One limp step, and then there was pain, sharp and hot, leaving as quick as it came but lingering in her mind.
Another shamble forced another pain, this time lasting longer as if a warning. Move another foot, and that would be the last she'd ever feel.
"...Um...wouldn't it be better to stop here for a while, nee-san...?"
"...Tch, shoulda known better than letting you learn to walk this early."
Jintsuu barely heard everything Naka and Sendai were saying, even though she was between them, being held and supported and loathing the feeling of being helpless. Once a flagship of the 2nd Torpedo Squadron, now reduced to this. A wreck in more ways than one.
"I'm...alright...I can manage...a few more."
Not even she was convinced of them, but she spoke them anyway—the lies, the hope, the dream. Gone were the wounds, yet her legs still felt like a dead weight attached to a broken frame, quaking like they were threatening to break off. But she wanted to press on. She had much to prove to her allies, to her enemies—and most importantly, her sisters.
Herself.
Naka was predictably horrified, and her voice was a reflection of it. "No! No more! You're already in a lot of pain! You can't!"
"I...must," Jintsuu muttered through her teeth as she took another wobbly step, her knees threatening to buckle even more.
"Enough."
Sendai's voice, quiet yet firm, cut through the air and the atmosphere like a blade. Jintsuu knew better than to try to struggle free, and not only because she couldn't. She allowed, with much resignation, herself to be swept off her feet with little effort like she weighed nothing and held like a dainty lady.
Sendai wasn't being cruel nor patronizing, but the shame was still burning deep, enough for it to leak through her stoic facade. Such was her surrender that her entire body went slack, the fists unclenching before hanging lifelessly.
"...I'm sorry," she murmured, looking away from the hard, steely gaze.
"Don't punish yourself so for getting wounded in battle and saving others. It wasn't your strategy that was flawed. Sometimes, there are things you can't foresee. Like that ambush during your retreat."
"It's still...shameful."
"If you wanna be ashamed, be ashamed that you are stubborn. What happened to that cool, calm head of yours, huh? Where's the Jintsuu that thinks and acts carefully and knows her limits?"
"...The dance. I have to dance. At the festival."
"Yeah, I get it. But do you want to keep your pride or lose all feeling in your legs and never walk or dance again? It's up to you."
Silence was her response.
"...Nee-san," Naka whimpered. "No need to be harsh..."
"No, Sendai was right. I shouldn't push myself so far. That festival...it isn't important. What's important is that I'm alive and here with you. The dance...I can always be replaced."
Sendai and Naka shared a glance and an understanding. True, Jintsuu wouldn't make it, but if she had to be replaced, then it had to be the next best person.
"Why don't I and Sendai nee-san take your place?" Naka proposed.
"Eh?" Jintsuu blinked at the two, at a resolute Naka and Sendai's knowing grin.
"We know you better than anyone. Maybe we couldn't do it as well as you, but I want to do it. The message you want to tell in your dance, I want to say it in your stead, Jintsuu nee-san. With Sendai nee-san, too."
Jintsuu's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She closed them and let the drops fall. Just this once, she would let the mask drop and show her feelings. For how Sendai drew her closer, her hand a reassuring warmth on her back. For how Naka held her other hand, and smiled so sweetly.
"Thank you."
"Gah! This is harder than I thought!" Sendai grumbled, glaring daggers at the steps. "How does Jintsuu do this?! No wonder she's so fit and graceful!"
"Nee-san, don't get angry," Naka sighed, watching the elder practice her steps. They only had recordings of Jintsuu practicing and performing but not much else to work on. Jintsuu, who had been allowed to walk around more, had been doing her best to help by providing pointers, but she could only do so much while recovering.
"No, really, how did Jintsuu make this look so easy?!"
"Try not to think about it too much," Jintsuu piped in from her seat, only for Sendai to stare at her hard as if she had grown a second head.
"...You, Jintsuu, suggesting not thinking? Did you hit yourself on the head, too?"
"No, no. You, Sendai, would know it best. Forging ahead without a care, that is what you are best at. That straightforwardness that I envied and adored. Then, I found if I went with the flow, my dance was at its best. The way I wanted it to be. Just focus on what you want, and let it happen."
"...Huh. Now I understand," Sendai chuckled, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Oy, Naka! Let's take it from the top! We got a dance to get down pat and a sister's pride to defend!"
"Right!"
And so the two allowed themselves to just move, mind left behind and body working in tandem. All the while, Jintsuu had not lost the smile that was so rarely seen.
The crowd cheered all the same, even if the star of the show was absent. Naka had been nervous but managed to power through it. Sendai had been confident, as she had always been, and near-slips aside, managed to pull it off without a hitch.
Jintsuu was given the front-row seat, and their every move was clear. Her sisters may be doing it for her, but she had no doubt they were having the time of their lives, too.
And that was the beauty of it. To spread joy, you had to feel joy.
And joyous they were. All of them.
With a thundering applause, the show was over. Naka and Sendai waved back and exchanged a high-five, the latter hoisting the former into the air, drawing a laugh from the crowd.
"Sendai, Naka, thank you," Jintsuu murmured as they joined her to watch the other acts.
"Hey, no biggie. I still think you're the best for this," Sendai snorted, but her smirk was genuine.
"I'm glad I could pull it off, nee-san," Naka giggled. "But Sendai nee-san's right. You're the best for this. Next festival, you should be well enough to, nee-san."
"I will dance again, that is certain. But when the time comes, it will be with both of you. If...that is alright with you, of course."
"Well, this ain't so bad," Sendai shrugged. "Look, it may not be easy for you to go through this, but I will be there. So will Naka. Then yes, you will dance again, and we will join you."
"Yes! Together!"
Jintsuu sighed. She could already see it. The three of them on that stage, moving as one, spreading joy.
"Together."
Tomorrow, one step. The day after, another.
Until the promised dance would come.
A dance without pain.
