"Ladies and Gentlemen! It is now time for the 2nd year boys to open their eggs to reveal their partners." Da Vinci exclaims, having taken over Jeanne at the microphone to make sure that she had the opportunity to dance if someone were to pick her egg up. There are a few shuffles in the crowd as all the 2nd year boys take out their eggs. "Now on the count of three! You will reveal who you've gotten! And remember now! No trading, trust me! I'll know!"
"Why the hell do you even have such a thing implemented like that? It just seems stupid!" Jeanne Alter scowls in the background with Da Vinci not paying it mind at all. She simply winks at the crowd, an unsettling feeling seemed to cover the crowd with a snap.
"In any case. Let's begin the countdown everyone! Three! Two! One! Open them up and make your way to your partners! And don't lie if you got someone that you didn't want." Da Vinci said with a bright smile on her face.
"Can you just can it?!" Everyone seemed to exclaim at Da Vinci's stupid jokes as she lets out a small chuckle. Everyone opens up their egg as Ritsuka looks at his piece of paper. He's seen it a few times, just to make sure that he got it right. And yet this was the time where it really hit Ritsuka straight in his head. He takes a few moments to pause. His heartbeat seemed to get considerably faster while he continued to stare at the piece of paper. Everyone's voices seemed to become quiet while it rambled in his head.
After what seemed like an eternity, something smacks him in the back of his head, plopping himself to the ground. When he turned back, he saw Jeanne Alter standing behind him with her flagpole in her right hand while she leaned on it. "What are you doing anyway? The thing is starting any second! Shouldn't you be hurrying on?"
"Y-Yeah. I should." Ritsuka stammers a little while he slowly lifts himself from the ground. He rubs the back area of his head with a slight groan from the pain. "Though you helped me a little. Thanks, Jeanne."
"Don't thank me you dumbass. Just hurry on and go take care of your business." Jeanne Alter looks away with an embarrassed expression clearly written on her face.
"Right!" Ritsuka slaps both cheeks of his face before dashing into the crowd with Jeanne Alter folding her arms to the boy.
"You better come back! You hear?" Jeanne Alter exclaims with Ecchan standing right behind her.
"The typical tsundere. At this point, you would think that this trope would get old a long time ago. And yet somehow, everyone seems to like it all the same as they did when it first appeared 50 years ago." Ecchan comments before stuffing her mouth with a whole bunch of different types of desserts from the food section of the banquet hall.
"Oh shut the hell up!" Jeanne Alter exclaims turning her head towards Ecchan with a fiery look in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Ritsuka was slightly late to the dancing thing as his little slip up cost him a bit of time. Luckily, after a good few seconds of searching, he found the person he was looking for. He makes his way through a few good people before stopping. He extends his hand out towards them while raising the piece of paper in his other hand with a small smile on his face. "Guess you're my date for the dance! Shall we be off then?"
Chaldea Academy
By: NexusMHX
Chapter 16: Ballroom Dancing
"You have to admit… This is quite a different type of thing I had in mind when it came to a school dance." Ritsuka comments slowly swaying side to side with his partner right in front of him. Not wanting to keep it awkward, and for the sake of his partner, he decided to have a little chat while dancing.
His partner stayed quiet as she looked embarrassed by the fact that she's struggling to dance in a different style of manner. Due to her time period and the certain region, she was in, she didn't know how to do this specific style of dancing. She couldn't even look at Ritsuka's face while just looking down.
"Okita? Are you sure that you're okay?" Ritsuka comments towards his partner. Her ahoge straightens up almost instantly from the shock of her partner suddenly calling her all of a sudden. She stammers a little, not sure how to properly respond. Even Nobu who was watching from afar was a little surprised by what she was watching.
Ritsuka had a rather impressive form for the occasional glancer in his direction. The way that he had reacted prior to all of these events are almost a complete 180 from his dancing skills. Proper form, footwork, even moving to the music being played. It was like a different person had taken Ritsuka's place.
"I kinda was hoping that my dance partner was going to be less intimidating in terms of skill," Okita comments with an embarrassed look. Ritsuka didn't realize it until now. Okita had been making multiple mistakes inside their dance. Mostly where to move or the occasional instances of her stepping on Ritsuka's foot.
It never occurred to Ritsuka about the peculiar situation that he was at. He always expected the students to be better than him. But now that he sees it, Ritsuka finally understands everything. Everyone in the school are like humans. They have their strengths, weaknesses, some being better in some things than others while they can be better in other fields.
"S-Sorry. I had no idea." Ritsuka comments with a small frown, slowing his pace down for Okita. There was still half of the music left with Ritsuka not sure about his situation. He recalled something that Edmond had told him during all of the dance lesson practices.
"If it were the case where you are dancing with someone who cannot keep up with your speed, it is proper etiquette that you slow down for them. Make sure that they're comfortable." Edmond said smoking on a cigarette while the two were taking a break from the dancing. "Once you both are settled…"
"Would it be alright if I led you to all of the steps?" Ritsuka asks slowly, pulling Okita over towards the center of the dance floor. "We'll take it slow. Just as long as you're comfortable. That's ok, right?"
"Y-Yeah. I would like that please." Okita lets out a small sigh of relief, following that pace that Ritsuka laid out for her. The mood between the two, seemed to have calmed down significantly as both try to have fun dancing in the ballroom.
A few minutes later, the song ends with all the duos separate from their partners. Ritsuka bows towards Okita with a small smile on his face. "Thank you for the dance. Sorry about earlier."
"N-No… Don't worry about it. You actually helped me in the end. So it's all good." Okita brushes it off looking up at Ritsuka while the two exit the dance floor to prepare for the third-year girls to make their move. "You're getting used to the school, right?"
"Hmm? Yeah. Something like that. There are a few things that I just need to keep in mind is
all." Ritsuka said, scratching his cheek with slight embarrassment. He watches the stage as the third-year girls start to find their partner. His dance with Okita was the first dance of the night, so a third-year girl was the one who found his egg. "I should be called up soon… So I'll see you in a bit."
"Figures since we would've seen your skills earlier! Alright! Catch you later!" Okita said with a cheerful smile as she made her way towards Nobu. Ritsuka slowly waves as he patiently waits for someone to come to him.
A good five minutes pass and not a single person has made their way to Ritsuka to be their partner. Ritsuka simply brushes it off as someone not being able to find him. Another five minutes go by and the music starts to play with all the people in the crowd. For some reason, Ritsuka kinda felt a bit upset by the fact that his egg was so well hidden that it didn't get found at all.
Seeing this to be the case, he stepped outside while stretching a little. If he were to be by himself for a little while, it would make sense that he would prepare for the coming trials that he was going to have to face in the future so soon after the third-year boy's dance was complete. He rested next to a wall while looking at the full moon, shining over him. It had a calming feeling to him as he slowly closed his eyes. He simply takes it in for a while when he heard something nearby.
Ritsuka walks over to see a familiar-looking girl, sitting on the ground, rattling as if they were spooked from everything. It was the girl that he saw back at the clothes shop, Ereshkigal. Noticing the girl's state he decided to be careful in the words that he chose. "Hey."
Ereshkigal suddenly jolts at the sudden voice that appeared beside her. She slowly looks to see Ritsuka kneeling down next to her, she immediately jumps all of sudden out of shock, hitting her head against the wall, wincing in pain.
"Are you alright?!" Ritsuka exclaims from the sudden impact. Ereshkigal takes a few seconds to slowly nod to the question, letting Ritsuka let out his breath. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"
"A-Ah… I was um…" Ereshkigal constantly stammered, trying to make up for a reason of the situation that she's currently in. After a good few seconds of trying to come up with a reason, she looks away while poking both of her index fingers together. "I… don't want to embarrass myself in the venue."
"Embarrass yourself? What do you mean by that? You'd think that you would mess up while you danced with someone else?" Ritsuka asks. Ereshkigal slowly nods by the fact as she blushes from the embarrassment of the situation that she's in. Already being hesitant to even go to the venue, to someone finding it out while in the crisis was making her not very talkative. Ritsuka didn't know how to respond as he recalled his experience with Okita. It could work with Ereshkigal if that was to be the case. "How about I help you? Your partner must've been waiting for someone to come up to them. If you want, I could help you a little."
"N-No! I'm good. Thank you!" Ereshkigal shouted, making Ritsuka take a step back to say that he wasn't intruding. She immediately realizes her mistake as she bows toward Ritsuka. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you like that. You were just trying to help me…"
"Don't worry about it. It's obvious that it's causing your head to spin a little." Ritsuka chuckles a little. He looks over at the girl with a small smile as he folds his arms. Ereshkigal looks at Ritsuka with a confused glance from the way that he's acting. "Ah. It's nothing really. It's just that about a week ago, I was kind of in your position. I actually couldn't dance at all, but Edmond helped me overcome my troubles for the most part. I'm not as good as some of the others, but I'm at least half-decent now."
"You didn't seem like that at all. The way that you danced in there was amazing. Dancing with you like that… There's no way that I would be able to do something like that." Ereshkigal said with a dejected expression. Something about it just didn't sit well inside Ritsuka, something compelling him to want to help this girl out.
"I wouldn't worry about it. Trust me! If your partner is any good, they'll guide you through everything. Edmond said it himself! "This is a team effort. You two are to connect with each other to do this right!" And I believe that you'll be fine. Look at how I turned out!" Ritsuka said, doing his best to spark some bits of hope into Ereshkigal. She pulls something out of her pocket before taking a look at it. With a deep breath, she looks up at Ritsuka with a determined look on her face.
"Alright! I'll do it! Thank you for helping me!" Ereshkigal said pumping herself up with a somewhat straight smile on her face. She walks past Ritsuka as he turns around.
"If I can ask, who did you get anyways?" Ritsuka asks with an interested glance. This somehow stops Ereshkigal in her tracks as she suddenly gets rather embarrassed at what she was doing. She slowly turns around before pointing at the boy. He takes a minute to process it before realizing, "Me?!"
"Y-Yeah. I was just about to go back without you." Ereshkigal nervously comments. The two take a moment before starting to faintly laugh at the moment.
"Well then. Shall we be off? It should be the third year boys turn soon." Ritsuka extends his hand out towards Ereshkigal with a comforting smile on his face. Ereshkigal takes a second before slowly nodding as she takes Ritsuka's hand as the two make their way back to the venue.
Wassup my homies! This is NexusMHX here with another chapter of Chaldea Academy! So... When was the last time that I posted a chapter for this fanfiction? A whole ass month. Well... Shit. My procrastination has no bounds. I've been playing nonstop this path month, playing Persona 4 Golden as well as Persona 5 Royal. I am really sorry about that. I promise to work more responsibility. After all, in a few months, I'm going to be going to school. So I'm going to have to come up with a proper system to make sure that nothing comes. So I'm probably going to make a daily schedule for all of the stuff that I need to properly do. Especially when it comes to the fact that I need to properly write good jokes and small stories here and there. The chapters will probably not be as long if that is going to be the case. It's might be the size of what Lucky Star is. So maybe 1k words give or take. I'll try and do Chaldea Broadcasting as well but nobody comments so there's nothing to do there. It would greatly help if you guys gave some stuff, like questions and the whatnot. With this being said, thank you for reading. If you enjoyed it, please make sure to give me a follow/favorite/comment for more content that I'll try to post more. This is NexusMHX signing off! Stay Classy! And no. The next chapter is probably not going to take another month.