2026-01-30: vanish, fade away (melt away)
- Cutscene: vanish, fade away (melt away)
- Cast: Maria Sakurai, Jerri
- Where: Seven Sisters High School Running Track
- OOC Date: January 30th, 2026
- IC Date: September 18th, 2012
- Summary: Maria considers what she's lost, then has a visitor. TW: reflection on misogyny
BGM: (Shinkichi Mitsumune - Belladonna's Snare) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6dGV-43A4Q
They don't look at her.
Maria sits under the tree a distance from the track where the other girls are engaged in practice, and not one of them seems to glance her way.
In classes, they'll talk to her as much as is necessary. It's not that kind of shunning. But they're not her friends, not like Haruka Hatano is. And they won't look at her when she comes to watch practice. Only Haruka does, and only when she thinks she won't get caught out by the others.
She's not that stupid. She knows what this is about. Haruka didn't even have to spell it out for her-- they've never even talked about 'this'.
It's because... she let them down, right when they needed her most.
And they haven't forgotten yet.
Maybe, what she needs to do is a full dogeza, or something? Or maybe, she needs to say 'I'm sorry' one hundred times, or fold some apology frogs out of paper for the captain.
She heard Noriko is still really mad about it. But of course, after Anna's injury... they were already down a star... and then Maria had quit.
She didn't say why. She was embarrassed to say why.
It's not 'feminine' to be into a sport. No, not even running. That's what 'he'd' said. She'd been head over heels for him, so she'd done it finally, after he kept telling her things like that, again and again.
'Everyone knows what female athletes are really into'.
'You smell really gross when you've been sweating.'
'What if you get all muscular?'
But it wasn't just him.
'...Girls shouldn't play baseball', her grandfather had said.
She doesn't think she's ever heard of a pro baseball player who was a girl, too.
She stays like that, under the tree, even when practices comes to an end and the club members slowly trickle off the field.
She stays there and only after a moment more does she rise, stretching out her back and rolling her shoulders.
Maybe it's just as well--
No. She'll think of something. Maybe, she can even start her own club...
"Oh, dear. What trouble are you thinking of causing for yourself now?"
There's a voice, close at hand. Maria turns sharply and finds... nothing.
The source of the voice sighs. "Up here, child."
Maria, slowly, tilts her head upwards until she sees her. The cockatoo. The pink cockatoo. With the pearl necklace.
"Oh! A parrot! And you talk!" Maria declares, eyes wide.
For a long moment the bird manages to wear the most withering expression possible on an avian face.
"...It seems I'm just in time," remarks the bird. "No, child. But it doesn't actually matter. It seems as if you've been rather... lost of late, yes? Caught adrift? Considering poorly-thought-out actions?"
Maria flinches, taking one step away from the tree.
"Yes, like that incident with those two boys. Just think, if you hadn't made that phone call, they'd be living their normal lives! But it's only a symptom, isn't it?"
"A... symptom?" Maria echoes, her unease slowly slackening its grip on her.
"Oh yes. You have something very ugly down inside you, don't you? It cried out, and you answered it. Didn't you? But not to worry. I can do something about that. A little well-timed course-correction never hurt!"
"I don't... know," says Maria, hesitant. She tries to inch away.
"Ah... I see, so it's already like that..." says the bird. "Very well! I suppose I have no choice. If I can't convince you, you will just have to come along. Don't worry, it won't hurt..."
Maria, as she has threatened to do in the past, screams.
"...much," finishes the bird, in that instant before the world, to Maria's eyes, distorts and goes black.
Shaking her head, the pink bird soon follows suit, vanishing from this world as well.
Thus, in an eye-blink, did Maria appear to vanish into thin air.