The Carnelian Sparrow

Chapter 9

The echo of the final bell rang in Yui’s ears as she started to make her way from the lockers. The phantom ringing accompanied hurried words from Alice as she had rushed out of the school. “I’m going with Esther today, sorry! We, um… we have a lot to catch up on, ehe.”

Yui wasn’t bothered by this, of course. Esther hadn’t been back that long, and she had been gone longer than before this time. Even without the drama, Alice tended to cling to Esther on the way home from school on particularly bad days anyway. The event, in isolation, never really registered with Yui.

Today, however, was different. When the sun set, Yui would have to meet with Esther on her grandfather’s home turf to back up a bet made in complete haste and emotional cloudiness. She would honor it if she lost, of course, but she wasn’t excited about the prospect of potentially leaving Mitakihara on her own, and abandoning Alice and everything Yui had built over the years.

As if on cue, Midori tapped Yui lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly jealous of Alice’s older sister or something, Yui.”

Yui scoffed, a playful retort natural for these sort of interactions. “Jealous? As if. Esther’s not really my type.”

Midori choked a bit, not expecting the reply. “Th-That’s…! That’s not what I meant, Yui!” Ignoring Yui’s laughter, she continued. “Look, I know something’s going on between you two. Things have been super tense lately, and in case you forgot, I kinda have to be good at picking up on these things.”

“Around Koharu? Yeah, you gotta be sharp to keep up with her. Seriously, I dunno how she does it. Runnin’ a club in her first year -and- reviving the school paper? That’s dedication.”

Yui’s redirection seemed to work, as evident by Midori’s heavy sigh. “Don’t I know it. You know, Mom really tried to fight her on that at first. She told me once that she didn’t want Koharu following in her footsteps. Mom can take the kinda criticism and vitriol that comes her way from being a journalist, but Koharu…”

“Y’know the kid’s way tougher than you give her credit for, right? Give her room to breathe and see how far she goes. Just be ready to be there for her if things go south.”

Midori sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Yeah, about that. She’s been really tense lately. Something’s eating at her, but surprising no one, she’s not talking about it.”

“I’d offer, Midori, but she doesn’t really like me all that much. And that’s fine, really. I know what I’m about. I’m not for everyone. But, hm. Think she’d open up to Alice?” Yui’s tone was calm and genuine. She was bad at tempering how she felt, but that left her with an air of blunt honesty. Unlike others who bragged about how they ‘told it like it was’, Yui was sure to be honest when it came to positive criticism, too.

“If we can find a crowbar big enough to pry her away from Esther for five minutes, sure.” Midori sighed one more time. “In any case, my sister isn’t the only one who’s tense lately. Your jokes were down by about thirty percent from our last practice!”

Yui shook her head. “I’ll make up the difference next time, you can look forward to it. But lemme guess, I should ‘take some time and relax’, right? Alice said the same thing to me yesterday.” She was beginning to sense a pattern from her friends, not to mention her grandfather. She only lamented that her facade had slipped enough for them to notice in the first place. Or perhaps, Yui allowed in her head, that her friends were close enough to notice when Yui had a lot on her mind.

“I know,” Yui joked, “maybe I’ll skip town for a bit. Go on vacation. School be damned, right?”

“Oh, don’t even joke about that, Yui! You know what Esther being away did to Alice this last week! What do you think would happen to her if -you- just up and vanished, hmm? It’d crush her! She’ll never admit it around the rest of us, but we all know. She needs you, Yui. Just like she needs Esther. You’re her rock too, you know!”

Yui was quiet for a moment before responding. “Damn, man. You’re layin’ it on pretty thick for just one of my shitty little jokes, huh?”

“I -am- serious, Yui. We’ve known each other for years now. I know when you’re hiding your real feelings behind a crappy one-liner.” Midori folds her arms across her chest, giving Yui a stern look before starting to walk away. “So… don’t go doing anything stupid. Okay?”

Watching in silence, Yui waited for Midori to leave before gathering her bag with a sigh. “…You’re really good at kicking my ass too, Midori. God damn… but maybe that’s just what I needed right now. Forget Esther. I can take on the whole goddamn world, so long as it meant I could keep you all safe in it.”

The opening of a can was the starting pistol that Yui needed. Her plan, at least in her sixteen year old head, was to rush out while her grandfather was mid drink of his beer. By the time he’d realize what was going on, Yui would be out of the apartment. The sun was just starting to set, and Garou was only on his first beer. This concerned Yui, but she was patient enough to wait for this.

Sneaking out through the window wasn’t an option. It wouldn’t take long for him to piece together that she was sneaking into -his- arena to have a grudge match against the girl that beat him the night before. By then, the repercussions would be far more severe. At least this way, his lecture afterwards would come with a sarcastic remark and an inch of respect for Yui’s technical honesty.

One deep breath, and Yui broke into a swift stride, just shy of a run from her bedroom door to the living room. Her eyes were locked on the front door to the apartment. “OkayPopsheadingoutgotstufftodobebacklaterokaycoolbye—”

“Goin’ to the arena, are you, kid?” Garou’s voice cut Yui’s plan clean through, and she froze in her tracks. “Heh. Got a lot to learn if all it takes to lure you out is a can.” He held out a pink can towards Yui, which had just been opened. The scent of sickly sweet soda filled the air.

Yui hesitated, then took the can. “No sense hiding it then, huh? You already know.” With a sigh, she turned to face her grandfather. His expression was calm as he stared at her, waiting. “I’m going to fight that chick that beat you last night.”

“Like fuckin’ hell you are, kid.” His reply was simple, his voice low. “I didn’t raise no revenge chasin’ hothead.”

“Revenge?” Yui scoffed, but dropped her act as soon as she caught his gaze again. “Okay, maybe that’s a part of it. But it’s more than that. I know this girl.”

“Go on.” Garou leaned back in his chair, the air of a mob boss waiting for his lackey’s excuse for ignoring his orders. It was muscle memory, perhaps, or a part of his mind that yearned for the days of old.

“…She’s Alice’s overprotective older sister. Wants me to stay away from her for some dumbass reason. I wanna keep the band together. So I made a bet.”

Garou broke into a quiet laugh. “Ha, now that’s rich. Well, I’m still half right anyway. You’re a goddamn no-good hothead, Yui. But the reason checks out. So what’s the bet, anyway? You last longer ‘n I did and she can’t get in your way no more or somethin’?”

“Jeez… when’d you get psychic powers, Pops?”

“I’ve been in the game longer than you’ve existed, kid, an’ twice over, too. I’ve seen it all. Done more than that.” He then lit a cigarette, taking a rather long drag, as if to torture Yui with the wait of it. “Well, fine. Go on then. Just don’t lose. I didn’t raise no loser, got it?”

Yui smirked, heading for the door after a quick nod to her grandfather. “I don’t plan on losin’, Pops.” Yui then darted out under the crystal clear evening sky.

The roar filling the secret, underground arena was deafening compared to the night before. The promoter of the fight club seemed to have done too good a job at booking and billing the ‘revenge match’. There weren’t any posters, but if there were, Yui suspected her face would have been all over them. “Jeez. So much for keepin’ the heat down on this place. How many cops are here now, I wonder…?”

Yui half expected and fully imagined entrance music as she walked down the aisle towards the cage. She had never actually fought in this arena before, but she was widely anticipated as the heir to Garou Arashi’s legacy in the ring. Often, Yui would be asked when she would step up and don the mantle of ‘Princess Arashi’ in full.

She never gave a straight answer, of course. Keeping people in suspense drew them to watch her grandfather. The more that came to witness ‘King Arashi’, hoping one day to see his throne usurped by his granddaughter, the more he got paid. The more he got paid, the more breathing room they had to keep their tiny apartment, as well as food and electricity.

Still, Yui thought, tonight was almost -too- crowded. Was her debut that widely anticipated? No, she answered to herself. They just wanted to see the person who held the record for knocking King Arashi down a peg again, this time avenged by his heir apparent.

Rather than showboating, she simply assumed Garou’s stance. She knelt down in the center of the ring, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, appearing to meditate. She had his mannerisms down perfectly, and this was validated by a sudden pop from the audience. Struggling to contain her smug grin, she knew she had the home field advantage. Not that this stopped Esther last night, of course, but Yui needed all the help she could get.

Just as she imagined music for her own entrance, Yui’s mind wandered to some pretentious music as Esther made her way down to the ring. Internal Latin chanting and heavy strings drowned out the announcer’s voice.

The first thing that Yui noticed, of course, was that Esther was in her Magical Girl attire. She was transformed. Of course, Yui was as well, but her expression darkened. They may have had the same idea, in the end, but it still annoyed Yui to see Esther stoop to such lengths to keep her away from her sister.

What this meant, in the end, was that both girls meant business. Yui would have to give her all in order to survive. She had no delusions of winning, of course. The bet was to last longer than Pops did. The official time for last night’s bout was one minute, fifty six seconds. If Yui could hang on for the full two minutes, she would win the bet.

Yui rose to her feet, staring Esther in the eyes. Or as well as she could through a pearl-white opera mask. This wasn’t part of Esther’s attire, of course. She brought it to this venue in order to hide her face. Yui didn’t bother, of course. She was too well known here to try and hide.

Esther was staring back into Yui’s eyes, both girls’ expression calm, yet with the underlying tension of what both girls put on the line. Esther losing meant that she would have to deal with Yui without interference, and Yui losing would mean leaving town, abandoning Alice to her fate. As they took simultaneous fighting stances, the crowd— and even the air itself stood in total silence, only broken by a single word through the speakers.

“BEGIN!”

The bell rang, and both girls came out swinging.

Yui was just a hair faster, a straight punch from her right arm, seemingly extending to land between Esther’s eyes. Esther staggered back a step, then another before Yui followed up with a left hook to the older girl’s cheek. Her third hit missed, however, as Esther ducked under the swing of Yui’s right arm, rolling behind her. Yui managed to buy just a few seconds before Esther would retaliate.

Esther started with a straight jab into Yui’s side, just above her kidney. She was throwing faster, lighter punches to try and knock Yui off balance. Sure enough, Yui would try to counter with a hard, slow yet powerful swing, only to be met with several quick punches before Esther would jump back.

Not giving Yui any room to breathe, she lunged forward. Her knee was blocked by Yui’s palm as it rose towards her stomach, but Esther was still quick enough to sling a harsh left hook into Yui’s cheek.

Again Yui stumbled, but she didn’t fall over just yet.

Esther lunged again, though this time, Yui rolled between the swinging arm and knee, jumping with dexterity that Esther had not anticipated, and brought a swinging kick to the small of Esther’s back.

This time, Esther stumbled, though she stayed balanced.

She turned, a crazed look flashing in her eyes. Yui had kept an internal clock running in her head, though she knew it wasn’t completely accurate. This was the point when Esther usually took control in their spars. Yui would get a couple little hits in, and it would set Esther off enough to end the fight in a hurry.

Yui had to have planned for this in order to survive to the end of the timer she set for herself.

Esther’s rage finally broke through. A flurry of punches and kicks, aimed all over Yui’s body followed. It was all Yui could do to prevent any of Esther’s attacks from knocking her over. If Yui went down, it was all over. She blocked what she could, dodged what she couldn’t, yet each blow took more and more energy out of Yui.

Her legs trembled as she struggled just to stay standing, managing to glimpse Esther readying a knockout punch. Just before it reached Yui’s face, however, Esther stopped, her eyes widening in shock. The audience looked around, equally confused, both at Esther’s hesitation, and the sound that ever so softly resonated through the arena.

A clap of thunder, somehow audible this far below ground, had been heard through the entire arena.

Yui smirked, just enough for Esther to see it. Esther, meanwhile, had been frozen in pure shock. She couldn’t ask the question out loud, she couldn’t dare risk the audience hearing that their ‘costumes’ were, in fact, actual battle attire for a world they could never understand. The secret must be kept at all costs.

But her eyes shone with the question all the same. ‘Are you using your powers in our fight?! How could you sink so low, to use -magic- during our duel? Is this wager no longer sacred?!’ It was this question, burning on the surface of Esther’s soul that put such a smug expression on Yui’s face. As if to emphasize, or perhaps give the answer that Yui couldn’t give out loud, another soft, subtle yet fully audible rumble of impossible thunder resonated in the little cage, and the stands surrounding it.

Most importantly, this bought Yui a fair amount of time. Battered and worn out, Yui knew that this distraction would be the edge she would need to stay up longer than her grandfather.

His fight had lasted just shy of two minutes. This was due to Garou spending time sizing up his opponent, and taking more calculated, methodical attacks. Esther, meanwhile, was spending time waiting for Garou to leave an opening to exploit. On the other hand, Yui was far more reckless, charging in from the moment the bell rang. Esther, in turn, was exploiting this, and had far more on the line to win and lose this time.

Still, Yui knew that this parlor trick wouldn’t be enough to secure the time she would need to win their bet. Running on fumes and a second wind, Yui pushed forward again. A quick jab, a swift right hook followed by a left to the ribs, and a quick spin before delivering a back kick into Esther’s stomach.

Esther stumbled back, coughing as she dropped to one knee. Yui’s mind raced with possibility and opportunity. She might not even have to merely -survive- here, she thought. She could -win-. The idea was intoxicating. All Yui had to do was run forward, bring her heel down on the back of Esther’s head, and the bell would ring in her favor. She would win the bet, and have a clean win over Esther, the first ever in the two Magical Girls’ history.

Despite her imagination, however, Yui’s grandfather’s words played in her head like a song on repeat. “I didn’t raise no revenge chasin’ hothead.” It was enough to leave the embers of logic burning in Yui’s mind.

Yui stepped back, letting Esther catch her breath. She would rise to her feet seconds later, assuming a stance after wiping the corner of her mouth on her sleeve. The first time Esther’s white outfit ever showed a red streak. She scoffed. “I thought you’d take the bait. I guess I underestimated you. Either way, though, I think it’s time I ended this.”

In a flash, Esther was once more in Yui’s face, and the assault she delivered was far more intense than at the start of the bout. Before, Yui could block and dodge, but this time, each hit felt like a car crash condensed into singular spots on Yui’s body. Finally, two final punches left, one to Yui’s cheek, and a straight right punch to Yui’s neck.

Coughing heavily herself now, Yui collapsed to a single knee, shuddering as she tried to stand. Her energy gave out, however, and still holding her neck, Yui fell onto her side. The bell rang, and the crowd erupted into a thunderous cacophony that rivaled Yui’s feint just a minute prior. The announcer’s voice somehow made itself heard through all the noise. “Here is your winner, The Phantom of Cursed Blood!”

Esther, however, showed no pleasure in the victory. Instead, her expression was sour, and she made her way slowly out of the cage and to the backstage area. Yui slowly staggered to her feet, still clutching her neck and coughing, but through the crowd’s rowdy noise, she felt herself gain the energy to stand.

With a smirk and a wave, playing the crowd for a bit, she would limp and crawl her way back towards Esther. Finding her leaning against a wall, eyes closed, Yui broke the deafening roar of the personal silence between them. “Heh… two-o-nine. I win by thirteen seconds, Esther.”

Esther was silent. Her expression, both before and now, showed that she already knew the outcome. She won the fight, and quite possibly the biggest prize that this arena had ever given out, but she knew, deep down, that she lost the -real- fight tonight.

“So, you’re gonna keep your word, right? No more tryin’ to keep me an’ Alice—”

“Don’t you -dare- imply that I would go back on my word,” Esther hissed before Yui could finish her sentence. “The terms were crystal clear. I couldn’t keep you down in time. I will make no further attempt to keep you away from my sister. -Congratulations-, Yui. You won. Now do me a favor and don’t rub this in my face any longer than you have to.”

Yui scoffed, followed by a deep, labored cough. “Don’t get so down about it. You still won, in the end. Just lost our little bet. Didn’t know the big bad mentor of Mitakihara was afraid of a little thunder, though.”

Surprisingly for Yui, however, Esther did not show any anger at Yui’s admittance. Instead, a sickening smirk crept across her face. “No, I suppose neither of us could resist using magic in the end. Not with so much at stake.” Kicking off the wall, she walked past Yui by a few steps, savoring the confusion on her face.

“Wait… you…? But I didn’t—” Her words were cut off by another coughing fit, Yui’s hand firmly clutching the wound on her throat. Esther merely smiled, walking away without another word.

What the hell, Yui thought? She’d been trying to heal from the second the bell rang after their fight ended. Most of the bumps and bruises faded by now, but those last two hits were still as sore, stinging the entire time. She’d initially thought that it was just two heavy knockout blows. They did hurt worse than usual, sure, but the last hits always did.

Yui rushed to the backstage restrooms. They were equally run down, compared to the rest of the arena, but there was still one mirror that hadn’t been shattered completely yet. As she caught sight of herself in the mirror, her eyes widened in horror, seeing pale white embers fading ever so slowly along her cheek. Pulling her hand away from her neck, the strange ghostly pale flame flickered before fading on her neck as well.

“…Oh son of a bitch,” Yui muttered. Touching the wounds, the burn marks and pain refused to settle. Dropping her transformation, she touched her Soul Gem to the marks, only to wince in a fresh pain. Esther was neither lying nor bluffing about using her magic, and for the first time since Yui had met her, she finally had a read on what that magic was.

It took Yui longer than usual to return home. She seemed to walk on autopilot the entire way back. Opening the front door to the apartment, she found her grandfather awake, seemingly waiting for her. Instead of a beer can, Yui noticed an envelope in her grandfather’s right hand.

“Ah, that bad, huh?” Her grandfather’s voice was softer than usual, much more serious and much less cutting. “Didja last longer ‘n I did, at least?”

“Yeah. That was the goal, Pops.” Yui’s voice was equally soft this time, much less sarcastic and just as serious. “But I paid for it.” Her cheek and neck had been bandaged, somewhat sloppily. She had patched herself up, but it was more to hide the wounds rather than actually heal them. Yui would have to figure that part out later.

Garou gave an approving smirk, nodding his head before holding out the envelope. “So your fight’s just beginning then, ain’t it? Well, you got some homework to do on that Rinju girl.”

Yui doesn’t say another word, hesitantly stepping forward to take the envelope into her hand. Yeah, she thought. Homework. This was definitely far from over.