Hello. This is the first chapter of the Konoha's Prep Academy-fanfiction I wrote with fanfiction writer Preci LV. Dear Preci LV, I haven't heard from you in a while. But if I've said anything rude to you, I'm sorry. See you in the next chapter.
"Did that Uchiha cause trouble for some girl again?" Natsuki wondered, sitting on a bench in the front yard of Konoha's Prep Academy.
Natsuki looked at Sakura, who was running towards Natsuki, crying.
Natsuki had long, red hair that she had tied in a ponytail with a blue hair band. Her skin was fair, and her eyes were blue. She was 16 years old. She was wearing a white blouse, and around her hips was a blue skirt that reached her knees. On her feet were white socks, and black shoes. She was thin. Her school bag was next to her, and she was holding her light blue bento box in her arms.
The weather was sunny, and the wind was light.
"What's wrong?" Natsuki asked Sakura, who had stopped in front of her.
Haruno Sakura, the pink-haired goddess as she was, wearing a pink blouse, and navy blue skirt with marching sandals, dried her hair, knowing that Natsuki took no crap from no one:
"Oh, Natsuki, it's terrible. I saw Sasuke talking to another girl, and I-I-"
"Sakura, PLEASE come back to me, when you have ACUTAL news," Natsuki said.
"But, Natsuki..." Sakura crying.
Natsuki looked at her, and sighed:
"Sorry. I've been stressed with work and all. What's up?"
"What does Sakura have in mind?" Natsuki wondered. "Have dance practice gone wrong again?"
"Calm down, and why do you have paint in your hair?" Natsuki asked after seeing the green paint in Sakura's hair.
Sakura cried some more, but then looked at her hair in embarrassment.
"Here," Natsuki said, handing Sakura a white handkerchief. "You can keep that handkerchief."
Sakura took the handkerchief gratefully, and began to wipe away her tears.
"Have you heard the rumor that another schoolgirl has gone missing yet?" Natsuki asked, giving Sakura something else to think about.
Sakura wiping her eyes and hair, she sniffled:
"Probably a rumor. You know how things are like wildfires."
"I don't know, Sakura. This sounds serious," Natsuki said after thinking about it a bit more.
"You're right. It had been days since her disappearance. I had to take her place in the dance committee, painting the banners, while Ino, dumb b* as she is...dropped a paint bucket and some of it got in my hair! What would Sasuke think of me NOW when he sees me?"
"Not again...," Natsuki thought.
"Sakura, did Ino apologize to you?" Natsuki asked. "Do you know the name of the missing girl?"
"Of course NOT. And you'd think, that it was TEMARI that did this...but she wouldn't do a thing like that when Shika's around...", Sakura says with a smirk.
"Okay. School's already over. Let's go to my house, and you can take a shower there. Is it okay if we talk more about that missing girl there? Her parents are worried," Natsuki said.
"Sure. Last time I saw her, she was in my math class, but she was...spaced out, you know?" Sakura asked.
"Well," Natsuki said.
"She wasn't really paying attention in class. She looked rather...sad in a way," Sakura said.
"Really? Her name is Siraishi Ayako," Natsuki said as she arrived with Sakura at her home, which was in an apartment building.
"You'll find everything you need to wash up in the bathroom," Natsuki said, as she did her homework in the living room.
"Thank you," Sakura says, as she goes into the bathroom, and turns on the shower.
Natsuki was reading one of her favorite books while Sakura was in the shower. But her thoughts were wrapped around the missing student. Why was she sad? Who were her friends? Maybe Sasuke was a witness? No. Sasuke didn't belong to her.
Sakura's wet-haired head bumped into the crack of the open door:
"Hey... are you using me as a stupid source for your newspaper article?"
"Of course not. A lot of girls at our school have been complaining to me about Sasuke's behavior lately. I'm just thinking about those missing girls," Natsuki said.
"When did these disappearances start? After the recent solar eclipse, right?" Natsuki asked as Sakura came closer.
"Who are her friends?" Natsuki asked. "You got the paint out of your hair, which is good. When did you see Siraishi Ayako before she disappeared?"
"So after that math class? Did you see her go from the school hallway straight to her house, since you live next door to her?" Natsuki asked.
Natsuki took the hair bun out of her hair, and let her hair flow freely down her back.
"She looks a little different now, that she hasn't put her hair in a ponytail. Now she looks cute in some way," Sakura thought, blushing while looking at Natsuki, which Natsuki was unaware of.
"Do you know what kind of friends Ayako has?" Natsuki asked.
It started to rain outside.
"Do you know if any girls have been missing from other schools in this area recently?" Natsuki asked.
Sakura nodded.
"The first person to disappear from our school was Tenten, whose family owns a Kendo Hall, and the disappearances have even been mentioned in the news," Natsuki said.
"Were the missing girls kidnapped?" Natsuki wondered.
"I agree with everything you say..., and I think I noticed her a bit with Sasuke. Now that I think about it... Sasuke HAS been asking some pretty strange questions. Do you think Sasuke, and the disappearances are connected?" Sakura took a quick breath, and tried to sit next to Natsuki, which didn't help, as she kept looking at Natsuki, though she didn't know why.
"Kami, woman...! Calm down a bit. We don't have any proof yet..." Natsuki said.
"Sorry," Sakura said.
"Sakura, was Ayako being teased by someone, and did she run away from home because of it?" Natsuki asked.
Natsuki was surprised to see Sakura staring at Natsuki's hair:
"Is my hair matted? What do you mean by those questions Sasuke asked?" Natsuki asked.
"I don't remember those questions now," Sakura said after thinking about it for a moment, and now she didn't even look away from Natsuki.
"Do you know, what Ayako was like before she disappeared?" Natsuki asked.
"Ayako was quite quiet before she disappeared," Sakura said.
"Sakura, have you seen anything suspicious around here lately?" Natsuki asked.
"I don't understand why she was so quiet. She was such a sweet girl. And it's not my fault you have good-looking hair," Sakura smiles as she touches Natsuki's hair again, causing Natsuki to blush. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No. Of course not. I really don't let people touch me like that," Natsuki said, blushing even more.
"Sorry. Back to the task at hand. I think everything was quiet until... she and Sasuke were hanging out together," Sakura said, feeling a strong urge to hug Natsuki as Sakura blushed slightly, her heart beating faster than normal. Sakura's urge to hug Natsuki had started the moment Sakura had touched Natsuki's hair, which was as soft as the finest silk Sakura had ever touched.
Natsuki dropped the book onto the table, which she forgot to click on.
"Hang out...? Really?" Natsuki asked, turning to Sakura to see Sakura staring at Natsuki in a way Sakura had never looked at Natsuki before.
Sakura finally smiled.
"So Ayako wasn't being bullied?" Natsuki asked.
"Not that I know of. You see her all the time planning all the school events," Sakura said.
"I'm so stupid right now," Natsuki said, surprised by the situation she was in, as time seemed to have stopped somehow.
"Not stupid. Just. Forgotten," Sakura smiled, gently moving some of Natsuki's hair behind Natsuki's ear.
"Shut up, Haruno," Natsuki muttered.
Sakura smiled shyly as she turned to dry her hair further with the towel she had placed on the table, which made Natsuki look at Sakura. Did that make her a perv? No. Just curious.
Sakura closed the door, and went back to the washrooms, humming to herself.
Natsuki had trouble reading her book, no matter, how hard she tried, as she picked it up from the table.
When Sakura was done, and came out of the washrooms, she was wearing a pink flowing dress as she sat down next to Natsuki again.
"How did Ayako get along with people?" Natsuki asked.
Natsuki was surprised to see Sakura staring at Natsuki's breasts with a bit of envy:
"Is something wrong?"
Natsuki now felt a bit uneasy.
"She would stay after school to help the teachers with their lesson plans...and...um..." Sakura said.
"Yeah?" Natsuki asked.
"Oh! She was a cheerleader too! Remember the boys's soccer team?" Sakura asked.
"I've never cared too much about sports," Natsuki said.
"Of course, you idiot. Don't you want a title?" Sakura asked, looking at Natsuki again.
"Of course...who doesn't?" Natsuki asked, focusing on her reading.
"Natsuki seems strange today," Sakura thought.
Sakura tried to straighten her sitting position, but accidentally fell on top of Natsuki, knocking them both to the floor, her face hitting right between Natsuki's breasts.
"Hey, are you okay, and would you mind sitting back up?" Natsuki asked with an embarrassed look on her face. "My cousin plays on our school's soccer team, so maybe he knows something about Ayako."
"Sorry about that," Sakura said.
"It's okay," Natsuki said, blushing more as her mouth felt suddenly dry, and her heart beat faster than usual.
As the girls lay on top of each other, Sakura looked at Natsuki straight in the eyes.
"Maybe I should go," Sakura said. She really didn't want to go, she just wanted to hug Natsuki again, and so she didn't even make a move to sit up, just looked at Natsuki's face until Sakura's gaze stopped on Natsuki's lips, which looked surprisingly temptingly soft.
Natsuki blushed in embarrassment, when Sakura didn't sit up.
"We'll ask tomorrow", Sakura says.
Natsuki swallowed nervously:
"And it's okay, because it was an accident, but why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
"You look cute with your hair down," Sakura said, blushing even more, embarrassed as she realized what she had just said. "Sorry!"
"It's okay. My cousin's name is Namikaze Kenya, and he's also the captain of our school's soccer team. The blond-haired boy, that some people call Arashi because of his great playing skills," Natsuki said.
"I'm sorry about that fall..." Sakura said.
"Sakura, don't be shy. Look. You should stay the night if the missing girls have been kidnapped, so you don't get kidnapped, please?" Natsuki asked. "We'll ask the soccer team about Ayako tomorrow. Thanks for everything."
"Anytime..." Sakura said, finally standing up.
Sakura went to the kitchen to get herself something to eat, while Natsuki sat up on the floor.
"Hungry?"
"Only for you," Natsuki thought, as she had a slight crush on Sakura, which Natsuki thinks is due to teenage-hormones, because she had been in love with some boys at times, but instead said:
"No thanks."
Sakura nodded.
"My cousin is a gentleman," Natsuki finally said.
Deep down, Natsuki was hungry for friendship, as she was a bit lonely:
"Do you want to be my friend?"
"Yes," Sakura said.
"Thank you. Let's be friends then. There's oolong tea in the fridge if you're thirsty," Natsuki said.
"Please", Sakura says.
As Sakura was getting the tea, Natsuki was secretly checking her out.
Natsuki was surprised to realize, that he had fallen in love with Sakura after the solar eclipse that had happened about a month ago. He had kept the matter a secret because strange things had happened after that solar eclipse, and Natsuki didn't want to be seen as strange, because this was the first time he had a crush on a girl, as Natsuki was a girl herself.
"Why on earth did Sakura look so jealous earlier, when she looked at my breasts? It's a bit suspicious," Natsuki thinking worriedly.
"Sakura, why did you look at my breasts earlier, looking a bit jealous?" Natsuki asked having decided to ask about it directly.
Natsuki was still thinking about Sakura's earlier look, as it was a bit suspicious, and it scared Natsuki a bit.
Sakura placed the teacups on the table in front of the sofa, and then sat down next to Natsuki.
"H-how DARE you? I wasn't looking at your b*...! I just managed to bump into them."
Sakura blushed as she sat across from Natsuki, making her worry. Natsuki shook her head.
"What?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, nothing," Natsuki said.
"Natsuki, talk to me," Sakura asked, standing up, and walking to the other side of the table, sitting down next to Natsuki again.
"I was just a little surprised by the way you looked at my breasts earlier. Sorry if I mistook your gaze for jealousy. I guess I'm just overworked," Natsuki said, blushing even more. "That fall earlier surprised me too. Did you hurt yourself during the recent fall? Sorry."
"No..I'm sorry. Honestly...I'm a bit jealous.", Sakura says with a shy smile.
Natsuki blushes, as she turns on the TV:
"Do you want to watch something special...?"
Sakura shakes her head in a no sign, and sits closer to Natsuki, and places her other hand on Natsuki's hand, when she sees that hand is on the floor.
"Why are you jealous of me?" Natsuki asked curiously, and then stood up, turning her full attention to Sakura.
"Well. You know. I'm really not as...curvy as you are," Sakura said, standing up.
"You shouldn't care, what people say. I stopped caring years ago, and look at me now," Natsuki said
"Heh heh!" Sakura laughed, and hugged Natsuki.
"What was that for?" Natsuki asked in surprise.
"Nothing. I just wanted to," Sakura said, calming down a bit.
Natsuki hugged Sakura back.
"What do you think about these disappearances?" Natsuki asked.
"They're worrying," Sakura said, looking into Natsuki's eyes, causing time to seem to stop around the girls again as they looked into each other's eyes.
The girls blushed as they looked into each other's eyes, and then their gazes moved to each other's lips, which now seemed irresistibly soft and alluring to them.
The girls began to approach each other's faces almost without noticing, like halves of a magnet, drawn closer to each other by their metallic attraction, without seeing anything around them, or thinking anything, while hugging each other more, and finally their lips were only a couple of centimeters apart...
Zhah! The sound of lightning outside broke the silence in the room.
"Yeeeeek!" Sakura screamed, startled by the sound of lightning, and hugged Natsuki tighter, knocking them both to their knees on the floor, as Sakura pressed her face against Natsuki's upper body.
"I don't think you like thunder," Natsuki said with an embarrassed look on her face.
Natsuki's suspicions were confirmed, when she saw Sakura trembling slightly. But Natsuki was surprised to feel Sakura sniffing Natsuki's neck lightly, which made Natsuki blush even more:
"I'm glad I'm wearing rose perfume."
"Why are you sniffing my perfume?" Natsuki asked, blushing a little more
When Sakura didn't sit up already, Natsuki got a little more nervous, so she shook Sakura lightly:
"Sakura, is that lightning still scaring you?"
Instead of answering, Sakura hugged Natsuki tighter than before, which surprised Natsuki.
"Sakura, what are you doing? The lightning has already stopped, so you don't have to be afraid of the sound of lightning."
Sakura continued to sniff Natsuki's neck.
"Could you calm down already, and sit back where you were sitting?" Natsuki asked.
"What are Ayako's friends like?" Natsuki asked, trying again to get Sakura to stop.
"Smells so good!" Sakura thought. She had smelled that scent right after she had hugged Natsuki after being scared by the sound of lightning.
"What on earth has gotten into Sakura?" Natsuki wondered.
"Ayako's three friends were okay, except for one. I really don't like her," Sakura finally said.
"How?" Natsuki asked.
"She really doesn't talk much," Sakura said.
"Maybe she's shy," Natsuki suggested.
"Right..." Sakura said.
"What kind of friend is that, and could you stop... whatever you're doing?" Natsuki asked, Sakura still sniffing the perfume Natsuki was wearing.
When Sakura didn't move, Natsuki began to lose patience:
"What are you doing?"
Sakura looked Natsuki in the eyes, placed one of her hands lightly on Natsuki's other cheek, as a result of which the girls began to approach each other's faces again almost without noticing...
"A girl named Makimura Atsuko recently went missing from Beika's class. She's about 16 years old. She went missing yesterday, and her parents filed a missing person report," The television said, and a picture of the missing girl was shown.
The missing girl's hair was short, and blonde. Her eyes were brown. She had fair skin. She was thin, and she was wearing a red, and white school uniform.
"Another girl has gone missing," Natsuki said, turning completely to the television, watching the television curiously at, what she had just heard.
Sakura also watched the television curiously, but still hugged Natsuki from behind, and rested her chin on Natsuki's left shoulder, continuing to sniff Natsuki's neck.
"Do you like my perfume that much? If you want, you can buy that perfume at the nearby Beauty Parfyme store," Natsuki said.
However, Sakura still hugged Natsuki, and wrapped both of her arms even tighter around Natsuki's upper body.
"Calm down now. Shouldn't you be drinking your tea already?" Natsuki asked, but now she was a little embarrassed by how much Sakura was hugging Natsuki.
Sakura hugged Natsuki more, and Natsuki blushed even more, when she felt Sakura's breasts pressing against Natsuki's upper back, and Natsuki began to feel disgustingly hot.
"I like hugging, but this is getting too much," Natsuki mused.
Sakura continued to sniff the perfume on Natsuki's neck, and Natsuki blushed even more.
"Sakura, try to calm down now," Natsuki finally said.
"I'm sorry," Sakura finally said.
Sakura reluctantly released her grip on Natsuki, backing away a little before Natsuki continued speaking.
"You're probably afraid of the storm, aren't you? I'm afraid of being alone," Natsuki hugged Sakura quickly, which caused Sakura to hug Natsuki back:
"So, what exactly is Ayako's quiet friend like?"
"Hinata," Sakura said, finally realizing that she was enjoying Natsuki's hug, so she hugged Natsuki back, closing her eyes, blushing. "What if I don't love Sasuke?"
"Really?" Natsuki asked.
"Yeah. Quiet as a mouse. And when he talks, it's hard to hear," Sakura said. "What if I do love Natsuki?"
"Hinata is my friend. She wouldn't do anything inappropriate," Natsuki said.
"I understand that," Sakura said, and then remembered, how she had felt jealous after seeing Natsuki talking to other girls, and some boys. And then Sakura had to admit the truth to herself after finally understanding it. "I...love Natsuki".
"What are Ayako's other friends like?" Natsuki asked.
Sakura was surprised, opened her eyes, and ended the hug, sitting on the floor like Natsuki:
"Ayako's other friends seem pretty nice."
Natsuki nodded, drank the tea, and then put the cup back on the table.
Natsuki glanced at the wall clock to see that it was already 10:00 PM:
"It's late. I'll get you a blanket. You don't mind if you sleep on the couch tonight, do you?"
When Natsuki didn't get an answer, she assumed that meant yes.
Then Natsuki got a blanket from her room, which she gave to Sakura like a pillow on top of the blanket.
"Is Sakura still in shock from the lightning strike we just heard?" Natsuki wondered, looking at Sakura.
Natsuki was surprised, when Sakura walked in front of Natsuki, and also wrapped both her arms around Natsuki, hugging her again:
"Don't break my ribs, though."
Natsuki hugged Sakura back.
Sakura hugged Natsuki more than before, and sniffed Natsuki's neck lightly at the same time.
"Why do you like my perfume so much?" Natsuki asked with an embarrassed look on her face.
"Your perfume smells good. I'll call my parents, and let them know I'm staying at a friend's house. I can sleep on the couch," Sakura said finally.
Natsuki became more embarrassed as Sakura continued to hug Natsuki:
"I hope he doesn't make a habit of this".
Zhah! Another flash of lightning flashed, and because of that Sakura hugged Natsuki more than before, and at the same time unknowingly pressed her face between Natsuki's breasts, which made Natsuki blush in embarrassment.
"Fortunately there's no school tomorrow, so I can sleep in for a long time", Natsuki thought with an embarrassed look on her face:
"I should go to bed already".
Natsuki tried to get Sakura to stop hugging Natsuki:
"Could you calm down already?"
Natsuki gently pushed Sakura away from her:
"Try to sleep now. Good night".
Natsuki went to her room, and closed the door, putting a chair under the door handle so she could sleep without being woken up unexpectedly. Then she went to bed after changing into a light blue top and gray micro shorts.
Natsuki settled down in her bed and quickly fell asleep.
Sakura lay on the couch, and fell asleep thinking about the things she had been thinking about today, blushing even more.
(Morning)
Natsuki woke up in the morning, and then went to the kitchen to make breakfast to see Sakura staring at Natsuki's pajamas in surprise:
"Morning."
"Morning", Sakura said finally.
After eating breakfast, the girls started talking about their new friendship.
"We never hung out before," Natsuki said. "But we have class together," Sakura said.
"You seem in a good mood. Did you have any good dreams last night?" Natsuki asked after seeing Sakura smile.
"Not really. I just had a little something to think about," Sakura finally said.
Natsuki herself hadn't had any dreams last night, and then started brushing her hair with her hairbrush on the living room table.
After brushing her hair, Natsuki noticed Sakura staring at Natsuki's hair, and breasts again, which made Natsuki blush a little embarrassed:
"Why is Sakura staring at me like that?"
"We haven't had time to spend time together because of our busy schedules," Natsuki said. "You're the student council president, and I'm the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, so we've been too busy to become friends before. Also, the Hinata you mentioned last night is a nice girl. She's just a little shy."
Natsuki put her hairbrush on the table, and then went to her room to get dressed. She came back a little while later wearing a white tank top, and a blue skirt that reached her knees. On her feet were white stockings.
Natsuki went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and her face, and then went back to the kitchen.
"Sakura, do you like my perfume, because you sniffed my perfume a lot yesterday?" Natsuki asked.
Sakura nodded, and to Natsuki's surprise, Sakura hugged Natsuki again.
"It's not lightning now, but is something wrong?" Natsuki asked while wrapping both her arms around Sakura, pulling Sakura into a hug.
Sakura shook her head:
"There's so much to say now, I wish I could stop time so I could say one thing to Natsuki."
Natsuki stroked Sakura's back lightly to calm her down a bit while Sakura rested her chin on Natsuki's right shoulder, pulling Natsuki closer to her.
"I forgot to ask you something yesterday. How is Ayako getting along with her parents? What did your parents say when you told them you were sleeping over at your friend's house?" Natsuki asked.
"Ayako is getting along well with her parents. My parents were just happy that I'm safe," Sakura said.
"Sakura, remember when I told you yesterday that I was afraid of loneliness. Well, it's because when I was in elementary school, I was part of a group of 4 spiritual friends. Then a girl was left out of the group. The leader of the group asked me not to talk to the girl who was left out of the group. However, I couldn't do it, so I left the group myself. It was because my parents had taught me, that you shouldn't bully others. The girl, who was left out of the group was grateful that I supported her. She is the Hyuga Hinata you mentioned yesterday. We have been friends ever since. Then everyone distanced themselves from the girl who had previously left Hinata out of the group. However, she apologized to Hinata before moving out of here. The third girl in the group was afraid that the group boss would make fun of the third girl in the group, who hadn't left the group of her own accord like I did, but still remained my friend after the group boss was moved away. Sakura, luckily that situation didn't end the same way as the one in the Alice19th book. In that situation, Alice was part of a group of 4 friends when she was in elementary school. Then one girl left the other girl out of the group and asked Alice not to talk to the girl who was left out of the group anymore. Alice felt sorry for the girl who was left out of the group, and she couldn't obey her group boss. So one day, Alice gathered her courage and said this to the other girls in the group:
"Let's stop this." The next day, Alice was left out of the group. She was called a hypocrite. Even the girl, who was left out earlier joined in bullying Alice. Alice didn't understand the situation at all, because she thought she had done the right thing. That's why Alice was traumatized, so she thought it was wiser to keep her mouth shut about her true feelings. She was just trying to protect herself that way. She only started expressing her feelings out loud later. Luckily, that didn't happen to me. However, I don't want to lose my friends. I think appreciating your friends is a great quality," Natsuki said.
"Because of what I just said, they started calling me Yuki no Hime, because I dare to stand up for myself even against what boys say. Now, I'll tell you something that I've kept from others. I've sometimes wondered if I'm in any way girly, even though I wear skirts at school. Sakura, do you think I'm pretty, because no boy has ever told me I'm pretty?" Natsuki asked Sakura.
"You're beautiful," Sakura said honestly.
"Thank you," Natsuki said with a smile.
"A really beautiful smile," Sakura thought, looking at Natsuki's smile:
"Please."
Natsuki's apartment had light yellow walls, a light brown floor, and a white ceiling. The bathroom floor was light green, and the walls were covered in light green tiles. The bathroom had a sink, a shower stall, and a bathtub, as well as a window on one wall that could be closed with white blinds. There were towels, shampoos, and soaps on the bathroom shelves, and a toilet seat. The living room had a black flat-screen TV on the wall, a brown sofa with a brown table in front of it. There was a white carpet on the living room floor, and a window on the right wall with light blue curtains that could be drawn in front of it. The kitchen had a dining table, a refrigerator, and a stove, as well as cupboards. The walls of Natsuki's room were light blue, and the window on the left wall had light purple curtains with white stars. There was a desk in the room with a chair in front of it. The room also had a closet with clothes. There was a light brown carpet on the floor, and brown slippers in front of the bed. The bed was in front of the wall on the right side of the room, and on it was a purple-blue blanket, a white sheet, and a white pillow. There was even a bookshelf in the room. The doors to Natsuki's apartment were light brown.
Natsuki finally stopped hugging, and turned on the TV, and then started watching the Blackpool Dance Competitions, starting to dance herself, imitating the dancers' movements:
"Sorry Sakura, but dancing is really beautiful to watch. It's also effective exercise. When I dance, I can imagine myself becoming a little more girly, and what it would be like to even wear a dress like that one day." In addition to the World and European Championships, there is also the annual Blackpool Dance Competition in England, which can be considered the main event of the sport, in addition to the above. The 8-day Blackpool Dance Festival is the world's first and most famous internationally significant annual dance competition, which has been held at the Empress Ballroom in Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England since 1920. It is also the largest ballroom competition: in 2013, 2,953 couples from 60 countries participated in the festival. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the festival has been held in May. It covers Ballroom and Latin American dance, American ballroom and includes The British Open Championships are held in the adult amateur and professional pairs and formation teams. Two new classes were introduced in 2005: the British Rising Star Amateur Ballroom and Latin Competitions. Two invitational events, the Professional Team Match and the Exhibition Competition, are attracting a lot of interest. The Junior Dance Festival, the Blackpool Sequence Dance Festival, which includes the British Sequence Championships, and the British National Dance Festival are also held annually in Blackpool. I would like to visit England myself one day to see the Blackpool dance competition. It would be beautiful to watch. Before my parents moved abroad for work, I used to dream of taking part in the Blackpool competition myself."
"What would it be like to participate in Blackpool one day?" Natsuki thought, trying to imagine wearing a purple, and white dress, white high heels on her feet, and her hair in a bun on top of her head, and makeup on her face, and dancing with a dark-haired man whose face couldn't be seen properly, when they were surrounded by other dancers in a large, famous ballroom in England.
"I'm not bragging, but I can also dance some Capoeira. I watch dance and martial arts on TV, and I imitate them while learning them, because you can never be too careful. Capoeira [kapueira] is a Brazilian self-defense and dance. A practitioner of the sport can be said to be dancing, fighting or playing capoeira. Capoeira was originally an underground movement of oppressed Brazilian slaves and their descendants. In the 20th century, it rose from a sport of the lower classes to a popular national pastime and culture of the whole of Brazil. It is now practiced and taught not only in Brazil but also in North America, Europe and elsewhere in the world. Capoeira is a multidimensional sport, and it is practiced to the rhythm of Afro-Brazilian music. It can see features of Afro-Brazilian popular culture, performing dance art, full-contact combat, contact improvisation and acrobatics. The Afro-Brazilian orchestra and complex traditions are inseparable from capoeira. Despite its versatility, capoeira also has elements that remain the same: a capoeira match always has two parties, and it is always performed according to the rhythm of the music. The soft movement language of capoeira is very powerful and personal. Although the order of movements in a capoeira match cannot be planned in advance, they are often still quite controlled. Etymology According to Nei Lopes, the root form of the word capoeira is the African kapwila, which in Finnish means spanking and ear-splitting. The word has meant the opposite of the words evildoer and predictable and synonymous with the words boastful, fearful and frightening. The different meanings of the word can be roughly divided into two main roots. The meanings derived from the Guarany dialect spoken by the majority of the indigenous peoples of Brazil refer to trees, leaves, forests and vegetation in general due to the connection of the words with the initials "caa", "co" and "ko". The meanings derived from the Portuguese language refer to a form of the word for rooster, a castrated rooster, a hen and a henhouse (port. o capão). However, apparently after about 1577 the word capoeira has begun to refer in general to the forms of struggle used by slaves and their practitioners. The name capoeira also refers to a bird found in Brazil, the spotted-winged wood quail (Odontophorus capueira). Males of the species behave aggressively towards each other. When threatened, the spotted-winged wood quail avoids flying and tries to hide in the undergrowth using its effective protective coloration.
History Early sources Many relics of Capoeira's past have survived. A rich oral tradition, such as stories, songs and poems, tells of the long and rich history of capoeira. A large amount of written source material has survived. Research into the history of capoeira is still ongoing, and much of the source material on slavery from the 16th to 19th centuries has yet to be read. Origin theories The origins of capoeira are still partly obscure, and there is ongoing debate about the African and Brazilian characteristics of the genre. Capoeira is believed to have emerged as a synthesis of the various fighting, dancing, ritual and musical styles of slaves brought to Brazil from different parts of Africa. The genre possibly originated in Salvador and Recôncavo in Bahia, and also developed in, for example, Recife and Rio de Janeiro, from where it later disappeared. Other theories have also been put forward about the origin of capoeira. History of origin according to current knowledge According to the most plausible theory, important factors influencing the emergence of capoeira were various martial arts, dances, battle dances and rituals from Africa, Europe and Latin America, which have mixed into a cultural synthesis over the centuries. When we combine a certain innate need for human beings to express themselves culturally, the blurred line between struggle, music and dance in African social culture, the popularity of battle dances in African culture and the rather harsh change in the living environment of West Africans, the end result is capoeira; a spontaneous but necessary form of human and cultural self-expression. Descriptions of capoeira from the first half of the 19th century are very similar to modern capoeira. It could therefore be said that capoeira has developed into its current form as a cultural synthesis approximately between 1800 and 1850. However, capoeira is not unique as a cultural synthesis, but similar sports, for example combining dance and fighting, are practiced in many countries where slaves were brought. source for more details? N'golo Different theories of origin suggest individual African dances and rituals as the roots of capoeira. According to one of the best-known theories, capoeira is related to the initiation ritual of the Mucupe tribe living in southern Angola (a ritual in which a girl transitions into adulthood) or efundula. According to the Brazilian historian lbano de Neves e Souza, what is the source of the theory? According to the Brazilian historian lbano de Neves e Souza, during efundula, young warriors danced n'golo, or the zebra dance. The boy who won the n'golo had the right to choose a wife without a dowry from among the girls participating in the initiation ritual. Over time, the bandits (muxilingues) of the Benguela region began to use the n'golo steps in their fighting. According to Neves e Souza's view, slaves captured from this tradition would have brought the key elements of capoeira with them to Brazil and capoeira would have descended directly from n'golo. However, Neves e Souza's theory is very flawed based on criticism of it and is not based on historical facts. Neves e Souza is even suspected of fabricating evidence".
"I didn't know you liked dancing," Sakura said, surprised.
"I'm even going to a dance school to learn to dance as a couple. Would you like me to teach you how to dance the waltz for the school's spring festival? So, can I have this dance?" Natsuki asked, extending her right hand to Sakura.
As Sakura grabbed Natsuki's right hand with her left hand, Natsuki placed Sakura's left hand on Natsuki's right shoulder, and then Natsuki grabbed Sakura's right hand with her left hand, and next Natsuki placed her right hand on Sakura's right hip, starting to dance with Sakura:
"You danced well, but don't look at your feet while dancing, but at your partner."
"In competitive dancing, the ideal is for the leader to be 10 cm taller than their partner. However, I grew faster than my former partner, when he, and I were still competing in dance, representing the dance school where I still take dance lessons. Because I grew faster than my partner, in the 5th grade of elementary school, people started laughing at my partner, and my dancing. It was incredibly embarrassing. We didn't win any more competitions, and our rankings kept getting worse, and worse. At first, my partner at the time was performing hard, and that didn't bother him, he said:
"Don't worry. We can make up for the height difference by dancing better." However, he sometimes complained to his friends about, why he didn't grow up faster. Then he refused to participate in a competition with me, because he believed, that we wouldn't win the competition, and that everyone would just laugh at us. He advised me to find a new dance partner, but I couldn't find a new dance partner right away, and I asked my previous partner to come to the competition venue, but he only arrived, as far as the stands at that competition venue. I was standing alone on a large dance floor. I felt fear and terror at that time. I wasn't able to dance properly for a while, but with the help of my friends I managed to find my dancing skills again. At that time, I made a promise with my former dance partner. Namely, a promise not to remind each other of the situation where I was alone on a large dance floor. We wanted to protect each other from the bad memories of being alone on the big dance floor (Taken from the Let's Dance a Waltz-manga. I do not own the rights to the manga.)", Natsuki said:
"The fact that I act tough is my way of protecting myself so, that I don't experience the same situation when dancing, as when I stood alone on the big dance floor. It's quite ridiculous, isn't it? But don't tell that side of me to the other students at our school, so that I don't lose my reputation as the Yuki no Hime of our school. Losing my reputation in the school world means becoming the subject of bad gossip. That's why I never write anything bad about other students at our school in our school newspaper. A good editor-in-chief has to be able to think about the feelings of his readers too."
The girls sat on the couch, and Natsuki turned off the TV.
"Sorry if I'm wrong to talk so much, but I don't often have classmates over. Maybe some of our classmates just think I'm boring," Natsuki said.
"I don't think you're boring at all," Sakura finally said.
"Thank you. Sakura, you may not remember, but we've been in the same class since middle school. Do you have a picture of Ayako, or do you know what the other missing girls looked like? I was just wondering if there was something in their appearance that would have led to their abduction," Natsuki said after thinking about the matter for a bit.
"I think you're beautiful, and it doesn't matter even though you just talked so much. And I remember, that we've been classmates since middle school," Sakura took a picture of Ayako out of her pocket. "Ayako looked like this."
Natsuki looked at Ayako's picture.
Ayako was a tall, thin girl with blonde hair. She was 16 years old. She had brown eyes, and fair skin, and was wearing a white blouse, and a blue skirt, and white socks, and black shoes.
"The girls, who disappeared have almost nothing in common in their appearances, but they all disappeared while they were alone. I walked Ayako home after, that math class I mentioned yesterday. She usually gets along well with her parents," Sakura said.
"So running away from home can be ruled out, but why did she look sad?" Natsuki asked.
"She was worried, that others wouldn't like, that new cheerleader cheer she had come up with," Sakura asked.
"Was that cheer complicated?" Natsuki asked.
"Not that I know of, but she was still worried about, that cheerleader cheer," Sakura said.
"Why was Ayako worried about it?" Natsuki asked.
"She was worried that others wouldn't think, that encouragement was good," Sakura said.
Natsuki nodded.
"I should go home already. See you later today," Sakura said, but then walked in front of Natsuki, and also wrapped both of her arms around Natsuki's upper body, pulling Natsuki close to her, hugging Natsuki.
Natsuki blushed a little in surprise, but then hugged Sakura back:
"See you later today."
"See you later," Sakura said, as she left Natsuki's house as Natsuki closed the front door of her house.
"Why have the girls disappeared?" Natsuki wondered, as she sat on the couch.
Natsuki was confused about the girls's disappearances.
Surprisingly, Natsuki imagined kissing Sakura's lips, and hugging Sakura, but her head ached as a result, which caused Natsuki to lightly touch her head with both hands.
"Not again! Whenever I'm alone at home, I think like that, and thinking like that started right after the recent solar eclipse, and that solar eclipse was green-rimmed, which is quite abnormal," Natsuki thought, and lay down on the couch to rest. Finally, she felt better.