And the World Fell Down

Chapter 2/?
By Baine
Email: ladybaine at gmail dot com
Finished: February 6th, 2008

Posted: February 29th, 2008

Hey guys! Long time no see! Sorry about that. I started writing this chapter, hated it, and put it away. I started over from scratch earlier this month. I'm still not sure that I'm completely satisfied with it, but it's not horrible, either. I look forward to your opinion on the matter. Also, I have exciting news at the end regarding the Ginban novels, so stay tuned! You may have already read about it in the notes from my other fic, "Winter's Solstice." I hope you'll read that, too, because it's one of my favorite pieces of writing!

Also, thank you to art248, Watashi Sayonara Kissu, and jdcocoagirl for your reviews. I'm sorry if you thought the last chapter was a one-shot. Hopefully, this chapter will make you happier! (Although, for anyone reading this, despite the pleas, I regret to inform you that "Touching Sky" is still—and will always be—a one-shot. Anything else and I'll ruin what I wanted to do. The rest is up to you. Sorry!!)

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And the World Fell Down
Chapter 2/?
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A blinding whiteness surrounded Tazusa as she blearily opened her eyes. The surface beneath her was wet and cold, causing her to shiver. Once her eyes had adjusted to her surroundings, she realized she was sprawled across a frozen lake in the middle of nowhere. At least, none of her surroundings were familiar. Then again, she was surrounded by mounds of snow. Aside from the lake, there was little else.

Had she fallen asleep? She raised her eyes to scan the horizons, but there were no mountains in sight. Hadn't she seen them earlier when she'd come out with Pete? Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought. Pete...he had left, hadn't he? Had his departure from her body caused her to black-out? She shivered and glanced down at her torso, surprised to find herself wearing a pure white skating dress rather than the outdoor gear she had pulled on before leaving the arena. Not only that, but the outfit was finer then anything she owned. It sparkled with flecks of glitter and when she brought a hand to the filmy skirt, she noticed that the delicate stitching formed a myriad of snowflakes, each one different from the last. Her feet were encased in a pair of skates that seemed to have been spun from gossamer, for save from their iridescent shimmer, they were a clear color she'd never seen before. She almost felt like Cinderella. She almost felt her back to see if she had sprouted wings, but froze halfway. What if this wasn't a fairy wonderland at all? What if she found wings, but not the kind she was expecting? What if she was—was—

She pinched her arm, and her suspicions grew tenfold as she found herself feeling no pain. But I would know if I had died, wouldn't I? she reasoned mentally. If everyone who got possessed by a spirit died when the 100 days were up, they would eliminate such a practice, right? She was probably just hallucinating; who knew how long she'd been lying unconscious on the ice? After all, a dress woven together with fairy dust and snowflakes? Surely she was merely covered in snow. And clear skates? They didn't exist in nature unless made from glass or plastic, neither of which were practical when it came to support.

Shaking her head to clear it of its cobwebs, she decided to head back to the arena before she slipped too far from reality. Pushing against the ice with her hands, she slowly brought herself to her feet. Her legs wobbled as though she really were wearing skates. Then again, she was on the ice so often that it was a familiar feeling to her, so she shrugged it off, attributing the gliding motion of her steps to her slipping hold on reality.

It was when she began treading across the ice's sensitive core that the rumbling started, first as a soft crackling, then growing to a fierce growl as the ice around Tazusa's feet began to collapse. Her hands reached out and clutched at empty air. No one was there to save her. Scrambling frantically, she attempted to get away, but her skatepick caught and sent her tumbling down into the churning water that had become a deadly foe.

Her fingers clawed for something to hold onto as she attempted to tread water, but the inky blackness was greedy, wanting to claim her as its own. A burning sensation spread through her being and pain swept through her. Why couldn't death be swift and painless? Perhaps if she gave in, it would all be over faster?

Letting her hand fall, she began her downward descent. Visions of her loved ones rose to her mind:

Coach Takashima as he leapt to his feet after she finished a successful performance, wrapping her in a bear hug and swinging her through the air.

Her younger sister Yoko as they lay sprawled across her bed, whispering girlish secrets not meant for an adult's ears.

Her parents, waving tearfully as they said farewell and wished her well, brought together through their love of her despite their dissatisfaction with one another.

Pete, his golden hair shimmering like a halo as he said his final goodbye.

...Pete, who was goodness and light.

If nothing else, she could be with him now. There was nothing she'd like more...

His smile sparkled as he reached out a hand and beckoned to her. Upon placing her hand upon his own, Tazusa was consumed by a rush of love from those she'd leave behind. Suddenly, she knew she couldn't—wouldn't—leave them. As though anticipating her decision, Pete's grip on her tightened as he pulled her from the inky blackness. Pain consumed her once more, but this time, she fought back, and when she broke the surface, her lungs screaming for air, she was once more surrounded by a blinding light.

Blinking to clear her eyes from the black and white dots skating before her, a wave of nausea rose to her throat and she gagged, feeling as though her body were being pulled apart at the seams.

"Tazusa! Are you okay? What's wr—no, no, don't do that. Just stay still and you'll be fine."

As the faint words penetrated, Tazusa blinked and stilled her body before she started thrashing around. She blinked again and the dots swimming before her pebbled together, forming Coach Takashima's worried visage.

"C—Coach?" she croaked, the bile slipping back toward her stomach and leaving her with a colossal migraine. Licking her lips in an attempt to bring moisture to them, she smiled gratefully as Coach Takashima brought a cup of water to her mouth. In between sips, she managed to utter, "W—Where...?"

"You're in the hospital, Tazusa." Seeing the alarmed look that sprang to her eyes, he quickly added, "It isn't anything too major, though. You fell during your last jump and hit your head. You've got a bit of a concussion, but now that you've woken up, you'll be just fine."

She stared at him, agape with confusion, a feeling that was only heightened as a nurse entered the room and began speaking in rapid-fire English.

...English?

She wasn't—she couldn't be—could she?

"We're not in Japan, are we?" she asked, her voice weak and faint.

Her coach frowned down at her, slightly alarmed at the question. Gently, he replied, "No, Tazusa, we're—wait. You do know that's your name, right? Tazusa, that is."

At her slight nod, he sighed in relief. If she had amnesia, things would have been much worse. He had a feeling she was more disoriented than anything else. She had, after all, taken a pretty nasty tumble. Trying to soothe the frantic look in her eyes, he reached out and squeezed her hand. "We're in Canada for the Nationals, remember?"

Tazusa's eyes widened. "We're not in Torino?"

Coach Takashima threw back his head and laughed. "Not yet. You have to work really hard if you want to make it onto the Olympic team, especially after this last competition. That fall cost you a medal and you wound up in fourth place. You overextended your leg—again. What were you thinking, anyway? Four rotations? Tazusa..."

His voice faded away as Tazusa lost herself in thought. Everything had been a dream. She frowned at the notion. That meant Pete wasn't real. She'd completely invented him. Wait, no, that wasn't right. Pete was real. She'd met him at the food court. He'd told her that he hated tomatoes and that he was a pilot. He'd been going to fly before the long program commenced and—

"Coach?" Tazusa interrupted, breath speeding up as her saliva caught in her throat. "Did, uh—were there any accidents while I was unconscious?"

Cut off mid-lecture, Coach Takashima blinked at his charge, caught off-guard by the sudden change of topic. "Accident? You mean, aside from you? I don't know. I haven't been watching the news. I've been too worried about you. Why?"

Licking her lips nervously, Tazusa flushed. "Just, you know...I thought maybe a plane crashed or something."

"Ah, I see." He shot her a reassuring smile. "Dreading the long trip back already, huh? Don't worry, we'll be fine. For a skater, you sure don't like to fly, do you?"

"That isn't—I mean—"

"To put your mind at ease, we're postponing the trip back. The hospital wants to keep you under observation for another day or two before they release you."

"Why? You said there wasn't anything wrong with me."

"Just a concussion, mostly, but they want to run a few more tests to make sure. You're a high-profile athlete, after all."

He squeezed her hand again and stood. "I'd better be getting back now so I can hold a press conference and stuff. Get some rest, okay?" He stood and said farewell, then exited the room, leaving Tazusa to her wayward thoughts.

Why had she dreamed about someone she'd had one brief conversation with? What was the meaning of it? She wished she had a dream analysis book handy. She frowned as she took in her surroundings. There wasn't even a TV present. What was up with that? She must have looked flummoxed, for a nurse entering the room saw her expression and managed to figure out what was wrong.

While it was true that Tazusa wasn't very good at English, it was a required subject in Japan, and she'd been studying it since her first year of junior high school, if you didn't count the monthly "English Days" when the foreign teacher would come to their homeroom. -1Hearing the nurse raise her voice and flail her arms about as she shouted, "TV! You watch?" seemed slightly offensive.

Raising her head haughtily, Tazusa pulled forth her meager vocabulary and replied, "Yes, thank you. I'd like that very much."

The older woman gaped a moment before smiling and speaking so fast, Tazusa couldn't understand a thing. The woman was gone before she could ask for further clarification.

Well, that was rude, Tazusa thought, leaning back against her pillow. She retracted her words a few minutes later when the nurse returned with a wheelchair.

"I can walk," she stated, frowning at the contraption in question.

The woman just tutted and began spouting off more gibberish, helping Tazusa from the bed and into the chair before wheeling her out of the room and down the hallway.

Great, Tazusa thought with a sulk. Try to speak their language and they think I'm fluent. Don't, and they treat me like I'm deaf and dumb. I can't win, can I?

The sour expression fell from her face as she was pushed into the common room, suddenly finding herself face to face with the golden-haired boy from her dream.

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CULTURAL NOTE #1: In Japan, many foreigners who live in the country teach English. You can be hired through the school, or through a program such as AEON or JET. The job descriptions vary from school to school, but one thing that everyone has in common is teaching English. I have been living in Japan for about a year and a half now through the JET Programme. I teach at one junior high school three days a week, and two elementary schools twice a week. I see the oldest kids much more frequently than I do the youngest ones. For example, I see the sixth-graders 20 times in an academic year, and I only see the first-graders five or six times. As a foreigner in Japan, you'll hear the word 'foreigner' (gaijin) used a lot. At my school, we don't call our classes "English Day," but again, all schools are different, and since this is my story, I have artistic license, too. .

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Sorry for any mistakes. I don't have an editor for my Ginban fics yet, though I'm trying to get her into the series…

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And now, the news that you've all been waiting for! I know some of you are dying to read the Ginban novels and find out what happens as much as I am. As some of you know, I'm currently living in Japan (via JET). In December, I went to a nearby bookstore and treated myself to a special Christmas present. Because I'm sad that no one has translated any of the Ginban Kaleidoscope novels and that the tale goes beyond the Pete arc, I decided to buy all nine of the books! I also bought both volumes of the manga, even though they only cover the anime arc. Now, my Japanese isn't very good (I'm somewhere between the 4th and 3rd Level on the national exam, with 4 being the worst and 1 being the best), but I'm going to try to translate the stories for you alongside my trusty denshi jisho (Best kind of dictionary EVER if you want to truly study Japanese). It will be hard, grueling work, especially because the nine volumes are actually (light) novels rather than manga [Which means, 1) No pictures, and 2) Not all of the kanji has furigana, but I'm going to try my best!

If any of you are good at Japanese—or know someone who is—and want to help, please get in touch with me by commenting here or via my profile. I'd really appreciate the help!

Also, would you want to see the translations here on FFNET if it's allowed, or would you rather download them as a .pdf or something? Are you even interested in reading the rest of Tazusa's story? Please tell me so I know if I should put in the effort or not!!

Like it? Hate it? I'm the one to talk to! Hit the little review button or e-mail ladybaine at gmail dot com today! Please send this story—and me—a little love if you're enjoying it. Onegaishimasu!

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«·´¨·.¸¸. Baine.¸¸.·¨·»
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