"ERI!! get up!! this is your 4th time tripping!!", the dance instructor yelled.

eri was on the brink of tears. her stubby legs were not fit to dance elegantly, or dance at all. she wobbled back up, seeing the other girls whisper about her.

"s-sorry", eri meekly apologized.

"from the top!!", the instructor called out.

eri quickly got back to her spot, behind the other girls, who were slightly older. listening to the music, eri tried to balance her weight, but ended up tripping again.

"haha!! look at how clumsy she is!! too bad yua-san's wasting her time and effort on such a uncoordinated girl", one of the older girls laughed.

the others chuckled along, making eri feel even more self-conscious. she knew she was bad at dancing, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't help but fall.

"are you saying that I'm incapable of teaching??", a voice suddenly asked, making the little girls and dance instructor turn around.

"y-yua-san!! not at all!! I was just saying that perhaps you should take a more capable disciple", the girl said.

"eri, come here", yua commanded, to which eri got up and grabbed yua's hand.

"who I choose is none of your concern. also, work on your arms. they're flailing around too much", yua said as she left with eri.

"y-yua-san...".

"hm?"

"d-don't I need to go back to dance class?", eri asked, worried that yua was mad.

"no. from now on, I'll be teaching you everything", yua said, bringing eri to a private room.

"we'll start with the shamisen", yua said, taking the three-stringed instrument out from the big drawer.

this shamisen was a bit smaller to fit eri's hands. yua placed the instrument in eri's arms, teaching her how to hold it.

"this is a bachi. strum the strings vertically and I'll slowly teach you all the positions", yua instructed.

eri observed as yua played a short tune for her to hear. even her playing was enchanting.

"let's learn the basic notes", yua said, placing the shamisen back in eri's tiny arms.

eri tried to strum a c chord. practicing all the chords that yua had taught her.

suddenly, a knock was heard.

"come in", yua called out.

"yua-san, it seems that chisaki-sama and the rest are here", a maiko informed.

"thank you. you may go prepare", yua said. the maiko bowed and left, leaving eri alone with yua again.

"bring the shamisen. let's show chisaki-sama what you learned today", yua smiled.

eri nodded as she stood up, following yua. yua already had her makeup and hair done, as it was required for geishas to always be ready for the unexpected.

"welcome back, chisaki-sama", yua greeted. eri stood slightly behind yua, also bowing.

yua walked in, with eri carrying the shamisen and trotting behind. eri sat next to kurono while watching yua go up on the little stage in the room.

the maiko from earlier started playing, eliciting a free feeling in eri's little heart. she listened while focusing al her attention on her mentor.

yua's performance fascinated eri. it brought out a side of her that she didn't get to see often. usually when together, yua was very warm and friendly.

but when dancing, eri felt distant from her, despite only being a few feet away. it was like yua was a porcelain doll, delicate and docile.

claps were heard as yua ended her performance. bowing, she sat in between chisaki and eri, who was still next to kurono.

"did you enjoy it?", yua asked eri.

"yes. thank you for the show", eri mumbled. she was beginning to open up to yua more, talking a bit more.

"why don't you show them what you learned today", yua smiled, urging the young girl to play.

eri gripped the shamisen tightly, worried that she'd embarrass herself in front of everyone. yua just patted eri's back, encouraging her.

eri breathed in and out, relaxing her muscles. a little something yua taught her recently.

eri held the shamisen like how yua had taught her. strumming the chords, yua smiled. she lightly clapped as the rest of the men clapped along with her.

"good job", yua complimented, making eri smile.

she looked over at chisaki. "not bad".

eri felt a bit accomplished, as she finally did something right for once. she put the shamisen down, as yua instructed her to.

"come play the game with us", yua said, while the maiko started strumming the shamisen.

"it's called the tiger, the samurai, and the mother. it's like rock-paper-scissors. samurai over the tiger, tiger over the samurai's mother, and the mother over the samurai", yua quickly explained.

eri nodded as she first watched yua and nemoto. the maiko sang as they prepared their positions.

"in a large bamboo grove, believe me and take a look~ with a golden headband and rolled up sleeves...", the maiko continued singing while yua went down in a crawling position, like a tiger.

nemoto acted like the mother and pretended he had a cane. everyone laughed as yua won this round.

"come take my place", yua said, signaling for eri to join. eri reluctantly walked over, waiting for the strumming to start again.

this time, both the maiko and yua sang, with yua clapping along. cheers were heard as eri was the mother and nemoto was the samurai. thus, eri's victory.

everyone took turns, with eri having the highest win. at one point, eri had so much fun that she started to openly laugh, making yua smile.

"you don't want to join?", yua asked chisaki, taking a seat next to the male.

"I'm not into such childish games", chisaki replied, watching eri and the rest of his henchmen have at it.

yua lightly chuckled. "how boring", she teased.

chisaki raised a brow. he sighed and leaned a bit closer, whispering in yua's ear.

"thanks".

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価値がある
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