The next morning was slow to come. After getting my injuries taken care of – and my shoulder now in a sling – it was nice to be able to lay down, but whatever move I made hurt; it was hard to find a position to lay in without my new bruises making their presence known. As a result, I spent a large portion of the night just tossing and turning, and when I felt the sunlight hit my eyes, I refused to believe it was already the next day.
"Can't…be…" I groaned, turning my head so the light wouldn't be shining in my eyes. I turned my body so I'd be laying on my side, but I ended up laying on my broken shoulder.
"Owwww!!" I hollered as I jumped from the pain and fell out of bed. I lay there sprawled out on the floor, my shoulder throbbing. "Damn it all!!"
"You ok?" I heard Mom ask as she ran into the bedroom.
"Y-yeah, I guess," I replied.
"You're not thinking about going to school like that, are you?"
I thought for a moment. "Well…as much as I'd LOVE to stay home…I think it'd just make people suspicious if I stayed home from school…"
"I could just call in and tell 'em you're sick. It's not like there's no such thing as getting sick or anything."
I shook my head and sat up, my ribs throbbing; they were still more than a little sore from all those blasts I'd took from the Boomers. "No, no, I'll…I'll be ok."
"The sling is gonna make people more suspicious than you staying home is," she pointed out.
"I'm not gonna wear the sling."
Mom raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical. "Better be prepared to come up with a good excuse, then."
"Excuse?"
"Sling or no sling, you honestly think nobody is going to notice that you're walking around stiff as a mummy?"
I paled at the thought. "I could probably come up with something…"
Mom shook her head. "Your principal is already thinking that I'm being negligent. If they take notice of your shoulder and shit, I'll be accused of beating you up," she said, half-joking. "It'd be best if you stayed home, I think."
"Well…could you give me some of what's left of that morphine? Maybe if the pain's numbed up, I won't be walking around funny as much."
"It won't change the fact that your shoulder's broken," she sighed as I stood up and rubbed my shoulder. "It'll be both our asses if the officials at your school get wind of this."
"It'll be fine," I assured her. All I had to do was confront Ana and make up a story with her. She knew my identity and what had happened; if any of the teachers or the principal found out about my wounds, at least we'd have a half-decent explanation as to what happened. Couldn't be that hard, right? She owed me her life, after all; surely she wouldn't backstab me after I did THAT for her…
As I approached the school, I took a few deep breaths. Remember, just act normal, I reminded myself. I rubbed my shoulder again; even after I'd taken some medicine for the pain, it still was extremely stiff, and the pain had merely dulled. My ribs felt the same way, but on the bright side, at least my arm felt normal. I walked in past the metal detectors – which got set off once again, thanks to the rods and plates in me – and headed towards my locker. I'd made sure to get there early, so if I did happen to act strange, at least no one would be around to see it.
When I got to my locker, I opened it up to get out my books. I set my backpack down on the floor, unzipped it, and went to grab my literature book out of my locker when suddenly, I felt someone's hand clamp down on my shoulder and squeeze.
"OW!!" I yelled. I turned to see who had done that, and of all people, it was Ana.
"So…" she muttered, "it was you after all…"
"M…me?" I faltered, suddenly losing my nerve. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about," she snapped, then lowered her voice. "You're the one that saved me from those Boomers last night."
"Boomers?"
"Stop playing dumb!! I…I appreciate it…" She looked up at me again. "I can't believe you'd show up here after…after the beating you took."
"It's…it's nothing," I stammered, paling.
"Just curious, though…what happened after I got away?"
"I'd rather not discuss it," I said, shuddering at the memory.
"Ok, that's fine. But…have you been a Knight Saber all this time? Since they showed up again last October?" I nodded. "Well, that WOULD explain the weird injuries you've shown up with. And I guess it would also explain why you freaked out and broke my nose that one time."
"I'm just hoping you're not gonna go and tell everyone about this," I mumbled.
"It WOULD make a lovely scandal, wouldn't it?" Ana said, suddenly brightening and getting an evil grin on her face.
"You wouldn't--!!" I yelled.
She calmed down and shook her head. "You've been through enough shit. Exposing your double-life is the last thing you need."
I just stood there and blinked in surprise. Had Ana just said what I thought she said? She was really going to keep this between us? I wasn't so sure…
"You haven't told anybody, have you?"
"No. My parents did ask how I got outta there, and I merely said 'A Knight Saber saved me', end of story. Maru doesn't know, either."
I sighed in relief. "Well, I hope you'll keep this to yourself."
As she turned and walked down the hall, she said, "I owe you my life. I can't pay you back for it, but…at least I can make sure your secret stays that way."
What I went through for her, I thought as I continued taking my books out of my locker. Maybe…maybe my faith wasn't so misplaced after all…
But of course, surviving class was another matter.
When I walked into my literature class a minute before the tardy bell rang, I was greeted by Michiko, who seemed excited enough. She was always like this the night after the Knight Sabers appeared.
"Yumeko! Good morning!" she said in a singsong voice as I groaned, dropped my backpack to the floor, and sat down at my desk.
"Morning."
"Y'know what I heard from a few kids today? That the purple Knight Saber appeared again last night!"
"Is that a fact?"
She nodded, her eyes gleaming. "Yeah! I think it's weird, because the last time the Sabers were out, there were just the original four. And that this time, the purple one appeared by herself. She wasn't near the others at all."
I tried swallowing the lump in my throat, but to no avail. "R-really?"
"Uh-huh." She gazed at me for a moment, then put her finger on the spot underneath my eye and asked, "You look terrible. You have circles and bags under your eyes. You ok?"
"I'm…I'm ok," I assured her. "Just didn't sleep too well."
"Hmm…" Michiko gazed down at her desk for a second and just sat there, lost in her own thoughts, which unnerved me a little. I could almost guess what she was gonna say next.
"Yumeko," she said, drumming her fingers on the desk, "I…I've been thinking about it for a while, but…I didn't know how you'd take it. But, now's as good a time as any to ask."
"W…what do you want to know?"
"I've…just been wondering if—"
"Ok, class!!" Mr. Nami bellowed out as he walked in. "Settle down, time to start!"
"Uh…I'll ask you later," Michiko mumbled.
I managed to get through that class easily enough, mechanically doing whatever the teacher said to do, and trying not to make it too obvious that I could barely move my left arm. It seemed to take an eternity, but when the bell rang to end the period, I eagerly got up and headed to my trigonometry class, albeit occupied with what Michiko was wondering. She's on to me, I knew it, I thought as I walked down the hall. I just gotta hope that she forgets what she was gonna ask me…
Even though it was only my second class of the day, I'd already used up a lot of my strength by then, so it was harder to stay focused as Mrs. Sasaki lectured us about sin, cos, and tan. I laid my head on the desk and closed my eyes, intending only to rest them – and my aching head – for just a minute. I…I forgot how much a beating can take outta me, I thought. Maybe I shoulda listened to Mom and stayed home instead of coming here...this sucks...
I heard that Boomeroid man's voice in my head play over and over again, saying how he recognized me. Couldn't have been from the competitions. Maybe it was… Because my faceplate was broken? I frowned to myself at the thought. Was I going through all this hell just because my faceplate had been broken?
"Wakie wakie," I vaguely heard the boy behind me say before his fist hit me in the shoulder. I hollered in pain and jumped up in my seat.
"What the hell was that for?!" I snapped at him, holding my shoulder as all the kids in the class snickered.
"Ms. Asagiri!" Mrs. Sasaki chided. I turned around to face her, paling.
"Uh, yes ma'am?"
"Were you sleeping in class?"
"No."
"Then what were you doing with that outburst?"
"Ah, she was just mad 'cuz I did this," the boy that had hit me said, starting to repeat the move. I instantly spun around and punched him across the face.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!" I screamed, standing over him as he laid on the floor, his hand to his cheek. The other kids in the room gasped in surprise.
"Ms. Asagiri, I believe you know what to do," Mrs. Sasaki sighed, pointing to the two buckets of water in the corner. My eyebrow twitched; with my shoulder in this condition, she really expected me to be able to hold those?
"I can't," I said, perhaps a bit too quickly.
"And why not?"
"My shoulder hurts."
"From that punch? I think not. No excuses," she repeated, pointing to the buckets again. "I'll see you after class. But for now, just stand in the hallway with those."
"Damn!" I muttered under my breath, walking towards the buckets while the other kids snickered. If I had my way, they wouldn't be laughing, I swore in my head as I picked up one bucket with my good arm and started carrying it towards the door.
"Both of them," Mrs. Sasaki reminded me.
"I said my shoulder—"
"BOTH of them," she said again. I sighed and bent down to pick up the other one while the other kids looked on in interest. I grabbed hold of it, but the moment I lifted it off the ground, my shoulder flared up in pain. I cried out as the bucket went dropping to the floor, some water splashing out of it. I winced and grabbed my shoulder as the kids laughed.
"It's not funny!!" I yelled, my shoulder throbbing.
"Is it really that bad?" Mrs. Sasaki inquired, starting to look a bit concerned.
"I tried telling you, but…"
"Ok, just stand out there with one."
I sighed in relief. "I think I can manage that." I picked up the other bucket again and limped out to the hallway while Mrs. Sasaki resumed her lecture.
Mom was right after all, I thought grimly as I stood there holding the bucket. This really was a bad idea. But, well…at least I didn't black out again. Although…that bastard really woulda deserved it if I had… I set the bucket down, as my good arm was starting to ache, and took off my brace; as long as I was out here, I might as well have practiced bending my leg. I started slowly, then went a little faster, trying to bend it as much as possible. It started feeling stiff at about forty degrees, so I pushed on it to make it bend farther, wincing when it did. After repeating that a couple times, I stopped and leaned against the wall. I'm getting better. Little by little, I'm getting better. I won't need the brace for much longer. Just wait, you Boomers, I'll be back at full strength soon enough… It suddenly came to me; I hadn't moved with too much problem in the hardsuit, aside from trying to run. If I could walk decently in the suit, then perhaps I could walk just as well out of the suit.
"Ok, let's see if I can do this," I said to myself as I took a step forward with my good leg. No problem there. I then tried taking a step with my bad leg. It wobbled a little bit, and tightened a bit more than I remembered it doing last night, but as long as it didn't buckle, it was fine by me. I grinned as I tried repeating the move, this time a bit faster. It didn't work quite as well; I very nearly slipped as the leg protested the sudden movement and decided it wanted to give on me. I held my arm out to my side to steady myself, then took a step back and put my brace back on, which was a little difficult, considering my left arm didn't want to do much of anything besides hang limp at my side.
"Almost there, almost there," I told myself, when suddenly, the bell that signaled the end of the period rang. As kids spilled into the hallway, I stood there for a second, wondering if I should stay and talk with Mrs. Sasaki.
"Oh well. Who needs to talk with her, anyway?" I wondered aloud, starting to head down the hallway when I felt a hand grab me by the shoulder, the good one, of course.
"Where do you think you're going?" I heard Mrs. Sasaki question.
"Ah, the bathroom?" I answered meekly.
"Get back in here," she ordered, dragging me back into her classroom. After telling me to take a seat, she sat at the desk next to me, and suddenly got a strangely sad look on her face.
"Yumeko," she said. The sound was strange to my ears; she'd never called me by my first name before. "I want to know what's going on. What happened to your shoulder?"
"I…uh…" I stammered, instinctively rubbing my shoulder again. "It's nothing."
"Nothing? You couldn't even hold that bucket."
"I bruised it yesterday. Nothing too major."
"I don't believe you," she said bluntly. "I want you to tell me what really happened. No excuses, ok?"
"I AM telling the truth!! I…me and Ana got into a fight yesterday!!"
Mrs. Sasaki crossed her arms over her chest and heaved a sigh. "Ms. Kuramoto? Is that so?"
I nodded. "Yeah. She kinda caught me off guard and I got pummeled pretty badly."
"I suppose that's why you're wearing a sweatshirt and shorts then? To cover the bruises?"
"Uh, yeah, you could say that."
"I thought something was strange when I saw you wearing that when it's the middle of summer," she admitted, snickering. "Well, it was off school grounds, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, it's not my business then. Now," she said, standing up and slapping me playfully on the back, "go on and get to class."
"Uh, yeah, I think I'll do that," I said, wincing at my now-hurting back; she'd accidentally hit me on the spot where one of the Boomers had kicked me. Ok, got through that round, I thought as I walked out of the classroom. Oh wait, gym class is next… Hmm, well, I can just ditch. No need to show off my bruises to everybody.
A few days later, I took the bus to Linna's gym; ever since that fight, even though I'd had the pulp beaten out of me, it made me all the more determined to make my leg get better. As I walked into the gym, I saw her giving a lesson to a group of girls. I decided to jump in, so I walked to the back of the group, took off my brace, and waited for Linna's instructions.
"Cross one leg over the other, then bend down and touch your toes," she instructed as she demonstrated. Everyone else did so, and I followed suit. I felt both my leg and my shoulder twinge a bit, but it didn't bother me. After she instructed us to repeat the move, I did so, then as my leg quickly got tired, I sat down and put the brace back on reluctantly. That move used to be so easy for me, but now my leg could barely do three sets of it before starting to ache.
"Yumeko! What are you doing here?" Linna exclaimed after she dismissed the class.
"For therapy, what else?"
"I thought you were told to take it easy for a few days."
"I can't just sit around and do nothing," I grumbled. "I want my leg to get better."
"I'm aware of that," she said, "but you're not going to be able to do anything therapy-wise with those injuries you got."
"But…but…"
Linna sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Just take it easy. Once you're more recovered, we can resume the therapy sessions."
"I can take it! Honest!" I protested.
She smiled. "I coulda sworn that you loathed these sessions, but I guess I was wrong."
I scowled. "I DO hate them, but sitting around's not gonna make my leg any better. The sooner I get this damned brace off, the better." Linna merely grinned again.
"Look, there's no reason not to take a holiday from this hard work. Go out and have fun with your friends."
"You sure?"
"You only live once. Why not?" She led me to the front door and playfully shoved me out onto the sidewalk. "I'm sure Michiko would love it if you spent a day with her."
I thought for a moment. How much time HAD I spent with her, anyway? Other than going to her apartment to study and do homework with her, we really hadn't spent all that much time together lately. The last time we'd really done anything fun was when we'd gone birthday shopping…
"You're right," I agreed, a grin spreading across my face. "She's been there for me all this time, I should make it up to her."
"I knew you'd agree," Linna said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "So go on and have fun with her! And if I see you back here trying to get some therapy, I'm gonna make you clean up my apartment, capiche?"
I paled. "Ok, ok, I'm going. Don't need to tell me twice."
I walked down the street towards the nearest crosswalk, my arms folded behind my head. I want my leg to get better, I thought as my shoulder started throbbing. So what if I'm injured? I can still do the therapy regardless… I dropped my arms to my sides and sighed as the other people on the sidewalk shoved their way past me. What had that Boomeroid guy said? Something about how it was unbecoming of such a young girl to be decked out in armor, ready to fight to the death? Maybe he was right… I was seventeen, after all. I wasn't supposed to be doing this…
Sylia's voice rang out in my head again: "Just remember that you agreed to join the Knight Sabers. No one forced you to do it."
I closed my eyes and hung my head. "Maybe," I mumbled in a low voice to myself. "I did do it of my own accord. But…what if I want out?"
"Yumeko!!" I heard a girl yell out of nowhere. I yelped loudly in surprise and leaped about a mile.
"Michiko?!" I exclaimed, my heart feeling like it had leaped into my throat. "Don't do that!!"
"Did I scare you?" she asked, noticing my reaction.
"N…no," I said, though all the blood had drained from my face. "Funny, I was just going to go to your place."
"Really? Well, actually, Linna told me to come down here."
"You were in cahoots the whole time?"
"What do you mean?"
"She just told me to take a break from the therapy, and told me to spend more time with you."
"Oh, did she?" Michiko inquired with a mischievous smile creeping across her face. "What a coincidink."
"Yeah," I groaned sarcastically. "So, um, where should we go?"
"I'd like us to go to the spas in Geo City."
"Why?"
"There's plenty of privacy there, and there's something I need to ask you about."
I blinked. "L…like what?" Don't tell me it's what I think it is, I prayed inside.
Michiko looked around at the people surrounding us. "Not here. I can't ask you here." She grabbed my hand and started dragging me towards the stairs that led to the subway station.
"Ow! Hey!" I protested. "Careful!"
"Your shoulder still hurts?" she asked, then paused and thought for a moment. "Well…to be honest," she said as we walked down the stairs towards the ticket booth, "I don't think it was Ana that beat you up, even though you say it was her."
"Why not?" She's on to me, I thought, trying to keep a straight face.
She grinned evilly. "Everybody knows she couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag, that's why. So how would she be able to beat you, of all people, up?"
"Luck?" I replied meekly.
She giggled. "I figured you would say that." We reached the ticket booth, and as I started to take out my debit card, Michiko shook her head and motioned for me not to.
"I'll pay for both of us. Don't worry."
"But you don't need—"
"No, I insist," she said forcefully, inserting her card into the machine. After pressing a few buttons on the screen, two tickets popped out of the slot next to it. "Here's yours," she said, handing me one. "And don't try to pay me back, because I won't accept the money."
I smirked. "If you say so."
"I do," she joked as she removed her card from the machine and led me to the waiting platform. As we stood there and waited for the next train to come, Michiko turned to me and asked, "So, when are you going to be getting that brace off?"
I shrugged. "Beats me. Hopefully soon, though."
"Have you tried walking without the brace?"
"A little. But I guess my leg's so used to having the brace on it that it refuses to do anything without it."
"Aw, that sucks." Michiko thought for a moment, then brightened. "Hey, y'know what? The Nationals are next week!! I'm sure the Kihi team would love it if you went to show your support!"
I grinned. "I was already considering that." The words Clara had said to me weeks earlier continued to echo in my mind: "It's really sad that you got that leg injury, but we vowed at the beginning of this season that we'd reach Nationals, just for you." Looked like they'd made good on their promise. The least I could do in return is show them my support, just like they'd done for me last year.
"Oh, here it comes!" Michiko interrupted, leaning forward to get a view of the train. After a few seconds, the huge grey tube came into sight, looking like it was packed with people ready to get off and go home. It rumbled forward and screeched to a stop in front of us. My head started to throb at the sound of the screeching noise, pounding to the point where it made me see spots.
I put my hand up to the side of my head and closed my eyes, moaning with the pain.
"Yucchan, you ok?" Michiko asked, putting her hands on my shoulders to keep me from falling forward.
"I…I think I'll be ok," I said softly, opening my eyes slowly. I knew I'd gotten at least a concussion from when the Boomeroid guy had hit me on the back of my head to knock me out, but I hadn't been expecting something this bad. Well, I guess if it was hard enough to knock me out, then…then I guess I shoulda been expecting this, I thought.
"Do you need help onto the train?" she asked as the swarm of people started spilling out of the train. I shook my head, then quickly realized I should've known better, for my head started pounding more.
"Jesus," I groaned, my hand still on the side of my head.
"See why I doubt Ana's the one that beat you up?" Michiko deadpanned as she gently ushered me onto the train and into a seat. "No way could she have given you a concussion."
"Unless she hit me over the head with a wrench," I quipped. I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to will my headache to go away. It's been five days, I guess I shouldn't have rushed myself, I thought. I fidgeted in the seat to find a more comfortable position, and then, it happened again. The familiar feeling of my body going numb and the hair on the back of my neck standing on end again.
I jerked up in my seat and looked around at the other people in the train.
"What's wrong?" Michiko asked, wide-eyed.
"I coulda sworn…" I started to say. Was I really going insane? No…I could have sworn somebody had been watching me, but…there was nobody around that looked out of the ordinary. I sighed and leaned back again, my head pounding anew.
"Don't scare me like that," she said. "Jerking up all of a sudden like that…if I didn't know better, I would've said it looked like you just woke up from a nightmare."
As the train doors automatically shut and the train got moving, I started feeling fine again. Could there have been somebody at the station watching me? I sighed and scratched the side of my head as I thought. No way could I have been going crazy; just the fact that I'd narrowly escaped being shot in the head a month before proved that much. Somebody had been on to me, but I just couldn't figure out who.
"When…do we get to Geo City?" I asked, my voice wavering a little.
"I guess in about ten minutes," Michiko replied, twisting her necklace around her finger. "You sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I assured her, heaving a sigh. "Just tired." Tired of looking behind my back every five seconds, I thought.
"You just seem jumpy, that's all. And you're never jumpy."
"I'm ok, honest." I leaned back and turned my head away from the bright lights that shined overhead. I was about to close my eyes when I spied a girl a few seats away from me, just sitting there and looking at me with huge, wide eyes. What's she so interested in?, I wondered.
"Don't fall asleep, Yumeko," Michiko joked. "Our stop is in a couple minutes." I saw the girl break out into a huge grin at the sound of my name.
"It IS you!!" she exclaimed in English, shoving her way through the crowd and to where I was sitting. She grabbed my hands and jumped up and down. "You're Yumeko!! The gymnast, right?!"
"Ah…well…" I started to mumble in the normal Japanese.
"Um, dear," the girl's mom said, looking terribly embarrassed, "I don't think you should be running up and bugging people."
"But it's her!!" she protested, still clenching my hands. "It must be!!"
"Um…it's all right," I told the girl's mom in English. "It's…it's nice to know I have fans."
Michiko blinked in confusion as the girl grinned. "Hey, you know English!"
"Of course I do," I said, smiling softly. "We learn it in school."
"I watch all your competitions," she continued, "and I think you're the best! Are you going to compete in Nationals next week?"
"Belinda," the girl's mom said, flushing again, "don't be rude."
I shook my head. "I can't compete this year." How was I supposed to explain this to a seven-year-old girl? "Because…I hurt my leg badly. See this thing on my leg?" I pointed at my brace. "I can't walk without it."
"You're hurt that bad?" Belinda asked, her face falling.
"Yeah. But I'm gonna try my best to be in the Olympics next year, so watch for me then," I promised, forcing a smile. What was I doing?! There was no way I could promise I'd be there…
The little girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a sketchbook. After flipping through a few pages, she showed me a doodle she'd done. "Can you sign?"
I couldn't help but smile at the drawing. It was a crude drawing of me standing on a balance beam in my leotard, with my arms outstretched and a very big smile on my face. I laughed and showed it to Michiko.
"Think it'd be worth anything if I signed it?" I joked to her in the normal Japanese.
"Maybe," she replied, giggling and scratching the side of her head.
I turned back to Belinda and said, "Sure, I'll sign it. Where do you want me to sign?"
"Under the picture," she said, pointing to the bottom of the paper.
"Ok," I said. "Do you have a pencil or anything I can write with?"
"Yeah, right here." She took a pencil out of her backpack and handed it to me. I was about to start writing when she said, "Can you write so I can read it? I can't read Japanese."
I chuckled. "Sure." Underneath the drawing, I wrote this:
To Belinda, one of my biggest fans. Keep your head high, and I wish you the best at whatever you do.
After writing my name in both English and Japanese, I handed the sketchbook back to Belinda. She took one look at what I wrote, and broke out in a fit of giggles. "Thanks so much!!" she said, lunging at me and giving me a huge hug.
"Here's our stop," Michiko said suddenly as the train pulled to a stop, the announcer saying over the intercom, "Geo City."
"Well, time to go," I said, standing up. "Take care, kiddo."
"'K!!" Belinda said, waving as me and Michiko got off.
"You really made her day," Belinda's mom yelled in Japanese over the noise of the crowd. "Thank you for taking the trouble!!"
"No problem!!" I yelled back as the train doors closed and the train pulled away.
"I STILL don't know how you can do that," Michiko said in awe, referring to my speaking English.
"Well, you'll be able to do that someday."
"If I ever get any closer to understanding how the language works," she groaned, then looked at me. "That was cute what you did."
I grinned. "I never knew I had my own fanbase."
"Well, now you know!" she said, laughing, then quickly turned serious. "Yumeko…I still have to ask you…"
"Oh…right," I said softly. "So what did you want to ask?"
"Follow me," she said, striding ahead of me. "I know where we can go without being disturbed."
I sighed and grudgingly followed behind. Time to face the music.
A spa?, I thought. She must be joking!!
"C'mon, Yumeko," Michiko urged as she dragged me to the changing room. "This'll be good for ya." The thought of hot water on my fresh bruises, however, wasn't as soothing as Michiko was making it out to be. My eyebrow twitched at the thought. I couldn't show her the bruises, no way in hell. And with my shoulder still very black and blue, she'd freak out all the more.
"Can't we go somewhere else to chat?" I asked.
She shook her head. "This is the only place I know of that's not very crowded at this time of day. So come on."
As she started taking off her clothes, I tried to come up with a way to get out of this. I could pretend I had a stomachache; I could just turn and run – or at least go as fast as I could without falling on my face; I could…
"Come on!" she repeated again as she wrapped a towel around her body. "Are you gonna join me or not?"
"Well…uh…" I stammered.
Michiko smiled like a Cheshire cat. "You're not very good at excuses, you know. So don't try to just talk your way out of this. How do you know what I'm even going to ask you?"
"Gut feeling," I blurted.
She sighed. "Yumeko, I'm your friend. We should be able to talk about anything. You can trust me."
"I know, but…"
"I'll wait for you in the spa," she interrupted as she headed out the door. "And if you're not out in three minutes, I'm gonna come after ya."
"You do that," I groaned as she left. No way out of this, it seemed like. If it wasn't today, she'd probably come up and ask tomorrow or next week or some other time. Either way, it seemed like I'd hafta face the question eventually. So, I reluctantly took off my brace and set it aside, then took off my shoes, socks, and jeans. When I pulled off my jeans, I saw that scar come into view. The scar that sat above my left knee, letting me know every waking minute that I'd been marked for life, all because of good intentions. All I wanted to do was save Mom and Nene, regardless of whether I got killed or not. But…how was I to know I'd come so damn close?!
"It's that Boomer's fault," I mumbled aloud, clenching my hands into fists. "It's that jerk's fault I'm like this!!" My body started trembling as I got angrier and angrier. "Damn him to hell!!" I turned towards the lockers and kicked them with my left leg, hollering in rage, then in pain as the leg instantly stiffened and throbbed. I fell down on my butt, having lost my balance.
"They're gonna pay," I swore as my eyes watered from the pain. "As soon as I can walk without the brace…"
"Yumeko!!" I heard Michiko call out from the other room. "Hurry up, already!!"
I sighed as I took off my shirt, bra, and panties, then picked up the towel that was on the bench and wrapped it around my body. She already had a feeling it wasn't Ana that beat me up; seeing my bruises would only confirm it. I looked down at my legs and saw they were shaking. But why was I shaking? Maybe she wasn't going to ask what I thought she was going to, after all. But something told me that I had a right to be worried. If too many people found out I was a Knight Saber, then…what would happen? I already had Genom on my tail as it was.
"Uh…coming!" I called to Michiko as I took one small step at a time towards the door. My leg wobbled, but actually held its own. That's all I've needed to do all along, I thought as I reached the door. Just need to take my time, and it'll get better by itself.
I peeked my head into the room. There were several spas scattered throughout, Michiko having chosen the one farthest back to lay in. "Over here!" she yelled, waving to me. I flushed and waved back, then took a step into the room.
"What the?!" I heard her gasp at the sight of me. She jumped out of the spa, wrapped her towel around herself again, and ran to me. "I didn't…know they were that bad," she sighed, eyeing the bruises on my arms and shoulder. "No wonder you were wearing a long-sleeve shirt in 90-degree weather…" She pointed to my burned arm. "And I seriously doubt that's a sunburn."
"Well…" I started to say.
"C'mon, get in the spa," she ordered as she grabbed my arm and started dragging me towards the spa. My leg, being without a brace for once, didn't like this treatment, naturally, and so decided to drag.
"Waitwaitwait!!" I yelled, losing my balance. She let go, and I went falling flat on my face on the ground.
"Oh geez!!" she gasped as she bent down to help me up. "I didn't see you didn't have the brace on."
"I'm still learning," I quipped, my leg now more than a little stiff. After helping me to my feet, Michiko dragged me a little more slowly to the spa, and ushered me to get in. If she thought I looked in bad shape before, wait till I dropped my towel and actually got in.
"My God," I heard her say when I did drop it and slowly climbed into the spa. "How can you even move?"
"Painkillers?"
She shook her head. "Why was I expecting an answer like that?"
"I dunno, why were you?" I mimicked, grimacing at the pain the bubbling water was causing me. Bruises I hadn't even known were there were making their presence known now. "Can you turn off the bubbles? They hurt."
"Oh, sure." She pushed a button on the side wall, and after a few seconds, the water stopped bubbling. "That better?"
"Much, thanks."
She took off her towel and lowered herself into the water on the opposite side of me. After settling in, Michiko looked at me with a face I'd very rarely seen on her. She looked so stern and serious; her face could've been carved out of stone.
"Now I know for a fact it wasn't Ana," she repeated after getting another view of my bruises. "Couldn't have been."
I stayed silent.
"Look," she said, leaning towards me, "we've been best friends since we were seven years old. Ever since we met on that playground underneath the jungle gym, we've always been looking out for one another. You've always made sure the kids don't tease me because I have streaks in my hair, and I've done the same for you when they teased you for not having a dad. And we've always been able to trust each other with our deepest, darkest secrets. Like you with your hydrophobia, and me getting seduced by Masahiro."
I nodded grimly, though the two secrets had no comparison at all.
"I've noticed some things over the last few months," she continued. "I've noticed that…before March anyway, the day after a Boomer went on the loose, you'd be acting strange, y'know. Half-tired, half-excited over something you never mentioned. And of course, sometimes you'd show up with some of those injuries as well."
My head started feeling heavy, whether from the steam of the water or from what Michiko was saying. Either way, I couldn't even think.
"You know I'm not as dumb or ignorant or naïve as I look," she said, her voice choking up, "so why are you trying to hide it from me? I'm not stupid. It's…it's not like I don't notice these things. So…so I want you to come clean with me."
"Come…clean?" I asked.
"Yeah. Come clean about what you've been hiding. I…need to know, Yumeko. I need to know if…you're really one of the vigilantes that help keep the streets clean of rogue Boomers. I need to know if you're a Knight Saber."
Lightning may as well have struck me, because when she said those words, my body instinctively jerked, everything going numb. Just like I had feared she would ask. But…what was I supposed to say? If I said no, she wouldn't believe me, but if I said yes…
I looked down at my reflection in the water, the color draining from my face, keeping totally mum.
"S…say something, already," Michiko said, her voice hoarse.
I couldn't; it was like I'd lost my voice, I was in so much shock. I kept staring into the water, putting my fingers up to the spot where the Boomer at the summit had slapped me, and where I'd had a plate put in.
"Oh God," she whispered when I didn't answer her. "It's…it's true, then…" She put a hand to her chest, like she couldn't breathe. "But…but why…?"
"I don't know," I confessed. "I really don't know."
She made her way to my side, the color totally gone from her face. It was like somebody had sucked the blood right out of her. "W-well…answer me this, then. Why in the world would they recruit a teenager?"
What had Sylia said when she invited me to join? I thought for a moment. Something about the group needing some youthful energy.
"I guess…they needed someone young and spirited to help them out," I mumbled.
"But you?" she asked, her eyes starting to water. "We…we still have a lot of living to do. We're not supposed to throw our lives away before they've even begun! Can't you…can't you quit?"
"No," I said firmly. "I've wondered about it myself, but…I made a commitment to help them, to help the city. I have to see it through. I can't back out." And not to mention it would be breaking Rule 4 of the Knight Sabers Charter.
"I'm…I'm not going to ask how they approached you about joining, or who the others are," she said. "I don't think I could take it."
"You wouldn't be able to," I concurred.
"So…what's it been like, to be part of a group like that?"
"I think we've talked too long here," I blurted. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."
"Oh, right," she agreed. "But...where do we go?"
"We'll go to my apartment. Mom's at a meeting right now about rescheduling her tour, so she won't be back for a while."
"Ok."
Michiko stayed still for the next minute or so, however; I suppose she was still trying to have all of this sink in. She stared down at the water, thinking it all through. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from coming, and threw her arms around my neck. I gasped in surprise.
"No matter what you're doing…" she said, her voice choking, "I'm still gonna be here to support you. Vigilante or not, I'm still going to stand by you. It's not my place to say whether…whether you should quit or stay."
As I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer, I felt the tears start welling up in my eyes as well. I blinked them away and said, "I…appreciate it. You've always been a good friend, Micchan. I don't…don't know how I could have gotten through a lot of this without you."
She squeezed me tighter, which made my ribs start hurting, but I didn't care. "That's why I'm here, Yucchan. I wouldn't be being a good friend if I didn't stay around when you needed me."
I smiled. "Thank you."
After climbing up the stairs, Michiko and I walked down the hallway towards my apartment. It just didn't feel natural, talking about being in the Knight Sabers with someone who wasn't even a member. It was supposed to be a top-secret thing, after all.
"Say," Michiko piped up as I started to unlock the door, "why don't we just go up to the roof? Nobody can hear—"
"No!!" I yelled, grabbing her wrist as she turned to leave. She stood there and stared at me.
"W…why?" she asked, alarmed at the force with which I'd grabbed her. I sighed and relaxed my grip; I forgot she didn't know about me nearly getting my head blown off.
"I'd…just rather have us be in the apartment," I said quickly, unlocking the door. Michiko shook her head in disbelief as we both walked inside.
"So…like I was asking earlier," Michiko said, "what's it been like to be in a group like that? Isn't it weird fighting alongside people who have been doing that since the '30's?"
"A little. I guess you could say it's like being in a secret club of sorts. Y'know, normal person by day, vigilante by night, like in those cheesy TV shows."
"Well, too bad this isn't a TV show."
We both walked into my bedroom so nobody out in the hallway could hear us talking. As I sat down on the floor, Michiko started going through my drawers. I asked her what she was looking for.
"A brush," she replied.
"It's in the bottom drawer," I said, pointing. She opened it and took out the brush.
"Turn around," she said. I did so as she started running the brush through my hair. "I guess…I'm still in shock about this whole thing," she admitted. "I mean, you've managed to keep this a secret from everybody for almost the past year. How can you go out and fight Boomers, then come to school the next day and act like nothing happened?"
"Let's just say those acting classes helped," I joked.
She stayed silent for a moment, thinking of what to say next. "Can I ask you something?"
"Like what?"
"Well…about that summit. Genom's been claiming that it was you guys who attacked it and blew it up. I doubt the KS would do something like that. So…what's the truth? Was it really you guys, or was it Boomers?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "It was Boomers."
"I thought so. Can you tell me what happened there?"
Can I?, I thought with dread. I don't remember everything… "I…suppose I could, but I don't remember everything that happened."
"So tell me what you can remember."
I took a breath. "Well, we were hired about two months before the whole thing started. Saber Blue didn't like it, because it was the government that was hiring us, and plus we were offered a lot of money. Saber White said she looked into it, and there were no strings attached, so she'd taken the job offer." I grinned as I remembered my reaction when I heard we were gonna be paid eighty million yen upon completion. I'd fallen off the couch, laughing like an idiot.
"The government, huh? Sounds like there would be strings attached to me."
"That's why Saber Blue didn't like the job. Well anyway, when the summit arrived, apparently the others had decided that if Boomers did attack, then I'd stay out of the fighting unless there was a dire emergency. I didn't like it, but I had to go along with it."
"Maybe they kept you out because you're less experienced than they are."
I nodded. "That's exactly why they did. And when the Boomers attacked, everyone except me went to fight. I was left behind. Saber Red tried to assure me everything would be fine, but…"
"Hey, you ok?" Michiko asked when I started shaking, trying to keep the tears from coming. Mom had come so close to being killed that night…what would have happened if I hadn't been there at that moment to stop the Boomer from finishing her off?
"I'm…I'm ok," I assured her, voice shaking. "They…they really ended up needing my help, though… Saber Blue ended up badly hurt, and I decided to jump in to save her and Saber Red. I got there in time, and me and Blue ended up killing that Boomer."
"Where were the other two Sabers?"
"They were on the other side of the building, fighting another Boomer. After we killed the first one, the one that Saber White and Saber Green were fighting decided to come over and have its fun with us…" My voice cracked, and I had to stop talking. I wrapped my arms around my legs and blinked away the tears. I remembered my shock when I'd realized the Boomer had a lasersword of its own…
"What the bloody hell?!" I'd yelled as I blocked its sword with my own.
"Who's to say you're the only one who can have a fancy toy?" the Boomer had said as I struggled to hold it back. The next thing I remembered was the pain swiping across my stomach, and Mom and Nene screaming my name.
"That…that Boomer…" I moaned, the tears starting to run down my cheeks. "It was the one that cut me across the stomach…"
Michiko gasped. "Oh…oh God…no wonder you blacked out when Eiji pulled out that knife!"
"It wasn't Eiji's fault, really… He'd just happened to make the same move the Boomer did before it cut me…"
"So…so what happened after that?" she hesitantly asked. "You don't have to tell me if it's gonna freak you out."
I shook my head. "It's all right… I don't really remember what happened after that, but the next thing I knew, I was on my back in the next room, trying to get up, but couldn't. The Boomer stomped over…and kicked me in the side to get me on my stomach, then it…it started stomping on me…"
"That's horrible!" she said, her voice cracking as well. "How can…how can anyone take that sort of punishment?"
"I've been wondering that ever since that night," I admitted, wiping my tears away. "Saber Green arrived in time to save me, but…she and Saber White ended up getting pounded too… Saber Blue went to help them, and I wanted to help too, but Saber Red held me back and said not to, that I was practically bleeding to death as it was."
"You could still move after that?!" she asked incredulously.
I smirked. "Not very well, but yeah, sorta. I 'convinced' her that the others needed my help, and we went to help them. Saber White was getting crushed, so I fired at the Boomer to get it to let go. It did, but…but…then it looked at me, and said 'Now it's the exterminator's turn,' then…then it fired at me…and got me in the leg…" I felt the tears start to come again, and I hugged my legs tighter and let them come.
"Yumeko…" Michiko moaned, hugging me and starting to cry too. "I'm so sorry you had to go through any of that…I really am…"
"I…I can't talk anymore…" I said.
"Too painful?"
"Yeah…" I nodded. Not only that, but I could barely remember anything after that moment, other than the Boomer dangling me in the air and choking the life out of me. Then suddenly, I remembered something else. Nene had tried to keep the Boomer from doing anything else!
"This is enough!! Stop it!!" she'd yelled, standing up in front of me and facing the Boomer. If I couldn't believe she'd done it then, I still couldn't believe it now. She did that for me, I thought. She took a beating for it afterwards, but…but she risked her life to save mine…
"I've…I've never really talked about it that much," I said as Michiko started to braid my hair with trembling fingers, "mostly because I haven't had to. The only ones who really know what happened are the other Knight Sabers… I'm not supposed to talk about it with anyone else…I haven't been able to, anyway…"
"Well, I'm here," she said firmly. "You can always talk about it with me. I won't tell anybody, I swear."
"I know that," I said, forcing a weak smile. "And…I really appreciate it, Micchan…"
After she was done braiding my hair, I stood up and looked at the shelf that held all of my gymnastics trophies. I sighed as I picked up one of the last ones I'd earned: the National Championship trophy I'd gotten a year ago.
"I'll be able to get these again one day," I promised. "Can't do it now, but someday I'll be earning these again…"
Michiko stood up and walked up behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders and looked over them. "I know you will, Yucchan."
"Nationals are next week," I said tiredly. "I'm still going to be there, even if it's not out there on the uneven bars."
Michiko smiled. "Now there's the Yumeko I know! Don't let it get you down! Nationals are nothing compared to the Olympics, right?"
I grinned evilly. "You're right! I still have time to get my leg ready in time for the trials, so I can't give up now!"
"Yeah!" She suddenly stopped and looked at the clock on my desk. "Oh geez, it's 7 o'clock. I told my parents I'd be home an hour ago. But…to stay here for you, it was worth it."
As I walked her to the door, I had to remind her of one more thing.
"Michiko…" I said.
"Yeah?" she said, her hand on the doorknob.
"Genom might know my identity as a Knight Saber, and I'm sure they've been keeping an eye on me. So…be careful, ok?"
She smiled gently. "I will. Besides, I'd sooner die than let anyone hurt you." As she opened the door to leave, she added, "I'm not going to tell anyone about any of this, you can trust me. You're too much of a friend for me to do that to you."
"I appreciate it."
"Well…I'll see you at school tomorrow!" she said in her usual sunny manner as she left.
I laughed. "Ok!"
Before I knew it, Nationals arrived. Fifty teams from all over the country, competing for the chance to call themselves the best gymnastics team in all of Japan. A stiff competition taking place over three hellish days; if the people in the stands thought they couldn't take the suspense, then they should've seen the girls who were actually competing! I'd seen a few faint from the pressure – apparently first-timers to the competition. Of course, it was nothing compared to the World Championships; now THAT was a nail-biter. Apparently, before that competition, I'd built a reputation as a fierce gymnast, one who took every little thing seriously and concentrating only on one thing: the championship trophy. Those rumors weren't entirely unfounded; I'd come in third place, after all, but this year, to have to sit on the sidelines and merely be a spectator just depressed the hell out of me. I missed the adrenaline rush, the thrill.
"I could've sworn I saw you fall asleep during the floor exercises yesterday, Yumeko," Linna pointed out as we approached the gym where the Nationals were being held.
"All the teams look the same to me," I admitted nonchalantly. "There's nobody that really stands out. I'm just here to support Kihi, that's all."
"Well, today's the third and last day. Blink, and you might miss something," she joked as she opened the door for me.
"Yeah…I might miss Heiwa Senior High get last place," I deadpanned. Heiwa, a team from Sapporo, had been the laughingstock of the competition from what I'd seen. The girls on that team were so clumsy, it was a wonder they even made it this far. The highest scoring girl on that team had only gotten a 7.2, nowhere near close enough to getting any sort of trophy.
"Well, maybe you could give 'em some pointers after they do lose," Mom added with that mischievous grin spread across her face.
"Me? You act like it'd be sage advice," I said innocently. "I mean, I only WON this thing last year, why would ANYBODY listen to little ol' me?"
"Simple," Linna said. "You're one of the very few girls here that are going to be on Team Japan for the Olympics in Nairobi next year!"
I laughed, though inside, I knew it was a long shot for me to come back from being a cripple to being on the Olympic squad, let alone in one year. It would take a miracle for me to pull something like that off. But…would it really be the end of the world if I didn't get to go to the Olympics, after all? I'm sure it was every gymnast's dream, a dream that only a select few of them would ever get to live. I realized that I hadn't even considered what would happen if I failed at the trials, what I would do if my Olympic dream failed to materialize. Would I just wait till the tryouts for the 2060 Summer Olympics?
What WOULD I do? I didn't know myself. But I did know that I didn't want to end up like so many wanna-be Olympians, forever wondering "What if…?"
As we sat down in the front bleachers, I wondered that aloud.
"Is it really foolish to think I could be on the Olympic team next year?" I asked sadly.
Mom shook her head gently and put her hand on my shoulder. "No way. If you want to do something, then go for it. Lord knows I did, even if I did fall flat on my face more than once."
"Priss's right," Linna agreed, though she got a look in her eyes that said that she'd been there. "Just because you're walking with a brace now doesn't mean you won't be out there on the uneven bars a few months from now. If you want to go to the Olympics, then you're going to do whatever it takes to get you there."
"A lot of people have counted you out because you were shot," Mom said. "But hell, what better time to tell them that a bullet wound's not gonna stop you from doing what you want?"
I sighed and looked out at the uneven bars, where a girl from Sierra Senior High was performing. Just a bullet wound, I repeated in my head. I wish I could say it was just that…
A cheerful voice pierced through my dark thoughts. "Yumeko!" I heard a girl call out. I looked down and saw a leotard-clad blond standing there, looking up at me.
"Clara!" I exclaimed.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" she said. "Kihi's gonna be doing the balance beam soon. I'm the fifth one up."
"Good luck."
"Thanks! I'll be needing it!" she said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I know I'm not World Championship material like you are, but I'll give it my all."
"Don't say that," I said sternly. "Don't think about anything, ok? Just do your best and you'll be fine."
She sighed and gave me a tired smile. "I hope so. Well, I gotta go rejoin my team now. Can't miss my turn up." As she turned and ran back to her teammates, Linna took notice of something.
"Your friend was sure shaking a lot," she noted with a grin. "Has she never been this far before?"
"This is her first year on the team, so yeah, she's a rookie when it comes to big events like this," I said, grinning. "I've been here three times. I know what it's like to not know what to expect." That wasn't the only thing I was worried about, though. I remembered how nervous Clara was when she was trying out for the team back in April. There were only a few dozen people watching her at the time, and she was scared shitless. And now, here was Nationals, with probably twenty thousand people watching, not to mention the people watching on TV. I knew she'd be nervous, but I was hoping to God she wouldn't choke out there.
"She'll be fine," Linna assured me, as if she could read my mind. "Didn't you say the balance beam was her strength?"
I nodded. "Yeah. But that'll make it all the worse if she chokes." The last thing I wanted to see was her taking a bad spill. I knew from experience what it was like to take a nasty fall from the balance beam. It had been my weakness, and still was…
It was at the World Championships the year before, in Moscow. I had been second place, behind Sonja Moschovsky. It figured that a girl from the country where the competition was being held was winning, didn't it? To beat her and take home the title of world champion, all I had to do was get a 9.8. A measly 9.8. I had been the favorite to win, and people figured if anybody could beat me, it would have to be Sonja. The fact that I had to get a 9.8 on the balance beam, not to mention the pressure from her home crowd, was not comforting.
It had been my first, and only, trip to the World Championships, so needless to say, I was nervous when they called my name and I walked up to the beam, ready to do my thing. I remember little of what the exact moves I did were prior to the accident, but I do remember doing some back-handsprings on the beam, and then, when I was doing the last one, I had tried to land, but apparently my left foot missed the beam. I didn't notice I missed until I let go of the beam; then, when I realized I was falling off the beam, I'd brought up that foot, and my ankle smacked into the beam hard. From what people had told me afterwards, I guess I landed weird after that, and when I tried to get up, my ankle didn't want to do much of anything, let alone support my weight. I remember how the roars of the Russian crowd thundered in my ears, practically daring me to try again. I'd stood up under my own weight, my ankle throbbing, the coach yelling questions at me, like was I ok? Could I go on?
"I can do it," I told myself, my eyes watering from the pain. I'd stood up straight, cracked my knuckles, and bravely limped to the end of the balance beam, ready to try again. I stood up there again, trying to ignore the taunts of the crowd – it wasn't like I could understand what they were saying, anyway – and tried doing a front-handspring. I landed ok, but my ankle gave out under me, and I screamed as I slipped and fell off the beam again. I remember sitting there on the mat, whimpering and grabbing my ankle, trying to make the pain go away. The coach had ran to me to help me up, but I shoved him away and tried to get up myself, only to fall down to the mat again. In the end, I needed help to get to the bench, and instead of coming out on top, like many had expected, my terrible performance on the beam dropped me to third place. I'd expected to be tenth or something, but I guess some of the judges took sympathy for me and gave me a higher score than I deserved, or at least gave me extra points for trying.
At the end of the competition, I stood there on the third place podium, and had the bronze medal around my neck. How ugly it seemed compared to the shiny gleam of the gold medal. I wanted to yank it off and throw it away, but before I could, Sonja herself walked up to me. She put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me with those pretty emerald eyes, and said in broken English, "We fight another day."
I'd been awestruck, to say the least; this was coming from a girl that people had said showed no mercy when it came to beating her opponents, and had said nothing to them when she did beat them. To hear those words of encouragement from her, of all people…it was a strange feeling. Perhaps it meant she respected me as a rival? Or maybe it meant she felt I deserved to win? Or…did it mean she felt sorry for me because of that fluke? Whatever it was, it actually made me proud to have that bronze medal around my neck; it was better than not getting anything at all.
What a coincidence: Linna, having failed her audition to become a world-class dancer, was approached by Sylia afterwards and asked to lend her skills to the Knight Sabers. And it was almost the same for me; just three weeks after that competition, she'd invited me to join as well.
"Clara won't choke," I said with determination as the announcer called out her name. "I'll make sure she doesn't. She's not going to suffer the same way I did at Worlds."
"Just give her your support, and she'll be fine," Linna assured me. "Besides, that was a freak accident that you had, and it was foreign territory. This is home turf, so it doesn't matter who wins. Everyone's basically playing for the same team here. Everybody's rooting for everybody. Isn't it basically a 'let the best man win' game anyway?"
"Call it that if you want, but I'm rooting for Kihi all the way," I said as I watched Clara walk up to the balance beam. She really reminded me of myself the first time I was here; she was shaking all over, trying not to let the crowd overwhelm her. Remember, just block it out, I thought. Pretend they're not there. Pretend it's just one of the practices after school. Just pretend you're in the gym by yourself. Nobody's around, nobody's judging your every move. Just act natural, and you'll do just fine.
"There she goes!" Mom said as Clara jumped onto the beam.
"Go Clara!!" I cheered as she put her arms up in the air, then threw them forward and did a few front-handsprings.
"That a friend of yours?" I heard someone ask from the seat behind me. I looked behind me and saw a man in a suit sitting there, holding a digital camera in his hand and a writing pad in his lap.
"Um, sorta," I replied.
The man looked from Mom to me, then brightened. "Say, you're the Asagiri duo!"
"Wow, he noticed," Mom mumbled dryly to herself.
"I'm John Colombo, of the Associated Pr—"
"I know you're a reporter," I said flatly. "That was obvious enough. What, are you gonna look for an interview from us now that you know who we are?"
"This doesn't concern Miss Priss here," he said, nodding towards her. "However, now that I see you're here, I was wondering if you had any comments about the competition here."
"Comments? What's there to say? The teams suck this year." I looked down to the balance beam, where Clara was balancing upside-down while doing the splits, and added, "'Cept for Kihi, of course."
"How does it feel to not be able to—"
"To not be out there helping my team win?" I finished, annoyed. "It's damn depressing, that's what it is. And besides, aren't you here to report on the competition and not on my commentary? So just sit there and take pictures of the gymnasts." I turned away from him and crossed my arms, watching Clara finish up while John fumbled for something to say. Linna and Mom merely smiled smugly in response.
"Did you see? Did you see?!" Clara exclaimed after she was done.
"Sorta," I grudgingly had to admit. "Some reporter was bugging me while you were on the beam. Sorry."
Clara scratched the side of her head. "Aw, well, that's alright. I think I did ok."
"At least you didn't choke," I half-joked. She shyly grinned.
"Yeah, I guess so. A few more Kihi girls are up, and then the judges'll announce who wins." She fidgeted. "I don't know about you, but I'm nervous."
"It'll be ok," Linna assured her. "You did great out there."
"Y'think so?"
"The worst part is over," I added, smirking. "Now we just have to wait for your results and see if it helped the team any."
Almost right on cue, Clara's results appeared on the scoreboard. 9.3, 9.1, 9.2, 9.4, 8.9, and 9.3… it all averaged out to 9.2. "Wow, a 9.2!!" she exclaimed, her eyes brightening. "That should help us out, eh?"
"You bet," Mom said. I laughed at the look on her face; although she looked like she was impressed by Clara's marks, I could tell she was secretly thinking, A 9.2 is good, but nothing compared to what my Yume can do.
"I reeeeeally hope we win," Clara said, practically looking like she was running in place, she was so nervous.
"Well, standing there and doing the Potty Dance isn't gonna help," I joked.
"What?!" She immediately stopped. "Is that what it looked like?!" I nodded, an impish grin on my face.
"Hold that thought," Linna said, standing up. "I'm gonna end up doing that myself if I don't leave now," she added with a laugh.
A few minutes after Linna made a beeline for the bathroom, the last team finished up their performance, and we were all left sitting there in our seats, wondering which team would come out on top. I fidgeted in my seat while Mom sat there with her chin cupped in her hand, almost looking bored.
"Hey, aren't you the one who encouraged me to take up gymnastics to begin with?" I teased. "I know it's not as exciting as giving concerts, but hey, whatever gets the adrenaline flowing, right?"
"It keeps ya in shape," she joked. "And besides, I wasn't expecting you to become a singer like me anyway…" She paused, then added with a grin, "Though your singing voice isn't too bad."
I blushed. "Surely you jest. Nene said much the same thing at the summit."
She shook her head, that sly grin still pasted on her face. "Sing a line from Remember."
"Right now?!" I exclaimed.
"Where else?" she deadpanned.
"But…there's people around!!"
"I have to sing in front of 100,000 people during an average concert. This is nothing compared to that."
"Ok, ok…" I cleared my throat, then ran through the lyrics in my head.
"And don't mumble them either," she added, obviously enjoying this. "Sing it so people can hear."
"You're joking!"
"Nope."
"God damn," I mumbled. Why was she making me do this?! If I wasn't planning on being a singer, then why in the world…
"And besides, in order to be in the Olympics, you can't be doing gymnastics as your main job, am I right? So, you gotta do something else," she said, winking.
"Ok, don't need to rub it in," I groaned. "Ok, I think I got it."
"So sing."
I cleared my throat and started in the middle of the song. "Aenai jikan ga kono mune ni…ai no omosa kuzamikomuuuu…"
Mom grinned.
"Shinjiteitai…ano hi no hohoemi o…"
"I should drag you along as my backup singer," she joked before I could start with the second chorus.
"Me?! I don't wanna be no singer!!"
"Your voice isn't much higher than mine is. And since we sound really similar…"
"No no no no," I repeated, my face now at least three shades of red.
"What's going on?" Linna asked when she returned. "Why's Yumeko so red?"
"I wanted to hear her vocals," Mom said, looking very proud of herself.
"And how did Little Asagiri do?" she asked, winking.
"I'm thinking once I go on my tour, I can drag her along as backup. Maybe we could do some duets or—"
"I'm not gonna be a singer, damn it!!" I protested, though I was starting to laugh. "It's too much pressure!! And the media attention, ick!"
"What do you think being in these competitions is?" Linna joked. "You perform on the bars in front of thousands of people, so why is singing in front of them any different?"
"I…oh, never mind," I grumbled.
"She just doesn't want to admit how much she takes after her mom," Mom teased with that glint in her eye again.
"Right, right…"
"Here come the results!" I heard Clara squeal suddenly. I jerked my head towards the announcer, who had made his way to the middle of the gym floor, where the podiums were already set up. My mouth went dry as I tried to think about which teams would be the possible winners. Damn, this really made me wish I'd stayed awake the past two days…
"And now, the moment you have all waited for!" the announcer bellowed into his microphone. "The results of the 2055 Japan Gymnastic National Championship!! Every team here has performed extremely well, but only one can go home on top!"
God, I HATE this part!, I thought.
"Going home with the bronze medal…from right here in MegaTokyo, Sierra Senior High!!" I heard a cheer echo from the Sierra benches, and when I leaned over the guardrail towards them, I saw them jump and hug each other. I could tell they really wanted the gold, but I guess the bronze was better than nothing at all.
"And heading home with the silver…from Kyushu, Fukuoka Senior High!!"
Kihi must be first, I prayed. From what I saw, they did so well. There's no way they could have lost. At the same time, I also prayed that I wasn't jinxing them right this moment. Would it be too good to be true for one school to win Nationals two years in a row?
"And going home with the gold…"
"Don't hold your breath, Yumeko," Linna reminded me.
"I know, I know," I said, my chest feeling tight.
"No, I mean literally," she joked. "You're gonna faint from lack of oxygen."
"Your face is blue," Mom threw in.
I let out my breath. "Whoops. Heh."
"…Kiiroi Hi Senior High!!" the announcer yelled.
"Huh?!" Linna and I both exclaimed.
"Oh my GOD!!" Clara shrieked, jumping up and down like mad. "We did it, we did it, we DID it!!"
"All RIGHT!!" I yelled, jumping up and waving my arms like crazy. "See?! You guys didn't need me after all!!"
"All the winning teams, come up here so we can award you your medals," the announcer said, beaming.
As the Sierra, Fukuoka, and Kihi teams all ran up to the announcer, I sat back down, my chest feeling strangely empty. They DIDN'T need me…and that upset me a bit. I hadn't helped them win the championship in any way. All I'd done was sit on the sidelines and show my support. I wasn't able to be out there with them…
What's stopping you?, a voice in my head asked. Get out there with your team. You gave them your support. You DID help them win.
I looked down at my leg brace, which had recently become a part of my leg like an ornament decorating a Christmas tree. If it weren't for that, I would've gladly gone out there to join my team. I probably could've gotten a 9.9 on the uneven bars if I put my mind to it.
So WHAT about the brace?, the voice asked again. What's stopping you, bitch? Get out there with the team!
I gazed down at the brace again, then as if I was possessed, I reached down and unstrapped it from my leg.
Braces be damned.
I stood up under my own power, then held the brace above my head and let out a loud hoot. "SEE THIS?!" I yelled to anyone and everyone that could hear me. Mom and Linna both looked at me in shock, only to have their jaws practically hit the floor as I threw the brace over the rail onto the floor of the gym. I grinned like a maniac as I saw it break in half when it hit the floor. That thing wouldn't be holding me captive anymore.
"Yumeko?!" Linna exclaimed.
"She got sick of it!" Mom half-joked, starting to crack up.
That wasn't the last of it. I had to be out there with my team to celebrate. And to get out there, I decided on the one option available to me: I'd just climb over the guardrail, jump down to the floor, and race out to them.
Once Mom saw what I was going to do, she eagerly stood up to help me over the rail. As Linna just sat there in shock, I swung one leg over the rail, then the other, and after clinging to the rail for a few seconds, just dangling there, I let go and dropped to the floor. My leg twinged when I landed, and I very nearly lost my balance and fell, but at this point, nothing mattered.
Just my team.
I stood up straight and took one step at a time towards the mass of leotard-clad girls in the middle of the gym, limping badly the whole way, but who cared? This was the first time in four months that I had walked on my own. On my own, without the brace or leaning on anybody or clinging to anything. On my own, using just my own two feet.
All around me, I could hear people start yelling my name from the crowds, from the sidelines, from everywhere, it seemed like. And when a certain blond gymnast heard my name being called, she turned around, and instantly broke out into a run towards me, yelling my name along with everyone else.
"Yumeko!!" Clara yelled as she leaped into my arms. I yelped as I lost my balance and we both went tumbling to the ground, but at the same time, we both started giggling like the schoolgirls that we were.
A loud cheer went up from the crowd as the rest of the Kihi team ran over to us and we all took turns hugging each other. This was the feeling I was looking for; the emptiness in my chest was replaced with a feeling of great pride and joy. It felt wonderful to be able to celebrate this victory with the team. Words just cannot adequately describe all the emotions I felt out there.
"Miss Yumeko," the announcer said, pushing through the crowd of gymnasts towards me.
"No 'miss', please," I said, grinning ear to ear.
"Ok, then, Yumeko," he corrected. "Would you like the honor of accepting the championship trophy for your team?"
"Me?" I hadn't even done anything to help the team win, really, but after the girls around me kept saying, "Go for it!" and slapping me on the back about twenty times, I said, "Certainly."
He turned around and took the trophy from the award-presenting guy – I forgot what the job title was, specifically – then placed it in my arms. After standing there gaping at it for a few seconds, I lifted it above my head and let out a hoot. The crowd let out a roar as my team started chanting, "Ki-hi, Ki-hi, Ki-hi!!", then broke out into the school Fight Song.
Needless to say, today was the happiest day I'd had in a very long time. It was a day I wouldn't soon forget, and neither would anybody else. In fact, the next day, I read the sports section of the paper, and on one page was a sequence of pictures from Nationals. The first picture showed me throwing the brace to the floor; the second one showed me climbing over the railing; the third showed me running – or should I say limping? – towards my team while Clara was running towards me; the fourth pic showed the Kihi team surrounding me; and the fifth and last picture showed me hoisting the championship trophy.
Some would call it the sports event of the year, but I beg to differ; I just wanted to be out there with my team, and I wasn't about to let some petty brace stop me from doing that.
"This is so great, so great!!" I sang out as I approached my school the following Monday. I was limping almost as badly as I was the first time I'd tried walking with just my brace, but who the hell cared?! Not me. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I was walking on my own, without the assistance of anything; no crutches, no braces, no nothing! Ok, ok…I had a leg sleeve on, but I was much more willing to put up with wearing that thing than wearing that metal-and-plastic contraption.
"I'm happy for you, Yume," Mom said, a gentle smile forming on her lips.
"Y'know, it's kinda strange, not having the brace anymore," I admitted, bending my leg. "I mean, it was so heavy, and now, suddenly that weight isn't there anymore. It feels weird, but it's great at the same time."
"I think I know how you feel," she said.
"Yeah?"
She nodded. When I asked her to elaborate, she just smiled wistfully to herself and shook her head, which left me wondering about what exactly she was referring to.
"I don't have to tell you," she said when I asked again. "You already know."
"I do…?" Now I was really confused…
"Well," she said when we reached the front doors, "better get to class now. Oh, and don't forget to tell me how the other kids react when they see ya without a brace," she added, smirking.
"I think I already have an idea as to how they'll react," I replied, returning the smirk. Of course, this was assuming that none of them had seen me break my brace and climb over the railing to be with my team on national TV, and well, that certainly wouldn't be the case.
"See ya after school, ok?"
"Ok."
After Mom sped away on her motorcycle, I went through the front doors of the school – of course setting the metal detector off again – then limped towards my locker. Sometimes, my leg would bend a little bit more than it was able to handle, and I'd almost go crashing to the floor, but I managed to keep myself on both feet until I was able to get to my locker and grab the appropriate books that I needed.
"I can't believe you did that!" Linna had said once the media circus finally left the team and me alone. "That was insane!"
"I wanted to be with my team," I repeated nonchalantly. "What's wrong with that?"
"What's wrong? I don't know if we'll be able to fix the brace."
"I think that's why she threw it to begin with," Mom teased.
Linna sighed. "Well, I guess we'll see if you can handle getting around without the brace."
Well, I think this proves it, I thought gleefully to myself as I walked down the hallway towards my literature class. My leg was throbbing like hell, almost begging to be given a rest, but I kept going, which may not have been the best option, but just being able to move around without the brace thrilled me to no end.
By the time I finally reached the door to my class, I was practically dragging my leg along the ground, and I was panting with the effort, but oh, once I got to see the look on Michiko's face, it would all be worth it.
I peeked my head into the room. Only a handful of kids had arrived, Michiko and Boh being among them. The moment I saw those blond streaks in her hair, I grinned.
"Hey!" I half-whispered, half-yelled to her.
Michiko raised her head from her paper and looked at me. "Oh, Yumeko!" she said in her singsong voice, her face immediately brightening. "How was your weekend?"
"How was it?" I rolled my eyes in sarcasm. "Oh…it was ok, I guess…" I stepped into the room and just stood there with my hands on my hips, a huge smile on my face. Michiko's jaw dropped.
"You…you…you're walking!!" she stuttered, her eyes like saucers. "Where'd your brace go?!"
"Over the railing," I quipped.
"Oh WOW!!" She jumped up and ran over to me, throwing her arms around me. "I can't believe it!! You're walking on your own!!"
"I have a leg sleeve on," I admitted, pointing to my leg. "It's under my jeans, so you can't see it now. But still, I gotta admit it'll be easier dealing with this thing than with the brace!"
She nodded vigorously in agreement. "No kidding!"
"At least they allow leg sleeves in the Olympics as opposed to braces," I added dryly. She laughed.
"Yeah, that's true!"
"You're being ridiculous," I heard Boh say. Michiko and I both looked over at him, where he was watching the scene from his desk.
"What's so ridiculous about Yucchan walking again?" Michiko inquired.
"She's not walking on her own," he said flatly, folding his hands together. "She's dependent on that sleeve. True, she's not walking with the assistance of the brace, but she's still not walking completely on her own."
"What, are you trying to be a party pooper, Boh?" I teased. He could never understand how great this really was.
"Call me what you will," he said, "but I'm simply stating the truth. You'll really have to be careful with that leg now. It's not as stable as it was with the brace, so any sort of injury could set you back big-time. If you slip on wet grass, or try running when you're not ready…any of those things could do it. And you could pretty much kiss your chances of making the '56 Olympics goodbye."
"You can be so depressing sometimes," Michiko groaned.
Boh glared at me, and said, "Your Olympic dream is iffy as it is. I'm simply saying that just because you're walking with a sleeve instead of a brace doesn't mean you should be any less careful. The last thing you want is to redo all of that therapy, right?" I saw a small smirk form on his lips. I frowned in response.
"I'm well aware of that, thank you. I haven't come this far for nothing," I spat, snorting as I defiantly marched to my seat and sat down.
"Let's hope not," he deadpanned as more kids started pouring into the room. When the kids, mostly the girls, caught sight of me, they ran over to me and squealed about how they saw me on TV.
"I can't believe you did that!!"
"That was soooo cool!!"
"Breaking your brace, wow!"
"It was nothing, really," I said, playing the event down. "I just got sick of the thing, that's all."
Boh merely grimaced in disgust and went back to the book he was reading.
