25. Dance Practice.
May. 26, 2023
A/N: Holy FUCK yall, thank you for 8k reads and 500+ votes. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this long chapter!
Q: Are you guys okay with the previous chapter lengths? Do you think they could be longer/shorter?
Also, are you caught up with season 3?
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"Now that we've got automatic energy, you can train with me now using that technique now, (Y/N)!"
You were standing with Senku and Chrome outside of the warehouse when Kohaku had approached you with, what seemed like, stars in her big, blue eyes. They were bright enough to outshine the stars in the sky.
"Uh, now? It's already getting late..." you trailed off as you looked up at the sky, which was turning black from orange.
"Why don't you guys just camp out here for tonight so you can start the moment you wake up?" Chrome suggested before he headed up the warehouse.
Kohaku nodded with a grin. "That's a great idea! If anything, we can do what Ruri-nee called a 'sleepover'!"
"Where the hell is that in the Hundred Tales?" The scientist questioned.
"What kinda story would have a sleepover in it other than romance or drama?" You added.
Senku shrugged. "Beats me. Anyways, you have fun with your sleepover. I don't need any help at the moment."
You turned to him. "You sure?"
"Yeah. Besides, I got Chrome and that mentalist with me, and you need this time to relax," he said as he stuck a pinky in his ear. "If anything, you can say it's our own sleepover, kukuku..."
You showed him a small smile, then stopped. You remembered your conversation with Kohaku, and tried to be a little more conscious about how you acted with him. "Okay. Have fun."
"You too, slowpoke."
Kohaku had a certain cat-like expression on her face as she watched your exchange with Senku. She grabbed you by the arm and helped get sleeping supplies for your little camp out that was to be a little ways away from the warehouse. Thanks to all the materials you had, you set up two large tents and created a fire in front of it for you to stay warm. The lioness left and she came back with Ruri and Suika.
"What are you two doing here?" You asked them curiously.
"We wanted to spend time with you for this sleepover. I've never had one before, so this is a little exciting," Ruri sheepishly replied with a smile.
Suika answered, "Suika wanted to join the sleepover too!"
Kohaku sat down in front of the fire with a blanket. Ruri just sat next to her with her own thick blanket to get comfortable, and Suika had joined her underneath.
"What are you even gonna teach her, (Y/N)?" Suika asked you as she settled down.
You answered as you sat down across the fire from them, "Well, the first thing I learned before doing my own training was learning the waltz."
Ruri spoke up, "When I was being told about the The Hundred Tales, there was something called a 'waltz' and 'ballet' mentioned, and they were technique you used to fight your opponents swiftly as a river, though they were also described as something beautiful and memorizing.
You were surprised, then sighed with embarrassment. "Byakuya-san included that in the story, huh..."
The three girls looked confused when you said that. "What is a 'waltz'? What about 'ballet'? Is it a way of fighting?"
Shaking your head, you replied, "No. A 'waltz' is a type of dance that involves two people, typically in a closed position. It was introduced in the 16th century and became popular over time, changing as it spread. 'Ballet' is an artistic dance form that is more precise, and had originated in 15th century Italy. Because I was learning how to dance ballet, it improved my footwork in kenjutsu at the same time when training myself. However, the first type of dance I learned was the typical slow waltz."
"Amazing! I didn't know dance can influence combat!" Kohaku said enthusiastically.
You nodded and stood up from your spot, showing each part of your body to the three girls. "While dance helped me with foot coordination and strengthened my legs, kenjutsu strengthened my arms and upper body. When practicing both of them together, it increased my speed as well. Dance and kenjutsu are mostly focused on dexterity, vitality, coordination, and concentration. "
Suika spoke up as you looked down at her, "Wow, you really sounded like Senku..."
"Oh...do I?" You were puzzled, sitting back on the ground.
"Speaking of Senku, I saw you glancing at him a couple times when we were talking about you teaching me. What does he have to do with these different dances?" The lioness questioned you.
"Ah... that's because I didn't really practice dancing with an instructor when I was at home. Senku was my part-time dance partner for the waltz, and he also spotted me when I practiced ballet," you sheepishly laughed as you rubbed the back of your head.
"SENKU-CHAN?! A DANCER?!"
The four of you whipped your head toward the voice. You and Kohaku picked up your weapons and pointed them in the direction of the voice. The light from the fire had revealed that it was the mentalist, Asagiri Gen, who was eavesdropping on your conversation.
"Gen?! Why the hell are you eavesdropping?!" You demanded as you pointed your sword at him. "Weren't you hanging out with Senku?!"
"I was curious to where you were going with dancing! I heard it from afar, and I wanted to listen in," he explained. "But I didn't know that Senku-chan of all people could dance, especially a waltz! This is way more interesting than the science stuff they're talking about!"
"It was only a few times... he's not perfect, but he's decent," you informed him as you and Kohaku put your weapons down.
"How did you convince him to even dance with you? The waltz has a significant meaning to it," said Gen, raising his eyebrows as a coy smile adorned his face.
You closed your eyes and crossed your arms. "It was a one-time thing...for my 15th birthday."
"O-ho~! Now that's a story that I want to hear. Care to tell us?" Gen smirked.
You widened your eyes out of surprise. "I don't think anyone would wanna hear that story."
"Are you crazy?! A significant dance between two childhood friends has a deep meaning to it, (Y/N)-chan," the mentalist said as a matter of factly when he sat down next to you by the fire.
You scoffed, "Seriously?"
"Seriously." The man nodded.
You looked over to the girls, who had eyes of anticipation, causing you to deadpan. You questioned them, "What, do you guys wanna hear it too?"
"Of course! I want to hear about your development of dance and fighting!" Kohaku started shaking her fists with excitement. It seemed she was more focused on the fighting aspects of your story, rather than siding with Gen, as though she had completely forgotten your conversation from days before.
"It would be nice to know how your relationship was with Senku a long time ago..." Ruri added with a slight giggle.
Suika then jumped in, "Suika wants to know what the significance of the waltz is!"
Gen chuckled as you looked over to him with distaste. "You heard them, (Y/N)-chan. Tell us, and start from the very beginning."
You groaned, then let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Okay, fine. I will tell the story of our first dance together. It starts off with..."
-Flashback-
"Senku! Yuzuriha! Taiju!"
Dashing through the halls and stairs of your school, you busted through the rooftop doors to find your friends sitting and eating lunch together.
"Yo, (Y/N)! What's up?" Taiju exclaimed with his mouth full of food.
"My parents called me today about my birthday that's coming up. It on the same week as their networking party," you told the three of them.
Yuzuriha piped up, "Oh no...are they going to miss your birthday?"
You shook your head. "No. My parents decided that they're going to combine my birthday celebration and their networking party together, since they're the chosen hosts of the event."
Senku snickered. "Wow, you're gonna have a classic rich-girl party, huh?"
"Unfortunately, but since they want to hide my face to the public still, they said that they're going to make the theme of the party 'Worldly Masquerade'," you declared.
"That sounds super fancy! But...are we allowed to come?" Taiju wondered.
"Well, duh! I am allowed many personal guests, but I'm only going to invite you guys and Byakuya-san!" you cheerfully said, your eyes creasing with happiness.
"That's great, (Y/N)-chan!" The girl beamed. "I can't wait to see everyone wearing fancy outfits..."
"Thank you for reminding me!" You then grabbed Yuzuriha's hands and looked at her with pleading eyes. "Yuzuriha, as one of my best friends, would you do the honors of making my outfit that fits the theme? My parents know of your craft, but are willing to hire a seamstress if you aren't able to do it."
Your friend widened her eyes at the sudden request. A grin had spread across her face, as well as stars in her eyes. She began to ramble, "Yes! Yes, yes, I'll do it! I already have so many ideas! I'm going to need your measurements! Ah, I also need your preferences! I need to know what you like!"
You smiled, then sweat started dripping down your temples. You looked away, causing your friends some confusion. Putting two fingers together, you started, "There's also another thing... I am supposed to be introduced to 'partners' as a formality during the networking party and they have a ballroom dance as one of the events, which was heavily requested by my parents' corporate colleagues. Of course, my parents know that I would be against something like that, so they want me to dance with at least two of them and..."
"Shorten it down, will ya'? What are you trying to say?" Senku raised an eyebrow.
"I need to choose someone as my final dance partner. I couldn't exactly back out. I'd rather dance with someone I know than have all dances with random people," you let out a sigh. "Yuzuriha is already doing my outfit, Taiju has two left feet--"
"I can agree with that! I can't dance!" The brown-haired boy nodded his head with his arms crossed. Yuzuriha sweat dropped and let out a small laugh.
"--so the only person I can really ask is you, Senku..." you finished. You then added as you looked away from him, "If you can't do it, I might have to choose one of my sparring partners at the dojo."
Yuzuriha and Taiju then whipped their heads over to Senku, their eyes pushing him to say "yes". How could they allow someone else to dance with their best friend when the scientist was right there? Senku was quiet for a few seconds as he stared with surprise. But let out an annoyed sigh while he furrowed his eyebrows. "Damn it. Fine, I'll do it."
You beamed, "Yay! Thank you, Senku! I'll tell you the details about the dance later when we go home!"
You got up to leave them and contact your parents once again about your friends and their approvals. Your friends stayed behind and looked at each other. Yuzuriha had a small grin on her face as she stared at Senku.
He groaned, "This is ten billion percent not gonna work. All of you know that I lack any physical ability, yet she asked me? Completely illogical on her part."
"Well, it's not like I can dance. Yuzuriha is also going to do her outfit, too!" Taiju stated.
"I'm actually going to do all of your outfits!" She cheered. The girl then glanced over to Senku and giggled, "But you must be happy that she asked you, Senku-kun."
"I'm not. But I'm only doing it because I know she'd be uncomfortable doing it with someone else," he replied nonchalantly.
Taiju added, "But she's gonna be dancing with two other people. I wonder who..."
"Probably some snobby, rich folks."
~~~
After school, you and Senku were walking home together. Taiju and Yuzuriha had already gone separate ways from the two of you, possibly heading home or heading off somewhere together.
You started, "Okay, so I know you don't have any knowledge of dancing--"
"Ten billion percent correct."
"--so I'm picking a moderately paced song. I will also be taking the lead, so all you have to do is listen and follow me when I teach you, got that?"
"Yeah, yeah. So, what song you got in mind?" He raised the question.
A wide smile spread across your face. "Merry-Go-Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi."
"That's the song you picked? You couldn't have chosen something that wasn't picked by a million other Ghibli fans? Maybe something shorter too?" He scoffed as he raised an eyebrow.
You pouted as you heard those words come out of his mouth. "Hey, you know how much I like that song! It's the perfect song to dance to!"
The boy continued, "You know there's also some parts where you gotta speed up, right?"
"Well, it's not a lot. This is why I'm taking the lead, you whiny baby," you said as you rolled your eyes.
"Tsk, okay."
You saw that he was already getting annoyed with all the information you laid out. You let out a small sigh. "Senku, I already told you that if you don't want to, I could take someone else as my partner."
"Just because I'm not okay with doing this doesn't mean I'm okay with you dancing with somebody you're not comfortable with," he said.
You smiled slightly and let out a small laugh. "Now you're worried about me? How amusing~"
"Because you have too many issues. You think someone else has the time to deal with you?"
"Wow, rude."
"Senku! (Y/N)-chan! Welcome home!" The two of you heard someone call out.
The two of you looked up to see Ishigami Byakuya, Senku's father, in front of your apartment complex. From what he was wearing, it seemed like he came back from astronaut training in the U.S.A. It was rare to see him home at this time.
"Byakuya-san, you're back!" You happily greeted him as the two of you approached him.
"Yep! I took it upon myself to visit my two favorite kids," he replied with a grin. "And since my future daughter-in-law is going to have a birthday soon, I also requested two weeks off. Of course, I know that training is important, which is why I'm gonna do some of it here at NASDA."
"Stop it with the 'in-law thing', old man. It ain't gonna happen. Anyways, it's gonna be one hell of a celebration. Her parents are hosting a networking event at the same time as her birthday, so she's gonna have a classic rich-girl party with celebs, investors, and whatever," Senku told him with a pinky in his ear. "You're gonna need a Masquerade mask and outfit."
The man placed a hand on his head and started scratching it to think. "Sheesh... I don't know if I'm able to come then..."
You added, "You're still invited with Senku, Byakuya-san, and I will provide aid for your outfit as well. But I'm going to need to borrow your son for the next two weeks after school and during weekends."
"What? Why?"
"Because he's going to be my--"
Senku immediately nudged your shoulder, then started, "I'm going to be helping her with the planning. She wanted to do something special for entertainment."
"Oh, I can't keep you guys waiting then, huh? I'll just go ahead and prepare dinner while you two are busy with party planning! (Y/N)-chan, you're free to join us afterwards!" Byakuya exclaimed and ran off to their living quarters.
When Byakuya left, you immediately turned your head towards Senku. "You didn't have to go and lie to him."
"You know damn well how he's gonna react to us dancing together. If anything, we need to pick a spot where we can practice in private without him having to see us," said the scientist.
You put your fingers against your chin to think about it. Then, you gave him a grin. "What about the place where we fired the rocket with Yuzuriha and Taiju?"
"If it's to get away from him, then I'm fine with that."
-End of Flashback-
"So, Senku-chan didn't want you dancing with another person, huh?" Gen let out a small laugh.
You sighed. "Yeah, and practicing in front of others was also not an option."
"Is dancing in front of one's parent really embarrassing?" Ruri questioned.
"With a doting father like Byakuya-san, it is for Senku," you replied with a warm smile, remembering how he treated you back in the day. "He was a good man. He was like a second father to me... my parents were extremely thankful for him and Senku being there for me when they couldn't. I miss him a lot."
"Wow, must be nice to have in-laws that like each other..." Gen mumbled quietly enough only for you to hear. You ended up elbowing him.
You continued, "Anyways, when we start going to the spot..."
-Flashback-
"Did we really have to come early in the morning on a Saturday?"
You and Senku had gotten up early to head up to the hill where you and your friends had shot the experimental rocket. You forced Senku to wear something light instead of his usual button-up shirts and lab coat, so he went with his gym clothes from school. All you did was wear a windbreaker with a t-shirt, shorts, and leggings. Luckily for the two of you, there was nobody around to watch, as the sun was slowly rising, showing the warm colors of dawn in the sky.
"Well, yeah, if we wanna get as much practice in on time!" You told him. You had him sit on the ground as you started to lay down the instructions. "First things first, I need you to understand the basics of waltz, since that's the type of dance we're doing. I know that you know music has timing, but your body doesn't have that timing."
"I get that. This waltz is done in 3/4-time, with three beats in a measure, right?"
"Yes. Now, since you understand that, you also need to know the position and basic movements," you informed him as you took your phone out.
Fingers swipping and tapping the screen, the device started playing a song, which he immediately recognized judging by how Senku perked his head up. "Is that from Super Mario Galaxy?"
"Hehe, you got it. I'm using Rosetta's Comet Observatory so you can learn the basics. We will start choreography for Merry-Go-Round of Life when you get those basics down perfectly," you said.
You started pulling him up from his spot and had him stand in front of you. You instinctively took his hands and placed one around your waist. Then, taking yours, you placed a hand on one of his shoulders and firmly gripped his other one, raising it up to your shoulders. You continued as you pulled his body closer to you and looked down to make sure your footing was correct, "This is the basic position for the waltz. We will be doing this a majority of the dance--"
"Warn me next time before you start hassling me, slowpoke," Senku interrupted.
You looked up at him and noticed how close his face was to yours. Eyes widening slightly, your cheeks had heated up a tiny bit as you immediately adjusted yourself so he wouldn't be uncomfortable. "S-Sorry. Anyways, let's start."
The two of you were starting off by dancing in a square to the beat of the music. For the entire dance, you instructed him and watched every movement of his to see what he could improve on. Unfortunately for you, he couldn't last an entire song.
"Oh my God..." Senku groaned out as he sprawled himself on the ground.
You put a palm against your face. "Christ, Senku, I knew you weren't physically capable of doing certain things, but this was seven minutes! Be for real, right now!"
"You should've expected less from me, slowpoke," he breathed out.
"How can I expect less from you when you can do so many other amazing things?!" You huffed.
He stayed silent for a few seconds, and then started, "Want me to bring out the electrode suit we used on Byakuya? It'll make it easier for me to gain muscle memory."
"The issue is not your muscle memory, you damn green bean. It's your stamina. I can understand you stepping on my feet a couple times or messing up, but you need to last the entire song," you told him with a sigh.
You then put your hands on your hips and leaned down to get up in his face, which caused him to widen his eyes a bit as he looked at you. "If you can't dance to this, then I'm gonna push you even harder so we can do this. Think of it as a science project. Science always has its ups and downs until something works, and that's what I'm gonna do to you."
-End of Flashback-
"AHAHAHA!"
Gen was hysterically dying over the fact that Senku was so incapable of making it through a seven minute song for practice.
"Did you guys eventually do it? Make it through the basics?" Ruri asked you.
"Yes, we did. It took almost a week for him to get it, and for him to increase his stamina. I had to make him run one kilometer around the hilltop before our practices, then teach him the basic movements for waltz. That one kilometer basically helped us in the long run, now that I think about it," you replied, remembering how you had to run away from lions the first day you were revived.
"Did Yuzuriha ever get to make your outfits?" Suika asked.
"During our dance training, we had Yuzuriha get our measurements in the middle of the week so she could make our outfits too."
Kohaku spoke up, "I know that you explained the positions and movements for waltz, but what does it actually look like? Can you give us a demonstration?"
You nodded, then stood up from your spot. You held out your hand to Kohaku to pull her up from her spot, but the mentalist stood up and taken your hand instead. You raised an eyebrow. "Gen, what the hell are you doing?"
"If you are gonna give a demonstration, we should actually do one short dance together!" The man explained as his eyes creased with joy. "Besides, don't you want to dance? Isn't that what you really want most in this world? A dance with real music?"
Your (E/C) eyes widened slightly. A small frown adorned your face when you spoke, "How do you know what I want most in this world?"
"I can see it in your fights and when you train. Your battles are the definition of dancing--exceptionally graceful, yet precise. It wouldn't hurt to do a little practice with a friend, right? I can sing the song since we don't have any instruments to use. Let me lead you, (Y/N)-chan," he finished as he held out his hand.
Staring at the man, you let out a soft sigh. He wasn't wrong. Taking his hand, both of you stepped out into the clearing by the fire to show the girls what a waltz was. You put your hand on his shoulder and Gen wrapped his around your waist. You looked over to the girls once you firmly held his hand to explain that what you were doing was the basic position, but noticed they had a completely different reaction to seeing it.
"T-That pose looks so romantic!" Kohaku cried out with a blush on her face. "He's holding you too close!"
Ruri put a hand against her mouth to cover her laughter. "I can see why you only wanted Senku to be your partner..."
"Suika kinda understands the significance of it now! With a handsome man like Senku, Suika would wanna dance with him too!" The young watermelon giggled.
"For the love of--this is just a demonstration!" You blurted out with heated cheeks, seeing Gen starting to chuckle along with them.
The mentalist let out a laugh as he pulled you closer, "This may be a demonstration, but you can't help the fact that they are right. A dance like this can be romantic, and with a man like Senku-chan, I don't blame you for wanting this with him. But remember, this is a dance between friends."
You heavily blushed at the statement, not denying the fact that you wanted to do it with Senku, which caused him to hold in his laughter. Soon enough, the man started humming a nostalgic-sounding tune. He swayed you left and right to get the dance started, and you followed his footsteps. You were impressed with how well Gen was leading you, as well as how good his voice was.
"I didn't know you could dance and sing, Gen," you complimented him. "How amusing."
"I am a man of many talents, and these are one of the few of them," he replied, then continued humming his tune.
As the two of you were dancing together, with Gen spinning you around and holding you, an extra set of eyes that weren't a part of your group was watching from the warehouse. Crossing his arms as he set his gaze upon your figure, he could tell you were having fun. He didn't mind that you were dancing with another person, as long as it was only with friendly intentions. However, as he watched you, the gears in his brain were working on a new side project. The watcher had come up with a new idea, one that was essentially for you, before heading in to sleep.
When the song had ended, you and Gen had separated and bowed before going back to your spots on front of the fire.
"That was beautiful!" Suika cheered.
Kohaku replied, "I can see how you move so swiftly now. Your feet were very careful and the dance was graceful. But when I think about it, I don't think I could be able to dance like that, nor fight like you can.
"You could always learn. But, I guess there is no point me teaching you these techniques then?" You questioned her.
"Correct. I don't think I can be able to hold someone like how Gen had held you," the lioness slightly shivered with embarrassment. She continued, "However, you can continue your story because who wouldn't want to finish that?"
"I wasn't thinking of ditching the story. Anyways, once he had gotten basics done, we went to practice the choreography. That also took an entire week because planning choreography is hard, and it is difficult to make it unique. We eventually got it a day before the party," you explained to them.
-Flashback-
"Senku, this is the last day we can get this done, and it needs to be perfect," you informed the boy.
"I know that. But I don't think we can do the dance today because it's going to rain," said Senku, who was looking up at the dark, cloudy sky.
You huffed, "Who is to say it'll start right now? We can do it just once, and then leave."
You started playing the Ghibli song on your phone, and quickly went over to your friend. Your dance began with a slow introductory bow and curtsy, with the green-haired boy holding out his hand to bring you into his space.
The dance was going well, with no mistakes being made in the process. You were actually elated by how well your partner was doing, considering he was incapable of anything nearly two weeks ago. Your training for him had paid off well, as he was following your lead like a duck following it's mother.
As the song was progressing, you suddenly felt something drop on your nose, then on your hands. As the two of you continued, you both looked up to see the rain beginning to pour.
You clenched your teeth as you glared at the sky. "Are you kidding me?! In the middle of the dance?! Damn it, we gotta--"
Before you could break apart from Senku, he tightened his hold on you. You looked down at him with confusion, and saw his eyes harden with confidence. He spoke, "We are not stopping. You said yourself that we will do it once, then leave."
The tempo of the song then picked up, and Senku took the lead--spinning you around and pulling you a bit closer. This caused you to widen your eyes, surprised by his boldness and ability to take the lead from you.
"Senku?!" You called out to him.
The boy smirked. "Don't focus on me. Focus on finishing the dance, (Y/N)."
You just stared at him, then nodded with a determined look on your face. You couldn't allow a little rainwater interrupt an important dance.
The two of you were continuing the dance with Senku taking control. Both of you were getting drenched with rain water--his hair had lost its puffy texture and had fallen on the sides of his head, with yours slightly covering your wet face. But despite the events that had happened, you had a large grin on your face as the two of you were enjoying the dance together.
Just then, the song ends, and the two of you slow to a stop. For a few seconds, the two of you simply stare at each other--your hand on Senku's shoulder, and his hand on your waist as the two of you catch your breath. You couldn't tell what he was thinking, but his wine-colored eyes had shown a certain softness to it as you kept your eyes on him. In that moment, you felt as though your heart had skipped a single beat. As the rain had covered your faces with water, all you could do was let out a little laugh as Senku smiled at you.
As you were about to say something to him, you heard clapping and cheering, then saw a quick flash of light coming from the same direction. The two of you shot your heads in the direction of the sounds and light. You saw Taiju, Yuzuriha, and Byakuya, who was holding a camera, under a few umbrellas. When you realized it was them, Senku immediately let go of you, and had a scowl on his face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Senku asked them.
"Well, we went over to your apartment together so we could try the clothes, but your dad said you guys weren't home!" Taiju explained.
"We figured you went to practice your dance, but Ishigami-san wanted to come with us when we mentioned it..." Yuzuriha sheepishly replied. She looked at the green-haired boy with a nervous smile. "Sorry, Senku-kun..."
Byakuya came up to the two of you and handed you towels to dry yourselves, then started slapping Senku's back with a grin on his face. The scientist had an irked expression on his visage as his father spoke, "So this is what you've been doing for the past two weeks! You guys said you were party planning, but instead, you're at dance practice! It's a good thing I got a picture!"
He let his Polaroid camera hang from his shoulder from a strap, and showed the two of you a picture of you embracing each other with smiles on your faces. The boy tried to grab it from him after he dried himself off, but his dad was quicker. Byakuya then handed you an extra umbrella for the two of you to share when you were done with the towel.
"The two of you did a good job! Are you going to so another one? If not, I'll just go and get this photo laminated for keepsake," said Byakuya.
"Thank you, Byakuya-san, but we're done here. We need to go home and shower before we get sick and try on the outfits..." you mentioned.
"Alright then! Let's hurry home, all you lovebirds!" The man happily cheered as he started leading your group home. Taiju slightly blushed as he was strolling with Yuzuriha.
"Ugh, God damn it," Senku groaned as he started walking under the umbrella with you.
You let out a small chuckle. "You know, least we got the dance done!"
"Finally. We only got to do it one more time and we never have to do it again," he said with a sigh. "Pray we don't get sick tonight before the party."
"We won't. We'll be fine," you replied, then slightly frowned, quietly whispering to yourself, "'Never have to do it again', huh...?"
-End of Flashback-
The entire group stared at you as you finished your story. Disappointment and dissatisfaction had erupted from them when you stopped talking.
"So what happens after?!" Kohaku queried, wanting to know more.
"Yeah! What happened at the party?! Did you guys try the outfits?!" Gen added. "Did you guys get sick?!"
You put a deadpanned expression on your face, then scoffed, "As if I'm gonna get sick from some rainwater. But I'm gonna continue the story another time. As you can see, there are some people here who need to sleep."
You motioned your hand towards Ruri and Suika, who were sleeping soundly under the blanket they had shared. Kohaku's eyes had softened, seeing her sister and the young child resting after a long day.
"I guess you're right. I'll start heading to bed then. Goodnight," said Kohaku. She then stood up to pick both Ruri and Suika up and carried them to one of the tents. You assumed she was going to share the tent with them.
Gen, much to his disappointment, had risen from his seat. "Well, I guess it is my time to leave. Thank you for the story, (Y/N)-chan. I learned a lot about you and Senku-chan."
As he walked away with a wave, you were by yourself in front of the fire, alone with your thoughts. Realizing it now, you couldn't even tell them all of the details of your dance. You omitted details about what you felt in the moment and what happened when your dance had finished. It was nothing to you then, but now, it was a big deal after remembering every detail as you told the story.
Especially when it came to how Senku looked at you. Remembering how those red eyes of his staring straight at you as he held you--as well as that soft smile of his--had shaken you to the core. With the fire burning up to nothing, you could tell that it wasn't the flames making your cheeks burn, rather, it was your own heart. You put your hand against your chest, hoping to make it slow down, and calmed your breathing.
"No chance. There is no way. I won't say it now," you quietly mumbled to yourself. You then grabbed your sword, and planted two feet on the ground to stand up. "If I can't get these thoughts out of my head, then I need to do something about them."
Walking away, you left Kohaku, Ruri, and Suika in their tents to start your midnight training.
-To be Continued-
A/N: ( ͡° ÍÊ Í¡Â°)
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Was feeling a little self-conscious about my writing for this.
This is my longest chapter yet. I usually average about 2500-4400 words, with Chap. 15 being my shortest (2434), and this being my longest (6017).