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"ERI!! get up!! this is your 4th time tripping!!", the dance instructor yelled.
eri was on the brink of tears. her stubby legs were not fit to dance elegantly, or dance at all. she wobbled back up, seeing the other girls whisper about her.
"s-sorry", eri meekly apologized.
"from the top!!", the instructor called out.
eri quickly got back to her spot, behind the other girls, who were slightly older. listening to the music, eri tried to balance her weight, but ended up tripping again.
"haha!! look at how clumsy she is!! too bad yua-san's wasting her time and effort on such a uncoordinated girl", one of the older girls laughed.
the others chuckled along, making eri feel even more self-conscious. she knew she was bad at dancing, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't help but fall.
"are you saying that I'm incapable of teaching??", a voice suddenly asked, making the little girls and dance instructor turn around.
"y-yua-san!! not at all!! I was just saying that perhaps you should take a more capable disciple", the girl said.
"eri, come here", yua commanded, to which eri got up and grabbed yua's hand.
"who I choose is none of your concern. also, work on your arms. they're flailing around too much", yua said as she left with eri.
"y-yua-san...".
"hm?"
"d-don't I need to go back to dance class?", eri asked, worried that yua was mad.
"no. from now on, I'll be teaching you everything", yua said, bringing eri to a private room.
"we'll start with the shamisen", yua said, taking the three-stringed instrument out from the big drawer.
this shamisen was a bit smaller to fit eri's hands. yua placed the instrument in eri's arms, teaching her how to hold it.
"this is a bachi. strum the strings vertically and I'll slowly teach you all the positions", yua instructed.
eri observed as yua played a short tune for her to hear. even her playing was enchanting.
"let's learn the basic notes", yua said, placing the shamisen back in eri's tiny arms.
