The Cherry Project - Chapter 14 "Only one angel..." Originally appeared in Nakayoshi, November 1991. Written by Takeuchi Naoko. Translated by Alex Glover. Version 1.0, 4.98. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Tsuzuki!?" thinks Chieri. "But... There's no way I can beat the Princess." He looks at her. She runs from the room. "But..." she thinks. "If... If I did beat the Princess... Would I be able to skate with Tsuzuki again? Would I be able to pair skate with him?" Canty looks at Tsuzuki. "Didn't you say... you weren't able to pair skate anymore?" she says. "You know the outcome from the start. No matter how she skates, that copy machine with no power of expression, unseating me to stand at the top... It will never happen!" "I'm the one who made her like that," says Tsuzuki. "I have to restore her. She surmounted the wall of not being able to skate, and coming to the place just one step away now. The match with the Princess... This is the final finish. Saying I'll pair skate, and stand on the same stage, she will surely chase after us." "You speak well..." says Canty. "If she wins, you'll pair..." "I don't even deserve to be near her..." thinks Tsuzuki. "Becoming my coach... And choosing the same free skate music... I don't believe it..." "It was the... quickest remedy for her shock," he says. "Being able to know all kinds of feelings. It was necessary for her power of expression. It's because you were here, Canty, that we've made it this far." "It was all... for that girl?" "Making you a higher level skater... That intent wasn't a lie." She slaps him. "So all of it... Even me... It was just a part of your project? How cruel." She walks out the room. "I knew it..." she thinks. "You couldn't endure as my coach. You want to skate. Your skating before... For the first time, I saw a heart-rending pair skating program... Is that... your pair program with that girl?" Tears run down her cheeks. "Do you believe that girl will win? No... I will win. I will! I won't be beaten by someone like her!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chieri goes back to the other rink. "It's hard to enter..." she thinks. "He must still be here. Wataru-kun..." Wataru stands on the ice. "I was thinking I'd steal you away, Cherry-chan," he says. "The girl that Tsuzuki Masanori coached for the first time... When she saw you, I thought there was no confusion in her eyes. I thought it regrettable... that he was so good. Even though he retired, and I became champion, nobody forgot him. They spoke about how amazing he was. If he skated paired with that girl, I thought I could surpass him. I wanted to surpass him. I wanted to beat him... But I tried again, and I guess I lost to him." "Even though you're champion?" says Chieri. "You are catching up with him. I'm still a long way off. I envy you." "You're so sweet." "It must only be that pure longing," he thinks, "that took copying as a form of expression." "The night you saw the ballet," he says. "You were skating alone, right? You were like another person then." "That skating was shining strongly," he thinks. "I know it will be soon. You will find yourself." "Say, Cherry-chan," he says. "Don't be swept away. Your partner is the person you like the most." He smiles as he leaves. "I escaped to Wataru-kun's gentle hands," thinks Chieri. "I'm scared to be alone like this... A match with the Princess. I'm scared... Can I do it?" "Didn't you say you were going to challenge the Princess," said Tsuzuki. "A challenge is a battle with yourself." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsuzuki enters his house. "Do you always get home this late?" says his father. "Looks like you're coaching. Is the skating rink as good as usual?" He sets a ticket on the table. "The preparations for acceptance at the main office have been arranged more quickly than I thought. This is a ticket leaving Japan for New York. It's for you." "Wait!" says Tsuzuki. "You promised it would be after a year! Didn't you say I could do as I liked until junior high ended!? This suddenly..." "Skating?" says his father. "If you're not on stage, it doesn't mean anything. Over there, a first-rate teaching staff has been put together. There are all kinds of experts for what you have interests in. You won't lose anything." Tsuzuki picks up the ticket. "January 10th..." He looks at the calendar, where that day is circled: the all-Japan tournament. "I told you not to get too involved in it," says his father. "Skating stole your mother's life. I don't have anyone left but you now... Do you understand?" "I knew it..." thinks Tsuzuki. "I promised I would quit. But..." "Whoever wins, I'll pair skate with." "I guess I wasn't giving up hope yet... Instead of pair skating, I chose the path of training her. I was supposed to be happy about it, but... I don't have the power to make dreams come true..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chieri and Yuni ride the subway. "So you're finally going to have a match with the Princess at all-Japan?" says Yuni. "It's on January 10th?" "Right!" says Chieri. "No Christmas, no New Year's, nothing but practice!" She looks aside. "Tsuzuki," she thinks. "You've given me this final chance... Right?" "I'm always thinking about you," he said. "I won't run away anymore. I can do this!" She kicks her leg up high. "All right! I will do this, Tsuzuki!" Yuni watches her skirt fly up with her leg. "Cherry! You're exposed!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A quadruple!?" says Mori. "Please, Coach!" says Chieri. "I know it's too much, but..." "To fight on the same level as the Princess," she thinks, "there's nothing but the quadruple...! And this music..." "You and the Princess are different, Asuka-san," says Mori. "If your speed, your height, your power, and your strong spirit don't equal hers, it's impossible. It's very dangerous! Do you still want to try?" "I'll do it!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The moment she comes down from her jump," says Kouichi, "she puts four to five times her body weight of impact on her legs, around 200 kilograms. She absorbs the impact using her ankles and knees. Canty has strong legs and hips. Anyway, the quadruple only takes practice." Chieri jumps from the ice and spins. "Your height still isn't anywhere near enough!" says Mori. "One more time!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chieri leaves with Yuni. "Are you all right?" "I'm falling too much..." says Chieri. "My hips..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- They watch Chieri skate. "Hey..." says Kouichi. "Yeah..." says Hiroshi. "Cherry's really trying," says Yuni. "And I'm making lots of suits for her." "I see that..." "You have to get Tsuzuki-kun to pair skate with her!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Tsuzuki!?" says Kouichi. "Are you serious! What's this about you pair skating with the one who wins the match!" "With Cherry at the stage she's at now," says Hiroshi, "it's impossible for her to beat the Princess." "If Canty wins," says Kouichi, "are you going to pair skate with her? She's not suited for pairs. Why, all of a sudden..." "Oh no..." says Hiroshi. "Do you have to go already...?" Tsuzuki looks out the window. "I'm a self-centered, cruel jerk..." he says. "If I were you, Tsuzuki," says Hiroshi, "I'd take the girl I loved even over my family." "You've done well," says Kouichi. "You're always calm, with a poker face, and you crush your own feelings and dreams..." "I don't have the power to make dreams come true now..." says Tsuzuki. "I took advantage of the pure feelings of those two..." "Are you going to run away from Cherry?" says Kouichi. "I don't have anyone left but you now..." said his father. "Do you understand?" "Even Cherry knows it," says Kouichi. "She can't beat the Princess like she is now. And because of that, she's going to challenge her with the quadruple the Princess made a hit! She's overexerting herself, and it's for you, Tsuzuki! Cherry's begun to damage her hips now! Are you saying you can still go!?" Canty listens from the other side of the door. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chieri crashes on the ice. "Did I twist it again?" she thinks. She gets up. "No, I'm all right." She continues skating. "Like this... I've made it to all-Japan! Is my height still not enough!? Higher... Faster!" She jumps up and spins. "Stop this!" Chieri looks at the door, and falls on the ice. "Tsuzuki!?" "If you continue these impossible jumps anymore," he says, "you'll break your hips! You'll be ruined for life!" "Tsuzuki..." "My mother did figure skating, also..." he says. "But just like this, she continued impossible jumps, and injured her hips... She died giving birth to me. That's why my dad won't let me skate now... He doesn't have anyone but me now..." "We're the same," says Chieri. "My mom died when I was little, too..." "Again, Tsuzuki and I..." she thinks. "We found a similarity..." "I understand my dad's feelings," thinks Tsuzuki. "I don't want to lose her..." "But I..." says Chieri. "To catch up with the Princess, there's nothing I can do but the quadruple...! I want to make it this time! I don't want to run away!" Tsuzuki touches her face. "All of a sudden..." he thinks. "She's become so strong?" The door opens, and a man with a flashlight enters. "Are you still here? It's ten o'clock already! Go home!" "Let's go," says Tsuzuki. "First thing tomorrow, right? I'll take you home." As they leave the rink, Chieri sees Canty skating on the other rink. "The Princess!?" she thinks. "The Princess is still practicing, too... That's right. This is her rink, after all." She listens to the music playing. "'Emperor'... I want to skate! I still haven't perfected it! I can't skate it! If only I had more time, more time!" Tsuzuki takes her hand. "Tsuzuki!?" "Come with me," he says. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- They enter the Tsuzuki mansion. "Tsuzuki's house's private rink..." thinks Chieri. "That we used practicing for the school festival... That seems so long ago now." She looks into his room. "So many trophies... I'm near an amazing person." "Tsuzuki," she says. "I... I..." "If you feel your pain is continuing," says Tsuzuki, "stop right away. So you don't have any regrets, you can practice here. Keep at it." She starts skating on the rink. Tsuzuki watches her. "I know you can do it..." he thinks. "I can persevere," thinks Chieri. "On top of the cold ice, lots of edge marks... Making so many layers on top of each other... Wataru-kun... The Princess... Tsuzuki... On top of ice like this... I can persevere. When I'm on this rink, I feel like Tsuzuki is near, watching over me. I feel like I'm being held in Tsuzuki's arms... And I can do anything..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsuzuki pulls a blanket over Chieri as she sleeps by the rink. He sets an alarm clock next to her. Kouichi typed into the computer he sat at. "Asuka Chieri... 'Cherry,' eh?" "Cherry, eh...?" He leans down and kisses her gently. "I'm sorry... I'm not kind... I'm not honest... But don't quit skating..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chieri wakes up to the sound of an alarm clock. She sees a note beside it. Open the rink here with my locker key. You can use it anytime, so have faith in yourself and work toward all-Japan! "Have faith in yourself and work toward all-Japan!" She looks at the key in her hand. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- All-Japan Junior Figure Skating Tournament. Day one, girls original program. Chieri stands by the rink. Kouichi and Hiroshi see Canty. "Canty!" says Kouichi. "Where's Tsuzuki?" She stares at Chieri. "Will the second group of skaters please step off to the rinkside," says the announcer. "Number 5, Asuka Chieri-san." "Princess," says Chieri. "I'll do it!" "Watch me, Tsuzuki!" she thinks. "Watch me, Tsuzuki..." Wataru watches her approach the ice. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original manga copyright © 1991 Takeuchi Naoko. English translation copyright © 1998 Alex Glover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Manga of Takeuchi Naoko | The Cherry Project | Volume 3