Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi is a genius, pure and simple. Let's sacrifice at
her altar, after I give thanks for The Cherry Project and Sailormoon, whose
characters I manipulate a lot, when I get sick of manipulating my friends.
~~
Silver Strings
A Love Story based on the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and The Cherry
Project, both works of manga-ka Naoko Takeuchi.
by Antigone
2000
PART II
I. For Love
Mamoru sighed as he blinked to refocus his eyes on the textbook in front
of him. The rain beat steadily on the windows of his apartment, sending
strange shadows across the room, and the small text printed on the pages.
At his sigh, Usagi didn't wake from her position asleep on his shoulder,
but she did stir a little, nestling closer to him and shivering a little. Her
math book lay unopened on the floor.
Knowing it wouldn't wake her, he turned to her and said, out loud, "You
know, Usako, if you weren't incapable of staying awake to study your own school
work, I would be able to turn on a light or two in here."
Usagi, for her part, was dead to the world, and Mamoru knew she would be
until he finally figured out a way to wake her up in time to get her home
before her father got the SWAT team surrounding his apartment.
Unfortunately, waking up Tsukino Usagi was no easy task. He tried
everything; shaking her did no good, neither did shouting at her, and if he
kissed her she would just murmur his name and go back to the land of her
dreams. Cold water made her angry, and he didn't quite agree with Luna's
advice ("I just scratch her a few times," the cat had said, sagely, not
understanding why Mamoru had sweatdropped).
Luckily, this time, nature helped him out a little. A quick flash of
lightening brightened the room for a moment, and a low, barely audible thunder
mumbled far away.
"Auggh!! Mamo-chan! Kowai!"
And he found himself with a trembling little blonde in his arms, suddenly
wide-awake and demanding comfort from him. Now.
Sighing, he put down the textbook. He'd have to pull another late
nighter, he guessed. Usagi sniffled again as another flash quickly danced in
front of the window before going out in another, louder, crash.
'Ah, well, she couldn't help it if a thunderstorm had decided to settle
over Tokyo', Mamoru thought, putting his arms around her.
"It's okay," he said, fumbling to his end table for the remote control.
Flipping on the weather channel he watched for a while, then said, "See? It's
going to pass a few miles to the East following the low pressure sys-uh, it's
not going to come here. We'll only get some drizzle and see the lightening
from far away."
Whimpering a little, she lifted large, wary eyes to the rain-drenched
windows. "Okay," she said softly, still not leaving his arms.
For a moments the only sound in the room was the pounding rain and soft
rumbles of far away thunder. As it faded, Mamoru stirred a little, brushing
Usagi's hair back to see if she was still awake. She was, bright blue eyes
staring back into his.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Nani?" he asked, confused, and she lifted her eyes to smile at him.
"For understanding."
She smiled at him, beautifully, and touched his face gently with the tips
of her fingers.
The air shimmered and sparkled with a silver light neither noticed as
blue eyes gazed timelessly into each other, until another far away crash of
thunder launched Usagi back into his arms.
~~
Sweating, Chieri tugged at the suddenly mercilessly tight fabric of the
short dress Yuni had helped design for the technical number. The rink,
although usually what Chieri liked to call 'pleasantly cool', seemed stiflingly
hot. The humidity from the solid rainfall outside did nothing to better the
conditions either. In the heavy air, it was as if she *feel* the competition
approaching closer and closer, breathing down her neck.
"Here," Kouichi said softly, handing the small blonde a full water
bottle, which she accepted gratefully. It seemed some of her friends were
there, a few of her new Green Garden classmates were seating in the stands,
along with Tsuzuki's many female admirers.
Horishi leaned his head back on his arms as he sat in the front row
judges station, watching Mori have a very animated conversation with the
Tsuzuki as the two skaters took their short break.
"So you are definitely going to do the Les Miserables medley for
technical?" he said to Chieri, shifting his tweed 40's style cap on his head,
"Are you sure it's not too varied for you to get a solid foundation?"
Chieri stared wide-eyed into the water bottle, and Yuni and Kouichi both
gave Horishi sharp looks.
"Hey," Yuni said, "Coach said it was fine, it gives a nice style that
they can use to put in the most impressive moves."
"But if you saved it for the more creative short number..."
"It's too late to change the music," Chieri said, "so let's not worry
about it, okay?"
"Besides," a deep voice said from behind them, "we have music for the
creative piece already." Tsuzuki leaned his arms on the side of the rink,
separated from his friends by the chest-high barrier.
There was a tittering from up in the stands, and Tsuzuki gave Yuni a dark
look. "Is there any way to get rid of them?" he asked his friends, nodding his
head up to the spectators and fan-girls heaping over the stands.
"Not politely," Chieri answered, finishing some water and offering the
bottle to Tsuzuki. She had grown used to Tsuzuki's horde of adoring fans,
after all, she was the same way not too long ago. If having a poster of
Tsuzuki and kissing it before every singles competition (for good luck, of
course) wasn't considered otaku, she didn't know what was. Still, it made her
a little nervous to touch him with them watching, even in the program.
"Polite? Only a soft person like Chieri would worry about being polite,"
a huffy female voice said, and suddenly beautiful little Canty was spinning out
on the ice, like a butterfly angel.
Doing a few quick, high jumps, she turned to face the stunned crowd and
lifted her commanding voice, "Alright everyone! This is not a free
performance, this is serious training! If you want to see Asuka and Tsuzuki-
kun skate, buy tickets for the show in two days. Now," the aforenamed
'Princess' put her hands on her hips and glared into the audience, "get out of
my rink!"
'Princess?' Yuni thought, hiding a smile, 'Wataru was right, she *is*
more like a Queen.'
Sighing a little, Chieri watched her classmates leave, most of them
giving Tsuzuki regretful looks. She wanted to thank Canty, but knew the
prideful, mature girl would abhor any gratitude from her ex-rival. So instead,
the older girl just watched Canty perform a few more jumps, her famed
quadruple, a dizzying spin, and finally a bow to the remaining six members of
her audience.
"Show off," her brother muttered under his breath, shaking his head and
heading for a seat next to Horishi.
"Miss doing jumps like that, Cherry?" Tsuzuki asked, winking at the girl
grinning back up at him.
"Hai, hai," she said, "but I sure don't miss competing with the
Princess!"
"Okay, break has gone on for much too long!" Mori said, short wavy hair
bouncing as she hurried over to the pair, obviously having been distracted by
something very pressing to have let them relax so long.
As they skated to the center of the ice, ready to await the musical cue,
Tsuzuki leaned down and murmured something unusual into her ear, "Do you trust
me?"
And before she could answer, the music had started. And every thought
faded from her mind.
The ice seemed to radiate an energy that made her feel beautiful and
confident all at once. Poor little Asuka Chieri knew she was infamous for
being a bundle of nerves before any performance, trusting good luck charms and
rituals and shaking like a leaf. Ironically, Tsuzuki was well-known for his
nerves of steel, his ability to focus completely on the task at hand without a
trace of fear.
He was always calming her, 100% efficient down to the good-luck kiss that
had become tradition before every big show. But once the music started, once
they were spinning together to the music in their hearts that echoed out
through their movements, they were the same. Neither was nervous, neither was
tired, neither was alone.
This time was one of the rare run-throughs where she landed, although
very sloppily, on the throw, matched perfectly with chord after the crescendo.
The timing was flawless, though, as she grabbed Tsuzuki's hand and shut her
eyes to avoid being dizzy as the room spun in colors around her he pulled her
through the death-spiral.
The music grew lonely and sad, like raindrops, for the musical version of
'On My Own' as they ran through some spins, alone but always in perfect unison.
The music swelled to 'Bring Him Home' and faded in the finale, all the pieces
blending at once, and he lifted Chieri high in the air, she opened her arms the
judge stand, now filled with her closest friends, and lifted her chin to the
ceiling.
The balance was delicate, but Tsuzuki didn't tremble once. One move by
him and Chieri could fall to the rock-hard surface of the ice, perhaps injuring
herself beyond repair. But neither flinched until the last note echoed
throughout the room and Chieri was lowered so both blades touched the ice
steadily.
The applause was meager in the huge, empty room, but Kouichi's whistles
and Yuni's cheers filled her heart more than a million screaming fans. Mori
had a few technical notes on her board, but her proud eyes were obvious as she
smiled at the two. But the best thing for Chieri was Tsuzuki's arms around her
from behind, feeling him grin although she couldn't see him, both of them
glowing with the pride they always felt after a complete run-through, whether
it was judged or not. 'We did it. Together.'
But she couldn't help wondering at his strange question before the
practice, and what it meant.
And the competition still loomed oppressively ahead of her like some
strange dark cloud. They both knew their creativity and flair would count for
next to nothing in the technical, yet both those things were their only
strength. 'At least as it stands now,' Chieri thought, 'if I can't land that
jump in the technical, it doesn't matter how good our creative piece is, we are
lost against the older, more established pairs out there.'
Mori told them to prepare to run their Creative, which flowed like warm
butter and ran perfectly in both their veins. Chieri loved the soft music
chosen, the romantic dance moves Mori had included, and the confidence it
brought her to skate it so well. But she knew it was simple, too simple, for
it to save them.
'If I can't bring up my technique,' she thought despairingly as Tsuzuki
took her hand and the second musical piece echoed throughout the arena, 'then
Tsuzuki's dreams will never come true. And it will be all my fault.'
~~
The rain was lifting slightly from Tokyo, softening its drum on Mamoru's
windows, and letting a soft glow of late afternoon sunlight filter through the
drops.
"Usako, *what* are you doing?" Mamoru asked, for about the third time,
and Usagi just responded in the same way she had the first two times: With
short little jolt of her head, as if his question was annoying her and she
wished he would just let her continue with her research unmolested.
He really was sorry for bothering her, but even with his famed focus on
studies, it was a little hard to ignore her pert little index finger poking him
in the shoulder every few seconds.
Usagi squinted at her finger, lifting to her eyes, before lowering it to
his shoulder again, touching him lightly, and then examining the area where her
figure rested closely.
Finally, sighing, she leaned her head on her arm, muttering something
about 'stupid Minako, always being right...'
'Minako? Always right?' he thought, then shook his head. 'I must have
heard wrong.'
"Usako, w-"
She suddenly brightened, sitting up straight. "Can we go down to the
Takanawa Wing?"
"Wh-"
"Please?!"
"But I-"
"Mori-san said we were welcome anytime to watch them skate!"
"Usa-"
"Great! Thanks, Mamo-chan, I love you!"
He knew it was useless to resist, she knew it was useless for him to
resist, so for a moment Mamoru wondered why he even attempted to divert Usagi's
attention once her resolve was so stubbornly set on something. It was obvious
wasted energy that Usagi apparently thought could be put to better use, like
taking her to an ice-skating rink in the rain. He knew he'd end up spending
two week's salary on her dinner, nearly loose his teeth when he brought her
home to her father late, and possibly have to deal with any one of many
disasters that always followed in her wake.
And the really, really scary thing was that he really didn't mind one
bit. 'I must be crazy' he reflected seriously. He'd check himself into a
mental institution, if it didn't mean such a long time away from Usagi.
"Watcha thinking about?" she asked him, innocently, narrowing lovely blue
eyes thoughtfully at him from the doorway, impatiently hopping from one foot to
the other.
"Nothing," he said, equally as innocently, taking his jacket from the peg
by the door and following her out. "Nothing at all."
"Then hurry!" her indignant little voice was the last sound to echo back
into the empty apartment as the door closed.
On the street below, Mamoru's rich laughter over Usagi's childlike
demanding of what was just so funny, fell like the raindrops over ears of
anyone nearby.
II. With Heart
"The rain is letting up," Canty informed the party stationed at the rink.
She removed her stylish clear jacket and shook droplets from her perfectly
crimped hair.
"Were where you all this time?" Yuni asked, feet propped on the seat in
front of her, bundled in Kouichi's comfortable jacket. The three supports,
best friends, and number one fans of Tsuzuki and Chieri, were setting up to
spend a long night with the two famous teenagers as they had many times before.
Although Yuni was the only person among them who couldn't do a jump on skates
to save her life, ("rail cleaner" was actually what they lovingly called her),
she felt at home among these people, bonded by all the time they've spent to
make Chieri and Tsuzuki's dreams come true. The Cherry Project, Yuni felt, had
never truly disbanded.
"Perhaps she was with a boy," Hiroshi said, his calm voice muffled by his
hat, pulled down below his eyes.
"Shut up!" Canty said, shifting her eyes, a blush tainted her cheeks. "I
don't have to put up with this from you," whirling around on the heel of one
fashionable black boot, she lifted her head and walked to the other side of the
rink.
Chieri looked up from lacing her skates in shock. Then, smiling a
little, she concentrated on pulling the string tighter around her ankle. It
was stupid to think Canty's feelings for Tsuzuki would last this long. She
found herself wondering what type of boy such an amazingly grown-up girl like
Canty would fall for, but also, for a strange reason, she was extremely happy
for the snobby girl she used to dislike so much.
Interrupting her thoughts, Coach Mori called to her from the middle of
the ice, and waving cheerfully to her friends, the small girl skated to wear
her coach and partner were waiting for her.
"How is she doing?" Kouichi asked Yuni, concern and brotherly love for
the bubbly Chieri evident in his gaze as he watched her do some quick warm-ups.
"She's nervous," Yuni admitted.
"But Chieri's always nervous," Hiroshi said, leaning over to look at his
two friends.
"No," Kouichi said appraisingly, "no, it's not just that. Something's
changed in her skating. It's like she's like a robot doing moves and jumps,
she's lost her trust in... in something. Tsuzuki's noticed it, too."
"He's afraid she might be loosing faith in him," Yuni surmised, looking
at Kouichi in sad shock.
"Or," Hiroshi added, lifting his eyes to the couple before him, "in
*them*."
"Excuse me," a soft voice interrupted their hushed conversation and three
pairs of eyes turned to the smiling face of Tsukino Usagi. Mamoru stood a
little bit behind her, politely inclining his head to the people before him.
"Hey," Hiroshi said, "it's you."
"Hi, You," Yuni joked, readjusting her feet so she was more comfortable,
"I'm Nishimura Yuni. This is Kouichi,"
"The super-handsome one," Kouichi put in, giving a mock-salute.
Rolling her eyes, Yuni continued, "The aloof guy in the hat is Hiroshi,
whom you've met."
"Briefly," Mamoru said, smiling. "I'm Chiba Mamoru, this is Tsukino
Usagi."
"They brought Chieri's necklace back for her," Hiroshi explained,
detachedly.
"Oh, then I guess you can stay, unless Cherry objects when she notices,"
Yuni said, scooting over for Usagi to sit down. Mamoru took a seat behind her,
resting his arms on his knees, and leaned forward to join in the girls'
conversation.
"This is so kakkoi!" the blonde exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Are they
rehearsing now?" Chieri spun a few times on the ice, stretching her muscles
after the hour break they had taken at dinner. Tsuzuki lifted her and spun
once, a rare smile beaming from his face.
Yuni blinked, "Hai. This is their last major practice before the show.
Tomorrow they run through it once or twice, accepting that if they do it too
many times before the show they'll over-practice and overwork themselves.
Mostly they rest and eat the day before the competition."
"And sometimes spend some quality time on the various non-skating actives
most couples en-"
"Kouichi!" Yuni hit him lightly, and took a handful of potato chips from
the bag he held.
"What?" He grinned, "Just telling it like it is."
Hiroshi rolled his eyes.
"You go to Green Garden, huh?" Usagi said a little wistfully, leaning
her head on her hand. "Must be nice."
They three nodded, agreeing, "But its hard work," Yuni added, "Just ask
Cherry. Where do you go?"
"Juuban," Usagi said.
"Sugoi! Do you know Haruna-sensei?"
Just then Coach Mori's whistle blew once, loudly.
And Tsuzuki and Chieri snapped to attention, posed gracefully in the
middle of the ice. Then the music started.
Yuni leaned over and murmured to Usagi and Mamoru, "This is their
technical piece. It's less of an exhibition and more of a program. Their
creative program is the best, it'll blow the judges away. But this is
extremely important, too, and they are having trouble with it, so they've been
practicing a lot."
Usagi dreamily watched Chieri and Tsuzuki perform to the varied music,
expressing feeling with every move. Chieri looked elated when she went fast
around the ice, Tsuzuki in step with her all the way. He, she reflected,
certainly did fit his 'poker face' reputation, although his eyes lit up with
something special when he looked at Chieri.
The music swelled, they glided to face each other, hands gracefully
touching, arms held like dancers', when Usagi saw.
Shimmering, gleaming, the strands were barely visible, only shining in
certain places. Like a twine of foil reflecting the lights, it swirled like a
thing alive, around fingers and legs and hearts.
Gasping, Usagi grabbed Mamoru's hand, and looked up at him in amazement.
"Do you see it?" she cried, and he just blinked at her.
"See what?"
Entwining her slender fingers through his, she whispered, "Look with your
heart, Mamo-chan."
~~
Chieri made her way to the locker room, knowing she only had, at most,
ten minutes of break before Mori would make her get back on the ice again. It
was for the best, she knew, if she stopped too long the lactic acid would cause
her muscles to ache too much to practice much longer. But she cringed to think
how sore she would be tomorrow.
"C-chotto..." a shy voice at her arm made Chieri spin around to find
herself staring straight into sparkling blue eyes.
The unfamiliar girl smiled, and Chieri felt any inhibitions or annoyance
she may have been feeling melt away. She felt herself smiling back before she
knew what she was doing.
"Hi, do I know you?"
Blushing, Usagi answered, "I'm Tsukino Usagi. You lost your necklace and
my boyfriend found it for you. So now we have tickets for your show, but I
just wanted to thank you so much-"
"Thank me?" Chieri asked, turning to and waving Usagi into the locker
room with her, "Why?"
Sitting down on a bench, Usagi tilted her head to the side, letting one
lovely blonde pigtail fall across the bench to almost touch the tiled floor.
Her legs were swinging back and forth beneath her school-girl dress and her
eyes were soft and dreamy. Watching her in the mirror as Chieri washed her
hands, the girl could only think about how much Usagi reminded her of herself,
when all she was was a living, breathing bundle of beautiful dreams.
"Because you were so beautiful out there."
Chieri paused. She'd heard that phrase a million times before, it was
always flattering, especially wonderful when it came from her father, or
friends. But for some reason, this little slip of a girl made her feel as if
it might be actually be true.
Taking a second to study blonde curls and blue eyes in the mirror, Chieri
took pause. Was she really beautiful to Usagi's eyes, spinning in Tsuzuki's
arms?
Turning, Chieri smiled at Usagi, who returned the grin with equal girlish
excitement. "Well, then, thank you, Tsukino Usagi."
"Guess what, Angel," Tsuzuki leaned casually against the doorway, smiling
a polite 'hello' to Usagi and turning back to Chieri, "she wants us to go
through the technical again, then the Creative."
Shaking her head and smiling, Chieri moved to put her things back into
her locker. "I'll be right out."
"It's a lot of work, isn't it?" The soft, innocent voice said, eyes
amazed and awed.
"Yes it is," Chieri said, eyes softening, "but I love it."
~~
Chieri noticed Usagi left in the middle of the technical run-through,
waving good-bye to the boys and Yuni. The little girl was extremely sleepy,
and Mamoru had to practically lift her in his arms to take her home.
Yawning, the tired athlete stretched her arms and smiled, "I wish I could
just be carried home now."
Coach Mori smiled a little sardonically, "Dream on, Cherry-chan."
Laughing, Tsuzuki entwined his arms around her slowly around her waist,
"Who are you going to get to carry you, Cherry? My arms hurt enough."
She giggled, stuck her tongue out at him.
"Been eating enough chocolate bananas, lately?" he smiled.
"Yes," she said sweetly, "Are you going to call me 'monkey' now?" They
shared a tender smile before Mori clapped her hands swiftly.
"Let's get all the small things fixed before tomorrow, so you can both
rest up for the big day Tuesday. Ne?"
Glancing at the stands, to her tired, wired, wonderful friends, and
feeling Tsuzuki's warm arms around her, Chieri felt that all the muscle-aches
and late nights in the world were more than worth this. No matter what
happened Tuesday.
~~
"So," Mamoru said, that bright, clear Tuesday afternoon, "who did you
finally decide to bring to the Takanawa Wing tonight?"
"Mako-chan," came the simple answer.
"I know, but-"
"Actually, I went to Juuban Junior High school today," she smiled
secretively, "and left one ticket with a certain Haruna-sensei."
Mamoru blinked.
Eyes twinkling, Usagi answered, "Well, she was Chieri-san's homeroom
teacher at her old school. She saw the entire Tsuzuki to Chieri romance
unfold."
She took his hand and smiled up at him, "And I have to tell you, the real
story is a million times better than what Mako-chan heard."*
Mamoru laughed, and shook his head. Only she would think to give her old
teacher, who she didn't even get along with, tickets to an ice show her friends
were all fighting over.
Then again, only she would do most of things she does.
Usagi glanced up, caught the intense look in his eyes. "What?" she asked
a little nervously. He just smiled.
"Nothing. I was just wondering if they would room us together at the
looney bin."
"Okay, Mamo-chan," she said, shaking her head and laughing a bit.
"Whatever."
[*the 'real' Tsuzuki/Asuka story is told in Naoko's The Cherry Project.
You'll have to read it to know. ^_-]
III. If I Fall...
The show was sold out, and the crowd was huge as Usagi, Mamoru and Makoto
made their way through the Takanawa Wing's doors. Careful not to get
separated, they stuck closely together as Mamoru looked at the numbers on the
tickets in his hand.
"Wow," he said softly. The people in this business sure knew how to show
gratitude.
Makoto was practically squealing as they sat in their third row seats,
clutching a large, colorful, expensive program to her chest and letting her
eyes dart wildly around the rink. "Sugoi," she whispered.
Usagi, for her part, looked a little pale and nervous. When Mamoru
leaned over the ask what was wrong, the blonde only fidgeted more. "I'm
nervous for Chieri-san."
Laughing, Makoto shook her head at her naïve, empathic friend. "Usagi-
chan, she's a champion! Don't worry!" Then, the tall brunette leaned over the
talk to Mamoru, since Usagi apparently wasn't interested in conversation.
"That's Chieri's father down there," she said, pointing to a tall, light-
haired man sitting in the front row, "he was a famous Olympic skater..."
As her friend's voice rang in her eyes, Usagi looked down at the program
she made Mamoru buy for her. Flipping through the photos of the pairs that
would be performing tonight, she stopped on the small picture next to Asuka's
bio.
'Even champions get nervous.'
~~
Maybe it was a nervous habit, maybe it was just something to do with her
hands, or maybe it was sheer curiosity that made Chieri press her hand to her
heart before going on onto the ice at shows. It raced, as it always did,
flighty, rabid pounds against her palm, her throat, and her stomach. Trembling
she paced back and forth, wringing her hands slightly. Her skates were knotted
together and flung over one thin shoulder.
She was alone. This was the worst part of every show. Tsuzuki, calm as
can be, was still getting ready in the changing room and would be for a while.
Meanwhile, nervous little Chieri was all ready to go out on the ice, although
they weren't on until third.
To pass the time, and avoid looking at the other beautiful, accomplished,
confident woman around her, she looked down at Yuni's latest creation.
Her dress was supposed to fit the music, a peasant-like outfit of the
time period from the musical. It looked almost two-piece, a dark jumper-like
dress and thin, white sleeves Yuni informed her were supposed to end in
fluttery, cutted patterns. Her friend had looked brown eyes into Chieri's and
explained what the outfit symbolized, but at this moment she could think of
nothing but the program.
The music for the first pair started, and startled Chieri violently.
Before long, though, a warm, steady hand found its way to her trembling
shoulder and she offered Tsuzuki a shakey smile. "Nervous, Cherry?" he asked,
needlessly.
Even as she nodded, she opened her eyes wide to feel his hands brushing
against her neck as he fastened something gently around her throat.
Looking into his eyes as her mother's necklace feel around her neck, she
whispered his name, like she had the first time he placed the golden chain
around her neck.
"I got it fixed for you," he said, smiling a little.
"Thank you," she whispered.
The first pair spun to a stop and bowed.
Chieri squeezed Tsuzuki's hand.
~~
"They were wonderful," said Makoto as the second pair ended with a
flourish.
"Shh!" Usagi said, leaning forward and grabbing Mamoru's arm in a death-
grip that made him sweatdrop. "Chieri's on next!"
Sure enough, Tsuzuki and Asuka were skating out to the ice, smiling to
the children who gathered flowers and gifts tossed to the pair just leaving.
"I wish I'd thought to bring something," Makoto sighed.
"Haruna-sensei has flowers," Mamoru said, nodding his head toward the
tall, read-head a few seats down, "I think Usagi convinced her earlier to sign
the card from all of us."
Feeling a sudden rush of affection for her odango-ed friend, Makoto
smiled. 'Only her,' Makoto mouthed over Usagi's head to Mamoru, who grinned
back at her.
Then the music started. And all three pairs of eyes locked themselves to
the couple on the ice.
~~
The chords began softly, and Chieri broke the comforting gaze she had
kept with Tsuzuki and began to move. The program was memorized so deeply in
her that she just flowed with the music, feeling Tsuzuki next to her, and
allowing herself to trust what her body did while her soul filled with love.
Relaxed and happy, Chieri felt a shift in her world when the first few
chords of 'Do You Hear the People Sing' echoed in the rink. Heart in her
throat, she readied herself for the throw. Like practiced a million times
before, Tsuzuki spun before her and she caught herself in his arms. His eyes
met hers, shining with faith. Her heart sank.
He let her go, up in the air like he expected her to fly on the angel wings she
might not have.
And she crashed to Earth.
The cold surface beneath her hands and knees was a let down, a horrible
shock she didn't have time to register before her training kicked in. Push up
with your hands, steady yourself and go on.
And go on she did. Tears stung her eyes, and she refused to give into
them. She could feel Tsuzuki's fingers brush her own and Chieri felt a
frustrating wave of guilt wash over her. Not once looking his way, she forced
herself to calm down, running through the piece in her mind. Counting the
beats to the music, she readied herself to spin, to turn, to jump, and to
smile. At the end, when Tsuzuki lifted her to the audience, she mechanically
spread her arms and lifted her chin, tears already sparkling down her face.
He lowered her to the ice and she stood there, not meeting his eyes. The
cruel camera zoomed in on her face, so her disappointment could be broadcast
over the monitors for all to see. Noticing this, Tsuzuki gently took her arm
and they hurried off the ice.
Coach Mori instantly embraced her in the kiss'n'cry, and Tsuzuki reached
for her but she yanked herself away from his touch, collapsing onto a bench as
they waited for the scores to be announced.
~~
Three girls and two cats sat in stunned silence in front of their
television screen, listening the commentator's hushed tones as they did replay
after cruel replay of Chieri's spectacular fall.
"She had too much spin in her body, and see, her knee just crumbled
beneath her," a female voice said, "she recovered quickly from the fall
itself."
"But," a male voice sad, with the faux regret of someone trained in their
line of work, "Asuka never did regain her timing throughout that entire piece.
I have to say, it was one of Asuka and Tsuzuki's worst pieces since they
started skating together."
"It's really a shame," the female voice added, "they have so much
potential."
"Here come the scores, extremely low for such a promising-" but he was
drowned out by the gasps and groans of all watching the program from Minako's
living room.
"4.1? *3.8*?!" Ami was shocked at the lowest score on the screen,
"Surely a fall couldn't have cost that much!"
"I hope Mako-chan beats that judge up," added Rei. No one mentioned the
horrible, obvious difference between the two graceful people on Makoto's old
tape and the program they had just seen.
"They'll have to make up for a lot in Creative program to even place
third in this competition," the woman was saying, and Minako calmly lifted the
remote control and pressed the 'mute' button violently.
~~ IV. Silver Strings
"Where's Cherry?" Demanded Yuni, hands on hips, as she faced Tsuzuki in
the wings. The soft music from the next performers was quietly heard through
the walls of the rink, applause signaling the end.
Tsuzuki didn't turn away from Mori, who he was apparently having an
animated discussion with. Shifting his eyes to the floor, he answered, "I
don't know. And if I know Cherry, she doesn't want to see anyone right now
anyway."
Narrowing her eyes, Yuni choked, "You won't even look for her! When will
you ever stop leaving her alone?!" With that Chieri's best friend turned and
ran, leaving only Coach Mori to witness Tsuzuki angrily slam his fist against
the wall, blue eyes resembling storms.
"You don't have to do this, Tsuzuki," she said gently, "if you don't
feel-"
"It doesn't matter what I feel. It's her," he lifted his eyes to
Chieri's coach, "I have to get her trust herself again."
"It's risky. Do you feel she can handle it?"
His eyes cleared a little. "Cherry makes the impossible possible," he
told her, confidence in his gaze. "And I have to prove that to her."
~~
Mamoru was seriously worried about Usagi. After hearing the scores
announced over the rink, Usagi had blanched and mumbled something about having
to talk to Chieri. The entire program Usagi's eyes had been trained to the
couple, happy when they started out so well, but audibly gasping when Chieri
tumbled onto the ice.
From there, the two teens' program had gone downhill steadily, the timing
was off and even stoic Tsuzuki had looked worried during some of the tense
moments. At the end, Usagi's eyes were filled with tears.
"Usako," he had said softly, but she jumped up and started hurrying down
the stairs and to the kiss'n'cry area.
"I have to try to explain-" she started, as she left Makoto and Mamoru in
their seats, "I'll be right back," she called to them as the next performers
skated out on the ice.
'I just hope someone I met last night is there to let me in.' Usagi was
thinking, 'And I hope I can make Chieri understand what I saw up there.'
It took her a while to find the girl, since Chieri had pressed her little
body up against the side of the back stairs, knees to her chest, making herself
as small as possible in such a far corner of the rink.
"Oh, Chieri-san," Usagi breathed, for a second departing from her usually
happy-go-lucky self, her deeply sympathetic heart aching for this girl,
"Daijobu ka?"
"I-iie," Chieri said miserably. She leaned her head against the cold
wall and thought back the only other time she had felt so afraid and
pitiable... when the ice had suddenly become her worst enemy.
"H-how can I look at him?" she asked, desperately, blue eyes searching
Usagi's for the answer, "I destroyed his dreams. I always knew... knew I could
never soar as high as Tsuzuki." She sighed, lowering her eyes, "I was always
on borrowed wings. With me, he only has potential."
"But you're Asuka and Tsuzuki! How can you have one without the other?"
Usagi demanded, sitting herself next to her newfound friend. "Without you...
how can he skate without you?!"
Quiet footsteps announced Yuni's entrance, concern for her friend and
slight surprise at seeing Usagi flitting across her pretty features. For a
moment she was silent, then her eyes lightened, and she watched Usagi at work.
Somehow she knew; this wasn't the first time the little blonde schoolgirl had
mended a broken heart.
"You could never be one without the other," Usagi said, sagely, "That's
what the strings mean."
"The strings?" Chieri asked, confused.
But Usagi was talking half to herself, eyes wide with the realization
dawning across her face. "That's why we see them, they bind us, heart to
heart..." She and Mamoru shared pain, dreams, fear... everything. In battle,
he knew her next move, she could work with him in perfect sync without a
thought-out plan beforehand. They had always trusted their hearts, and hence,
the strings of silver to guide them, lure them, always to each other.
"Chieri-san," Usagi started, "they pull at you. In your heart, in your
soul... your wings... you stopped trusting them."
"What were you thinking of, Cherry-chan, during the last part of your
program?" Yuni asked, gently.
Blinking, Chieri sat up, looking from Usagi to Yuni, "I was thinking
about the program, what I needed to do next, how many counts to the beat, what
Tsuzuki must be thinking of me..."
Usagi was silent for a moment. "I saw them, Chieri-san. You'll think
I'm crazy, but I saw the thin strands of something tangible between you two.
After you fell, they were guiding you but you stopped following them."
"You have to trust him, trust yourself," Yuni said, "again."
There were a few moments of silence as Chieri blinked away a few tears.
"Tsuzuki's dreams..."
"Cherry," Yuni said, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder, "*you*
are his dream. You always were."
The two girls were quiet, awaiting the skater's decision.
Finally, she met Yuni's eyes and offered her a tiny, watery smile. "It's
almost time for me to change into my short program costume, isn't it?" Chieri
asked weakly.
~~
Dressed in her white and silver body-suit dress, Chieri found Tsuzuki
waiting for her in his silver and white costume. For once, he was ready before
her.
"Tsuzuki," she started, but he stopped her, silently coming up to her and
putting his warm hand on her shoulder.
"Do you trust me?" he whispered, eyes asking her permission for something
she couldn't understand.
Did she? For a moment she remembered Usagi's explanation of the sparkle
in the air, the thin yarns of pure love that could bind and protect. She
remembered the first ever time she had pair skated with Tsuzuki... unplanned,
unpredicted, in front of her entire school. With his wings, she soared.
"Yes," she answered him, "with anything."
And as always before they skated, for good luck, so she felt she could
skate wonderfully, he brushed his lips to hers.
Usagi rejoined her two companions in their seats right before the music
ended for the couple before Tsuzuki and Chieri. Because they had scored so low
on the technical, Asuka and Tsuzuki were one of the last few selected couples
to perform a creative short program.
As she sat down, Mamoru whispered, "Is everything alright?"
She smiled at him, a light in her eyes he would never forget. "Hai, my
Mamo-chan. I hope so."
~~
The lights dimmed. The music started, just a simple melody, legato and
light. It chased around the area as the lights lifted to Tsuzuki and Chieri,
lovely like blue-eyed, blonde haired angels in snowy white and sparkling ice
silver.
She moved first, circling him as the music changed, deep rich melodies
flowing under quicksilver staccato. He took her hand, and the chords rang over
the rink like they had willed it to do so.
This program was always their best, Mori, Yuni, the boys, and even Canty
had agreed. The music was beautiful, dramatic and romantic, and the moves
seemed to sing with the melody like a chorus tuned to perfect time.
"What music is this?" Mamoru whispered to his girlfriend, flipping
through her program to the right page.
Usagi shook her head, unwilling to take her eyes of the beautiful couple
below them on the rink.
Makoto answered him from memory, murmuring in hushed tones as her green
eyes locked on Asuka and Tsuzuki, "It's a piece by Amade Yuusuke, written for
his wife, Ahkiko.*"
"Sugoi," Usagi whispered back, recognizing the names, "What's the piece
called?"
Makoto sighed as Chieri leaned back over Tsuzuki's arms, spinning nearly
parallel to the ice, "Giniro no Himo*."
~~
It was wonderful, this feeling, the layers of the ice building up with
energy to flow through her skates, her legs, her hands to Tsuzuki's as they
glided through the piece with ease. With the lights spinning around her, for a
moment Chieri could forget their horrible standing in the competition and just
enjoy dancing with Tsuzuki on the rink.
As they spun to the crossover, Tsuzuki took her hand, and Chieri looked
up at him, confused.
Winking a little, he opened his eyes to her and she felt something tug at
her heart.
'Do you trust me?'
She widened her eyes as he lifted her up into his arms. The music, was
it the music? she heard something beautiful, was filling her so much. Her
love for skating, for Tsuzuki, for this feeling...
Before she knew it, he had thrown her into the air and she twisted, once,
twice, three times...
And landed, perfectly, onto the ice.
~~
"Amazing!" cried the commentators over Minako's cheers, "A completely
unplanned move on Tsuzuki's part. It didn't even look as if Asuka was
expecting it at first. But she nailed it!"
"Look at that landing! This addition to a creative program could pull
them into the top three pairs tonight!"
"This is utterly unique," the woman agreed, "but then again, what else
could you expect from Tsuzuki and Asuka?"
"These two could skate forever."
Rei and Minako slapped five, and Ami was grinning ear-to-ear. Even Luna
and Artemis were sharing in the joy of the entire party assembled.
"Score one for true love!"
"You mean score 6.0 for true love," Ami corrected Minako, smiling,
earning groans from all present.
~~
The music had crescendo-ed just at the climax of the throw, the chord
ringing just as Chieri's skates touched the ice again.
Somehow, they finished program completely in time with the music. Both
forgot the technicalities and tiny details they hammered out, and allowed
themselves the privilege of the truly talented: they relaxed. Skating like
nothing existed by the audience, their message, and each other. Wings and
silver strings danced around them like illusions of light, and they finished in
flurry of music, poses and triumph.
Usagi stood in her seat to clap, and most of the other spectators joined
in her enthusiasm. Chieri and even Tsuzuki were visibly glowing with happiness
as roses, stuffed animals, and chocolate bananas rained down onto the ice.
The cameras zoomed in on the tears on Mori's face, Yuni and Kouichi
hugging happily, Asuka-san watching with pride, and Tsuzuki and Chieri, wrapped
in each other's arms, kissing under the shower of flower petals.
[* you remember them right? From episode 6? You know you do. And I knew the
anime would sneak in here, somehow.]
[*Giniro no Himo=Silver Strings. Creative of me, ne?]
Epilouge
I. Skate Forever
"Tsuzuki-kun!" Yuni was as delighted as Chieri at their nearly perfect
6.0s on the creative, rocketing the pair up to second place, but she was still
terrified at her friend's unexpected move.
"What were you thinking?" she raged, hands on hips, "If you took her by
enough surprise that she landed wrong, you could have killed her!"
"Ah," he said, "but I took her by enough surprise that she landed
correctly."
Chieri bit her lip, arms full of fragrant flowers and delicious looking
chocolate bananas, watching her friend. Yuni got angry with Tsuzuki almost
regularly, mostly on behalf of Chieri herself.
"But-"
Coach Mori put a calming hand on Yuni's arm, "It's okay, Yuni. We had
discussed it beforehand."
Chieri looked up in surprise, "Without telling me?"
"And make you even more nervous so that you psyched yourself out of
landing correctly?" Mori challenged.
"You have something special," she continued, "between you two. I don't
know what it is, but somehow you managed to revise an entire program, at the
last moment, *on the ice*, and still have it come off in perfect unison. I
trusted you both to make that decision on whether to give yourselves another
chance on that throw and I have to say... I am very glad you did!"
"I have faith in her," Tsuzuki said, "she flies on angel's wings, or
didn't you know that?" He grinned at his friends and coach, his arms tight
around Chieri's thin shoulders.
"Thank you," she said softly, and he looked down at her, as the others
took a quick hint and busied themselves gathering clothing and flowers from
around the locker room.
"For?"
"Understanding how much this means to me."
Pulling her tightly into his arms, he whispered, "My only angel, I beg
you, never make me do something like that again. Yuni was right, it is
dangerous, and I don't want to hurt you. Never, ever..."
She smiled, understanding the sacrifices he had made to pull off that
throw, to return her faith. "We have a good shot at All-Japan now. That means
we could possibly set the Olympics in our sights."
He returned her smile, sadly, "Then...?"
Chieri thought of the strings connecting them that Usagi had told her
about, every time they touched the air was charged with a power that felt like
flying through the rink, felt like reaching the sky. Every time he touched
her, smiled at her, it was like flying, it was like spinning,... it was like
skating.
They danced in their hearts to the rhythms as they did on the ice, and
she knew that feeling was captured forever in the silver strands that bound
them. No matter where their future took them.
"Skate with me forever," Chieri said, blue eyes full of meaning.
Tsuzuki Masanori, famous stoic ice-prince and future CEO of Tsuzuki
International Inc., grinned like a little boy at Christmas. "Forever and day,"
he responed, pulling her into his embrace.
Outside, an elated Usagi, filled with happiness for her friend, laughed
in the warm spring weather as she fell under the pile of cherry blossoms Makoto
and Mamoru were throwing at her. The park was nearly empty, since the party
had stayed a little late at the rink, meeting people and congratulating
friends. Falling beside her, Mamoru brushed some wayward petals out of her
blonde hair, both were smiling with the inner glow that illuminated Tsuzuki and
Chieri that night as well.
Makoto sighed, squinting a little past the setting sun. Funny, tonight, it
looked almost silver.
FIN!
Send all love letters, fanmail, flames, corrections, large cases of unmarked bills, pocky, questions and marshmallow peeps (don't you LOVE those things?) to: [email protected]. or, or, you can reveiw!
her altar, after I give thanks for The Cherry Project and Sailormoon, whose
characters I manipulate a lot, when I get sick of manipulating my friends.
~~
Silver Strings
A Love Story based on the Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and The Cherry
Project, both works of manga-ka Naoko Takeuchi.
by Antigone
2000
PART II
I. For Love
Mamoru sighed as he blinked to refocus his eyes on the textbook in front
of him. The rain beat steadily on the windows of his apartment, sending
strange shadows across the room, and the small text printed on the pages.
At his sigh, Usagi didn't wake from her position asleep on his shoulder,
but she did stir a little, nestling closer to him and shivering a little. Her
math book lay unopened on the floor.
Knowing it wouldn't wake her, he turned to her and said, out loud, "You
know, Usako, if you weren't incapable of staying awake to study your own school
work, I would be able to turn on a light or two in here."
Usagi, for her part, was dead to the world, and Mamoru knew she would be
until he finally figured out a way to wake her up in time to get her home
before her father got the SWAT team surrounding his apartment.
Unfortunately, waking up Tsukino Usagi was no easy task. He tried
everything; shaking her did no good, neither did shouting at her, and if he
kissed her she would just murmur his name and go back to the land of her
dreams. Cold water made her angry, and he didn't quite agree with Luna's
advice ("I just scratch her a few times," the cat had said, sagely, not
understanding why Mamoru had sweatdropped).
Luckily, this time, nature helped him out a little. A quick flash of
lightening brightened the room for a moment, and a low, barely audible thunder
mumbled far away.
"Auggh!! Mamo-chan! Kowai!"
And he found himself with a trembling little blonde in his arms, suddenly
wide-awake and demanding comfort from him. Now.
Sighing, he put down the textbook. He'd have to pull another late
nighter, he guessed. Usagi sniffled again as another flash quickly danced in
front of the window before going out in another, louder, crash.
'Ah, well, she couldn't help it if a thunderstorm had decided to settle
over Tokyo', Mamoru thought, putting his arms around her.
"It's okay," he said, fumbling to his end table for the remote control.
Flipping on the weather channel he watched for a while, then said, "See? It's
going to pass a few miles to the East following the low pressure sys-uh, it's
not going to come here. We'll only get some drizzle and see the lightening
from far away."
Whimpering a little, she lifted large, wary eyes to the rain-drenched
windows. "Okay," she said softly, still not leaving his arms.
For a moments the only sound in the room was the pounding rain and soft
rumbles of far away thunder. As it faded, Mamoru stirred a little, brushing
Usagi's hair back to see if she was still awake. She was, bright blue eyes
staring back into his.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Nani?" he asked, confused, and she lifted her eyes to smile at him.
"For understanding."
She smiled at him, beautifully, and touched his face gently with the tips
of her fingers.
The air shimmered and sparkled with a silver light neither noticed as
blue eyes gazed timelessly into each other, until another far away crash of
thunder launched Usagi back into his arms.
~~
Sweating, Chieri tugged at the suddenly mercilessly tight fabric of the
short dress Yuni had helped design for the technical number. The rink,
although usually what Chieri liked to call 'pleasantly cool', seemed stiflingly
hot. The humidity from the solid rainfall outside did nothing to better the
conditions either. In the heavy air, it was as if she *feel* the competition
approaching closer and closer, breathing down her neck.
"Here," Kouichi said softly, handing the small blonde a full water
bottle, which she accepted gratefully. It seemed some of her friends were
there, a few of her new Green Garden classmates were seating in the stands,
along with Tsuzuki's many female admirers.
Horishi leaned his head back on his arms as he sat in the front row
judges station, watching Mori have a very animated conversation with the
Tsuzuki as the two skaters took their short break.
"So you are definitely going to do the Les Miserables medley for
technical?" he said to Chieri, shifting his tweed 40's style cap on his head,
"Are you sure it's not too varied for you to get a solid foundation?"
Chieri stared wide-eyed into the water bottle, and Yuni and Kouichi both
gave Horishi sharp looks.
"Hey," Yuni said, "Coach said it was fine, it gives a nice style that
they can use to put in the most impressive moves."
"But if you saved it for the more creative short number..."
"It's too late to change the music," Chieri said, "so let's not worry
about it, okay?"
"Besides," a deep voice said from behind them, "we have music for the
creative piece already." Tsuzuki leaned his arms on the side of the rink,
separated from his friends by the chest-high barrier.
There was a tittering from up in the stands, and Tsuzuki gave Yuni a dark
look. "Is there any way to get rid of them?" he asked his friends, nodding his
head up to the spectators and fan-girls heaping over the stands.
"Not politely," Chieri answered, finishing some water and offering the
bottle to Tsuzuki. She had grown used to Tsuzuki's horde of adoring fans,
after all, she was the same way not too long ago. If having a poster of
Tsuzuki and kissing it before every singles competition (for good luck, of
course) wasn't considered otaku, she didn't know what was. Still, it made her
a little nervous to touch him with them watching, even in the program.
"Polite? Only a soft person like Chieri would worry about being polite,"
a huffy female voice said, and suddenly beautiful little Canty was spinning out
on the ice, like a butterfly angel.
Doing a few quick, high jumps, she turned to face the stunned crowd and
lifted her commanding voice, "Alright everyone! This is not a free
performance, this is serious training! If you want to see Asuka and Tsuzuki-
kun skate, buy tickets for the show in two days. Now," the aforenamed
'Princess' put her hands on her hips and glared into the audience, "get out of
my rink!"
'Princess?' Yuni thought, hiding a smile, 'Wataru was right, she *is*
more like a Queen.'
Sighing a little, Chieri watched her classmates leave, most of them
giving Tsuzuki regretful looks. She wanted to thank Canty, but knew the
prideful, mature girl would abhor any gratitude from her ex-rival. So instead,
the older girl just watched Canty perform a few more jumps, her famed
quadruple, a dizzying spin, and finally a bow to the remaining six members of
her audience.
"Show off," her brother muttered under his breath, shaking his head and
heading for a seat next to Horishi.
"Miss doing jumps like that, Cherry?" Tsuzuki asked, winking at the girl
grinning back up at him.
"Hai, hai," she said, "but I sure don't miss competing with the
Princess!"
"Okay, break has gone on for much too long!" Mori said, short wavy hair
bouncing as she hurried over to the pair, obviously having been distracted by
something very pressing to have let them relax so long.
As they skated to the center of the ice, ready to await the musical cue,
Tsuzuki leaned down and murmured something unusual into her ear, "Do you trust
me?"
And before she could answer, the music had started. And every thought
faded from her mind.
The ice seemed to radiate an energy that made her feel beautiful and
confident all at once. Poor little Asuka Chieri knew she was infamous for
being a bundle of nerves before any performance, trusting good luck charms and
rituals and shaking like a leaf. Ironically, Tsuzuki was well-known for his
nerves of steel, his ability to focus completely on the task at hand without a
trace of fear.
He was always calming her, 100% efficient down to the good-luck kiss that
had become tradition before every big show. But once the music started, once
they were spinning together to the music in their hearts that echoed out
through their movements, they were the same. Neither was nervous, neither was
tired, neither was alone.
This time was one of the rare run-throughs where she landed, although
very sloppily, on the throw, matched perfectly with chord after the crescendo.
The timing was flawless, though, as she grabbed Tsuzuki's hand and shut her
eyes to avoid being dizzy as the room spun in colors around her he pulled her
through the death-spiral.
The music grew lonely and sad, like raindrops, for the musical version of
'On My Own' as they ran through some spins, alone but always in perfect unison.
The music swelled to 'Bring Him Home' and faded in the finale, all the pieces
blending at once, and he lifted Chieri high in the air, she opened her arms the
judge stand, now filled with her closest friends, and lifted her chin to the
ceiling.
The balance was delicate, but Tsuzuki didn't tremble once. One move by
him and Chieri could fall to the rock-hard surface of the ice, perhaps injuring
herself beyond repair. But neither flinched until the last note echoed
throughout the room and Chieri was lowered so both blades touched the ice
steadily.
The applause was meager in the huge, empty room, but Kouichi's whistles
and Yuni's cheers filled her heart more than a million screaming fans. Mori
had a few technical notes on her board, but her proud eyes were obvious as she
smiled at the two. But the best thing for Chieri was Tsuzuki's arms around her
from behind, feeling him grin although she couldn't see him, both of them
glowing with the pride they always felt after a complete run-through, whether
it was judged or not. 'We did it. Together.'
But she couldn't help wondering at his strange question before the
practice, and what it meant.
And the competition still loomed oppressively ahead of her like some
strange dark cloud. They both knew their creativity and flair would count for
next to nothing in the technical, yet both those things were their only
strength. 'At least as it stands now,' Chieri thought, 'if I can't land that
jump in the technical, it doesn't matter how good our creative piece is, we are
lost against the older, more established pairs out there.'
Mori told them to prepare to run their Creative, which flowed like warm
butter and ran perfectly in both their veins. Chieri loved the soft music
chosen, the romantic dance moves Mori had included, and the confidence it
brought her to skate it so well. But she knew it was simple, too simple, for
it to save them.
'If I can't bring up my technique,' she thought despairingly as Tsuzuki
took her hand and the second musical piece echoed throughout the arena, 'then
Tsuzuki's dreams will never come true. And it will be all my fault.'
~~
The rain was lifting slightly from Tokyo, softening its drum on Mamoru's
windows, and letting a soft glow of late afternoon sunlight filter through the
drops.
"Usako, *what* are you doing?" Mamoru asked, for about the third time,
and Usagi just responded in the same way she had the first two times: With
short little jolt of her head, as if his question was annoying her and she
wished he would just let her continue with her research unmolested.
He really was sorry for bothering her, but even with his famed focus on
studies, it was a little hard to ignore her pert little index finger poking him
in the shoulder every few seconds.
Usagi squinted at her finger, lifting to her eyes, before lowering it to
his shoulder again, touching him lightly, and then examining the area where her
figure rested closely.
Finally, sighing, she leaned her head on her arm, muttering something
about 'stupid Minako, always being right...'
'Minako? Always right?' he thought, then shook his head. 'I must have
heard wrong.'
"Usako, w-"
She suddenly brightened, sitting up straight. "Can we go down to the
Takanawa Wing?"
"Wh-"
"Please?!"
"But I-"
"Mori-san said we were welcome anytime to watch them skate!"
"Usa-"
"Great! Thanks, Mamo-chan, I love you!"
He knew it was useless to resist, she knew it was useless for him to
resist, so for a moment Mamoru wondered why he even attempted to divert Usagi's
attention once her resolve was so stubbornly set on something. It was obvious
wasted energy that Usagi apparently thought could be put to better use, like
taking her to an ice-skating rink in the rain. He knew he'd end up spending
two week's salary on her dinner, nearly loose his teeth when he brought her
home to her father late, and possibly have to deal with any one of many
disasters that always followed in her wake.
And the really, really scary thing was that he really didn't mind one
bit. 'I must be crazy' he reflected seriously. He'd check himself into a
mental institution, if it didn't mean such a long time away from Usagi.
"Watcha thinking about?" she asked him, innocently, narrowing lovely blue
eyes thoughtfully at him from the doorway, impatiently hopping from one foot to
the other.
"Nothing," he said, equally as innocently, taking his jacket from the peg
by the door and following her out. "Nothing at all."
"Then hurry!" her indignant little voice was the last sound to echo back
into the empty apartment as the door closed.
On the street below, Mamoru's rich laughter over Usagi's childlike
demanding of what was just so funny, fell like the raindrops over ears of
anyone nearby.
II. With Heart
"The rain is letting up," Canty informed the party stationed at the rink.
She removed her stylish clear jacket and shook droplets from her perfectly
crimped hair.
"Were where you all this time?" Yuni asked, feet propped on the seat in
front of her, bundled in Kouichi's comfortable jacket. The three supports,
best friends, and number one fans of Tsuzuki and Chieri, were setting up to
spend a long night with the two famous teenagers as they had many times before.
Although Yuni was the only person among them who couldn't do a jump on skates
to save her life, ("rail cleaner" was actually what they lovingly called her),
she felt at home among these people, bonded by all the time they've spent to
make Chieri and Tsuzuki's dreams come true. The Cherry Project, Yuni felt, had
never truly disbanded.
"Perhaps she was with a boy," Hiroshi said, his calm voice muffled by his
hat, pulled down below his eyes.
"Shut up!" Canty said, shifting her eyes, a blush tainted her cheeks. "I
don't have to put up with this from you," whirling around on the heel of one
fashionable black boot, she lifted her head and walked to the other side of the
rink.
Chieri looked up from lacing her skates in shock. Then, smiling a
little, she concentrated on pulling the string tighter around her ankle. It
was stupid to think Canty's feelings for Tsuzuki would last this long. She
found herself wondering what type of boy such an amazingly grown-up girl like
Canty would fall for, but also, for a strange reason, she was extremely happy
for the snobby girl she used to dislike so much.
Interrupting her thoughts, Coach Mori called to her from the middle of
the ice, and waving cheerfully to her friends, the small girl skated to wear
her coach and partner were waiting for her.
"How is she doing?" Kouichi asked Yuni, concern and brotherly love for
the bubbly Chieri evident in his gaze as he watched her do some quick warm-ups.
"She's nervous," Yuni admitted.
"But Chieri's always nervous," Hiroshi said, leaning over to look at his
two friends.
"No," Kouichi said appraisingly, "no, it's not just that. Something's
changed in her skating. It's like she's like a robot doing moves and jumps,
she's lost her trust in... in something. Tsuzuki's noticed it, too."
"He's afraid she might be loosing faith in him," Yuni surmised, looking
at Kouichi in sad shock.
"Or," Hiroshi added, lifting his eyes to the couple before him, "in
*them*."
"Excuse me," a soft voice interrupted their hushed conversation and three
pairs of eyes turned to the smiling face of Tsukino Usagi. Mamoru stood a
little bit behind her, politely inclining his head to the people before him.
"Hey," Hiroshi said, "it's you."
"Hi, You," Yuni joked, readjusting her feet so she was more comfortable,
"I'm Nishimura Yuni. This is Kouichi,"
"The super-handsome one," Kouichi put in, giving a mock-salute.
Rolling her eyes, Yuni continued, "The aloof guy in the hat is Hiroshi,
whom you've met."
"Briefly," Mamoru said, smiling. "I'm Chiba Mamoru, this is Tsukino
Usagi."
"They brought Chieri's necklace back for her," Hiroshi explained,
detachedly.
"Oh, then I guess you can stay, unless Cherry objects when she notices,"
Yuni said, scooting over for Usagi to sit down. Mamoru took a seat behind her,
resting his arms on his knees, and leaned forward to join in the girls'
conversation.
"This is so kakkoi!" the blonde exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Are they
rehearsing now?" Chieri spun a few times on the ice, stretching her muscles
after the hour break they had taken at dinner. Tsuzuki lifted her and spun
once, a rare smile beaming from his face.
Yuni blinked, "Hai. This is their last major practice before the show.
Tomorrow they run through it once or twice, accepting that if they do it too
many times before the show they'll over-practice and overwork themselves.
Mostly they rest and eat the day before the competition."
"And sometimes spend some quality time on the various non-skating actives
most couples en-"
"Kouichi!" Yuni hit him lightly, and took a handful of potato chips from
the bag he held.
"What?" He grinned, "Just telling it like it is."
Hiroshi rolled his eyes.
"You go to Green Garden, huh?" Usagi said a little wistfully, leaning
her head on her hand. "Must be nice."
They three nodded, agreeing, "But its hard work," Yuni added, "Just ask
Cherry. Where do you go?"
"Juuban," Usagi said.
"Sugoi! Do you know Haruna-sensei?"
Just then Coach Mori's whistle blew once, loudly.
And Tsuzuki and Chieri snapped to attention, posed gracefully in the
middle of the ice. Then the music started.
Yuni leaned over and murmured to Usagi and Mamoru, "This is their
technical piece. It's less of an exhibition and more of a program. Their
creative program is the best, it'll blow the judges away. But this is
extremely important, too, and they are having trouble with it, so they've been
practicing a lot."
Usagi dreamily watched Chieri and Tsuzuki perform to the varied music,
expressing feeling with every move. Chieri looked elated when she went fast
around the ice, Tsuzuki in step with her all the way. He, she reflected,
certainly did fit his 'poker face' reputation, although his eyes lit up with
something special when he looked at Chieri.
The music swelled, they glided to face each other, hands gracefully
touching, arms held like dancers', when Usagi saw.
Shimmering, gleaming, the strands were barely visible, only shining in
certain places. Like a twine of foil reflecting the lights, it swirled like a
thing alive, around fingers and legs and hearts.
Gasping, Usagi grabbed Mamoru's hand, and looked up at him in amazement.
"Do you see it?" she cried, and he just blinked at her.
"See what?"
Entwining her slender fingers through his, she whispered, "Look with your
heart, Mamo-chan."
~~
Chieri made her way to the locker room, knowing she only had, at most,
ten minutes of break before Mori would make her get back on the ice again. It
was for the best, she knew, if she stopped too long the lactic acid would cause
her muscles to ache too much to practice much longer. But she cringed to think
how sore she would be tomorrow.
"C-chotto..." a shy voice at her arm made Chieri spin around to find
herself staring straight into sparkling blue eyes.
The unfamiliar girl smiled, and Chieri felt any inhibitions or annoyance
she may have been feeling melt away. She felt herself smiling back before she
knew what she was doing.
"Hi, do I know you?"
Blushing, Usagi answered, "I'm Tsukino Usagi. You lost your necklace and
my boyfriend found it for you. So now we have tickets for your show, but I
just wanted to thank you so much-"
"Thank me?" Chieri asked, turning to and waving Usagi into the locker
room with her, "Why?"
Sitting down on a bench, Usagi tilted her head to the side, letting one
lovely blonde pigtail fall across the bench to almost touch the tiled floor.
Her legs were swinging back and forth beneath her school-girl dress and her
eyes were soft and dreamy. Watching her in the mirror as Chieri washed her
hands, the girl could only think about how much Usagi reminded her of herself,
when all she was was a living, breathing bundle of beautiful dreams.
"Because you were so beautiful out there."
Chieri paused. She'd heard that phrase a million times before, it was
always flattering, especially wonderful when it came from her father, or
friends. But for some reason, this little slip of a girl made her feel as if
it might be actually be true.
Taking a second to study blonde curls and blue eyes in the mirror, Chieri
took pause. Was she really beautiful to Usagi's eyes, spinning in Tsuzuki's
arms?
Turning, Chieri smiled at Usagi, who returned the grin with equal girlish
excitement. "Well, then, thank you, Tsukino Usagi."
"Guess what, Angel," Tsuzuki leaned casually against the doorway, smiling
a polite 'hello' to Usagi and turning back to Chieri, "she wants us to go
through the technical again, then the Creative."
Shaking her head and smiling, Chieri moved to put her things back into
her locker. "I'll be right out."
"It's a lot of work, isn't it?" The soft, innocent voice said, eyes
amazed and awed.
"Yes it is," Chieri said, eyes softening, "but I love it."
~~
Chieri noticed Usagi left in the middle of the technical run-through,
waving good-bye to the boys and Yuni. The little girl was extremely sleepy,
and Mamoru had to practically lift her in his arms to take her home.
Yawning, the tired athlete stretched her arms and smiled, "I wish I could
just be carried home now."
Coach Mori smiled a little sardonically, "Dream on, Cherry-chan."
Laughing, Tsuzuki entwined his arms around her slowly around her waist,
"Who are you going to get to carry you, Cherry? My arms hurt enough."
She giggled, stuck her tongue out at him.
"Been eating enough chocolate bananas, lately?" he smiled.
"Yes," she said sweetly, "Are you going to call me 'monkey' now?" They
shared a tender smile before Mori clapped her hands swiftly.
"Let's get all the small things fixed before tomorrow, so you can both
rest up for the big day Tuesday. Ne?"
Glancing at the stands, to her tired, wired, wonderful friends, and
feeling Tsuzuki's warm arms around her, Chieri felt that all the muscle-aches
and late nights in the world were more than worth this. No matter what
happened Tuesday.
~~
"So," Mamoru said, that bright, clear Tuesday afternoon, "who did you
finally decide to bring to the Takanawa Wing tonight?"
"Mako-chan," came the simple answer.
"I know, but-"
"Actually, I went to Juuban Junior High school today," she smiled
secretively, "and left one ticket with a certain Haruna-sensei."
Mamoru blinked.
Eyes twinkling, Usagi answered, "Well, she was Chieri-san's homeroom
teacher at her old school. She saw the entire Tsuzuki to Chieri romance
unfold."
She took his hand and smiled up at him, "And I have to tell you, the real
story is a million times better than what Mako-chan heard."*
Mamoru laughed, and shook his head. Only she would think to give her old
teacher, who she didn't even get along with, tickets to an ice show her friends
were all fighting over.
Then again, only she would do most of things she does.
Usagi glanced up, caught the intense look in his eyes. "What?" she asked
a little nervously. He just smiled.
"Nothing. I was just wondering if they would room us together at the
looney bin."
"Okay, Mamo-chan," she said, shaking her head and laughing a bit.
"Whatever."
[*the 'real' Tsuzuki/Asuka story is told in Naoko's The Cherry Project.
You'll have to read it to know. ^_-]
III. If I Fall...
The show was sold out, and the crowd was huge as Usagi, Mamoru and Makoto
made their way through the Takanawa Wing's doors. Careful not to get
separated, they stuck closely together as Mamoru looked at the numbers on the
tickets in his hand.
"Wow," he said softly. The people in this business sure knew how to show
gratitude.
Makoto was practically squealing as they sat in their third row seats,
clutching a large, colorful, expensive program to her chest and letting her
eyes dart wildly around the rink. "Sugoi," she whispered.
Usagi, for her part, looked a little pale and nervous. When Mamoru
leaned over the ask what was wrong, the blonde only fidgeted more. "I'm
nervous for Chieri-san."
Laughing, Makoto shook her head at her naïve, empathic friend. "Usagi-
chan, she's a champion! Don't worry!" Then, the tall brunette leaned over the
talk to Mamoru, since Usagi apparently wasn't interested in conversation.
"That's Chieri's father down there," she said, pointing to a tall, light-
haired man sitting in the front row, "he was a famous Olympic skater..."
As her friend's voice rang in her eyes, Usagi looked down at the program
she made Mamoru buy for her. Flipping through the photos of the pairs that
would be performing tonight, she stopped on the small picture next to Asuka's
bio.
'Even champions get nervous.'
~~
Maybe it was a nervous habit, maybe it was just something to do with her
hands, or maybe it was sheer curiosity that made Chieri press her hand to her
heart before going on onto the ice at shows. It raced, as it always did,
flighty, rabid pounds against her palm, her throat, and her stomach. Trembling
she paced back and forth, wringing her hands slightly. Her skates were knotted
together and flung over one thin shoulder.
She was alone. This was the worst part of every show. Tsuzuki, calm as
can be, was still getting ready in the changing room and would be for a while.
Meanwhile, nervous little Chieri was all ready to go out on the ice, although
they weren't on until third.
To pass the time, and avoid looking at the other beautiful, accomplished,
confident woman around her, she looked down at Yuni's latest creation.
Her dress was supposed to fit the music, a peasant-like outfit of the
time period from the musical. It looked almost two-piece, a dark jumper-like
dress and thin, white sleeves Yuni informed her were supposed to end in
fluttery, cutted patterns. Her friend had looked brown eyes into Chieri's and
explained what the outfit symbolized, but at this moment she could think of
nothing but the program.
The music for the first pair started, and startled Chieri violently.
Before long, though, a warm, steady hand found its way to her trembling
shoulder and she offered Tsuzuki a shakey smile. "Nervous, Cherry?" he asked,
needlessly.
Even as she nodded, she opened her eyes wide to feel his hands brushing
against her neck as he fastened something gently around her throat.
Looking into his eyes as her mother's necklace feel around her neck, she
whispered his name, like she had the first time he placed the golden chain
around her neck.
"I got it fixed for you," he said, smiling a little.
"Thank you," she whispered.
The first pair spun to a stop and bowed.
Chieri squeezed Tsuzuki's hand.
~~
"They were wonderful," said Makoto as the second pair ended with a
flourish.
"Shh!" Usagi said, leaning forward and grabbing Mamoru's arm in a death-
grip that made him sweatdrop. "Chieri's on next!"
Sure enough, Tsuzuki and Asuka were skating out to the ice, smiling to
the children who gathered flowers and gifts tossed to the pair just leaving.
"I wish I'd thought to bring something," Makoto sighed.
"Haruna-sensei has flowers," Mamoru said, nodding his head toward the
tall, read-head a few seats down, "I think Usagi convinced her earlier to sign
the card from all of us."
Feeling a sudden rush of affection for her odango-ed friend, Makoto
smiled. 'Only her,' Makoto mouthed over Usagi's head to Mamoru, who grinned
back at her.
Then the music started. And all three pairs of eyes locked themselves to
the couple on the ice.
~~
The chords began softly, and Chieri broke the comforting gaze she had
kept with Tsuzuki and began to move. The program was memorized so deeply in
her that she just flowed with the music, feeling Tsuzuki next to her, and
allowing herself to trust what her body did while her soul filled with love.
Relaxed and happy, Chieri felt a shift in her world when the first few
chords of 'Do You Hear the People Sing' echoed in the rink. Heart in her
throat, she readied herself for the throw. Like practiced a million times
before, Tsuzuki spun before her and she caught herself in his arms. His eyes
met hers, shining with faith. Her heart sank.
He let her go, up in the air like he expected her to fly on the angel wings she
might not have.
And she crashed to Earth.
The cold surface beneath her hands and knees was a let down, a horrible
shock she didn't have time to register before her training kicked in. Push up
with your hands, steady yourself and go on.
And go on she did. Tears stung her eyes, and she refused to give into
them. She could feel Tsuzuki's fingers brush her own and Chieri felt a
frustrating wave of guilt wash over her. Not once looking his way, she forced
herself to calm down, running through the piece in her mind. Counting the
beats to the music, she readied herself to spin, to turn, to jump, and to
smile. At the end, when Tsuzuki lifted her to the audience, she mechanically
spread her arms and lifted her chin, tears already sparkling down her face.
He lowered her to the ice and she stood there, not meeting his eyes. The
cruel camera zoomed in on her face, so her disappointment could be broadcast
over the monitors for all to see. Noticing this, Tsuzuki gently took her arm
and they hurried off the ice.
Coach Mori instantly embraced her in the kiss'n'cry, and Tsuzuki reached
for her but she yanked herself away from his touch, collapsing onto a bench as
they waited for the scores to be announced.
~~
Three girls and two cats sat in stunned silence in front of their
television screen, listening the commentator's hushed tones as they did replay
after cruel replay of Chieri's spectacular fall.
"She had too much spin in her body, and see, her knee just crumbled
beneath her," a female voice said, "she recovered quickly from the fall
itself."
"But," a male voice sad, with the faux regret of someone trained in their
line of work, "Asuka never did regain her timing throughout that entire piece.
I have to say, it was one of Asuka and Tsuzuki's worst pieces since they
started skating together."
"It's really a shame," the female voice added, "they have so much
potential."
"Here come the scores, extremely low for such a promising-" but he was
drowned out by the gasps and groans of all watching the program from Minako's
living room.
"4.1? *3.8*?!" Ami was shocked at the lowest score on the screen,
"Surely a fall couldn't have cost that much!"
"I hope Mako-chan beats that judge up," added Rei. No one mentioned the
horrible, obvious difference between the two graceful people on Makoto's old
tape and the program they had just seen.
"They'll have to make up for a lot in Creative program to even place
third in this competition," the woman was saying, and Minako calmly lifted the
remote control and pressed the 'mute' button violently.
~~ IV. Silver Strings
"Where's Cherry?" Demanded Yuni, hands on hips, as she faced Tsuzuki in
the wings. The soft music from the next performers was quietly heard through
the walls of the rink, applause signaling the end.
Tsuzuki didn't turn away from Mori, who he was apparently having an
animated discussion with. Shifting his eyes to the floor, he answered, "I
don't know. And if I know Cherry, she doesn't want to see anyone right now
anyway."
Narrowing her eyes, Yuni choked, "You won't even look for her! When will
you ever stop leaving her alone?!" With that Chieri's best friend turned and
ran, leaving only Coach Mori to witness Tsuzuki angrily slam his fist against
the wall, blue eyes resembling storms.
"You don't have to do this, Tsuzuki," she said gently, "if you don't
feel-"
"It doesn't matter what I feel. It's her," he lifted his eyes to
Chieri's coach, "I have to get her trust herself again."
"It's risky. Do you feel she can handle it?"
His eyes cleared a little. "Cherry makes the impossible possible," he
told her, confidence in his gaze. "And I have to prove that to her."
~~
Mamoru was seriously worried about Usagi. After hearing the scores
announced over the rink, Usagi had blanched and mumbled something about having
to talk to Chieri. The entire program Usagi's eyes had been trained to the
couple, happy when they started out so well, but audibly gasping when Chieri
tumbled onto the ice.
From there, the two teens' program had gone downhill steadily, the timing
was off and even stoic Tsuzuki had looked worried during some of the tense
moments. At the end, Usagi's eyes were filled with tears.
"Usako," he had said softly, but she jumped up and started hurrying down
the stairs and to the kiss'n'cry area.
"I have to try to explain-" she started, as she left Makoto and Mamoru in
their seats, "I'll be right back," she called to them as the next performers
skated out on the ice.
'I just hope someone I met last night is there to let me in.' Usagi was
thinking, 'And I hope I can make Chieri understand what I saw up there.'
It took her a while to find the girl, since Chieri had pressed her little
body up against the side of the back stairs, knees to her chest, making herself
as small as possible in such a far corner of the rink.
"Oh, Chieri-san," Usagi breathed, for a second departing from her usually
happy-go-lucky self, her deeply sympathetic heart aching for this girl,
"Daijobu ka?"
"I-iie," Chieri said miserably. She leaned her head against the cold
wall and thought back the only other time she had felt so afraid and
pitiable... when the ice had suddenly become her worst enemy.
"H-how can I look at him?" she asked, desperately, blue eyes searching
Usagi's for the answer, "I destroyed his dreams. I always knew... knew I could
never soar as high as Tsuzuki." She sighed, lowering her eyes, "I was always
on borrowed wings. With me, he only has potential."
"But you're Asuka and Tsuzuki! How can you have one without the other?"
Usagi demanded, sitting herself next to her newfound friend. "Without you...
how can he skate without you?!"
Quiet footsteps announced Yuni's entrance, concern for her friend and
slight surprise at seeing Usagi flitting across her pretty features. For a
moment she was silent, then her eyes lightened, and she watched Usagi at work.
Somehow she knew; this wasn't the first time the little blonde schoolgirl had
mended a broken heart.
"You could never be one without the other," Usagi said, sagely, "That's
what the strings mean."
"The strings?" Chieri asked, confused.
But Usagi was talking half to herself, eyes wide with the realization
dawning across her face. "That's why we see them, they bind us, heart to
heart..." She and Mamoru shared pain, dreams, fear... everything. In battle,
he knew her next move, she could work with him in perfect sync without a
thought-out plan beforehand. They had always trusted their hearts, and hence,
the strings of silver to guide them, lure them, always to each other.
"Chieri-san," Usagi started, "they pull at you. In your heart, in your
soul... your wings... you stopped trusting them."
"What were you thinking of, Cherry-chan, during the last part of your
program?" Yuni asked, gently.
Blinking, Chieri sat up, looking from Usagi to Yuni, "I was thinking
about the program, what I needed to do next, how many counts to the beat, what
Tsuzuki must be thinking of me..."
Usagi was silent for a moment. "I saw them, Chieri-san. You'll think
I'm crazy, but I saw the thin strands of something tangible between you two.
After you fell, they were guiding you but you stopped following them."
"You have to trust him, trust yourself," Yuni said, "again."
There were a few moments of silence as Chieri blinked away a few tears.
"Tsuzuki's dreams..."
"Cherry," Yuni said, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder, "*you*
are his dream. You always were."
The two girls were quiet, awaiting the skater's decision.
Finally, she met Yuni's eyes and offered her a tiny, watery smile. "It's
almost time for me to change into my short program costume, isn't it?" Chieri
asked weakly.
~~
Dressed in her white and silver body-suit dress, Chieri found Tsuzuki
waiting for her in his silver and white costume. For once, he was ready before
her.
"Tsuzuki," she started, but he stopped her, silently coming up to her and
putting his warm hand on her shoulder.
"Do you trust me?" he whispered, eyes asking her permission for something
she couldn't understand.
Did she? For a moment she remembered Usagi's explanation of the sparkle
in the air, the thin yarns of pure love that could bind and protect. She
remembered the first ever time she had pair skated with Tsuzuki... unplanned,
unpredicted, in front of her entire school. With his wings, she soared.
"Yes," she answered him, "with anything."
And as always before they skated, for good luck, so she felt she could
skate wonderfully, he brushed his lips to hers.
Usagi rejoined her two companions in their seats right before the music
ended for the couple before Tsuzuki and Chieri. Because they had scored so low
on the technical, Asuka and Tsuzuki were one of the last few selected couples
to perform a creative short program.
As she sat down, Mamoru whispered, "Is everything alright?"
She smiled at him, a light in her eyes he would never forget. "Hai, my
Mamo-chan. I hope so."
~~
The lights dimmed. The music started, just a simple melody, legato and
light. It chased around the area as the lights lifted to Tsuzuki and Chieri,
lovely like blue-eyed, blonde haired angels in snowy white and sparkling ice
silver.
She moved first, circling him as the music changed, deep rich melodies
flowing under quicksilver staccato. He took her hand, and the chords rang over
the rink like they had willed it to do so.
This program was always their best, Mori, Yuni, the boys, and even Canty
had agreed. The music was beautiful, dramatic and romantic, and the moves
seemed to sing with the melody like a chorus tuned to perfect time.
"What music is this?" Mamoru whispered to his girlfriend, flipping
through her program to the right page.
Usagi shook her head, unwilling to take her eyes of the beautiful couple
below them on the rink.
Makoto answered him from memory, murmuring in hushed tones as her green
eyes locked on Asuka and Tsuzuki, "It's a piece by Amade Yuusuke, written for
his wife, Ahkiko.*"
"Sugoi," Usagi whispered back, recognizing the names, "What's the piece
called?"
Makoto sighed as Chieri leaned back over Tsuzuki's arms, spinning nearly
parallel to the ice, "Giniro no Himo*."
~~
It was wonderful, this feeling, the layers of the ice building up with
energy to flow through her skates, her legs, her hands to Tsuzuki's as they
glided through the piece with ease. With the lights spinning around her, for a
moment Chieri could forget their horrible standing in the competition and just
enjoy dancing with Tsuzuki on the rink.
As they spun to the crossover, Tsuzuki took her hand, and Chieri looked
up at him, confused.
Winking a little, he opened his eyes to her and she felt something tug at
her heart.
'Do you trust me?'
She widened her eyes as he lifted her up into his arms. The music, was
it the music? she heard something beautiful, was filling her so much. Her
love for skating, for Tsuzuki, for this feeling...
Before she knew it, he had thrown her into the air and she twisted, once,
twice, three times...
And landed, perfectly, onto the ice.
~~
"Amazing!" cried the commentators over Minako's cheers, "A completely
unplanned move on Tsuzuki's part. It didn't even look as if Asuka was
expecting it at first. But she nailed it!"
"Look at that landing! This addition to a creative program could pull
them into the top three pairs tonight!"
"This is utterly unique," the woman agreed, "but then again, what else
could you expect from Tsuzuki and Asuka?"
"These two could skate forever."
Rei and Minako slapped five, and Ami was grinning ear-to-ear. Even Luna
and Artemis were sharing in the joy of the entire party assembled.
"Score one for true love!"
"You mean score 6.0 for true love," Ami corrected Minako, smiling,
earning groans from all present.
~~
The music had crescendo-ed just at the climax of the throw, the chord
ringing just as Chieri's skates touched the ice again.
Somehow, they finished program completely in time with the music. Both
forgot the technicalities and tiny details they hammered out, and allowed
themselves the privilege of the truly talented: they relaxed. Skating like
nothing existed by the audience, their message, and each other. Wings and
silver strings danced around them like illusions of light, and they finished in
flurry of music, poses and triumph.
Usagi stood in her seat to clap, and most of the other spectators joined
in her enthusiasm. Chieri and even Tsuzuki were visibly glowing with happiness
as roses, stuffed animals, and chocolate bananas rained down onto the ice.
The cameras zoomed in on the tears on Mori's face, Yuni and Kouichi
hugging happily, Asuka-san watching with pride, and Tsuzuki and Chieri, wrapped
in each other's arms, kissing under the shower of flower petals.
[* you remember them right? From episode 6? You know you do. And I knew the
anime would sneak in here, somehow.]
[*Giniro no Himo=Silver Strings. Creative of me, ne?]
Epilouge
I. Skate Forever
"Tsuzuki-kun!" Yuni was as delighted as Chieri at their nearly perfect
6.0s on the creative, rocketing the pair up to second place, but she was still
terrified at her friend's unexpected move.
"What were you thinking?" she raged, hands on hips, "If you took her by
enough surprise that she landed wrong, you could have killed her!"
"Ah," he said, "but I took her by enough surprise that she landed
correctly."
Chieri bit her lip, arms full of fragrant flowers and delicious looking
chocolate bananas, watching her friend. Yuni got angry with Tsuzuki almost
regularly, mostly on behalf of Chieri herself.
"But-"
Coach Mori put a calming hand on Yuni's arm, "It's okay, Yuni. We had
discussed it beforehand."
Chieri looked up in surprise, "Without telling me?"
"And make you even more nervous so that you psyched yourself out of
landing correctly?" Mori challenged.
"You have something special," she continued, "between you two. I don't
know what it is, but somehow you managed to revise an entire program, at the
last moment, *on the ice*, and still have it come off in perfect unison. I
trusted you both to make that decision on whether to give yourselves another
chance on that throw and I have to say... I am very glad you did!"
"I have faith in her," Tsuzuki said, "she flies on angel's wings, or
didn't you know that?" He grinned at his friends and coach, his arms tight
around Chieri's thin shoulders.
"Thank you," she said softly, and he looked down at her, as the others
took a quick hint and busied themselves gathering clothing and flowers from
around the locker room.
"For?"
"Understanding how much this means to me."
Pulling her tightly into his arms, he whispered, "My only angel, I beg
you, never make me do something like that again. Yuni was right, it is
dangerous, and I don't want to hurt you. Never, ever..."
She smiled, understanding the sacrifices he had made to pull off that
throw, to return her faith. "We have a good shot at All-Japan now. That means
we could possibly set the Olympics in our sights."
He returned her smile, sadly, "Then...?"
Chieri thought of the strings connecting them that Usagi had told her
about, every time they touched the air was charged with a power that felt like
flying through the rink, felt like reaching the sky. Every time he touched
her, smiled at her, it was like flying, it was like spinning,... it was like
skating.
They danced in their hearts to the rhythms as they did on the ice, and
she knew that feeling was captured forever in the silver strands that bound
them. No matter where their future took them.
"Skate with me forever," Chieri said, blue eyes full of meaning.
Tsuzuki Masanori, famous stoic ice-prince and future CEO of Tsuzuki
International Inc., grinned like a little boy at Christmas. "Forever and day,"
he responed, pulling her into his embrace.
Outside, an elated Usagi, filled with happiness for her friend, laughed
in the warm spring weather as she fell under the pile of cherry blossoms Makoto
and Mamoru were throwing at her. The park was nearly empty, since the party
had stayed a little late at the rink, meeting people and congratulating
friends. Falling beside her, Mamoru brushed some wayward petals out of her
blonde hair, both were smiling with the inner glow that illuminated Tsuzuki and
Chieri that night as well.
Makoto sighed, squinting a little past the setting sun. Funny, tonight, it
looked almost silver.
FIN!
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