A/N: I had to split this chapter in half because it was so long! I love this chapter though; the first real hints of romance are starting to show through ;) Also, I'd just like to say one thing before you read this chapter: I know nothing about dance. NOTHING. I am a musician and a writer, I love the arts and I love watching dance, it's beautiful but I know nothing about it so don't eat me if I write something that doesn't make sense when I talk about it!
Disclaimer: Not Mine, nor is Hawk Nelson's awesome song "Is Forever Enough" which I love!
"Anzu-san, you're distracted again," His voice reminded her and she groaned internally. Straighten your posture, tighten your spin, point your toes more, keep your head up, focus, focus, focus!
His millions of tips screamed inside her head as she tried to follow them all at once. It didn't help that she was late, again!
"I'm sorry Marik-kun," She said all the same, picking herself up off the ground with gritted teeth where he had dropped her ungraciously. Really she had dropped herself, she thought bitterly, knowing that half the spin was hers to make and if she wasn't fully focused he might as well just let her go rather than go down with her.
After all they had both made it very clear from the beginning that they were only in this partnership for themselves. She wondered if he regretted that now. She didn't really regret partnering with him so much as regretting the very relationship between them.
It was awkward at best and just plain cold at worst. He snapped his fingers impatiently and she sighed.
Nope, definitely it was just plain cold.
"Marik-kun, I wouldn't be so distracted if I wasn't constantly late!" She finally said, hoping she sounded calmer then she felt. She was exhausted and sore and her ego was so battered she wasn't sure whether it would better to just walk out now or stay and have it kicked around some more.
"Socializing is not as important as dance," He said coolly.
"It's not socializing its tutoring," She stressed, growing irritated with his one track mind.
"If you care more about your grades then your future then be my guest, leave whenever you feel you have practiced enough," He said, folding his arms as he stared down at her, violet-blue eyes daring her to walk out. She fought down many bitter comments and slowly harnessed her temper again, running a hand through her wild brown hair as her amber eyes flashed.
"No, they're not more important," She finally said reluctantly and he nodded in approval. It was the only form of respect she ever got from him anyways, she thought dryly.
"I won't accept slacking," He warned for the hundredth time and she shut her eyes to keep them from rolling, "But I do respect the wish to keep ones commitments. I would never excuse tardiness or disrespect for a teacher's time so I will try to keep that in mind."
She blinked, not sure she had heard the tanned man in front of her properly. Had he just been...reasonable?
"As it is, I would like to see your freestyle, one last time," He continued and she almost smiled, would have if it wasn't simply because his taskmaster ways were still firmly intact despite his awkward admission that he swiftly covered up.
"Alright," She said, passion burning afresh as it always did. Every day she said this time she would impress him; this time she would leave no room for improvement. She was always wrong and she knew she was fooling herself but if she didn't give herself some hope to cling to she'd go mad.
He walked over to the stereo player gracefully as always. Then again she had asked for this when she asked to work with him...she was startled as guitar chords started flying out of the speakers rapidly.
"You must always be ready for anything, Anzu-san," His voice floated over from the other side of the room where she could see him in the mirrors. Yah she'd totally impress him...taking a deep breath she threw herself into action, determined to do her best.
Hip-hop and pop had never been her strongest style but that was like saying a seagull couldn't fly as well as, say, a hummingbird. That didn't make her a penguin though. She found the rhythm quickly, falling into step and throwing in a twist as she reached the chorus, sliding flawlessly between ballet and hip-hop, two strongly related styles at times. The song was perfect for it, and she had been working on the technique for awhile.
Can't hold this in and keep it quiet any longer,
I've fallen in and now this feeling's getting stronger...
You take my breath away!
Now I'm trying to get up, I'm trying to retrace, my steps back to where ever I messed up,
Is forever enough?
I'm holding on,
I know you'll be there whenever I wake up.
A calmer bridge smoothed the air but she didn't stop moving, knowing it could pick up again at any moment. She tried not to be distracted by the sound of the door opening with a small noise. Hesitating in the doorway was...Mutou-san?
She only caught a glance of tri-coloured hair to high off the ground to be Yuugi's and she cursed the distraction, swearing that she would finish the dance with grace despite the aversion.
The music exploded back into motion around her, churning the air and she moved with even more determination. She felt her heart might explode from all the pressure she was under between the two men and this demanding music that kept her moving until the very last note.
She stopped as the music did, breathing heavily as it took all of her energy not to just collapse as the adrenaline buzz faded quickly. To do a freestyle dance to such a fast pace song under Marik's criticizing gaze after so much rigorous work already and then to have Mutou-san come in!
A slow clap filled the air and she jerked her head up, staggering as she lifted her shoulders from their hunched position, hands on her knees. She knew that there was no way it was Marik so she directed her gaze towards the doorway as she tried to gain balance again.
The room was still spinning slightly and she felt a little like being sick but she locked her throat against the sensation. There was no way in hell she would show such weakness in front of either of them. He was smiling enough to be noticeable for once; expression lighter then she had seen it before. He looked like he was going to say something but a cool voice sliced through the air, interrupting him before he had a chance.
"That was a little better," Marik said and she swung round to face him. He barely glanced Mutou-san's way, not acknowledging anyone else's presence the same way he had every other time someone tried to interrupt. She didn't feel disgruntled after being rejected so many times. She hadn't expected praise from him nor did she get it.
"You took too long to pick up the rhythm though. If they ask you to freestyle for the exam you'll lose marks for that. You also allowed yourself to be distracted which is unacceptable as you will be performing in front of a large audience. There was also too much repetition, you over used your spins, though you had most of them nailed by the end."
Was that his idea of a compliment? She felt contempt rise within and she repressed it half-heartedly.
"Anything I didn't do enough of?" She asked instead, hoping her sarcasm didn't show through too much though it might do him some good. He glanced once at the door where the other male stood by, watching, and he looked almost uncertain for a fleeting moment before taking two rapid steps forward and launching himself beautifully into a side spin, collapsing himself to the ground and doing a kip-up to get back to his feet, back fully arched as he travelled through the air, landing on his toes in a perfect pivot before spinning out again and then grinding to a halt.
Moving back to her side he put one hand on her shoulder and the heel of his palm to her spine, pushing it to its full extent. She winced but didn't say anything, knowing exactly what was coming. This was how he taught, through example and repetition.
Truth be told she was jealous of his ability to perform so flawlessly but that was why he was the teacher in most cases...
"I'm sure you can feel your mistake already. You over extended your back by trying a move you hadn't mastered yet. I told you before that high expectations are just as dangerous as carelessness. The only thing you need to do more of is listen. I hope you learn your lesson this time, and know I won't go easy on you just because of a mild injury," He said in his usual cool tone though she wanted to believe there was concern behind those harsh words.
Glancing one final time at Mutou-san who's arms were folded as he leaned back against the small portion of the wall that wasn't mirrored, a fathomless expression on his face, he nodded for the first time in recognition.
"Goodbye Anzu-san," He said in farewell, walking over to the wall where he grabbed his jacket, throwing it over shoulder casually and taking his bag before walking out the door without even bothering to change.
She stood there in the centre of the room feeling the twinge of pain in her back and anger boiled within. How...could...he...be...so...uncaring? To be so ruthless, in front of Mutou-san for crying out loud! He had no shame and little respect if any!
"Bye, have a nice day, don't worry about me!" She spat after him, anger finally reaching a breaking point. She was ready to snap, she just couldn't take his confidence anymore it was destroying her own!
"Jesus, I can't stand him! Everything has to be so perfect that he can't be human for two damn seconds!" She swore hands balled into fists as she stood rigidly. Someone coughed awkwardly and her eyes sought the noise, still burning with passionate anger until she caught sight of Mutou-san still standing by the door, looking uncomfortable and, ok, a little amused by her temper display.
"M-Mutou-san!" She cried, feeling her knees turn to rubber and her blood pressure go through the roof as it all rushed to her head. Suddenly she felt light headed with mortification.
"Ah...I'm...sorry you had to see that," She stammered, tripping over her own words as she stood in the centre of the room under his rather lighter than usual expression. He chuckled slightly at her embarrassment and the sound made her shiver in his particular way and ticked her off at the same time.
"What's so funny?" She asked gruffly, knowing she couldn't yell at a teacher. She kept her fists locked just to be safe.
"It's just that, I knew you were passionate about dance when you talked about it and you kept showing up late, and I could tell something outside of school work was frustrating you...but I didn't expect to walk in on that," He admitted sheepishly and she glowered at him.
She was sweaty and gross and frustrated and he was still laughing at her!
"Really Mazaki-chan," He said cheerfully, walking towards her from his position by the door to where she stood in the centre of the room, "I knew you would be a good dancer, but I didn't know you were quite so...phenomenal." She froze, anger cooling and abruptly fading away.
"Ph-phenomenal?" She stammered, and he wondered if she was blushing the way she had before beneath the overheated red of her cheeks from dancing.
"I apologize if that makes you uncomfortable," He quickly corrected, realizing they were once again alone only this time in a dance studio and she was emotionally vulnerable.
"I simply meant your technique appeared to my untrained eyes to be flawless. If Ishtar-san hadn't said himself that it was a freestyle then I wouldn't have believed it but...he doesn't seem one to take these things lightly," He said and his voice took a slightly darker tone at the end.
He didn't like the way that boy treated her, like she had earned no respect from him, as though he were superior in some way because he was the one correcting her. He had offered no praise, and she was clearly offended to which he hadn't seemed to care in the least.
She recognized the ominous sound of anger in his voice and it thrilled her in that almost-painful way like a small shock. She had heard that nonchalant anger before he judged someone, inviting them to a Yami no game, which usually resulted in a deadly penalty game. Just because he had used them to save her life didn't mean they weren't also terrifying at the same time.
"No, he's not exactly the 'light hearted' type as you saw. Although he had a point," She admitted reluctantly, refusing to fall into the trap of insulting Marik-kun behind his back. As angry as she was with him for embarrassing her, he hadn't over exaggerated in his criticism or said anything untrue.
Once again she realized it was mostly her ego that had been sliced to bits.
"Still as a teacher I hope you weren't offended by my...um..." She hesitated nervously, not sure how to put it.
"Loss of temper?" He completed smoothly. "You're human; I would have been confused if you hadn't. His attitude could put anyone on edge. Is there a reason you don't get along?" Her insides buzzed pleasantly at his questions as he stood their comfortably in a casual way.
She liked these times when it was like they were just friends again not teacher-and-student.
"It's not that we had a falling out, we just never were friends to begin with," She explained with a weary sigh. "I suppose that was my own fault for coming on to him too fast," She mused and he looked away awkwardly.
A/N: Poor Yami, this totally makes it sound like I'm setting her up with Marik! But no, Marik is reserved for someone else ;) How many people think Marik was a total jerk in this chapter? I don't like making him so mean but he'll redeem himself later although his and Yami's relationship probably isn't going to get any better...
Here's a previews of the next chapter:
With the amount of time they spent together outside of class it was hard not to notice the connection between them and feel a little protective of her. He hated to admit it but he had grown rather fond of his 'favourite student'.
Tune in next time and please review!