THE GREAT SHIZUMA
Chapter Fourteen
All Is Fair In Love and War
To Remon, nothing is worse than waking up in the morning, the sheets are pleasantly warm and you have your beloved girlfriend in your arms - and then you realize that today is the day of the Etoile battle. Then the sheets don't feel so warm anymore. Why is that? The green-haired third year contemplated that as she and Kizuna stood in the crowded auditorium lobby.
There was always a big social gathering right before the battle. Food was served and drinks flowed as easily as the students' conversations. Remon compared the party to the calm right before a storm. She was finding it hard to relax.
She felt something prod her side. She turned to see Kizuna staring at her.
"What's wrong?" Remon asked, feeling strangely distant.
"I asked you a question."
"Oh! Gomen ne. I was distracted…"
Kizuna beamed and impetuously seized Remon in a fierce hug. "Remon-chan's nervous!"
"Maybe a little…" She leaned into the embrace, her head heavy and throbbing painfully.
"It'll be okay."
"Yeah." Remon sighed and reciprocated Kizuna's gesture. "What was your question?"
"Oh, it was nothing," she shrugged. "I just wanted to know what your thoughts were on Kagome-chan and Chiyo-chan."
Remon involuntarily turned her gaze toward the said couple. Kagome and Chiyo were sitting at a table, sharing a dish of ice cream. Chiyo was talking animatedly and gesturing wildly; Kagome was laughing. Pashibaru sat on her lap, his snout smeared with chocolate.
"I think it's great," said Remon. "Kagome-chan and Chiyo-chan make a harmonious match."
Kizuna huffed. "Well, if you think so…"
Remon pulled back. "Kizuna. Do you…not approve of them?"
"Don't get me wrong. I do. But ever since Kagome-chan got with Chiyo-chan, she never spends any time with us. It's like Chiyo-chan stole her from us."
"I understand, I miss her, too. But think about her situation. Prior to dating Chiyo-chan, Kagome-chan was always the odd girl out. And also," Remon added, lowering her chin and fixing her lover with her serious stare, "I think Kagome-chan was friends with Chiyo-chan before she met us. So it's more like we stole her from Chiyo-chan."
"I get where you're coming from," Kizuna pouted, "but it still freakin' blows!"
"Hi, guys."
Both of the Lulim candidates nearly jumped out of their skins. They turned en masse to see Tamao and Nagisa standing right there behind them. Remon's heart thundered from the sneak attack. It's like they just materialized out of nowhere!
Kizuna recovered from the shock first. She raised a hand in greeting. "Hiya, Nagisa-oneesama. Tamao-oneesama. You ready for this?"
"As ready as I'll ever be!" Nagisa cheered.
"I'm ready," Tamao smiled, "but I'm still a bit nervous."
The redhead had been holding Tamao's hand, and now she enclosed it in both of her own. "There's nothing to worry about, Tamao-chan. If we just do what we did last year, we're a shoe-in!" Nagisa kind of regretted saying this in front of Remon and Kizuna - her competition, but also her best friends.
Tamao's smile gained strength as she cupped Nagisa's soft cheek in her free hand. "You're right. It's going to be just fine. I've just been feeling a lot of déjà vu." She led a feather-light stroke from Nagisa's forehead down to her chin. "Even if we don't win, I'll still love you."
"I'll still love you, too." Nagisa was blushing, her garnet eyes swimming. "So don't feel too much pressure."
"What's up, girlies?"
Now the four of them jumped as Yaya and Tsubomi approached the group. Yaya's face was as laid-back and cheerful as ever, while Tsubomi's suggested constipation.
"W-what's up?" Remon stuttered. "U-um, well… Kizuna's cheesed off because Kagome-chan's dating Chiyo-chan…"
Nagisa blinked in surprise. This was news.
"…and Tamao-oneesama's worried that Shizuma-sama will ruin the ceremony."
"I n-never said that!"
"It's what you meant."
Tsubomi spoke up, and her voice sounded quiet and tight. "You should focus more on winning this competition. There's nothing Shizuma can do."
"Yeah," Yaya agreed, pulling her arm tighter around her girl. "I mean, Setsuko-san passed than bill…"
Nagisa sighed. "If I know Shizuma, a piece of paper won't stop her."
"But maybe Shion's secret weapon will," Kizuna spoke. "Whatever it is…"
"Appetizers, ladies?"
The six of them cried out in surprise. A woman stood nearby with a platter of shrimp cocktail. All of them accepted the offer, except Remon, who couldn't eat when she was nervous. Nagisa was just the opposite - she needed food to calm herself down.
"I guess we're all pretty tense," Yaya said quietly.
"Well, tension's good." Tamao's voice only sounded half-convincing. "It keeps you focused."
There was one more sneak attack that startled them so. It was Setsuko, Shion, and Chikaru telling them to head to the ballroom.
---
Shizuma stood outside the auditorium, shivering despite her down coat. She gazed agonizingly at her ring, feeling torn. Regrets swamped her mind. The ceremony is starting right now.
The former Etoile wished she hadn't bided her time the way she did where getting Nagisa back was concerned. Fate had dealt her several chances, and she had stupidly passed them by. I may have focused too much on psyching Tamao out. Now it's too late. Or is it?
Sighing, she pocketed her ring and turned her celery eyes to the sky, as if hoping to find an answer there.
---
They had picked a new waltz for this year, Tamao observed. Rondo a la something. It was Italian, she knew that much. But she liked it. It was a waltz she could get behind. Unlike last year, she didn't have to focus on the 3/4 time meter or the tempo changes. Rondo a la something didn't have awkward tempo changes. She and Nagisa could glide along the ballroom floor, as if on water.
---
Just focus on Yaya-senpai and things will go smoothly. Tsubomi fought to make that happen. Right now her uneasy feelings about dancing in front of a big crowd had to be pushed aside in favor of her feelings for Yaya.
How come I've never noticed how pretty her eyes are? Tsubomi locked her golden eyes with Yaya's brown ones. They were very expressive, the pink-haired girl noticed. She compared them to twin pools of chocolate.
Meanwhile, Yaya was comparing Tsubomi's eye color to butterscotch. It was a good thing they'd both eaten before the battle or they would've been mighty hungry.
If she can find the confidence to dance like this, I can too. That thought loosened up Tsubomi. Suddenly the crowd seemed to disappear, and it was just the two of them.
---
Tamao got a cramp in her foot midway through Rondo. A hammerblow of pain swelled in her foot, causing her to miss a beat. Nagisa, ever the diligent follower, took up Tamao's lead, trying to pass off the poet's blunder as something that wa supposed to happen.
---
To the crowd, Remon and Kizuna were in perfect harmony with the music. Their feelings for each other came through in their waltzing.
However, Remon's apprehensions about the battle kept her from eating or drinking that day. She fatigued quickly in the midst of the waltz, but kept her energy up as best she could. All too soon, though, her vision began to cloud over.
Ignore it and keep moving, she told herself. The waltz is almost over.
The backs of her eyes hurt so bad that it would take a billion years for the light from "hurt" to reach the earth.Just want to lay down…a cold glass of water at least… Remon could practically feel the condensation on the glass wetting her hand, a prelude to a nice cool draught.
Her vision clouded over completely. She was temporarily blind. She heard Kizuna cry her name, a surprisingly gentle thud! and she had blacked out.
---
Dusk was settling over Astraea Hill. Clouds scuttled in, bathed in opalescent hues by the sun. The color of the snow faded from a shocking electric white to a powder-soft blue.
In the cathedral, Kizuna stood supporting Remon. The green-haired girl had been quickly brought around and the situation was rectified. Still, worry gnawed at Kizuna's insides. Remon's weird eating habits had been an object of Kizuna's fears, and she was also afraid that the fainting incident would screw up their chances of winning. She pulled Remon close to her. Whether we win or lose, I'm just glad she's okay.
Cued in by a nod from Setsuko, Amane stepped up to make the following announcement: "We will now go into deliberations-"
"NAGISA!"
The cathedral flew open, revealing an exhausted Shizuma. The former Etoile seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun. Each sleek silver strand glittered. Stumbling awkwardly (possibly due to fatigue) she ran up the aisle, stopping a few feet from where Nagisa and Tamao stood.
The poet blinked, feeling another jolt of déjà vu. This scene was too familiar.
"I love you!" Shizuma proclaimed.
WAY too familiar.
Without hesitation, Shiuma yanked the case out of her pocket. Now or never. Can't back out now. She popped open the case; the emerald gleamed brightly as she held out the ring.
"Will you marry me?"
Her proposal was met with gasps and exclamations from the student body. Tamao studied her girlfriend's face. Nagisa had seemed nonplussed by Shizuma's presence up until she proposed. Now her garnet eyes seemed to triple in size.
Tamao saw the gaudy ring and immediately recalled that day in June when she and Shizuma had fought over that ring. "Nagisa would hate it," the poet had said. Now her confidence in that statement washed away all her doubts. With a sigh, she relaxed her shoulders. She knew what Nagisa's answer would be.
"Shizuma!" Shion strode forward. "I am very disappointed in you. VERY! I thought you had more sense than this!"
The girl in question seemed to falter for a moment. She looked at Nagisa. In the redhead's eyes, Shizuma saw a translusence, a clear view into the past. There's still hope yet. I'm doing the right thing.
Shion stepped boldly between Nagisa and Shizuma. "Nagisa-san, before you answer to the proposal, just know that Shizuma did not buy that ring!" She snatched the said object from Shizuma, who had a virtual raincloud forming over her head. "This ring belongs to Hiawata Atsuko, a psychology major from Ninnian, and Shizuma's sweetheart."
Nagisa's shock turned into anger as she thought of Shizuma's accusatory letters. That hypocrite…
"Atsuko planned to marry another woman, and bought THIS VERY RING for the occasion! Poor Shizuma only found out the day Atsuko broke up with her. You can only imagine how miserable she was. And angry. She stole the ring from Atsuko."
"You gotta be kidding me!" Tamao released her hold on Nagisa and strode forward. "You harassed us all the way to Kingdom Come for THIS?"
"You're…despicable," Nagisa growled, finding words at last.
"Please try to understand!" Shizuma cried. "I was tired of waiting-"
"So was I. I moved on, just like you did. But you had to punish me. Worse - you had to punish Tamao-chan, too. Why did we have to suffer for something you did, too?"
The former Etoile looked away. "So your answer is…?"
"No. But you know what? Even if I hadn't known about Atsuko, my answer would've been no anyway."
Shizuma slumped dejectedly as Shion guided her out of the cathedral and, ultimately, Astraea Hill.
Amane, seemingly peeved about the disturbance, continued, "We will now go into delibearation to decide on the winners."