The Muse

Ninth Melody

It's been one week since idol training had started and even though every day was grueling, Haruka put on a determined face as she kept on practicing. Sweat drenched her face and clothes but even so, she looked beautiful. The various connections she had with famous international people offered to help her when they heard that she wanted to debut as an idol. Now, the famous Johnny Depp was in the studio instructing her how to dance.

"No! Continue to the left and then right. Move your foot. Your back straight. That's right! You got it! Now act more graceful. Give more power and strength into each step."

"Yes!" 

Dance practice was going on for a week while in the middle of it, Haruka was continuing to come up with a music composition for her debut song. She wanted the song to reflect her feelings but also be heart-wrenching and unforgettable in the souls of her listeners. 

"Haruka! Back to practice!" 

"Yes!" she replied as she dropped the pencil and paper onto the floor and stood up. From outside the door, three people were watching her intently. From the corner of Johnny's eyes, he spotted the trio and slipped out the room as he told Haruka to continue practicing.

"Sooo...what are the three of you doing here? Don't you have jobs to do?" Johnny asked them as they fidgeted around, trying to avoid his gaze.

"We were just looking for something..." Ren replied with a fake laugh.

"And this something just happened to be around here that all three of you are looking for?" Johnny raised his eyebrow at the terrible lie that they had come up with. 

They all laughed a little but then sighed. "Sorry. Forgive us", they all said as their hands clapped together in front of them. Johnny sighed. He knew perfectly well why they were here. After all, even though he didn't complain this first week, he saw them standing there outside the room every time Haruka was practicing. 

"Don't worry. She's doing perfectly fine. Unlike you babies who worry about her every time", Johnny said with a teasing look on his face.

"...Sorry", Rei replied sheepishly. 

Sou was staring at Haruka. It's been only one week yet she had improved so much. Her learning rate was impressive. When they had started out, they could hardly bend their bones and flex their muscles. It took them at least two months before they finally started dancing. Johnny saw the expression in his eyes and knew immediately what he was thinking. 

"Her speed of learning is impressive, no?" Johnny asked.

Sou whipped his head to him as he stared into his green colored eyes. He nodded his head in a short reply before turning his attention back to Haruka. 

"Normally you expect a newbie to stumble and fall during the first week but...she's surprisingly flexible. Even I was surprised. Although her movements do need polishing, she's got everything down from the basics. In three months time, she'll probably match Ren at dancing. Maybe even better."

Ren grinned. "We'll see about that. I'm pretty sure Haruka will make a good opponent." Despite how he was not that intelligible in academics and other topics, he could tell that Haruka indeed possessed a talent for dancing. Maybe it was the muses' blessings at work but in order to master this much in a week also required sheer motivation and will-power. It was not something everyone had. 

As they were watching, Haruka accidentally missed a step and fell on the floor with a loud thud! The four people immediately glanced towards inside the room when they heard the loud fall in the room. They saw Haruka on the floor, rubbing her hip to try to lessen the pain. They literally almost broke down the door when getting into the room.