Chibiusas ran along the edges of the circular yard in front of her foster parents' house, wheezing and panting.
After a while, she slowed down. "I... I can't keep it up anymore..." she groaned, breathing heavily. Sweat was pouring down her skin, and her legs were shaking.
She went over to the bench and let herself fall down on the wooden surface with a sigh. "Hopefully they won't notice if I take a little break..."
She closed her eyes and drew breath. Non-stop running for almost an hour was tiring her out. She was surprised that she hasn't collapsed by now.
"Chibiusas! Are you slacking off again?"
'Oh no!' the pink-haired girl thought. 'Busted!'
Makos frowned as she walked over to her young protege. "Remember, you have to push yourself to your limits if you want to be a true champion."
"But... but this is too straining, Makos!" Chibiusas complained. "Can't I rest for a second?"
"Listen up, girl!" Makos said in a stern voice. "We haven't raised you to be a failure. We have raised you to be a first class athlete."
"I know..." Chibiusas sighed.
"Think about the statue that will be erected in the honor of Zeus." Chibiusas saw a proud smirk appearing on her brown-haired trainer's face. "And it will be the spitting image of the winner of the Olympic Games. Just think about the glory you'll achieve!"
It was a tempting image. Chibiusa pictured it in her mind: Her own statue looking down at the cheering crowd, while her right hand is gesturing up into the clear sky, towards Mount Olympus, where the gods are residing...
But suddenly, the picture in her imagination changed... There was still an impressive statue standing on display, but its face... it wasn't the face of Chibiusas. It was that of her friend, Hotarus...
Chibiusas frowned when she looked up at her guardian and trainer. "You know what? I don't care about that stupid statue! I wanna see my friend again!"
"WHAT?" Makos shouted in surprise. "Listen up, you little runt!" She grabbed the younger girl by her collar. "Amis has worked on improving your abilities since you were a few weeks old. I suppose you don't want to disappoint her, do you?"
Chibiusas gulped. "N-no... of course not!"
Makos pushed Chibiusas back, so the girl landed on her behind. "You better win in the games. The big prizes will be gold, tax exemption and a big statue. So you better do your best!"
"Alright already," Chibiusas sniffed as she stood up from the ground. "I'll do my best, I promise."
"Good," Makos grumbled. "And you better not try and do the Forbidden Thing!"
Chibiusas sighed one last time before she continued with her laps around the yard. She wanted to do her best, as the Olympian Furies were the only family she knew. And she wanted to make them proud.
'I'm gonna win!' she told herself. 'I'm gonna win in the Games, and then they'll make a statue with my face on it.'
But during all her training exercises, she could not stop thinking about her purple-haired friend, and she somehow had the feeling that Hotarus was living through a similar treatment...
----
Five years later...
The grand arena of Olympia was crowded with hundreds of spectators that were anxiously awaiting the start of the big event: The Olympic Games!
Colorful flags of all colors were waving in the wind, and the sound of trumpets and fanfares was echoing all over the place.
And then he arrived... the torchbearer with the Olympic Flame. Raising the torch high above his head, the young man ran up the stairs leading to the bigger torch. He turned around one last time to the audience... and then he lowered the torch and lit the Olympic Flame, signaling the beginning of the Games.
High up in the box of the Olympic Committee, King Uminos of Olympia rose from his seat and spread his arms.
"I hereby declare the Olympic Games open."
A deafening amount of cheers were coming from the spectators' seats. The king waited until the crowd calmed down a bit before he proclaimed:
"I have to express my gratitude to our sponsors, the matriarch of Olympia's biggest merchant family... Usagis Tsukinos!"
He gestured to his left, where a blonde woman with long, blonde pigtails was standing, next to an attractive, dark-haired man.
Usagis smiled and waved to the crowd.
"We managed to sell thousands of tickets for this event," her husband Mamorus whispered into her ear, smugly. "With one catch, though..."
The king spoke up again: "She donated a whole sack of gold coins, along with the statue for the winner."
"Yes..." Usagis sighed. "That's the catch..."
After his speech, King Uminos sat down next to his wife, the lovely Queen Narus.
"This is what the people want," he grinned. "Bread and Circuses."
The queen smiled at her husband. "This isn't quite what I'd call a 'circus', dear..."
----
Meanwhile, the athletes were getting ready for the first discipline: The Stadium Sprint.
Among the runners were also two sixteen-year-old girls, each of them wearing the blue shirts of the athletes.
When the runners got the signal to go at the starting line, the purple-haired participant turned around her head to smile at the pink-haired girl that was standing next to her.
"Good to see you again."
Chibiusas smiled back. "Thanks. I'm glad, too."
The judge was raising his flag. "Ready?"
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(Posted Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:32)
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