Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
{BGM: "Crocodile Rock" – Elton John}
After Tatsuo's break ended, he returned to the piano. But during his break, he discussed the playlist with Kaguya and Chika. And as Tio expected, he did not mind taking requests from the students. He also decided that he would add more than just ballroom music to really get the party going.
For example, the song he was playing right now, "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John. Although he did not have an accompanying band to play the other instruments, he still managed to play a pretty convincing cover of the classic rock song. He also sang the vocals himself.
And although not all the students knew the song, the upbeat melody and Tatsuo's vocals led them to dance and have fun like people their age rather than the heirs of prestigious companies.
"There weren't as many people dancing like this last year." Chika said with a smile.
"Indeed." Kaguya replied. "The atmosphere was much more subdued last year. "It seems Soramoto-Kun's talent is on a completely different level than the musicians the school has hired in the past."
"I wonder if he's as good a dancer as he is a singer and pianist." Chika muttered to herself.
Although Chika did not put much thought into her question… Actually, she never put much thought into anything… Kaguya felt as if she were struck by lightning. So far, she could not come up with a reasonable way to try and get closer to Tatsuo as she was ordered to. But if he were to accept dances during one of his breaks, that would be a completely normal way for her to get some time alone with him, as fleeting as it may be.
'You need to calm down, Kaguya.' Kaguya thought to herself. 'I'm not doing this because I want to. I'm only following the family's orders. I should just be grateful that I was not ordered to seduce some old man. At least, Soramoto-Kun is easy on the eyes. He's even younger than I am. Perhaps I could mold him into… No, you're getting ahead of yourself, Kaguya. Just take things one step at a time.'
With those thoughts running through her head, Kaguya spent the rest of the time until Tatsuo's break came plotting on how she would invite him to a dance while absent-mindedly responding to Chika's rambling.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo played quite a few songs. He played both classical pieces, old rock songs, and more modern songs, singing when the song called for it, as well. And eventually, his next break arrived.
As soon as his second session ended, Tatsuo stepped off the stage and approached Yakumo and Tio with a smile.
"So, what do you wanna do now that I'm done for a while?" Tatsuo asked casually.
"Perhaps you'd like to try dancing?" Tio asked with a smile.
"I don't know how to dance." Yakumo said quietly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
"I'm sure that's not a problem." Tio replied, her smile widening slightly. "From what I know, Tatsuo-Sama is trained in dance, among other things. I'm sure he would have no problem leading you should you wish to give it a try."
Reaching that point, Tio turned to look at Tatsuo for confirmation. In response, Tatsuo only shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I was trained to dance." Tatsuo replied positively. "But I haven't had much of a chance to test it out."
'Actually, now that I think about it, I don't' even think I have a [dancing Skill] on my [Status].' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'But I guess that doesn't mean I can't dance, right?'
Meanwhile, Yakumo lowered her head in contemplation. And as she thought to herself, the red on her cheeks deepened. Then, after a few seconds of thought, she gave a small nod.
Seeing that, both Tatsuo and Tio smiled. Then, Tatsuo reached out a hand in Yakumo's direction.
"Well then, Yakumo-chan." Tatsuo said. "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"
Once again, Yakumo nodded while reaching out to take Tatsuo's hand. She then allowed herself to be led to the dance floor, immediately drawing the attention of the students.
Naturally, that included Kaguya, who had been scheming to invite Tatsuo to dance with her, as well.
'Ah! I got lost in my thoughts.' Kaguya thought to herself. 'But at least I know he's willing to dance. Now, I just have to get a chance to ask him myself.'
"Ooh! Kaguya-San ! Kaguya-San!" Chika cheered excitedly while grabbing Kaguya's arm and burying it between her breasts. "Then, with her other hand, she pointed in Tatsuo's and Yakumo's direction. "Look! Look! Soramoto-San is about to dance with Tsukamoto-San."
Struggling to free her arm, Kaguya's eyebrows continuously twitched as she subconsciously compared her flat chest to Chika's massive bags of fat.
"Let me go, Fujiwara-San." Kaguya said in her usual cold tone. "I'm not blind, I can see that."
Around that time, Tatsuo and Yakumo reached the center of the dance floor, the other students giving them space to move. At the same time, Shuchi'in's Orchestral Club once again took their places. And when they saw that Tatsuo was taking to the dance floor, they decided to play what they thought was the perfect song for the occasion.
{BGM: "Blue Danube" – London Symphony Orchestra}
As the music began, Tatsuo took Yakumo's left hand in his right. Then, he placed her right hand on his chest while resting his left on her waist, causing the raven-haired beauty to shiver slightly.
"I'll open up my mind so you can see how this dance is supposed to be performed." Tatsuo whispered into Yakumo's ear. "Just try to keep up with the steps and leave the rest to me, okay?'
Feeling quite shy at the moment, Yakumo was only able to nod in agreement. Then, she focused all her attention on reading Tatsuo's mind to keep up with him as he led her in the dance.
Shortly afterwards, Tatsuo began moving. And with Yakumo reading his mind, she was able to follow his rather graceful movements. Though, her movements were quite stiff in comparison. Still, the students watching them move with the music were impressed.
As time passed, Yakumo's shyness eased and her movements grew more fluid. Meanwhile, Tatsuo began adding more advanced dance moves. And before long, the two were moving like professional dancers, smiles spread across both their faces.
And just as the song was about to end, something made Tatsuo smile even wider.
{[Notifications]
[Skill] acquired. [Dancing – E+}
With that piece of good news, Tatsuo's dance moves became even more flamboyant, eventually ending the dance with a deep dip while staring into Yakumo's eyes, causing the girl to flush even redder than when she first stepped onto the dance floor.
"Thank you for the dance." Tatsuo said as he straightened himself and Yakumo.
"No… thank you…" Yakumo said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
Smiling at this side of Yakumo that he barely ever got to see thanks to her usual composure, Tatsuo led her back to the side of the dance floor. Then, when they arrived in front of Tio, he let go of Yakumo's hand and extended his hand towards his manager.
"Tio, wanna dance?" Tatsuo said, his invitation much more casual than before.
"I'd love to, Tatsuo-Sama." Tio replied with a bright smile on her face.
{BGM: "The Four Seasons Spring Op. 8 No. 1 Allegro" – London Symphony Orchestra}
As Tatsuo led Tio towards the middle of the dance floor, he caught Kaguya and Chika moving towards Yakumo. At the same time, the Orchestral Club began playing the next song.
Deciding not to worry about the Shinomiyas' plans, Tatsuo once again led Tio in a dance. However, since Tio had no way of reading his mind to follow the moves, he kept it simple. Luckily, Tio, as a warrior of the Dragonman tribe, had great control of her body. So, despite not knowing the dances from Earth, she was able to catch on rather easily.
Before long, the song ended and Tatsuo led Tio back to the side of the dance floor where Yakumo, Kaguya, and Chika were waiting.
"Me next! Me next!" Chika exclaimed as Tatsuo and Tio approached. "Soramoto-Kun, dance with me next!"
"Sure." Tatsuo replied with a shrug while holding out his hand to Chika.
As Chika happily took Tatsuo's hand, Tatsuo noticed the dark look Kaguya was giving her Student Council Secretary. But like before, he decided to deal with that later, if at all. Instead, he led Chica to the dance floor while she chattered non-stop.
Another thing Tatsuo noticed while leading Chika to the dance floor was the fact that a student was taking a seat on the piano bench while several string players gathered around the piano.
'A tango?' Tatsuo asked himself.
A moment later, as the music began to play, Tatsuo's guess was proven correct.
{BGM: "Por una Cabeza" – Carlos Gardel}
As soon as the music began, Chika pressed close to Tatsuo. And to his surprise, she was able to keep up with him no matter how advanced his dance moves were. As the two moved around the dance floor, the ooh's and ah's from the crowd never seemed to stop.
"You're pretty good." Tatsuo said in an impressed tone.
"I had to learn how to dance when I was little." Chika replied with a smile.
"Well, it shows." Tatsuo said.
Chika's smile widened as she continued to dance with Tatsuo.
*Cheer~~~~~~!*
As the song ended, and Tatsuo and Chika came to a stop while staring into each other's eyes, the rest of the crowd could not help applauding the performance.
Then, after bowing to the applause, the two returned to where Yakumo, Tio, and Kaguya were standing.
"That was incredible." Yakumo said softly. "You're both such good dancers."
"Yes… I believe Sumire-Sama will want to add dancing to your performances in the future after she sees this." Tio said while holding up her smartphone.
"Please don't." Tatsuo said in a pleading tone.
"There's no way I can do that." Tio replied. "If she finds out that I got a recording of you dancing and didn't show her, she might skin me alive."
While Kaguya and Chika did not take what Tio said seriously, Tatsuo and Yakumo had a sneaking suspicion that she was right. So, Tatsuo did not try to convince her anymore. Instead, he turned to Kaguya and held out a hand.
"Shinomiya-San, would you do me the honor of a dance?" Tatsuo asked.
"I assure you, the honor is all mine, Soramoto-Kun." Kaguya replied in her usual tone as she took Tatsuo's hand.
As the two moved towards the dance floor, Kaguya began a conversation.
"Thank you for asking me to dance." Kaguya said softly. "I would have felt rather left out if you had danced with Fujiwara-San and not me."
"Ha… Are you sure that's the reason?" Tatsuo asked playfully. "I could see it in your eyes. You really, REALLY, wanted to dance, too. And the look wasn't longing or anything. Instead, it looked like competitiveness."
A somewhat shocked expression appeared on Kaguya's face after hearing that. Although she really wanted to dance with Tatsuo to have an excuse to get closer to him per her family' orders, after seeing Chika's skill on the dance floor, she was also feeling quite competitive, as well.
'At least he didn't see through my real motive.' Kaguya thought to herself.
"It looks like you got me." Kaguya said while smiling wryly. "it's true that I wanted to do better than Fujiwara-San. But it's also true that I would have felt left out if you had danced with everyone other than me."
"I see." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "Well then, let's cut lose and have a little fun."
Hearing that, Kaguya was unable to stifle the genuine smile that appeared on her face. Though, it did not last very long.
By the time Tatsuo and Kaguya reached the center of the dance floor, the Orchestra Club was ready to begin their next song. And like last time, the style had changed.
{BGM: "Frenesi" – Artie Shaw}
"The foxtrot, huh?" Tatsuo muttered to himself.
"This isn't too much for you, is it?" Kaguya asked in a slightly challenging tone. "If it is, I would find that… Quite cute."
Like any dragon, Tatsuo did not appreciate being challenged. As a result, his expression hardened while he and Kaguya got into their starting poses.
"I hope you don't regret those words by the time this song is over." Tatsuo said with a daring smile on his face.
"I assure you, I will never regret it." Kaguya replied, her own daring smile spreading across her face, as well.
With that, the two began to dance the foxtrot. And with no comparison, this dance was the most visually stunning dance of the evening. With both their levels of skill and Tatsuo's skillful lead, the two looked as if they had been dancing together for years, leaving the audience completely in awe.
For the next three minutes, no one was able to avert their eyes from Tatsuo and Kaguya. On top of that, all the other couples on the dance floor stopped to gawk, as well. And when the song's last note was played, the auditorium fell into a brief silence as Tatsuo and Kaguya came to a stop.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~!*
But after a few seconds, the crowd came back to their senses and burst into the loudest applause of the night. Meanwhile, Tatsuo and Kaguya, both breathing heavily, though Tatsuo's ragged breathing was feigned, bowed to the applause before making their way off the dance floor.
"You're both so good!" Chika cheered, no dissatisfaction at being shown up in her expression. "Kaguya-San, when did you get so good at dancing? You gotta teach me how to dance like that!"
Despite how loudly Chika was gushing over her, Kaguya was not paying any attention to her. Instead, she was lamenting… NO, regretting how the dance went.
'I completely forgot I was supposed to be trying to get closer to him.' Kaguya thought to herself. 'Instead, I got too caught up in my competitive streak. We didn't even talk while we danced, I was too busy trying to out dance him… Damn it!'
"Well, you guys can chat. Tatsuo said, not wanting to be drawn into Chika's endless chatter. "I'm gonna grab a bottle of water before heading up to the stage for my last turn at the piano."
"I have water for you." Yakumo said quietly as she held out an open bottle of water. "After seeing you dance so energetically, I thought you would need it."
"Thanks." Tatsuo said with a smile as he took the water bottle from Yakumo. "I appreciate it."
Shortly afterwards, Tatsuo finished his bottle of water and headed back onto the stage to finish his performance for the evening. And as he played his last note, it was also time for the Welcome Party to end. So, just like he did at the beginning, Miyuki came back on stage and made his closing remarks before everyone was dismissed for the evening.