Chapter Twenty-one: The Curse
Sayaka wanted to prove herself to Eri at the next softball practice, and managed to for her first few pitches, but then the pain in her left hand kicked in again, a sensation similar to being stabbed with hundreds of needles. It was, in fact, so severe that she simply left practice, firmly placing herself in the coach's bad graces.
Day after day, she would be stricken with terrible pain during her practicing, pain that could not be tamed by medicine at all. She took to spending her practices sitting in the dugout doing her homework with her unaffected right hand, biting the tears back as Eri gracefully strutted out onto the field and stole her thunder. Her inability to successfully complete a practice relegated her to the position of benchwarmer, allowing an ecstatic Kawakami to take her place.
Sayaka told her friends and family to stop coming to softball games.
One day at lunch, when Sayaka refused to eat her own creation because she just felt too sad to do so, Aiko decided she'd had enough with this uncharacteristic behavior and decided she would take matters into her own hands. Eri always ate alone on a bench near a tall, shady tree, thoughtfully munching on sandwiches and the like while people-watching. People were starting to talk about this, whispering that Eri was too weird to make friends with, but she just viewed it as a time to get away from people.
Aiko threw down her lunch and marched over to Eri's tree, her hands balled into fists.
"Oh, hello," Eri said sweetly as Aiko approached.
"Listen to me, and listen to me good because I won't say this again," Aiko growled through clenched teeth, grabbing a good bit of Eri's collar in her hand. "Whatever you're doing to Sayaka I want you to stop. She's a ghost now. She used to be so happy and full of life, but then her left hand—her catching hand, I might add—started to hurt so badly that she can't even attend practices anymore. She has to sit on the bench pretty much all the time, barring you breaking your arm or something." Aiko took a hold of Eri's throwing arm. "That would be unfortunate, wouldn't it?"
"Are you threatening me?" Eri chirped.
"Maybe I am." Aiko tightened her grip until Eri grew fearful that she would really walk away with a broken arm. "Maybe I am." She loosened her grip. "All of this started happening once you came into the scene. Perhaps you could tell me why?" She tightened her grip again.
"Sayaka's a showoff. I had to put her in her place," Eri explained coldly.
"Are you kidding me? Sayaka never brags about her abilities. She just plays because that's what she loves to do. It's what she's loved since she could walk and talk and it's her dream," Aiko explained. "She never shows off, she never sticks her abilities in people's faces, or anything of the sort. She. Just. Plays."
"Do you want to know what I really did?" Eri whispered. Aiko nodded slightly. "I cursed the mitt so that when Sayaka slipped it on, it would cause her inordinate pain every time she tried to show me up." She paused. "Which is every time, of course."
"You're such a terrible liar!" Aiko roared. "Quit messing with Sayaka!" She opened her right hand and slapped Eri across the face with it. "This is a warning. If you don't stop messing with Sayaka, I'll punch you." She shot a cold glance at Eri and turned around, stomping off to her group again.
"What did you do?" Suzumi asked fearfully.
"I slapped her and told her to stop messing with you, Sayarin," Aiko said gracefully. "I hope I got the message across." Unfortunately, Aiko's message was not transferred to Eri, as Sayaka's hand still hurt so much that she couldn't participate in practices. Aiko, though, tried to heal Sayaka's hand again, with the same effects.
"Eri is ruining my life," Sayaka sobbed one day at lunch. "And there's no way to stop her."
"Yes there is," Sakura pointed out. "Confront her directly."
"Yeah, that's a good idea! Do you need me to show you any moves? I'd be happy to, you know," Aiko offered.
"No, moves will be unnecessary," Sayaka said, standing up, wiping her tears away, and going over to where Eri sat alone. "Eri. Meet me on the field tonight at 8 PM."
"8 PM?" Eri asked for clarification.
"8 PM," Sayaka said boldly, walking away.
"8 PM," Eri whispered with a nod. "I knew you'd come into the trap eventually. Perfect." Her expression was that of the cat that just ate the canary. "I can't wait until then, Sayaka. I just can't wait."
At 7:45, Sayaka left her house, wearing a thin black track jacket over her normal school uniform. She placed her stick in the pocket and kept touching it every so often to reassure herself that it was truly there. She was nervous throughout her entire walk to school, her heart pounding and her adrenaline rising, wondering what lengths she would have to go to so that Eri would cease muddling in her life. When she started down her normal path to the field, her heart rose and her stomach sank at the same time to signal her nervousness and her left hand started throbbing.
"Hello," Eri said quietly as Sayaka approached her. "I'm glad you decided to come."
"Why wouldn't I?" Sayaka asked. "I asked you to come. It would be terribly impolite of me to be a no-show." She held her left hand with her right hand in an attempt to quell the pain.
"I'm sure you're wondering about that," Eri said, indicating Sayaka's aching hand. "To tell you the truth, Sayaka…" Eri paused, looked down at the ground and looked up towards the sky before continuing. "I did that to you."
"WHAT?" Sayaka shouted. "You're the reason I can't do what I love I hate you!" She ran towards Eri, wanting to wrap her hands around her neck and coerce every breath forth from her disgusting body, but Eri held out her right hand and created a shield that protected her from Sayaka's assault.
"Eris Power, Make Up!" Eri cried, holding her hand aloft and transforming. Her sailor outfit was yellow with green accents and she wore yellow ballet flats. She made a quick pose before considering Sayaka again. "What do you say to that?"
"Ganymede Satellite Power, Make Up!" Sayaka shouted, raising her stick high to the sky and transforming.
"I knew it!" Eri exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. "Ah, I knew you would reveal yourself to me eventually. So, Ganymede, what do you plan to do to me?"
"I plan to lift this curse," Sayaka replied succinctly.
"Try to," Eri said, licking her lips expectantly. Sayaka nodded, shutting her eyes and allowing nearby sand to swirl around her. Right as she was going to give it an electrical charge and send it off towards Eri, though, her left hand throbbed with such intensity that she screamed out in pain and dropped the sand. With a cry of pain, she fell to her knees. "So weak. My master has been through such worse pain than that. Can you possibly imagine being sealed away and trying to break through that seal, though it was enacted by Sailor Moon?"
"Sailor Moon?" Sayaka repeated weakly, grunting in pain.
"That's right. Sailor Moon used her power to seal Chaos for now, but my efforts, as well as the efforts of my comrades, have boosted Chaos' power. I can't wait for the day of rebirth." Eri smiled. "On that day, I want to see you again. I want to be able to watch my master deal you pain. I want to watch as my master kills you!" Eri's arm grew to a shocking length and grabbed Sayaka around the neck. "How do you like that now? Is it painful? Does it hurt?" Her grip tightened. "Your friend threatened to break my arm. Maybe I should break your neck."
"No!" Sayaka protested, already feeling weaker.
"Just a little longer now and the final breath will leave your body…Your soul will go back to the Cauldron…Perhaps if you are lucky, you can be reborn as a cockroach." Eri cackled.
"Hey! Don't call my friend a cockroach!" Natsumi called out from a distance. Eri allowed Sayaka to watch as Natsumi, who was already transformed, stepped forward. "Let go of her!"
"You look just like Sailor Venus," Eri remarked. "Chaos tells tales of your mother's tragic demise. It seems as if she was resurrected."
"Sailor Venus is my mom," Natsumi explained. "She can't transform anymore, but I can! I'm Sailor Mini Venus, and I'm gonna punish you!" She pointed to Eri, who immediately chuckled.
"How cute." Eri dropped Sayaka, who immediately gasped for breath but quickly regained her footing. "What are you going to do, zap me?" Sayaka started concentrating on the sand again and soon a sandstorm was swirling around her. She applied an electrical charge and sent it flying off. With a satisfying crack, it slammed Eri's vulnerable back, causing her to fall to the ground and pant for air.
"Impressive, Sayarin!" Natsumi called.
"I suggest you use that wonderful sword now, Nacchi!" Sayaka replied, panting slightly. "That took a lot out of me. I need to sit down." She sat down on the field, watching as Natsumi put a fist to her chest, shut her eyes, and exhaled as the handle of her Pure Heart Sword emerged. She opened her eyes right away and pulled the entire sword out in one fluid motion, holding it out and watching as the heart on the end glowed. Sayaka felt the need to give it what was left of her power, so she concentrated on that heart glowing green and felt progressively weaker as her power transferred over to the heart.
With a ferocious war cry, Natsumi drew the sword and charged, plunging it deep into the button of Eri's uniform and watching as she was enveloped with white light. She extracted the sword once Eri was fully shrouded and watched as she turned into a pile of ash that hurriedly dissipated. Sayaka watched with a weary smile playing upon her face as Eri was killed, but exhaustion overtook her and she relaxed, closing her eyes and falling asleep.
"Sayarin!" Natsumi called out, shoving the sword back into her body. "Sayarin!" She rushed to Natsumi's side and knelt down to get to her level, placing her index finger beneath her nose to see if she was still breathing. She was, but in the soft, gentle manner that suggested sleep. "Sayarin, I'm glad you're okay." Through the white material of Sayaka's gloves, Natsumi could clearly see a scar on her left palm blinking before turning white and disappearing entirely. "That must be what caused you so much pain. To think that that monster over there…" She looked over to where Eri once stood. "Did that to you? That's horrible." In a lapse of thought, she started to touch Sayaka's hand with one finger, like someone might touch a newborn kitten. When she realized this, she withdrew her hand and a blush rose on her cheeks before she de-transformed.