“Well, shall we get started?”
“Um...?”
“Wait a second, Mitsuru! You’re the judge, right? Why would you be dancing, too?” Shimozuru objected, stepping forward as the rest of us froze in place.
“If I’m judging, then it would be faster just to assess them myself,” Mochizuki said airily.
“So all three of them are going to be your partner, Mitsuru?” Shinmyou asked.
“I’ve just decided. We’ll be dancing three songs, one right after the other,” he readily responded.
If Mochizuki was really as good as he seemed to believe he was, then maybe this was the best way.
The six of us exchanged glances.
Ever since we chose to hold a dance contest, Shinmyou had been practicing as my dance partner, and Shimozuru had been Shizuku’s. So it was only natural that we expected to have them as our partners for the actual challenge as well.
“But they’ve only ever practiced with us,” Shimozuru protested. “It’s not right.”
“It’s not as if this is an official event. If they can’t at least dance with a different partner, then they’re probably not any good anyway. Right?”
Shimozuru clearly couldn’t disagree with that fair argument, so he bit his lip in disappointment. Shinmyou would never have opposed Mochizuki in the first place, so he merely stood there with a grumpy look on his face. The other two boys were just here to watch, so they had no say in the matter either.
Still, what about Chouko?
I had been so taken aback by Mochizuki’s outfit that I hadn’t noticed right away, but Chouko still wasn’t there.
I turned to ask Mochizuki about him, but he turned away. He then went on to impress our two choices upon us.
“So, are you going to dance, or will you pass? Which is it?”
Shizuku, who had gone quiet after her initial outburst, stepped forward, a look of resolve in her eyes.
“I would never think of passing up this challenge. I’m counting on you as a partner,” she said, offering him a curtsy not unlike the one I had performed when telling her the truth of my past life.
“Very well. I look forward to dancing with you.”
He seemed pleased with the lovely curtsy Shizuku had given him and once again offered her his hand. Holding hands, he escorted her out onto the floor in a grand manner.
The music gave them both just enough time to get into position before beginning to play, and so they began to move, dancing naturally in time.
Shizuku’s dress billowed softly as she moved to the gentle rhythm.
“Shizuku certainly looks lovely.” The words fell from my lips instinctively.
“I hate to admit it, but yeah, Mitsuru really is a good dancer. He’s doing a great job leading her,” Shimozuru grumbled.
“Naturally,” Shinmyou coolly interjected. “He has a great deal more experience.”
I pretended not to hear that very audible gnashing of teeth. No matter what I could have said to Shimozuru, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
The sound of Shizuku’s steps ended in time with the music. Mochizuki escorted Shizuku back to us, her cheeks slightly flushed. It was rather adorable.
She let go of his hands as soon as she was back and dashed over to me. She gave me a great big hug.
Y-You’re going to wrinkle our dresses, Shizuku.
“W-Well, how was it? I think that was my best dance yet!”
“Yes. It was very elegant. You’ve improved a great deal.”
“Oboro, did you see? What did you think?!” she asked with an innocent smile.
“Yeah, you danced beautifully,” he said, a subtle grin on his lips.
“With a performance like that, you’ll absolutely pass. You could dance anywhere without issue.”
Shizuku looked triumphant on hearing Mochizuki’s words. Pass? Something about that gave me a bad feeling.
“So, next is Urara’s turn, right?” Shizuku said. “Oh, wait, where’s Tsukuyomi? She’s still not here?”
Having just now realized Chouko wasn’t there, Shizuku looked all around, but still Chouko did not appear.
Again, I looked to Mochizuki, hoping he’d actually pay attention this time.
As soon as I did, he said something I could scarcely believe.
“Chouko Tsukuyomi will not be taking part in this contest. As a result, the two of you have won,” he announced indifferently.
“Wait a second! What exactly does that mean?!”
“Exactly what I said. She decided not to dance. That’s all.”
“That’s unacceptable,” I persisted. “After all...”
“It was her decision. I couldn’t get her to change her mind,” he responded coldly.
“Urara, I know you’re disappointed, but please calm down.”
“Tendou, Mitsuru can’t really do anything about it...”
Shizuku and Shimozuru were trying to soothe me.
I understood what they were trying to say, I did. But that didn’t mean I could easily accept it.
After all, Chouko had agreed to the challenge. He said it would be all right. So I couldn’t understand why he would back out now.
“You got what you wanted, Saku. Or was it the other way around?”
“No, I... No, you’re right. It doesn’t matter to me either way. Whatever Chouko wants to do is fine by me.”
Even as I listened to Mochizuki and Shinmyou’s back-and-forth, I still couldn’t accept it.
After all, he had yet to even see my dress. The one Mr. Agatsuru asked me to show off for him.
And then there was Chouko’s request to dance with me. I hadn’t had a chance to practice the male part...and now I didn’t need to...
“Is it because of what I found out?”
The words had slipped from my lips before I could stop them.
I had been trying to close my eyes and cover my ears, to feign ignorance to what I had learned.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Shizuku asked in shock, but I ignored her and continued on.
“Did Chouko quit because I found out he’s really a boy?”
“No, that’s not what happened!” Shimozuru rushed toward me, trying to comfort me and convince me otherwise, but thankfully, Shizuku held him back.
Her jaw had dropped at the secret I had exposed, but she remained my silent ally.
My feelings bubbled over, and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
“That’s it, isn’t it? After all, I...I ran away. Without giving him a second to hear what he had to say.”
Yes. I ran away.
I ignored Chouko even after he called out to me.
I should have turned back to face him. I continued to blame myself over and over.
I was always doing things like this.
Always, always, always, always.
I was in the wrong, always so steeped in my own emotions without trying to understand someone else’s.
“It’s all my fault...”
“This has nothing to do with what happened that day,” Shinmyou said. “This was his choice. It’s not your fault, Tendou.”
“Th-That’s right. So don’t worry so much.”
As I began to cool down, Shimozuru once again reached out to me to put a hand on my shoulder.
In that second, his hand was smacked away.
“You all need to knock it off!”
“Aritomo?!”
“How could this be Urara’s fault?”
“No one is saying Tendou did anything wrong.”
Shizuku brought her foot down so loud, it echoed throughout the room.
“Shut up! You’re making Urara feel bad! Idiots!”
“Hey now, that’s ridiculous. We’re...”
“If Tsukuyomi was dropping out for this round, why couldn’t she have come here and told us in person? That’s so dumb! After everyone went to all this trouble!”
Her diatribe started aimed at Mochizuki, then turned to Shinmyou.
“And you! Are you okay with this? Acting like you don’t care. You’ve been used, too. It’s all just stupid. All of it!”
“Looks like it’s a smorgasbord of stupid today,” Mochizuki said, seemingly in awe of Shizuku’s rant. She rounded on him, a rabid glare in her eyes, and he immediately fell silent.
“That’s right, Dum-Mi! And who cares if Tsukuyomi really is a boy or whatever! Or if that’s why he wanted to quit! He was the one who started this in the first place.”
“Yeah, but, well...”
“Shut up! I don’t know why he was dressing as a girl. I don’t want to know. But I can’t forgive him for hurting Urara,” she declared, taking my hand and heading for the door.
“A-Aritomo?!”
“We’re leaving! Have the car ready for us by the time we’ve finished changing.”
After glancing back at Shimozuru, she quickened her pace, scuffing her feet against the floor. I followed along behind her, her hand protectively gripping mine.