ARATA

I knew my way around Omi Jingu pretty well by now, so when Chihaya's team went to get changed I sought out my friends from Fujioka West, who—after our debacle last year—made sure they arrived early this time. Then I found Murao-san, and it was while we were talking that Chihaya returned to the lobby. She looked stunning in a lavender-themed kimono, and I had to laugh at the look on Murao-san's face when she greeted him with an exuberant hug.

Well, they'd been through an intense experience together, for sure, and Chihaya seemed to have adopted him as a sort of big brother. Still, I didn't like watching her embrace another man.

In fact, throughout the day Chihaya was approached by one guy after another (thankfully no more hugs were exchanged though). They represented schools from all over—a nerdy guy from a top public school, several foreigners who seemed to attend an international school, a couple guys from the powerhouse Fujisaki—they had nothing in common except the warm welcome Chihaya gave them and the clear admiration for her that was written all over their faces.

And then, even more amazing, was watching the guys who engaged her for trash-talk. There was Hiro-kun, whom I remembered from my Tokyo days, and then Chihaya got in the face of that guy Tsubo-something who beat me at Yoshino in my first tournament back, and later a college-age guy (who turned out to be a reader) seemed to seek her out just to give her a hard time.

As the day wore on, I kind of figured out where these admirers had sprung from, as I watched Chihaya amaze one challenger after another with her intensity and then her sportsmanship. The girls she defeated took her victory as a personal affront, but the guys universally fell under her spell.

I began to feel like just one of a crowd. After all, she'd captured my heart in the same manner six years ago. Who knew I had so many rivals?

But before each match began, she took a minute to search through the spectators until she found me. Her determined gaze locked on mine, and I could read the desire in her eyes: Watch me, they said. Watch my team and be impressed.

It gave me hope that I was special to her, that out of all the spectators and admirers, she cared the most about my opinion. As I watched her greet one star-struck guy after another, I became more and more determined to stake my claim. I didn't want to arrive in Tokyo next year and find her dating someone else. Before that could happen, I had to find a way to make sure we understood one another.

I'd always thought that if she were to end up dating someone in high school, it had to be Taichi. I could respect that. He and I had an understanding.

But there was something else I'd noticed as I hung around their team all day. Taichi worried for Chihaya at times—I could see it in his anxious glances and the way he refocused her attention when she began to unravel—but the person he relaxed with and seemed to unconsciously gravitate toward was the transfer girl Chihaya had mentioned, Yama-chan. He bounced ideas off her. She brought cold drinks for the two of them. He literally stepped in front of her when some Fujisaki students accosted her. Her eyes followed him a lot more than he knew.

The two of them might not see it, but everyone around them could tell that they had a special affinity. Including the ponytail girl I'd met last year, and she was not at all pleased.

Their team steadily rose through the ladder, but the matches were intense; it was Nationals, after all, and these teams were the best. As I'd observed last year, the Misuzawa club members used a variety of karuta styles, and their tactician, the senior glasses guy, did a masterful job of using that to outmatch their opponents, at least when the order was fairly predictable. The one game they nearly lost was due to a wrong assumption about the order their opponents would use. Chihaya and Taichi were wasted on two easier players, leaving the other three to face the strongest opponents. Nishida was being rested, so the only other Class A player fielded was the transfer girl, Yama-chan. Her opponent pushed her relentlessly and she made a number of faults. Encouraged by Taichi and Chihaya, she kept at it, though, until the glasses guy actually pulled off the third win for them.

As they entered the semi-finals, they pulled out all the stops. Chihaya was playing even better than she had in the Queen match, and no one could keep up with her. The transfer girl was almost as quick, but lacked some of Chihaya's finesse. Taichi and Nishida were solid—Taichi using memorization like a weapon and Nishida doggedly defending his cards to success. Even the toughest opponents couldn't match such a daunting lineup of four Class A players. When the last card was taken, it was Misuzawa that stood on top.

I cheered and clapped along with the crowd as the winners threw their arms around each other's shoulders and celebrated in a tearful huddle. The second-year Misuzawa students next to me ran to join them, and the first-years followed right after them, piling together in a joy-filled knot. As I watched the close-knit team embrace their new members wholeheartedly, I understood what Chihaya had been telling me for so long. You should have started a team!

My lips curved up in a smile. I'd have liked to be on her team. But I never could have created what she had. The personality of Chihaya's team was a reflection of the girl herself. They couldn't resist her passionate love for karuta and for people.

Among the teammates congratulating one another, Chihaya's head popped up. She turned to scan the crowd until her eyes found me. I smiled widely, giving her a thumbs up.

She grinned back, gratitude in her eyes.

I have to do it this weekend. I won't let her go again without telling her how I feel.

-0-0-0-0-

TAICHI

After changing into my street clothes, I showed the new guys how to pack up the hakamas and made them carry the boxes out to the lobby. Of course the girls weren't out yet, so they stacked the boxes next to a bench where they took a seat. Everyone was pretty worn out.

Nishida said, "I'm going to check out the vending machine. You want anything?"

"Yeah. Get me a coffee, if they have it." I dug in my pocket for some money but he waved it off and left.

I took a head count. Okay, there's Tanaka and Yuki-kun…oh, crap, now the girls have even got me calling him that. Tsukuba was showing Sato something on his phone. Pictures, most likely. Hopefully of himself and not girls again. Komano-kun sat with his head tipped back and eyes closed. He'd put in hard work scouting teams for us when he wasn't playing.

Satisfied that all were accounted for, I checked the stairwell for any sign of the girls. I was tired and ready to get back to the inn.

I spied Arata talking to an older man on the other side of the room. I made my way over to them.

The man caught a glimpse of me from the corner of his eye and finished his conversation with Arata, turning to greet me instead. "Congratulations," his brown eyes sparkled with energy. "It's rare for a new school like yours to win two years in a row. Very impressive. Will you be participating tomorrow as well?" At my affirmative, he said, "Well, then, you'll have a chance to face our Wataya-kun here."

"That's the plan," I assured him, warming to the idea.

He left and I turned to Arata. "Well, what did you think?"

"Your team is amazing. I noticed it last year, too. Your teammates have different styles of play, but you use it to your advantage."

I stretched my arms over my head trying to ease sore muscles. "It's getting complicated with all these new kids coming on too. But Chihaya really wants the club to carry on after we leave, so we're working hard to teach them what we can."

He was nodding. She'd probably already told him so. "She said you're going to cram school after this."

"Yeah. I don't have much of a choice. We're seniors now, after all." The future looked gray. I'd made peace with Chihaya, but whether she would disappear from my future was something I worried about.

"Taichi," Arata began. His voice sounded tentative. I looked up from my shoes and saw a flush in his cheeks. "I'm going to tell her." His face was resolute but guarded, waiting for my reaction.

"Tell her what?" I didn't have to ask who he was talking about.

"I'm going to tell her how I feel."

"And how is that, exactly?" I asked stubbornly.

His brow crinkled in annoyance. "Don't do that. I feel the same way you do, and you know it."

I clenched my jaw. "When?"

"I don't know," he said, breaking away from my stare to look at the ceiling. One hand rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "Soon. When the opportunity comes along."

"Why are you telling me this?" I was angry. I'd known this day was coming, but this was sooner than I'd bargained for.

He released a weighty sigh. "Because we're not just rivals, Taichi. You're my friend."

I grunted sarcastically. "If we're friends, then don't do it. Wait."

"I have waited. I held back all this time…out of consideration for you, because you were there and I wasn't." His fierce blue eyes bored into mine for a moment. "Don't imagine it's been easy," he said miserably. He removed his glasses and scraped a hand over his eyes. "Knowing you see her every day, and that any day you could get together and I would just fade into memory…" His voice was rough. "You'd have each other and I'd be left with no one again."

I rounded on him angrily. "So I should be left behind? I should be left with no one?"

His eyes focused on something behind me. I turned to see Rion walking down the stairs. Her eyes settled on us curiously.

"Look at what's right in front of your face," Arata said. "There are plenty of girls here who are in love with you. But, Taichi…" He waited for my gaze to return to his. He looked sober now, almost regretful. "Taichi, Chihaya's not one of them."

I looked down…watched the toe of my shoe kicking the linoleum floor. His words were brutally honest, as usual. I knew it was true. We both did. It hurts.

His voice was gentler now, sympathetic. "This isn't a contest. Don't miss out on something good just because you want to beat me at this."

His eyes flicked away again and fastened on something behind me. The longing on his face told me Chihaya was now the one descending the stairwell. The girls must be finished.

"I gotta go," I told him, turning back toward my team. "See you tomorrow."

-0-0-0-0-

ARATA

I joined the anxious huddle around the table where an official was laying out the pairings for the semi-final matches. I'd expected to face Taichi sometime today…it seemed like fate. But he and Porky had lost in the third round, the transfer girl Yama-chan in the second. Their only Class A player remaining was Chihaya. Somewhere in my subconscious I was aware that she stood several people away, watching the selections intently.

When my name was drawn, there was a collective hush. Apparently, I'd gained a reputation last year. The one to face me would be…

Shinobu-chan.

This would be difficult. She'd been fevered when we played last year, and still she improved mid-match. Today she would be seeking revenge.

As I stepped away from the table, she accosted me. Her heavy-lidded eyes looked sly as she drawled. "Well, Arata. I had hoped to be in the finals again. Go easy on me, would you?" Her wrath-filled gaze belied her humble words.

Her spunk always made me laugh for some reason. I chuckled. "I should be saying that to you. You improve every time I see you."

"That's right," she recalled. "You were at the Master and Queen match." Her gaze was speculative. "In the audience," she added. Her tone was neutral, but there was no mistaking the spiteful intent.

I smiled, just to annoy her. "Yes, I went to watch my friends."

Her gaze sharpened. "You know that Ayase girl?"

A soprano voice interjected. "Yes! Arata is the one who first showed me competitive karuta. It's because of him that I'm here today." Chihaya had appeared at the Queen's elbow. She wore that flushed, excited look she tended to get around Shinobu-chan.

"Really?" The Queen's eyes widened in genuine surprise for a moment.

She was opening her mouth to comment further, but Chihaya rushed on. "That's right. And we played on a team together…it was so much fun! Only Arata got really sick the day of the tournament, I mean, really sick."

The Queen wore a stunned look as she watched Chihaya ramble.

"Anyway, Shinobu-chan…" The Queen started at the familiar use of her name, but Chihaya continued unfazed. "…if you haven't decided where to go to college yet, you should come to the same one as me and Arata. We're looking at colleges with good karuta teams," she explained as an aside. "Can you imagine how great it would be if we were all on a team together? It would be so fun!"

I watched Shinobu-chan's face as she tried to assimilate Chihaya's outburst. She blinked a couple times, and I winced, waiting for her to blast Chihaya with one of her frigid speeches.

Instead, she turned to me. Looking down her nose haughtily she said, "Where is it you're applying?" Her tone sounded indifferent, but the mere fact that she was asking was telling.

I gave her the names of the two schools where I'd interviewed. "Interesting." With no further comment, she left us.

Chihaya turned a puzzled gaze on me. I shrugged. "She didn't say no," I observed.

Chihaya cocked her head to the side, considering. She broke into a grin. "You're right!"

Hungrily, I took in her sparkling eyes and beaming face. My heart squeezed painfully. Tonight. I've got to find a time tonight to tell her.

Ack! Never mind that—I've got to focus on my match with the Queen. "Shouldn't you be loading up on chocolate right now?" I asked.

"Oh!" Her eyes widened. "Good idea!" She took off, and I made my way to the Uruyasu Room.

I narrowly defeated the Queen and ended up facing Chihaya in the finals. It was both surreal and pleasant to kneel across from her here. We mixed the cards together as we had done several times this year. As we positioned them, I caught her shooting calculating glances in my direction.

Aha! This is going to be fun!

As the reader chanted the opening, our eyes caught. Filled with anticipation, I smiled at her.

In answer, her mouth twitched momentarily in a small, mischievous smile. Then she was back to her game face, the determination to win blazing in her eyes.

"…now the flower blooms."

We leaned forward over our cards. My skin seemed to tingle, aware of her nearness. I accepted it, and turned it to a tactical advantage, so that I knew immediately the direction in which she was moving, even on those occasions when she reacted before I could hear the syllable.

It was a strange match. Both of us used every strategy we'd learned, and what we knew about each other, to make winning as difficult as possible for our opponent. Chihaya's hair was pushed behind her ear as usual, and her speed seemed faster than last time we'd played. We were straining our minds and our bodies to their best performance. At the same time, our familiarity made it almost relaxing. When I lost a card to her, I marveled at her talent. When I blocked her, it slid off her shoulders, as if she'd never intended to take that card anyway. One time, when I stole the Chihayafuru card from her lower left, she nearly slipped and yelled at me in frustration as she would have in one of our practice matches. She remembered our setting just in time and settled for scowling at me when I returned with it. I chuckled and held my hand up to the reader.

I found the card I would pass to her. It was the one she'd quoted back in January: "People would always ask if I was pining for someone." Since that day, I'd grown attached to that particular card, and always found it easily on the field. I held her eyes as I slid it across the tatami.

The audience murmured, no doubt speculating on our odd behavior. I'd forgotten they were present in the room.

Chihaya looked at the card, staring a little longer than usual. Finally, she chose a position for it, but I thought she seemed flustered.

After that, I gained some momentum, and when the tournament concluded, I was the winner. My Fujioka West friends came to congratulate me, and Chihaya's teammates looked after her. My heart squeezed when I saw that she was wiping tears away. She seemed steady, though, not distraught as she'd been after the Queen match. When we stood to receive our trophies, she didn't look too disappointed.

From that moment, I knew the clock was ticking down. I had to find a way to get her alone.