Satoshi heard music coming from the dance room in the school. Who could it be? The dance room had been closed for repairs.
He walked up to the door and punched in the code to open the door. It slid open quietly. Satoshi walked in and saw Sasaya in the middle of the room wearing a long, loose sweater and leggings. She was dancing to the music.
The soft guitar music was accompanied by a woman's breathy voice. Satoshi didn't understand the words because they were in a different language. Sasaya extended her arms stiffly with her fingers spread. As the woman's voice repeated several words, Sasaya spun in a slow circle. She held out her arms as if straining to reach something that no longer existed. The woman's voice lowered and Sasaya reached both arms up to the heavens. For a moment, she stood perfectly still. The music seemed to fade.
Suddenly, it roared back to life. Sasaya spun around crazily, flailing her arms and legs. The woman started a crazy chorus of "la-la la la la la-la". Satoshi couldn't help but stare at her. She whirled around extremely fast, occasionally jumping from one side of the room to the other and shaking her arms to the beat of the music with her hands clenched. Before another round of the la-la la la la la-la, Sasaya moved to the right on her tip-toes. First, right leg in front of the left, then left in front of the right, and so on. The strange chorus started up again and so did the frenzied dance. Sasaya spun to the right and then to the left. She brought her hands together into a clapping motion and, as the singer cried out, "I'm gonna die!", fell to her knees. The song stopped abruptly. The dance was done.
Satoshi clapped his hands and smiled a little. "That was magical," he said.
Sasaya looked up at him, startled. She was breathing hard and her face was red and sweaty.
"What . . . did you . . . say?" she asked.
"That was a magical dance. It looked like you were in a world of your own."
"It's an . . . escape." Sasaya grabbed a bottle of water of the floor and took a sip. She stopped talking for a few minutes to catch her breath. "Magical, huh? That's probably the nicest compliment I've ever gotten about my dancing." She put the cap back on the bottle and set it down. "Satoshi, what are you doing in here?"
"Is this your 'motherland'?" he asked, ignoring the question.
Sasaya stood up, shook her head, and ran her hand through her sweaty curls. "Of course not. My motherland would be Akrasia Temple."
Satoshi frowned a little. "Why don't you just go back to the bakery?"
"Why are you still on that subject?" she asked with a hint of annoyance.
"Don't you think your sister's worried about you?"
"I doubt she cares."
"Why wouldn't she? You know she cares for you very deeply."
Sasaya bit her lip. "I don't deserve love from someone I nearly killed."
Satoshi knew exactly what she was talking about because she had told him everything.
"That wasn't your fault.
"It was. I let Sana overpower me. She wanted to kill Chie so badly and I did, too."
Satoshi's eyes widened a bit. "Why?"
Sasaya gazed up at the pink ceiling of the dance room. "I guess it's because I was envious of her. Chie's so sweet and kind and full of energy. She has so many talents and her clumsiness and high voice make her really cute. And worst of all, she can forgive and forget and move on. Chie bounces back so quickly that it's almost scary." Sasaya sat down and took another sip from her water bottle. "I've been hearing the stories of Anas and Sana ever since I was little. I always thought they were stupid and I didn't think such a thing would ever happen to Chie and me. Of course, I have already proven that I'm the stupid one."
This was one of those moments that made Satoshi feel uncomfortable. He just couldn't find the correct words to express his feelings. He wanted to cheer Sasaya up, but making people happy wasn't exactly his strong point.
"That's why I dance," Sasaya continued. "It was partly to make Kiku-san mad. She hated my dancing because it reminded her of the Shinchu family. Mostly, it's to escape to a far away place. Chie makes it seem so easy, but it's actually difficult to escape from harsh reality. However, if I spin hard enough and long enough, it'll leave. I dance and dance until my body reaches its limit. Then I have to stop because my body doesn't want to continue." Sasaya turned her attention back to Satoshi and smiled. "I bet you feel kind of dumb listening to a stupid girl's sad talk."
Satoshi sat down beside her and awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," he said. "You're not stupid at all, Sasaya. In fact, I think you're a really intelligent girl."
"Huh?" Sasaya's grew wide and her cheeks turned pink.
"It takes intelligence to recognize your weak points and it takes courage to admit them. And, uh . . ." Satoshi coughed a little and his face turned slightly red. "I think you're a lot cuter than her."
Sasaya's eyes turned blue, indicating she was surprised, but pleased.
"If anything, I'm the stupid one," he finished.
Sasaya smiled. "Let's just say we're both dumb." She took Satoshi's hands and both of them stood up. "Let's get of here and go somewhere."
"Go where?" Satoshi asked.
Sasaya shrugged. "Anywhere."
Satoshi nodded and both of them left the room.
Well, since Chie ranted, I thought it would only be fair for Sasaya to rant as well. I wrote this while listening to "Kelas". To be honest, I don't really get the song (mainly because it's in Russian and I only know, like, two words?). I just understand this one part that says, "I'm gonna die" (well, I think that's what it says). It's a good song, though. And Sasaya really is a good dancer. At this point, I'm wondering about what to do with Sasaya and Satoshi's relationship. Should I leave it as a friendship or . . . maybe change a few things? Anyway, the next chapter will definitely have some strange stuff. Bye for now!
