Maybe, because it was time. However, Lila found herself dancing more like normal than usual. While due to her body"s condition, she isn"t able to dance to her full potential. Her dancing certainly stood out more than the rest. Even the senior girls were looking at her amazed. While Haruka went through all that trouble to ask his friend..."Bravo!" Yuko exclaimed as he hurried over.
"It was breathtaking." he complimented.
"Ah, um thank you."
"Your very good, did you took lessons before?"
"I"ve been dancing since I was little.."
Yuko clapped her hands and allowed her to dance more.
There"s no use feigning ignorance now that everyone knew. So much for holding back till the auditions. It"s quite difficult. Her body simply moved naturally to the sound of the music. That is why whenever she dances, she makes sure she"s alone. Singing aside, there"s something about dancing. Once it is engraved in one"s soul, it becomes difficult for the person to restrain their abilities. Then again, there"s someone who can do that so easily.
She wondered when she would be able to meet her. That girl will be entering the tournament too right? To her surprise, the moment she stopped dancing, she was suddenly surrounded by the 3 girls from the other school.
"You"re so cool!"
"Right."
"That last spin was amazing."
For a split moment, Lila thought it was another setup when a girl with long curly hair stepped forward and clasps her hands, "I"m Emma."
"Oh um, Kiku Ari. A second year."
"You"re dancing is very lovely. If it"s alright with you, can we dance alongside you?"
… She doesn"t sense any bad intentions. Lila turned to Yumeko and Ruka, the two girls nodded.
...
When she was dancing, she accidentally let out too much of her aura. It seems like, she"s able to control it when it"s only singing. To a certain degree when she"s dancing and singing. But alone? How is she going to explain this? Lila exhaled deeply, she managed to find a quiet spot after the first half of the dance lesson was over to be alone. While she intended to look for Haruka, she wanted to have a bit of time for herself. It had been quite some time since she was last able to dance so freely.
It felt thrilling, she felt excited.
Being able to dance freely caused this effect. What would happen, if she sang without holding her voice back? Lila looks at her surroundings, it ought to be alright… Then, one of her old songs.
...….
Lila froze on the spot. Oh, no…she was heard. As she recalled the conversation with Soichiro, her face colour turned pale. What is she supposed to do? She wasn"t supposed to let anyone find out. Does she silence the person? That would be the easiest solution to this. However, could she brought herself to do that? No calm down, she is still wearing a disguise.
She exhaled deeply before she turned to face the person. There stood a girl with grey hair.
Oh, this is the girl from before.
But wait, Lila examined the girls uniform and recognized the familiar light academy uniform. From her school? That"s even worst.
"Um, I--" Lila stammered.
The girl took a few steps forward until she was before her and said.
"Teras.h.i.+ma Lila."
!!!
"I see if someone confronts you openly. You can"t hide it."
What does she do?
...…
"Have you calmed down?" the girl asked.
"Yes, I"m sorry for.."
The girl shook her head, "It"s my fault for startling you. Relax, we"ve met before."
Lila looked at her puzzled.
"The G.o.ddess 4 compet.i.tion, I"m Yamamoto Maika."
A flash of memories from a few years back appeared in her head, as she suddenly exclaimed, "AHH!"
"Remember?"
Lila nodded. What a coincidence, she didn"t think she would meet this girl again. This girl... as she recalled back then, a look of concern flashed through her face, "Are you okay now?"
"It"s cured. Thank you...for your help. If you didn"t help me then, I wouldn"t have been able to perform so thank you."
It was the first for her, to offer her blood to someone other than Kiryu.
"So you attend the same school as me?"
Did she not notice because Maikchan is a third year?
"You haven"t been paying attention to school affairs, have you? I"m your senior, and Light academy"s top idol."
Eh?
"I"m so sorry, I should be more respectful." Lila apologized.
"Don"t be. You may be my junior but you"re my senior in the industry, and you"re the top idol.."
Lila"s gaze darkened slightly at the girl"s words, which didn"t go unnoticed by her.
"Is it a burden to you now? The t.i.tle as number 1." Maika asked.
Lila shook her head but paused before she replied, "It shouldn"t be since I"m not actually doing any of my duties and yet when I think of it. Something heavy weighs down in my heart."
She doesn"t understand it. Is it because she noticed something missing? No, she was still fine even after she realised it. So, what"s the issue? Despite how much she racked her brain to come up with an answer, she couldn"t figure it out.
Kiryu, it"s been so long since they"ve last met saw one another. He hasn"t answered any of her calls. Or rather, his phone isn"t reachable... Did he change his number? Should she call someone and ask? Would she look too clingy and annoying if she did that?
Kiryu, does he not like her anymore?
Even though Haruka did that to her, he didn"t notice. They are supposed to be connected with each other and yet, at that time. She didn"t hear his voice.
It"s painful Kiryu.
But she has to be strong, in order to light the path to the future. She has to get a grip. He will call her in due time. It"s natural that he"s busy. She ought to do her best for the tournament.
___________________________________________________
Maika"s gaze flickered towards the girl that seemed to be in deep thought. She knew from the very beginning, about this girls ident.i.ty. It"s actually not too difficult to figure out. Her appearance may have changed, but her demeanour and everything else has not changed. She"s still the same as she was back then...
Back then, the weak her was not able to figure out; how she even got through to the selection round, and yet...sure enough her name was written on that list. Teras.h.i.+ma Lila, even before the actual audition day. The two of them met. It was during the selection round announcement….