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Chapter Text

Hidaka Saori loved social dancing since she was young. It all started when she was 5 years old and saw a ballroom dance competition on the TV. She pointed to the screen telling her parents “I want to do that too” and her parents soon enrolled her in the nearest dance academy. Saori was a bit of a clumsy girl but she managed to get the hang of the basics. She continued on dancing all the way to high school slowly getting better and better and finding herself enjoying it more and more. Soon enough, she found herself a first year high school student signing up to join the social dance club. She nervously clutched the registration form in her hand as she approached the hall used by the club. Standing anxiously by the entrance, she looked around, set at ease by the upperclassmen dancing around her. She scanned the room in awe of the technical strength of those senpais. Many of them danced with such grace and elegance that they seemed to be floating across the dance hall. One pair drew her attention in particular, a pair that seemed to stand out amongst the others. A tall girl with short black hair leading another girl who was just as tall with long pink hair. Saori recognized the couple as Miyake Aoi and Yano Hiiro. Those two were a renowned pair when they were in middle school. Saori still remembered how beautiful they looked in their middle school’s competition two years ago, one where Saori and her partner placed third.The purple haired girl would admit that she was envious that the pair looked so perfect and danced so well together. They stood out in the most stunning way, something that Saori herself never found she could do. She also envied the consistency the pair had. Throughout her time dancing, Saori never had a set partner, instead she found herself bouncing between partners and roles filling in as a follower and leader where necessary. It meant that she ended up having good dance fundamentals and a strong lower core since she needed to be flexible and adaptable to her revolving door of partners, but also meant that she could never quite settle in and feel truly comfortable in any particular role.

Saori was shaken from her thoughts when a loud “WOAH” came out from beside her.

“They are SO GORGEOUS” exclaimed an orange haired girl who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere beside her.

Saori jumped in surprise and the other girl shot her hands up to her mouth in slight embarrassment.

“Opps, sorry, did I scare you, I’m so sorry, but they look so beautiful, I WANNA DO THAT TOO!” The orange hair girl exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement causing her twintails to bounce along with her.

Seeing the two in the doorway of the dance hall, a third-year senpai approached the pair, “Hello, are you two first years? Are you looking to join the social dance club? I’m Kanie Jun and I’m the club president.”

Saori and the orange haired girl offered a respectful bow towards their senpai, after which the orange haired girl spoke first, “I’m Seto Rika, it’s nice to meet you senpai. I was just passing by and was TOTALLY pulled in by how beautiful everyone looked dancing. I love to dance too” she said while jumping in place and twirling her finger, “but I haven’t done this type of dancing before, I’ve only seen this on the TV.”

Kanie-senpai then turned to Saori, gesturing towards the paper she held shakily in her hands, “what about you then?” Kanie-senpai asked. “Seems like you have already filled in the paperwork to join?”

Saori quickly extended the paper she was nervously clutching in her hands, “y-yes, I have already filled out the club registration form.”

Kanie-senpai gently took the form out of Saori’s nervous hands and began looking over the form. “Hidaka Saori, do you have prior experience? You look familiar and the name too.”

“Uhmm… yeah, I have some experience. I’ve been dancing since I was like 5 or 6. I danced in a few competitions in middle school, but I never did super well. I would be surprised if you heard of me.”

“Tsukiko-sensei would probably know for sure. I don't keep track of the middle school scene as much since I started competitions here, but Sensei would know, she likes to keep track of the lower levels for any rising stars. Anyways, Hidaka-san, what role do you take?”

Saori paused for a moment, “actually, I don't really have a set role, I’ve spent a lot of my time switching back and forth between follower and leader… Mostly just filling in wherever people need me. I’ve bounced between a few partners as well.”

Kanie-senpai offered a thoughtful hmm. “And what about you Seto-san?” she asked, turning towards the orange haired girl, “are you interested in joining the club? We accept newcomers as well, anyone who is interested in social dance can join.” Kanie-senpai offered Rika a charismatic smile.

Rika jumped excitedly clapping her hands, “I would LOVE to join. I can’t wait to learn to dance” Rika concluded with a twirl in place.

Kanie-senpai chuckled to herself, “it’s nice to see some passionate newcomers. Wait here, I’ll get someone who can show you two around.” Kanie-senpai walked off and began speaking to a pair who then approached Rika and Saori. Introducing themselves and giving a brief tour of the club. 

After the tour, Saori and Rika thanked the senpais who guided them and departed from the dance hall. As they returned to the main wing of the school, Rika began to strike up a conversation.

“Hidaka-san, you know how to dance like that? That’s so awesome.”

“Thanks Seto-san, but I’m nowhere near as refined as some of the other senpais.”

“Really? I’d love to see you dance” Rika replied cheerfully.

“I don't know if my dancing is really all that. Plus I need to find a partner, but with the amount of experience I have compared to the other first years… I’m not sure how easy it will be for me to partner up” Saori replied dejectedly.

Hearing this, Rika perked up, “OH! I have an idea, why don't you partner with ME? I may be new, but I learn REAL fast. I can catch up to speed in no time.”

Saori paused and thought about it for a moment. It wouldn't be the worst thing to have a dedicated partner, but she did have some concerns, “let me think about it” she replied, “it’s not the worst idea, and it would be nice to have a stable partner for once…” Saori trialed off.

“Then how about we talk to Tsukiko-sensei and Kanie-senpai about it. Senpai gave me a club registration form to fill out. I’ll do it tonight!” Rika pointed to her backpack where she placed the form. “Come on Hidaka-san, what do you say? I think it’ll be super mega fun.”

“Sorry Seto-san, but I’m just not quite sure yet. If I’m going to pick a consistent dance partner, I want to take my time and choose. There’s a lot to consider in a partner dynamic, there’s your on stage chemistry which can involve physical synergy, like how tall you are compared to your partner. There’s also things like how aesthetically the pair looks which goes into some more intangibles like the vibes between partners. And that’s not even getting started on HOW you dance together whether or not you and your partner can be in sync and understand each other’s movements. But I guess developing those skills takes time and lots of work and…” Saori paused realising she had been unintentionally monologuing, “sorry Seto-san, I know a lot about dance, I’ve been doing this since I was young and I have loved it for so long. Sorry if I bore you.” Saori looked down in shame.

However, Rika’s eyes sparkled with delight, she placed her hands on Saori’s face and tilted her head upwards so their eyes met, “I love that you are so passionate about dance, just hearing you talk about it makes me convinced that we should be partners.”

Rika jumped and did a twirl in front of Saori, extending her hand to the purple haired girl, “why don’t you give it a try? What’s the worst that could happen?”

Saori smiled and extended her hand to meet Rika’s. She gently pulled the energetic girl towards her, reaching out and grabbing her other free hand, “fine, I guess we can be partners. We can talk to Tsukiko-sensei and Kanie-senpai about it. There’s a lot to figure out though after you get up to speed, maybe they can help us.” Saori stared into Rika’s golden eyes which sparkled back at her with pure joy. 

“I hope we can make this work.” Saori said quietly to herself.

Rika tilted her head forwards until their foreheads touched, “I’m sure we will do wonderful things together.” Rika whispered back.

Breaking from their embrace, Rika energetically pulled out her phone, “oh, and we should add each other on line so that we can keep in touch.”

Saori pulled out her phone too, “yes that would be a good idea if we want to be partners and all.”

“Speaking of partners, you should call me Rika!”

“Ok Rika” Saori replied hesitantly, “you can call me Saori then.”

After the pair exchanged line IDs, they made their way to the front entrance of the school. “Well, I will see you tomorrow then Saori, have a good day!” Rika cheered and waved excitedly at her new dance partner as she turned and headed home.

Saori waved back and returned her goodbye. Standing at the front steps of the school, Saori pondered what she had gotten herself into by agreeing to partner with the seemingly boundlessly energetic Rika. Saori wondered if she could keep up with the energy of her partner, but it seemed like a better alternative than bouncing around with different partners for another three years. Saori hefted up her backpack and began heading home too.

The next day Saori and Rika approached Kaine-senpai about wanting to partner up. After some consideration, the club leader decided it might work, though given the discrepancy in skill, Kaine-senpai suggested that Saori take the leader role as she had more experience and would be able to guide Rika. Their first actual club session mostly consisted of orientation for all the incoming first years. Showing them the location of the dance and practice halls, as well as giving them a breakdown of the major events their club took part in.

“You may already know this, but in case you don’t, there are four major dance competitions that take place throughout the year.” Kaine-senpai spoke in front of the crowd of first years, “the first is the White Heron Cup which takes place in June. It gives the newer members just enough time to get a handle of the basics. The second is the Autumn Festival which takes place in September. Then there’s the Snow Ball which takes place in December, and to finish the year off, we have the famous Quadrille which happens in March.” 

Saori nodded her head, she was quite familiar with these competitions, spending a great deal of time watching the Quadrille especially which marked the highlight of the school. The Quadrille was the school’s main attraction and a reason why it was so well known for its social dance club and program. Many students who won and had great success in the Quadrille went on to become famous dancers beyond high school with many choosing to pursue professional careers in ballroom dancing. 

“Many of you may be familiar with the Quadrille,” Kaine-senpai continued, “each of the three competitions prior act as qualifiers to the Quadrille. The top pairs selected from each competition are invited to partake in the Quadrille. The White Heron Cup and the Quadrille are closed competitions, only those from our school will partake in the White Heron Cup and the Quadrille is through qualifications. However the other two events are open competitions, so you may see others perform from different schools nearby. Though for us, all 3 events are effectively open as any student from our school may join.” Kaine-senpai paused and glanced towards Tsukiko-sensei to see if she missed anything. Sensei gave her a nod and the club leader continued her explanation, “if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of the upperclassmen or Tsukiko-sensei. If it’s regarding the Quadrille qualifications, it would be better to talk to Tsukiko-senpai or myself directly. With that, I will let you all get to practice. Best of luck!” Kaine-senpai ended with a charismatic smile before dismissing the group of first-years. 

This information was not new to Saori, she enrolled in this school knowing full well the schedule of dance competitions. Part of the reason why she enrolled here in the first place was so that she could participate in these competitions. While she was hesitant at first, joining without a partner, her desire to dance and encouragement from her parents spurred her to applying. After Kaine-senpai’s explanation, Saori looked around to see what she should do next. The first years had begun to disperse into groups with the experienced members with their partners joining some of the upper years in practice while the beginners went to a separate part of the hall where they would be taught the basics. While Saori was a more experienced dancer, her partner, Rika, was most definitely not so the purple haired girl was a bit unsure of whether she should join her partner with the beginners or practice her steps by herself a bit until Rika was done with the introduction. Speaking of her partner, Saori spotted the orange pigtails of her partner. She seemed to be talking to a girl with dark brown hair and a side ponytail, a girl Saori did not immediately recognize but soon placed as Mizushima-san, one of her classmates. Saori had heard a bit about Mizushima-san and her partner, Matsuyama-san. They started dancing together in middle school and both were pretty talented. They weren’t high caliber dancers, but they showed quite a bit of promise. Rika, noticing Saori looking her way, turned from Mizushima-san and enthusiastically waved over her leader. Saori made her way hesitantly towards Rika.

“Wow, I didn’t know there were so many festivals and dance competitions here. Listening to Kaine-senpai talk about them got me all hyped up!” Rika exclaimed jumping up and down, “Saori, we HAVE TO win one!”

Saori heard Mizushima-san stifle a chuckle while the purple haired girl shook her head gently, “it’s not that easy Rika, there are a lot of REALLY talented pairs, especially for a beginner like you, it might be hard to learn the technique to compete with some of the others who have been doing this for years."

“It’s ok Saori, with you as my leader I’m sure we can make it out as a top pair. Never underestimate the power of Seto Rika!” her follower replied.

Mizushima-san then turned towards Saori, “it’s nice to see you here Hidaka-san.”

“Likewise, where’s Matsuyama-san?” Saori asked, looking around for Mizushima-san’s partner.

“Oh, Dalia?” Mizushima-san returned, “she went off ahead and Rika-chan wanted to talk to me a bit.”

“I didn’t realise you two knew each other.”

Mizushima-san giggled, “we don't, Rika-chan introduced me to herself during the entrance ceremony, ever since then we’ve grown quite close. Anyways, I need to go practice with Dalia. Good luck, you two” Mizushima-san waved as she turned towards the practice hall to reunite with her partner for dance practice.

“Well then” Rika piped up, “shall we go practice too?”

“You need to learn the basics first don't you?” Saori inquired.

“I guess so, but are you going to come with me? You said you’ve danced since you were young so you probably already know all the basics.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about what to do. It’s hard to practice alone, though I’ve done that before, but it also probably wouldn’t be that helpful to do the beginner lessons” Saori mused.

Undetected by the pair, Kaine-senpai approached, having overheard their conversation. “I think it might be worth it if you accompany Seto-san to learn the steps, Hidaka-san.” Kaine-senpai offered, “sorry for intruding but I couldn’t help but overhear your concerns. I think it might be good if you are there to help Seto-san learn the steps, it will also help you build synergy as a pair, which is vital if you are going to do well in competition. Also who knows, with such an experienced leader, Seto-san is bound to pick up the steps much quicker. Just a suggestion though. I understand if you would rather practice a bit by yourself, Hidaka-san, until Seto-san has the basics down.”

Saori offered a thoughtful hmm, “maybe you’re right Kaine-senpai, it might help Rika if I was with her through learning the steps. And yeah, I guess it would help us build synergy as partners… Alright Rika, I’ll go with you to learn the basics.”

Rika cheered, “YAY, Saori, I WON’T let you down. I’ll have the basics down in no time.”

Kaine-senpai smiled and waved the two off, “good luck you two, can’t wait to see what you two can do.”

With Kaine-senpai’s dismissal, the pair offered a slight bow as they headed over to the beginners section so that Rika could learn the basics of ballroom dance. Accompanied by Saori as her leader, Rika held true to her word and learned the basic steps at a surprisingly fast pace, even garnering attention from Tsukiko-sensei who praised Rika for her quick ability to learn the steps and how quickly she was able to surpass the levels of her other beginning level peers. Soon enough, Saori and Rika were practicing amongst the more experienced members with Rika having fast tracked her learning with much the help of Saori who had experience being both a leader and a follower, she was able to provide useful pointers to Rika and get her to learn at an even more accelerated pace.

Chapter Text

In the blink of an eye, the White Heron Cup was on the horizon, the first of the three qualifiers to the Quadrille, and the club was a hub of activity. Pairs practicing relentlessly in hopes of a good showing. One that would impress the audiences and judges and hopefully earn them a spot to dance in the Quadrille. Saori and Rika were no exception, practicing their steps with great fervour and energy. Since Rika took some time to learn ballroom dancing from nothing, it took the pair a bit longer than others to get properly into the swing of things. However, once they did, the two found themselves in a natural groove and found themselves improving at a much faster pace than their peers. Throughout their countless hours dancing and being around each other, Saori realised just how passionate and outgoing of a person Rika was. It sometimes made her feel like Rika was the leader in their partnership despite the fact that Saori was meant to be the actual “leader”, Saori at times felt like she could barely keep up and was just being strung along. Rika’s boundless energy amazed Saori and yet the purple-haired girl was glad things were this way. It meant that Rika was always willing to practice another round and always had that drive to improve and get better. Rika was always willing to do another rep with Saori if the latter girl felt uncertain or unconfident with their moves, which Saori often was. Something that Saori was not quite used to, given her previous partners who would often just reassure her they would be fine if Saori wavered in confidence. Saori felt at ease that Rika was always willing to go another round to make sure Saori was comfortable and confident in their steps.

As the competition neared, the pair then found themselves pouring over their choreography, planning what special moves they would incorporate and plotting how they would like to move and show off on the ballroom dance floor. Saori remembered when she first mentioned to Rika that they would have to plan their choreography for the White Heron Cup.

“Hey Rika” Saori tapped her partner on the shoulder as they were about to leave school, “we should talk about what we’re going to do for the White Heron Cup.”

“Hm?” Rika turned around and gave Saori a confused look, “what do you mean? Don’t we just like, dance? What do you mean, plan ?”

Saori sighed and facepalmed, “right, I forgot you haven’t done any competitions like this before. Basically competitions are a chance to show the peak of what we can do. If we want to qualify for the Quadrille, then we need to do something beyond just dancing normally. We need to plan outfits, how we want to dance, if we want to incorporate any special moves, and in general have an idea for how we want to show off to the judges.”

Rika offered a thoughtful hmmm, “I see… normally I just like to go with the flow, but if you want to plan something, then let's do that!”

Now it was Saori’s turn to stop and think, “well first things, do you have a dress that you can wear to a competition? Probably not if you’ve never danced before.” Saori looked Rika up and down quickly, “I think we are about the same size, my mom might have something that will fit you. Do you have time to come over to my place today and we can see if we can figure some of these things out?” As soon as Saori asked, she felt a pang of anxiety, very rarely was she the one actively inviting others to her home. She was usually too nervous to ask. Immediately she tried to remember how messy her room was, did she clean? Did she leave her books lying around? Would Rika even WANT to spend time with her? Saori stopped in her tracks, her mind filled with self-doubt when Rika’s excitement pulled her from her spiral.

“COULD I??? That sounds so hype” Rika paused, “of course only if that would be ok with your parents.”

Saori reached for her phone to message her mother, “let me double check with my mom, it should be fine I hope. She’s also been eager to meet my new partner, so this is probably as good a time as any.”

Rika jumped in excitement, “great, I can’t wait. Let’s plan the best routine ever so we can dance at the Quadrille!”

Saori shook her head gently, wondering to herself where Rika found such limitless energy and bouncyness. Seeing her mom give the OK for Rika to come over, Saori took Rika back to her house where she introduced her new follower to her mother.

“Mom, this is my dance partner Rika, she’s the one who’s my follower.”

Saori’s mom smiled warmly at Rika, “Rika-chan, it’s nice to meet you. Saori-chan told me she got a partner but never told me too much about you. She mentioned this is your first time ballroom dancing?”

Rika smiled politely in return, “it’s lovely to meet you too Hidaka-san, yeah, I just started learning ballroom dancing from Saori and the other club senpais. They’ve all been SUPER helpful in teaching me.”

Saori’s mom chuckled, “you are in good hands dear, Saori also mentioned that you are looking for a dress for your upcoming competition? Hmm…” Saori’s mom looked Rika up and down, “I think I have just the dress that would suit you, let me get it and you can try it on.”

“I’d love that! Thank you so much.”

Saori’s mom turned and walked down the hall. Saori gestured just down the hallway towards her room, “do you want to come to my room? We can talk about our plan for the White Heron Cup while mom finds the dress.”

“Sure, sounds like a plan,” Rika replied.

Saori led Rika into her room where they sat down and began planning how they wanted to dance for the White Heron Cup.

“I know you’re new at this, so let me break down the basics” Saori began, “the most important thing is deciding how we want to dance. The biggest thing my instructors have told me was ‘what do you want to convey with your dance?’ It's important that we figure out what emotions and messages we want to convey to the judges and audience and make sure we can express that properly.”

Rika nodded thoughtfully as Saori continued, “the White Heron Cup, being the first one, will evaluate us on the Waltz. It’s a relatively simple dance on the surface, but still quite technical and takes some time to master. It also helps the first year beginners like you since it’s one of the first steps you learn due to its relative simplicity. That said, we need to figure out how we want to dance and how much we can do at our skill level. We’re pretty good for a beginner pair, but we still are way far away from the second and third year senpais. So in this one, we may not stand a chance, but I’d still like to give it a try, I guess… It’s good practice at the end of the day.”

Rika placed a hand on Saori’s shoulder, “don’t worry about that Saori, sure we may not have as much experience as some of the other pairs, but that doesn’t mean we can do as well or if not better! Sometimes you just have to trust things and go with the flow.”

“I guess you’re right, I shouldn’t admit defeat before we’ve even started but still, competitions are a bit overwhelming. Either way we need to figure out what we want to convey through our dancing. Do you have any thoughts? I remember one of my first instructors asking me what I felt when I danced. That's probably the easiest starting point.”

“Hmmm… What do I feel when I’m dancing?” Rika echoed, “well I haven’t danced much, but when I dance it feels very freeing, I feel like I’m full of joy and energy. Especially when I’m dancing with you, Saori, it feels so comfortable, like it’s just you and me and nobody else in the world and we just get to enjoy the moment.”

Saori blushed slightly at Rika’s comments, “hmm… the feelings of enjoying the moment might be good to go with. Especially if we can make our dancing seem more relaxed and natural that might help with the stress of competition.”

“Do you get nervous for competitions?” Rika asked.

“Yeah, I do have a bit of a habit of becoming quite nervous,” Saori admitted in defeat, “it’s been a bit of a problem where I get really nervous before competitions.”

Rika clasped Saori’s hands, “well you never have to worry about that ever again because I am your partner, and I will support you no matter what. I’ll make sure you are NEVER nervous before a competition” Rika's smile beamed in Saori’s face.

Saori dropped her hands and offered a gentle smile back, “thanks Rika, I appreciate it.”

The pair was interrupted by a knock on the door, Saori’s mom poked her head into the room, “I found a few dresses that might fit, would you two like to take a look?”

Rika turned her head and gave an excited look to Saori, “sure mom, maybe we can get some more inspiration on how we want to dance from that.”

The pair got up and followed Saori’s mom across the hall to the family’s spare bedroom which currently acted as the storage closet for Saori’s ballroom dancing outfits. A fair collection of different types of dresses and suits. The room used to have more dresses and suits from Saori’s younger days of dancing, but the family recently went through the closet and sold or donated the clothes she had grown out of, however that did mean the room was still somewhat messy as they had yet to fully go through and organize everything else. Saori’s mom guided the pair towards a rack of various dresses of different lengths and varying shades ranging from pure white to dark navy. She removed two dresses from the rack, one was a light blue cocktail dress  with translucent poofy sleeves that went just below the elbows and an asymmetrical skirt.

“This one might be easier to move in since it’s not as long,” Saori’s mom explained, “especially with this being your first competition, I picked out something that would be a bit more comfortable and flowing. Saori has some other dresses that are a bit tighter and stiffer which are meant for more formal and rigid competitions where the dress code asks for something more formal.”

Rika’s eyes were wide in astonishment, “wow Hidaka-san, you know so much about dance dresses, that’s so awesome.”

Saori’s mom smiled, “thank you, and please, no need to be so formal, please just call me Yukiko. I’ve been helping Saori with her outfits since she started, she’s been my little dress-up doll for so long.” Saori’s mom giggled to herself.

“MOM, you’re embarrassing me,” Saori whined.

“Alright, alright” Yukiko continued, “here’s another option.” She grabbed another dress from the rack, this time a white peach mermaid dress that hovered just barely off the floor with orange bead adornments creating a floral pattern around the chest. “This one is sleeveless with an open back, so while the skirt is longer, it breathes a bit better.” Yukiko turned the dress around to show the pair the open-back design of the dress. “There are ribbons with this one too, so your arms aren’t completely bare.” Yukiko described, as she showed the pair two long ribbons that matched the colour of the dress.

“These would tie around your wrists and the ribbons kind of dance around alongside us” Saori described to a slightly confused Rika.

Rika offered a fascinated “oooo” in return.

“So which one do you want to go with?” Saori’s mom asked the pair.

Saori closed her eyes and thought carefully, “well the first one is good if we want to go with a more dream-like theme. The sky-blue colour gives off a relaxing vibe and with it being a slightly higher asymmetrical skirt cut, you shouldn’t be at risk of tripping. I know with some longer skirts, especially ball gowns and longer mermaid skirts, there’s a risk of tripping while dancing. But most of the time, if it’s too long, they’ll hem the skirt to make it a bit shorter.” Saori paused briefly, “I do like the second dress too, the lighter colour is more relaxing with the orange making it brighter than the other dress and the longer skirt makes it look more elegant which might be a better fit…” Saori trailed off, “but I guess ultimately the decision is up to you Rika” she turned towards her follower, “you’re the one who’s going to be wearing this, is there one you like more?”

Saori turned towards Rika whose eyes were almost sparkling, fixated on the dress Yukiko held in her right hand. 

“That dress is SO GORGEOUS” Rika exclaimed, “you called it a mermaid dress?” 

Yukiko and Saori nodded in unison.

“It’s PERFECT. I love it so much, I think it would be perfect, don’t you think Saori? Mermaids are so beautiful and majestic.”

Saori nodded slowly and thoughtfully, “well, if you like it, then why not I guess. I think I have a suit that would pair well with that, right Mom?”

Yukiko smiled knowingly, “I think I know what you’re talking about Saori. We can look through and try to find it later. First though, Rika, we should have you try the dress on first, see if we need to make any adjustments.”

“YIPPEE” Rika cheered out, “Thanks, Yukiko-san.”

“Thanks Mom,” Saori echoed.

“Then let’s have you try it on Rika-chan. It can be a bit tricky and we’ll need to check the fit, so I can help you if that’s ok with you?”

“I would be so grateful if you did Yukiko-san. Thanks again for letting me borrow this dress!”

Yukiko chuckled, “I’m glad, I’m also glad that my little Saori-chan has found such a lovely partner. You two will do great, I know it.”

“Thanks mom” Saori returned, “I’ll go back to my room and do a bit more brainstorming for our routine while you try it on.”

“Good idea dear,” Saori’s mom replied, “I’ll come get you when we’re done so you can take a look too.”

“Sounds good Mom.”

Saori turned and retreated back to her own room, she sighed and sat down at her desk. Grabbing out her notebook where she did most of her brainstorming for choreography, she began flipping through the pages for inspiration. She kept a notebook of what she did and the ideas she and her partners came up with for most of her past competitions. It acted as a good way to write down what she wanted to do and draft ideas with her partner. It also, in more recent times, acted as inspiration where she could go back to what she did in previous competitions and build on those ideas. It was a nice journal she kept for inspiration and a trip down memory lane. She began scribbling some ideas and moves down that she might want to try with Rika for the White Heron Cup, eventually falling into a good rhythm. Saori thought about the best way to show off Rika, as the leader, the responsibility fell upon Saori to show off her follower in the best way possible. As she thought about it, Saori realised just how fit Rika was, like seriously that girl didn't look like it at first glance, but she had quite the strong legs and core. Saori gently shook her head, now was not the time to be thinking about how fit and attractive Rika was, she turned her focus back to her notebook and continued jotting down ideas, imagining dance moves that she and Rika could perform for the upcoming competition. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of her door opening, Saori looked up and saw her mother gesturing towards the other room.

“We’re ready, if you would like to take a look” Saori’s mom beckoned her daughter.

Saori got up and followed her mom back to the dress room where Rika was standing proudly in the middle of the room wearing the white peach mermaid dress. The orange gems around the neckline sparkled to match the bright orange of Rika’s hair. Saori stood in admiration of just how beautiful her partner looked in that dress.

“The sizing is almost perfect, but there are a few small adjustments we need to make,” Saori’s mom mused, “the dress may be a tad long, so I’ll hem the skirt a bit and adjust the ribbons too.”

Rika swished her arms showing how the ribbons just barely touched the floor.

“With a slight heel it may not be that bad, but I think it would be better if it was a bit shorter, just in case.” Saori’s mom continued, “we’ll also have to make some adjustments to the chest area, it's just barely too small for Rika-chan, but it won’t take too much to adjust it.”

Saori looked down at herself, suddenly feeling self-conscious and perhaps a bit inadequate.

“Thank you so much Yukiko-san.” Rika piped up, “so what do you think, Saori? How do I look?” Rika gave a quick twirl as she asked.

“You look really good,” Saori returned.

Saori’s mom gestured towards a suit that was lying on the bed, “I think I found the suit you were thinking of, am I right? I think this would pair well with the dress.”

Saori turned towards the suit. It was a simple white collared shirt with golden studs at the tip of the collar alongside it was a pair of sleek black dress pants, Saori had also noticed her mom picked out a dark purple tie to go along with it.

“Yeah, that’s the one I was thinking of. I think this alongside some of my hair accessories would compliment the dress.” Saori responded.

Rika beamed excitedly, “I’m so excited now, we are gonna look SO GOOD, and we’ll show everyone how great we are at dancing.”

“Let me help you get changed out of that dear, and you two can go back to planning,” Saori’s mom offered.

The pair thanked Yukiko-san for her help and after Rika was finished changing back into her normal clothes, Saori took the orange haired girl back to her room and showed her the notes. She went over the ideas she had and gave Rika a breakdown of the different moves and styles she wanted the pair to try for their first competition. Rika followed along mostly agreeing with Saori’s ideas and occasionally coming in with her own unique ideas on how to spice things up a little. After a while, the pair leaned back, satisfied with their preparations, now all that was left for them to do was practice their steps and prepare as best they could for their first competition together. Part of Saori wondered if they would be able to qualify for the Quadrielle off the White Heron Cup. Maybe it was wishful thinking on her part, but there was a small corner of optimism in her heart, no doubt planted there by her ever optimistic partner. Rika always had more than enough energy for the both of them and always helped Saori through the rough spots of practicing. All they could do was practice and pray for the best.