Beauty And A Beast

Chapter 10

Sana

Dancing with Tzuyu lasts much more than dancing with her brother or Yuto, a guy who is also competing in the Trials and wanted to get to know me better. When Tzuyu sent him off however, her tone wasn't very friendly. But then again, Tzuyu is cold with most people anyway.

Tzuyu and I are dancing our fourth dance and, surprisingly, I haven't stomped on her toes yet. And I don't feel tired. She twirls me in front of her for what seems like the tenth time before her hand settles on my back again. We fit together perfectly, pieces of a puzzle snapping into place. I shouldn't let myself relax into her touch. Shouldn't let the tension ease from my body when she holds me. But I can do nothing to stop it.

And I can feel nothing but completely powerless.

"Tz-"

A loud bang echoes in the gym, resulting in multiple screams and Tzuyu pulling me against her. Another loud bang, accompanied by more screams and shards of glass flying in th gym.

"What the hell-"

"You need to get out of here." Tzuyu says and starts guiding me out of the gym hurriedly.

"What are you saying? What about-"

Another explosion and Tzuyu pushes me harder. "You need to leave. Get out of here, how else do you want me to say it? Mark! Mark!" Tzuyu shouts and waves at Mark who runs to us covering his head.

"Tzu, what's happening?"

"Mark, take her and get out of here. Take whoever you find and leave the gym."

"No, I'm not leaving-"

"Listen to me!" Tzuyu yells over the crowds screams and the explosions and I turn to her. She puts two hands over my shoulders and her gaze softens, her voice lowers. "Please, just leave."

The next thing I know, she is running towards the next explosion and Mark is pushing me out of the gym.

★★★

I pace up and down, hands on the hem of my dress keeping it so I won't stumble upon it. We've been outside the gym for half an hour, without having the slightest idea what is happening behind the heavy metal doors. Without being able to help. And I hate it. I hate feeling powerless.

"Mark?" I call when I see him coming to me with a worried look on his face. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"The- Uh-" Mark sighs and holds my hand. "Can you please not tell anyone?"

"Not tell anyone what?"

"The ones who attacked in there are the Japanese Mafia. And the ones fighting back are the Korean." he says, his voice shaking slightly.

"Wh-what? Wait, so Tzuyu-"

"You can't tell anyone. You shouldn't know either. But I trust you Sana."

I nod at him, taking some time to take in the information I was just given. I should have known though. Tzuyu is an excellent fighter, she has problems with big guys in suits and she just ran into a fight. And Tzuyu is cold, cruel and bitchy.

The perfect Mafia member.

The doors suddenly fly open, snapping me and the others out of our trance. I immediately follow Mark in the gym.

Or what is left of it.

The gym has transformed into a mass of rubble, every decoration for the Dance has been destroyed and, to many people's disgust, blood is coating the floors. My eyes are searching around the gym, for a person I never thought they would.

And when they find her, I find myself worrying.

Tzuyu is lying on a piece of rubble that apparently fell from the ceiling. Her jacket and tie are gone and her once white shirt is covered in dirt and blood, though I doubt much of it is hers.

"Shit." I mumble as my feet make their way to her on their own. She blinks an eye open and chuckles when she sees me.

"So you do care?"

"You wish. What happened?"

"Are you serious?" she huffs out a laugh and attempts to get up. "Any help?"

"Oh, so you're asking for my help?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"C'mon Minatozaki, I've given you help too."

"I never asked for it."

Tzuyu smiles, in a way that mesmerizes me, in a way that I've only seen when she smiles at her brother, both dimples showing. It's captivating, lethal. It's deadly to think someone like Tzuyu, now that I know what she is, can capture someone with just a smile.

"I knew you couldn't resist my dimples."

I scoff. "I never said I'll help you."

"Ugh, that's alright." she groans and tries again to get up, this time rolling at the side and turning her back on me.

"What the fuck!?"

"What?"

"You've had a fucking knife on your back all this time and you've just let me talk!?" I argue furiously, pointing at the black military knife embedded on her right shoulder blade.

"Your voice is a nice distraction from the pain." Tzuyu shrugs with another groan.

"Wait, stop moving. I need to take it out."

"You won't do it."

"Shut up."

"You want to stab me, remember? I don't want you taking the knife out."

"Taking this knife out doesn't mean I'm not doing it so I can shove another one on your back instead."

"Okay."

I lift my eyebrows. "Okay? Tzuyu-"

"Just, take it out." she commands and takes a sharp breath. I wrap my fingers around the black hilt and put the other on Tzuyu's back.

"Ready?"

Tzuyu throws an arm back and grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly as she closes her eyes. "Ready." she grunts.

"On the count of three. One. Two-"

"Fuck Minatozaki!" Tzuyu exclaims when I pull the knife out before counting to three. I toss the knife away, chuckling, as I move to face Tzuyu.

"I'm sorry, I just had to do it." I say and I continue laughing. Instead of getting mad, Tzuyu shakes her head with a smile.

"Tzuyu? Are you okay?"

Both Tzuyu and I stop laughing as Mark comes to us.

"Yeah, pretty good, thanks." Tzuyu chuckles. Mark's eyes go from Tzuyu's wound on her back to the blood on my hands and the knife lying not very far from us.

"Oh, don't worry, she didn't stab me yet." Tzuyu says and Mark rolls his eyes.

"We need to get you to a hospital or something. Tomorrow's the first Challenge and you need to be at least somewhat healed." he states seriously.

The first Challenge. I almost forgot about those. I almost forgot that, from tomorrow, I need to fear for my life because any second could be my last one on this Earth. Any second, I might be forced to kill, I might die, I might-

"Hey. Minatozaki."

I snap out of my thoughts and find Tzuyu looking at me with that soft gaze again. And then, with her voice even softer, she adds, "Promise me you'll stay alive long enough to stab me in the back."

Her statement has me chuckling and shaking my head in amusement while she shows me two dimples. I smile at her again. "That was my intention all along, Chou."

A/N:

First Challenge coming up and we'll be entering the main plot of the story, hope you like it so far.