Aneko: I worked hard on this chap. I hope you like it. You'll see why I worked hard, hopefully…

Disclaimer: (again…) I don't own Princess Tutu and company…

Chapter 9

A couple days passed where all four of them were sad. They rarely saw each other, but Ahiru took time every day to go check on Kange and Koeko. Each day they seemed to be doing a little better, though she knew they would probably never heal completely.

Ahiru and Fakir practiced every day, and with the familiarity of the routine, Ahiru stopped making mistakes, learning more than she might have even in class. It had quickly spread around campus that Ahiru was Fakir's partner (courtesy of Lilie and Pique, Ahiru was certain). What surprised Ahiru the most was Fakir's reaction to all the gossip that was flying around. He accepted it all with calm indifference; Ahiru had expected him to say something like, 'What do you care,' or just, 'Leave me alone.'

The other day, the two of them had been on their way to school, when they passed by another ballet student. As they passed her, her voice stopped them.

"Oh, hey. So it's true? Fakir, you're going to the try outs with Ahiru?"

"Yeah." Fakir's expression remained neutral- showing no annoyance or embarrassment at the question.

"So?" The girl pressed, "are you two together now?"

Ahiru blushed several shades of red, but Fakir kept the stoic "Stone wall" look on his face. By way of a reply, he said, "And what would you do if I said yes?" He began walking again, leaving the girl behind and forcing Ahiru to trot a bit to keep up with his long legs.

That comment spread the rumors even further, to an extent where Ahiru got wide-eyed looks from the other girls, making her wonder what exactly was being said. After all, some of the looks were less than friendly.

It wasn't that the girls hated Ahiru-they just loved Fakir. Pique and Lilie, though they showed their jealousy daily, stuck by Ahiru. This was how Ahiru learned most of the rumors.

"So, you two really are boyfriend and girlfriend, huh?"

"Is it true you two are secretly engaged?"

"I heard you two are long-lost lovers, separated at childhood."

The last one almost made her laugh (in the middle of class). A while back, they hated each others' guts. And the "separated at childhood" part…? Ahiru probably hadn't even been born when Fakir was a child (being born a duck and all). No matter how many times she tried to stop them, the rumors kept coming. Ahiru finally gave up, in a way. Of course, she didn't answer the way Fakir sometimes did, which spread the rumors further. She wasn't angry with Fakir, just confused as to why he was saying things like that. He couldn't like her…could he?

"I hate this." Ahiru said, looking at the floor as she and Fakir walked to their practice room. "I hate not being able to do anything."

Fakir opened the door for her. "Well, it's not like we know where they are. If we did, it wouldn't be like this." Fakir walked into the room, then turned and reached out his hand. "From the top?"

Ahiru nodded, and the world seemed to go silent and watchful, as it began with Ahiru stepping slowly forward to take his hand. As soon as she did, she let one of her legs rise, until she was balancing on one leg, the other at a ninety degree angle, then put it down, raising her arms above her head, taking a few delicate steps. She did all this while holding Fakir's hand, then she stood on her toes as he spun her around. At the end of the spin, Ahiru jumped in the air, and Fakir caught her, carrying her in the air for a bit. As he set her down, they both ran, then leaped into the air, using the same movements inches apart. As they landed, they both took off again, mirroring each other's movements. Ahiru spun once one way, as Fakir spun another.

When they stopped, they leaped to the side, ending up several more feet apart, then froze. Ahiru leaped toward Fakir twice, then stopped, then Fakir took two steps and stopped. They repeated this until they were close together again, and Ahiru danced in a circle around Fakir, then he around her, offering her his hand again. Ahiru took it, falling back towards the floor. Just as she was about to hit it, Fakir caught her, and raised her above his head, her hands on his shoulders for support. Fakir slowly went in circles, and their position changed so that Ahiru sat on his shoulder. Fakir continued going in circles, slowing gradually until he lifted Ahiru down, and he was holding one of Ahiru's hands again, in the same position as they had started.

They didn't move for what seemed like forever to Ahiru. "Good." Fakir said, finally releasing her hand.

"They tryouts are tomorrow, right?" Ahiru checked.

"Yeah." Fakir said. "We'll be doing that instead of class."

"I wonder what kind of performance everyone else has planned…do you think we'll be allowed to watch the others?"

"I doubt it." Fakir said as he took out a bottle of water. "They probably don't want people changing their acts last minute if the judges seem to like another performance. They want to see what each team can do on their own."

"That makes sense." Ahiru said. She sat there a while before asking, "Hey Fakir, do these rumors bother you?" She looked at the floor, afraid to see his expression, "I mean, there are some pretty crazy ones going around."

When she didn't get a response, Ahiru looked up, and nearly took a step backward. Fakir had walked over to her while she was talking, and now he stood quite close.

Wh-what is he-!

Fakir patted her head lightly. "Baka.. Don't worry about it." He began walking out of the room.

Ahiru touched the top of her head, watching Fakir as he walked away.

He's acting confusing, but I'm glad he's not annoyed or anything. She thought, before running after him.

Ahiru dressed for bed slowly, gazing off into space. Once ready, she sat at the window, looking at the dark streets below. As she sat there, she glanced at Geiju's painting, which was leaning against the wall. Fakir had said he thought she was the one who should keep it, so she had put it in her dorm room.

She went over to kneel in front of it, her chin in her hand. It really was a very beautiful, detailed picture. Ahiru flipped it over to look at his note-signed in a grand, flowing cursive style.

"I hope no one else gets hurt before this is over." Ahiru said, before going to bed.

Ahiru woke up nervous. Today was the day of the tryouts- she was dead certain something was bound to go wrong.

She was on edge the whole time as she dressed, and it took a while to reach the gate where Fakir was waiting.

"I'm so nervous!" She blurted when she saw him.

"Baka." Fakir said quietly. "Just do your best, and that's good enough."

"Okay." Ahiru said, though it didn't make her feel any less nervous.

Instead of going to the academy, they were going to the performance hall of the town (I don't know it they have a separate one…). When they arrived, many people were there already, some walking aimlessly, some talking to people, and some just sitting.

Since Ahiru and Fakir had come wearing their practice outfits, they went ahead and sat down backstage. They didn't talk much, and Ahiru looked like she was sitting on eggshells.

A man came through the door from the right, and everyone got quiet as he called for their attention.

"Now! I want to thank you all for coming here today." He started off. "We are very glad so many of you are trying out. We are going to try to see you all today, but it's very possible we will not. If not, we will watch the rest of you tomorrow. Now I know some of you really want to do this." He said kindly, looking at them all. "I was told that this is mandatory for your class, and many of you don't have the heart to want to."

Scattered whispering was heard as he said this, but they all went silent as he continued on, and even Ahiru raised her head. "Do whatever you can, that is all. We are here to see what you can do. Do your best, and that's good enough."

Hey…that's what Fakir said…

"We will call you in your pairs." The man said, looking at a clipboard. "Pique-san and Lilie-san."

Pique and Lilie stepped nervously out of the crowd and towards a stage door the man indicated. Ahiru silently crossed her fingers for them as the door clicked shut behind them.

The mood in the waiting area was now very tense, as they all waited for the first two to come back. It seemed to take hours. When they did come out, they smiled at Ahiru and left. After that, Ahiru got lost as name after name was called, until she heard her own.

"Ahiru-san and Fakir-san."

Ahiru followed Fakir through the door. It led out to the large stage, flooded with stage lights. Looking out towards the seats, Ahiru saw a table at the very front, and behind it were the judges.

One was the man who had talked to them all earlier. He seemed to be the youngest. The second was an older woman, wearing a neat green dress with a matching business-like coat. A pair of half-moon glasses was perched on her nose, and her dark brown hair was in a neat bun, with a few loose strands. The third judge was another woman, younger than the first (Who was probably in her early forties), but not as young as the first man. She wore her long blonde hair in a high ponytail, and casually wore a t-shirt and jeans. The last judge was an older man, the oldest in the group. He, too, wore casual clothes, with a thick pair of glasses. His dark gray hair was balding at the top.

As Ahiru and Fakir came into view, they all smiled encouragingly. This allayed Ahiru's nerves somewhat, but not totally.

As the house lights dimmed, though, and the piano began to play, Ahiru looked into Fakir's eyes as he held out his hand- the first movement.

It will be okay. Trust me. His eyes told her. Just like that, her nervousness and everything else melted away, and Ahiru lost herself in the dance with Fakir, completely at ease in the familiarity of the atmosphere. The quiet confidence he radiated seemed to be affecting her; there were no judges any more, only her, Fakir, and the pas de deux they danced.

Ahiru felt as though it lasted mere seconds, before Fakir was holding her hand once more, and the house lights came back up as the judges applauded them. They looked impressed.

They were dismissed quickly (they would be told the results in a few days), so that the next pair could go in.

"I wonder what the play is about." Ahiru said, thinking aloud, as they left.

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" Fakir said. "You don't even know who's going to make it through the tryouts."

"Yeah, but even if I didn't, it would be cool to come see it. I'd come see it if you were in it, Fakir."

Fakir looked away and gave a noncommittal grunt.

Now I'm just really curious about how we did.

"It went well." Fakir said, though Ahiru hadn't said anything. "You thought you would mess up-you did fine. Why were you so nervous?"

"Why indeed…" Ahiru muttered sheepishly.

Ahiru heard the clock tower chime, and looked in that direction, though it was too far away to see well. "Kange and Koeko-chan must still be in class."

"Should you really be calling an almost 900-year-old being '-chan'?"

"But it sounds cute!" Ahiru protested. "And she still looks like an eight-year-old…"

Fakir rolled his eyes, then changes the subject. "They got to us earlier than I thought they would. I didn't think we'd get out so soon…"

"It is kind of early." Ahiru agreed. "Hey, I know!" She said, smiling big, "we can go visit Charon-san, then go meet Kange and Koeko-chan when classes are over!"

"Ah…yeah, I guess." Fakir said. He couldn't think of anything better to do, so he followed a smiling and cheerful Ahiru toward Charon's house.

Aneko: Kind of an odd place to end it, but I had no other choice. Not a lot of stuff happens in this chap, but it will get more exciting in the chaps to come.