Even a Warrior Must Fall

Chapter V: A Night to Remember (Part II)

(A/N: There's been some slight changes in the events of the story. Instead of the slightly romantic scene being in the previous chapter, it will now be here and in the succeeding ones.
Happy reading, everyone!)
Yukina's POV:
My heart began to race like crazy as I stepped into the main hall of Lord Ashikaga's home to perform the dance which I had been practicing for some time now.
A peek inside the hall earlier showed me a large group of men, plus maikos and geikos alike, with the party already in progress.
Once more, I couldn't help but feel nervous. One wrong move here, and my future career would most likely be all over.
" Relax, Yukina. You can do this," I told myself as I took the starting position for my dance.
I started to dance, and everything else faded into oblivion. I cared for nothing else, only the way my dancing was making me feel.
Something broke my composure, however. It was the sense of someone watching me intently. Who could it be?
My eyes caught the sight of a man kneeling near the corner of the room...
He is good-looking, to say quite the least, and appeared to be not much older than me. Long indigo-colored hair neatly tied in a side ponytail served to accentuate his sharp yet relaxed cerulean blue eyes.
" Snap out of it, Yukina. You're distracting yourself yet again," I quietly chastised myself, as I continued to dance. So far, so good...
I was nearing the end of my dance and was about to bow down when the worst of the worst happened.
As I turned around, my foot caught on the hem of my kimono. I was rendered off- balance and started to fall.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone quickly rise up to catch me and break my fall. But somehow, I ended up in the floor, on top of a man.
" W-What happened" I mumbled to myself embarassedly, feeling my face grow redder and redder with each passing second.
I stole a passing glance at the person who saved from breaking something in my body. He was the man who had been kneeling near the corner of the room a moment ago...
I escaped being hurt. Yet there is a more pressing concern for me to attend to right now: getting out of this mortifying situation gracefully and hopefully alive...
Until... " Daijobou desu? ( Are you alright?) Don't worry, we'll get through this somehow
" my savior said in a low whisper.
Really? I can't imagine how...