[KinKi AU] Butai verse, scene 2
Continued from the first part here.
Disclaimer: This is fictional.
Pairing: None so far
Genre: AU, drama, angst
Rating: G so far
Summary: Tsuyoshi joined the musical directed by Kouichi, with questionable motivation and a defensively guarded past.
Continued from: First
[Edited 17 July 2012]
-- Watch --
"Step, step, to the side, pivot! And--" Irritated claps. "Stop. Pivot, I said. What was that you were doing?"
Tsuyoshi looked up, catching his breath. "...What is a pivot?"
Kouichi paused. "You don't know?"
Tsuyoshi raised a hand to wipe sweat off his face, mumbling his answer. He had mostly moved by instinct, catching up with Kouichi's example half a beat behind while trying to figure out the shouted instructions every time the moves and turns forced his line of sight away from the full-mirror wall. He had no idea if this was how choreographies were taught or if his new teacher simply had one hell of a high expectation.
Kouichi frowned. "You have not taken formal dancing lessons?"
Tsuyoshi didn't like admitting a weakness this early, but that was only the fact. "No."
Kouichi was positively displeased, but any reproach that came to his mind died on his lips. It was his negligence not to have asked for a resume before.
"If you could demonstrate the moves once through, I can imitate them, no problem," Tsuyoshi said.
There was no challenge in his tone, only an attempt to justify his employment, and carefully hidden anxiety. He needed this, Kouichi realized.
Kouichi would not pick charity over standard; nor would he keep this person just because he owed President Shimura a favor. It was purely the recollection of the explosive aura he witnessed in the cramped office that persuaded him to overlook the lack of qualification.
Besides, he could still find another dancer tomorrow if it didn't work out with this guy by then.
He exhaled. "Watch."
He started with a sequence of eight steps, and glanced to check if Tsuyoshi was following. He was.
Kouichi completed a verse, and stopped. "Until here. Repeat."
Tsuyoshi obliged, and Kouichi was satisfied to see him repeating the steps perfectly.
"Good. Next."
"You don't have to break it down for me," Tsuyoshi interrupted. "I can manage the length of one whole song."
Kouichi looked at him skeptically. "This song including the interlude is five minutes long." Granted, with some repetitions, but...
"That much is still okay," Tsuyoshi replied readily. "I thought you'd want to finish up quickly and rehearse your own part."
He would hate to be a liability, all the more if it was due to his background.
"Fine," Kouichi said. He had indeed booked this session for his own practice. With this unforeseen change to the cast, some of that private time would have to go towards preparing the new dancer before the next group rehearsal.
He could of course delegate that to his assistant choreographer, but at the moment on top of Kouichi's intrigued mind was only the fact that he was the one getting this guy in, through an unusual channel, and while Yara wouldn't criticize... much, Kouichi didn't want any awkward question to arise.
He started the music. "I'll do the whole scene from top. Pay attention."
Twelve minutes later, Kouichi was staring as Tsuyoshi settled into the closing position of the scene. The movements were still far from smooth, and a few faltering steps had added about an extra minute to the five-minute routine, but the sequence had been reproduced exactly.
He'd seen many dancers with different talents, and while this man wasn't as flexible as an average dancer among his members, only a few of them could memorize a sequence longer than two minutes after just one look.
"You're good at this," he remarked automatically. "How do you manage it without any dance basics?"
Tsuyoshi looked at him wordlessly while calming down his breath after the routine, but Kouichi doubted it was the reason for the delayed reply.
"I took a lesson in mime," the answer was clipped.
That would explain the memorization ability, and probably also the incredible control he had over every detail of his body language. "I see."
No further explanation came forth, and the set of Tsuyoshi's lips seemed a tad too defensive, but Kouichi wasn't all that interested in other people's past anyway.
"Let's go through this scene one more time. I'll be dancing my part, so be careful not to get distracted."
Tsuyoshi's breathing wasn't back to normal yet, but he nodded without a word.
--
"That's all for today," Kouichi said. "Please come to the group rehearsal tomorrow. Nine AM. Don't be late."
He had a good reason for the reminder; the clock on the wall told Tsuyoshi it was already three.
They packed up swiftly, and left the room.
"You can go ahead," Kouichi said as he locked the studio. "I'm returning the key to the office."
Tsuyoshi nodded to excuse himself, then walked off.
He saw a poster of the musical displayed at the elevator lobby, and approached to read.
"Two months long..." he said to himself. If he could keep up with this, he wouldn't have to worry about getting an assignment for quite some time.
He went through the cast listing. He recognized some of the names, which sparked a little excitement in his mind. It might not be so bad to continue with this line of work...
His thoughts were dispersed by the sound of footsteps. He turned.
Kouichi paused a little upon noticing him, then resumed his steps to press the button Tsuyoshi had neglected, before coming to stand beside him.
"You're taking over Akiyama." Kouichi pointed to a small print at the bottom of the poster. "I'll give you a copy of the script tomorrow; you can check out his lines."
"Okay." A thought crossed Tsuyoshi's mind, and he asked, "This person... he is in the hospital?"
"Yeah." Kouichi heard the worry in that voice. "It was an accident at rehearsal, true enough, but there is always this risk for everyone. As long as you are mindful--"
"Ah, I'm not worried about that." Tsuyoshi hesitated; this wouldn't sound nice. "If he recovers before the musical starts..."
"He has withdrawn from the cast," Kouichi said neutrally.
"I see." Tsuyoshi averted his face.
There was no further conversation until the elevator arrived at their floor.
Tsuyoshi pressed the button to keep the door open, and gestured. "After you."
Kouichi murmured a surprised thanks.
The ride down was long and silent.
"Do you need a ride home?" Kouichi asked stiffly when they stepped out.
Tsuyoshi was quick to decline. "I'll be fine."
Kouichi nodded and walked off, not bothering to clarify.
---
Disclaimer: This is fictional.
Pairing: None so far
Genre: AU, drama, angst
Rating: G so far
Summary: Tsuyoshi joined the musical directed by Kouichi, with questionable motivation and a defensively guarded past.
Continued from: First
[Edited 17 July 2012]
-- Watch --
"Step, step, to the side, pivot! And--" Irritated claps. "Stop. Pivot, I said. What was that you were doing?"
Tsuyoshi looked up, catching his breath. "...What is a pivot?"
Kouichi paused. "You don't know?"
Tsuyoshi raised a hand to wipe sweat off his face, mumbling his answer. He had mostly moved by instinct, catching up with Kouichi's example half a beat behind while trying to figure out the shouted instructions every time the moves and turns forced his line of sight away from the full-mirror wall. He had no idea if this was how choreographies were taught or if his new teacher simply had one hell of a high expectation.
Kouichi frowned. "You have not taken formal dancing lessons?"
Tsuyoshi didn't like admitting a weakness this early, but that was only the fact. "No."
Kouichi was positively displeased, but any reproach that came to his mind died on his lips. It was his negligence not to have asked for a resume before.
"If you could demonstrate the moves once through, I can imitate them, no problem," Tsuyoshi said.
There was no challenge in his tone, only an attempt to justify his employment, and carefully hidden anxiety. He needed this, Kouichi realized.
Kouichi would not pick charity over standard; nor would he keep this person just because he owed President Shimura a favor. It was purely the recollection of the explosive aura he witnessed in the cramped office that persuaded him to overlook the lack of qualification.
Besides, he could still find another dancer tomorrow if it didn't work out with this guy by then.
He exhaled. "Watch."
He started with a sequence of eight steps, and glanced to check if Tsuyoshi was following. He was.
Kouichi completed a verse, and stopped. "Until here. Repeat."
Tsuyoshi obliged, and Kouichi was satisfied to see him repeating the steps perfectly.
"Good. Next."
"You don't have to break it down for me," Tsuyoshi interrupted. "I can manage the length of one whole song."
Kouichi looked at him skeptically. "This song including the interlude is five minutes long." Granted, with some repetitions, but...
"That much is still okay," Tsuyoshi replied readily. "I thought you'd want to finish up quickly and rehearse your own part."
He would hate to be a liability, all the more if it was due to his background.
"Fine," Kouichi said. He had indeed booked this session for his own practice. With this unforeseen change to the cast, some of that private time would have to go towards preparing the new dancer before the next group rehearsal.
He could of course delegate that to his assistant choreographer, but at the moment on top of Kouichi's intrigued mind was only the fact that he was the one getting this guy in, through an unusual channel, and while Yara wouldn't criticize... much, Kouichi didn't want any awkward question to arise.
He started the music. "I'll do the whole scene from top. Pay attention."
Twelve minutes later, Kouichi was staring as Tsuyoshi settled into the closing position of the scene. The movements were still far from smooth, and a few faltering steps had added about an extra minute to the five-minute routine, but the sequence had been reproduced exactly.
He'd seen many dancers with different talents, and while this man wasn't as flexible as an average dancer among his members, only a few of them could memorize a sequence longer than two minutes after just one look.
"You're good at this," he remarked automatically. "How do you manage it without any dance basics?"
Tsuyoshi looked at him wordlessly while calming down his breath after the routine, but Kouichi doubted it was the reason for the delayed reply.
"I took a lesson in mime," the answer was clipped.
That would explain the memorization ability, and probably also the incredible control he had over every detail of his body language. "I see."
No further explanation came forth, and the set of Tsuyoshi's lips seemed a tad too defensive, but Kouichi wasn't all that interested in other people's past anyway.
"Let's go through this scene one more time. I'll be dancing my part, so be careful not to get distracted."
Tsuyoshi's breathing wasn't back to normal yet, but he nodded without a word.
--
"That's all for today," Kouichi said. "Please come to the group rehearsal tomorrow. Nine AM. Don't be late."
He had a good reason for the reminder; the clock on the wall told Tsuyoshi it was already three.
They packed up swiftly, and left the room.
"You can go ahead," Kouichi said as he locked the studio. "I'm returning the key to the office."
Tsuyoshi nodded to excuse himself, then walked off.
He saw a poster of the musical displayed at the elevator lobby, and approached to read.
"Two months long..." he said to himself. If he could keep up with this, he wouldn't have to worry about getting an assignment for quite some time.
He went through the cast listing. He recognized some of the names, which sparked a little excitement in his mind. It might not be so bad to continue with this line of work...
His thoughts were dispersed by the sound of footsteps. He turned.
Kouichi paused a little upon noticing him, then resumed his steps to press the button Tsuyoshi had neglected, before coming to stand beside him.
"You're taking over Akiyama." Kouichi pointed to a small print at the bottom of the poster. "I'll give you a copy of the script tomorrow; you can check out his lines."
"Okay." A thought crossed Tsuyoshi's mind, and he asked, "This person... he is in the hospital?"
"Yeah." Kouichi heard the worry in that voice. "It was an accident at rehearsal, true enough, but there is always this risk for everyone. As long as you are mindful--"
"Ah, I'm not worried about that." Tsuyoshi hesitated; this wouldn't sound nice. "If he recovers before the musical starts..."
"He has withdrawn from the cast," Kouichi said neutrally.
"I see." Tsuyoshi averted his face.
There was no further conversation until the elevator arrived at their floor.
Tsuyoshi pressed the button to keep the door open, and gestured. "After you."
Kouichi murmured a surprised thanks.
The ride down was long and silent.
"Do you need a ride home?" Kouichi asked stiffly when they stepped out.
Tsuyoshi was quick to decline. "I'll be fine."
Kouichi nodded and walked off, not bothering to clarify.
---