Sawamura Emiko

Chapter One

Faster. I can beat my previous time. I'm almost there. Emiko thought to herself as she was running at her meet. She was dressed in a white and red tank top with the Akagi Junior High logo in the middle which is covered by her competitor number, and black spandex shorts. She was running the last lap in 5000m long distance and she was currently in second place.

I'm almost there. I see the girl in front of me. I can beat her. Emiko thinks, nearing the girl in first place. I can go faster. She picks up her pace, she can't let their gap get too big. She's just a couple meters behind her now. She keeps her steps light, not breaking her composure as she feels her forehead dripping with sweat. Emiko finally reaches the girl, who she recognizes as Senji Kaida, a fellow top competitor her age.

Senji immediately notices Emiko and tries to run faster. Not so fast. Emiko suddenly sees the finish line and gets tunnel vision. She ignores all the people around her and her eyes are set on the white tape. Emiko gets a rush of adrenaline, and forces herself to run faster. I'm almost there. Her heart's pumping so fast, but Emiko's able to keep her breaths even. Four more meters. Three more meters. Two more meters. One more meter.

Emiko wins first place. "Osu!" she shouts, throwing a fist in the air in accomplishment. She's instantly congratulated by her team.

"You did it Emiko-chan!"

"Yay Emi-chan!"

Emiko's smile couldn't be bigger. She felt so proud of herself that all of her efforts and practice didn't go to waste.

---

"Tadaima," Emiko yelled as she entered her house holding her sports bag and trophy. Is Ei-nii not home? He's usually the first one to greet me. Why's it so quiet? She questioned. It was dead silent as she walked towards the living room. Did something bad happen? Is no one home? Where is everyone? Is my family okay? Emiko's thoughts ran wild as she searched for someone.

"Congrats Emi!" her family said in unison, causing Emiko's heart to jump out of her chest. There her family stood, with giant grins and small confetti poppers. Emiko put her hand over her heart to calm its rapid beats, sighing in relief.

"Arigato mina," Emiko said in a calmly manner.

"Yay twinnie," Eijuns cheerfully says.

Ei-nii seems so happy, like he was the one who won. Eijun makes his way towards Emiko and wraps her into a big bear hug, squeezing her tightly. Emiko relaxes instantly, finding comfort in her brother's arms. She's suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion, tired from running in three races during the meet.

Eventually the whole family settled in the living room, chatting about their days and eating their dinner. While listening to the conversation, Emiko rests her head in Eijun's shoulder as her eyelids start to feel heavy.

She ends up drifting off to sleep, content that she's surrounded by her family.