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The air at Omi Jingu is different in the summer. Unlike the cold, tense aura, teeming with anxiety during the Meijin and Queen matches, the atmosphere is filled with youthful chatter, excitement and anticipation of high school students.
Taichi walks up the stairs in the Omi Learning Center, passing by students of various schools, all preparing for the team tournament at the high school nationals. He stops when he finds the only group clad in kimono and hakama, all uniform in color. He recognizes Hanano and Tsukuba, as well as the second years. There are four unfamiliar faces, most likely the first year students.
Chihaya was running late due to cheer practice, so she asked Taichi to rally and encourage the kids before the matches began, since he was already at Omi Jingu since yesterday, helping set up the tournament with the Kyodai Karuta club and the rest of the volunteers.
Taichi starts walking toward them, until a thought halts him in his tracks. Out of the ten members of the club, he really only knew Hanano and Tsukuba. He didn’t interact with the second years much, since he left the club at the beginning of his third year.
That thought makes him hesitate even more. His mind starts whispering, was he really worthy of being here, when he selfishly walked away from his team? Leaving despite being president, only to come back when it was too late?
What could he even say that would help them? If it were Chihaya, she would definitely aim for champions in the team tournament, plus winning every single class at the individual level. Her boundless greed and ambition would fire up the team for the matches. It should have been Chihaya here to encourage them.
It should have been Chihaya…
“ Just thinking about you gives me strength, Taichi,” Chihaya’s voice was heavy and tired, he could tell even through the phone.
“What do you mean?” He fails to hide the hopeful uptick in his voice. It was 1 AM and Taichi was playfully giving her a mock interview over the phone, after her victory at the All-Japan Karuta Championship. The question was, what’s your secret to winning the toughest battles?
“It’s like- like… how do I say this…” He could imagine her gesturing vaguely with her hands. “It’s like you’re there even when you aren’t there.”
“I was there at the tournament, though,” he reminds her, resting his phone on the pillow as his arm gets tired.
“Yeah, but like during the Queen matches! And when you finally did come to watch, somehow I felt like everything would be okay.”
“…R-Really?” Though his stomach gets warm and fuzzy at her confession, the ‘finally’ in her sentence stabs at his heart. He kicks himself for not watching her match at Omi Jingu sooner.
“Yeah,” Her voice is suddenly timid, as if the weight of her words caught up to her. But she continues without wavering, “If you're by my side, Taichi, I’ll never lose.”
Taichi takes a deep breath and exhales, Chihaya’s words echoing in the corners of his mind. If she believes in him, he has no choice but to believe in himself, doesn’t he? Especially when she entrusted him to do this for her.
The juniors seem to have noticed his presence, judging by their occasional glances in his direction. So he slaps his cheeks, pushes the guilt away, musters up all the greed and determination in him, and walks up to them.
The sound of slaps against the tatami, taking and picking up cards, overlaps with the reader’s voice, and the cheers and rallying calls of the teams.
This was the last game in the league matches, before the top two teams in each division would move on to the playoffs. Mizusawa and their current opponent, a school from Kyoto, are tied for second place. Mizusawa would need to win this match in order to advance to the top 8.
The situation is dire. Out of all their players on the field, only Tamaru, their only class A player, had a comfortable lead. Two beginner first years were in the lineup to gain experience, but Hanano and Tsukuba are still a few cards behind.
“Mashima-kun, any updates from Ayase-san?” Miyauchi-sensei asks from next to him.
Taichi checks his phone. The last text from Chihaya was sent an hour ago, saying that a train broke down ahead, and her train would be stuck until they moved the broken one. Talk about bad luck.
“Nothing new yet, Sensei,” Taichi shook his head. Chihaya could be already on her way, or she could still be stranded on the tracks. Who knows how long it would take?
He turns back to the match. There are still 20 cards on the field, 25 more dead cards. He hears Tsukuba shout in encouragement to the team, but the 3-card difference wasn’t going away. Even Tamaru was losing her once 7-card lead. For a minute, Taichi starts to despair, will this be the end for Mizusawa?
He can faintly hear the door opening behind him, followed by some quiet mutters from the crowd. He vaguely hears the word “queen” among the whispers, but before he can register it, a hand lands on his shoulder. Taichi turns in the direction.
Sitting into seiza position next to him was none other than the queen herself. Chihaya was wearing her cheer track pants and her blue Mizusawa club t-shirt, her hair tied in a low messy bun. Her breathing was fast and her cheeks red, as if she ran to Omi Jingu all the way from the train station. Her gaze was focused on her juniors in their matches.
How long has it been since they last met? When he came to Tokyo for her birthday? It’s been over a month since then. He missed her so much. His eyes fixate on the little details, like the strands of hair stuck to her neck, or the shine of her sheer lip gloss on her lips, pursed in concern. She lights up the whole room as if she was sent by the gods themselves.
Taichi is still frozen in place, taking in each and every detail of her. He probably looks like a fool, gaping like a fish in front of the juniors on the bench and the rest of the audience. But he can’t lift his eyes from her.
Chihaya takes his left hand in both of hers and holds it tightly. It grounds Taichi back into reality. He holds her hands with his other hand, and turns to the focus of her gaze, to their team on the field.
“ Chihayaburu…”
All of the Mizusawa players manage to take the chiha card. As they pick up their cards, they turn their gazes toward the audience. When they see their former captain, their eyes all widen in surprise, before hardening with determination. He catches Hanano’s face fall for a split second, before she slaps her cheeks and poses with genuine resolve as well.
They all manage to take the next card, and the one after that, and Taichi remembers the words Chihaya said to him over the phone. Chihaya’s presence gives strength to the whole team.
The first captain of their karuta club. If Chihaya is by their side, they won’t lose. Mizusawa will win this match , Taichi knows for sure.
The team tournament ended about two hours ago, and most of the teams returned to their hotels for the night. There was a small park with benches behind the hotel Taichi was staying at.
He leans his head back against the bench, looking up at the sky. The moon was big and bright, and the stars dotted the sky, visible even with the streetlights. The cicadas ceased their humming for the night, and the silence was only filled by the occasional cricket chirps.
“Taichi.” A voice calls from behind him.
He turns around so fast it almost gives him whiplash. “Chihaya—” he starts, but groans in pain when his neck starts cramping.
“Ah- oh my gosh, are you okay?” Chihaya hurriedly sits on the bench next to him and rests a hand on his back.
“I’m fine,” he sighs as he rubs his neck. “Where did you come from, though?” He didn’t even hear her footsteps.
“Ah, just wanted to surprise you a little,” she admits shyly. Well, she sure did a good job. “But you are okay for real though, right Taichi?”
“Yeah,” he replies. “Now come here,” he wraps an arm around her shoulder, resting her head in the crook of his neck.
He’s been waiting to do this, to hold her in his arms, for the whole day. No, for over a month now. He feels tingles where her body meets his. Like a missing limb, she makes him feel whole again. Her shoulders rise and fall with slow, deep breaths.
Her posture is relaxed, but Taichi can tell that something is bothering her. “What's wrong? Still sad about the loss?”
“Yeah, just a little,” she sighs, her breath tickling his collarbone.
Mizusawa made it past the semifinals, but ended up losing 2-3 against Fujisaki in the finals. They performed well, though, against a team with 3 class A players that even defeated Hokuo during the tournament.
“We still have a good chance to win every class at the individual tournament,” Taichi holds Chihaya’s hand, trying to reassure her.
“Yeah, you’re right. We can’t give up now.” Her voice lights up a bit, albeit still tired. She takes his hand in both of hers. “…Hm? Taichi, your hands feel different,”
“My hands? What about them?”
“They’re rougher than usual, see?” She proceeds to rub her palm aggressively against his.
Ah, now he remembers. His heart warms at the fact that Chihaya noticed, even before he did. “About that… we spent the whole day yesterday setting up the tatami for the tournament.”
“Tatami? With the Kyodai members?” she mutters. He nods, then she continues, “Carrying a bunch of tatami… that takes me back,”
It takes a minute for Taichi to recall what Chihaya is referring to, but when he does, he also smiles in nostalgia. He remembers it like it happened yesterday. Three years ago, when they first started the karuta club, carrying the tatami into the old storage room. The moment when everything started. “A lot of stuff has happened since then, huh?”
“Yeah,” Chihaya turns to face him now, big round eyes meeting his. The girl by his side back then, the girl by his side right now.
She leans closer to him, until he can feel her breath on his lips. He closes the little bit of distance between them. Her hand cups the base of his neck, gripping his hair, and he sighs against her mouth. He missed this so much. He loves her so much.
They pull away, and Taichi studies Chihaya’s features. He can see the pink in her cheeks despite the dim lights. Her eyes are half-lidded, partly from the kiss, but from a different weight as well.
He rests his hand on her head, before pulling her head into his lap.
“Wha- Taichi?” Chihaya blinks a little, regaining her bearings.
Taichi combs his fingers through her hair. “You’re tired, aren’t you? You should take a rest now.” From cheer practice, to the debacle on the ride here, to cheering for her team, it’s no wonder that she’s exhausted.
She hums in protest. “But I barely got to spend time with you, Taichi...”
“I’m still here, Chihaya, I’m not going anywhere. Just take a nap for now.” His words seem to placate her, and she shifts her position, lifting her feet onto the bench and resting her head on his thighs.
She blinks slowly, clearly on the verge of falling asleep. “This feels nice… it reminds me of when my mom would put me to bed after a nightmare.” She turns her body to face him. “She would put me in her lap and sing me lullabies.”
Taichi smiles. “Are you saying I remind you of your mom?”
“Am I wrong? She also used to run her hand through my hair like this…” she says as her eyelids flutter shut. Well, Taichi would rather be known as her boyfriend than her mom, but he doesn’t say anything.
They spend the next few moments in silence, before Chihaya speaks up, “Taichi, you’re good at singing, aren’t you?”
“Huh?” Taichi startles. And here he thought she fell asleep. “W-Well, I’m not bad at it.” Why is she asking all of a sudden?
She opens her eyes. “You are really good at it, though. You got a 99 at karaoke last summer, didn’t you?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Taichi asks.
“Nothing, just…” Chihaya bites her lip, gazing up at him. “Do you think you could, um…” she trails off, but Taichi completes the sentence in his head: Do you think you could sing for me?
Taichi hesitates. It’s not like karaoke, where everyone is focused on having fun more than the singing. Singing like this, in the quiet of the night, is a lot more intimate, more awkward. Chihaya probably knew that, which was why she sounded so timid in her request. But her pleading eyes and pouty lips tug at his heartstrings.
Defeated, he sighs. “I don’t know any lullabies, though.”
“That’s fine, doesn’t need to be a lullaby,” Chihaya yawns. “I just want to hear your voice, that’s all…”
Well, when she puts it that way, he can’t bear to deny her anything she wants.
“Okay,” Taichi whispers, thinking of a song to sing to her.
One of his favorite songs has a soothing melody at a low tempo. It’s a ballad about heartbreak, probably not the best to sing to his girlfriend, so he opts to hum the melody rather than sing the lyrics.
He begins the tune, and Chihaya closes her eyes, pulling her lips into a soft smile. The melody sounds exactly like a lullaby would, softly undulating between high and low notes. At some point into the song, he closes his eyes in concentration, gently tapping his fingers against her cheek with the rhythm.
When Taichi finishes the song, he opens his eyes. As to be expected, Chihaya is fast asleep. Her pale skin reflects white in the moonlight, her lashes long and heavy on her eyelids. She’s also drooling on his jeans, which Taichi finds that he doesn’t mind one bit. Nor does he mind the numbness slowly creeping up his legs; he’ll take this any day, if it means he gets to be by Chihaya’s side like this.
Her hand is still loosely holding his, so Taichi interlocks his fingers with hers. With his other hand, he brushes her bangs to the side, tucks the stray hairs behind her ear. He leans down, presses a chaste kiss to her forehead, before whispering in her ear, “Goodnight, Chihaya.”
He hopes she can hear him in her dreams.
Taichi leans up and back against the bench, closes his eyes, and peacefully falls asleep.