Work Text:
“I am going to slay you”
Her voice is serious, mimicking a random character in a random manga. Soft. Clear.
Her eyes are fixed on its prey. Fierce. Burning.
The lower half of her face is covered with a fan designed like some country’s flag.
Pure white with a red-shaded-circle in the middle.
Only her eyes are visible as her forehead is covered with her beautifully styled fringe.
It remained Clear. Expressionless but full of Passion.
No constriction of any face muscle is shown. Yet her expression is so Sharp. Piercing. All business.
“I am going to slay you.” She repeated it. This time it seems the words echoed endlessly.
I am going to slay you... I am going to slay you... I am going to slay you... SLAY you…
Thug, thug, thug… thump, thump… pop and swish. And so the first sequence started. The Beats are Heavy. The Rhythm – Profound. The Cuts are Distinct, Stylish, Accurate… Precise. The Movements are Bold. Expressive. Strong.
She pivoted with her right foot. Her left foot landed softly, followed by a light step forward. And the leg muscles continued working. Hyperextended. Hyperflexed. Her arms wide-apart like welcoming a hug. But don’t be deceived. She has weapons on both hands… and it kills. The upper limbs' movements are that of a whirlwind. Swishing and swooshing in all directions. But still Elegant. Sharp. Precise.
Suddenly, she’s standing straight. Her feet positioned in a 45-degree angle. Her posture in a military style. Chest out. Stomach in. Hands behind her waist. Weapons concealed. It seems everything stopped abruptly. But it was just for a split second. The movements continued. From Full Speed to Zero Speed.
Pop. Snap. Stop. Pop. Snap. Stop. And so on and so forth.
In just a blink of an eye her body is twisted in mid-air. Her hands loose. Gripping her weapons tightly. She made a turn and another quick one before landing. Light. Elegant. Precise.
Swoosh, swoosh… She threw the weapon in her right hand followed by the one in the left. Then made an elegant turn, jumped gracefully and all of a sudden her fans are back in her hands. Quick but Smooth.
Flick, flick, flick… She made a 360-degree wrist action. Graceful. Elegant.
Left wrist first. The right followed in an orderly manner. Two seconds of movement for each wrist. Calculated. Balanced.
The movements are methodical. Following a pattern… a pattern…??? No! It’s not just some pattern taught to her. It’s the natural flow of her body. Unique. Seamless. Sharp. Precise. Perfect.
It continued with fast 100% sharp turns. The suppleness was 0… at first. Then added some 10% of flexibility in the next sequence until the ratio reached 50:50. Beautiful. Dynamic. Clean.
The last sequence of the notes was played..
and then she heard the last B♭ fade in the background.
At that point her body went from full locomotion to a complete stop. Unique. Elegant.
She’s sweating but not panting. She started with strong, expressive and sharp motion and ended with equally strong, expressive and sharp dance. Consistent yet Dynamic.
Consistent in its entirety. Dynamic from each and every cycle.
"I won't lose...
...I'll never stay behind."
"I'll continue to move forward...
...improve even beyond perfection"
So when you come back...
...I would still have the privilege to dance beside you
Now, you're on your way to mastering the art of dance
Here I am stuck...
...No, it will never happen. I'll dance on my break time...
...on my free time, on my days off and even in my sleep
"I'll rest my body considerably but my mind will never lose its focus"
"Dance is my dream. I dream of dance."
"So when we meet again... I'm ready to fight...
...and I am going to slay you!"
The crowd was silent during the entirety of the dance routine and the monologue. When it ended, the theater burst into applause.
But she never heard it. She never heard a single post-performance feedback as her mind was set somewhere.
...
It was just the first 10 minutes of the annual play Morning Musume participates in.
Lights were then turned off. And the second scene is just up and coming.
...
Ishida Ayumi will continue to dance
Beyond time and space