Barnaby first realized that something (else) was amiss when Kotetsu ignored an exit for the Gold Stage. Sternbild's three premier opera houses were up there, as well as four of its famed gala spaces. If they were attending a party or the theater in such formal attire, they had to get off of Silver and go for Gold. He ran through his mental list of Silver Stage convention centers, but none of them were equipped for events appropriate for Kotetsu's dress. What's going on?

Antonio caught on, too, and brought new information to the puzzle. "Wait a minute… We go here all the time."

"Where's 'here?'" Ivan asked.

"There's a bar in this area, Tiger and my usual place. Hero Bar."

"Oh, I sing there sometimes!" Karina added. "Why is Tiger taking his date to a bar dressed like that?"

"Is there anything else in the area?" Barnaby asked.

"Not really," Antonio said. "A few shops and little restaurants."

"Are they pre-gaming?" Pao Lin spoke up, almost surprising everyone that she was still there, forgotten in the back seat of a sports car.

"Who taught you that phrase?" Ivan spluttered.

"It doesn't matter," Karina pointed through the windshield again, this time keeping her seat belt fastened. "They've pulled in to the bar."

From the highway, Barnaby saw the little dot of a green SUV pull into the parking lot, circle through the rows few times, and finally pick a distant space. But once again, the heroes failed to observe Kotetsu's door etiquette, or see if the woman took his arm or anything during their approach.

"This doesn't make sense," Ivan said. "If they were just going to a bar, they could have dressed a lot more casually."

"Does the bar host special events?" Nathan asked.

"Only for the staff," Antonio said. "Antlers at Christmas and stuff."

"Wait! They missed the door!" Karina had her binoculars to her eyes. "They didn't go into Hero Bar! There's this little door to the right!"

"What's through that door?" Pao Lin asked.

"Some businesses on the upper floors," Antonio answered. "I've never really paid attention to them."

"Then we'll find out what's up there tonight," Barnaby said.

Keith and Nathan had difficulty finding parking, same as Kotetsu, but they eventually secured spaces and gathered at the small door.

"It's crowded tonight," Antonio noticed. "Usually there's more space than this."

"We won't find out what's going on down here," Barnaby said. "Let's go."

The seven heroes squeezed themselves (Barnaby first) through the door and into a narrow staircase, shuffling up as best they could without crashing into each other. The second story leveled out into an extremely tiny landing, and Barnaby stood face-to-face with a small sign that said "Lawton's" in cursive script. Antonio and Nathan managed to shove their way onto the landing, too, leaving the rest of the heroes on the steps.

"Hey, what are they looking at?"

"Jeez, why did we send the biggest heroes first?"

"What's up there, and again, what?"

With no other clues to guide him, Barnaby just placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door.

The room buzzed with people wearing varying degrees of formal attire, though everyone had made an obvious effort to look nice. Music played through speakers hidden in the ceiling as couples danced in a large circle, occasionally butting up against the rows of chairs lined three-deep in a ring around the dance floor. Black fabric covered the walls, and fluttered occasionally as people brushed by, revealing shiny mirrors.

"Hello!" a girl in a black shirt bearing programs greeted. "Welcome to Lawton's Exhibition and Graduation night. We ask a five-dollar entrance fee for guests so we can continue to offer top-rate lesso—"

Barnaby pressed some money into the girl's free hand, decently confident it covered all the heroes at least twice over. "I actually have a question," he said as the bemused girl counted the wad of bills. "Did a brown-haired man with a beard come in a few minutes ago?"

"Oh, Kotetsu? Yeah, he's in back. Are you supporting him?"

"Supporting?"

The girl handed Barnaby a cluster of programs, grinning. "Get seats in the front. I think he'll be glad to see some familiar faces. This is a nerve-wracking night."

Barnaby looked down at the program: "Lawton's Ballroom and Latin Dance Studio: Graduation and Exhibition Event."

Dance?

The heroes skirted around the dance floor, then begged and wheedled the other attendees to move their belongings until all the single seats in the front gathered into a seven-chair row, with Barnaby in the center, sandwiched between Antonio and Keith. Finally distributing the stack of programs, Barnaby opened his to the first page, a section labeled "Order of Events."

Welcome… Presentation of Elite level students… Special performance by Mahnaz Yousef and Maria Centero… Performance of Beginner level students… Special performance by Jonah Staples and Claire Mahany… Performance of Intermediate level students…

The schedule went on through four levels of dancers, a mid-program awards ceremony, and an intermission for social dancing, but immediately after Performance of Elite level students Barnaby read, Special performance by Kotetsu Kaburagi and Molly Hardwicke.

"Tiger's performing!" Pao Lin leaned across Keith to show Barnaby what the rookie had just read. "A special performance! Look, right after the Elites!"

"What? Where?" Ivan leaned into her, and she pulled back to show her program to him instead.

Barnaby flipped a few pages and found the list of participants, labeled with three-digit numbers, with the first digit representing the couple's skill level, 1 for Beginners, 2 for Intermediates, and so on. In the fourth column, Barnaby quickly found printed under the heading "Elite Students," 406: Kotetsu Kaburagi and Molly Hardwicke. With his name appearing twice, this couldn't be a mistake. Kotetsu was a ballroom dancer. An elite ballroom dancer, according to the program.

"This looks like it's Tiger's final exam or something," Karina leaned over. "Do you think we'll embarrass him? Should we leave?"

"No way!" Keith decided. "Heroes do not abandon each other! We will cheer for Mr. Wild, and again, cheer!"

"Are you sure? He hid this from us."

"We never asked," Antonio answered. "He doesn't hide stuff. I know he would have told us about this if we just asked."

Thank you, Bison, for realizing that after we stalked Kotetsu all the way here. Barnaby thought, but even he admitted that, until just now, none of the heroes would have known what question to ask.

Before Barnaby lost himself too deeply in his thoughts, a balding man in a suit cleared away the couples on the floor. Most retreated behind a black-curtained doorway, while others took spectator seats. The crowd hushed.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the man began elegantly. "Welcome to the thirty-second Lawton's Exhibition and Graduation Event. This is an annual event where we recognize all of the students who have worked very hard over the last year on the art of ballroom and Latin dance…"

The man droned on with a history of the studio, the life and times of famous dancer Brian Lawton, and the man's wish that the art of dance be shared with anyone who wanted to learn. He named the studio's faculty, who stood and bowed or curtsied in turn as he summarized their credentials.

"…Tonight, dancers from all class levels will demonstrate their skills before a panel of judges, in the style of a competition. They will be evaluated on technical difficulty, technical accuracy, and presence. Those with a passing evaluation will progress to the next skill level." The MC then described in some rather unnecessary detail the education requirements of the different levels, before he finally declared, "At this time, I would like to acknowledge our Elite level students!"

From the black-curtained doorway in the corner, a line of dancers processed into the room, paired off as gentleman and lady. They dispersed onto the dance floor gracefully, six couples in total. Barnaby instantly picked Kotetsu out of the column of suit-clad men. Someone had brushed his hair back, the little pieces that usually fell in his face smoothly groomed to the side. The sleek, sharp tuxedo certainly clashed with Barnaby's mental image of the old man—clumsy and a little absent-minded—but Kotetsu's presence, his straight back, broad shoulders, and long, confident stride, sold the whole image.

He looked good.

The dancers dispersed; three couples took their place in a row facing the heroes' side of the audience, while Kotetsu, the mysterious Molly Hardwicke, and the remaining couples followed their choreography to face the opposite side, backs to the heroes. Someone had pinned a large sheet of paper with the number "406" to Kotetsu's jacket. He and his partner held hands at arms length, fingers lightly touching, keeping them in contact.

Once the students settled, the announcer continued: "Elite level students, like the Advanced Level, have completed at least six semesters of general lessons and at least three semesters of intensive lessons, in addition to at least two semesters of specialization, one in a standard ballroom dance and one in a standard Latin dance. Elite students have also been recommended by their instructors for special elite-level lessons, of which they have completed at least two semesters."

The heroes looked at each other, counting up the semesters: thirteen. Tiger completed that much dance training, while being a hero, and we never noticed?

"They are, indeed, elite pupils, the pride of this studio, and an inspiration to all other students; a promise of what they can achieve through hard work and dedication." A few people applauded politely, and the MC paused for them before speaking again. "Tonight, in addition to receiving a passing evaluation of three dances, the quickstep, the rumba, and the waltz, Elite level dancers are required to choreograph a routine without instructor assistance, and perform it for the judging panel. The order of special performances is listed in your program. Now please, ladies and gentlemen, give another round of applause for our Elite Level dancers!"

The men bowed, the ladies curtsied, then the pairs turned around to weave through each other and bow to the opposite side. When Kotetsu turned around, the heroes' applause redoubled as he walked straight toward them with perfect posture. However, Barnaby watched his confidence crumple as his eyes fell on his friends.

When he saw his partner expression when faced with Keith's echoing applause, Antonio's booming shouts, and Nathan's screams, Barnaby realized Karina was more on base than they had thought. Kotetsu stared at them in utter shock, trailing half a count behind his partner as he tried to process their presence, his face asking the unspoken question, How? No one had told the heroes about Kotetsu's hobby, or the performance tonight, and certainly no one had invited them. They tailed him across town like a criminal to figure out why he was acting so strange recently, and now that they had the answer, all his odd behaviors made perfect sense: the strange walking patterns, the Strauss, the meeting with a woman (who might still be his girlfriend, it remained to be seen). But they had taken a cowardly route to discover his secret, and Barnaby already felt guilty.

He wished he could explain to Kotetsu, before he had to perform under their scrutinizing eyes. But Kotetsu was already bowing, and in a few seconds, he'd be gone, so Barnaby tried to force all his feelings into a little smile. An apology, his regret… and just a hint of admiration.

Kotetsu raised his head, and instantly Barnaby could tell that Kotetsu saw something. Maybe not everything, and it was still too much to hope for forgiveness, but it was enough to go by, and Kotetsu and Molly departed the floor back into the side room along with all the other dancers, except one couple.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mahnaz Yousef and Maria Centro, performing the samba."

Even as a patron of the theater and other artistic performances, Barnaby didn't know that much about ballroom dancing or competitions. First and foremost, it was perfectly appropriate to cheer for a couple during their dance, and to shout and call attention to anything interesting that the performers did. Secondly, when doing all that screaming, it was best to refer to the couple by the number on their back rather than by the names listed in the program, so the judges could easily identify couples pleasing the crowd. Thirdly, this partner dancing—especially Latin, like the samba—was much more sexual than Barnaby had thought, full of hip gyrations and hands splayed across each others' bodies in a way closely resembling modern grinding. Granted, all the lewder gestures were interspersed with much more technical and impressive steps, turns, and dips. Dancing, at its core, was a celebration of beauty.

Watching the beginner and intermediate dancers proved entertaining as well, though mostly for shock value. The beginner couples, bless their souls, stumbled about the dance floor as best they could, bumping into each other, suddenly going the wrong way around the dance floor—fourth fact, always travel counter-clockwise around the floor—and all-in-all prove that they had the moves, but not the confidence for a clean execution. They also had a surprising number of girl-girl couples, but that seemed to be due to scarcity of male leads rather than sexual orientation.

After the Elite students Jonah and Claire performed a dance called the Foxtrot, very smooth and gliding, the intermediates took the floor and built upon the beginners' failures, smoothing out the rough spots and delivering an all-together good show, with a larger repertoire of steps and much cleaner performance. After one more special dance from another Elite couple—the Cha-Cha, which Barnaby hadn't known qualified as an official Latin dance fit for ballrooms—the MC declared a brief recess for the judges to process the scores they just gathered.

"They all look gorgeous~!" Nathan gushed. "I can't believe Tiger never told us he liked dancing! This competition is just wonderful!"

"I liked the girl in the purple dress, when she did that—that kick thing," Pao Lin demonstrated in her seat, a martial arts master recognizing elements of her favorite fighting style.

"I saw that one!" Ivan nodded enthusiastically. "Did you see 211's dip?"

"Can you believe Tiger's a Elite level dancer? I can't imagine him doing any of this," Karina looked out at the couples taking the floor for some social dancing.

"Mr. Wild has surprised us!" Keith said. "And I think this is a great surprise!"

"Excuse me."

The black-shirted girl from the entrance approached the row of heroes.

"Can we help you?" Barnaby asked.

"You all are friends of Kotetsu's, right?" The heroes nodded, as much to each other as to the girl. It felt kind of heartwarming to have Kotetsu label them all 'friends,' yet at the same time, so odd to meet other people on such familiar terms with him. "He's still got to practice, but he asked me to tell you something."

"Tell us what?" Pao Lin asked.

"He's not sure how you 'found out,' but since you did, you better cheer like crazy for him," she said, adding air-quotes.

Antonio chuckled. "He's going to regret asking that."

The girl looked doubtful. "You haven't been here. These last three weeks have been bad. Lots of drama in the Elite class."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Barnaby leaned forward a bit.

"Carlotta had a super nasty accident and broke her leg, leaving Kotetsu without a follow. Not her fault, and he took it well, but there's exactly the same number of leads as follows in that class. Without a partner, you can't dance, and you can't graduate. But then three weeks ago something happened between Molly and Juan. I heard he's skipped town, too. So then Kotetsu and Molly started practicing like crazy to get a routine together so maybe they can both graduate. Otherwise, they have to wait until next year."

"So this is a big deal," Karina said.

"The Elites are graded the hardest, but they've got the experience for it. Kotetsu's a real veteran."

Barnaby couldn't hide a smirk. The irony. "Thank you very much for the message."

"Don't mention it," the girl said, and she left.

"So Tiger-san isn't dating Molly?" Ivan asked.

"Who's Juan?" Antonio asked.

"How would we know?" Karina looked back down at her program. "That girl said he left."

"Maybe Molly was dating him?" Nathan lay a finger on the side of his face, looking up at the ceiling.

"So Tiger's her rebound!" Pao Lin jumped in.

"Seriously, who taught you all these words?"

"I'm thirteen, it's not that young."

"But they became partners three weeks ago. And that's when we noticed Mr. Wild acting weird," Keith said. "It was all just because he wanted extra practice with his partner!"

Partner.

Barnaby let the conversation wash over him, looking out at the dancing couples. Kotetsu and Molly had nothing to do with each other outside of a mutually beneficial arrangement. A contract. A professional partnership.

But even I can say I have a professional partnership with Kotetsu, Barnaby thought. And I'd rather be so much more than that.

He needed more evidence. So he'd sit back and let the night continue.