"Good to see you made it, N.K. . I started to think that you wouldn't show," a voice called out. A boy with light green hair, olivine eyes, and a beautiful face appeared behind Enkai and patted his shoulder.
Cart stared at the new boy with wide eyes. As did Huoyin.
"Did you hear him approaching?" Carter asked.
Huo shook his head.
Now that he mentioned it, neither had I!
"Nor did I," Lidia whispered.
Enkai chuckled. "That's because Shuai is light on his feet."
Shuai extended his left foot outward and leaped, spinning in place as soon as he touched the mat.
"One has to have a gentle step if one plans to become the best dancer," Shuai said, smiling at us as he extended one arm outward and one behind him.
"His movements are as limber as yours," Lidia mumbled.
I glanced at Huo. "Wait, you have experience dancing too?"
He averted his gaze. "Y-yeah." He put a hand on his neck. "Grandma Suien taught me."
"Suien? Is that a caretaker at the orphanage?" Carter asked.
"No. It's his dad's mother," Lidia said.
Huo nodded. "She taught Father how to dance as well, but he hated ballet," the redhead whispered, looking down. "While a kind lady, she was a harsh teacher. It was as if she became a beast when it came to dance."
"Ballet is difficult," our teacher said, sighing. "Those who can't cut it often quit. That's why this class is often made up of those with past experience, such as Shuai and Enkai. Those who wish to go pro often are put on that path from a young age."
Mom had mentioned the same thing as well.
I glanced at the class. The various girls nodded.
Lidia swung her arms behind her back. Did she have any past with ballet? I had my mother's lessons, and Carter seemed to have dabbled in it as a kid.
"Even among those who do have experience, once the going gets tough, people start to drop out. Only the most determined remain," Shuai said, smirking. "Today will separate the wheat from the chaff."
His manner of speaking sounded familiar.
Enkai smiled. "Give it your all, you four!"
Lidia beamed. "Yeah!"
I giggled. He really could be rather energetic once he had something to eat.
Huo and Cart narrowed their eyes at him.
"Now, now. We have wasted enough time," our teacher said, clapping her hands. "I will be dividing you into groups. Since there are only seven guys and fourteen girls, you'll be in units of three."
"C-can't the girls be paired up with girls?" Carter asked.
"Perhaps if the dances were simple. There's going to be a lot of lifting involved. While we women might be more adept at magic, we're lacking compared to you men in terms of upper body strength. Now, boys, line up. You girls can pick who you want."
Carter smirked as he jumped to the center of the room. "That's my forte!"
Almost immediately, most of them went to Shuai and Enkai, causing much grumbling. Another girl and I paired up with Carter. Lidia had picked Huoyin. But how strong was he? Pretty sure I could have beaten him in an arm wrestling match.
Huoyin sighed. "But your weakness is girls."
He blushed. "T-true... Uh, but I'll try my best!"
Enkai laughed. "That's the spirit!"
Shuai chuckled. "You really do remind me of the young prince at times, N.K. ."
Young prince? Was he referring to Eien? How were they similar? Although I hadn't interacted with him much, so perhaps they were.
"Why did I need to get attention?" a scrawny boy said, sighing as he walked over. He ran a hand through his cyan hair, revealing equally blue eyes. Some of the girls who had chosen not to argue to pair up with Shuai and Enkai turned to look at him.
If he didn't want attention, why did he join a class like this? He did know that it tends to have assignments involving on-stage productions, right?
An orange-haired boy crossed his arms and laughed as he followed the apprehensive boy. "Didn't you know what you signed up for, Katsuo?"
Katsuo let go of his hair and sighed. "Need I remind you this is your fault?"
"Hmm? You did say you wanted to break out of your shell." He grinned. "What better way than with what you love?"
The shy boy turned away. "Dancing is something I do in private, not in front of others for show."
Huo smiled. "I can understand that. I am only taking this class for physical education credit."
Shuai scoffed as he let the girls figure out amongst themselves who would be in his group. "If that's the case, find another class. This one is meant for those who are serious about dancing!"
Katsuo rubbed his arm. "I thought so."
Huo frowned. "Who said that I wasn't? I am looking to ace this course."
Shuai smiled. "Oh, I like that look in your eyes. It appears there is some fire in you after all."
The redhead smirked. "Well, I am a fire mage, after all."
Wow. Was he really the same Huo who ran off before class started?
"I am an earth mage!" Katsuo's friend said, raising his hand. "And Katsuo here is a water mage just like Enkai!"
Katsuo sighed. "No one asked you, Jinpei."
"Wait, you know Enkai from before?" I asked.
"Yeah! Enkai and I went to the same dance school as kids!"
"Most people of us know one another," said the thin girl standing beside Carter and I. "Either because we attended the same dance studio or via competitions."
"Wow, competitions!" Carter said.
Huoyin sighed. "What's so surprising about that? Did you not hear what Shuai said about most of them wanting to be pros?"
"Still, I've never been a part of one! Wonder what it's like! It must be very exciting!"
Jinpei grinned. "Yeah, they are!"
Huoyin shook his head. "So many excitable guys in this class."
I smiled. He was right, but they made the class fun. Else it would've been full of uptight guys and girls.
Enkai rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Sorry about that."
Huo blinked. "Why are you apologizing?"
"Mira said that you're sensitive to sounds."
He gasped. "Mira did?" His gaze fell to the floor. "Why?"
"She was making some headphones in class."
"Oh, yeah. You and Mira got partnered up!" Carter said.
Huoyin touched the ones Tahoma had gotten him. "Why would she do that?" he whispered.
I sighed. "Because she's a good girl who wants to make friends. Even the shy Jude got close to her."
"Shy, huh? Is he anything like Katsuo?" Jinpei asked, beaming.
Katsuo grumbled. "Jin..."
Our teacher clapped her hands. "Hurry up, girls. Just pick whoever is available. We don't have all day."
Several of the girls grumbled.
Shuai smiled at them. "Sorry. If it were up to me, I would dance with all of you."
I laughed. My, what a ladies' man.
Enkai frowned. "Same here, but it would take too long."
"Indeed, and the longer we take with the groups, the less time to dance we'll have."
Several girls sighed and went over to Katsuo and Huo. Although both had already been taken too.
We all turned to look at the seventh boy. He stood at the edge of the class, stretching. If I were to have rated the boys, he would've been up there with Enkai, Carter, and Shuai in terms of looks. The remaining girls acknowledged it, too, as they rushed over to join him. Some of the others even looked like they had doubts about their choice. Not that the other three were ugly. All seven had a charm to them. Even Huoyin.
Our teacher sighed. "Mr. Hirata. Did you not hear what I said earlier?"
The boy turned around and smiled politely. "Sorry, Ms. Hirata. I got too engrossed."
"Huh? You share the same last name?" Carter asked.
"Are you related?" Jinpei asked.
The purple-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, she's my mom."
She sighed. "He was supposed to have helped me with the piano."
Her son laughed nervously. "Sorry, Mother. I, uh, saw the room, so I became engrossed in dancing."
"Seems he's a dance otaku," Carter whispered.
Our partner and I nodded.
Ms. Hirata put her hands on her hips and sighed. "I appreciate your love for dancing, son, but you should really pay attention to other things." She smiled and clapped her hands. "Well, now that all teams are ready, let's begin! Today's class is improv. I will like to see what each of you can do on your own and together. Pick a side of the room. Once I start playing the piano, you may begin."
Carter, the thin girl, and I exchanged glances and picked out the corner closest to the door.
"We should probably introduce ourselves quickly," I said as we reached our spot. "I'm Kanja, and this is Carter. He's a bit shy around us ladies."
"Y-yeah," Carter mumbled.
The girl smiled at him. "Reminds me of my little brother. Oh, right." She held her hand out. "I'm Himari, but all my friends call me Hi."
"H-Hi."
I lightly punched his arm. "Come on. You were doing such a good job earlier."
His face turned redder.
"Well, guess we can skip talking and focus on dancing."
Ms. Hirata cracked her finger and began playing her piano. The melody was slow but quickly sped up before it dropped back down. It sounded rather ominous.
"That's the song from the play!" Carter said. He smiled and began spinning.
Himari stretched just like Ms. Hirata's son had done earlier.
I did the same. As the music progressed, Enkai, Jinpei, Shuai, Mr. Hirata, and Huoyin did the same.
While the first four did great, Huoyin's hand wobbled as he tried to keep Lidia up. But his technique was pretty solid as far as dancing went. Such skill. Had he kept up with lessons? He said he could relate to Katsuo, so perhaps it had become a hobby. Alas, it appeared he wasn't used to having a partner, let alone two.
Carter lifted Hi too. While he had an easier time than Huo, his overall technique was lacking. It was more akin to someone who had taught themselves.
"Wow, you are as strong as you look!" she said, beaming. Was she flirting with him or just being nice?
Cart flushed as he lowered her back down. "T-thanks!" He turnes to look at me.
"When grabbing, be sure to be gentle," I said. "Every movement you make as to be graceful." I spun around and let myself slowly fall into his arms.
"W-wow, you're good at this."
I smiled. "Really?" Good thing Mom's dancing was as clear as day despite all of these years.
Hi nodded.
I giggled.
Cart spun me around a few times before putting me back down.
"Hmm, your technique needs work," Shuai said as he threw one of his partners into the air and caught her. The girl even posed as soon as he did.
How elegant!
Carter frowned. "I know."
"You're self taught, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"In that case, you'll have to unlearn stuff if you plan to treat it as more than a hobby."
"I-I like dancing. But my real dream is to become the Magus Maximus."
He smirked. "So you're no stranger to ambitious dreams. However, you failed to reach the top of your cohort, didn't you?"
Carter gasped. "How do you know?"
He put his hands on his hips and grinned. "I looked into it. Wanted to see who would be facing Enkai and me."
My eyes widened. So Nate and Tammy were going to face him and Enkai?
Carter gritted his teeth. "I'll get stronger, you'll see."
Shuai turned his back to us and waved. "Looking forward to seeing you try!"
He smiled slightly. "He's just like Ling."
Ling? So that's who he reminded me of! Except he was less sour than her. More like a mix of her and Renshu. He even looked similar to them. Were they related? But then he wouldn't have been a native student. Unless he were mixed. But a Xianian marrying a Kyuu Seishinian was unheard of.
**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Predictions? Theories?**