Dance of Flute and Horn
Ch. 6: One Last Dance
After dinner, Fianna-san insisted to have the first dance with my 'wife,' even though he should have known that such a thing was improper. So when they came back, I dutifully offered Tayuya my hand and asked, "May I have this dance?"
And although Tayuya was made up to look like Mirabelle, I think it wasn't Mirabelle who blushed, but actually Tayuya who did so, and the thought made my smile glow with real warmth instead of its usual sadistic nature.
Tayuya and I walked onto the dance floor where a slow waltz was playing. She seemed uncomfortable with the whole thing, so I led her stumbling feet with my practiced ones, having learned to waltz at a young age.
Our hands slipped perfectly into one another's and we had the grace of an experienced couple. No one around us would have believed that we were just friends with the care we took in dancing with one another. I was so happy at that moment, swirling around the dance floor with Tayuya in my arms, trusting me to lead her correctly and to keep her from falling in her kimono, seeing as it was difficult for her to walk in her kimono, let alone to dance in it. I felt as if I was in heaven, especially when, at the end of the song, Tayuya just stood there with me, her head against my chest, and calmly took in her surroundings, as if awakening from a daze. Like her, I too felt as though there was no one but us while we were dancing, and we both gradually took in the reality of the crowded room around us. It was as if while we were dancing, it was not the couple we were impersonating who was dancing, but rather Tayuya and Sakon who were dancing together and enjoying it.
We each go of the other and went back to sitting in our seats from dinner, although Fianna-san was nowhere to be found. So Tayuya started up a conversation to fill the silence that was dominating without our target within our lines of sight.
"I never knew that you could waltz, Sakon. I guess that I should have expected that from the only boy in the Sound Four that can come close to beating me."
"Yes, you should have known. I think that my ability to dance was in the profile that Orochimaru-sama has of me. I certainly know that that is not written in yours."
"Hey, the only reason that I can't dance is because I've never found a man that was worthy enough to dance with!" Tayuya defended herself, raising her voice to emphasize her point.
"So I'm worthy enough to dance with?" I inquired nonchalantly.
Tayuya turned red for the second time that night and looked away.
"Well, I guess… compared to all of the other men that I've met, you've seemed to be the best person… and you're more attract—" Tayuya stopped herself from continuing, realizing what exactly she was saying. She covered her mouth and refused to make eye contact.
I just smirked, happy that Tayuya felt the same way that I did, or at least did so a small amount. But I didn't want to tell her just yet, I wanted to give her time to cope with her muddled and mixed emotions, so I changed the subject as Fianna-san came back to sit down.
"Ah, Fianna-san, where were you? We needed your help with something." I said, leading him stealthily in the conversation before his death.
"Oh, I was just talking to Yarumi-san; he's the man with all of the power in this village," was Fianna-san's casual reply.
"Are you free to help my wife and I settle a predicament? My wife here claims that the painting I brought with me was too extravagant of a gift for the host, but I think it will work nicely as a thank-you gift for being invited to the banquet. Would you care to take a look and tell us your opinion?"
"Of course I shall help you, I do owe you for those paintings still," Fianna-san pointed out and followed Tayuya and I outside. We walked around to the side of the building where there was indeed an extravagant painting, but most certainly not one that would be going anywhere anytime soon, because it was wrought deeply into the earthen ground. Fianna-san unwisely turned his back to us as he examined the painting.
"This is a magnificent piece of work! I think—" But no one ever received the chance to learn what Fianna-san thought, because at that moment, I pierced a kunai through his jugular vein as Tayuya shoved one through his heart and the greedy man who had dared try to get Orochimaru assassinated died within the minute, never to see another opportunity of any kind again.
I turned to Tayuya, who was standing silently beside me and admired the way the moonlight made her hair shimmer and the way the breeze made her hair sway. At that moment, Tayuya could only have looked better if she had been playing her flute, and I was glad to be able to experience this moment, for seeing the one that you love while feeling the awing release of a completed mission is a wonderful feeling.
We walked quietly back into the dining hall, leaving the body of the traitor lying outside in the cold. Tayuya and I had sat down in the same seats we had seemed to gravitate back all during the night when she took hold of my hand and held it lovingly. I grasped her other hand with mine, and we both conveyed the same wordless message to the other. The message could not be directly translated into any language, but the closest translation is, "I finally know exactly how much I love you." And so I asked Tayuya one last question.
"Tayuya, would you give me the honor of one last dance before they discover Fianna-san's cadaver and we have to leave?"
Tayuya stood with me and wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug as she kissed my cheek.
"I would love to."
A/N: This is the end… I know it seems as thought this wasn't that long, and it really wasn't, in fact, it wasn't even very well written, but I completed this challenge to the best of my abilities, and am a bit happy to say that this is my first completed story.