the team… But I'm kind of happy for her."
"Not your fault. You gave it your all and showed great improvement," The man with the large gray beard smiled. "I saw you rise above yourself in this match.
I look forward to building on that by developing a new training program for you."
"Haha. Yes. I always seem to perform better against that girl," Saeko smiled while looking at Mashiro's back when the blonde walked with her own coach towards the hallway where the dressing rooms were located.
The brunette followed her coach to his chair at the sidelines of the other court where Yuika was waiting with Fredericia Girls' physiotherapist who was taking a last look at Chikage's ankle before her match.
"I was lucky enough to catch the latter half of the second game," Yuika smiled suavely. "You were amazing, Saeko. Thank you for pushing yourself like that."
"So what's the situation here?" Saeko asked after receiving her captain's compliment with a smile. "Are we really going to let Chikage play?"
Chikage looked down at the young woman with the short white bob in the gray vest and trousers who was examining her ankle while she sat in one of the brown plastic chairs lined up along the side of the court.
"It should be possible for you to enter the match with your ankle taped like this," Sayaka Sugawara said with a frown at the blackette's leg. "But you are not going to be able to play like you usually do."
"Ultimately the choice is yours, Chikage," Souichirou said. "I advise you to forfeit the moment you get the feeling that you are hurting yourself.
None of your friends would mind if you did. Remember, we discussed this at length."
Chikage looked up into the kind face of her coach.
"Connie and I will definitely win this tournament for Fredericia Girls," Yuika stated confidently.
The captain of the team regarded the girl with the long black hair in the chair to her left with a straightforward look.
"Do I want you to beat Shinoda-san? Yes. I do. But not at the cost of graduating from junior badminton tournaments without you.
As your captain, I order you to forfeit the moment you feel pain."
Chikage smiled bravely at her friend.
"Thank you, Yuika. Don't worry. I won't endanger myself," The girl with the elegant himé-cut stated. "But I can't leave this tournament without trying to defeat one more opponent for the team."
The girl in the black-and-blue one-piece uniform with the white cross on a red background watched Oichi who was talking with her coach, Azusa Suzuki.
When Oichi noticed being under scrutiny she turned her head and their eyes met.
"And I'm not afraid to take on a God to do so," Chikage said.
The girl with the squint eyes took her racket in hand and left her seat.
"I knew you'd say something like that, dumbass," Yuika smirked. "Give her hell out there. And don't get yourself killed."
Chikage looked over her shoulder while walking onto the court and stuck out her tongue at her friend before approaching the umpire.
"We all knew we weren't going to stop her," Their bespectacled bearded coach sighed while stretching with his hands behind his neck.
"Hopefully she'll stop herself when she needs to."
"I'm curious to see how this newcomer will fare against Fredericia Girls' Demon General of the Dancing Blade," Kaoruko told her friend while Oichi and Chikage tossed the coin to determine who would have the first service.
"It's strange, isn't it...?" Miki reacted.
Both of them had taken seats among the upper-balcony stadium seating on the side of the tournament hall where Chizuko's family was still sitting with Benjiro.
"...All those accidents that allowed her to defeat her opponents so far," The brunette pondered. "I heard the JBA examined whether any foul play was involved but they came up empty-handed."
"There's no doubt Shinoda Oichi has had an enormous amount of luck on her side," Kaoruko stated grimly while watching the girl in question and her opponent take positions on the court. "But luck won't be on her side forever. Sooner or later she will have to face the full might of her opponent without divine intervention."
Oichi stood ready, awaiting the service of her opponent.
The girl in the white T-shirt with thin diagonal yellow lines over her chest and a navy-blue skirt had received a few encouraging words from her coach and her boyfriend had kissed her for luck before she stepped onto her court.
What was most on her mind was her talk with Connie Christensen, however.
Oichi really hoped she was able to help Ayano and her sister get along better. It would be nice if they would become great friends and mutually loving sisters.
She was shocked out of her reverie when Chikage hit the shuttle towards her.
The birdie came down in a very high arc and Oichi stepped back in order to position herself to receive it.
Raising her racket high above her head she slammed the projectile straight towards Chikage.
Before she could move from her position, however, Chikage had slammed the shuttlecock down onto her court and won the first rally.
'This is a great start. But I can't not fight back or I will disappoint everyone,' The girl with the halo-like black bob told herself. 'I have to properly focus on the match.'
Another serve went up in a high arc and Oichi returned it in the same way as the first.
Chikage didn't move and shot the shuttle straight at her opponent who instinctively hit the projectile back at her.
The same back-and-forth repeated itself until Oichi stepped back and slammed the shuttle towards the right side of Chikage's court.
The FreGirls athlete stretched out her arm but didn't move fast enough and the shuttle ricocheted off her racket after which it landed on her court.
"Yamoto-san seems like she's trying to move around as little as possible," Kaoruko observed. "But she won't be able to play like that for long."
"Imagine the stress of having to fix yourself in place when you are known for dancing over the court while slicing shuttles at your opponent from every side," Miki said. "This must be so frustrating to her."
Oichi opened the next rally by hitting the shuttle straight towards her opponent.
Chikage reacted by returning it in a high arc towards the back of her court and scored the 2 - 1 before her opponent could move.
Taking position on the right side of her court, Chikage didn't hesitate to serve the shuttle towards the left side of Oichi's court.
The St. Joseph Kobe High student quickly moved to the side to intercept and return the shuttle, but Chikage moved to the right in one sliding movement and immediately slammed the birdie onto the right side of Oichi's court.
"Even hampered by an injury, Yamoto Chikage's speed is still second to none," Benjiro muttered as he sat watching with his chin leaning on his joined hands.
Chikage served the shuttle towards Oichi, who sent it back towards the right side of her opponent's court.
The FreGirls student quickly returned the birdie in a low arc over the net, pressing the girl with the gradual bob to come closer to the net.
But when Oichi tried to send the shuttle to the right side of Chikage's court, her adversary quickly smashed it against the floor in the back of her court.
Oichi positioned herself in the middle of her court feeling strangely confused by the speed and agility of the girl in front of her.
She hadn't counted on being so completely overrun by someone who had to struggle with an ankle injury.
"4 - 1," Saki counted the score. "You're doing great, Chikage."
"I thought this Kobe girl was rather dangerous with all the prominent players she managed to defeat," Hina smirked. "Turns out she was just really lucky, like people have been saying.'
Her friend hit the shuttle towards the left side of Oichi's court, calmly observing how her opponent would react.
The St. Joseph Kobe High student lunged forward and returned the birdie in a low arc to force her opponent closer to the net.
Chikage did as intended and whipped the shuttlecock up just over the net.
Oichi thought she had her chance now.
She hit the shuttle in a high arc towards the back of her opponent's court and moved back to the middle of her court, ready to smash the return over the net.
Chikage surprised her with her fast reaction, however.
The girl with the black himé-cut stepped back and raised her racket over her head, hitting the shuttle straight towards her adversary.
Oichi quickly returned the shot but was unable to get the shuttle high enough.
After hitting the net it dropped on her side of the court.
Jiro Nishimura watched his girlfriend's confused expression as she took position in the center of her court to await Chikage's service for the next rally.
"Don't give up, Oichi," The portly young man with the wavy black hair muttered. "You can beat her."
"Yes…" He saw Oichi's coach react with a grim expression on her face. "Chikage is handicapped right now. But even if she was not they would be almost equally matched."
Azusa observed with folded arms how Oichi managed to score her second point.
But her humor only grew worse when her student seemed unable to prevent Chikage from scoring 6 - 2, 7 - 2, and 8 - 2.
'Alright…' Oichi thought wildly while returning her opponent's serve. 'I have to play faster. Like Suzuki-Sensei told me.
If I don't, then Yamoto-san will continue to wipe the floor with me and my schoolmates will be sad. I have to do better.'
Chikage moved to the left side of her court to return Oichi's shot and sent the shuttle to the back of the black bobbed girl's court.
Oichi hurried to take position there and slammed the birdie back to the left side of Chikage's court.
The FreGirls student had to turn back from center court to move to the left and return the projectile.
Oichi raised her racket over her head and hit the shuttle hard to a position just over the net.
This forced Chikage to lunge forward, making the young athlete with the long black hair grimace when she landed on her sore ankle.
The girl in the black-and-blue one-piece suit played the shuttle back, but instantly had to return another attack on the left of her court which required her to perform another sharp lunge.
Oichi jumped up and raised her racket over her head before smashing the shuttle towards the right side of Chikage's court.
As her opponent lunged to the right and narrowly returned the shot, the St. Joseph Kobe High student heard an exclamation of pain that made her heart stop.
Sayaka Sugawara immediately walked onto the court where Chikage had sat down to examine the girl's ankle.
Oichi walked closer to the net and watched with growing concern while the young woman with the short white bob touched Chikage's ankle and watched for her reactions.
"See how it feels if you walk," Sayaka told the girl while helping her up.
Chikage walked from one side of her court to the next. Then she tried to lunge and hopped about a little.
"It's the same as before," She said. "But that sting was very sharp. I'm rather frightened to land like that again."
"I understand," Sayaka said while staring at Chikage's ankle with a hand to her chin. "How do you feel?"
Chikage saw the woman look her in the eyes. She knew Sayaka wouldn't ask her that question in that way without having worries.
"I think that I'll be too cautious if I decide to continue the match," She answered.
"I'll back you up on whatever you decide to do…" Sayaka said. "It doesn't seem like you damaged your ankle any more than it already was. But I do think that we received an ultimatum just now."
"Yes…" Chikage sighed.
The young woman with the black himé-cut stared at the floor for a moment.
"It's no fun if you have to hold back, after all," She smiled at the club's physiotherapist. "Thank you for your help, Sugawara-san."
After Chikage talked the situation over with her coach and then the umpire, Oichi saw her opponent walk over to her.
The FreGirls student bowed politely to her.
"I'm sorry, Shinoda-san," Chikage smiled amiably. "But I need to forfeit this match. Thank you for a great game. I'm sure you will have more fun playing Connie tomorrow."
"You… your ankle!" Oichi stuttered while firmly gripping her racket in her right hand. "Is it going to be…?"
"Thank you for your concern, but my ankle will be fine," Chikage smiled. "It doesn't particularly hurt right now when it's taped, but that lunge back there told me that I can't go all-out and I can't play if I have to hold back. I'll have to rest and do the appropriate exercises after the tournament ends. But I'll be back in full force by the time we meet again."
The good news about Chikage's ankle alleviated Oichi's number one concern. But when her opponent left the field to her and turned back to her coach and captain, the heart of the girl with the halo-like bob was still shaken.
With downcast eyes Oichi still stood by the net, her racket trembling in her hand.
After having been devastated by her opponent she was once again forced to continue to the next round contrary to her intentions.
God had made the decision for her.
"W...why…?" Oichi asked her Father in a silent and lonely voice.
"I don't need a mother anymore."
Uchika couldn't shake the look on her daughter's face when she uttered those words at her.
The ten times All Japan Badminton winner sat with her back against the wall in the cul-de-sac between the sports hall where the practice court was located and the martial arts hall.
"If I know that Mother and Connie are going to move in with my grandparents and me after the tournament I won't be able to focus during my matches.
If I can't set that knowledge aside, I won't be able to perform at my best and I'll fail everyone who supports me."
Uchika raised her head while her hands rested on her thighs and sighed lethargically.
She had no experience with this feeling and wasn't used to considering herself in the wrong, but she had to admit that though her plan had seen Ayano become quite as strong as she had hoped for, it had inflicted her daughter with tremendous pain and might have damaged their relationship beyond repair.
The woman who had her long black ponytail bound with a white cloth rhythmically thumped the fingers of her right hand against the concrete floor while pondering how she could hope to get closer to her daughter again.
'Does Ayano think I replaced her with Connie? But I did make it clear to her that I want them to be sisters to each other.'
Uchika remembered how Ayano's coach told her that her daughter was extremely lonely during her residence in Denmark.
Imagining Ayano sitting alone in her room made Uchika's heart contract.
Her mind further tormented her by imagining her daughter crying herself to sleep, causing Uchika to actively wish that she had been at the girl's side to comfort her.
"What have I done?" The woman sighed while she hugged her knees and rested her head against them.
Ruminating on the best method to approach her daughter and regain her love, the woman who since her match against her daughter had taken a shower and dressed in black trousers and a black-and-white vest listened closely to her own breathing.
"Ayano… I miss you so…" She heard herself sigh.
Maybe the best thing to do would be to take Ayano's coach and friend up on their offer of bringing the two of them together.
While thinking this, Uchika became aware of someone else's breathing near to her.
The woman suddenly looked up and startled Oichi in doing so.
"I apologize for startling you!" The girl in the white T-shirt with thin diagonal yellow lines over her chest and a navy-blue skirt exclaimed while waving her hands before her chest. "My name is Shinoda Oichi. I came here to… I noticed how upset you seemed and I didn't know how to approach you..."
"It's alright," Uchika smiled. "I don't mind."
A minute of silence was broken by Oichi timidly parting her lips.
"Are… Are you really Shindou Uchika? And your daughters are Hanesaki-san and Connie?"
"I sure am," Uchika smiled while leaning her back against the wall again. "Are you friends with my girls?"
"I met Connie for the first time a few hours ago and we had a long talk," Oichi said. "She asked me to call her by her first name and we exchanged phone numbers."
"That's nice," Uchika smiled happily. "Come sit beside me. I should get to know the friends of my daughters."
Out of concern for her new friends and their mother, Oichi did as she was told and dropped her sports bag to her right.
It was clear from how much she had heard that not only Ayano and Connie were in great pain, but that their mother was suffering too.
Perhaps she might do the three of them some good by talking to the woman.
"You just finished your match against Yamoto-san I presume?" Uchika asked the girl. "How did it go?"
"I won by forfeit," She heard the girl say with a suddenly glum expression that surprised her.
"Yamoto-san said she couldn't continue the match because she couldn't go all-out. So she forfeited. She fully deserved to win, however. Yamoto-san is an amazing athlete.
I hope she fully recovers from her injury."
"You're very kind," Uchika smiled. "I trust she will. Fredericia Girls Badminton Club takes excellent care of its athletes. I wouldn't worry about Chikage. She will be fine."
"Hanesaki-san will meet Shiwahime-san in the quarter-finals tomorrow," Oichi mentioned. "I'm curious about how they will fare against one another. They are both formidable athletes."
"It will be an exciting match. That's for sure,' She saw Ayano's mother say with a proud blush. "Yuika is set on leading her team to victory and Ayano has become a formidable athlete as you say. I am very excited to see how they do."
"You seem to love Hanesaki-san a lot?"
Uchika sighed and stared at the floor between her legs. Then she smiled.
"When I gave birth to that girl she looked so cute. I really thought I was going to bring up a little Princess, she looked so dainty.
I didn't have the least thought of having her follow in my footsteps. I actually didn't have any idea of how she would grow up..."
Oichi listened attentively to the living legend as she opened her heart to her.
"But all the dolls and television couldn't keep that girl from me when I went to my private court to play against an old friend who came to visit or to hit the shuttle against the wall. She would always follow me around and beg me to teach her how to play.
And as she got older I started to realize that my girl had an amazing talent.
I suppose the realization became a rather too feverish vision to me and I wanted to explore how far Ayano could go. Maybe… I should…"
Uchika heaved a deep sigh.
"Ayano was so hungry to improve and I wanted her to be the best she could be…"
Oichi saw her companion slowly look up at her and smile sadly.
"You know?" The woman said. "I don't really want to talk about that right now. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?
Like why did you come here after your match? Shouldn't you be hitting the showers before meeting your friends from school and discussing the match with your coach and then go to your hotel?"
'So bothersome…' Oichi thought while making as much clear with her frown.
The girl with the gradual bob wasn't exactly in the mood to talk about her personal problems with a stranger.
She wasn't interested in talking much about herself to the best of her friends.
Having few personal problems she was more concerned about how others felt than in sharing her personal thoughts at any time.
But if it made Ayano's mother feel better she supposed she could share her burden.
"I came here to pray, actually," Oichi said quietly. "Suzuki-Sensei became a little angry with me after I came to her. She didn't believe I was giving it my all and told me to stop agreeing to warm-up sessions with Shiwahime-san."
"That sounds like good advice," Uchika sighed with a guilty look in her eyes. "But why doesn't your coach believe you gave it your all in your match against Chikage?"
She saw the girl struggle with herself for a moment. And wondered what Oichi could be thinking.
"I feel very confused right now, Shindou-san," The girl confessed in a distressed voice. "I started getting doubts about myself and about what God desires from me the moment I entered the Inter-High preliminary rounds and I have been growing more restless ever since."
"Is your coach treating you right?' Uchika asked in concern as a thought struck her. "You don't have to do everything she says, okay? If she does or says anything to make you feel bad you should talk about that with your parents… Or… You can tell me if you don't mind?"
Thinking of the distressing situation a girl psychologically abused by her coach would be in without her parents to fall back on made Uchika feel the sting of having abandoned Ayano to herself only sharper. She let her gaze drop to the floor again while Oichi sought for the right words to express herself.
"Suzuki-Sensei is very kind and supportive," The girl said. "She isn't harsh or mean in general.
I would say she might be too soft on me. And my boyfriend acts as our club's manager, so he would act if he noticed anything wrong.
I always felt so lucky because it seemed to me that God spoke to me more directly than he did to others.
My family has been Roman Catholic for generations, so I went to Catholic schools from a young age.
Whenever I prayed to Him I felt so easily understood. I felt so close to Him and as I got older I became so engrossed in our relationship. I wanted to actively spread the Lord's love to the people close to me and it was as if I was led by the hand in doing so.
I felt so close to Him..."
Something in the voice of the girl next to her made Uchika's heart contract.
She couldn't bear to look at Oichi, but the words of the confused Catholic girl brought tears to her eyes.
"I don't know what I did to anger Him. I have racked my brain and searched my heart to find the cause of my offense to Him...
I understand that God might want me to discover my own strength as an athlete as Suzuki-Sensei keeps telling me...
But Shindou-san…" Oichi sadly told the woman who quietly wept next to her for the pain she caused her daughter. "In my entire life, I have known no feeling more lonely than being suddenly abandoned by the person to whom I always looked for guidance."