The Universe Listened | Kiribaku

Shadows settled on the place that you left

•Chapter One•

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After months of practising and years of preparing for the moment before him, it was finally his chance to show everyone in the country the talent he had been working to achieve. The competitors weren't very comfortable with their dancing being broadcasted across the country to people they didn't even know, to people who probably had no idea what they were watching, to people who wouldn't even be able to pick out a small slip up in a seemingly perfect routine. Some of the other dancers had puked from the nerves while others were so pale they looked dead. To think, the people he was going up against were said to be some of the best in the state and yet they couldn't handle a couple of cameras on them.

He wondered if they were looking at it from his perspective, or if they even considered it. Having their talent displayed for others to see, for professional dancers to see, would be an opportunity they would be insane to miss. No way in hell would he let a few cameras get to his head. Katsuki wanted to show all eyes watching that he would rise to be number one.

Music from a band that sounded whiny finally came to a stop and the dancer on stage ended their routine. Sloppy, he had thought to himself. How such sloppy footwork and ungraceful movements managed to make it to the state finals baffled Katsuki beyond belief. But it was his turn now and he planned on putting everything he had into the routine he had been perfecting.

The dancer walked off stage, clearly aware of the mistakes they made and knew that if someone didn't do worse than they did, they wouldn't rank. Hell, they wouldn't even make it into the top three. Maybe Katsuki was being too harsh but it's not like he wouldn't say what he was thinking to their faces. God knows damn well that he wouldn't hesitate to rip each and every one of those dancers to shreds just with his words if it were to help them become better. He didn't overlook their talent, he knew it was there somewhere, but to him, it felt like they were wasting it because they were a little nervous. That alone was enough to boil his blood. They had the talent yet weren't displaying it.

Katsuki walked onto the stage, his pride out on his sleeves and his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Not out of nervousness or worry that he might fail. It was the adrenaline setting in prematurely and he loved it.

His starting position was standing, legs shoulder-width apart and arms lose by his side but his back was to the audience and he wasn't quite in the centre of the massive stage. From there he slowly worked his way backwards, twisting his body around as he collapsed in a way that would hurt anyone who hadn't trained themselves to do it. From there he moved across the ground using spins and while on his back, he used the strength in his shoulders and upper back to push his legs up before letting them fall over his head, almost like a backwards somersault. He laid on his neck and upper chest, his legs twisting high above him before they slowly dropped to his side. As the song's tempo picked up, the speed of his movements followed.

Though his face wasn't what the judges were watching at all times, he made sure to convey as much emotion from his face because the emotion in his face would help sell the emotions he was displaying with the rest of his body. And it was all real. So real that with some routines he would be crying unintentionally by the end. The movements connected with the song and told a story, the story of him.

Katsuki ended on his knees, his back arching backwards with his arms stretched above his head. His breathing was erratic, face flushed, and all he could hear was the sound of his heart beating furiously in his chest. Eyes wide and mouth open as he swallowed each breath of air that managed to fill his lungs, his body fell onto the floor as the song came to an end. Right there and then he could have fallen asleep, and he would have if it weren't for the loud claps and cheers that erupted through the room without any warning. The sound of cheers mixed in with whistles and claps was all too familiar, and he was sure he'd never get over it.