Pull Me in Gently
Chapter 3
From: Itachi Uchiha
I will not be able to practice today. I am practicing with Megumi for Friday. I am still available for Wednesday. Does that work for you?
From: Izumi Uchiha
That's fine! We can still meet up on Wednesday. Also, if you want me to watch the two of you before you perform I can. We can do that on Thursday.
From: Itachi Uchiha
That might be a good idea. I'll ask Megumi what works for her.
Wednesday rolled on and Izumi was currently laughing at the disgruntled look on Itachi's face. He tried to do the Rumba while keeping a steady movement in his hips. He concentrated impossibly hard as they stepped in time and spun.
"Itachi, don't think too much. Remember that the steps are important but you also need to relax. Just think about your hips being an extension of the movement."
"Izumi, I just don't understand."
"Okay, let's try this." Izumi turned music on and grabbed Itachi's hands. "Okay, just sway with me to the music."
Itachi complied and stared at her as the music played in the background. The two of them swayed slowly feeling the music. "Now, move your hips." They both began swinging their hips in the figure eight formation they had been doing on Monday. "Whenever you want to begin just start leading me into the dance."
After a few more seconds of just moving their hips Itachi slowly slid his hands from the grip on both of hers and pushed her forward. They slowly transitioned into the Rumba. Itachi was perfectly moving his hips in time to the music and Izumi couldn't help but stare in his eyes. They were moving in perfect harmony together.
Izumi could hardly believe what was happening. It had not even been a week and they were already in perfect sync. It took her at least a month to get in sync with Sasori and whenever she danced with someone else in class it was always jaunty.
But this was something else. It was like they were tied to each other. As they danced they moved impossibly closer. They still kept their perfect dance form but they were moving into a more intimate dance. Itachi kept her gaze and at the end of the song instead of spinning out and bowing they kept their gaze. Itachi slowly brought her arm up and spun her around.
Unbeknownst to them Naruto sneaked in to ask them a question and had managed to enter while they were working on their hips. He recorded the whole thing and planned to send it to Obito at some point. Rin would love to see this. They had told Naruto about their plan after he met Izumi. He agreed that Izumi seemed to be well suited for Itachi. He smiled a foxy grin as he quietly left the room. The two of them were painfully oblivious.
"That was your best dance yet. You are going to steal the competition on Friday." Izumi smiled and took a step back. For a minute she had lost herself in the moment but thankfully she had remembered Itachi's crush on Megumi.
"Well, I have had an excellent tutor." Izumi blushed and moved to pick another song. "By the way, Megumi said she would love to have you observe us tomorrow."
"Awesome! Can't wait. Once more from the top."
Izumi sat on the floor against the wall. She had agreed to help Itachi and Megumi with their dance performance for the competition tomorrow but as soon as they agreed she began regretting her choice. Izumi hadn't wanted to observe them herself since she knew she would be too much into her own thoughts just watching them dance. She was sure that she would be admiring Itachi a little too much and the thought of him dancing with someone else wasn't quite sitting right with her.
Her first thought after Itachi agreed to being observed was to invite Keiko but her and Deidara were practicing so she asked Sasori. He happily complied since it gave him an opportunity to see Itachi. Okay, the real reason he agreed was because observing and criticizing art was like second nature to him. And this time he could do it to perfect little Itachi.
Izumi folded her arms and spread her legs in front of her. Both her and Sasori were wearing dance shoes in case they needed to explain or demonstrate anything. Megumi and Itachi were quickly running through a few of their trouble spots. Izumi had given them five minutes to practice before they 'performed' for the two of them.
"So, how long have you been dancing with Itachi?"
"About a week. We started last Friday. Why?"
"He looks so relaxed. That is definitely not how I imagined him to be while dancing." Izumi snorted.
"Trust me, he wasn't. Okay, guys, lets see what you got!" Izumi reached over and pressed play on Itachi's phone and watched as the two of them seamlessly started dancing. Izumi watched as Itachi had a ghost of a smile on his lips. Every so often he would whisper something to Megumi and she would giggle. They seemed so happy dancing together.
Izumi sighed. She was supposed to be watching their dance technique not thinking about Itachi's love life. She observed their form. They still seemed awkward. There was too much space between them for the right emotions to come out during the Rumba. There were a few mishaps with footwork and hips but the main thing was connection. Other than that they had a good shot of winning. Even if it was just a warm up for the actual competition in a month.
The song ended and Itachi expertly spun Megumi out and they both bowed to Sasori and her like they were actually being judged. Izumi smiled at them and both her and Sasori clapped politely. Megumi giggled.
"So, how did we do?" Itachi was nervous for their answers. He'd been working hard to impress Megumi and it was working but now the competition made him nervous.
"Sasori, you first. I'm sure it will be much more instructive than mine."
"Fair enough, well, the first thing is that there were several footwork mistakes. You messed up the first turn and the sliding door sequence was messy. You need to review the steps again. But the main thing I'll let Izumi tell you."
"Connection." Itachi furrowed his brows in confusion and Megumi looked at him and then back to Izumi and Sasori.
"Exactly."
"I'm sorry, connection?"
"Yep!" Izumi shot to her feet and moved toward them. Sasori followed quietly. "The connection between the two of you. The Rumba is a dance filled with desire and love and energy. I heard it once described as a vertical representation of a horizontal desire. That's literally the best way I can think of to explain the emotion of it to you."
Itachi's eyes widened at Izumi's words and Megumi blushed so profusely that she was completely red. If she were speaking Izumi knew she would be stuttering. Izumi looked at Sasori who smirked at their reactions. Sure, it was embarrassing but they were going to have to get over it to make the dance look good.
"Can I get an example?" Itachi stuffed his hands into his pants pockets.
"Sure, Sasori?" He was already at the phone picking out a new song. He landed on one and slowly made his way toward Izumi.
He led her into the same dance Itachi and Megumi just did. In their class they were finishing the second level Rumba the next week but they wanted Itachi to really see how he should be doing the dance. Izumi locked her eyes on Sasori's and moved toward him. Soon the two of them were in perfect harmony. Not a step out of place or too much space between them. The intensity of their gazes and the deliberate way they touched each other made the dance completely different.
There was chemistry between them and heat. Itachi could feel it and he was uncomfortable like he was intruding on something intimate. He also felt some other emotion that he couldn't quite place. Like he was revolted that Izumi could even be that intimate with someone else. Wait, someone else? Didn't that imply. . . no. It implied nothing.
Izumi and Sasori ended the dance with an intimate dip instead of a spin. They both smiled at each other and then turned their attention to Megumi and Itachi. "See what we mean by connection?"
"Oh yeah! Let's practice." Megumi punched the air and walked over to Itachi.
The two of them practiced together for an hour. Periodically Izumi or Sasori would chime in with how they could change things. At one point Sasori had even taken Megumi and Izumi took Itachi. The two couples then practiced various levels of connection.
After the hour of rehearsal Izumi and Sasori made their way to the floor again. Itachi and Megumi danced to the same song from the beginning and this time put all of their new connection practice into it. It was a night and day difference. Izumi and Sasori both jumped to their feet and clapped. They were ready for tomorrow.
"I think that the two of you will do fantastic tomorrow. But, I have to ask, what are you wearing for the competition?"
"I have a ruffled black skirt that I'm going to wear with a long sleeved red shirt. Itachi is going to wear black pants with a black shirt and a red tie."
"Safe choices. We'll come and watch you compete as long as you watch us compete in the Samba. We'll be wearing yellow."
"Deal." Izumi smiled at Megumi and then headed out with her. Sasori was staying the night with Itachi and Deidara was going to be joining them as well as Kisame.
Izumi and Megumi walked in silence. Megumi lived in an apartment complex a few streets from Izumi's so they walked most of the way together.
"Hey Izumi, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?"
Megumi stopped on the sidewalk and chewed on her thumb nail. "Do you think it would be okay if I asked Itachi out? I kinda like him and I don't think he sees that. Is that too forward?"
Izumi ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach. "Heck yeah it's okay. I know for a fact that he likes you too and would accept in a heartbeat." Megumi squealed and grabbed Izumi in a tight hug before excitedly running off to her apartment.
Izumi walked slowly the rest of the way to hers and without saying anything to Keiko, showered and slunk into bed. It didn't bother her that Itachi was going to go out with Megumi so why was she acting so weird? Izumi buried her face into her pillow and went over dance steps to silence her mind.