Leaving the retro arcade fighting game in disgrace, Kiana's mind was filled with a single word.
Revenge!
That damn Shu had actually secretly betrayed their unbreakable alliance and become a gaming pro!
She was going to take her sweet revenge and prove she wasn't some total scrub!
So, when Kiana's judgmental gaze swept across the entire arcade and locked onto the dance machine, she couldn't help but let out a scheming smile.
"Shu, let's go play the dance machine!"
Kiana tugged at Shu excitedly, her eyes burning with intensity.
Shu chopped Kiana on the head with a zero-frame startup. "Watch your phrasing."
"Oh, oh." Kiana rubbed the spot Shu hit in embarrassment. The ahoge on top of her head, perhaps because it had been suppressed for too long, bobbed along with her mood.
"I want to play that one!"
"I—am—not—playing—" Staring into Kiana's expectant eyes, Shu read out the words one by one with a heart of stone.
"Why?" Kiana immediately tensed up.
Was her plan to reclaim her status on the dance machine discovered?! I thought my disguise was flawless!
Shu didn't speak. He just watched Kiana's sudden display of guilt and then revealed a hint of confusion.
This hint of confusion was instantly caught by Kiana. She looked at him and blinked.
Then, Kiana smiled.
"Are you afraid you'll look bad dancing?"
Having his thoughts exposed, Shu felt his face burning.
"...No." He flatly denied it, attempting to struggle.
"You are! Your ears are red!" But with conclusive evidence, Kiana directly closed the case.
She gave a wicked smirk and dragged Shu by the hand toward the dance machine.
"Come on, come on! Let's play double!"
"Wait—I really don't—"
"It's fine~ We won't compete, I'll lead you."
Shu had no time to argue anymore, because he had already been dragged onto the machine by Kiana.
Kiana quickly inserted enough tokens into the dance machine and decisively slapped the button.
Rhythmic music started playing, and arrows began appearing on the screen in front of them.
Kiana turned her head, held Shu's hand, gave him a nod, and then took the first step—
[PERFECT!]
She might not be a natural-born dancer, but every one of her movements was precise and on point; her physical coordination was astonishingly good.
The unreasonable talents of the Kaslana and Schariac bloodlines kicked in, allowing Kiana to effortlessly break down a sequence of dances into short, simple signals while still maintaining the elegance of the dance.
Her long white hair flew with her movements, her high ponytail tracing beautiful arcs under the dazzling lights. Her rhythmic footsteps perfectly matched the beat of the music, even giving off a feeling that...
...the music was being played specifically for her.
In contrast, look at Shu.
His first step was a MISS.
Perhaps the first step was missed because he hadn't fully reacted yet, but as the song progressed, Shu felt as though his limbs completely didn't belong to him anymore.
His brain clearly knew which direction to step, but his feet simply refused to listen.
His body was stiff, his movements cramped; he looked like a silly goose caught in headlights.
To be honest... the urge to turn and flee had actually reached its peak the moment that first MISS appeared.
It felt as if everything around him had come to life, beginning to watch his chaotic footsteps, wantonly mocking and despising him like a clown...
Those gazes—whether they truly existed or not—began to transform into sharp blades in Shu's imagination, stabbing into his back one by one.
Flee...
He really wanted to flee.
But Kiana was holding onto him—she hadn't let go this whole time. She just kept holding Shu's hand as she grooved on the dance machine, stepping out one [PERFECT!] after another, and transmitted that rhythm over to him.
Flee?
Shu took a sudden, deep breath, his gaze turning abruptly sharp.
Why the hell should I flee?!
The moment the new beat fell onto the score line, Shu and Kiana stepped toward the upper diagonal almost simultaneously.
[PERFECT!]
The next moment, the two jumped at the same time, a quick micro-step hitting two beats in a row.
[PERFECT!]
Feeling the synchronized rhythm transmitting through their hands, Kiana looked at Shu in surprise.
She had already adapted to this rhythm; right now, she could clearly see the falling beats even with just her peripheral vision.
The dance machine was truly child's play for her, not even enough for a warm-up.
But she could tell at a glance that Shu was currently dancing while holding his breath... or rather, he had completely forgotten that he still needed to breathe, entirely focused on hitting every beat perfectly.
Hm?
Is Shu... entering that... that...
Kiana racked her brain for quite a while, her body subconsciously continuing to stomp out [PERFECT!]s.
What did Aunt Himeko call this state? Flow state? Wait, a 'low' state? Doesn't that mean being a pervert? No matter how you look at it, that can't be right!
Kiana's barren pool of knowledge couldn't retrieve the actual name for Shu's current state, but she was very clear on what kind of state he was in.
Shu's focused appearance felt so incredibly familiar...
The song ended, and the scores popped up on the screen.
Kiana: SSS+.
Shu: S.
Even though Shu had completely failed to keep up with the first few beats at the start, by relying on the [PERFECT!]s he forcefully chewed out while in his "flow state" later on, Shu still managed to pull his score up to an S rank.
But that was as far as it went. Unless Shu went another round with Kiana in this exact state, there was no way they'd achieve double SSS scores.
Looking at their scores, and then at Shu, Kiana still revealed a smug smile.
Even going all out, you still can't defeat me? Shu, I acknowledge you! I probably won't ever in this life... uh... I will absolutely never forget Shu in this life!
"Shu, you're so amazing!" It was best to keep the smug remarks in her heart; Kiana directly bombarded Shu with fierce praise instead.
This was the "Anti-Shu Noble Phantasm" she had comprehended this morning!
Meanwhile, Shu suddenly snapped out of it. He looked at the scores in astonishment, looked bewilderedly at his and Kiana's joined hands, and then looked at Kiana beside him.
His entire body instantly slumped, as if relieved of a heavy burden.
"...Mhm..." However, the effect of Kiana's "Anti-Shu Noble Phantasm" was still very good. Even though Shu was so tired his heart was pounding, he still responded and straightened his back again.
An S rank... should be considered pretty good, right?
It was indeed pretty good, but Kiana's SSS+ score right next to his was simply too eye-catching, making him look like a flaw by comparison.