Chapter 6: Dancing With Fire

Miyano Shiho.

Do you remember my name? If you don't, then I'm reminding you.

Anyway, about that first day in Teitan High, I met two guys. Two people who would probably change my life, in ways even I was unable to comprehend at the time. But now, when I look back on it, I still wonder if I could do so with a smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Our second-to-the-last class was over, and as I stared out the window, I became aware of everyone starting to leave the room. I tried to recall the class schedule and remembered that the next class was Physical Education. I waited until the last student was out before I followed.

I kept my pace slow and walked behind the rest of the class. I was content being alone, but I soon felt someone's presence beside me, his steps matching mine.

"So, Miyano-san... How do you find Teitan High so far?"

Kudo. He was my seatmate, the first one to talk to me, and yet, I still didn't know his first name. I didn't want to be the one to bring it up, though. "So-so," I replied.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

Unlike his best friend, I didn't mind talking to him. Which was surprising enough. I never felt comfortable with anyone I've only known for a week before, much less a day. But, I guess I liked keeping up false pretences. I could have acted friendly, I could have warmed up to him, but instead, I just said in a monotone, "It's fine."

He seemed dissatisfied with my answers. I could see that he was about to ask another question when someone shouted, "Oi, Kudo!"

He welcomed the change of topic. He easily forgot about me and smiled at the newcomer. "Yo, Nakamichi. How're you doing?" he said. Somehow, I was disappointed.

The student named Nakamichi laughed as he approached Kudo. "I'm all spirits Kudo! Gotta do my best for practice, don't want the coach yelling at me again!"

Coach? Is Kudo part of a team or something?

Kudo's smile widened as he said, "That's because you keep trying overheads. It would've been okay if you actually do it properly."

Overheads? An image of the guy upside down with a kicking a ball towards his head entered my mind. I couldn't suppress the small chuckle that escaped my lips. That's when I noticed Kudo staring.

I noted that the Nakamichi person was gone as I automatically tried to hide my chuckle with a cough. But I could tell that he saw through it. "Miyano-san?" he said questioningly, as if asking me to explain.

I looked away, trying to hide the red that was spreading on my cheeks. I fiddled around for an excuse. Unable to think of one, I decided to just tell him a bit of the truth. "I-I couldn't help it. Just thinking of the soccer ball hitting him on the head, I..."

"Then-" he started, but was cut off by the calls from our classmates. I could see the boys and girls going in different directions. Though he seemed reluctant to leave, he nodded at me and ran off in the direction of the boy's locker.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We changed into our PE clothes and entered the gym, which was connected to the locker rooms. My classmates, and students from other classes, sat down on the floor in rows so I did the same.

I drew circles on the floor with my fingers, bored. At least, I hoped it seemed that way. I only dropped the 'bored façade' when I noticed that the chattering had died down. I looked up and saw who I presumed was the teacher, a woman in her early twenties, looking charming even in sweats.

The sensei for this class was… different. I can't describe it, it's just a feeling I had. With her long dark brown locks, big blue orbs, and long, long legs, she could be called beautiful, for a teacher. Through her looks, the one thing that stood out the most was her eyes. They shined, a sparkle that comes from someone who does what she loves.

"Hm? I think I see a new face. Would you please stand up, tenkosei-san (transfer student)?" she said, in a cheerful, lilting voice.

Everyone's eyes turned to me as I followed her order, no, request. The way she said it, there's no way it could've been called an order.

"I heard there was a new student in my father's class. You must be Miyano Shiho-san, yes? I'm Mouri Ran. Hajimemashite (nice to meet you)."

Mouri Ran… Mouri Kogoro…If she hadn't mentioned it, I never would've guessed. From what I've seen during lunch, the father's hot-headed. The daughter doesn't seem like the type to lose her temper. They don't even look alike. They're a lot like me and onee-chan...

"Kochi koso (the same here), Mouri-sensei," I replied.

At the words 'Mouri-sensei,' she smiled. "Please, call me Ran-sensei. When I hear Mouri-sensei, I always think it's my father you're referring to."

"Ran-sensei, you wouldn't have that problem if you just married Araide-sensei!" piped up the light-brown haired girl in front of me.

Her cheeks turned pink, then she said through her blush, "Mou, Suzuki-san! Even if I did that, then it would be same thing, except with the Araide surname! Besides, you know I don't think of Araide-sensei that way!"

"Then what was that in the faculty room during lunch?" she sneered.

I silently watched this conversation between teacher and student. Seeing no reason to remain standing, I sat back down.

Ran-sensei's flushed red, but it seems she just chose to playfully ignore the girl named Suzuki-san. "Starting this semester," she announced, the embarrassment in her tone turning to a faint excitement, "We're gonna start a new lesson. No, not just a new lesson. We're gonna learn a wholly different art!"

In a Kansai dialect, a dark-brown haired girl beside Suzuki-san whispered, "It's funny how Ran-sensei keeps calling sports an art."

"Now, before we start, let me tell you something."

"We all know that each and every part of the world has its own language. Japanese, French, Italian, Chinese, lots. "How many people here know Japanese?"

Everybody raised their hands, with the exception of me. It was a stupid question in my opinion. Of course everybody'd know Japanese.

"How about French?"

Several girls awkwardly raised their hands.

"Latin?"

Someone raised hers, before lowering it in haste, seeing that nobody else did.

"Czechoslovakian?"

No one did.

"Well, of course no one would, in this day and age. But if I started speaking in Czechoslovakian, would you understand what I'm saying?"

Heads shook, a 'no' being said here and there.

"See? That's because everyone has a different tongue. But. Even with the different languages in the world, there is a language that everybody understands. One that, wherever you go, you'd be able to communicate with everyone around you. A universal language. Does anyone know what it is?"

The girls looked at each other, asking the one beside them if they knew the answer.

"A universal language?"
"I only know Japanese and English…"
"Maybe it's English."

Ran-sensei, hearing this, shook her head and said, "English may be considered the international medium for commercial transactions all over the world, but not everyone knows how to speak English." She looked around the room, looking for someone who looked like she knew the answer.

A language that everyone knows..? Could it be-

Our eyes met, and I felt that she saw something in mine, because her smile widened, even just a little bit. "Miyano-san, do you know the answer?"

I hesitated, but something in her voice told me to go ahead and try. "Body language," I stated.

"Exactly.

"It's body language. From the roll of your eyes during boring classes to the sway of your hips when flirting," she said, the class chuckling slightly, "The language that your body speaks is something everyone understands.

"So for this semester, we would learn the art of body language. Who knows what it's called? Yes, Suzuki-san?" Ran-sensei called on the boisterous girl in front of me.

"Dance!" she answered eagerly.

"Right," she confirmed, nodding. "Dance. To be specific, tango. But we're also going to be learning other dances, like the polka, and the swing."

The Kansai-ben (Kansai dialect) shoujo (girl) raised her hand. "But Sensei, isn't tango a dance for two? You don't mean that our partners will be the other girls, do you?"

Would that be such a bad thing? Personally, I disliked dancing with the opposite gender. If they weren't clumsy and break your toes every other step, then they'd be trying to ask you out every other minute.

"I agree with Kazuha-chan! Tango is for lovers! What would people think if our lovers were of the same sex!?" cried out Suzuki-san.

"Souyo! (that's right)" agreed the other girls, nodding in agreement.

"I know, I know," replied Ran-sensei, holding her hands up in surrender. "I'm asking Araide-sensei if it's okay to combine the classes of the boys and girls. But," she said, placing her finger on her chin, "I'm not sure if he'll agree."

"Daijoubu! If it's Ran-sensei who asks, there's no way Araide-sensei would refuse!" guaranteed Suzuki-san with a thumbs up and a confident grin.

The pink on her cheeks returned, but she smiled slightly. "I'll ask him," she said, then steered the conversation away from her relationship with this Araide-sensei. "But for now, before I introduce you to the world of tango, let's start with a few stretches."

The class stood up, lining up in neat columns while copying her movements. After a few minutes of warming up, she pushed a button on the sound system and called out, "Okay, everyone, pick a partner, get in the mood for tango and just dance around!"

The Kazuha girl turned to Suzuki-san and said in a low voice, "May I have this dance?" They both cracked up, but the light-brown haired girl took her hand anyway and they started bouncing around. The rest of the class pretty much did the same, each finding their own partner.

For the next half-hour, she was around the gym, trying to teach the right frame to the students who weren't busy laughing their heads off. I stood off to the side, leaned my back against the wall, and watched the smiling faces of my classmates.

"Konnichiwa."

I looked up and saw Ran-sensei. I nodded politely, wondering why she chose to corner me. Now, I know she wasn't cornering me, it didn't even feel like it, but my defenses went up, from habit.

"Why aren't you picking a partner yet? Don't you like dancing?" she asked.

"It's not that I don't but-" The number of students here is odd. There's no way anybody'll be left to pair up with me.

"Hmmm… Come to think of it," she said, glancing at the class fooling around with their steps, "There are only 43 students. You'd be left with no partner huh?" She looked thoughtful for a second, then regained what I presumed was her trademark, yet genuine, smile and offered, "Do you want to dance with me?"

Without even waiting for my answer, she took my hand and led me to the middle of the gym floor. She held my right hand in hers, putting the other on my left shoulder blade. Unconsciously, I took the role of the follow, placing my left hand midway down her arm.

I was on auto-pilot starting there. As she took with a step backward, my right foot followed, and my steps mirrored hers. I was vaguely aware of the rest of the class quieting down, their stares on us.

I wasn't aware of how much time passed, but the spell she wove broke when the bell rang. Her steps stopped, her hold on me loosening as she blinked at me several times, as if she just realized where she was and what she was doing.

Then, she smiled at me and released her hold, stepping back a bit before yelling, "Alright class dismissed! See you on our next meeting, hopefully, with the boys!"

A moment of complete silence. Everybody else was blinking in the same dazed way sensei was, before the 'Sayonara sensei's echoed in the gym, as they all headed for the locker room. I was about to follow, when I heard sensei's voice.

"Chotto, Miyano-san…"

I turned around and faced her. "Hai?"

"Did you take dancing lessons before?" Her voice had a questioning tone that matched the inquisitive gaze she gave me.

For a moment, I didn't answer and just stared at her. Then I spoke, answering her question with one of mine, "Why do you say so, sensei?"

"Well, I get the feeling that you've done this before," she answered, a little hesitantly.

I turned my heel and walked a few steps before replying, "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't."

Exiting the gym, I was about to enter the locker room when I heard someone say, "-that transfer student, Miyano-san?

Rumors. About me. Same old, same old. Gossips were flying back in my old school, too. I knew that I shouldn't hesitate, that I should enter, and that I just ignore whatever they were saying about me, but somehow, I couldn't. Instead, I froze, standing there in the hall with my hand almost on the door, but not quite.

"I can't believe how much Shinichi-kun pays attention to her!" answered another voice.

Shinichi-kun. I didn't know who this Shinichi-kun was, and I don't remember anyone paying me a lot of attention. Who could this Shinichi-kun be?

"Yeah, it's sooo weird." I recognized that voice this time. It was from the person named Suzuki-san. "I mean, Kudo-kun's like absent-minded and all, he doesn't even pay attention to me! But now, all of a sudden, he pays attention to the transfer student!? I mean, come on! What does she have that I don't?"

Shinichi… Kudo?

"Hey… He can't actually be… interested in her, can he?" asked a voice in Kansai dialect.

"If he is," said Suzuki-san, "then she doesn't know how lucky she is! Even Kaito-kun's approaching her!"

Kaito-kun..? Oh... Kudo's clone... What's the big deal with him anyway?

"I mean," she continued, "I was the one who even asked Kaito-kun to approach me! Well, I know Kazuha-chan was different, but still-"

"Sonoko!" cried out the Kansai girl who, I presumed, was the Kazuha-chan. "My time with Kuroba-kun... It's..."

So his name's Kuroba Kaito... I wonder what he did to Kazuha...

Suddenly, somebody passed by, and I knew that staying any longer would arouse suspicion. Probably start some new rumors on how my hobbies were eavesdropping on the girl's locker room. Left with no choice, I entered, and all talk stopped.

It was a good thing I opened the door, because Suzuki-san had her hand on the knob and was about to do the same.

"K-Konnichiwa," said Kazuha, an uncertain smile on her lips. The rest of the girls gave me awkward glances as Suzuki-san stared at me, then gave a slight nod and walked off. The others, glanced at each other, then followed.

I stepped inside, and scanned the room. The girls who weren't part of Suzuki-san's group were finished dressing and were also about to leave. I just ignored them, and headed for the shower room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When I finally exited the locker room, I saw someone waiting in the distance. Kudo! I almost smiled at him. Almost. But it's a good thing I didn't. Because that guy wasn't Kudo. It was his doppelganger, Kuroba.

"Yo."

I chose to ignore him, avoiding his eyes. "Listen Miyano-san, I'm not sure what kind of start we had," he said, snapping his fingers and doing a 'magic trick' that he probably thought would impress me. A rose in between his fingers, he asked, "But maybe we could start over?"

I walked past him, paying no heed to his offer. I would've left him behind, but he overtook me and blocked my path.

"What do you want?" I asked, not to him in particular. It was more like I was asking the corridor, not him. I refused to look at his eyes, as that might encourage him.

He leaned his face closer to mine, making it impossible to avoid eye contact. "Normally I won't even care, but with you, it's different," he said in the gentlest voice I have ever heard. No, second gentlest. A voice from my past came back and haunted me.

"I don't give a damn most of the time, but there's just something special about you."

I froze, those words echoing in my mind again and again. No! Not now, not again! Get a grip Shiho! This isn't the time to be reminiscing! Especially not about him!

I gathered my composure, turned on my glare at him full force and walked away. He didn't follow, not until I reached the end of that hall. When I turned the corner, I hastened my steps, hurrying to my classroom.

By the time I reached it, I was feeling calmer about my encounter with Kuroba. I picked up my bag, ready to go home, when I recalled the conversation between Kudo and that Nakamichi person.

Does he have… soccer practice?

Curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to stop by the soccer field.

Bringing up an image of the school's map in my mind, I found my way to the field. I looked at the people playing, and caught sight of that cowlick tinted brown, kicking a soccer ball by himself. He seemed… distant, as if he wasn't concentrating. Then, the coach blew his whistle, and divided the team into two. He assigned Kudo as forward, that much I was certain, but Kudo didn't seem to be listening.

His body seemed to be moving in auto-pilot, the way I did during dance class. Then, he suddenly looked in my direction. He stopped running, our eyes met. Something told me to shout, call out a 'Do your best!' and cheer for him, when a ball came flying in his direction.

"Go for it Kudo! Shoot!"

His focus switched to the game, dribbling the ball towards the goal while avoiding the players from the opposing team. About a few feet from the net, he kicked the ball, the goalie jumping in vain as he tried to stop it.

When the coach blew his whistle, signaling the end of the practice match, only then did I realize that I was holding my breath. I released it slowly. My curiosity only half-satisfied, I turned my heel and ran for home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I opened the door, greeted by the warm smell of home. My sister, hearing the click of the door closing, peekd through the doorway of the kitchen. "Okaeri, Shiho! How was your first day?"

I put down my bag, recalled the events of that day, and said with a smile, "It was… interesting."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And that marks the end of my first day. Interesting, don't you think? Yet, a little unnerving at the same time. I didn't like how similar Kaito was to that guy, and I was uncertain of why I Kudo seemed so familiar to me. But now, everything makes sense. To me that is, not you. I'll clear it up soon enough. Well, if you're willing enough to stay.

~Miyano Shiho~