Sunday, 30 October 20XX, Evening
Yongen-jaya Civic Centre
The big day had finally arrived. Futaba and Ann's baladi recital was at hand. Not that the rest of the week had been uneventful; in the last seven days, the Phantom Thieves had attended Shujin Academy's school festival, taken in a new member, and started infiltration of their sixth Palace. But the thought of performing for their friends kept Futaba and Ann going through it all. As the autumnal sun began its late-afternoon descent, they assembled at Leblanc. Ren and Futaba were the first to arrive, followed by Ryuji, Makoto, Haru, and Yusuke (who finally had the good sense to let his friends cover the train fare), and finally Ann and Shiho. After exchanging a few pleasantries and good-luck wishes, they all set off.
The group walked together to the local civic centre, where they were directed to a conference room on the third floor. As Maiko described, it was a Japanese-style room with soft tatami flooring. Maiko was standing in view of the entrance, already dressed up in her red-and-white stage bedlah, bidding her guests to leave their shoes outside and come in. The rest of the audience, the parents of Ayame, Yuki, and Honoka, were seated on low-backed cushions arranged in the middle of the room. While the non-performing guests took their seats among them, Ann and Futaba were directed behind a pair of byobu, folding screens, which not only served as a backdrop for the stage area, but created a makeshift dressing room.
It was here that the girls changed into their stage costumes, either the ones they brought themselves or borrowed from Maiko, along with a mirror to help apply makeup with. With great care to protect her modesty, Futaba changed into her customised Battle Bedlah, which she had retrieved from Atsuko earlier in the week. 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 underneath, 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". 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.
Ann had changed into her own loaner costume, consisting a bra, belt, and half-slit skirt in red satin, decked with sparkling rhinestones and short, ropey tassels. It was a simple outfit, but shiny and, with Ann's figure, stunning. Futaba let her apply some green eyeshadow on her face, put her hair up into a ponytail, and stick a green veil onto the underside of her glasses. Once the mirror was free, she took a glance at herself in it, and was awestruck at the young beauty staring back at her. "Aww," she cooed, "I look cute as a button!"
"That's the spirit, Futaba!" Ann gave her a reassuring shoulder-hug. "Ready to wow the crowd?"
"Yes," nodded Futaba. "I can do this." She had prepared her mindset for this occasion. Don't think about what can go wrong, she told herself. Just do everything like you've been doing it, and it'll all go right. "I am 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. And with a quick roll of her shoulders, she took her place behind Ann, in line with the other performers, and walked out to the stage.
The six students stood side by side in front of the audience as Maiko, off to the right, narrated into a microphone. She introduced herself, described her backstory, and gave an abridged history of bellydance and its various forms. After explaining some rules for the audience - they were allowed to applaud after each performance, but no photos or videos could be taken until the end - she and all but one of the students moved to a row of seats behind the audience, ceding the stage to the first soloist, Ann.
As each performer would do going forward, Ann stood in front of her audience and prefaced her performance by telling a little about herself and why she got into bellydance. After repeating her story of discovering this art through her modelling career, winning some laughs from the audience with her flirty mention of "sexy poise", she added, "I… would also like to dedicate this dance to a friend of mine who is with us tonight… miss Shiho Suzui. She's recently been out of the hospital after a recent… affair, but we've always been there for each other. And tonight, I would like to prove my devotion." Everyone else politely applauded in Shiho's direction, as her conflicting emotions brought a blush to her cheeks. Once the clapping subsided, Ann took her place as a technician, a nondescript young woman in a black hoodie and white face mask, queued up a song on the room's stereo system.
Ann's musical selection was a melancholic string instrumental, led by a violin and flamenco-style guitar. Her dance steps, which included a lot of twirls, hip and shoulder circles, and gentle arm movements, enhanced the song's wistful elegance. To close it all out, she did a wide hip circle, pausing to lean forwards and blow a kiss in Shiho's direction. Shiho blushed at the attention, but snapped herself out of her mental stupor to clap with the rest of the audience. Ann, meanwhile, took a bow and walked around to the back row of seats, where she put a hand on Futaba's shoulder. Futaba stood up, then looked back and flashed an acknowledging thumbs-up to her friend.
Once she took centre stage, she introduced herself, a few shakes of nervousness creeping into her voice. "Um, m… my name is Futaba Sakura. I started doing bellydance because of… a couple of things, really. But more than anything..." She took a deep breath to steel herself. "I lost my mother a couple of years ago, and I needed something to focus on to stay sane, so I taught myself with videos online, then eventually I found out about Maiko-sensei's class, and…" Catching herself rambling, she stopped herself and concluded, "Anyway, I'd like to show you this routine I made myself. ...Please enjoy." Giving a bow, she got into position and prepared herself mentally for the start of her song.
When the first string notes played, Futaba sprang to life. Her routine was much the same as the one she had prepared herself over the past year of self-education, but with elements added and changed under Maiko's professional guidance adding variety. For example, she added alternating snake-arms to sideways swaying motions, held them in a forward-pointing "L" formation for side-on manoeuvres like hip drops, and clasped them above her head to frame it as she slid her neck side to side. Another aspect which had improved with practise was her ability to isolate only the body parts she wished to move. She still wasn't perfect in that regard, but it was a marked improvement over her earlier efforts. Recalling all the progress she had made in only the past couple months, she felt proud of herself.
Not everything went on as planned, however. At one point, Futaba transitioned into a twirl, but began to stumble. Fortunately, she was able to stay upright by spinning a couple more times, but the accident caused her to lose her place in the choreography. She was supposed to follow up with some hip drops with her left leg, but she blanked out on which side she had to do them on. Instead, she improvised and went into the next move that came to mind, which happened to be her so-called "charm attack": slow, seductive whole-body undulations with her arms raised above. Caught in the moment, she faced in the direction of Ren while doing so, reaching one arm in his direction and making circular motions with her wrist. By the time the measure was over, she had recovered and returned to her next scheduled step, that being right-leg hip drops.
The adrenaline coursed through Futaba's body as she approached the end of her show. She entered her shimmy sequence, which she was now able to accomplish in one sustained string, and ended it with her backbend flourish. This time around, she made sure to plant her feet firmly on the floor to balance herself, and was able to hold her position until the song faded out completely. Snapping forward with a bow the moment before she was about to fall over, Futaba lifted her head to witness her audience clapping with aplomb. Standing in the glow of their cheers, a realisation suddenly dawned upon her.
All those fantasies I made up when I was dancing for myself… I'm finally living them in person! I'm a real belly dancer now!
Taking in all this adoration from friends and strangers alike was an alien experience to the introverted, and at first she didn't know how to react. She simply stood there, grinning with confused glee, until their applause simmered down and Maiko indicated for her to sit back down. Sheepishly, she took her seat beside Ann, who rewarded her with a firm hug across her shoulders. "Way to go, Futaba-chan!"
"Hehehee… thanks, Ann," Futaba deliriously chuckled in reply.
Honoka also gave Futaba a congratulatory high-five before taking her place on stage, wearing a pink loaner costume. In her introduction, she described how she discovered bellydance thanks to Risette, which made the technician perk up in attention. The song was a modern Japanese pop hit, driven with a disco-style rhythm and the occasional Arabesque string break in between verses. Her dance combined hip circles and undulations with arm and hand poses that were decidedly non-baladi, but no less expressive for it. What she lacked in experience and fluidity, she more than made up with bouncy energy, winning the crowd over all the same. As everyone applauded, Makoto leaned over to Haru and told her, "I had no idea bellydance could draw inspiration from so many sources. She made it look so interesting… and fun!"
Next was Ayame, whose loaner costume was white. Without wasting much time on her introduction, that being a college junior who had picked up bellydance as part of her training regimen for her track and field team, she launched herself into her performance, accompanied by an upbeat, drum-driven song. Her choreography, consisting of extended hip-lift and shimmy sequences, was simple but stamina-intensive. Ryuji found himself nodding and tapping his foot along to the infectious rhythm of both the music and Ayame's steps. Once she gave her final flourish, he applauded enthusiastically and confided to Yusuke, "Hey, that was pretty rockin'! And she's on a track team, too? I should ask her out!"
Yuki followed, clad in a royal-blue loaner costume, and introduced herself as a university student, citing Ayame as both a childhood friend and her inspiration to take up bellydance herself. In contrast to her friend's performance, Yuki's musical selection was more mid-tempo, alternating between violins and an accordion on lead, and her movements were slower but smoother, favouring serpentine hip waves, twirls, and sweeping arm motions. She threw herself whole-heartedly into her performance, refusing to let doubts about her body shape steal her focus and poison her mind. Her dedication was rewarded with another round of applause, with Yusuke adding, "Such an exquisite display of passion and grace! If only I had my painting set with me…"
One more girl stood up to take Yuki's place on stage… Atsuko. Wait a minute, wondered a bewildered Futaba, I thought Atsuko wasn't gonna do a solo…? Atsuko was the only other student, besides Futaba, who brought her own costume. However, it was obscured by an orange veil that she had wrapped around her body like a cloak. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Atsuko Saito. I've been into dance for much of my life; I started out with ballet, but my teacher recommended bellydance to me after I, well, 'grew up'. Once I got into it, I developed an appreciation for this art form that goes beyond what what a lot of other people see it for. You know… entertainment for men." She did not elaborate further, but Futaba and Ann, those who had known about Atsuko's recent struggles, understood all too well. "Anyway, I would like to express for you all what bellydance means to me."
As soon as her song burst into life with a vibrant string opening, she twirled and unfurled the veil behind her, revealing her self-made costume in all of its glory. It consisted of a bra with a flame-shaped motif, and a skirt slit up to its coin-laden belt, all coloured in blazing orange hues. Her outward appearance teased lots of sensuality and passion, but the poise and confidence she performed with kept it all in check. A minute into the routine, she dropped the veil altogether, demonstrating intricate hip bump and shimmy patterns that matched the rapid lute riffs of her song. As the track began to slow down in tempo, and her movements changed in kind, favouring dainty steps and twirls which showcased her previous ballet training. Before long, it sped up again, and Atsuko combined all her previous elements into a growing crescendo, ending with a series of tiptoe walks back and forth across the stage, embellished with hip shimmies. After five minutes, the longest performance of the class, Atsuko gave one final twirl and held her arms open wide, in anticipation of the applause she expected to bask in.
And she was not disappointed. Her audience delivered a standing ovation lasting nearly half a minute. Atsuko played along, giving a couple of curtsies in return before finally ceding the floor.
With all her students' solos over with, Maiko stepped back up to announce, "Thank you all, once again. Girls, you all did wonderful out there. Before we continue, I would like to open up a brief question and answer session to our guests. Are there any questions you would like to ask about bellydance? Don't be shy, raise your hands… yes, you in the blue shirt.
The blue shirt belonged to Yusuke, who lowered his raised hand and asked, "I've always wondered, how could such an ostentatious form of dance thrive in Islamic societies, where women are expected to cover themselves?"
"Ah, you're talking about the hijab, the headscarf?" Yusuke nodded. "Some places in the Arab world, like Egypt, aren't as strict about that dress code as other places. Being a foreigner, I actually never wore a headscarf myself when I lived in Egypt. As for the role bellydance plays in Egyptian society, I think the people over there understand that it's a performance that's separate from the dancer's everyday life, and it's not hurting anyone… Basically, it's a 'live and let live' mentality."
For her next question to answer, Maiko picked one of the grown-ups, Honoka's father. "What kinds of places does a bellydancer perform at, as a career?"
"Most professional performances take place at restaurants and nightclubs. Most of my own gigs were on dinner cruises along the Nile. Then, you have a few dancers who become big stars and get parts in movies and such. Not that dissimilar to the idol scene here in Japan, when you get down to it. But the biggest honour for a bellydancer in Egypt is to perform at a wedding ceremony, believe it or not. Although, it's not a cheap honour!" she added, winning some laughs.
The next question came from Ren. "Maiko-san, I was wondering… Are there any men who do bellydance?"
"Not so much in Egypt. They consider it kind of… gay for men to perform raqs sharqi as a woman would, which is a bigger problem over there. But aside from that, yes, there are actually plenty of male bellydancers around the world. I've even trained a few myself! Why, are you interested?"
The crowd laughed once more, and Ren played along as he noncommittally replied, "I'm kinda busy these days, but I'll think about it."
While the audience was asking their questions, they hadn't noticed that the technician girl had slipped away to the dressing area. Maiko pausing after answering Ren's question to peek behind the screens and quietly confer with somebody on the other side gave away that there was some kind of surprise in store. When Maiko returned to face the audience, she asked for any more questions, but no one raised their hand in response. She waited one last moment and announced, "In that case, I would like to introduce a special guest for you all. A famous young talent whom I have recently had the honour of working with as a choreographer. Ladies and gentlemen… Rise Kujikawa!"
The idol also known as Risette strode out next to Maiko, transformed completely from her anonymous technician guise. She had changed into a resplendent bedlah bedecked with golden baubles and trimming. The sleeves of her sirwal and top were coloured in a blue-to-purple gradient and decorated with a white star pattern, and the bushy brown twin-tails of her hair bobbed and bounced with her every step. Her appearance on stage elicited thunderous applause from her audience, and a few excited squeals from Honoka in particular.
Rise took the microphone from Maiko and said, "Thank you, Maiko-san. As you know, I've been in the idol scene for over five years now. But what inspired me to get into bellydance was a show put on by Maiko herself. I hired her to teach me, and eventually choreograph one of my music videos. You may have seen it; it's called 'Rivers in the Desert'. If I may, I'd like to perform it for you all, but first, may I have some of our student dancers join me up here?"
"Futaba, Honoka," prompted Maiko. The two young ladies walked up to either side of Rise, Honoka trying her hardest to contain her trembling giddiness of standing mere inches away from her favourite idol. However, both of them were mostly prepared for this. Over the past two weeks, they had indeed practised their group routine to Rise's version of "Rivers in the Desert", albeit with Maiko filling in as the lead in Rise's place as the lead dancer. The fact that they would be performing alongside Rise was a surprise, but in the grand scheme of things, it changed next to nothing.
There were only two moves Futaba and Honoka were to focus on, them being hip shimmies and chest circles, but it wasn't as simple as that. They had to combine these elements with different steps and arm poses. For example, sliding their hips side-to-side while simultaneously pulling off shimmies, or combining sideways chest circles with alternating "basic Egyptian" steps. The coordination required to pull off these combinations was a daunting challenge at first, but with Maiko's wise guidance training them to break down the different parts, they were able to pull them off without a hitch. And, as Futaba swiftly took to mind, at least she didn't have to sing, which the more diligently-trained Rise was doing on top of their dancing, and in English, at that.
Once the younger girls had finished their part, coinciding with the end of the song's first chorus they made a quick flourish pose and left the stage. Rise used the pre-verse break to launch into a few flashier moves of her own, taking advantage of the vacated space on either side of her to include some footwork. Just before the next verse kicked in, Ayame and Yuki took their places and began their part, showing off hip circles, shoulder shimmies, and occasionally both at once. They were followed by Ann and Atsuko, who used fancy footwork to make their chest undulations and hip drops all the more stylish. They concluded with one final flourish, letting Rise control the stage through the outro.
When she stopped, the applause she received was rapturous, and continued even as the students returned to the stage, lining up on either side of Rise. After Maiko signaled the crowd to quiet down, she announced, "Well done, all of you! Before we wrap up our show, I have one more thing to get out of the way. Now, who here is familiar with the kyu and dan ranking system of martial arts?" Makoto and some of the adults raised their hands in acknowledgement. "Well, I have a similar system for my bellydance classes. We use different colours of hip scarves to indicate beginner "kyu" ranks, and black scarves for advanced "dan" ranks. Just like judo belts, you see. And after watching your performances, girls, you've all earned your promotions."
Each of the six students bowed respectfully as they received their new sashes, one at a time, from Maiko. Futaba and Honoka each received a white sash, to replace their entry-level blue ones. Ann, Ayame, and Yuki were given a purple sash, and Atsuko was awarded a black sash. "You have definitely earned this, Atsuko-san," Maiko confided, "for going above and beyond with your skill and theatricality, and for being honest with yourself about what baladi means to you."
"Well, eventually…" Atsuko demurely admitted. "I mean, thank you very much, Maiko-sensei, I humbly accept this honour."
After giving the cast one final round of applause, the guests were all invited to share in the food which had been laid out behind them, on tables lined along the back of the room. The selections drew from both Japanese and Middle Eastern cuisine, with lots of rice, salads, and meat skewers. Ann found herself drawn to the luqaimat, doughnut-like puffs drizzled in date sauce. Yusuke, never one to turn down a free meal when the opportunity presented itself, piled his plate up with a little of everything. He was about to dig in when Ryuji approached him from behind. "Hey, Yusuke. I saw you makin' eyes at that Yuki girl."
"Oh! I…" he turned his head aside, "I was simply imagining her modelling for me. Not nude, you understand, not this time. But I couldn't ask something so bold of her…"
"C'mon, buddy! I've been wantin' to ask her friend out myself. Ya know, for a track training session and stuff. We can ask them together!"
"Well, I suppose there is strength in numbers… Very well, I shall join you."
The two boys headed over to meet Ayame and Yuki. Ryuji was at a loss for words, but Yusuke pressed ahead with an introduction. "Good evening, ladies. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa, and this is my friend, Ryuji."
"Hi, Ayame," Ryuji said, at a loss for words. "I was just… You were…" He kept himself from describing her as "hot" or "sexy". "...really nice up there. So… you said you ran track?"
"Oh, thank you… Ryuji, was it?" He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I'm training for the Tokyo Marathon next year."
"For real? Whoa, you are one hardcore chick. I'm a track star - well, former track star at my school, too. You wanna have a training race or something…?"
"You think you can keep up with me? Sure, you can tag along!"
At the same time, Yusuke was introducing himself to Yuki. "I'm an artist, formerly under the… unfortunate tutelage of Ichiryusai Madarame. I've since had one of my works showcased in the Ueno Museum for a brief exhibition. Have you had the chance to-"
"'Desire', wasn't it? You painted that? Aw, that was my favourite piece!"
"Really?" Yusuke remembered the stiff reception his painting had garnered by art critics at the time. "I'm glad I was able to touch someone with my artwork. Many thanks, miss Yuki. Your dance has stirred up inspiration within me as well. Would you be willing to model for a picture sometime?"
"I don't know…" Yuki hugged her belly, insecurities about her body resurfacing. "You're not gonna have me do anything, I don't know… weird, are you?"
"Oh, nothing of the sort. Merely a scene replicating your magnificent performance."
"That's it? Alright, I can do that. I have to give this costume back to Maiko-sensei when we're done, though. But I'll think of something. I heard Atsuko's a whiz with costumes."
"My, how serendipitous." And he and Ryuji went on to firm up details of their respective dates.
Not everyone was having a happy time, however. In the back corner of the room, Ann sat with her head buried in her knees, her back to all the festivities, occasionally releasing a quiet sob. She remained undisturbed from her hunched-over state until a Shujin school blazer was draped over her shoulders. The person who laid it there was Shiho, who knelt alongside her friend and asked, "Ann, may I ask what's wrong? Is it your dance? I really enjoyed it."
"Thanks, I know. It's just…" Ann sniffed. "There's something I wanted to tell you for a long time, but I've been afraid…"
"What is it?"
Ann stalled, but eventually got out, "Shiho-san… I love you. Like… real love."
"...!" gasped Shiho. She didn't know how to react to this declaration, but the more she thought about it, the less it came as a surprise. She recalled growing closer and closer to Ann over the course of her rehabilitation. Eventually, she asked, "How long have you felt this way?"
"I don't know… You were my only friend when I joined Shujin, so I guess it kinda grew out of that, but I never really thought about it that way until after your… accident," she euphemised. "But… that's kind of why I never told you. If we stayed together, I could never live with myself because… If I hadn't said no to Kamoshida, you… wouldn't…" Her sentence remained unfinished as she broke down in tears.
Shiho hugged her shoulders from behind, saying nothing until Ann's sobs had begun to subside. Once they did, she said softly, "Ann-chan… it's okay. You don't have to beat yourself up over this. I've thought about what happened. Even if you had played along with Kamoshida, something else might have set him off anyway. Either way, I respect your wishes. I understand it would be hard to live with a reminder of what happened, even if I weren't moving away soon. But I'm flattered that you feel that way about me, and in fact… I feel the same way about you."
Ann sniffed back a lingering tear. "You know… I started bellydance before all this, after I met you. I only stopped training because I didn't want Kamoshida to find out."
"You did the right thing, Ann. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable about doing the things you love. But I'm glad I was able to see it for myself. And you were… beautiful." And with that, Shiho gingerly turned Ann's head to face her and gently kissed her on the lips. It was a shallow kiss, but it lasted a solid minute, both girls basking in the passion of the moment.
When they finally parted, as soon as Shiho opened her eyes, had to stifle a laugh. "Ann-chan, your makeup…" The tears Ann had just shed had smeared her mascara down her cheeks.
"What?" Ann pressed a finger to one of her cheeks, leaving a black smudge on her fingertip. "Oh, sorry. I'll just go and get that fixed." She stood up and walked to the dressing area, trying not to draw attention to herself.
On her way, she passed Futaba and Ren, the latter congratulating her on her performance. "You were amazing out there, Futaba-chan. I really liked the part where you waved at me."
"What!?" Futaba stammered. "Th… that was a mistake! I wasn't supposed to do that, I just tripped and forgot my place!"
"Really? It looked so natural, I couldn't tell. But, if I may ask, why were you waving at me?"
"I… I'm in like with you - I mean, like you! I love you!" Futaba raised her voice as she blurted this out, drawing brief attention from others around the room.
"Futaba-chan, keep it down!" hushed Ren. "Wait a minute, you… really feel that way about me?"
"Well… yeah. When I'm practising, I pretend I'm dancing for you. ...Minus the whole 'waving my belly at you' part. B-but, don't get the wrong idea!" she backpedaled, "I-I'm not ready to give you a private show for real or anything! N-not yet, anyway..."
Ren hugged Futaba close and patted the crown of her head reassuringly. "It's alright, Futaba-chan. You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with just to impress me. We'll just take this one step at a time. Like we've been doing, is that okay?"
"Okay, Ren," murmured Futaba. "Maybe someday later."
"Attagirl, Futaba." And with that, Ren brushed the orange bangs off from the front of Futaba's forehead and kissed it with a peck. The sensory stimulation triggered by this show of affection was almost too much to bear for the girl. She responded simply by squeezing him as tightly as her delicate physique could muster.
Just then, Ann had re-emerged from the dressing area and caught sight of the newly-declared couple. "Hey, how's it going?" she asked innocently. Startled out of her wits, Futaba let go of Ren and faced her, eyes wide and hands hidden behind her back.
But before either could explain themselves, they were met by yet another friend, Atsuko. "Oh, Ann, glad you're here," she said, her voice brimming with excitement. "I have some wonderful news! Rise's going to let me try out for one of her backup dancers! And she said she's really optimistic about my chances, after seeing me tonight!"
"Hey, that's wonderful! Best of luck to you, Atsuko-senpai!"
"Thank you, Ann. And Maiko said she can get me some work if I don't make the cut. But I'll still try my hardest!"
Futaba added, "Say, Atsuko, I have a question. Didn't you say you weren't going to do a solo tonight?"
"I wanted to surprise you. I wasn't planning on doing one at first, since I was working at the… you-know-where."
"Where did you find the time to practise, anyway, without letting us find out? It's only been a couple of weeks since the… you-know-what."
"To tell you the truth, much of my routine was based off of the ones I gave at my last couple of recitals, but with new stuff added in, like that veil sequence. As for time, I've had loads of time during the day when I'm not working on costumes, which is… pretty much all the time lately. After I explained it to Maiko-sense, she let me practise in her studio when it wasn't in use."
"That's… weirdly convenient," Futaba said flatly. "But yeah, you were awesome up there! Like… triple-A-rank, perfect-combo awesome! You're gonna kill it at your audition, I just know it!"
Atsuko giggled. "Why thank you, Futaba! Did you have fun here as well?"
"You know what…? I did! Hey, Ann, can we have an after-party at Leblanc?"
"Ooh, yeah! Maybe we could even give a mini bellydance lesson. You said you were interested, Ren…?"
"What? Oh, uh…" Ren shrugged and replied, "Sure, Ann! If it's okay with Sojiro, of course. And you too, Futaba-chan."
Ann went around to ask the other Phantom Thieves and Shiho if they were interested in the idea, to which she received affirmative responses from all. After one last photo session, where the trainee performers all struck poses one at a time and as a group with Maiko and Rise, they bid their farewells and departed back to Leblanc. The gang took turns raving about their experiences to Sojiro. Even the typically reticent Futaba couldn't stop herself from gushing, albeit still leaving out the bit where she made a move on Ren. The party continued in the loft upstairs, where Ann and Futaba led an introductory demonstration of baladi moves. All of them, boy and girl alike, swiftly got carried away with the exercises and enjoyed themselves immensely until Sojiro finally chased them out for the night. As Futaba returned home and tucked herself into bed for the night, she reflected upon all of the moments which had led up to this. All the challenges she had overcome, all the friends she had made, and all the skills she had learned...
Suffice it to say, it was a most magical evening, one which Futaba Sakura would treasure for a long time to come.