Angelic Layer

White and White, and Time to Fight (300-word drabble)

As the deus chair rises over the screaming crowds filling the stadium, Sai sits, shoulders back, cradling her angel in her hands and thinking of nothing.

"You're afraid of your angel," Kaede told her, picking up a victorious Blanche from the layer table they'd been sparring on. "You don't trust her."

"That's not it, exactly," Sai protested uncomfortably, eyeing Shirahime where she sprawled. "It's just that I haven't been playing very long. I need more practice."

Kaede smiled slightly. "You're going to be a great deus, Sai. And when we go to the Kanto games- we will, Sai, maybe not this year and maybe not the next but we will- I won't remind you of this. You'll play beautifully, and trust Shirahime absolutely. No one else will ever guess how afraid you were," here she hesitated, and Sai, in the process of packing her things, nearly lost the words, "...of breaking Rin's angel."

Sai caught her breath in astonishment at the other girl's words, feeling like a scab had been ripped off without her even quite knowing it was there. But Kaede was looking at her soberly, expecting anger, and Sai suddenly realized that she wasn't angry. It hurt, still, to think of Rin and hear her name simply crop up without warning, and it stung to think she could be holding herself back. Still, she knew she'd heard truth.

After a pause, Sai surprised them both with the shy grin that slowly spread across her face. Quietly, she promised, "You'll be the only one I ever lose to, then."

The pod has stopped, perched high above the layer, and she stands, angel lifted to the bright lights for a moment. Sai's lips move, but only one hears her. "Dance, Shirahime," she whispers, and her angel flies from her hand.

Written for the yuri-challenge LJ community, "Spirit" drabble prompt.