The morning light was thin and gray. Hoshimi stood in the center of the polished wooden floor, his arms stiff at his sides, his violet eyes fixed on a point somewhere on the far wall. He wore a simple black suit, borrowed, too tight in the shoulders, too loose at the waist, and shoes that pinched his toes with every small movement.
"Straighten your back," she said. "No, that's too straight. Relax your shoulders. No, not that relaxed. You look homeless."
Hoshimi's jaw tightened. "Are you just making this up as you go?"
"There's a correct position, I think. Probably." Reina stopped in front of him, her gold eyes sweeping over his posture with clinical disdain. "You just haven't found it yet."
He straightened. Relaxed. Adjusted. Straightened again.
"Better." She tapped his chin with one finger, tilting his head up slightly. "You need to project confidence."
Hoshimi stared at the wooden patterns on the floor.
"Stop thinking," Reina said.
"I'm not, "
"You're thinking so loud I can hear it from here." She flicked his forehead. "Be in the room."
"I am trying."
"You're in your head. That's not the same thing." She stepped back, crossing her arms. "The people at this banquet, the first thing they'll be looking at is your appearance, you need to project confidence and get rid of that stinky negative aura of yours."
[I really don't like this]
"Close enough." Reina's lips curved. "Now. Walking."
"Walking."
"You'd be surprised how many people can't do it." She demonstrated, gliding across the floor with an effortless grace that made it look like she was floating rather than stepping. "Heel first. Roll through the foot. Push off with the toes. Like you're walking on clouds, not trudging through mud."
Hoshimi tried.
His first step was too heavy. His second was too light. His third caught on nothing on the floor, and he stumbled, catching himself on the wall with one hand.
Reina's laugh was sharp and genuine. "Oh my god. I can't– I can't, this is hilarious, this is so sad, you can't even walk."
"This is stupid." Hoshimi pushed off from the wall, his cheeks slightly warm. "I'm not going to be walking dramatically across ballrooms. I'm going to be standing in corners trying not to be noticed."
"No matter how hard you try, your face is on the internet. You are extremely noticeable." Reina's voice softened, just slightly. "Eventually one of the higher ups will talk to you, I need you to project an image of someone confident."
"You're expecting too much."
"Fake it," Reina said, as if reading his thoughts. "Everyone else is anyway, isn't that what you've always done?"
"You've never taught me how to do whatever this is, and you're expecting me to get it on my first try?"
She gestured at the floor. "Again. Walking. And this time, try not to look like a baby deer learning to use its legs."
He tried again.
Better.
"You still suck but it's acceptable, I guess." Reina nodded slowly. "Now. Conversation."
"What about it?"
"You're terrible at it." She held up a hand before he could protest. "Not in general. You suck at small talk? Casual conversation? Pretending to be interested in things you don't care about?" She shook her head. "You shut down because of boredom, you go blank. You were fine with talking with the others because all you had to do was to comfort them."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"These people are high up in the government, which usually means that their egos are through the roof, all you need to do is to stir up a conversation and they'll talk about themselves."
"That doesn't sound very entertaining."
"I know," Reina said quietly. "But you need to pretend otherwise. Just for one night."
Hoshimi looked at her. At the tired lines around her eyes. At the slight slump in her shoulders that she probably wasn't aware of. At the way her hands, usually so steady, kept drifting toward the pocket where she kept her cigarettes.
"You hate this too," he said.
"I hate a lot of things." Reina's smile was thin. "Be glad I'm taking time out of my busy schedule to help you."
"Pretend."
He took a breath. Adjusted his posture. Tried to arrange his face into something that might pass for polite interest. "I've heard you do important work for the Witch's Department. I'd love to hear more about it."
Reina blinked. "That didn't suck."
"Really?"
"No, it was terrible. But it was less terrible than before." She waved a hand. "Again. This time, less like you're reading from a script and more like you're a human being having a conversation."
The afternoon wore on.
They moved from walking to standing to sitting to eating. Which fork to use. Which glass was for water and which for wine. How to hold a champagne flute without looking like you were afraid it would shatter in your grip. How to eat without appearing to eat, to take small, careful bites that left room for conversation, to never be caught with your mouth full when someone asked you a question.
Hoshimi fumbled through all of it.
"I don't like alcohol."
"Just drink it."
His fingers were too stiff. His movements too mechanical. He kept reaching for the wrong utensils, kept forgetting which glass was which, kept catching Reina's eye and seeing the barely suppressed amusement there.
"You're hopeless," she said, not unkindly.
"Then why are you bothering?"
She reached out, adjusting his collar with quick, efficient movements. "Because I'd rather you embarrass yourself here, with me, than in front of people who could destroy your future with a single raised eyebrow."
"Rather thoughtful of you."
"Don't look so surprised." Reina's lips curved.
"Dancing."
The music room was cold.
Hoshimi stood in the center of it, his reflection staring back at him like an accusation.
His posture was wrong. He could see it in the mirror, the way his shoulders hunched slightly, the way his hands hung awkwardly at his sides, the way his feet were planted too far apart. He looked like someone who had never learned to stand properly, let alone dance.
She crossed to the small stereo system in the corner, fiddling with the controls until a soft, classical waltz filled the room. The music was old, elegant, the kind of thing that belonged in gilded ballrooms and period dramas. It felt entirely out of place here, in this cold, empty room with its scuffed floor and its single mirror.
"Okay." Reina turned to face him, her hands on her hips. "Show me what you've got."
Hoshimi stared at her.
"I don't know how to do that."
"I know." She stopped in front of him, close enough that he could smell her perfume, something floral and expensive and entirely at odds with her usual cigarette smoke and gunpowder. "That's why I'm here. To teach you."
"Just pretend that you're looking at a princess."
"I'm not."
Reina clicked her tongue. "Just pretend, as the prince, you're supposed to invite the princess to a dance by getting on your knees and giving your hand to me."
Hoshimi got on his knees reluctantly, and gave out his hand to her.
He did. Her palm was warm, calloused, steady.
"Now put your other hand on my waist."
He hesitated. His hand hovered in the air between them.
"I'm not going to bite you." Reina's lips curved. "Unless you ask nicely."
[She's enjoying this]
He placed his hand on her waist. The fabric of her shirt was soft beneath his fingers, warm from her skin. She was taller than him, he realized. Not by much, but enough that he had to look slightly up.
"Good." Her voice was softer now, almost gentle. "Now follow my lead."
She began to move.
The music swelled around them, elegant and patient, and Hoshimi tried to follow. His feet tangled. His weight shifted wrong. He stepped on her toes, once, twice, three times, each impact sending a jolt of embarrassment through his chest.
Reina didn't flinch.
"You're fighting me," she said. "Stop fighting. Just follow."
"I'm trying."
"No, you're thinking about trying. There's a difference." Her hand tightened on his, guiding him through a simple turn. "Close your eyes."
"What?"
"Close your eyes. Trust me. Just feel the music and move."
[This is stupid.]
He closed his eyes.
The world became sound and touch. The music, elegant and patient. Reina's hand in his, warm and steady. Her body moving against his, guiding him through steps he couldn't see.
He stumbled.
"Don't think." Her voice was close, almost in his ear. "Just feel."
[That's easier said than done]
But he tried. He let the music wash over him, let Reina's movements guide his own, let himself exist in the space between thought and action. His feet found the rhythm. His body found its balance. For one brief, perfect moment, he was dancing.
Then he stepped on her toes again.
"Ow." Reina's voice was flat. "It hurts when I don't expect you to do it."
"Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Just don't do it again." She pulled back, her gold eyes sweeping over him with that critical assessment. "You're not hopeless. You're just... clumsy. And stiff."
[She's not wrong.]
"Let's try again."
They tried again.
And again.
And again.
The music played on, patient and eternal, and Hoshimi stumbled and stepped on her toes and forgot which way to turn and generally made a complete fool of himself. Reina corrected him each time, her voice sharp but not unkind, her hands guiding him through movements that his body refused to learn.
"Okay." She stepped back, releasing his hands. "Let's try something different."
She walked to the stereo, changed the music. The classical waltz faded, replaced by something slower, softer. A piano melody, simple and melancholy, the kind of music that belonged in empty rooms and lonely nights.
Reina said. "I don't think that this one will be that hard, no complicated steps, I think. No fancy turns. Just... swaying. Moving together." She held out her hand again. "Come here."
He took her hand. She pulled him close, closer than before, her body pressing against his, she leaned forwards to make herself seem smaller, her head resting against his chest. His hands found her waist, uncertain, awkward.
Her body was slim, very much so, it was proof that she had gone through years of training. The muscles underneath her shirt were rippling, almost ripping her shirt in half.
"Are you feeling me up, Hoshimi?"
"I'm trying not to, it's difficult when you're this close to me."
"It's okay if you want to touch me, mommy will teach you everything."
"Bleugh, don't say it like that, you're weird."
"Now just sway," she purred, her eyes glowed a deep seductive amber. "Don't think. Don't try. Just be here, in this moment, with me."
[This is different. This is... easier.]
They swayed together in the cold, empty room, she leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. The music played on, simple and melancholy, and Hoshimi found that he didn't need to think. His body knew what to do. His feet knew where to step. For the first time since they'd started, he wasn't fighting.
"See?" Reina's voice was soft. "You can dance. You just needed to stop trying so hard."
The song ended. Another began, equally slow, equally melancholy. They kept swaying.
"The banquet," Reina said, pressing her forehead against his, "you're going to be surrounded by people who want to use you. They're going to smile and shake your hand and say all the right things, and every single one of them is going to see how they can turn you into a weapon."
"I know."
"Do you?" She pulled back slightly, her gold eyes meeting his.
[No. I don't. I've never been important enough for anyone to want to use me before.]
Her voice was hard now, all business. "They're going to offer you things. Money. Power. Protection. And every word out of their mouths is going to be a lie."
"What do I do?"
"You smile. You nod. Pretend like their words are getting to you, reply only when necessary, say yes when they suggest something, say no when they offer something." Her grip on his hands tightened. "You're not theirs, Hoshimi. You're mine."
"I'll remember."
"Good." She relaxed slightly, her body softening against his. "Now let's try that turn again. And this time, try not to step on my feet."
He stepped on her feet.
"Again?"