Fushigi Comedy
Listen, she told herself in moments such as these, that's the beat of your heart, right? That fragile echo, that humbled rhythm, that's what keeps you here, that's what keeps your chest rising and falling, your feet firmly on the ground. At the back of her mind, however, there remained the taunts, the other girl in lace and velvet, her lips twitching with cruelty.
Her breath frozen before her, she buried her face in her muffler, trying to keep the cold off her face. Had she had been older, she asked herself, would she have had the answers for how they ended up this way, would she have understood just how the world had pivoted to where they were now rather than simply accepting it? Her mother always told her that she envied young people the ability to adjust, that the older you got, the harder it become to accept a change in circumstances, and yet with everything that had happened to their family over the last month or so, even Igarashi Sakura had her questions. She glanced to her right, lines of small houses hidden behind neat walls. An unconscious gesture, a pang of what she was beginning to understand was regret. Even if she was to see Ayaka again, what would they have to say to one another?
They had grown up in a world unwilling to divulge its secrets, and now that everyone knew what had happened with NOAH in Hakone and Germany, now everyone knew what FENIX was, what the Deadmans were, and where all that United Nations money had gone, now it was hard to keep secrets in a world where people could sell their souls to the Devil.
Maybe it wasn't a case of accepting things, maybe it was more like expecting them. Regardless of what her mother said, the world had always been full of weird things, sisters blessed by the embodiments of zodiac signs, princesses who fled from undersea kingdoms, girls charged with capturing demons that had escaped the River Nile.
She hefted the weight of her bag on her shoulders. In a world where such things could happen, what was another government agency with a shady past? If only it hadn't come to involve her family.
Again, she remembered that other girl, the rustle of her ornate costume, the danger of her words. It had been her actions, or rather the actions of those pledged to serve her, that had set things in motion. Without her, her mother would not have been harmed.
In the cold of winter, she tightened her hands into fists.
If she had been stronger, she could have stopped it, she could—
The bag fell from her shoulder as she jumped sideways, both fists raised, left foot leaving a trail in the dirt as she adopted a stance from which she might launch a counterattack.
"Nice, nice. No notes.'
Her lips parted, ready to ask questions. From behind her back, her opponent brought forth the length of her spear, the early morning light catching the dull metal at the tip, the threat that she had sensed moments ago.
The weapon drove forward, and Sakura parried, blocking with her forearm, driving it off course with the force of her will, yet feeling the shock of impact, something that was sure to leave a bruise, something that would be hard to explain away when Angelina, or Yuri, or Suzuka asked in gym class.
"Oh, I can see why she likes you!"
Shaved head and sharp blue eyes, her opponent turned the shape of the spear in her hands, pacing like a tiger, waiting for a chance to strike.
"Deadmans?" Sakura demanded.
Thin lips tightened into a smile, an undeniable and familiar expression of cruelty. Again, she remembered russet lace and rich velvet.
The thrust of the spear came again, and she weaved to the right, throwing a punch that her opponent caught by relinquishing one hand from her grasp of the spear. Bringing her left leg up, Sakura turned on her heel, the foot slamming into the girl's face, bloodying her lips, sending her staggering backwards.
"If you're here to hurt my family, you'll have to go through me first!"
The other girl reached up to her split lip, the tips of her fingers coming away with blood.
"Nice," she said again. "Much better than expected. Who knows what you could do with a contract."
Quickly, Sakura closed the distance, her left arm forward, an intended punch. This time, her opponent sidestepped, bringing up her own foot and forcefully kicking her in her behind as she passed, sending her stumbling.
"Less haste, more speed."
Sakura turned angrily to see the other woman dabbing at the blood on her face.
"You know, I could make you stronger," she said, her tone casual. "If you came with me, I could teach you how to fight properly."
She straightened up, lowering the spear, licking her lips.
"Not just this karate stuff you're so fond of, but something that would put you on an even footing with Hana."
Sakura stared blankly back at her.
"Who's Hana?"
"Perhaps you need more time though," the other woman said, once more spinning her spear about. "Perhaps we'll wait and see how far the fruit falls from the tree. Then we might really know if you're all you're cracked up to be."
With a sudden thrust forward, the spear aimed at her heart, the woman was on the offensive, eyes wide, blood upon her lips, and then—
Nothing. An empty street, the chill of winter, her breath frozen before her, her heart beating a ragged rhythm in her chest, and to her right, lines of small houses hidden behind neat walls.