As Chihaya realizes she has no dreams outside of Karuta, Taichi devises a plan to help her find her other passions...but really he hopes she'll finally realize her love for him. COMPLETED.
I couldn't focus when I plopped myself back at my desk.
My head...it felt strange. My chest felt light and my heart was beating rapidly even though I was only sitting. Was I having a heart attack? No! I refused to die before becoming the Queen of Karuta!
All the words from the Sensei's mouth were muffled...as if cotton balls were stuffed deep in my ears.
I decided I must be having a nervous breakdown about my future and all the unknowns attached with it...so much so that it seemed to be impacting my health. Maybe I needed to see a doctor....a doctor...that's what Taichi wanted to be.
My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the bell. Finally time for my second favorite class after PE: lunchtime!
Within seconds, the hallways were flooded with hungry students forcing their way to the cafeteria. I was tossed from side to side in the rushing crowd, bumping into students on either side. Not only did my head feel weird, but now I felt a little dizzy.
Ditching the main hallway, I decided to seek refuge in the Karuta clubroom room. There, I would hide and wait for the crowd to die down...wait for my head to feel normal again. Before opening the door to the clubroom, I heard voices inside. I placed my ear up against the wood.
"Poor Chihaya," I heard Kanade Ooe say compassionately, "It seems she is sprouting like a beautiful flower, but suffering from growing pains. Finally she is looking outside of Karuta at the complex world. She's trying to find her place without the one thing that has always defined her."
There was a silence in conversation, as if no one in the room had grasped Kanade's meaning. She always spoke poetically and was actually the one who first introduced me to the meanings behind the poems of Karuta. In many ways, she gave me a new inspiration for the game and helped me envision the cards better.
"So, she just burst out crying in the middle of class?" Hanano asked, almost sounding happy.
"That's what I overheard from a few of the girls in her class."
"I bet she started wailing, right there and then, without even caring who was in the room," Nishida chuckled as he mimicked my cries.
"Don't mock her!" Kanade said sternly. I smiled to myself. She always had my back. Even though I couldn't see her, I could imagine her glaring at Nishida with a disapproving face.
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"Don't mock her? Come on you guys! That's such a double standard when you mock me every time you call me 'porky.' Like, seriously? It's like you don't even hear me when I speak or tell you to stop," His voice carried humorous tone.
"Isn't Taichi in the same senior class as Chihaya?" Hanano cut in, sounding curious.
"And I rest my case," Nishida said sarcastically, "Ignored."
"Yes, they are," Kanade said.
"Well, we'll have to ask him what happened. I'm dying to know the juicy details."
