Welcome, readers, to the Planet of Vanguard, Cray. This is where my next story takes place, so enjoy your stay! -Soranryu

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and started to move her body. An arm sweeps up in an arch as she twirled around, the hand jingles she was holding rang softly. Soon, her movements became a dance to the music playing in her head. Just as she took a leap into the air, an excited voice called, "RaiRai!" The shout of her name distracted her and she landed on unsteady legs before kneeling heavily down heavily on the soft grass.

"Ow…That hurts…" she winced as she stood, rubbing her sore knees. "RaiRai, guess what?" the voice sounded again. She turned to see a cheerful-looking girl with long brown hair and bluish-green eyes. It was her friend, Vianne. Without waiting for her to respond, Vianne continued, "The Dragon Empire is holding a grand celebration!"

RaiRai was picking up her hand jingles that had fallen to the ground, but when she heard the words "grand celebration", she ran to Vianne's side and her eyes shone in excitement, "Really?! It's going to be fun, right?" Vianne could not contain her excitement as well and grabbed RaiRai's hands as she jumped up and down, "Yep! In fact, the Dragon Dancers have been requested to dance for the celebration!"

That got RaiRai curious, "Are we all dancing together or individually?" Vianne thought for a moment, before she shrugged, indicating that she has no idea. "We can ask Arabella! She is gathering all the Dragon Dancers to brief about the celebration," Vianne suggested. With that, the two girls went to look for the Dancer-in-charge, Arabella.

In Dragon Empire, the Dragon Dancers are a group of enchanting human females that dance for the dragon warriors of the Empire. Because of the magic they possess, their dances provide physical and mental support for the dragons fighting on the front lines. For Grade 2 Dragon Dancers such as Arabella, Julia and Veronica, they sometimes get to fight on the front lines with the terrifying powers of their dances.

After some searching, RaiRai and Vianne found Arabella in the dance studio. Other Dragon Dancers were arriving as well. When all the Dragon Dancers were present, Arabella clapped her hands twice to get their attention. Once she had everyone's attention, she spoke, "As you all heard, a grand celebration would be held tomorrow night. Our task is to dance and entertain our fellow dragon warriors. Our VIPs, Dragonic Overlord and his mate, Neoflame, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion and Thunder Break, would be watching closely as well. You can choose to perform in a group or by yourself. That is all."

With that, Arabella walked over to a desk, "When you have decided, inform me if you are performing alone or otherwise." The Dragon Dancers started chattering among themselves, some already made their choices and informing Arabella. While thinking, RaiRai couldn't help but stare at the Dancer-in-charge. With silky black hair that reached her waist and piercing bluish-green eyes, Arabella is still beautiful even with her face half-covered.

On top of that, Arabella is a serious person with a good sense of priority; hence she became the Dragon Dancers' leader. RaiRai gave a sigh; she could never be as good as Arabella. "RaiRai, did you even hear my question?" Vianne's face popped out right in front of her. Vianne then followed her line of vision, "Staring at your idol again?"

RaiRai blushed faintly at her friend's teasing, "S-Shut up! What was your question anyway?" "Oh, I was asking if you want to team up with me," Vianne asked, looking at her pleadingly. Just as RaiRai was about to answer, Arabella's voice cut in, "RaiRai, you were requested to dance alone." "Y-Yes, Arabella," she stammered, before looking at Vianne apologetically.

Her friend pouted at that and there was a tinge of disappointment on her face. However, she perked up when Catharina, a Dancer with short green hair and orange-red eyes, acme up to her. The two of them, Catharina and Vianne, were going to pair up with Ekaterina and Monica. Ekaterina is a Dancer with navy blue hair that reached her waist and emerald-green eyes, while Monica is a Dancer with long black hair tied up in a low ponytail and emerald-green eyes as well. RaiRai knew Vianne would be fine because the four work well together.

Once Arabella settled everything, she dismissed everyone and left. Before they part ways to practise for tomorrow night, Vianne asked RaiRai, "Why do you think you were requested to dance alone?" Before she could reply, Monica butted in, "I bet that request was made by a certain dragon!" At that, the other our giggled as RaiRai blushed bright red.

For some reason, RaiRai's dance could only support one dragon out of the entire Dragon Empire. That dragon is none other than Narukami's strongest swordsman, Thunder Break Dragon. The Dragon Empire was made up of two groups, Kagero and Narukami, but these two groups have joined together after Dragonic Overlord was freed from the Void. Because of the anomaly, Thunder Break and RaiRai have a special relationship. Recently, there're rumors spreading about the two of them, and many were hoping for the dragon and her to become mates.

"How can you guys be so sure it's Thunder Break anyway?" RaiRai protested. However, when the four other Dancers stared at her skeptically, she turned towards the direction of her house, "W-Whatever! I'm going back to practise!" With that, she walked away from her friends quickly. "Someone's eager to perform!" Catharina shouted behind her, and that caused her to break into a run.

Seriously! Her friends are having too much fun teasing her! But…to be honest…RaiRai did believe that it was Thunder Break who made that request. Back when the Dragon Empire was fighting to free their Overlord, she was afraid of how she felt for the dragon. But now, she came to accept that her feelings for Thunder Break ran deep. Yes, Dragon Dancer RaiRai is in love with the Narukami swordsman.

Just to make sure, it wasn't love at first sight, but love after silent observing from both parties. -Soranryu