"Alright, we're done for the day, take a break." You tell Akira, sweating lightly from the session. You go to get your water bottle and take a swig from it, sitting down in front of one of the huge mirrors in the dance studio and taking a swig of your water. You stretch and completely ignore the fact that Akira was on the floor, groaning in pain. "Next times we'll work on making sure you stretch far enough to at least touch your toes. Please stretch at home next time."
'Body... hurts... everywhere...' Akira thinks, struggling to get up.
"I used to do this everyday, you know." You stand above him. "My cousin used to make me practice doing ballet in our basement before and after school."
Akira's head perks up as you tell the story.
"She told me that if I stopped practicing, I'd never be as good as she was."
"Your cousin," Akira finds his voice after a while, "was she a good dancer?"
Your eyes light up at the mention of your cousin's talent. "She's amazing... she's been a ballet dancer, an idol, and now she's a teacher. God, I wish I was her. I was so close to being her once... one more step forward and I would've been on stage with her and-" You catch yourself mid-sentence. "I'm sorry... I'm rambling again. Just ignore me."
"No no, please," Akira approaches finds his strength and stands next to you, "do continue."
"I'm fine, really. Ignore me, I don't have anything else to say."
Akira frowns at your words, he hoped nothing horrible happened to you in your past to make you silence like this. Maybe if he became closer to you, he could get answers out of you and help. Then again, it was naïve of him to think that he could help you after knowing for so little time.
"Say, Y/N..." The boy picks up his stuff and looks at you, "do you want dinner? I'm free tonight."
Hesitation hangs in the air between the two of you playing a haunting tune of ugly silence. You pick up your stuff and stand for a while in consideration.
"Thanks but maybe next time." You politely decline. "I don't think I'll be free tonight. I have a lot of studying and such to do."
"Oh, I see. Maybe later then?"
"Yeah, later, bye." You immediately leave after the short conversation, peeking Akira's interest.
'She's not very good at speaking. Maybe if she was in her more natural tone of voice...?' He thinks to himself the idea of you speaking to him fully in your more natural, country tone. It would perhaps be a bit hard to understand you, but still, it would be a good way to see you, the true and honest you. He had met people who weren't afraid to be themselves no matter what, and you were never going to be one of those people at the rate you were going.
I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I know it has been a while since I last updated, and that is for a good reason. The next will be about Akechi, and it will be much, much longer. Expect many of the chapters coming up to focus on him.
For now ;—)