The Cherry Project - Chapter 7

"Held by the wings of an angel..."

Originally appeared in Nakayoshi, April 1991.
Written by Takeuchi Naoko.
Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.0, 11.97.
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"What are you doing!" says the judge. "Hurry onto the rink!"

"It hurts..." Chieri thinks, as she holds her bleeding right foot. "I have
to get onto the rink..."

"You've just made it this far because of your father's influence!" the
dark-haired girl said.

"It's not his influence!" she thinks.

She stands up, cringing.

"One more level. I can make it."

She skates onto the ice.

"I'll pass!"

"Level 6," said Mori, "is an original program with eight required elements,
and free skating. It's like a tournament without rehearsal."

She jumps into the air doing a spin. As she lands on her right foot, her
knee buckles, and she falls down on the ice.

"She messed up on the double!" says one of the girls watching. "It is
impossible, her making it to level 6."

"She can't skate with that leg," says the dark-haired girl. "Serves her
right!"

"It would be amusing if she cried on the ice."

"It would! Cry! Cry!"

Chieri cringes with pain as she skates.

"My right leg... It's affecting my performance... I feel like I'm going to
die..."

She glides with her left leg raised behind her, putting her weight on her
right.

"A bit rough," says the judge.

"She's losing it," thinks Mori. "It's getting to be five hours since the
badge test started. Has she reached her limit?"

"End of the original program," says the judge.

Chieri stops and gasps for breath.

"One more," she thinks. "One more and you're done, Chieri."

"Please continue with the free skate," says the judge.

"It hurts," she thinks. "I can't... I'll think of something else."

The music begins to play, and Chieri begins to skate.

"Something else..." she thinks. "The music is starting."

"I'll come up with the program," Mori said. "Is there some music you want
to skate to?"

"Coach!" said Chieri. "I want to go with the music from the school
festival!"

"Ah... As I thought, Hiroshi's music is good. Listening to it repeat, with
this grand beat. The music from all the times I practiced with Tsuzuki. How
many times I saw him easily skating so vividly. When I close my eyes,
you're always flowing like you have wings..."

She crosses her arms as she jumps over the ice.

The people watching gasp.

"Tsuzuki Masanori!?"

"Look," she thinks. "Now, on the rink, I am Tsuzuki."

Tsuzuki and Kouichi watch her skate.

"Aren't you scared, Tsuzuki?" says Kouichi. "Look at her. The copy machine
is reproducing more and more. Her absorption and technique are so similar
it's frightening. Is this what we felt when we first saw Cherry? If you
were a pair, you'd skate with perfect unison."

"I don't need two of me," says Tsuzuki.

"That's it," he thinks. "She doesn't have the most important thing. At
first it seemed there was something about her. But we ruined it. Think,
Masanori! She can't continue like this. What will she do next? What should
I do..."

"So she doesn't have her own skating," says Kouichi. "No matter how much
skill she has, she can do nothing but imitate. Even if she starts singles
skating after all this, it's like Hiroshi said. Fatal. No way out! Even
though we finally found the talent."

"If we start over from the beginning," says Tsuzuki, "it will be five
years, or ten, before she makes it. A long time... She might be happier if
she quits figure skating. She'll live without that unnecessary pain."

Kouichi looks at him.

"But..." Kouichi says. "She said herself that she wanted to enter the
skating club. That she wanted to figure skate. We can't turn back now! I
don't want to see her fail in the end! There must still be a way. I want us
to do everything we possibly can! What about you!? Do you still think of
Cherry as your partner? Or else..."

Chieri crashes on the ice.

Tsuzuki looks at her.

"That's strange," he thinks. "Before... Is she failing the jumps to protect
her right leg?"

He walks away.

"Tsuzuki!?" Kouichi says.

Chieri gets back up.

"I've messed up so many jumps already," she thinks. "The music will end
soon. I have to do a triple this time! I have to do a big finish to make up
for those mistakes."

She skates faster.

"If I do a loop or a flip with my left leg, I can get by without using my
right. No, I won't make it from this next step. My foot is numb. If I don't
do something, I'll fail!"

She cringes.

"Tsuzuki, I can't do it! If I use both legs... I don't have time to
hesitate!"

She jumps above the ice, flipping over backwards.

"A back flip!!" Tsuzuki thinks.

"Tsuzuki's favorite move!" thinks Kouichi. "Cherry!"

She lands on her feet.

"I did it!!"

Chieri skates to a stop as the music ends.

"It's over..." she thinks.

The judges leave the room.

The dark-haired girl smirks.

"Asuka-san!" says Mori. "What were you... With all those demerits you had,
you finished with that..."

"Cherry!" says Kouichi.

"I... I..." says Chieri, gasping for breath.

"They're banned!" he says. "Back flips, outside of exhibitions and shows."

"What!?"

The judges return.

"Asuka Chieri-san. Here are the results of your marking. The somersault
jump you performed during level 6 is banned by league regulations. With the
many demerits, your free skate was not up to the standard for this level."

"I... failed..."

"However, taking such things as your experience into consideration, we have
decided that you are technically satisfactory. You pass level 6."

Her mouth falls open, and she drops to her knees.

"Terrific!" says Kouichi.

"Ouch!" Chieri cries.

"Take it off," says Tsuzuki.

He kneels beside her.

"Your boot, hurry!"

She takes it off, and he sees her bleeding foot.

"That foot!" he says.

"I just cut it a little before skating," says Chieri.

"So she skated her original program and her free skate with that foot," he
thinks. "Such strong will."

"You might not be able to enter the block tournament like that," says Mori.

"The block tournament..." says Chieri. "I can perform there! I will enter
it! I'm fine!"

"I don't understand this!" says the dark-haired girl. "This... It's special
treatment! I don't think it's a fair judgement!"

"You know, it is suspicious," says another skater.

"I knew it! It must be because of her father!"

Tsuzuki looks to the doorway.

"Special treatment, eh?" he says. "We've entered all the tournaments abroad
only on the league's recommendation. I'm ashamed to say there are special
cases. Right, Princess?"

Canty leans against the wall.

"Princess!" thinks the dark-haired girl.

"We are not giving special treatment," says the judge. "We are only giving
a place to someone who has talent and potential. Perhaps you were not so
successful?"

The girl looks down.

"Daughter of the all-Japan champion Olympic medalist?" thinks Canty.

"But...!" says the girl.

"You shouldn't have time for such unnecessary chatter," Canty says. "Return
to practice! We'll see when she performs in the tournament, whether or not
it's fair. Whether or not she has potential."

She leaves the rink.

"That's the Princess, all right," says one of the skaters.

"Right," says another. "We'll see her in the tournament. It's not so
serious after all."

"That's great, for now," says Tsuzuki. "You passed."

"Tsuzuki," says Chieri.

"Your father's influence is a part of your real ability," he says.

"What!?"

"Not everybody carries the blood of an all-Japan champion and Olympic
athlete. If you really want to challenge the Princess, you should use it as
a stepping stone like that."

"It's not his influence!" says Chieri. "This is terrible!"

"If you regret it, then win over the rink."

She turns and runs from the room.

"This is horrible," she thinks. "It has nothing to do with Dad! But I made
so many mistakes..."

She stops as she hears the other skaters talking.

"Don't be so proud that they're partial to you!" says one.

"Partial..." she thinks. "They're not. I made it this far by my own
strength, right?"

She sees Hiroshi as she reaches the door.

"Hiroshi!?"

"I really didn't intend to come," he says. "Congratulations on passing your
badge test. I guess this is your public singles debut. So you were skating
injured after all. You can run fast if you want, but you should take care
of your foot."

"So you too, Hiroshi..." says Chieri. "Did the three of you come to see my
badge test together?"

"Since you passed level 6, and you've got Coach Mori, we're not worried.
Now we have to search for another partner for Tsuzuki."

"That's right," says Canty. "Have you already given up on that girl?"

"Given up on me?" Chieri thinks.

"Looks like I've finally got a chance. Ever since I've known it was
Tsuzuki's dream to pair skate, I've wanted to do it with him."

"Pair skating is Tsuzuki's dream!?" Chieri thinks.

"It's not my decision," says Hiroshi.

"Hiroshi, wait!" says Chieri. "What are you talking about!? Tsuzuki's
dream... Giving up on me... It's his dream!? I didn't know anything about
that!"

"You can't be Tsuzuki's partner anymore, Cherry."

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Original manga copyright © 1991 Takeuchi Naoko.
English translation copyright © 1997 Alex Glover.

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The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko | The Cherry Project | Volume 2