Wednesday, 19 October 20XX, Evening
Yongen-Jaya Dance Studio

Ann and Futaba arrived early for Maiko's next lesson the following evening, to get some much-needed warmups in. Ann was in the middle of helping Futaba with some toe-touches when a new person entered the room: Atsuko Saito. Futaba sat up straight, nearly throwing Ann off-balance, as she rushed up to give her other friend a great big hug. "Atsuko, you made it!" she cheered. "Thanks for keeping your promise."

"Anything for you, Futaba-chan. And Ann-chan, how are you doing?"

"Super, Atsuko. And you?" Atsuko gave her a smiling nod and a thumbs-up in response. She said nothing else as she found a spot next to her friends, and slowly warmed up her body until achieving a deep splits stretch. Futaba eyed her display of flexibility with awe and envy.

Maiko entered the studio shortly afterwards. The six students bowed in unison, Atsuko the deepest and most formally of them all. "Hello, Maiko-sensei", she said once she had a spare moment. "I'm sorry for my… sporadic attendance, but I'm ready to give it my all tonight. I would like to talk to you about what's been going on, on my end, if you're available after class? Just between us?"

"Anything for my students, Atsuko-san." With that, Maiko then went on to make an announcement to the class. "Now, students, we have less than two weeks left before our recital together, so I'd like to share with you the details. First, we'll be holding it in a conference room in the local civic centre. It's a tatami-style room, so there will be plenty of floor space for us and our audience. The reason I chose this place is… it was cheaper to rent as opposed to some big auditorium." Maiko paused in anticipation of some laughter, which she received from her students, before continuing. "But the other reason is that, since this is my junior class, I don't want to stress you out by having you perform in front of a big crowd. So, to that end, I will let each of you invite two guests", she instructed, gesturing with two fingers to emphasise this point. "I'll give you time to think about whom you'd like to invite, so just tell me by our last lesson, next Friday."

Futaba raised her hand to ask a question. "Maiko-sensei," she inquired, "are you going to film us or anything? Like, if someone we want to come can't make it?"

"Yes, if you agree to it, I can have your performances recorded, either for private use or for my own video channel. Meet me after class if you're interested, one way or the other. As for the programme, most of you have been practising solo routines, but of course I'd like to have all of you share your work on stage, so all of you will take part in a sort of group demonstration. You'll go up two at a time, and perform a shorter routine, basically focusing on a couple of moves. Think of it as a kata, a test they do in martial arts to prove they're ready to receive a new rank and belt. Of course, this will be a chance for you all to rank up to the next hip scarf level. And yes, that's where I got the idea." More laughs from the students followed.

"Speaking of, who is bringing their own costume?" Futaba raised her hand, but was the only girl to do so. "Just you, Futaba? Alright, I'll just need to see it ahead of time to make sure it's suitable. Any day after class will be fine. Everyone else, I'll have costumes for you to borrow. Just see me after class to give me your sizes and what colour you'd prefer. Now, your recital will start at 17:00, next Sunday. I'll section off part of the room for you to change when you arrive. Think of it as a sort of backstage area. Once the show's over, we'll have food for you and our audience. And there may even be a special guest coming to liven up the party…!", teased Maiko.

The students listened more intently, even though Maiko would not satisfy their curiosity, instead telling them, "Before I forget, we'll need to set up our group demonstration. I'm going to pair each of you off and give you a couple of moves to practise. Let's see… Futaba and Honoka, I'll put you on… hip shimmies and chest circles. Ayame and Yuki, you're on hip circles and shoulder shimmies. And Ann and Atsuko, you'll be doing and hip drops chest camels. Basically, each of you will repeat both of these moves with different arm positions and steps. Any questions?"

Oh, great, I got paired up with the normie… thought Futaba. She was slightly bummed that she wouldn't be sharing the stage with Ann, but there was no sense in questioning that right now. Besides, she reasoned, she and Honoka would be dancing separately, if simultaneously, so training with her partner could be secondary to getting down the moves themselves. To that end, she merely asked, "Maiko-sensei, will we have time to practise that in class?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. We are running out of classes, sadly, and I'm running out of moves to teach you, so I'll set aside some time in our last few lessons to work on the group show. I'll still be around after class to help you with your solos, if you need it. But for now, let's get to work..."

After class, Atsuko excused herself to speak with Maiko in private. While Futaba was in the middle of rehearsing the moves for her group routine, Honoka approached her and offered, "Futaba-chan, if you like, you could call me over to train together sometime."

The thought had honestly not occurred to Futaba, who very seldom expanded her social circle of her own accord. "No thanks. I'm training with Ann, 'cause we're already friends." Noticing her hostile tone, she added, "But thank you for the offer." She held out her hand to shake, introducing herself.

"Honoka Tachibana," she introduced in turn. "So, do you like Risette?"

"What's that?" she responded flatly.

"Duh, Rise Kujikawa!" Rise was a pop idol who, unbeknownst to either of them, also had experience wielding Personas during her break from show business, in the rural town of Inaba. "You've, like, got to check out her new video for 'Rivers In the Desert'. She does this super-cute bellydance routine. It's what inspired me to try this out myself!"

"Sounds cool. I'm more into KGB48 myself, but I'll check that out when I can." Futaba paused, but before Honoka could leave or say anything else, she murmured, "You know… one of my inspirations was this video game… It's has this half-genie girl who-"

"Oh, I know the one!" burst out Honoka, "I, like, love that series too! I even crowd-funded her new game coming up!"

"You did? Wicked cool!" Futaba put on a playful smugness as she added, "I shelled out for the digital deluxe edition. You're welcome."

"O.M.G., that is so awesome!" Honoka squealed, giving Futaba a surprise hug.

The sudden contact came as a shock to Futaba, but she willed herself not to resist. "Great! It's nice to know I'm not completely weird. Anyway, I'm kinda busy until after the recital, but after that, I'd like to… I don't know, hang out with you sometime, maybe?"

"Okay!" And with that, Futaba and Honoka spent the rest of the class training together, and exchanging their contact information in the locker room. To Futaba, her sense of fulfillment came less from what she and Honoka would do specifically, and more with making a new friend in the first place. Making a new friend of her own accord felt like gaining experience points from clearing a quest, but there was yet a bigger quest for her to focus on.

Sunday, 23 October 20XX, Daytime
Atsuko Saito's apartment, Kichijoji

Futaba and Ann both had the entire following Sunday free to practice for the recital, especially now that the other Phantom Thieves knew about their secret hobby and were able to allow for their schedules. They set aside a good chunk of time with Atsuko, both to train and to test out the changes made to Futaba's costume. Once again, the three girls met at Kichijoji Station, wearing their workout clothes along with windbreaker jackets, both for modesty and the cooler autumn air. Rather than Atsuko's apartment, they headed straight for Inokashira Park, where they warmed up their joints and set out on a mile-long jog around the park's Y-shaped lake.

Atsuko was clearly the most physically fit out of the three girls, but did her best to accommodate the slower pace of Ann and especially Futaba, whose laboured wheezing sounded like a beached whale. "I've… never… run… that… far… in… my… life…", she panted.

"Technically… you didn't… run… all the way," argued Ann, who was also trying to catch her breath. "I saw you… walking… three times."

"Speedwalking!", Futaba shouted in rebuttal.

Atsuko intervened. "Girls, please! That's good enough for both of you. It's kind of my fault for not knowing your limits. I normally run for two laps or more when I'm out by myself, but I'll give you two a break. Let's all take a breather and we'll move on to my place, okay?"

Back in Atsuko's apartment, the three girls all shed their coats, a thin glaze of sweat already having coated their newly-exposed stomachs. Futaba, and even Ann, couldn't help but sneak an awestruck gaze at their Atsuko's chest, her grand, heaving bosoms stretching taught the fabric of her golden-orange sports bra. As their icy stares tensed up the atmosphere of the situation, she meekly asked, "...Is there something wrong?"

Adjusting her glasses without breaking eye contact from her target, Futaba flatly said, "When I grow up, I want boobs like those."

"Futaba!" Ann scolded indignantly.

But Atsuko seemed to take it in stride. "Well, better you two staring than the guys!" she joked. "How about I make us some tea?" The others nodded, eager to move on from this bout of awkwardness. Once the tea was fully brewed, she delivered it to Ann and Futaba, both sitting comfortably around the kotatsu. Sitting down to join them, Atsuko poured some for each of her friends and asked, "So, have you two thought about whom you'd like to invite to the recital?"

"Well," Futaba started, "I did ask Sojiro - my dad, kind of, it's complicated - after all, he was the first person who found out about my secret hobby. But, he said he was busy that evening, taking care of Leblanc. That's the cafe he runs."

"Oh yeah, I've been there with you." Atsuko had, indeed, been there with the other girls, back when they had set up their mission in Mementos.

"Right. So between Ann and I, we've got four slots, but five friends to give them to." The five friends she was referring to were, of course, the other (human) Phantom Thieves: Ren, Ryuji, Yusuke, Makoto, and Haru. "They were also enthusiastic when we showed them what we've been doing, so we couldn't decide which of them we should drop…"

"To be perfectly honest, Futaba," interrupted Atsuko, "I wasn't planning on inviting anybody myself. I'm an only child, and I live quite a while away from my parents, in Inaba. Even if they did live with me, I'd be worried about what they think of me doing what I do, after all I've been through. They were kind of critical about me trying out bellydance when I was younger."

"But isn't that what you pursued after you left ballet practise?" asked Ann.

"Actually, I tried out many different styles of dance at that time of my life. I only threw myself fully into baladi after I moved out to Tokyo. At any rate, I'd be happy to give my tickets or whatever to you. I'm sure Maiko wouldn't mind."

"You'd really do that for us?"

"After all you've done for me? Of course I'd help you out!"

"Wow, thank you, Atsuko!"

Futaba recounted their available tickets. "So now we've got six slots to share. That's enough for all our friends, but we've still got one more. If Sojiro can't make it, then who…"

"I have an idea, Futaba," suggested Ann. "Shiho Suzui."

"Who's that?" Futaba asked innocently.

"My old friend. The one who…" She stalled, then dropped her voice. "The one who got involved with Kamoshida." To Atsuko, she spoke up. "Shiho was - I guess, still is - my best friend from school. A while ago, she…" Ann chose her words carefully. "...she had a bad accident. She came out of a coma recently and has been recovering in the hospital. Her parents are transferring her away to a different school next month, but she might have time to visit my recital before then."

"Aww, how sweet! Are you… in love with her, by chance?"

"Eh?" gasped Ann. "Well… when you put it that way…" She swallowed and steeled her nerves. "Yes. It's complicated, but yes. She was my source of inspiration when I started dancing myself. I... don't want to go any further than that, but..."

"That's okay, I understand." Ann had a feeling that Atsuko wasn't understanding the same thing she was really talking about, namely Shiho's circumstances, but thought better of pressing the issue any further. "How about we continue our training?" The girls nodded as they sipped the last of their tea. As Atsuko pushed the kotatsu out of the way, she asked, "So, is there anything in particular you'd like to focus on today?"

Futaba answered first. "I was wondering, Atsuko-sensei" - Atsuko blushed with appreciation at the honourific - "how did you get so flexible?"

"You like my stretches, don't you?" She could remember the awestruck looks her friends gave her every time she performed a straddle split or such during her warm-ups. "Well, that kind of flexibility comes from lots and lots of dance training, but I can lead you in some exercises to give you a start. Is there anything you'd like to work on, specifically?"

"Well, at the end of my routine, I bend my back a little. I can't go too far back without falling over."

"Well, for that we'd have to work more on your balance, but as for the flexibility aspect, I know what we can do for that." Atsuko retreated to the hall closet, and returned carrying three thin, rolled-up mats.

"Are those yoga mats?" asked Ann.

"Precisely." As Atsuko unrolled the mats, two on on side of the living room and the other facing them from the other side, she narrated, "I'm going to teach you a basic yoga routine called a 'Sun Salutation'. It's a good all-around sequence that we frequently use to start or end a session. I'll try not to go too fast for you; just hold each pose as deeply as you feel comfortable with."

Following Atsuko's lead, the girls reached up to the sky, then down at their feet, then leant forward and lowered their bodies to the ground, and lifted their upper chests in a light backbend. To Futaba, this last part was not only the stretch she felt would be most helpful, but it felt good to boot. Slowly, they all went through each step in reverse, then repeated the sequence a few more times. Ann and especially Futaba were a fair bit shakier than their instructor, but they all pulled off each move roughly in unison.

Having limbered themselves up, Atsuko rolled the yoga mats back up and went to return them to the closet, when Futaba eagerly asked, "Is my costume ready?"

"Oh, yes, it is. Would you like it now?" Futaba nodded vigorously, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Come with me and I'll help you change." Atsuko returned the mats back to her closet, picked out the Battle Bedlah, and followed Futaba into the bathroom with the costume in hand.

A scant couple of minutes later, Futaba emerged and stepped in view of Ann. The bandeau top now fit her dainty chest like a glove. A silken, darker-toned border now lined the bra, dotted by rhinestones on the top edge and bunches of tassels on the bottom. The roomy sirwal pants were now lined with an extra layer of chiffon, allowing only the faintest shadow of Futaba's legs to be seen, and a row of coins was added below the belt sash. Atsuko had added some accessories to help match up with the character she was modelling after: a set of golden wrist bangles, another golden bangle to hold her hair up in a ponytail, and black choker with a green plastic "jewel". She had even affixed a small green veil to the underside of Futaba's glasses. The material may not have been the most authentic or expensive, but they suited her needs just perfectly. She felt the part of a true dancer, ready to take centre stage.

"Aww, you look so beautiful, Futaba!" Ann cooed with awestruck appreciation. "How do you feel about it?"

"Ret-2-rock!" she proclaimed, borrowing her genie heroine's catch-phrase. Ann giggled and flashed a thumbs-up gesture, in acknowledgement of the reference.

"Well? Let's see it in motion!" Ann said encouragingly.

"Alright. I'll keep it simple for now." Moving to a clear spot in the living room, she spread her arms out to the side and engaged in some gentle hip sways. Before long, she turned them into sharper hip bumps, each shake eliciting a pleasant jingle from the coins attached to her belt. The pieces of her new costume continued to hold fast as she transitioned into more vigorous shimmies. One thing she noticed was that the puffier legs of her pants made movement more of a challenge, that she could somehow trip over part of them, but her routine did not involve too much footwork, so she let that problem go for the time being. "So far, so good. Now for the real test."

Picking out her smartphone from Ann's purse, Futaba performed her recital piece for them yet again. Now that she had a real bedlah to wear, she felt like she was finally living out the fantasies she had concocted in her mind during her solo bellydance training. Midway through the song, Ann and Atsuko began to clap with the beat, bolstering Futaba's spirit even further.

"Oh, I'm glad you like it! Just be sure to keep practising in that outfit so you get used to how it feels when you move."

"Good idea. What about you, Ann? Do you have your own costume?"

Ann shook her head. "No, I thought I'd just borrow one from Maiko-sensei. It's cheaper that way."

"Can't argue with that logic," affirmed Atsuko. From there, she coached her friends on specific trouble spots: Futaba with shimmies, and Ann with belly rolls. In particular, Futaba expressed frustration with how she lost the rhythm of her knee movements after some time. She would eventually start moving both knees together, instead of one at a time, making her hip movements lose their potency. "My best advice for that," instructed Atsuko, "would be to try it slower, and focus on the motions at that pace. When you get that down, then you can try to pick up the pace again."

"Yeah, but I don't want them to be too slow."

"If a few minor things like that don't go exactly as you rehearsed them… it's okay. Sometimes you've just got to improvise."

"Improvise… I hadn't even considered that," Futaba mused as she returned to her shimmies.

As for Ann, Atsuko pointed out how she seemed to be doing her undulations in reverse; instead of rolling her hips forward, down, and back in a smooth circle, she was subconsciously doing this in reverse. "I remember when I used to make that mistake myself," Atsuko explained, "it's pretty common. Mind you, reverse undulations are perfectly fine moves in and of themselves. But if that's not what you're trying to do, my advice would be to take it slow, and think about how you're moving your pelvis. You want it to make a circle that curves down, not up."

"That's okay", cut in Futaba, "I used to make that mistake all the time when I was teaching myself."

"Yeah, me too. I thought I got over it, but I guess I got flustered trying to keep pace with my music. Or, maybe it's knowing that I have to get it right in time for our recital."

"If it's the stress that's getting to you, there are lots of ways to deal with that," offered Atsuko.

Futaba piped up again, "You're not gonna tell us to imagine the audience in their underwear, are you?"

They all guffawed. Once Atsuko had recovered, she asked, "Well, Futaba, what do you usually think about when you practise your dancing?"

"Me?" Futaba was reluctant to share these kinds of personal thoughts, and was slow to answer. "I… well, I guess I imagine… myself in other scenarios."

"Like what?"

"Oh, um… sometimes I'm a pro dancer… a real beautiful one, in some cafe or club in the Middle East. Or… sometimes I'm in a harem or whatever… dancing for… some pretty boy I like…"

"Forgive me, but may I ask whom?"

This imposition made Futaba blush profusely. "Just… some character from somewhere." This was a lie. It used to be true, that the boy she pictured in her imagination was a random bishonen from the latest video game or anime that she was into at the time. But, lately, that mental image had shifted into someone more real… her new best friend, Ren Amamiya. Of course, there was no way she was going to tell anyone about her budding crush, least of all a mutual friend, so with tension rising in her voice, she blurted out, "Look, I've got my thing to focus on! Can we please go back to the moves themselves?"

"Calm down, Futaba!" admonished Ann. "It's okay, I do that myself."

"With Shiho?"

"Well… yeah."

"Cool. Nice to know I'm not completely weird. Atsuko-sensei, got any other mental advice?"

"I guess… one thing you could tell yourself is not to stress out about what could go wrong. As long as you've gotten your routine down in practise, just focus on doing that and it'll all go right."

"Thanks. I've never done anything like this before, in front of other people and all, but you're right."

"Yeah," added Ann, "and it's just gonna be us Ph-" she caught herself almost saying 'Phantom Thieves' - "us friends watching, mostly, and we're not gonna judge you."

"I'm looking forward to meeting your friends, Ann. I just know we'll have a fun time next week."

"You know what? ...So do I!" declared Futaba.

"Me, too!" proclaimed Ann. With this bout of enthusiasm, the girls all exchanged high-fives with each other, and resumed their training with renewed vigour. They kept at it until the sun set and their wiggling bellies grew hungry for dinner. Atsuko offered to take them out for ramen at a restaurant nearby, but Ann insisted on paying it for herself, given all that she had done for them so far. As the three friends dug into their meals, the prospect of next week's recital hung in their minds, but they met those thoughts not with trepidation, but with excited anticipation.