1Hi, guys. Sorry for the long delay, but I was focusing on other stories and I was struggling how to end this story. Along the way, I had an idea and changed how the final chapter went. Hope you guys like it.
Disclaimer: Do not own Blue Exorcist or any of the songs used in this chapter. They all belong to their respective owners. I'm just using them for your entertainment.
"Any way the wind blows."
The five performers bowed their heads to signify the end of the song. But no applause was there to greet them. Instead, they looked out to an almost empty auditorium. Sweat dotted their brows and they breathed heavily to get air back into their lungs after singing and dancing nonstop for almost eight minutes.
In the front row of the auditorium, the judges jotted things down on their clipboards. There was not a trace of emotion on their faces, only heightening the performers' anxiety.
"Thank you, gentlemen," the head judge, Mr. Tsubaki, said. "Please wait out in the hall with everyone else. We will announce the results once we get through all the acts. Next!"
The group cleared the stage to make room for the next prospective act and went out into the hall. The energy between them was optimistic as they exchanged high fives and bro hugs, but there was still a sense that maybe they didn't perform well enough to get in.
"Aw, crap. I think I messed up on that high note," Shima grimaced.
"No, you hit it just fine, Shima," Konekomaru assured him. "I was the one who messed up. I was so nervous that my throat thinned and I couldn't hit the falsetto well enough."
"If you're nervous now, I can't imagine how you'll be if we do the show," Suguro glared at him. "We can't have you chicken out on us again, Konekomaru. I still haven't forgiven you for when the three of us were going to perform in the street to earn money for the temple."
"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry, Bon?" Konekomaru replied defensively.
"You were so paralyzed by stage fright that we couldn't do it!"
"I was ten! I had never done anything like that before."
Shima wisely stayed out of this and drifted over to the Okumura twins.
"Think we did well enough to get in?" he asked.
Yukio shrugged. "Hopefully we did."
"Of course we did!" Rin beamed brightly. "We kicked so much ass that they can't not let us in."
"Don't be so overconfident, Rin," Yukio warned.
After half an hour, all of the acts had finally gone. Now, everyone sat nervously in their seats as they anxiously awaited the results. Despite their earlier hesitation, Rin and the others felt a bit better about their chances.
It took fifteen to twenty minutes for the judges to deliberate on who got into the show. Mr. Tsubaki stepped onto the stage to make the announcement.
"First off, I want to thank you all for auditioning today," he said. "I am so happy to see how talented many of our students are. It is most unfortunate that we have to cut some acts out, but we only have room for six. Some of you will be going home."
Tsubaki then pulled out a clipboard to read off of.
"If your act is called, you will be performing in the show tomorrow," he said before looking down to read.
Rin's hand clenched into a fist as Tsubaki read through three different acts. Now he was starting to get nervous. Maybe they didn't do as well as he thought they did. His big chance to impress Shiemi looked like it was going to pass him by.
"Kobayashi and his ventriloquist act," Tsubaki said.
Rin's fist shook.
"The group of Sukizo, Minato, and Matsuzaki."
His face scrunched in tension. He held his breath and prayed silently to any deity that would listen to let them be the last act in.
"And finally, the group of Okumura, Okumura, Shima, Suguro, and Miwa," Tsubaki announced after he had read through five names. "That is who will be performing tomorrow. The rest of you, thank you for auditioning."
The five of them finally let go of the breath they had been holding this whole time. They had made the cut. By all means, they should be celebrating this achievement, but they kept their excitement contained as they got out of the auditorium.
The group of five walked silently down the hall to the music room with straight faces. Once they entered the room and closed the door, they let their excitement out. Whooping and hollering, embracing each other, and having a good time.
"WE DID IT!" Rin shouted as he and Shima embraced.
"Alright, alright," Suguro said with a small smile. "We did what we had to do to get in. Tomorrow is when we really need to up our game. If we want to impress everyone and win the talent show, we have to be better than we were today."
Yukio nodded. "That's right. There is still a lot we can improve on. Let's practice."
Rin, Shima, and Konekomaru nodded in agreement as they walked back to Rin and Yukio's dorm. They practiced well into the night, stopping at some time after midnight.
Rin tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. He was too excited about tomorrow.
He looked over at his clock.
4:25.
'Ugh! I can't sleep anymore,' he moaned as he rolled over out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. Yukio's room was just down the hall, so he didn't have to worry about making so much noise this late at night.
Rin zombie walked down to the kitchen and went to the fridge to get a drink. His throat felt like he swallowed a bunch of sand. He drank the water down in three big gulps and sat down at a table.
Everything came rushing to him like a heart attack. Tomorrow was one of the biggest days of his high school career, and could possibly be life-changing if Shiemi asked him to go out with her.
'Oh, Rin. You're so cool. I've always wanted to go out with a guy like you,' he imagined her saying after he and the guys won the talent show. A funny grin spread on his face as he envisioned every detail of what was going to happen.
He could hardly wait!
He couldn't stay calm.
Rin paced back and forth on the floor backstage. Anxiety and nerves twisted his stomach into knots. He had been fine all day before they arrived for the show, but now that they were there, Rin was having a hard time keeping it together.
The talent show had already begun, and judging by the amount of applause that greeted some acts, it was a full house. Rin felt his stomach twist again.
Thank goodness he and the others hadn't gone first. The tension would have been too much for them, and their performance would have suffered. They would be going last because they were the last act to get into the show. Some liked going last, but not him. Rin preferred to get things over with right away.
He wasn't alone in his nerves. Nobody else could speak. The tension was so thick in their little corner of the backstage area that it could be cut with a knife.
Shima twiddled his thumbs as he struggled to stay calm. Suguro stood against a wall with his arms folded across his chest, looking strong and silent without any trace of emotion. Even so, Rin sensed the tension from the rooster-haired teenager. Yukio sat silently with his back against a crate. His face was calm. Poor Konekomaru looked like he was going to be sick. His face was a dark shade of green, his mouth agape like he was ready to throw up. He clutched his stomach to try and keep his nerves down. They all wore colorful outfits with a variation of shorts and jeans.
"You know, if you move fast enough, you could burn a hole in the floor, Rin," Yukio joked.
Rin shot a dirty look at him. Now wasn't the time to be joking around. They were set to go up after this next act finished. Everyone felt queasier as the seconds ticked by.
"Hic!" Konekomaru retched.
Then again.
"I think I'm gonna be –" he started to say until his body heaved. He covered his mouth and ran for the nearest trashcan. He bent over it and expelled the contents of his stomach in two bursts.
His four friends cringed in disgust and sympathy for him. It was horrible to look at, especially for Shima and Suguro. This scene was all too familiar for them. The pink-haired boy got up from his spot on the floor to provide some support for Konekomaru.
"It's alright, Koneko," he murmured softly, patting the boy on the back as Konekomaru continued to throw up. "It's going to be okay."
"Shima-" the bald-headed boy started to say, but threw up again. Bile dripped from his lips as he looked up at his friend. "Shima, I don't think I can do this."
Shima smiled as Suguro joined them. "You can do it. We're all here for ya."
While they took care of their friend, Yukio watched from the wings as the act before them performed. Something about the song selection sounded familiar. When the group onstage finished with one more song, it was then that it hit him.
"Oh no," he muttered.
"What's up?" Rin asked, joining at his side. Once he heard the song, Yukio saw blue flames start to flicker on Rin's body. The older Okumura twin gnashed his teeth as a guttural growl came from the depths of his throat. The fangs grew sharper, along with the wild look in his eyes.
"Rin, chill out," Yukio said, trying to put out the fire before it could erupt.
"THOSE BASTARDS STOLE OUR ACT!" Rin roared. His fingernails sharpened into claws. "THEY'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"
Yukio wrapped Rin's arms behind his back before he could charge out and tear the performers limb from limb.
"LET ME GO, DAMNIT!"
Suguro came over to see what was going on. Konekomaru was just hanging over the trashcan now with nothing left to throw up, thankfully. Shima patted him on the back.
"Everything okay, guys?" he asked.
Yukio sighed sadly, keeping his grip on Rin tight as his brother thrashed around to try and break free.
"No, everything is not okay. We're going to have to do something else for our act," he said, pointing out to the stage. "They're also doing Queen songs."
Suguro clenched his hand into a fist. "Damn it," he grumbled. If only they had been allowed to sit in the auditorium during auditions, then they would have known about this problem beforehand.
The burly teenager's stomach leapt into his throat. "Any ideas?" he asked with pleading eyes.
The Okumura twins replied with lost looks. It was so close to being their turn to go on. They couldn't just undo everything they had practiced during those two weeks. Rin, Yukio, and Suguro racked their brains for any good vocal groups they liked.
After two seconds of tense silence, Yukio spoke up.
"I think I've got it," he said with a snap of his fingers. "Any of you guys know Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?"
Suguro nodded. "Sure, the three of us used to sing them a lot. What songs are we gonna do? I still want to keep with the medley thing."
One of the backstage hands came back for them.
"Okay, get ready to go up, boys," the man said. "You're on."
"Just a minute," Suguro replied as Shima and Konekomaru joined them. Konekomaru was still green around the gills, but done throwing up.
"What's going on here?" the pink-haired boy asked.
Suguro sighed, feeling he should be the one to break the bad news to him and Konekomaru. "We have to change our performance," he said. "The act before us did Queen songs too, and we can't be a copycat." He growled. "If only we had been allowed into the auditorium to watch the other auditions."
"But we weren't," Yukio tried to defuse the situation. "There's nothing we can do about that."
Shima bit his lip. "What will we be doing now?" he asked. On the outside he seemed calm, but he was freaking out on the inside. He couldn't learn a whole new routine in just one minute. His dad and brothers were here, and he could not embarrass himself in front of them. He'd never hear the end of it.
"Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons," replied Suguro.
Konekomaru panicked. "WHAT? We never practiced that!" he protested. His face started to turn dark green again. "Ugh. I think I'm gonna be sick again."
He covered his mouth and took two steps towards the trashcan, but Suguro grabbed him by his collar.
"Now is not the time to get sick!" he said sternly. "We are going to pull this out, guys. Come on! Keep it together."
The stagehand returned, sounding anxious and annoyed that they had not gone out to the stage yet.
"Let's go, boys!" he said through gritted teeth. "You're on!"
He took one look at Konekomaru.
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine," Shima nodded, patting Konekomaru on the shoulder. "He'll be alright once he gets out there. Right, Koneko?"
The bald headed boy nodded and weakly gave a thumbs up.
The stagehand shrugged. "Okay then," he said. "Good luck."
Yukio stopped him before he could completely leave the room.
"Hey, tell them that we have changed our act from a medley of Queen songs to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons," he said.
The man blinked at them.
"That's not what you boys auditioned with," he said. "I'm sorry, but you have to do what you auditioned with. The rules say –"
Rin eyed him dangerously. "I don't give a damn what the rules say!" he roared. "This is what we want to do!"
The room went quiet as the unfortunate stagehand saw the flaming spark in his eyes. Blue flames flickered on his clothes. For a second, the man saw his life flash before his eyes.
"Okay, okay," he said in a small voice, hands raised in front of him. "I'll let them know. Good luck, boys."
He hightailed it out of there before anything else could happen.
Yukio looked at Rin chidingly. "Was that really necessary, Rin?"
Rin smiled impishly. "I think he got the point," he said.
"And now, ladies and gentleman, our final act of the talent show. These five boys will be performing a medley of Queen songs," said the emcee. A note was given to him by the stagehand. "Hold on. They will actually be doing a medley of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Give it up for Rin and Yukio Okumura, Ryuji Suguro, Renzo Shima, and Konekomaru Miwa."
Before they went out, Yukio finally figured out what songs to do.
"Okay, we'll do 'Big Girls Don't Cry', 'Sherry', 'Walk Like A Man', and 'Oh, What A Night'," he said quickly. "Follow my lead."
"But-But-But-But-" Konekomaru started to protest, but was dragged out by Suguro.
"Come on!"
Polite applause greeted them as the group came out onstage and stood in front of the microphone stands. Everything fell quiet as they glanced around at each other, unsure of what to do. Konekomaru looked like he was going to hurl his guts up again. The crowd started growing impatient, with some yelling for them to do something.
Tap! Tap, tap!
Yukio started tapping his foot. The others copied after he gave them a look encouraging them to follow. They did this two more times before Yukio belted out the first lines of the song.
"Big girls don't cry."
Figuring it was better than looking stupid, the others joined in.
Everyone: Big girls don't cry.
They all started snapping their fingers and bobbing around. The back music played in their heads to keep them on track.
Everyone: Big girls
Yukio: Don't cry.
Backup: They don't cry.
Yukio: Big girls don't cry
Backup: Who said they don't cry?
Everyone: My girl
Konekomaru swallowed the nervousness in his throat and sang out the next line, which sounded a lot higher than his normal falsetto voice.
Konekomaru: Said goodbye.
Backup: My oh my.
Konekomaru: My girl didn't cry.
Backup: I wonder why.
They paused to transition into the pre-chorus. Suguro stepped up to do the bass part with every line that Yukio sang.
Suguro: Silly boy.
Yukio: Told my girl we had to break up.
Suguro: Silly boy.
Yukio: But then she would call my bluff.
Suguro: Silly boy.
Yukio: When she said, to my surprise…
Everyone: Big girls don't cry.
They repeated it three more times before ending the song. The crowd cheered with applause, but the performance was not over yet.
Suguro mimicked the bass line of the next song. The nervousness that was there in the first song faded a little, but was still present.
Everyone: Sherry. Sherry, baby. Sherry. Sherry baby.
Konekomaru: Sherry, can you come out tonight?
Backup: Come, come. Come out tonight.
Konekomaru: Sherry, baby.
Backup: Sherry, baby.
Konekomaru: Sherry, can you come out tonight?
Suguro: Why don't you come on?
Backup: Come on.
Rin took his chance and sang the next verse. His eyes were fixated on where he saw Shiemi sitting in the auditorium with Izumo and Paku.
Rin: Come on, twist party.
Backup: Come on.
Rin: Where the bright moon shines.
Backup: Come on.
Rin: We'll dance the night away. I'm gonna make you mine.
Everyone: Sherry, Sherry baby. Sherry. Sherry baby. Come, come. Come out tonight. Come, come. Come out tonight. Sherry baby.
They held the last note for about ten seconds before finally ending the song with fist pumps. The crowd applauded them again, this time with more enthusiasm. The group wasted no time going to the next song.
Everyone: Walk like a man.
Shima smirked as he found Izumo in the audience. Not far away from her, his father and brothers sat near the back. His time to shine had finally come, and he was going to make the most of it.
Shima: Oh, how you've tried (ooh wah), to cut me down to size(ooh wah). Telling dirty lies to my friends.
Backup: Ooh wah. Ooh wah. Ooh wah.
"YEAH! RENZO!" Kinzo cried.
Shima blushed in embarrassment as he tried to focus on the next line.
Shima: My own father (ooh wah), said give her up, don't bother (ooh wah). The world isn't coming to an end.
Suguro: He said it…
Everyone: Walk like a man, talk like a man. Walk like a man, my son. No woman's worth, crawling on the earth.
Shima: So walk like a man, my son.
Their voices merged into the most beautiful sound as they did the introduction with Konekomaru doing the falsetto vocalizations and the others following up with a "Walk," every time.
Suguro: He said it…
Everyone: Walk like a man, fast as I can. Walk like a man from you. I'll tell the world, forget about it, girl.
Shima: And walk like a man from you.
The intro one last time and then went into one final burst of vocals.
Everyone: Walk like a man. Like a man.
This time, the auditorium erupted with enthusiastic cheers and applause. The group members heaved to get air back into their lungs. Smiles sprang up their faces, taking in all of the cheers and applause. This could not have worked out better than they imagined.
There was still one more song to do, and they were going to give the audience what they wanted.
Everyone: Oh, what a night.
Shima: Late December, back in '63. What a very special time for me. As I remember what a night.
The audience clapped their hands along with the rhythm of the song, only fueling the fire that was now a raging inferno inside of the boys.
Everyone: Oh, what a night.
Yukio: You know, I didn't even know her name. But I was never gonna be the same. What a lady, what a night.
Konekomaru: Oh I. I got a funny feeling when she walked in the room. Yeah, and I. As I recall, it ended much too soon.
Everyone: Oh, what a night.
Suguro: Hypnotized, and mesmerizing me. She was everything I dreamed she'd be. Sweet surrender, what a night.
Everyone: Oh, what a night.
Rin: Why'd it take so long to see the light? Seemed so wrong, and it seemed so right. What a lady, what a night.
With the outro, some of them would sing "Oh, what a night" after the others sang "Do, do-do. Do-do" several times. It continued a few more times before they finished with one last "Oh, what a night."
They were greeted by a standing ovation that lasted for two minutes. The quintet went stage right to exit the stage. Before they could celebrate, a cry started to slowly take hold of the audience.
"ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!" they chanted. "ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!"
The boys looked off to the emcee for approval. The man simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. They were the last act anyway, so what was one more song, the man thought.
"What song should we do?" Shima asked.
Suguro was quick with his response. "Who Loves You."
Rin, Yukio, and Konekomaru nodded enthusiastically, as did Shima after another second.
"Who is going to sing the lead on it?" Shima added.
Konekomaru shied away when the others looked at him, immediately shaking his head. "Don't look at me."
They looked around the circle, hoping someone would volunteer for it. The audience was getting restless, and they needed to move fast or there was a good possibility the audience would riot.
Yukio finally broke the ice by putting an arm around Rin's shoulder.
"I think Rin should do it," he said.
Rin was surprised. "Wh-What?" he replied. "Why me?"
"Because you're the guy that started this whole thing and brought us together," said Suguro. "I think it's only fair you're the one to carry us across the finish line."
"Bon's right," Shima agreed. "You should do it."
Konekomaru nodded. "Affirmative."
Rin looked at each of his friends, and his confidence grew with each smile and nod. His face erupted in a bright smile.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" he exclaimed. "LET'S GO!"
He took two steps and leapt two feet into the air with excitement. The others followed him back out onto the stage. The audience roared with happiness.
Suguro snapped his fingers in a count off.
Everyone: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night? Who loves you, pretty mama? Who's always there to make it right?
The audience screamed and roared loudly at the song.
Everyone: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night? Who loves you, pretty mama? Who's always there to make it right? Who loves you?
Rin: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna love ya, mama?
Backup: Who loves you?
Rin: Who loves you, pretty baby?
Rin: When the tears are in your eyes, and you can't find the way.
Backup: Ahh.
Rin: It's hard to make believe you're happy when you're grey.
Backup: Ahh.
Rin: Baby, when you're feeling like you'll never see the morning lights, come to me. Baby, you'll see.
Everyone: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna help you through the night? Who loves you, pretty mama? Who's always there to make it? Who loves you?
Rin: Who loves you, pretty baby? Who's gonna love ya, mama?
Backup: Who loves you?
Rin: Who's gonna love you, love you? Who's gonna love you?
Everyone: Who loves you?
The crowd erupted in loud, ear-splitting cheers and gave the group a standing ovation. The boys heaved to catch their breath as bright, victorious smiles spread across their faces. They had done it!
The crowd and performers waited anxiously for the judges to deliver the results. They had been waiting for five minutes already, and Rin was more nervous now than he was before he performed.
"What's taking them so long?" he hissed, clenching his fist as he watched from the wings. All the other acts were told to stay backstage until the results were announced.
Yukio patted him on the back. "These things take time, Rin," the younger brother said. "There were plenty of good acts before us, so it's bound to be a tough decision."
Rin's head turned his head to glare at him. "I guess," he shrugged before a big bright smile flashed on his face. "But none of them were better than us. Oh, man! I can't believe we pulled that off. If we win this, I'll make all your meals for a week. You saved the show for us."
Yukio chuckled. "That does sound tempting. Alright, I'll take you up on that."
Finally, the emcee stepped up to the microphone with an enclosed envelope in his hands. The room fell deathly quiet in anticipation.
"Thank you all for your patience," he said. "And now, before I announce the winners of the True Cross Academy Talent Contest, I want to say that the judges and I were very inspired by all of the performances here tonight. We are so lucky to have so many talented students that it's a shame we only had to pick one winner."
'Yeah, yeah. Alright. Just get on with it!' Rin stared daggers into the man's head.
"And so, without further ado, the winners of the True Cross Academy Talent Contest are…" the man opened the envelope and pulled out the small slip of paper and read it for a brief moment.
Rin felt a cold sweat drip down his neck.
"The team of Suguro, Shima, Miwa, and the Okumura brothers!"
For a second, Rin thought his ears deceived him. Even with his advanced demon-level hearing, he didn't think he heard it right. Had they just announced his group's name? It didn't feel real until Suguro grabbed him from behind and lifted him up in a big bear hug.
"We did it!" the burly teen exclaimed happily. "We did it! We did it, Rin!"
Shima got a little too caught up in the excitement and jumped on Suguro's back, who luckily kept his balance. Yukio and Konekomaru were much more reserved in their excitement, watching as their three more exuberant friends celebrated.
"YEAH!" Rin yelled.
The three of them stopped their celebration and the group ran out to the stage to accept the trophy. The crowd applauded them with another standing ovation. Shima looked out and saw his dad and brothers smiling proudly at him. Kinzo stuck two fingers into his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle. Suguro was shocked to see his parents sitting near the front row, but gave them a smile and nod as they waved at him.
Rin was all smiles, feeling like the king of the world.
"RENZO!"
Shima gagged loudly as his brother grabbed him in a headlock in the reception area of the auditorium. Everyone gathered to congratulate all of the acts on a job well done.
"Kin, you son of a whore!" he choked. "Let me go!"
Kinzo chuckled and pressed his knuckles deep into the top of his brother's skull. "Now, is that any way to talk to your dear brother, Renzo?" he teased, deepening the noogie.
Luckily for Shima, Juzo stepped in.
"Come on, Kinzo. Let him breathe," he said, unwrapping Shima from his brother's hold. He slapped a hand on his shoulder. "We're proud of you, Renzo. You were awesome."
Shima blushed embarrassedly. "Thanks, Juzo."
The rest of the group laughed watching the three brothers together. Yukio looked back and saw Shiemi, Izumo, and Paku walking towards them.
"Well, look who's here," he said with a sly grin.
Rin and Shima's faces erupted pink at the sight of their respective crushes. The raven-haired boy was dismayed to see Shiemi was not acting the way he thought she would be in his dreams. She looked happy, but not much else. Nothing to say she was blown away with him.
"Great job, guys," Paku said. "You were amazing! That was incredible."
Shima chuckled. "Thanks, Paku," he said before glancing at Izumo. "What'd you think, Izumo? I was pretty awesome, huh?"
The girl shrugged. "It was okay, I guess."
Crack!
Shima heard the sound of his fragile little heart breaking into a thousand pieces. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He kept his cool as he made his move.
"Say, uh, Izumo," he began slowly, watching her face for the tiniest bit of iciness to show up. "You doing anything next Saturday? I was thinking, since I'm kind of a big deal now, that you'd like to go out with me before more girls come breaking down my door." He smirked. "What do you say?"
Izumo studied him with her famous icy glare. A nervous sweat dotted the pink-haired boy's brow. He knew that look well, having been on the receiving end numerous times. Even so, he saw a flicker of interest where there was none before.
"Sorry, but my mother told me to stay away from performers," she declined. With a flick of her hair, she turned her nose away from him with a hmph. "Come on, Paku. Let's go."
Shima felt his jaw hit the floor, and heard whatever was left of his heart completely shatter as the two girls walked away. He stayed in that pose for what felt like an eternity.
His father leaned over, struggling to contain his laughter, and said, "Give her up. Don't bother," he teased, slapping Shima on the shoulder. "The world isn't coming to an end. Walk like a man, my son."
Juzo and Kinzo snickered and walked out of the auditorium with their father. Suguro and Konekomaru smiled wryly as they walked off to see Bon's parents.
"Rin, Yuki, you both were wonderful! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Shiemi exclaimed, hugging the two boys. Rin glowed as red as a tomato.
"Th-Thanks," he choked. "Y-You're squeezing too hard."
The blonde blushed. "Oh, sorry," she said, letting them go.
"If you guys will excuse me," Yukio said, adjusting his glasses before walking away. He flashed Rin a look that said, 'Good luck.'
Rin felt her green eyes stare deeply into his soul. The blush on his face darkened as they waited for either one to say something. This was a scenario he imagined countless times in the two weeks before the show, but now that it was here, he didn't know what to do.
"Rin–"
"Shiemi–"
They both stopped, realizing they said each other's name at the same time.
"You go first," Rin mumbled, shifting his feet nervously.
Shiemi bit her bottom lip, struggling to come up with the right words to say next. Rin heard his heart beating rapidly in his ears.
"Rin, I've been wanting to say this for a while," she said slowly. "And after today, I can't hold it back anymore."
"Yeah?" The smile on his face grew even more, waiting in breathless anticipation for what he knew was coming.
Shiemi took a big inhale through her nose and let it out slowly, turning as red as Rin. She couldn't believe that she was doing this.
A pause.
"Will you show me how to do those dance moves?"
Rin wanted to scream, flare up, and then trash the entire auditorium. He couldn't believe it. She only wanted dance lessons, not to say she really liked him. This was probably even worse than when she friend-zoned him in Kyoto.
As much as he wanted to do all of that, he forced an unsteady smile on his face.
"Y-Yeah, sure," he said through his tightly clenched teeth. "I'd be happy to."
"Oh, thank you, Rin!" Shiemi exclaimed, giving him a hug. "After watching you up there, I knew you were the right person to teach me. Well, I've gotta go get some dancing shoes. See you."
And with that, she left. Along with whatever remained of Rin's hope to ask her out.
Azure flames flickered on his clothes as his anger reached dangerous levels. What was supposed to be the best day of his life had turned into a complete disaster.
He heard snickers to his right and turned to glare at the culprit.
"Shut up, Shima!" he roared.
The pink-haired boy tried to contain his giggles, lest he risk bearing the full wrath of Rin when he was angry.
"I'm sorry, dude, but that was rough," he snickered. "I feel for ya, man."
"Yeah? Well, what about you? How did it go with Izumo?" Rin shot back. "Did she fall all over you like you were hoping?"
Shima's cocky grin was wiped away instantly. "Not exactly."
"So, in other words, she told you no again, right?"
"You said it, partner. Guess we're doomed to a life of eternal women-less suffering."
Ouch. Stiff-armed again. Hope you guys enjoyed this story because it was a fun side thing to do for me. I may do some more work with Blue Exorcist in the future ;-) We'll see where that goes.
Once again, I do not own any song usage in this chapter. All of it goes to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Queen at the beginning. Be sure to leave a review telling me your thoughts and any suggestions I could do for Blue Exorcist in the future.
Hope to see you all real soon.
