☾☾☾
FOR some time after my big reveal, I spent my days focusing only on dance.
Aritomo might have lacked a certain elegance, but between her natural enthusiasm and stellar reflexes, she was becoming a fairly capable dancer.
“It’s because I have such a great partner.”
“Don’t you mean ‘It’s because I have such a great teacher’?”
Aritomo and I teased one another. She actually seemed to be having so much fun. It made me happy that Shimozuru had agreed to be her partner.
“What...about you?” asked a slightly restrained voice from beside me as I watched the other two dance with a smile.
“Oh...yes, I feel the same. Thanks to my wonderful partner, I’ve gotten so much better.”
“Oh? Well, good,” Shinmyou said matter-of-factly, though he wouldn’t look me in the eye as we continued to dance.
Was it too much to ask for a little eye contact, even if it wasn’t as much as with Aritomo and Shimozuru? I tilted my head up a bit, causing the clueless Shinmyou to ask me what was wrong.
I wanted to tell him it was nothing, but then I remembered the other day.
“Oh, I was just wondering, how did you know Haruto?”
I had tried to nonchalantly ask Haruto about it the other day, but he readily brushed it off. I couldn’t tell if it was because of that incident, but ever since, any time our eyes met, he quickly looked away.
I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so perhaps it would have been better to wait for a more appropriate opportunity to ask Shinmyou, but I couldn’t help myself. However, something felt off in his response.
“...We used to take lessons together.”
Was that all it took to create such animosity? I pressed further.
“You mean kendo? Did you enjoy it?”
“I did.”
His words were clipped, but at least I received a response. Come to think of it, I remember meeting several other students at one of my brother’s promotion ceremonies. Maybe I even met him back then. Just as I was about to suggest the idea, Aritomo pounced on me and I toppled backward.
“Urara! Let’s go look at dresses!”
“Aritomo! Wh-What?! Dresses?”
“Yes, Oboro hooked us up with some good stuff!”
Dresses?! My mouth dropped open.
“My cousin’s boutique has some waiting for you two, so go pick one out,” Shimozuru said, laughing.
“They’re Arrows gowns, Urara! I’ve always wanted to try one!”
Aritomo grabbed me by the hand and dragged me off. As much as I wanted to protest, that didn’t seem appropriate, considering someone had gone to all the trouble to arrange this for us.
“We have ten days until the dance contest. We can’t exactly custom-order dresses at this point, but we were able to find several already made in your size, so please don’t be shy.”
The way Shimozuru said this so easily, with a broad grin, made me realize he really was from a totally different world. Just as the way Aritomo readily accepted someone offering her a free gown made me realize how rich she was. And the way I felt that I couldn’t accept something so expensive...made it clear I was definitely a commoner.