Chapter 6: The Lady Who Couldn’t Dance
DANCE? Wait, a dance contest?
Wouldn’t that put Lady Chouko, the quintessential lady, at a huge advantage?
Aritomo and I looked at each other, wondering if this was going to work out.
“You really know how to go for a person’s weak points, don’t you, Saku?”
“Chouko, you’re one to talk.”
They were both smiling, and yet their words were dripping with disdain.
“Huh? Wait, can Tsukuyomi not dance?” Aritomo’s loud question ripped through the ice storm blowing between the two of them. Too direct, as always.
“She has never danced in her life. Not once,” Mochizuki told us. The air in the room grew even tenser as he turned to Shinmyou. “You knew that, and yet you still suggested this?”
“Of course. Chouko knew what she was getting into when she allowed me to select a challenge, and so should have you,” Shinmyou said, a hint of animosity in the way he addressed Mochizuki. He had been so volatile toward me, and now it would appear his relationship with the others was strained as well.
I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty about that, but I had no idea what to say.
“It’s all right, Urara. This is our problem to address,” Lady Chouko said gently, likely noticing my distress.
“Right. And if this is what you want, then I’m not going to stop you. Not like I ever could anyway,” Mochizuki said. His words were terse, but his tone still held the softness he clearly felt for Lady Chouko.
“All that’s left is the date. I want to say two weeks, but it looks like we’ll need three.”
“Three weeks?!” Aritomo exclaimed, trembling as she held up three fingers.
“Aritomo, do you not have any dance experience?” I asked.
“I studied it a little...but I skipped lessons a lot...”
It was obvious just by looking at her that this challenge was going to be tough on Aritomo. When I turned to Shinmyou, hoping to see if an extension were possible, he merely met my gaze with a grin.
“I promised you complete support, and I intend to do that promise justice. I have prepared a teacher and a practice venue. I expect the contest on the third Saturday in August to be very entertaining indeed,” Shinmyou said flatly.
We don’t stand a chance. Let’s just give it up, Aritomo.
✦ ✦ ✦
☾☾☾
“WHY, oh why, did it have to be dance? I suck at it!” Aritomo cried out. At least she had waited for the others to leave. She had matured a bit. If this had been April...
“But seriously, Tsukuyomi’s never danced before? Can that really be true?”
It was a fair question. When Shinmyou had proposed the dance challenge, I wondered the same thing.
“Everyone said so,” I said. “Mochizuki stressed it more than anyone.”
“True. They did...”
The others had left us in the clubroom to hold our strategy meeting. Our tea had grown cold, so I made a new pot. After a sip of that rich flavor, I felt at ease. I turned to Aritomo.
“I know you said you hate it and aren’t good at it, but you have learned how to dance, right?” I asked point-blank.
She told me herself she had studied a variety of things all for the sake of this otome game, so I had to believe this was one of them.
“...I...”
“You?”
“I’ve...had a trial lesson...you could say...”
“You’ve barely studied it at all, then.”
“...Yeah.”
“Outside of piano, you haven’t studied any of it, have you? Not cooking or horseback riding? What about etiquette? English conversation? Tea making? Flower arranging? Dance? Just be honest with me, Aritomo!”
Aritomo was panting heavily, trying to steady her breathing as I awaited her response.
“But...I...”
“You?”
“I’m the heroine, damn it! My position as heroine means I should be good at everything!” she shouted defiantly.
So this baseless confidence was the reason she had pursued this competition. She was the heroine, therefore that should have guaranteed she would win every time.
“What have you been thinking since the competition started?” I pressed.
“Well...it hasn’t gone at all like I expected. I mean, I lost to you, even. I’ve started to feel as if being a part of this competition is pointless.”
Exactly.
“But...”
“But?”
“I started this competition to play out the role of the heroine from Moonlight Beauty, but...I don’t really know if I care about the love interests anymore.”
“Huh?”
Was she giving up on the otome game, then?
“Just listen to what I have to say,” she insisted, holding up her hand. “Ever since I started spending time with you and Tsukuyomi, I’ve had so much fun, laughed and cried so much, that I’d almost forgotten I was inside an otome game.”
“I thought you were doing this for your love interests,” I said, my face growing hot. “And if not, then why keep doing the challenges at all?”
“Because actually having friends has been fun on its own,” she muttered, looking away.
She really had changed. When we first met, all she cared about was the otome game, but somewhere along the way, she’d had a change of heart. Such as when she’d managed to put her faith in Roselila during the equestrian contest.
“Oh, but I mean I still wanna win. It is the fifth and final challenge, after all! So I wanna give it my best!”
That was the Aritomo I knew. I’d had no idea she’d been feeling this way. But if she was ready to give this last challenge all she had, then I would teach her every technique I knew.
“Wait... Urara, what’s that look in your eye...? I’m getting chills here!”