Chapter 77: Let's Dance (I)

And with that, life passed on quickly but productively. Usually, I would only practice the piano after school for one to two hours every day, but it shortened even further upon reaching junior high school. Sometimes, I don't even practice for that day at all.

This is not because I was lazy, but because I chose to spend more time with Shouko, Kaori, and my family. While playing the music can do the same, it is only for Shouko and Kaori, and I don't want to make the same mistake as I did in my previous life.

Of course, I know that my family would completely understand the choice I make. But call me paranoid or anything; I just don't want to risk anything.

Anyway, following my plan faithfully, I studied everything I needed to learn about the dance party and devoted the rest of my time to practicing the piano.

I am happy to announce that I managed to gain one more proficiency point, hitting a lovely number of 1850 points. I only left the piano to eat, do my business in the toilet, and to sleep.

Of course, the breaks I had between my practices were spent hanging out with Maruno and texting with Shouko and Kaori (mostly texting, though). Any good practice must have breaks in between. Otherwise, I would die from the stress even before the actual party started.

And so, we fast forward to Sunday morning, where we would get everything finalized for the party.

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"Like usual, I look great," Maruno spoke as he adjusted his tie in front of the mirror.

"And unlike usual, you're self-praising," I continued, "What changed?"

"Nothing. I just finally realized my charm..." Maruno spoke with a faraway gaze into the distance, acting all melancholically.

"Tch...narcissist." Though, I really cannot deny his looks. For someone who lived with the Grandblue crew, his looks do stand out. Everyone there is overly-muscly and naked, while Maruno was the rare type who did not have a bodybuilder built.

"That's the last thing I want to hear from you."

I'm not a narcissist, am I? I don't think I ever looked into the mirror and said, "How amazingly perfect is this picture of me. How utterly dreadful that this would not last. Perhaps I should paint a picture of myself in all of my glory so that my beauty can be eternally appreciated by everyone."

Yep, never done that in my life.

"Anyway, come to think of it, I have never asked you this before. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Maruno nodded.

"And you still aim for other girls? Oh, wait, never mind."

This isn't an ordinary society anymore. And I'm the last person who should be stopping Maruno from aiming to get more girlfriends.

"Beauty appreciation is different from love, you little brat. I look at other girls to admire their beauty, but I still love my girlfriend the fourth most."

"And your parents and sibling come first?"

"No, my parents and my dog. A dog is a man's best friend, and I'm choosing my dog over my girlfriend anytime the choice would come up."

Damn, this dude...other people would willingly give up everything for a girlfriend, and Maruno would ditch his girlfriend if he had to choose between a dog and a girl.

"Respectable, but unrelatable. Come on, stop adjusting your tie already. We're going to be late for the dance."

"I see that someone is excited about the dance~."

"I'm not sure about that. I just don't like to be late."

"Such a tsundere."

"Don't," I turned to face him as we walked out of my room, "Ever call me that. Only a few selected people can do that. And another man is certainly not one of them."

"Fine, fine."

When we arrived in front of the ballroom, I only had one thought.

It was pretty overwhelming.

In the span of a few days, this whole place got a complete makeover. During our previous performance, while the hall was furnished such that it looks just decent enough to gather all the high-class people, it's now a place fit for royalty.

The pure white curtains and table cloth that brightened up the place, the golden chandelier that glistened under the light of its own flames, the hundreds of clear wine glasses stacked perfectly on top of one another.

The tables were moved such that the center was empty and devoid of things, making it easy for everyone to dance.

"Phew...ain't this grand?"

"Yep. They really wanted this party to be the best, huh?"

In front of the hall, Maruno and I commented. We weren't the first; there were already people present, though none of them had the same (momentary) awe I had. I guess all those rich people are used to things like this.

The bustling whisper gradually cooled down as we entered the room. It was still early, and there was plenty of waiters/butlers/whatever-they-are-called roaming around, ensuring that everything was where it is supposed to be.

We didn't have to wait for long, however, before Shirokusa arrived.

"I see all...most of you are early." Shirokusa corrected herself as she estimated the number of us to be less than what it was supposed to be, "All of you may take a seat first before we begin."

"At the side, of course." As we were going to sit down on the chairs around the tables, Shirokusa suddenly spoke once more, pointing to the seats at the sides.

...

"Oh, except for some of you, where you can sit with your family in the middle. You know who you are."

Oi, I sense discrimination here.

I demand equality!

"Life is unfair; get used to it. Besides, sitting at the side isn't all that bad. At least you have to wall to talk to."

...I really cannot understand Shirokusa's thought process. She's just so...random and...weird. Who on Earth would choose to talk to a wall when there are people around?! Even loners and introverts would decide to talk to a book than to talk to a wall.

Are we getting punished or something?

∞

The sun began setting, but it didn't represent the end of the day. It was the opposite; in fact, it signified the start.

Guests began to stream in, and this time, instead of a pianist, I attended as a guest.

There were some people that I had already seen before, and there were some new faces. For example, Chika's parents and uncle, the right minister of Japan, are present here.

There was also the current president of the USA, Barack Obama, and his wife. There were even some famous artists such as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.

Interesting...this party is just literally the most random mish-mash...thingy I've seen so far. I didn't really care, though. After all, it wasn't my decision to invite these people anyway. And I guess whoever's the real boss behind all of this (probably Akira) is just that random as well.

At around 8, the party started after Shirokusa gave an opening speech. The music started, and everyone just started to socialize.

What should I do first, though? Maruno had already ditched me and went to some ladies to ask for a dance. And without any issue, with his personality hidden beneath his appearance, he got a dance easily.

Tch...due to my age (and height), I could only dance with a limited group of girls. Basically, lolis.

"Uesugi-kun! Wanna dance?" Turning my head to the side, Chika said with her hands raised out towards me, "You're the only boy I know here that I can dance with."

"The last part was unneeded. But sure."

"Just asking, you do know how to dance, right?"

"Well, even if I don't, you're going to need practice on teaching people how to dance for the future."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Let's go."

Taking her hand, we walked out towards the center, where a few pairs were already dancing.

My left hand grasped Chika's right, while my right hand arrived on her back. Chika's left hand was on my shoulder.

This was the basic posture(?) for the dance.

And as the music continued, both of us waited until a certain point before entering the dance. We were both musicians; it was easy for us to know when a good time was to come in.

"You only took the lesson this week, right? You didn't know how to dance at all before this, right?" Chika asked as we slowly waltzed.

"Yep. It isn't too hard for a regular dance like this."

I had the basic footwork and moves down, so while Chika might be a better dancer than me, I could at least lead without embarrassing myself.

"You're doing really well."

Chika was currently wearing a dress that accentuated her pink hair and bright blue eyes. The dress ended just slightly above the knees and exposed her slender arms.

She was still young, but she was a beauty in progress for sure.

"Come to think of it, you're addressing me really casually, huh?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Not exactly," I shrugged mentally, "And I prefer it this way."

I don't really mind anyone using informal language with me. Formal language is just a pain in the butt for me.

"With that, you can also drop the honorifics with me."

"Alright, Fujiwara."

While we continued dancing, I might have just lost my lead and let Fujiwara lead me instead. And because of that, we were doing a lot better since it was easier for me to just follow Fujiwara's pace. Since all we were doing is just repeating a particular routine with a few variations here and there, I could basically easily follow her after a while.

"You really are talented, aren't you?"

I could only smile at her words as something rang in my mind.

[Congratulations, host. Basic Dance Proficiency (0/100) gained.]

With every twirl, every bend, every move, I could feel the proficiency going up at a fast pace. And by the end of the song, I had already gained 55 proficiency points.

As the song ended, Chika pulled me close towards her as we were put in our final position. A round of applause could be heard as I noticed the adults all staring at us.

Chika felt no embarrassment and just smiled brightly. Urgh...this untainted innocence...

"Thank you for the dance, Fujiwara. I enjoyed it a lot." I bowed slightly as I said.

"The same goes for me. Thanks," Chika lifted her skirt slightly and did a curtsy.

"Chika-chan, daddy is proud of you. And you are Uesugi-kun, is it?" Another man came up to us and spoke. He had a pair of wayfarer-style glasses and has a slick gelled hairstyle, and beside him was a woman with shoulder-length pink-colored hair that has bangs over her eyebrows and light-colored eyes.

If I'm not wrong, they should be Chika's parents?

"Yes, my name is Uesugi Fuutarou. Good evening, Fujiwara-san."

"Hm..." The man just stared at me, but with his eyes hidden behind his glasses, I cannot tell his mood.

"My daughter is too young now. Try again when you're older."

If I had a drink, I would have spat it out in surprise.

But before I could say a word in reply, the man turned towards his Chika and bowed down like a gentleman, "Chika-chan, may daddy have this dance?"

Chika merely giggled and took her father's hand, moving towards the center to dance with her father.

Looking at the father-daughter duo, the woman smiled warmly.

"Uesugi-kun, my daughter is precious to me. So if I find out that the reason she quit the piano was to spend time with you, I'll never forgive you."

"You're misunderstanding something, Fujiwara-san. Your daughter quit the piano because she didn't enjoy it anymore. Nothing more, nothing less." I looked right into her eyes and spoke.

The woman stared back for a moment before eventually letting out a sigh, "Sigh...my daughter is really talented in the piano, and that was the only reason why I forced her to play the piano. But if she doesn't like it anymore, then it'll be up to her. Still, if she becomes sad in the future, the first person I'll look for is you."

Oi! To begin with, we're not like that, so why are you asking me to shoulder any responsibilities?! Oi!

But the woman didn't manage to hear my inner monologue as she walked away to join the rest of her friends.

"You seem like a very interesting boy. How about having me as your partner next?"

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A/N:

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