Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 73
As the light faded around her, Hitomi found herself standing in the middle of her high school track field. The sky was dark and the air cool and crisp. It took her a few minutes to get her bearings but once she did she began looking about her for her friend.
"Where can Yukari be?" She wondered out-loud as she set her bag on the ground. "Don't tell me I arrived back before I even left? No, that's not possible, I concentrated on arriving an hour after I left. She's got to be around here somewhere." In looking about, she spotted the clock tower of the school that confirmed her expectations.
From the pathway north of the track, between the sports complex and the school building, Yukari came running with two cans of soda in her hands. When she spotted her friend she called out. "HITOMI!!!"
The shorthaired girl turned around and quickly spotted her friend running in her direction. She smiled and raised her hand high over her head as she waved. Suddenly, she felt warm and dizzy. Her hand fell to her side and she took a few staggered steps forward then back, and before she knew what happened everything went dark.
"HITOMI!!!" Yukari screamed in terror as she saw her friend fall sideways and hit the ground hard. She instantly dropped the sodas and ran as fast as she could to her fallen friend. As she came rushing up next to her she dropped to her knees and rolled her friend on her back.
"Hitomi! Hitomi! Oh God, please be all right." She bent down and checked to make sure she was breathing. "Yea, okay, she's breathing." Then she checked her heart. "Okay, nice strong heartbeat." Yukari's hands trembled as she tried to think what she should do next. Finally, she reached down and shook Hitomi by the shoulders. "Hitomi, Hitomi, wake up. Please wake up."
She waited a few seconds but got no response from the unconscious girl so she did it again.
Slowly Hitomi's eyes began to open just a bit. Yukari drew close, panic still etched all over her face. "Hitomi, can you hear me? Are you all right Hitomi? Hitomi!" She asked frantically.
Slowly, a faint smile appeared on the fallen girl's face. "Yukari, you're here. You saw me, didn't you? You saw me leave and come back, didn't you?" She whispered slowly.
The redhead gave her friend a weak smile, "Yeah Hitomi, I saw you. I saw you go to Gaea."
"Good." She whispered then her smile faded. "I'm sorry to worry you. I… I guess I passed out. I'm so tired. Can I take a short nap right now? I'm just so tired." She told her friend as her eyes began to close again.
"That's all right Hitomi. You can rest now. Just for a little while, then we'll go home and you can go to sleep for as long as you like." The redhead smiled as she lifted her friend's head up and set it on her lap, gently brushing the hair out of Hitomi's face. "You're home now."
The first thing that she noticed was the steady hum that echoed in her ears. 'The train, it sounds like the train.' Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the empty train seats across from her. Gradually she sifted her gaze up to the windows of the train and saw Yukari's reflection off the glass. "Yukari?"
"So you're finally up sleepy head." The pleasant voice of her longtime friend entered her left ear.
Turning her head to face the direction of the sound she found herself looking up at her red haired friend. "Yukari, where are we? What are we doing here?"
Her friend smiled and said mischievously, "I never realized how much you enjoyed using my lap as a pillow."
"Huh?" Hitomi turned her head back around to see she was indeed resting on her friend's legs. "Oh, sorry." She said as she tried to sit up but became dizzy the instant her head left her friend's lap.
"It's okay Hitomi." Yukari gently pushed her friend back down. "Don't push yourself." She added as she stroked her friend's hair. "Just rest."
After a few moments of silence, the emerald-eyed girl asked, "How did we get here?"
"What was the last thing you remember?" The redhead replied.
After considering the question for a few minutes, she answered, "I remember returning to the sports complex. I… remember hearing you call my name. I turned around and saw you running toward me. I remember waving to you. Then… then I, I seem to remember feeling very warm and lightheaded all of a sudden." She tried to recall what happened after that. "That's it, I-I can't remember what happened after that."
"Hmmm," Yukari frowned as she continued to stroke her friend's hair. "Well, you passed out after that, then you woke for a moment only to pass out again. I let you sleep for about a half an hour then I woke you and helped you to the train station. You fell back asleep waiting for the train." She paused for a moment, looking out the window of the train, then turned back to her friend. "We should be arriving at the station in about five minutes."
"Five minutes," Hitomi sighed, "Then I need to get up." She replied as she tried to sit up again. This time Yukari helped her up and while she got dizzy again, she managed to get all the way up. "Thank you Yukari." She sighed with a faint smile.
"Hitomi, I'm worried about you. This isn't normal. Why are you so tired, so drained?" The redhead expressed her concern.
"I'm not sure." The taller girl pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. "I think… it must be from my efforts to control when and where I return to. I don't know why it should take so much out of me but for some reason it is."
They sat there for a few minutes till the train slowed down. Yukari looked out the windows again then grabbed Hitomi's bag and flung it over her shoulder. Standing up she stood in front of her friend and offered her, her hand. "Come on, this is our stop."
Looking up, the taller girl took her friend's hand and slowly got to her feet. While she was a little unbalanced, she didn't get any dizzier. Smiling weakly at her friend, she nodded and said, "I'm okay."
Slowly they walked toward the door of the train as it pulled into the station. "I'm worried about you Hitomi, I'm really worried." Her friend voiced her concern as her eyes glistened.
The shorthaired girl took in a deep breath and sighed. "To tell you the truth Yukari, I'm a little worried myself."
The walk from the train station to Yukari's house was slow and uneventful. Occasionally, the red-haired girl would take her friend by the elbow to help her along when she seemed a little wobbly. It became very apparent to the red-haired girl that her friend was losing her strength quickly. Once at Yukari's place, they said hey to her parents then retreated up to her room. In her room, Yukari helped Hitomi change into one of her nightgowns and tucked her in bed.
Sitting at the side of the bed, she watched her friend sleep as a tear escaped her eye. "Oh Hitomi. What are you doing to yourself, traveling back and forth between two worlds like this?"
The delicious smell of sweet bean buns roused the emerald-eyed girl from her deep slumber as she stretched every part of her body. "Mmm, that smiles good." She smiled as she opened her eyes to see her friend sitting at the end of the bed eating a bun and washing it down with an energy drink. She waited a moment for a reply but none came. Slowly she pushed herself up to a sitting position and was pleasantly surprised that she didn't get dizzy in any way. "Sweet bean bun and a power drink, not exactly your normal Saturday breakfast, hey Yukari." She teased with a grin.
Still without looking over and with partially chewed food in her mouth the red-haired girl answered. "It's not breakfast, it's lunch." She paused for just a moment, "And it's not Saturday, it's Sunday."
"What?" Hitomi shot up straight. "No way, that would mean I slept an entire day."
"Day and a half." Yukari placed the partially eaten bun back its bag on the floor and stood up, setting her drink down on her dresser as she stared at her own reflection for a moment then taking the time to wipe away her tears, she continue. "It's already 3:30 in the afternoon. Luckily for you, my parents left yesterday to visit my aunt, otherwise my mom would have insisted my dad take you to the hospital. I had to lie to her twice and tell her over the phone that you were up and round already." Finally, she turned to face her friend with her face flushed and her eyes red. "You scared my Hitomi. You don't know how much you scared me. I thought, I thought…" She couldn't contain herself anymore and began to cry again.
"Hey, hey, Yukari." The shorthaired girl got up from the bed, walked over and embraced her friend tightly. "It's okay, it's okay. Everything's okay now."
"No, it's not Hitomi. Last time you slept for nearly twelve hours, this time you slept for a day and a half. What will happen next time?" The redhead sobbed.
"I guess I'll turn into sleeping beauty." The taller girl joked.
Her joke just served to anger her friend. "That's not funny." She scolded as she tried to push free from her friend's embrace but Hitomi refused to let her go that easily.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yukari, you're right. It's not funny, I'm sorry. And I don't know what will happen next time but I know I can't stop seeing Van, no matter what it does to me." She said to her friend hoping to calm her fears.
"That's crazy Hitomi!" She yelled, finally grabbing hold of her friend's arms and pushing herself free of her embrace. "You'd risk your life just to be with this guy? That's not sane."
"Maybe it's not but would you really do any less to be with Amano?" Hitomi countered.
Yukari opened her mouth to speak but after thinking for a moment, she closed it and leaned back against the dresser as he turned her gaze away from her friend.
Hitomi smiled and leaned in close. "I didn't think so." Her smile grew. "And besides, look at me now." She took a step back and straightened up. "I feel fine, fit as a fiddle. And wait till you see me during summer practice tomorrow. Everyone's going to be in for a big surprise." She gave a big toothy grin that went ear to ear as she place her left fist on her hip and gave her friend the victory sign with her right hand.
To this, Yukari couldn't help but smile and give a soft chuckle. "Well, since you put it that way."
"All right then," The taller girl, gave her threw her friend a wink and gave her the thumbs up sign. "So, what's there to eat?" She shifted her gaze at the bag on the floor.
The redhead went wide-eyed as she lunged at the bag, screaming, "Those are mine!"
But her friend who was closer to the bag snatched it up and was heading for the door before she knew what had happened. "Not anymore they're not." She called out as she opened the door and ran down the hall laughing.
"Come back with my buns Hitomi, you thief!" The redhead yelled as she chased her friend out the door, down the hall, down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Track practice started at 8am sharp as the boys were split into three squads and the girls into two. After thirty minutes of warm-ups, the boys, led by the team captain, set off on a ten kilometer run while the girls, also led by their team captain, set off on a five kilometer run.
As they started off, Hitomi felt strong and confident. 'This should be easy after running over ten kilometers every day on Gaea.' She smiled to herself.
But after just one kilometer, fatigue began to set in and Hitomi finished the five K dead last.
While the first squad ran their sprints, Hitomi sat on the field stretched as her friend and team manager walked up behind her and slapped her across the back of her head.
"Ouch! Hey, what was that for?" The emerald-eyed girl complained as she rubbed the back of her read, giving her friend an angry frown.
"For lying to me." The redhead said as she sat down next to her friend. "You said you trained almost every day there in Gaea, but that was pathetic. Not only did you finish last, but you were also a good twenty seconds slower then the last girl in front of you. I think the only training you did in Gaea was exercising food to your mouth."
"Hey, now that's just not true." Hitomi sat up. "Look at me. Have I ever look more fit in my life?" She held out her arms to the side to give her friend a good look at her.
Looking her over very carefully, Yukari had to admit, "No, actually you look like you'd be in the best shape of your life. So why such a weak showing? Are you still suffering the effects of trying to control you travel between worlds?" Worry lines creased her forehead.
"No," The young athlete laughed. "I was just taking it easy, that's all. You'll see that once we start our sprints, I'll blow them all away. I told you, I've been running under thirteen seconds consistently for over a week now. These girls are in for a surprise." She laughed confidently.
"Well… okay, but you better not let me down. I've already told the senior captain and her assistant to keep a close eye on you. They're expecting to see something special as well." The redhead stood up. "Don't let me down." Then she walked off.
"Don't worry." The shorthaired girl smiled as her friend walked away but a moment later the smile melted away. 'I hope I'm right. Just one good sprint is all I need.' She sighed sadly. 'I can't believe how weak I feel.'
Taking her position in the forth lane, Hitomi tried to visualize the time she ran her best 100 meters. '12.47 seconds, I can do that again. It was no fluke. Just visualize. Lining up in front of the block, setting myself, breathing, focusing, focus, focus'
"SET… BANG!" The gun fired and all eight girls were off. Hitomi took the instant lead with a quick start out of the blocks. Running for all she was worth, she focused all her energy on reaching the finish line as fast as she could.
"Yukari! Wait up! I said I was sorry. Yukari!" The young athlete chased after her best friend, who was already several meters ahead of her.
The redhead came to a stop, her head bowed low and her eyes tightly shut. "13.39, that was your best time all day, 13.39. Do you remember what the slowest qualifying time was at the prefectural meet last Spring? It was 13.02, Point three-seven seconds faster than your fastest time today. Do you know what your fastest official time has been? It was 13.05. You just missed making the finals by point o-three seconds. Today, you wouldn't have even made it to the semi-final round. You really disappointed me today Hitomi. I believed in you and you let me down, and you let me look like a fool in front of the seniors as well."
"Yukari, please." Hitomi stood behind her friend, struggling to catch her breath. "I don't know why I ran so poorly today but I swear to you, I did train every day I was on Gaea."
"Stop it!" Yukari spun around and glared at her friend. "I don't want to hear about Gaea, or Fanelia or your precious Van. I don't want to hear any of it. I don't care what you did over there. What I care about is what you do here."
"That's not fair Yukari and you know it." Hitomi countered. "I worked hard in the month I was in Fanelia. I trained as hard as I've ever trained. I controlled my journeys both two and from Gaea for the people I love, Van and you. I'm the one who's been suffering from its effects. How do you think I feel when I give everything I've got and can only run a 13.39? How do you think I feel when in my last heat I run slower than 14 seconds? It's humiliating, I felt like crying, but I know I can do better, I know I can do much better. It's just a matter of time. I know I'm not fully recovered yet, but when I am, I'll show you, I'll show all of you." Angered by her friend's earlier words, the taller girl started walking off, struggling to keep up a fast pace while carrying her duffel bag.
"Here, let me get that for you." Yukari grabbed the strap and gently pulled it from her friend's shoulder.
"Ugh?" The shorthaired girl looked over and saw her friend smiling at her.
"I'm sorry Hitomi. You're right. I know you'll do better." She winked.
"Thanks Yukari." Hitomi smiled, allowing her friend to take her bag. "Thanks for believing in me."
"Hey, what are friends for." The redhead replied. After a few minutes of silence, she added. "Just promise me one thing Hitomi."
"Sure, what?"
"Don't visit Gaea again, at least until after the summer practice. Okay?" Yukari asked with pleading eyes.
"Oh Yukari." Her friend returned a similar look of sadness.
"If you're right then hopefully, in a few days you'll be back to normal and running at top form but if you go to back to Gaea than you'll go through this all over again." Yukari reasoned as she pleaded her case.
Hitomi looked away for a few minutes before turning back toward her friend, and answering. "Okay Yukari, I promise. No trips to Gaea."
"And no telepathic communications either. I don't want you doing anything that may jeopardize your performance." The redhead looked her friend squarely in the eyes.
Sighing sadly, the shorthaired girl nodded slowly. "Okay, no communication till after summer practices." She turned and started walking again.
Yukari got in step with her friend and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Hitomi, this month will pass before you know it. You'll see."
"I hope you're right." The athlete said softly.
"READY! … SET! … BANG!"
"I don't believe it." Said the captain of the girls track team.
"She's going to beat 13 seconds. I just know it." The team manager said, not bothering to hide her excitement.
"She's going to do it." A surprised team captain added while staring at his girlfriend's stopwatch from over her shoulder.
"AND!!!" Yukari pressed the button, stopping the timer. "WOW! 12.45! Unbelievable!"
"That's amazing!" Amano marveled then quickly waved over at his teammate who was timing from the other side of the lanes.
The teammate yelled. "Twelve point four-five seconds!"
"It's incredible. The best she ran all last week was thirteen point one. How did she get so much better so fast?" Megumi Yotsuga wondered out loud.
"I told you, she was sick last week. But now she's all better and I'm sure her times will just keep getting better. You'll see." Yukari smiled.
"She may be able to break twelve point three by the end of the month." Amano speculated.
"Hmm." The Megumi considered Amano's assessment then said, "Yukari."
"Yes Captain?"
"Move Hitomi to the first team practice squad. I want to see how she does against real competition." The team captain gave a knowing smirk.
"Yes Captain. I'll make the change for tomorrow's practice." The manager replied.
"Why wait, move her for the rest of today's practices." The dark-haired senior replied.
"Oh, but then we'll have unbalanced teams." Yukari countered.
"Determine who has run the slowest times consistently in the first team squad and move her to the second team tomorrow." Then she turned and started walking away.
"Very well Captain." The team manager said sadly.
After the captain of the girls team was far enough away so as not to be heard, Amano place a gentle hand on his girlfriend's shoulder and asked, "What's wrong Yukari? I thought you'd be happy for Hitomi especially after the way you stood up for her all last week."
Turning to face him she replied, "I am happy for Hitomi. But moving Hitomi up to the first team means moving one of the other girls down to the second team and I already know who that will be."
"I'm sure, whomever it is, they will understand. It's the nature of sports for the strongest and the fastest to rise to the top." He explained.
"But the girl what will have to be moved down is Akane." She replied sadly.
"Oh." Amano couldn't hide his sadness either at the news. "Well…" He lowered his head in pensive contemplation. "I'm sure if anyone understands, it will be Akane. She's been through so much already, it would be easy for her to accept but she's a true athlete. She'll understand." Looking over at the boys' team that was currently running drills, He turned back toward his girlfriend and caressed her shoulder gently. "Everything will be all right. You'll see." He said with a smile. "I've got to go now." He blew her a kiss then turned and started off in the direction of the rest of the team. As he walked away, Hitomi was jogging past him toward her best friend. "Congratulations Hitomi, that was a great time." He said with a smile.
"Thanks Amano." She stopped quickly and bowed then continued running again.
"So Yukari, what was my official time?" She asked smiling broadly.
"Oh, ah, twelve point four-five seconds." Her friend smiled.
"That's great! That's one one-hundredth of a second faster than my best time on Gaea. See I told you I'd been practicing." The young athlete through her shoulders back proudly, placed her left hand on her hip and gave her friend the victory sign.
"Well you don't have time to boast, Megumi wants you on the first team squad right now." The redhead pointed toward the starting line where the first team was busy warming up.
Megumi saw Hitomi looking over at them and waved her over. "Hitomi! Come on!"
After waving back, Hitomi grinned widely and turned toward her friend. "Wow! All ready!" She reached out and gave her friend a squeeze on the shoulder. "Thanks Yukari, thanks for believing in me." As she ran toward the starting line, she waved back to her friend. "Wish me luck."
"Okay, what's wrong?" Hitomi finally asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Why do you ask?" Yukari gave a weak grin.
"And you say I'm a bad liar. You're even worse. Come on Yukari, I just ran four of the fastest times I've ever run and you look like you just found out you've contracted some fatal disease or something." A frustrated Hitomi informed.
"I'm sorry Hitomi. You're right." The redhead stopped walking and looked down at toward the ground. "I am happy for you and for the team. You really proved yourself today." She sighed, "It's just, Megumi told me I had to move one of the other girls to second team to make room for you."
"Oh," Hitomi looked away as a sense of remorse filled her. "Well, I can't say that I'm happy that someone else has to move down to make room for me… but I guess that's the why our sport is."
"But the girl I have to move down is Akane Tendo." Her friend explained.
The shorthaired girl gasped. "But she's the oldest girl on the team. She's the only girl that was made captain as an eleventh grader."
"And she was easily the best athlete this school has ever had… until her accident that is." Yukari hung her head.
"She's worked so hard to recover her form. It just doesn't seem fair." Hitomi set her bag down and plopped down on the grass along the sidewalk.
"I know, but the captain said to move the girl with the slowest times down to the second team, and while her times have been improving, they're still slower than the other girls on the first team." The redhead said sadly as she plopped down next to her friend.
"It's times like this I feel like such a cheat." Hitomi whispered.
"A cheat, why?" Her friend gave her a questioning stare.
"Because, unlike everyone else, I had an extra month of practice. This is like a second summer practice for me. Would I be running faster than Akane right now if I hadn't spent that month on Gaea? I don't think so." She whispered remorsefully.
"Don't blame yourself Hitomi. If anyone of the other girls could have taken advantage of the opportunity you had, they would have jumped at it too. In the end you'll be helping out the whole team be running faster times and winning more races. Besides, just because you were in Gaea, there was no guarantee that you would have trained as hard as you did. That took plenty of self-discipline on your part. So you have nothing to be ashamed of." The redhead reasoned.
"I guess you're right." The taller girl replied. "Still, I guess the least I can do is be the one to tell Akane for you."
"No, that's all right. As team manager, it's my job to do." The redhead replied.
"Well, at least let me be there with you. Okay."
"Okay." Yukari replied. After a few moment of walking in silence, she continued, "Hey Hitomi."
"Yeah Yukari."
"Thanks. I always hate giving bad news, especially when I have to do it alone."
After a few more minutes of quiet walking, Hitomi replied. "You're welcome."
Then they walked the rest of the way in silence.
That night Hitomi lay staring up at her ceiling. "It just doesn't seem fair. Akane Tendo has given so much to women's sports at our school over the years. And now she has to endure the insult of having to be moved down to the second team because of me. Because I go an extra month's practice." She sighed. "What should I do? What should I say? Oh, I wish Van were here. I wish I could speak with Van about this."
She laid in silence for several minutes before whispering. "But I can, if I really want to." She closed her eyes and began to concentrate but opened her eyes back up quickly. "No, I promised Yukari I wouldn't do that. It's bad enough that I've broken my promises in the past to Merle, I won't start breaking them to Yukari too."
She rolled onto her side and exhaled deeply. As she drew in another breath, she whispered, "I wonder what Van would say if he were here right now?"
As she thought of the man she loved, she clasped her hands together and held them close to her chest. "He'd probably say something like. "It is the duty of every warrior, of every samurai to use the opportunities presented to him to improve his skills, to better himself. A man who fails to do so has no right to call himself a warrior. Use your opportunity here on Gaea to improve your skills, to prepare yourself as best you can. I will aid you in every way I can but it is ultimately up to you Hitomi." That is what he would say." She smiled, then closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.
The next morning Yukari walked up to Hitomi who was sitting on the grass lacing up her track shoes.
"Ready?"
Looking up at her friend, Hitomi could tell the task at hand was still bothering her, but she nodded and stood up. "Where is she?" She looked around the complex.
"She's warming up over by the starting blocks." The redhead gestured casually with her eyes.
"Well, no reason to put if off anymore." Hitomi replied.
"Right." And with that they turned and walked toward the starting blocks.
As they did the other girls who were around there spotted them and casually got up to leave. If fact, they were the only three people by the starting blocks by the time they were standing almost next to Akane Tendo.
"Hi Akane." Hitomi said with a smile.
"Hi Akane." Yukari said a moment later trying desperately to smile but failing.
"Hi Hitomi, Yukari." The older girl replied.
"Akane, may I have a word with you?" Yukari said rather timidly.
The older girl stopped stretching out and stood up. "Sure, what is it Yukari?"
"Well, you see. As you already know, Hitomi's times yesterday were good enough to have her moved to the first team squad." The redhead started.
"Yeah, I know. Congratulations Hitomi, you've really improved since the last meet." She extended her hand to the taller girl.
"Oh, thank you Akane. Coming from you, that's a real complement." Hitomi laughed softly.
"Yea, well see… aah the problem is… well, not so much a problem just… more like a situation, I guess." Yukari sighed. "Well, what I'm trying to say is…"
"It's okay Yukari, it's no big deal really. I know you have to move someone to the second team and that someone is me." The older girl smiled sympathetically. "I understand completely."
"You knew already?" Yukari's eyes expressing the same shock that appeared in her words.
Laughing softly for a moment, the older girl said, "Well, it doesn't take a genius to know you need two balanced teams and I can't help but notice that I've been finishing last in almost all the heats. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone replaced me on the first squad but to tell you the truth, I'm glad it's you Hitomi."
"Huh? Really." The taller girl's eyes went wide.
"I've been watching you for some time now and I must say of all the girls on the team, you remind me most of myself, when I was younger."
"Really." A broad smile crossed the emerald-eyed girl's face.
"Well, not in running style. You're much more fluid than I've ever been. I guess those extra centimeters make all the difference." The dark-haired girl laughed. "But in your intensity. When you run, you run like it's the most important thing in the world to you. I used to run that way too."
"Used too?"
Smiling at the two younger girls, she continued. "I'm sure you've all heard the stories about how I got engaged at 16. Well, to tell you the truth, my fiancé and I never really got along too well. At least until my accident late last year. He blamed himself and while he was partially to blame, I had just as much to do with my injuries as anyone. But when it looked like I might never walk again and I was ready to give up, he wouldn't let me. He pushed me and worked with me and made me cry many a nights but he was also there to wipe away my tears. I learned to love him back then. I think we learned to love each other. And when I was able to walk again, I set my mind on begin able to run again as well. Almost every day for months now and every weekend, we head up into the mountains and he helps me train."
"And now I've taken away your chance at being able to compete again." Hitomi bowed her head being filled with remorse.
"No, not at all. You've trained hard and you run fast, faster than I'm running. You deserve to be on the first team. All the girls that are on the first team deserve to be on it." Akane smiled. "Don't you see? A year ago, the doctors told me I'd never walk again, let alone run. But here I am. I'm good enough to make the team and if I keep training, maybe I'll be good enough to make the first squad again before the autumn season is over. Megumi still respected me enough to place me on the first team at the start of practice but I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd be moved now. So you see. As far as I'm concerned, I've already won. I'm not only walking bur running again and I've discovered that I really do love my fiancé and he loves me." She smiled happily.
"I'm so happy for you Akane." Hitomi stepped forward and embraced the older girl.
"Thank you Hitomi." The older girl returned her embrace. "I just hope that someday you can find a love like mine."
Giving the senior team member a secret smile, she replied. "I hope so too."
Yukari extended her hand to her school's legendary athlete. "I'm so glad you understand Akane."
"Of course I understand, remember, I was team captain last year, before the accident that is." She smiled, "I know it's not always easy but these types of things happen."
As they walked away, Hitomi observed, "She such a nice person. I wish I could have gotten to know her better."
"The season's not over yet. It's still not too late." Yukari smiled.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hitomi smiled back.
Hitomi and Yurika walked home from the last day of summer practice together. The red-haired girl could hardly contain her excitement.
"I can't believe it, I just can't believe it." She jumped about. "You just blew them all way, not just once, not just twice but six times in a row. That was amazing." She slashed her hand through the air. "Vroom! Right past everyone like they were standing still."
"Okay, now you're exaggerating." Hitomi replied. "I only beat Megumi by two tenths of a second."
"It might as well have been by an hour. Did you see the look on her face when you won the second race?" The shorter of the two asked.
"No, I was ahead of her, remember." The taller one replied.
"Well, take my word for it, it was priceless, and each time after that. I think after the fourth time, she pretty much gave up."
"What are you talking about? She was on my heals in all six races." The athlete replied.
"Yeah but she just didn't have that same look in her eye those last two times. It's like she knew she was going to lose and just gave up near the end." The team manager laughed.
"Hey, why are you laughing at Megumi? She's our captain and a decent person too." The taller girl scolded her friend.
"I know. I don't mean anything by it. It's just, I guess, I just find it funny is all. To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to beat her at all during summer practices and you've done it twelve times now. But those last six times were so impressive, how you took the lead from the beginning and never looked back. I can't wait for the season to start next weekend." Yukari laughed.
"Next weekend? What do you mean; the first meet isn't for three weeks at Furinaki High School." Hitomi stopped walking and stared directly at her friend, waiting for some type of explanation.
"Don't you remember, we're competing in the Southeastern Regional Invitation meet this year. The teams with the top two scores from the four regions will compete at the Tokyo Invitational the following week. You got the notice during the last week of school, just like everyone else." The redhead explained.
"Yeah, but I was in another world for a month, remember? I completely forgot about the invitational meet." She sighed sadly. "I was hoping to go visit Van this weekend."
"Don't you dare!" Yukari stamped her foot angrily. "You're running in top form right now. Don't you dare do anything to jeopardize that. With the way you and Megumi are running right now, I won't be surprised at all if you guys finish the 100 meters one-two. And with the two of you on the four by one hundred relay as well, we've practically got the invitation to the Tokyo Invitational locked. All we'd have to do is place in the top three in the two hundred, the four hundred, the eight hundred and the sixteen hundred and we're in. And that shouldn't be too difficult. Hey, ever consider doing the two hundred as well?" The girl got a devilish look about her.
"No way. I'm a hundred-meter girl. That's it. Don't try to make me pull double duty in an event I've never run." Hitomi pointed an accusing finger at her friend.
"Okay, okay." She backed off immediately. "But just remember, no traveling the week before a meet. Who knows how long it will take you to recover next time."
"But we have a meet every week after that, all the way to the Nationals in October. You don't expect me not to see Van until after the Nationals do you?" A panicked Hitomi pleaded.
"That is exactly what I'm expecting." Yukari placed her hands and her hips and gave her friend a very serious stare. "Look Hitomi. The way you're running now, you can set all kinds of records for a tenth grader. But it's not going to happen if you go off to Gaea again. You've got to decide what's more important to you, your running and your team or spending time with the man you love."
"That's not fair Yukari. You can't make me choose between track and Van."
"Well, that's exactly what I'm asking you to choose from. I'm not saying never see Van again, I'm just saying wait till after the season's over. That's all." The redhead clarified.
"But it's already been a month since I've seen him or spoken to him. Now you want me to wait two more months. I can't do that, I won't do that." Hitomi yelled as tears filled her eyes.
"Well, then go and don't come back. Go marry him and become his queen if that is what you really want to do. Just don't yank our chain by coming here and putting up times like you have this month then head off to Gaea just so you can return and run the way you did that first week. If that's what you're going to do, then we're better off without you, so just go." Yukari fumed.
"Could you leave Amano for that long?" Hitomi asked.
Pausing a time, the redhead steeled her expression and replied, "Yes, if I had to. If it meant helping the team win, then yes, I could."
"Well, I guess the difference between you and me is that I would never ask you to do such a think." Angrily Hitomi spun around on the balls of her feet and walked home alone.
~~~~~~~~~~
AN: First off I'd like to apologize for taking so long to update. I actually had this chapter completed some about a week ago but I was looking to get some feedback from a couple of my readers to see what they thought about including Akane Tendo in my fic. Unfortunately, I waited in vain since I never did get in touch with them. I am really sorry for the delay in updating. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This was something different for me with regards to this story. Things moved much faster and a whole month passed in this one chapter. Let me know what you think about that as well. I am thinking of doing more of this in order to move things along more quickly. Did you like it? Did it feel too rushed? Please let me know.
Thank you for your patience and for your comments. You keep me going with your reviews. ^_^
Thank you all so much for your support.
A. Amishi