|My Two Stars| Oshi No Ko|

|11|

I can do it. I can do it. With confidence, like Papa said.

Ruby took a deep breath, staring at her own reflection on the mirrors covering the wall at the practice room for the actors in Lala Lai. At the moment, the actors were rehearsing on the stage, leaving Ruby alone in the room. Ruby started to dance, doing the choreography to the song as her eyes focused on her reflection.

I can do it. I can do it! Confidence! Come on!

Ruby gasped, tripping and falling on the ground with her arms protecting her face from hitting the wooden floor. She laid there, slightly pouting.

"Hey."

Ruby lifted her head to see Taiki standing there, "What are you doing? Why are you on the floor?"He asked. Ruby brought herself back on her feet, "I'm trying to practice for my dance performance that is less than a month away, and I've talked to my Papa about it, but I keep falling! I'm trying to have confidence like Papa said, but..."

"But there's a small voice telling you that you can't do it?"

"...yeah."Ruby mumbled, glancing down with a sad expression on her face. Taiki smiled softly at Ruby, "So, that's the reason why you came with my mom and I to my rehearsal? To practice your dancing?"

Ruby nodded, looking over at the ten year old in front of her. Taiki tapped his chin, "How about I dance with you? The director doesn't need me at the moment, so I have time to dance with you."He said, placing his script aside. Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Do you even know how to dance to Heart's kiss?"

"Not very much, but I'm sure I can get better with your help. After all, I did dance a bit for some of the plays we had here. Don't you remember?"

"I remember! You were great at dancing, but your arms needed to be higher , and your feet needed to move out more for some of the dance moves."Ruby critiqued, pointing her finger at him. Taiki stared at Ruby, unfazed on the critiquing she was doing to his dancing, "You know that I've never danced before. It takes time to actually be a good dancer like the B-Komachi girls." Taiki stood next to Ruby, fixing his glasses, making sure they wouldn't fall, "Okay, how about you guide me through the dance moves? I'll follow along. After that, we can dance together as if we are at your dance performance. How does that sound?"

Ruby nodded, giving Taiki a small smile.

As Ruby guided Taiki through the dance, Taiki watched her and did the dance moves that Ruby had done.

"Put that arm higher, Taiki!"

"I'm trying."

"Higher!"Ruby cried out, glaring over at Taiki.

"Okay! Okay!"

"Move that leg more out, Taiki!"

"Okay! I'm trying! Just- uh- okay!"Taiki smiled once he got it. Ruby smiled as she continued to guide Taiki through the dance. "So, why do you love dancing so much?"He asked, repeating the dance moves he was seeing.

"Dancing is a way to make myself feel free. The genius Idol Ai is also another reason why I love dancing! She's the reason I ended up loving it! Every move she did on TV was perfect and amazing! She looked like she was the only one on that stage!"Ruby responded, glancing over at Taiki. The ten year old blinked before chuckling, "You're really a big fan of hers, huh?"

"Yup!"

"If you're such a big fan of hers, are you going to be an Idol like her?"

Ruby got quiet as her body continued to move, having the question repeating in her mind. Taiki hummed, "It would be amazing to see on that big stage like the B-Komachi are, and be able to see you shine just like Ai! The love you have for dancing, your cute looks, and your energetic personality fits perfectly for an Idol. Hey, if you become an Idol, there's a chance you might meet Ai in person. Wouldn't that be cool for you?"