• Summary version 1 by Hitoshi Doi, 1992.05.24

Then the telephone rang. Yawara was going to answer it, but Jigoro said that it was unnecessary. Jigoro had gotten an automatic answering machine. "Yawara is going to Saikai University! If you still have something to say, say it!" was the message that Jigoro had recorded in his greeting message. The phone call was from Superior Travel, who was still trying to get Yawara. Then Yawara thought that she might have some important calls from Tsurugame Travel, and played back the recorded messages. There were phone calls from various companies, but none from Tsurugame Travel. Yawara started to think that she had been too late. Then Yawara heard Jody's loud voice coming from the machine. Jody said that she had recovered and that she will fight in the Canadian Championships. She also said, "See you at the World Championships."

Matsuda was preparing headlines for the next day's newspaper. The headline said that Yawara had been chosen to be the 48 kg representative for the World Cup. But Matsuda was not sure if Yawara would fight. Then Matsuda received some pictures and news from Canada. Jody had won the Canadian unlimited class championship and she was going to fight in the World Championships. Matsuda regained his spirit as the thought Yawara would fight and it would be just like Seoul all over again.

Ohtaguro and the other men at Tsurugame Travel were still worried about Yawara. Although they knew that their company was Yawara's first choice, the other companies had not given up yet. All they could do was sit and wait.

Yawara and Fujiko were training in the Inokuma doujou. Then Jigoro came to tell Fujiko that she had a phone call. Yawara was disappointed because she had not received any contact from Tsurugame Travel. When Fujiko came back to the doujou she was very happy. The phone call had been from Coach Yutenji. Fujiko told Yawara that she had been chosen as one of the training members for the World Championships. Fujiko was going to be able to go to Yugoslavia with Yawara.

After the morning session of the special training had ended, Yawara left the gym dressed very well and went outside. Matsuda followed her. Then Matsuda saw Yawara go into Tsurugame Travel's building. Inside Yawara met with Ohtaguro and his men. Yawara told them that she was still working on trying to convince Jigoro to let her work at Tsurugame Travel. Yawara asked them to wait a little longer. Ohtaguro said that he would wait for her forever.

At the counter of Tsurugame Travel, Kazamatsuri was trying to book his flight and hotel for Yugoslavia. Kazamatsuri was also trying to pick up the girl who was taking his order. Then Yawara came out of the meeting room and spotted Kazamatsuri. When Kazamatsuri saw Yawara, he fell over in shock and called out Yawara's name. Then everyone in the office tried to get a look at Yawara. Kazamatsuri pulled Yawara away and ran outside. Then ran into Matsuda who was waiting outside.

Yawara, Kazamatsuri, and Matsuda went to a coffee shop. Yawara told them that she was going to work at Tsurugame Travel. Matsuda asked her about Saikai University and judo. Yawara said that she had no intention of going to Saikai University. When Matsuda asked more questions about judo, Kazamatsuri and stopped him. When Yawara tried to leave, Matsuda asked why she had to work. Then Yawara said that she had always wanted to work for a travel agency. Yawara also said that she thought that it would be easier to try to find her father that way. Then Yawara left because it was time for the afternoon session of the training.

Although Fujiko was just a training member, she was working out very hard. The coaches saw her and thought that it was a waste that she was just a training member. When Jigoro asked the coach if he had selected the representative for the unlimited class, he said that he hadn't, but hoped that Yawara would be it.

Everyone had come to see Yawara off at the airport. Nanda and Maririn asked Yawara and Fujiko to buy them a lot of souvenirs. Fujiko told them that their flight to Yugoslavia had a stop over in Singapore, where they could do some shopping.

Superior Travel, Ginza Can Can, and Miny House had large banners to wish Yawara good luck. But Tsurugame Travel didn't prepare anything, and Ohtaguro got upset at his men. They thought that they would get ignored by Yawara. But Yawara spotted them. Yawara went to them and thanked them for coming. Ohtaguro wished her good luck and gave her a gift. It was a jar of umeboshi.

Yawara and Fujiko enjoyed themselves in Singapore. They went shopping and sightseeing. Meanwhile Jigoro was talking with the judo coaches. The coaches said that the matches would be held in reverse order from the heaviest weight class to the lightest weight class, and that the unlimited class would be held on the same day as the 48 kg weight class. They said that it would be tough for Yawara to fight in both classes on the same day. Jigoro wasn't worrying about it too much, and said that everything would turn out ok.

When the Japanese team arrived in Yugoslavia, Yawara spotted Jody in the airport. Yawara ran to her and jumped up into her arms. While Yawara was with Jody, Fujiko saw many of the participants from the other countries. Fujiko was very scared and felt relieved that she would not be fighting against them. Then Fujiko bumped into someone. The person helped Fujiko with the bags that she had dropped. When Fujiko turned around she saw that it was Teleshikova. When Teleshikova found out that Fujiko was Japanese, she told Fujiko that Yawara would lose. Fujiko became even more scared.

Yawara, Jody, and Fujiko were jogging outside. Jody was a little disappointed that Yawara was only going to enter the 48 kg weight class. Since she wouldn't have the chance to fight against Yawara, Jody said that she will only enter the over 72 kg weight class. When Yawara asked Jody about her husband, Jody said that he was in Canada because he had his own tournament. Then Jody started to talk about her husband and Fujiko about Hanazono-kun. Yawara stopped running and said that they were lucky because they all had boy friends. Then Jody said that Yawara had Matsuda. Yawara quickly denied having any relationship with Matsuda. But Jody told Yawara to be more honest with herself. Then they started jogging again. Yawara was thinking that Matsuda's only interest in her was his work.

Meanwhile Matsuda was rushing back to his home in Yamagata because he had received a call from his mother. Matsuda's father had been hospitalized.

The Japanese coach was still undecided about the entry for the unlimited class. Jigoro told him that someone in good condition would probably catch his eye. Then the coach looked around and said that Yawara looked very good. Jigoro agreed, but asked him if he couldn't find another one.

Kuniko was going around taking pictures by herself. Then she ran into Yawara and Fujiko. When Yawara saw Kuniko, she started looking around. Kuniko noticed, and told Yawara that Matsuda didn't come with her. Then she started to tell them about Matsuda's father, but stopped. Instead Kuniko told them that Matsuda had given up on Yawara. Kuniko saw this as an excellent opportunity to get rid of Yawara.

The World Championships started with the 72 kg weight class matches. Teleshikova didn't enter this weight class to save herself for the unlimited class. So Jody was the favorite to win. Japan's hope Toudou won her first two matches, but lost to Martinez (Cuba) in the third round. During that match Jigoro asked Fujiko to pretend like she was fighting and go through the moves. But Jigoro yelled at Fujiko as she made the same mistake Toudou made. Jigoro said that Fujiko would not be able to go home with a medal that way. Fujiko didn't know what Jigoro meant by medal.

During Jody's match, Yawara was thinking about what Kuniko had said about Matsuda. Yawara snapped out of if when the crowd cheered and the referee raised his hand to signal the ippon. Yawara then went to Jody and wished her good luck in the championship match against Martinez.

During Jody's championship match, Jigoro asked Fujiko to pretend like she was Jody and get her timing. Fujiko was very scared and could not get her timing down. Then Martinez took Jody down for a yuukou. The match continued and Fujiko and Jody both looked very carefully for an opening. Then Yawara jumped up to yell, as she spotted an opening in Martinez. Both Fujiko and Jody had spotted it too, and Jody threw Martinez for an ippon. Jigoro told Fujiko that she did well.

Yawara went to congratulate Jody. Then Kuniko came and took a picture of them. When Jody asked where Matsuda was, Kuniko said that she wasn't there. Then Kazamatsuri appeared and looked very happy because of what he had just heard. Kuniko continued and said that Matsuda had lost interest in Yawara because she had become a superstar. Kazamatsuri quickly agreed with her, but Jody yelled out that it wasn't so. But Yawara just tried to drag Jody away.

Meanwhile Matsuda was in his father's hospital room. Matsuda's father asked what he was doing there. He told Matsuda to hurry up and go to the World Championships. He also told Matsuda to forget about Yawara because she was too different from him. (Yawara was a national hero, Matsuda was just a reporter for a trashy newspaper.)

Yawara was walking along thinking that Matsuda was only interested in her because of his interviews. Jody kept trying to comfort Yawara.

On the second day of the World Championships, the women's 61 kg weight class matches were held. Yawara was not paying much attention to the matches. Kazamatsuri noticed that Yawara was looking a little sad. When he asked, Yawara said that she was all right. Then Jody came and pulled Yawara closer to the mat, where Christine Adams was warming up. Yawara noticed that Christine looked like she lost some weight. Jody told Yawara that Christine went down one weight class so that she can get the speed and quickness to defeat Yawara. Jody said that Christine's target was also Yawara.

Christine easily threw Japan's Ohbayashi for an ippon. Fujiko was trying to get her timing again with Jigoro. But she said that Christine was too fast. Jody was very happy for Christine, but Yawara was just staring off into space. Jody knew that Yawara must have been thinking about Matsuda.

Matsuda borrowed some money from his mother so that he can go to Yugoslavia. Matsuda's mother told him that no matter if Yawara becomes a world champion or the strongest girl in the world, she's still a normal girl. She told Matsuda to give it his best shot.

That night Fujiko was just thinking/dreaming about "un, deux, trois" in her sleep. But Yawara couldn't sleep. She was thinking that it should be no different from the Seoul Olympics. But Yawara was becoming more afraid as the day of her match was coming closer. She didn't understand why. It was the first time that she had felt this way.

In the 52 kg weight class, Japan's Yokomizo lost in the third round. So the Japan's women's judo team had not gotten any medals so far. Their only hope was Yawara on the last day. A lot of reporters gathered about Yawara. But Jody and Fujiko grabbed Yawara and took her shopping. Jody wanted Yawara to relax before her match.

It was time for the Japanese coach to make the entry for the unlimited class. He went to look at Toudou, Takanabe (72 kg), and Ohbayashi. But none of them were in good condition. So he thought to himself that only Yawara can do it. Then the coach ran into Jigoro, who had been talking to a lot of reporters. Jigoro asked if he had made up his mind about the unlimited class entry. The coach said that he was on his way to register, but when Jigoro saw the coach's face he knew that the coach was still not sure about his decision. Then Jigoro wrote two names in his hands, one in his right palm and one in his left palm. Jigoro asked the coach to choose one. The coach thought that Yawara must be one of them, but he didn't know who the other one might be. He was nervous, but he thought that since Jigoro was such an expert his choice would be good. The coach chose Jigoro's right hand. He was very shocked when Jigoro opened his hand.

When Yawara, Fujiko, and Jody returned from their shopping, a lot of reporters had been waiting for them. When they ran up and asked for an interview, Fujiko got in front of Yawara and said that Yawara had an important match the next day. Then the reporters said that they didn't want to interview Yawara. They wanted to interview Fujiko, who had been chosen as Japan's entry in the unlimited class. Fujiko was shocked.

Teleshikova was very mad when she found out that Yawara wasn't going to enter the unlimited class. The Soviet coach told her to calm down and let Furushichova handle Yawara in the 48 kg weight class. He also said that Fujiko was a student of Jigoro. But Teleshikova said that her only opponent was Yawara.

That evening Yawara, Fujiko, Jigoro, and Kazamatsuri were eating dinner together. Jigoro told Fujiko to eat a lot because she didn't have to worry about her weight. But Fujiko was so nervous that she couldn't eat. Kazamatsuri spotted something written on Jigoro's hands, and asked what it was. Jigoro said that it was some lucky charm. Jigoro had Ito written on his right hand and Fujiko written on his left hand.

Both Fujiko and Yawara could not sleep well that night. Fujiko was thinking that Yawara was thinking about Matsuda. Yawara was thinking that Fujiko was nervous because the decision for her fight had been made at the last moment. Then Yawara took out the umeboshi that she had received from Tsurugame Travel. Fujiko was thinking, "I want to cry.. But I have to hold it.. Yawara is very lonely." Yawara was thinking, "I can't say that I am afraid.. Fujiko would get nervous." Yawara was wondering why she was so scared.

On the day of the match, Yawara was sitting by herself on a bench outside of the gym. Kazamatsuri spotted her and sat down next to her. He said that Yawara should start getting ready for the match. He saw that Yawara was nervous and told her that this was just like Seoul. Kazamatsuri added that the only difference was that Matsuda was not around. Then a thought occurred to Kazamatsuri. He thought that Yawara was thinking about Matsuda. But Kazamatsuri quickly rejected the idea, thinking that he couldn't possibly lose to Matsuda. Then Kuniko came up and took a picture of Yawara and Kazamatsuri together. Kazamatsuri got angry and tried to get the film away from Kuniko. But Yawara just walked away toward the gym.

Meanwhile Matsuda had arrived in Belgrade, he thought. But when he caught a taxi to take him to the gym, he found out that his plane had landed in Zagrev because of fog in Belgrade. The taxi driver said that he would take Matsuda to Belgrade. When Matsuda looked at the map, he discovered that it was 420 km to Belgrade!

The time for Yawara's match had come. Yawara's opponent was a newcomer Donuve from Italy. Everyone thought that Yawara would win easily. But just as the match began, Donuve kicked Yawara down for a wazaari. Fujiko and Jody were shocked, as was everyone else. Yawara was wondering what was happening to herself. She couldn't figure it out. Then Yawara threw Donuve over her shoulder. But instead of her usual ippon, Yawara got a wazaari to even the score.

The taxi driver was singing a song very loudly and driving leisurely toward Belgrade. Matsuda tried to tell the taxi driver to drive faster, but the man just kept singing.

Yawara threw her opponent over her shoulder again, but only got a yuukou. Fujiko was sitting down and watching Yawara's match. Fujiko became very frightened because Yawara was doing so poorly. She thought that the World Championships was a very scary place.

There were less than 10 seconds left in Yawara's match. Yawara was only leading by one yuukou. Donuve started to go into a throw move. Yawara braced herself and avoided being thrown, just as the time ran out. So Yawara just barely won her first round match. This was the first match that Yawara couldn't get an ippon. Jigoro came and yelled at Yawara. But Yawara just walked to the dressing room by herself.

The time had come for Fujiko's match. When one of the coaches came to get Fujiko, she said that it would be ok for her to just lose by forfeit. But the coach dragged Fujiko to the match. When Fujiko found out that her opponent was Martinez, the one that gave Jody such a hard time, she collapsed to the floor.

Meanwhile on Japanese TV, the announcer said that Yawara had only entered the 48 kg weight class, and that Fujiko had entered the unlimited class. Hanazono-kun had just come out of the bath when he heard the news. He was shocked and wanted to know more. But the taped TV broadcast was going to be aired the next day.

Fujiko was getting beaten very badly as Martinez got two yuukous and three koukas. Fujiko still didn't have any points. Martinez was getting upset because Fujiko was so weak and Jody wasn't even entered in the unlimited class. Then Martinez threw Fujiko for a wazaari.

Jody was with Yawara in the locker room. Jody was trying to comfort Yawara. Yawara just sat quietly looking at the floor. Then Jody mentioned that Fujiko was fighting in the unlimited class. Yawara's eyes popped open and Yawara ran to Fujiko's match. Jody told Yawara that she should worry about herself than worrying about others. When Yawara arrived at the match, Martinez was on top of Fujiko and had her in a hold.

Meanwhile in Japan, Hanazono-kun was very upset that they weren't going to televise the judo match live. The he got a phone call from Nanda. Nanda had seen the news and was worried about Fujiko too. Nanda asked what they could do, and Hanazono-kun thought that they can go to Nikkan Every to get some information from Matsuda.

Martinez got another yuukou and there were less than 30 seconds left in the match. Fujiko was about to give up when Yawara yelled and told her to remember her "un, deux, trois". Then Fujiko thought that she had to try hard so she can cheer up Yawara. When the match restarted, Fujiko started to get her timing. Then Fujiko unleashed her oouchigari and took Martinez down for an ippon.

Two men from the Frankfurt office of Tsurugame Travel arrived at the gym where the World Championships were being held. President Ohtaguro had told the men to go report on Yawara's matches. Just when the two men got inside, Yawara threw her second round opponent over her shoulder for a wazaari. Then Yawara threw her opponent for a yuukou. Since the two men did not know judo very well, they snuck up to the broadcaster's booth, where Yamashita was commenting on the matches. They overheard Yamashita say that Yawara's condition was very bad.

In Japan Ohtaguro and his men were waiting for some news about Yawara. Then they got a call from Murakami (one of the two men from the Frankfurt office). Murakami told them that he heard Yamashita say that Yawara's condition was very bad. Ohtaguro became worried that Yawara's bad condition was caused by the umeboshi that he had given her. They wanted to hear more, but the phone got cut off.

At Nikkan Every, Matsuda's boss was anxiously waiting for a phone call from Matsuda. Then Hanazono-kun, Nanda, Maririn, Sayuri, and Kyon Kyon came to hear the latest news on the World Championships. Matsuda's boss told them that Matsuda should be in Yugoslavia, but that he hadn't heard anything yet.

Yawara won her second round match with the wazaari and yuukou. When Yawara came off the mat, Jigoro yelled at her saying that there were so many opportunities to get an ippon. Yawara just silently walked away.

Kuniko called Nikkan Every. When she started to talk about how it was in Yugoslavia, and asked what kind of souvenir her boss wanted, he yelled at her. Then he asked about the matches. Kuniko said that she took at lot of pictures and that Yawara's condition was very bad. When her boss asked if Yawara's condition was really that bad, Kuniko said that Yawara hadn't gotten her usual ippons. Then Hanazono grabbed the phone and asked about Fujiko. But the phone call had been disconnected. The boss got mad at Kuniko's report, saying that he couldn't write any article with it.

Fujiko defeated her second round opponent with an oouchigari 1 minute 20 seconds into the match. Everyone became very happy that Fujiko had gotten her rhythm back. But Jigoro said that it was still far from perfect. Jigoro also said that Yawara's judo was still very terrible. Fujiko told Yawara that she would try hard, and tried to cheer up Yawara. Then Jody added that Matsuda was probably cheering for her in Japan.

Meanwhile Matsuda's taxi had gotten a flat tire. Since the taxi driver was working very slowly, Matsuda himself went to work changing the tire.

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