Chapter 43: Victory
Saturday, September 24th, 20XX Evening
Leaning against the wall, Ren listened as his friends talked to each other. For the first time in quite a while, they were together again. Sumire had just finished showering and changing out of her outfit. Haru as well was here, wearing a relaxed expression but not saying much.
Most of the conversation centered around Futaba and Ann congratulating Sumire with the odd, loud comment from Ryuji thrown in. Ren, however, could not focus on it. His gaze kept alternating between the scoreboard in the arena and Sumire herself.
Ren had no idea how to approach her anymore. Just looking at her made his heart flutter with uncertainty. Looking up at the scoreboard however, that uncertainty mutated into an unholy mixture of dread and anger. Sumire had performed well through the second day. Scoring almost a 16 with her last performance of the day, she had pulled herself into 13th place in the standings with a running total of 46.540 out of 60 possible. That was not what made those feelings rise in Ren though.
It was the name hovering at the very top of the board. With a nearly one-and-a-half-point lead, Yoshizawa Kasumi sat with 51.100 points. It was so small from an outside perspective. But looking more closely at the scores and the ranges that the girls got, Kasumi was above the others consistently. As long as her final routine wasn't a complete abomination, she basically has the gold medal already.
That was the source of Ren's emotions. Two swirling tides that when they crashed together only made each other stronger.
The dread that Sumire would never beat Kasumi and the anger that she thought she had to.
Letting them course through him, Ren turned his gaze back to Sumire. She was smiling softly, contentment shining through. She did not have the look of a broken girl that needed to reach the same lofty heights of her sister.
That gentle smile accentuating her gorgeous visage was enough to set his heart aflutter again. To calm down, Ren looked away back at the scoreboard…
Getting the distinct feeling that he was trapped in a loop; Ren took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. The large action catching the attention of Sumire.
"Are you alright Senpai? Sorry, you all must be tired from the dungeon today…"
"Just him," Ryuji smirked. "All we did was sit around and bet on him."
"Oh? You have to tell me about it."
Ren was unable to clarify his actually discontent, but without having a way out, he explained the situation in a few short sentences. "We're betting on me in the arena using our main account. After two rounds, we have quadrupled our coins to 400 thousand. However, we are unsure how to proceed as the arena office has caught on and will no longer allow me to fight in the arena."
"Hmm, do you think someone else could fight?" Sumire wondered.
"Most likely," Queen agreed, "we are debating who, however. No one else has the persona versatility of our leader, obviously."
"Hehe," Haru giggled. "Is that how it is Makoto? I could have sworn when we met that you mentioned something about a hard-headed, curly-haired, overprotective—"
"I-I don't know what you are talking about!" Makoto declared, trying to cover Haru's mouth.
"Aww," Sumire smiled, giving Ren a look that was near on Kasumi-esque.
Unable to look away, Ren stared into her ruby eyes, completely captivated. The moment lasted too long, turning awkward as Ryuji let out a low whistle.
"It's getting kind of hot in here," Ryuji laughed.
"Oh, I don't know," Ann added on with a smirk. "It's more of a low shimmer."
"What are you two talking about? The heat level in here is immaculately maintained with the state-of-the-art cooling system. Honestly, if anything the temperature is slightly below ambient."
"Oh, Inari. You are a weird one."
Futaba's comment got a wave of laughter while Yusuke looked on in confusion, wondering what it was that he had said that was wrong.
Ren however, only smiled, not able to completely tear his gaze away from Sumire's. Right on the verge of looking over to his friends, he thought he caught a change in her expression from the corner of his eye. The smile slipping, a dark hollow of pure terror showing in her eyes. Blinking in surprise, Ren turned back to her, waiting for an explanation. What he found was Sumire laughing jovially along with the others.
As the conversation drifted down and the time ticked later, they began to meander for the exit. Sumire had gotten a message from her parents that Kasumi and they had left for home already. With nothing else to do, Ren bid farewell to the group and began the journey back to LeBlanc with Futaba and Morgana.
"Not going with Ann?" Ren teased the cat, surprised that Futaba hadn't done it first.
"You mean Ryuji," Morgana muttered, "Ann's parents are back."
Right. Ren remembered. Ann was so consistent with her actions and mood that he had not even noticed.
"Anyway, I need to be here for this conversation."
"What conversation?"
"What we are doing about the casino, obviously," Futaba rolled her eyes. "And here I thought it was just Inari and Ryuji that made stupid comments. I suppose it is all boys."
"Haha," Morgana laughed. "Guess that makes me a man then!"
"Oh no, you're pretty stupid as well Mona."
"H-Hey!" The protest was loud enough to draw gazes from the confused people on the street—each one looking for the wild cat.
Jostling the bag to reprimand him, Ren turned to Futaba as they meandered closer to Yongen-Jaya. "What more is there to discuss? We will take Sunday off to rest and watch the rest of the tournament and then—"
"You know that is the wrong way to do this." Futaba butted in. Her assertive demeanor a complete 180 from the timid girl that had ran away from them at one point. "What we need to do is send someone else into the arena."
"I disagree," Ren shook his head. "We have 100,000 coins split across two separate cards and the 400,000 coins on the primary. If we take out full loans on all of that, we end up with one million. As long as we can pay with different cards—"
"Which we don't know," Morgana interjected.
"We can get across," Ren finished anyway. "We only need a bit more anyway. It seems foolish to tempt fate in a deadly game where a single mistake will result in death."
"Why are you the only one that can take risks?" Futaba whined. "Literally everyone except me is willing to try it. I'm sure Sumire would if you asked her tomorrow."
That terror… "I'm not so sure about that," Ren mumbled. "I'm not sure if she is doing as good as she pretends to be."
"Is that so?" Morgana muttered. "Well, this whole self-imposed rule is pretty strange… Hold on! You're just trying to distract us from the metaverse problems!"
No, I am not. Ren stayed silent however, it was not worth it.
"Sumire aside for the moment, let's help out Makoto's sister." Futaba continued the conversation, refusing to get distracted. "To be honest, I see only three options for the arena: Morgana, Ann, or Makoto."
"Huh?"
Ren was just as confused as the cat. "Where did you get that list from?"
"Healing." Futaba said, "it was one of your biggest advantages. You could heal but your opponents could not. As long as they go in with their MP maxed, they can likely come out on top."
Ren sighed and looked up at the overcast sky. Forcing himself to consider the list that Futaba had put through, Ren mostly agreed. There was one option that he did not trust on it. "Not to say I agree with the plan, but Ann cannot enter."
"Huh? Lady Ann is strong!" Morgana protested.
"Yes and no," Ren shook his head. "She is physically frail to attacks. We cannot let her fight a one-on-one battle."
"Ah, that is true," Futaba accepted. "So, Morgana, you up to showing off your skills?"
"Ahaha… Yeah… That should be easy for someone with my skills!"
The doubt was palpable in his voice. "I don't think Morgana is a good choice either. Many of his abilities are related to accurate hits to knock enemies down and enable others to kill them. Without teammates there to support his damage, he will struggle greatly."
"I-I guess," Futaba relented. She gave Ren a pouting glare. "At least Makoto is still a great choice!"
"Good, but still bad at drawn out encounters. Her healing ability is slightly weaker and drains more mind—"
"MP."
"…Drains more MP than Ann or Morgana's." Ren finished after the interruption.
"So no one is good enough by themselves except you!?" Futaba threw her arms up exasperated.
Ren looked at her sideways. "We discussed this already! Everyone has a particular shadow type that they will struggle greatly against. It will be a risk to send anyone into the arena. Healing or no."
"From the discussion though," Morgana interjected, "I think the answer is clear. It is either Makoto or Sumire."
"…Sumire can't heal herself." Ren muttered. The protest was weak. They all knew that Sumire had more than enough capacity to dodge incoming attacks to win in the arena. If Ren was honest, she would likely be able to clear it with less effort than he had.
"Either we ask Makoto," Futaba declared, "or I will ask Sumire tomorrow to help us."
"…Fine." Ren agreed. "Makoto should win against everything I've faced."
"A plan!" Morgana declared. With a relieved chuckle, the cat tossed himself half out of the bag, resting his chest on Ren's shoulder. "All we had to do was threaten you with spending time with the girl that rejected you."
"Ah true, they barely spoke a word to each other today," Futaba chuckled. Stepping up beside Ren, she poked him in the ribs. "Are you trembling with anticipation that she may win?"
Ren huffed at that. It was almost funny. "Kasumi could practically fall asleep during her last routine and win the tournament. Sumire can't beat her. This time."
Ren's addendum made his first absolute statement all the more obvious and jarring.
"You can't give up on her," Morgana whined. "At least have a little faith."
Ren tried to envision the previous tournament in his mind. Where he had been so sure that Sumire could measure up to her sister. After all, the grace and poise that she had shown in the metaverse were far more stunning and beautiful than anything he had seen executed on that stage. Now though, he doubted that hope. There was the ever-increasing likelihood that the skills were not as strongly transmissible as he had thought. Sumire's skills in the metaverse may simply be because she is an amazing fighter and linked more to her body's strength than real applicable gymnastics skills.
"Give up?" Ren's voice was hollow. "I am terrified that we will continue to drift apart. All I wanted to do was to be there for her…"
The sudden heartfelt confession killed any further communication. Silently entering LeBlanc, Ren headed for bed without another word.
Saturday, September 24th, 20XX Evening
Slinking through the front door, Sumire cast a hesitant gaze toward the kitchen, wondering if her family was still there. As the evening was still early, of course they were. Her dad was at the table with his laptop open, getting some work done. Her mother was in the kitchen making something.
Closing the door, Sumire reluctantly let out a timid, "I'm back…"
"Ahh, Sumire, there you are. Did you have fun with your friends?"
"Y-Yeah… Just going to stretch a bit and go to bed."
Sumire's mother walked over to the table as she approached with a spatula in her hand, covered in a delicious looking raw dough. "Of course, darling. Good job today. Were you happy with your scores?"
"Y-Yeah. I think I just need a bit more practice. Sixty was my goal for this tournament."
"Well, that will be easy," her Father laughed. "With your ribbon skills, I wouldn't be surprised if you hit 63!"
"Haha maybe…" Laughing weakly, Sumire bid goodnight to her parents and went to slink back to her room. She almost made it until Kasumi stuck her head out.
"Oh, Sumi. Did you need help stretching before bed?"
Examining her sister, Sumire found none of the hostility that had been there before. Only a casual distance. The words of a helpful sister, but not a super close one. Giving her a weak smile, Sumire shook her head. "No, please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Good luck for tomorrow."
Kasumi frowned. Fully exiting the room, she walked over to Sumire and her door and opened it, gesturing for Sumire to go inside.
"I said I was fine," Sumire repeated nervously, reluctantly allowing herself to be pulled inside. Kasumi did not answer again, instead gesturing for Sumire to get on the ground and begin her evening stretches.
Having no way to deny her, Sumire moved robotically into the motions. Bending her left leg so the sole of her foot rested against her inner leg, Sumire bent her upper body forward, hugging her outstretched right leg. The motion intent on relieving the final knots from her overworked hamstring while keeping it at maximum flexibility.
Kasumi joined in, pushing lightly on her back to increase the stretch. As a master gymnast who has aided people thousands of times, her help was the perfect mix of force and subtleness so that Sumire could still regulate the stretch according to her needs.
When that leg was done, Sumire switched, and they repeated the process. Only then did Kasumi finally talk. "Hmm, so my eyes during practice were correct."
"What are you talking about?" Sumire asked, her voice almost a grunt from the exertion of holding her folded position. With her vision completely obscured by the floor, she could see nothing. Kasumi's voice had such a weird tone to it that she wished she could see her sister. Kasumi was already a master at hiding behind masks and quips. With no visual clues it would be like fighting a bear empty-handed.
"That your flexibility is world class. You have a body on par with Olympic athletes."
"Ehh?" Trying to sit-up, Sumire found her way blocked by her sister.
"You haven't finished stretching."
Reluctantly falling back into the pose, Sumire's mind raced for an explanation of the statement. The encroaching horror of her hopeless situation was starting to beat against the low-stakes nature of the gymnastics environment.
"T-Thank you, but there is no need to exaggerate. I'm not on your level."
"No, you surpassed it."
What!? This time, Sumire sat up too violently for her sister to stop. Whirling around to face her, Sumire finally got to look into her sister's face. Kasumi was wearing an expression somewhere between bewilderment and amusement. Her eyes were unfocussed, and she kept shaking her head slightly as if discarding ideas at a high pace.
"Stop lying to me! What are you trying to do, give me a pep talk to cheer me up? Disappointed that I'm twelve places blow you!? Look, its my first tournament of the season, I'll get better I'm—"
Sumire stopped abruptly as Kasumi placed a hand on her mouth. Startled by the abrupt physical contact, Sumire did not react when she was freed again. Without a word, Kasumi stuck out both of her legs and bent over them, reaching out her hands. As always, her sister's flexibility was impressive. Even in the two-leg stretch she nearly had her elbows up to her feet.
May as well shut her up…
It was something that they had done dozens of times. Competing to see who could reach the furthest. With absolutely no expectations, Sumire settled in to copy her sister. They had been close occasionally in the past. Sumire had never won once. Never been able to reach further.
Her sister's claims were completely—
Freezing, Sumire looked up, judging the positions on their bodies, where their hands would be. Hesitantly, she glanced over at Kasumi still wearing that odd expression. A Kasumi who was clearly not quite as bent as she was.
"Huh? W-What? Are you…" But Sumire could not finish. Her sister never lost on purpose. Kasumi always won.
"I just don't understand," Kasumi sighed, sitting, and then standing up.
"I-I don't…" Sumire felt like she should apologize as she looked up. It made no sense. Kasumi had worked far harder than she had. Kasumi had been the one working religiously every day in order to improve herself. Sumire had only started again recently. The difference in their scores was proof enough of that.
"You can stretch like a phenom now, but you are dancing like you have a stick up your ass. Although, that isn't quite right either. More like you don't care and are only going through the motions. Figure that one thing out and you will be a pro dancer."
Flushing, Sumire could come up with no retort.
"Assuming you actually dance tomorrow, we will finally see I suppose exactly how good you are. We are both dancing nearly identical ribbon routines. May the best dancer win."
Sumire could only raise a helpless hand as the door shut behind her sister. She's wrong. The thought permeated her very existence. Collapsing backwards onto the ground, Sumire entered the fetal position, rocking slightly.
"She's wrong… She's wrong…" Speaking the words into existence did nothing to help Sumire believe them. Actions speak louder than words, and Sumire had just seen herself beat Kasumi at a physical activity related to gymnastics.
Eventually, Sumire picked herself off the floor. If Kasumi was correct, then Sumire now longer had any excuses. Her body was in equal if not better dancing condition and they were competing with her best prop. If you could not surpass Kasumi right now then she would be forced to admit that she lacked the technical skill to make it on the world stage.
Finally, those tournament butterflies swirled inside her. Getting ready for bed, she tried to find sleep. She failed for the most part.
Sunday, September 25th, 20XX Morning
"Hey Haru, what's up?"
Greeting her friend as she left the house, Makoto tried to focus on what was happening. In the early hours however, she had to stifle a yawn. Haru, meanwhile looked chipper and well composed in a matching pink outfit that accentuated her cute face and hair.
"Ah, Mako-chan! Sleepy, huh? We were supposed to meet here five minutes ago."
"Yeah, I just don't understand why." Makoto grumbled, a slight tinge of guilt pressing in on her. Taking another look at her phone, Makoto almost groaned at the time. Five after six. The final round of the tournament didn't start until eight and would run until around noon including the medal ceremony.
"I thought I mentioned it yesterday," Haru sighed, pulling at her hand to get them moving, "I thought we should talk."
"Talk…?" Makoto wondered. Frowning, she remembered the brief exchange last night. "I'm more than willing to enter that arena to change my sister's heart, Haru. If that is what you are here to say, don't bother."
"Haha, you figured me out, huh?" Haru laughed with an awkward smile.
Shaking her head, Makoto slumped. "I can't believe you got me up this early just to—"
"My father fully woke up yesterday."
"…!?" Jerking up in surprise, Makoto's exhaustion fled. Heart hammering in her chest, she forced an uneasy smile unto her face. Haru had said the statement with no joy. "Umm, congratulations! I'm happy that—"
"At least the man that now inhabits my father's body has woken up."
Pulling them to a halt, Makoto asked Haru frantically. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with your father?"
"Nothing is wrong," Haru smiled with a shake of her head. "Don't you understand, Makoto? We stole his desires. Not his evil tendencies, or his habit of sipping his coffee while its too hot and burning his tongue. He no longer wants for anything. He's a broken man weighed down by the sins of his past."
Makoto may as well have taken a punch to her stomach. Heart ramming against her ribcage, she struggled to come up with a response. "B-But…"
"We had to do it." Haru sighed. "I just… I hoped for some reason that his transformation would be like Futaba's. That was a foolish wish. We never stole Futaba's desires, she awoke to the power of her persona, collapsing her palace."
Each word from Haru was a poignant truth that Makoto knew but had not been acknowledging. It was one that Sumire had tried to get them to face. "Then my sister…"
"Taking her treasure will not help you. She will simply collapse and give up."
Impossible. My sister is too strong to… Makoto tried desperately to speak the words. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes that she swiftly wiped away. The useless droplets staining her bare arms.
"You know…" Haru mused, "it was weird. As I was sitting there watching my father struggle through the motions of getting out of bed and deciding to eat a late night meal, I felt something change in me. Like a cover over my eyes was lifted—No, burned away—by a fiery rage."
"H-Haru?"
Makoto flinched as Haru laid a land on her shoulder. The empty street between Makoto's residence and the train station feeling almost eery as the sun struggled to rise above the buildings.
"Do not take your sister's treasure from her palace."
"B-But if I don't—"
"If you do, your sister will be dead. My father is a shell. Don't do it, Mako-chan. Trust me."
"I…" Haru was right. That fire she had spoken was blazing clearly in her typically gentle brown eyes. Swallowing, Makoto nodded. "But what do I do? What can we do!? Haru, we are criminals!"
Haru paused to consider that before nodding. "We always have been. Changing someone's heart has always been an illegal act. We just never understood before exactly how badly it can go."
Thinking back on their change of hearts, Makoto did notice at least two outliers. Futaba they had discussed. The other… "You saw Kamoshida's confession at school like us. That was not the speech of a man who didn't know what he wanted for breakfast."
Haru pursed her lips. "I have no idea how that came to be. Maybe… Maybe my father will continue to improve?"
Makoto did not want to crush her friend's hope, but the timing on Kamoshida had not been all that long. Before thy could even continue walking, Makoto realized that Haru had already told her the answer. "The treasure can't leave the palace."
"Hmm?"
"Of course!" Smacking her head, Makoto never felt stupider. "The shadow needs to repent and regret their actions, dissolving the core of their desires themselves. When we forcibly took your father's treasure…"
"We destroyed his desires from the outside," Haru mumbled. Face stricken she looked at Makoto. "Why is it me? If I hadn't tortured them would he have—Would I still have my father?"
Slamming into Haru, Makoto pulled her friend into a tight embrace. Makoto could do nothing but cry alongside her as Haru burst into wails of grief.
Sunday, September 25th, 20XX Morning
Staring down at the accessory in her hand, Kasumi felt those same emotions course through her.
Ribbon.
It was the one prop that you could absolutely not force through with confidence and power. It relied on grace and delicacy in order to bring out the fullest of its shapes and waves. Any small deviation from its flowing path could result in the complete collapse of the structure she was trying to create.
Despite the obstacles, Kasumi had perfected it. Labouring away, she had learnt the patterns and timings. With mindless dedication, she had come to an understanding with the prop. That understanding was that it would always be her weak link. That was why even as the others sung her praises about her score so far, Kasumi was not as amused. Against the professionals, she'll need to score even higher, so her ribbon routines don't drag her down.
"It's okay… Every athlete has a weak point…" Unconsciously touching her beauty mark, Kasumi subtly looked out from behind the curtain to the stands. It was hard to distinguish individuals from this distance, but Kasumi thought she would be able to tell if he was there.
The boy that had supported her when she had needed him.
"What are we…?" Whispering the words into the aether, Kasumi let the curtain fall and entered one final breathing routine. She would be the last athlete to compete as she had the highest score at the end of three rounds. Kasumi had not bothered to look at the score she needed to win. What she was concerned with was surpassing Sumire's ribbon score.
It was a number that she had yet to see which made the routine all the more tense. Simply walking out and looking at the scoreboard would let her calculate it, yet Kasumi didn't. She wasn't sure if was fear of a number larger than she had a chance of achieving, or a score so low that there was no competition any longer.
Of course, as soon as Sumire entered her mind, Kasumi's breathing became disrupted. Her sister's body was insane. It was like she had been doing some super secret ultra workout while not performing. The improvement was almost supernatural. Kasumi could not comprehend what it is that she is lacking that let Sumire move so far ahead of her athletically.
Not now!
Calming her nerves, Kasumi breathed once more deeply through the nose and strode out. The penultimate performance was just wrapping up, the woman bowing and waving to the crowd before leaving. As they passed each other, she shot Kasumi a resentful glare. It was an expression that Kasumi was growing all the more familiar with receiving, especially from the crowd that never made it.
That jealousy is why you never made it… Kasumi touched her cheek at the hypocrisy in her own statement.
Forcing her hand down, Kasumi ascended the stage and the applause redoubled. Another slap in the face of the second-place girl. Waving and bowing to the crowd, Kasumi assumed her starting stance as she was announced.
In moments, the announcer's voice cut out and her music started. Let's go!
Launching into her routine, Kasumi felt the usual rush of emotions. As always, there was an underlying level of fear. It would be traumatizing to fall spectacularly and become a laughingstock. Layering on top was the thrill of competition. The rush of trying your hardest against people doing the same to determine who had prepared better. More than all of those, the real reason she danced, dominated her emotions and mind: Joy.
Kasumi's smile was wide and genuine as she executed the difficult movements. Being able to move like this, to look so beautiful and captivate people's attention… Kasumi loved it. Time stretched out around her as she danced, the ribbon whirling around her in beautiful spirals.
All thoughts of boys faded from her mind. Even her problems with her sister vanished. They were all inconsequential when compared with the beauty and strain of the dance. Muscles and joints pushed to their limits and beyond in order to create aesthetically pleasing patterns and difficult tosses.
With one final flourish, Kasumi arrived at a satisfactory ending of the routine. Arms raised, she smiled and posed to the audience in a couple of different directions. Then, sending one formal bow to the judges' box, Kasumi walked off the stage.
As her emotions started to come down, Kasumi was able to think about the routine more critically. The routine had been average for her. Better than when she had performed it at the last tournament with no major mistakes, there was just something missing.
The only way she could describe that was grace. It was what Sumire had that she lacked. Sumire was simply more graceful than her.
Smile fading as Kasumi cast a harsh eye over her performance, she did notice a couple holes in her routine that she would need to patch. Still, Kasumi was far from disappointed in her performance. If she had to guess, it would score just above sixteen and a half. A few times her ribbon's spiral had cut off earlier than it should have. Plus, the motions in the waves had not been perfect.
Waiting to the side as the final results were pulled up, Kasumi only had to wait about a minute or so until her final score flashed across the screen: 16.740. That brought her total score out of eighty to a staggering total of 67.840.
"So close…" Clenching a hand to her chest, Kasumi tried to contain the strong emotions that threatened to bring tears to her cheeks. 0.160 was all that separated her from the heralded realm of 68. The domain of the professionals. If she continued as she was, Kasumi would probably join it next year, needing to take a break from school. She had heard from coach Hiraguchi that there were systems in place so that she would continue to get credit even while doing the schoolwork remotely.
That future suddenly seemed all the closer to Kasumi with her new score. It was the path that she always desperately desired. Unfortunately, her score was still too low to guarantee her a place. If she couldn't break into 68's or even 70's by the time nationals came around… then she would be doomed to become one of the jealous women here, glaring at the up-and-coming stars for the rest of her life.
Taking another breath to release more of her residual emotions, Kasumi made sure that her smile returned. It was an easy task. Victory here had been far from guaranteed. In fact, that girl she had passed by earlier had closed the gap on her, ending only about a point behind.
Oh, Sumire!
Remembering her sister, Kasumi turned back to the board. At the start of the day, Sumire had been in thirteenth with a score of 46.540. Sumire's name was… not there. With a horrified feeling, Kasumi's eyes tracked down from eleventh. Each place she looked; the fear grew worse.
Sumi… you didn't… did you?
Scanning faster, Kasumi made it to the bottom of the nearly forty-member participation list without finding her sister's name. Frowning at that, she restarted from thirteenth and tracked up. Past eleventh, tenth, ninth…
And there she was.
Eighth place.
Kasumi gaped at the ridiculous number that was placed there. Her previous dread vanished in an instant as she blinked and looked again. But it sat there, right beside her sister's name written out in bold characters, 63.660. In the far-right column, Kasumi could find her sister's ribbon routine from earlier. The easy math confirming its veracity, 17.120.
"She… beat me."
But the words did not seem to do the situation justice. With almost identical ribbon routines, Sumire had scored nearly half a point higher.
"Ahaha… this… this is the worst…" Tears of frustration began to bud at the corner of her eyes. "How dare you saunter in on the last day and show me up like this… You're unbelievable…"
Wiping her tears away, Kasumi's deranged speech to herself slowly transformed into laughter. Unable to contain it, her frustration at having lost was easily smashed apart by an overwhelming wave of happiness. The joy she felt dancing was the small wave caused by an ocean breeze compared to the tsunami that crashed through her now.
Turning, Kasumi desperately scanned for her sister.
Finally…
She spotted her, coming out with the other dancers that had waited around for the medal ceremony and closing remarks. Kasumi did not care about appearances any longer.
Finally.
When she started to run, Sumire found her as well. Greeting her with a wave and a smile, Sumire began to talk. "Congratulations! You did—"
Crashing into her sister, Kasumi cut off the conversation. Holding her sister's head to her shoulder with one arm, her left around her waist, Kasumi buried her face into her sister's hair. The red filaments were matted together with dried sweat that did nothing to discourage her.
"Finally…"
"H-Huh? K-Kas?"
"You finally beat me. Congratulations, Sumi. I knew you could do it."
Her sister seemed to stiffen as she too understood the occasion. "I… I did, didn't I?"
"Yeah. I bet you were amazing up there." Kasumi heartfelt words were stuck in her throat. She could sense the disruption they were making in proceedings. Her time was running out, but she did not want to let go.
"Thanks, Kas. It was all because of you. Yesterday… it really helped. I know that—"
Pulling back, Kasumi covered her sister's mouth. Smiling at her sister broadly, Kasumi couldn't help but throw in a jab. "Save that for when you beat me with a full routine, alright? Also… don't think this will happen again. You've just redoubled my work ethic. I'll be coming for you!"
Whirling around, Kasumi headed back to her place where she would need to be to for the medal ceremony. Oddly enough, she felt lighter as she pranced away.
Sunday, September 25th, 20XX Morning
"Eh…?"
Left behind, Sumire felt a sudden emptiness where her sister had once been. A chill consuming her where her sister's fiery body had left a trace warmth.
"I… I beat her." Looking up at the scoreboard as she staggered along, Sumire confirmed that fact. It was still hard for her to believe. She had watched Kasumi's routine and it had been amazing. The beauty and power of her movements had easily been deserving of the score it received.
And yet… I crushed her score.
Feeling dizzy, Sumire staggered, almost falling over. Her's sister swishing ponytail just fading from view as she re-entered the line at the front.
"I won… I won…"
Kneeling, Sumire could not hold in the emotions anymore. Tears bursting forth, Sumire's whole body shook from the waves going through her. Sumire's heart and mind were at war with each other. Her heart poured every repressed feeling inside of her out into the open while her mind still struggled to accept the reality. It screamed at her to stand up and get back into line.
"I-Is she okay?"
"Umm… I-I don't know, let's just keep walking…"
As a member of the top ten finishers, Sumire should have lined up underneath the podium on the front row to cheer on the medalists. That was a common position for Sumire, standing around and clapping for her sister. Kasumi never failed to smile and wave at her.
But this time… it's all different.
Sumire would not be in the line; she would not have to face the emotions and horror of her continual defeat and failure.
"I… can beat her…" As her mind slowly caught up, Sumire sat up, staring at the vaulting roof of the indoor stadium. The bright lights morphed into an array of stars to her tear-stained eyes.
"Were you watching… Mom, Dad… Ren?" Eyes widening, Sumire gaped, realization coursing through her. "I-I need to find him!"
Ignoring the proceedings that were going on without her, Sumire staggered to her feet and headed for the door. She was likely drawing attention away from the people who deserved it, but Sumire could not care. Passing through the athletes' entrance, Sumire averted her gaze from the security guard that raised an eyebrow at her.
Only when she got into the main chamber did Sumire realize her mistake. She was pretty sure Ren was still here, but he would be in the stands, watching the medal ceremony.
AHH, I'm an idiot!
Pulling at her hair in frustration, Sumire stared pointlessly up the stairs to where everyone was sitting. She wanted to run to Ren, declare her feat. Announce that she could—
Blushing rapidly, Sumire grabbed her hair harder, twisting as she paced around. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…"
Heart beating frantically in her chest, Sumire's whole body felt like she was being shocked by a live wire. She had rarely felt so alive and so conscious of herself. It was here, the time that she had promised to Ren… when? Like a week ago? It was too soon, too… too everything!
"Ahhh!" Letting out a high-pitched moan, Sumire whirled back, pacing toward the stairs again. That's when she saw him.
Ren had been rushing down the stairs when he paused, staring at her with worried eyes. "Umm, Sumire… Are you alright? We saw you run out and were worried…"
Ah, I'm not ready! Panicking, Sumire distressed at her dishevelled appearance. Halfway lowering her hands, Sumire hurriedly reraised them and tried to put her loose strands into order. Giving her face one good wipe, she then forced her hands down. She wanted desperately to wring her hands.
"Sumire?"
"Uhh, yes Senpai!?"
"…I asked you if you are alright." He repeated with a guarded tone, stopping on the second lowest step.
"Y-Yes, I am… Umm, did you see me Senpai?"
"I did. You incredible up there. Your score was the highest of the day."
"Ahaha… thanks!" Blushing, Sumire took another step closer to Ren, gazing up at him as he stared down at him. "Umm, you remember what I said, Senpai?"
"Err, which part?"
"That when I won…"
"Oh, that part." Ren looked away and back up the stairs where sound was ringing down. His voice flat and devoid of emotion as he spoke. "Yeah. Keep it up. If you can get your other routines to the level of your ribbon, you'll be able to beat Kasumi one day. Anyway, I want to go watch the medals. See ya."
"Huh?" Holding out a hand, Sumire stared disbelievingly at his vanishing back. "W-Wait, no… but I did win…"
It isn't enough for him.
The truth pressed in on Sumire, her knees giving out as she collapsed to the ground today. This time though, there were no good feelings buoying her soul. Only the crushing realization that her victory over her sister in the ribbon was not enough for Ren.
And why should it be?
The intrusive thought was barbed with poisonous truth. If he had the choice, Ren would clearly choose the girl better at three quarters of the apparatuses. Sumire claiming a single better score was the equivalent of not getting shut out in a soccer game.
"Ahaha… I guess I… I…" Sighing heavily, Sumire hung her head, unable to get the words out. Kasumi's praise and kind-hearted words were the only light she now carried against the dark revelation Ren had imparted upon her. She would not be free of it until she claimed a true win.
Left abandoned on the floor of the exhibition hall, Sumire could only listen to cheers and polite clapping as her sister claimed the gold medal.
Sunday, September 25th, 20XX Afternoon
"You guys are ready to bet on me?"
"We will, Mako-chan." Haru confirmed with a comforting smile.
Receiving their permission, Makoto gave the group, one final wave. They all responded except Joker. Draped in black with his striking figure, he looked more like an impersonator right now, with his shoulders bent, Eyes staring at the floor with a distant expression.
Makoto's parting got dragged out as she stared at Joker. The others ended up following her gaze to stare at him.
"Still distracted by Sumire, huh?" Panther teased shoving him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah… Kasumi sent me a concerning message. Also, why did she leave and run out?"
Makoto struggled not to interrupt. She was about to risk her life in an arena fight so that they could change her sister's heart. This was kind of important.
"Did you piss her off again, dude?" Skull sighed. "Y'all will never get together at this rate. You should be asking me for advice on how to treat a woman right!"
"Please don't," Panther groaned. "Sumire will lose all interest if you do."
"Everyone," Joker forced out, the words clearly an effort. At last, he looked at Queen. "We have a brave warrior to bet on. …Don't lose."
Accepting his well-wishes with a nod, Queen gave the group one final smile before whirling around and approached the desk.
Standing behind it was one of the hulking shadows in its casino uniform. There was only empty darkness in the eye slits of its mask. Queen did not know if it actually saw out of those slits, but the shadow's head went up and down as it examined her. There was no predatory energy in its gaze, only a robotic analysis of her capabilities.
"I want to fight in the arena!"
"…" The shadow receptionist's shoulders shook slightly. Makoto's confusion turned to anger as she realized that it was laughing at her. "Are you sure, girl?"
Restraining her desire to punch it in the face, Makoto nodded sharply. "Yes, I'll fight."
"Card please."
Handing over their third blank card, the shadow opened the first gate and allowed Queen to enter. She had never gone this far before. Always before she had been waiting outside and funneling up to the stands to nervously watch. Quen had thought that doing so was the hardest thing to do.
Now, she almost wished for that feeling of helpless pleading once again. Now, as the gate crashed down behind her, she was trapped in a small black box with all of the pressure pushing down upon her.
If I fail, I die… My sister's heart won't be changed….
Quite literally, everything depends on her victory here. As the weight of it all pressed down upon her shoulders, Makoto raised an arm against the sudden onrush of light as the far door opened. Walking forward, Queen entered into the arena. Down here, it felt so much smaller. The cage forming an imposing wall that shadows jeered at her through. Scanning desperately, Queen found the rest of the party sitting on benches, staring at her.
Finding Noir especially, Queen was relived to get a confident smile and wave. Returning the gesture, she turned back to face the far side as the announcer cried out. "Shadows and Shadettes, please welcome our newest challenger to the ring. Ruler of fists, Queen!"
"Boooo!"
Makoto was too stunned by the introduction to pay any attention to the outpouring of hate. How!? How do they know who I am!? That wasn't the name on the card!
"AAAAND, as a special treat, we have a very important person in attendance who will be making changes to the match as they see fit!"
Oh no… It can't be…
Please, put your hands together for…. MS. NIJIMA!"
The crowd erupted into a raucous chorus of clapping and howls of joy as a spotlight appeared, illuminated a box at the top of the stadium that Queen had never noticed before. Standing in it was her sister, posing with a pipe. She had a sexual, dangerous air about her as she slowly puffed once. With a leisurely manner, she climbed into the velvety armchair and crossed her legs with a lazy posture, one arm supporting her half upright body.
"Oh my, this is quite the celebration… don't disappoint me… Queen."
"Urgh," Makoto flinched under her sister's teasing tone. Her grandiose name suddenly felt like a stupid lie. Her true identity on the verge of breaking through and rendering her useless.
"ANNNND on the other side… Hailing from the brutal pits of the police station… The most dangerous innates that the world has every seen… Everyone… Please, make the cage shake for…. THE TRIPLE THREAT TRIPLETS!"
Rising up from the floor were shadows the like of Queen had never seen before. They were similar to the Oni like creatures from Kaneshiro's palace. This time however, the shadows were similar to her in height and each one bore a different weapon.
The triplet on her left was a four-legged creature with red skin and a greataxe. It looked like two people had been fused back-to-back, forcing it to resort to scuttling around like a crab. She could not tell if the back pair of arms had a different weapon. The face seemed to have been frozen in a permanent grimace of agony, only the pure black eyes moved, tracking her.
On the right, the situation was similar except the triplet's skin was green and only had extra arms. A lot of extra arms. Two set grew out of each side of its knee, hands supporting its movement on each side. Likewise, two more forearms grew from each elbow then there should be with another whole weird triple arm set emerging from the side of its ribs. Each of those twelve hands carrying a knife the length of Queen's hand. Its face had a serene expression that did not change with pure white orbs for eyes.
Neither held Queen's attention, for the largest and most notable was the blue one in the middle. It did not bear the strange anatomy of the others on its lower body but instead had a head with three faces, each one forming the point of an equilateral triangle. The head currently pointing at her was wearing a frown with heterochromatic eyes, one black, one white.
Their colours are likely resistances…
If Queen had to guess, red for fire, green for wind, and blue for ice, maybe lightning. Either way, it made no difference. There was no bell, no signal, the fight was on.
Ripping off her mask, Queen hopped on Johanna and cried out. "Mow them down!"
The nuclear power soared toward the enemies, each orb striking true. All three of the triplets let out a whine-like moan, the sound grating against the ears. Each creature's dissonant cry was off tune with the other forming a cacophony of noise more grating than a baby's cry and nails on a chalkboard combined.
Recoiling from the barrage, Queen almost dismissed Johanna. Regaining her balance at the last moment as the sound cut off, she stayed on her persona, ready to dodge if necessary. The cage was small, but Johanna's mobility was impressive, as was her acceleration.
Instantly, the green monster rushed at her, twelve knives prepped to cut her to ribbons. Darting away from it, Queen felt the knives pass behind her, cutting into her leather suit.
Too close, I need to…
"Shit!" Swearing, Queen jumped off Johanna to dodge a big swing from the red one's battle-axe. Even before she came out of her role, Queen was crossing her arms, preparing for the third attack. She was not disappointed. A wave of icy magic washed over her.
Gritting her teeth, Queen prayed. Don't freeze. I can't freeze here!
Her arms felt heavy and numb from the ice build-up. Gathering her strength, Queen ripped her arms apart with a yell, standing unsteadily. In a distant recess of her mind not focused on the fight, she felt her building admiration for Joker. Fighting solo like this against multiple opponents was brutal.
Staggering to her feet, Queen quickly resummoned Johanna before the triplets could beat her senseless. Not getting on her persona, Makoto clenched a fist, commanding the bike-like persona to fire off another wave of nuclear power.
Click!
As Johanna began to disappear again, Queen took a step backwards, waiting for the triplets to close in on her. They were limping now, Queen's damage bringing them down to their last bit of stamina.
From both sides, the red and green triplets rushed her. Avoiding one of the knives, Queen caught the battle axe against her gauntlets, blunting the damage. While her arm was engaged, the Green demon's knives cut into her.
Grunting from the damage, Queen pushed the axe away and kicked at the knife-wilder driving it back. Sending a quick glance at the blue one, Queen reacted quickly as she noticed that it wasn't firing more ice at here.
"Johanna! Destroy them!" The orbs of nuclear energy crashed into the chests of the red and green demons destroying them. Starting to relax as she assumed her victory, Queen gaped in surprise as a weird tinging sound was mad;. like two wineglasses being rang together.
She could not move out of the way as her own reflected energy crashed into her. Air blown out of her lungs; Queen crashed hard into the surrounding cage.
A low moan escaping her lips, Queen tried to blink and focus her gaze on the sole remaining shadow. It stalked closer to her, its face a mask of exaggerated laughter.
Laughter…?
Forcing herself to look closer, Queen finally noticed that a different face was now pointing forward. The black and white eyes were also different on this face, instead being spirals of the two colours, growing infinitely more interwoven until Queen could not longer follow it.
"Ohh! It looks like our Queen has been knocked off her feet with her own magic! How embarrassing. How embarrassing…"
"Shut up…" Growling at the announcer, Queen glared at her sole opponent. Now that it was a one on one, she should have no trouble beating this thing into a pulp. It has no weapon. Clueing into its big difference from the other two, Queen rushed forward, fist primed to punch the triplet.
Thud!
"Huh?" Her fist had been perfectly blocked by a guard technique that deflected her fist wide. Instead, it brought its fist back and punched her cleanly in the face. Eating dirt once more, Queen groaned more from the humiliation than pain. Cheers and jeers were roaring from the stands. The shadows were having a blast wallowing in her humiliation.
"Martial artist and magic-user…" Queen knew that with Johanna's physical skills, she could probably run over this foolish shadow. Head filled with rage; her vision saw only red as she rushed forward once more.
There was no plan beyond punch. Another punch, another block. This time, Queen's left fist flew forward before it could respond. Blocked.
Right fist, blocked.
Left fist, blocked.
It kept blocking so she kept punching. Faster and faster, her arms struck forward, her limbs started to blur together. Advancing step-by-step, the blocks stopped being able to deflect her. Connecting with the shadow's body, Queen let out a roar of victory. Ducking down, she unleashed a massive uppercut on the shadow's chin, sending it flying.
Landing with a pant, Queen did not watch as the triplet crashed into the ground a second later and quickly dissolved into a black puddle.
I won…
I got the coins and…
"Congratulations on winning… the first round!" Her sister laughed. "Now come out, champion of the skies. Everyone, meet my new metallic pet, Fafnir!"
From above, the roof of the palace retracted revealing the night sky. Squinting up, Queen wondered if she had been lied to. There was nothing… No, a black dot in the navy blue sky.
"Oi, it isn't here!" Queen yelled. "Just declare me the—"
Her words cut off in her throat as a shape blotted out the filtered moonlight. Entering through the gap was a massive shadow half the size of the arena. With wings of pure steel, veined with pulsing blue energy, there was no way anyone could mistake the monster that entered.
"A-A dragon!?"
Internally she tried to pull herself together. She had fought countless demons and robots. Even shadows based on various gods. Still, there was something mystical and powerful about the monster that entered now.
I'm alone.
I can't win…
Her back hit the fence. Queen hadn't even realized that she had been backing up. Having nowhere to go, she started sliding down, unconsciously hoping to move farther away from this primordial beast. Only catching herself halfway down, Queen's legs shook, her weight mostly supported by her arms clenching links in the fence.
"Mako-chan, Mako-chan!"
"Huh?" Turning her head to look at the voice, Quen sought out Noir. Finding her started to calm the intense fear coursing through her now.
"Just stay alive, we will get you out of there, alright?"
"W-What are you talking about?"
"The others are going to rush the front desk and find a way into the cage. I'll stay here and use my gun to shoot through the cage and—"
"NO!" Queen shocked herself with her vehement denial. "If we cheat, I could get disqualified. That can not be how this ends. We lose too much if I can't do this. Go stop them Haru and I… I will kill a dragon."
"Be reasonable Makoto! That shadow is clearly designed to defeat you! They are already cheating!"
"I know that!" She growled. "But I am the only one who can do this. I have to… I have save my sister!"
Forcing herself away from the cage, Queen sized up her opponent. The shadow was still massive, but did seem to have shrunk a bit. The wings had mostly retracted, and the membrane withdrew leaving behind vestigial spikes. It sat back on its hindlegs, and Queen could see that its forelimbs resembled arms more than legs. This was a creature designed for both bipedal and quadrupedal movement.
"Well, let's try this… Johanna!" Getting back on her persona, she sent out a single questing blast of nuclear energy to her unmoving foe. There was no reflection, but instead the energy was attracted to its two silver horns, bent so the tips almost touched. The energy gathered there, sparked between the two and was ultimately absorbed.
Not only was it ineffectual, but it also restored her foe's energy.
"Shit."
"Is that all, puny human? Taste true power!"
Makoto knew she was in trouble instantly. Leaning back, its body pulsed with a dangerous blue energy. The shadow emitted an aura of energy that Queen had never felt before. Suddenly, she realized that Futaba must have been the one to tell everyone that Queen had no chance. The dragon, Fafnir, possessed an aura stronger than anything Queen had ever felt before.
Okumura, Kaneshiro, their minions… None of them came close to this thing.
As the blue energy began to coalesce into a tangible object, Queen blanched, an unwanted thought burying into her mind and consuming her: I'm going to die.
"Behold, Cosmic Flare!"
An orb of pure nuclear energy formed in the space halfway between them. Having nowhere to run, Queen hunkered down, crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Johanna was parked in front of her, hopefully blunting the blow further.
Through her closed eyes, her vision was painted that bright, nuclear blue as its energy swept across her. Instantly, she could tell that only Johanna's in-built resistance to the damage was keeping her alive. Her whole body felt like it was melting as wave after wave of energy coursed across her.
When it was done, she slumped uselessly to the ground, steaming arms laying uselessly beside her. It's… so strong….
Closing her eyes, Queen waited for the jeers to start. For her sister's mocking voice to call her out. There was nothing.
Are my ear drums broken?
Forcing her eyes open, Queen gaped at the destruction around her. The dragon's attack had blasted the entire cage away, killing dozens of the shadows in the stands. In the aftermath of the attack, no one, not even Sae was able to react. She looked stunned at what had happened.
"…If you survive, I'll see you again, sister."
Yelling that as a parting line, Sae fled the arena.
No… don't…. don't go…
Eyelids fluttering shut, Queen passed out to the sounds of Fafnir's satisfied roars.
Post note:
Tsk, tsk. Ren needs to sulk less.