Chapter 6

Elimination – Rounds 3 & 4

          Back in the feudal era, Miroku, Sango and Shippo wondered about InuYasha’s whereabouts.

          “He hasn’t returned ever since Kagome left,” Sango said.

          “He’s probably just taking out his anger while Kagome’s away,” Miroku commented.

          “That InuYasha, he’s such an idiot!” Shippo remarked. “He’s so jealous that Kagome’s good at something, so he goes off and throws a fit!”

          “Well, we’re better off not being around him when he’s in one of his moods,” Miroku added. “I’m sure he’s not causing any trouble, he’s not that stupid.”

         A Japanese archery official knocked on the door of InuYasha and Kikyo’s apartment. InuYasha woke up with a jolt and ran to the door, opening it quickly.

          “I am here to take you to the archery venue,” the man told InuYasha.

          “Sure, we’ll be ready in a few minutes,” InuYasha replied.

          As they prepared to go with the archery official, Kikyo noticed a strange look on InuYasha’s face. “What is it?” she asked him.

          “I’ll tell you later,” InuYasha replied.

          The two followed the archery official to his vehicle, which he would use to take them to the Olympic Green Archery Field.

         Kagome woke up feeling incredibly nervous. This was the big day – four potential matches, and if she won them all, she would be Olympic champion and wear a gold medal around her neck. One loss, and that dream would be over. That was bad enough to think about, but then there was that comment from Kikyo.

          “You think you are InuYasha’s true love, but you are greatly mistaken,” Kikyo said. “My sister Kaede says InuYasha’s lover is the one who could put an arrow through his heart. Only the best archer can do so. I shall prove to you once and for all that InuYasha is mine.”

          Obviously this was of great concern to Kagome; did Kaede really say this, and was it true? Would InuYasha really reject her if she failed to win the gold medal? Had this competition become that important?

          This is ridiculous, Kagome thought. Why would my relationship with InuYasha hinge on an archery competition? That just doesn’t make sense.

          Her family took her to the Olympic Green Archery Field. Once they arrived there, they wished her luck and were about to go to their seats in the stands, when Sota grabbed Kagome’s hand and opened it.

          “I found these in our hotel room,” he told her, handing her the three jewel shards she had thrown away. “I thought they might bring you good luck.”

          “Thanks, Sota,” Kagome said, smiling as she saw the jewel shards.

          Her family then took their seats in the stands, while she walked over to the area where the rest of the archers were gathering, to see her matchup for the third round. As she did, she saw InuYasha and Kikyo walking into the area as well. She was disappointed to see Kikyo still in the competition, as she had hoped InuYasha would talk her out of competing.

          “Hi, Kagome,” InuYasha told her. “Good luck today.”

          “Thanks, InuYasha,” Kagome replied.

          Kikyo looked annoyed at the two exchanging words, so she chose this time to ask InuYasha about his earlier look. “InuYasha,” she said, “why don’t you tell me what you wanted to say earlier?”

          InuYasha had an embarrassed expression on his face upon hearing this. “I had a strange dream,” he responded. “One of you won the gold medal, and she kissed me, and it all felt so perfect. But I couldn’t tell which one of you it was.”

          Kikyo coldly stared at Kagome after hearing this, while Kagome looked frightened. It was just a dream, she thought. It doesn’t mean anything… or does it?

          “So, um, InuYasha,” Kagome stuttered, “that dream- it doesn’t, uh, mean anything to you, does it?”

          “I don’t know, but something about the way I felt – it was almost as if it was a sign,” InuYasha answered.

          Oh no, Kagome thought. InuYasha is taking this dream seriously – and this means that I’m going to have to win this competition in order to win his heart.

          Kikyo said nothing, simply walking away from Kagome. Not knowing what to say, InuYasha also walked away, going up into the stands. Kagome just looked on in silence. Her worst fears were coming true.

          But there was hope. If she would just win the gold medal, everything would be solved. She would have finally beaten Kikyo, and InuYasha would have no choice but to choose her over Kikyo. She became determined to use this as extra motivation to win every match.

          A few minutes later, the third round of the Olympic archery competition began. Kagome took a seat to wait for her match. She refused to watch the other archers, with the idea that watching others would distract her and cause her to lose her focus. So she just stared at the ground while the other archers competed, not even looking up when the crowd gave some loud cheers.

          Finally the time came for Kagome’s third match. She was to compete against an American archer in this round, the round of 16. She waved to the crowd as she was introduced, then took a deep breath. This may not be the final round, but winning this match is just as necessary, she thought.

          The American archer took aim at the target first. She put all three of her arrows into the “9” ring, causing Kagome to take another deep breath. Her opponents were not just going to give her matches now; she was going to have to take the matches from them.

          So she went out and did just that, putting all three of her arrows of her first end in the bullseye. Her score of 30 caused the crowd to roar, while the Japanese archery officials grinned with approval, seeing that one of their medal hopes had come out on fire today, unlike yesterday.

          The American archer put up another 27 on the scoreboard in her second end, with a 10, 9 and 8. This allowed Kagome to add to her lead when she posted a 28, making the score 58-54.

          Kagome continued to feel immense pressure to win, as she looked over to the stands to see an intent-looking InuYasha. Nevertheless, she continued to handle the pressure well, matching her opponent’s 26 in the third end, and keeping a four-point lead.

          It was now the final end, and the American archer knew she had to put up a great score in order to have a chance. She put her first two arrows in the “10” area, but her final arrow hit the “6” ring, giving her a final score of 106. This meant that Kagome needed only a 23 to win.

          Kagome fired her first arrow into the bullseye, drawing cheers from the crowd. Her next arrow hit the “9” ring, and she now only needed a 4 to clinch the victory. At this point, she began to feel nervous, afraid that she might mess up…

          But she came through, putting the final arrow in the “9” ring and ending up with a final score of 112, winning 112-106. The crowd erupted with cheers, and she waved happily to everyone as she walked off the field. The Japanese archery officials were thrilled that she was going on to the quarterfinals. Kikyo, however, was not amused.

          The third round continued, and soon all the matches were complete except for Kikyo’s match against a British archer. Kikyo’s opponent looked a little nervous coming into her first end, and it showed, as she failed to hit the gold ring (9 or 10) at all with her first three arrows, ending up with a 23. Kikyo then scored a 29 to take a six-point lead after one end.

          The British archer recovered nicely with a 28 in her second end, but it was of no use, because Kikyo matched that with an even better 29. In the third end, Kikyo outscored the British archer 27-25, making the score 85-76 going into the fourth and final end.

          At this point, the British archer felt desperate, and she put too much pressure on herself, ending up with a terrible end of 19. Kikyo then shot two arrows into the bullseye and one into the “8” ring in order to win the match by a final count of 113-95. The crowd cheered for her as the score was posted, but Kikyo simply walked off the field emotionlessly.

          Kagome felt further pressure on herself with Kikyo’s victory, knowing that her archrival was still alive and well in this tournament. Nevertheless, she tried to put that out of her mind, as the quarterfinal round started immediately after Kikyo’s match. There were a couple matches before Kagome’s match, both of which were won by Korean archers. These went by too quickly for Kagome, who wanted a longer time to rest between matches.

          Whether she liked it or not, it was time for Kagome’s quarterfinal match, which would be against the lone remaining Chinese archer in the tournament. Of course, being here in Beijing, that meant that the crowd would be rooting all-out for Kagome’s opponent. The chant of “Jiayou! Jiayou!” echoed through the stadium (a term which roughly translates to “Go!” It was just a bit of added pressure for the already super-nervous Kagome.

          The Chinese archer came out with three straight shots in the gold ring, scoring a 28 to start off the match. Fans all over the stadium waved their Chinese flags while cheering loudly. Kagome could barely hear herself think as the chants of “Jiayou! Jiayou!” continued, although the crowd did politely stop before she stepped out onto the field.

          With all the pressure on her, and with the crowd firmly rooting for her opponent, Kagome’s nerves were greatly affected, and it ended up showing as she turned in a less-than-impressive 25, putting her behind after one end, and forcing to her to shoot her second end before her opponent (as the trailing player always shot first).

          Kagome calmed herself down quickly, and she shot a great end of 29. However, when her opponent shot another 28 to take a 56-54 lead after two ends, the crowd was back to full force cheering, and Kagome was back on edge yet again.

          The third end, Kagome hoped, would be a turning point. However, even though she shot a 29, her opponent matched her score, and she still trailed by two points, 85-83, going into the final end. The Japanese archery officials began to panic, and Kagome’s family started worrying, as the archer they were cheering for was trailing going into the fourth end for the first time in this Olympic tournament.

          This was when Kagome managed to muster up all the confidence and focus she had left, and put it to use for these final three arrows of the match. She put the first one in the “9” ring, then scored two straight 10s in order to put her final score at 112. It was a good score, but would it hold?

          The Chinese archer stepped onto the field with deafening chants of “Jiayou! Jiayou!” roaring through the stadium. A 28 would be enough to eliminate Kagome, and there was nothing Kagome could do about it, except sit and watch.

          Her first arrow struck the “9” ring, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The crowd then exploded as her second arrow hit the “9” ring as well. This put her into a scenario where a bullseye would eliminate Kagome and win the match.

          She fired her last arrow, and Kagome could not bear to watch. When it hit the target, the crowd let up a huge cheer, causing Kagome to panic. But she noticed it was a different cheer… not as loud, maybe a bit strained. When she looked at the scoreboard, she saw the reason why: the arrow had hit the “9” ring, the score was tied, and the archers would now shoot extra arrows.

          Kagome was to go first. Clearly this was no time to leave any room for error. Hoping to put the match away, she shot this arrow with the full confidence that it would keep her alive, and it did. It was a bullseye, a perfect 10 for Kagome.

          The crowd then began cheering for the Chinese archer again, hoping she would be able to tie Kagome and stay alive in the match. However, her arrow ended up in the “9” ring yet again, and this time, it was not enough. Kagome had won the match, 112-112 (10-9), and she was moving on to the semifinals.

          The fans clapped appreciatively over the result, while Kagome waved to the crowd in a celebration of relief. Clearly she did not win by much, but she remained in the tournament, and that was all that mattered. Her family cheered loudly while the Japanese archery officials breathed their own sighs of relief.

          The stadium still seemed to be buzzing with talk about the previous match while Kikyo competed in the final match of the quarterfinals, against a Russian archer. This match was no contest for Kikyo, who breezed to a 113-102 win. She advanced to the semifinals as well.

          Kagome and Kikyo both walked over to check their matches for the semifinal round. They would each be going against a Korean archer, Kagome first, Kikyo second. The winners would be playing for the gold medal, while the losers would be playing for the bronze. The medal round was about to begin; would Kagome be able to take down the top-ranked archer in the world, or would her gold-medal dreams die here?