2025-07-03: Dances of the Swans
- Log: Dances of the Swans
- Cast: Miho Ijuuin, Yua Ooshiro
- Where: Aoba Classical Theatre, Aoba
- OOC Date: 2025-07-03
- IC Date: Sunday, June 03 2012
- Summary: Yua and Miho attend a ballet performance of Swan Lake, only for their discussion during the intermission to grow dire under the weight of the tragedy they're watching. Miho won't let Yua's life be a tragedy -- no matter what she has to do.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Early on Sunday morning, Yua disappeared down the elevator of the building to open up her studio at the perfectly normal hour of six in order to help facilitate a student in dire need of outreach. There were other tasks to attend to during the day, including a nap before Yua cooked dinner for her girlfriend. (Doing things all day is exhausting.) But now, after dinner...
... she's getting all dolled up. Miho promised they'd go out to celebrate her successful return to employment! Her makeup is particularly stunning today; she's wearing diamond teardrops in her ears, bracelets about her wrists, and a lovely sparkling choker around her neck, all of them gifts from Miho. (No decoration on her eye patch. She's scared to touch it.) Because this evening is evidently special, she's even stepped out of her usual leotard in favour of a lovely, old-fashioned western ball gown, featuring a pink tulle skirt dotted with embroidered flowers, held over her bare shoulders with decorated straps. It looks like it was quite expensive; she wasn't the one to pay it. She looks stunning in it, though.
Her hand passes over a romance novel she received today, left on her dressing table as she focused on getting ready instead, and when she finds a section of furniture not occupied by jewels or makeup she pushes herself standing. She turns, once, twice, and three times... before she looks to Miho, and asks: "Zip me up?"
There's a zipper in the back, you see.
The zipper in the back always foils her.
Imagine being this flexible and foiled by back zippers.
(It's not just her zipper which has foiled her. The strap of her bra has slipped out from under the strap of her dress, and she's completely failed to notice this scandalous intimation that she does indeed wear underclothes, because she's not used to strap dresses at all.)
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho Ijuuin had her own errand to attend this morning, Sunday the Third. She had to get some information--or rather, set the ball rolling to get some information. And of course, to get the book that is now on Yua's table. Miho did not today give those other gifts to Yua... because it was another day. Now, though, she gets to see them on her, and for all that the trappings of femininity are too much trouble for her to bother with herself, they are a delight when Yua does them and she gets to see, perhaps even aid.
Indeed Yua is stunning, and Miho would not embarrass her by underdressing. Instead of a beautiful gown, however, Miho has elected for something different: fancy trousers, a silk blouse, and a very nice jacket, in the style of a suit--but not quite the same as how a man would wear it, of course. It wouldn't do to give the wrong impression. The right impression is that she is a handsome figure, her short green hair styled for the evening, and her shoes smart and glossy. (They are not heels. She does not need them.)
And the zipper...
"Of course," Miho says--and then, "Ah, one moment." She gently pulls the strap up to place it where it should be first, and then zips Yua's back up. "Your strap was showing," she says. "But no more. You are perfect."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Yua's started reading that book, and already excitedly told Miho over dinner about how the heroine was going on a date in the book too, so they match, isn't that great? Myunghon must be prophetic...!
(Or maybe that's just the genre.)
Yua has received plenty of gifts to buoy her since she escaped; she glitters, in them, now. She is all the more eager to look gorgeous, with Miho finding her beauty on another axis entirely now... though she's just as stunning, to ask Yua. Her daring charm is positively heart-stopping!
Yua is in heels -- and so she manages to come up to Miho's neck, when she stands, instead of lining her head with her shoulders. She's quite apt at balancing in them; when one goes en pointe as frequently as she does, a sharp point of balance on her heel is a cakewalk.
Miho steps behind her to help with that zipper, though, and -- "Oh!" Yua exclaims, a natural blush colouring the subtle brightness at her cheeks, looking to her shoulder. "Lucky you were looking out for me, Mimi!"
She turns, and places a hand on Miho's arm, leaning up to whisper to her.
"Help me with it when we get back, too, okay...?"
These fancy clothes can be so much trouble.
...---...
The Aoba Classical Theatre helps to bring all the artistic energy of the Aoba Ward to its people. Hosting various operas, theatres, and ballet productions, it has a smaller and more intimate feel than some of the larger theatre-houses in Tokyo. Another thing it has which many of them don't is private seating, with a few private boxes reserved at the top level of the theatre.
Of course, those are the seats Miho booked -- the only seats which strangers can't look over and see them from. They'll be enjoying Swan Lake privately, tonight.
When Yua steps out of the car, she takes the hand of their chauffeur, Seiji Sahashi, to help her out; his aid looks far more reasonable, to onlookers. She follows behind Miho at a distance one might hold with a friend, rather than a lover; she clasps her hands together, in front of her, as she walks.
Tonight, the pair are received by an attendant who signs off, "Ijuuin-san and guest," on his list. "Will you be needing a valet today?" He asks, because this is the kind of up-scale venue which has valet parking... for those people who don't have their own people to do it.
Miho is richer than that. Yua's still trying to get used to the idea that she is, too, by association.
"Will you be needing service during the production, or would you prefer a bottle of wine for your own use?" Is his next question, and a critical one: it dictates whether attendants will be coming into their booth. Normally, someone rich enough to book a private experience would want to be waited on, but... there are some business deals which are too sensitive for prying ears.
Yua remains silent, though she knows what she'd prefer; she'll rely on Miho to say it properly.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho answered simply: "Myunghon is very clever."
She'd said the same to Myunghon herself, earlier.
But those glittering gifts are just a token of Miho's affection, barely scratching the surface of how glad she is to see her again, and to be with her again. ...But she doesn't object to being charming herself.
Miho smiles down at Yua. "Of course," she says of looking out for her--and then that whisper...
"Of course," she murmurs back, but it's an entirely different phrase.
-=-=-
A private box is vital to Miho's comfort for many reasons... but the obvious is the biggest. And the questions, well. Miho does not need help out of her car; she does that herself. But their chaffeur is welcome to be a reasonable assistant. And inside...
"No," Miho answers as to the valet. "Thank you." It is simple, and to the point. She does not have the upturned nose of the new rich; she doesn't have to prove anything about her status.
And as to his next...
"A bottle of wine," she says, "And privacy. Thank you." Miho does not need to be waited on--and wants the privacy, in any case. She looks to Yua, as she is silent, and inclines her head once, as if to acknowledge her 'friend' as present.
She looks expectantly at the attendant.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Tokens are lovely, in their way, even if they can't possibly speak the depths of their emotions. A performance is carried in the movement, the interplay, the lights and the environment -- but the costumes contribute, too.
And what a glorious production they make.
When they come to the theatre-house, though, they attend someone else's production, and Yua is a polite audience. She smiles, but not too much; she takes up space, but not too much.
"Very good," the attendant nods, as he makes a marking in his book. And then another, as he calls in another attendant. "Please escort our guests to Private Booth C and fetch them a bottle of wine," he says, to the smartly-dressed man who appears. "They'd like their privacy."
Yua nods, to Miho, her smile softening a few degrees with her gratitude. Miho can surely tell she's a little uncomfortable, in a place like this, where their wealth is assumed; she's glad that Miho can handle it.
It wouldn't be the first situation where she's let her do the talking. At least in this context, the attendants aren't looking down on her. She's afforded as much quiet respect as her patron; it would be a terrible offence if they didn't.
They are led up to their booth, and their attendant fetches them a fine bottle of wine, uncorked, and kept in a nest of ice to keep it cool; he sets out two flutes, on the table set between the lavish seats of the private booth. "Please enjoy the production," he says, bowing his head.
"Thank you," Yua smiles, to him, as he leaves.
The door clicks shut. Yua turns, to look at it, to be sure.
"No one's going to come in, right?" She asks, a touch more nervous, unsure of what to expect.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
That is a difference: while Miho does not scowl at or scorn the attendants, she doesn't smile so freely either. ...If Miho had her way, Yua would take up as much space as she wished, but in this world, even she has restrictions. She lives with that.
The escort brings them to their booth, and Miho nods her head at the nicely-dressed man. Miho can indeed tell Yua is uncomfortable, and intends to make her more comfortable when she's able. But for now...
Well. At least they indeed afford Yua proper respect. Miho's shoes do not make a sound against the fancy carpet as she walks along, and inclines her head back to the attendant. "Thank you," Miho answers.
She turns to Yua--and finally, Miho does smile. "Yes," she says. "Short of warning us of a fire, no one will come in." A pause. "...And even then they would be expected to knock first."
"So we are alone," she says, and reaches out to clasp Yua's hand where it was folded. "Come," she says. "Sit. Let us enjoy the performance."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
It's hard... having all these expectations.
But there's no escaping them, either.
Yua breathes out, relieved, when Miho assures her they won't be coming in again. "Okay," she says, reaching out to take Miho's hand.
"Then..."
Once Miho's sat herself down, Yua gathers up her tulle skirt in her free hand, and seats herself on Miho's lap. "I do desire the best seat in the house!" She declares, cheerfully, leaning up to rub her cheek against Miho's. Her blind side is to her, of course, so she doesn't have to twist around to see the performance. Yua can trust Miho in the spaces she can't see.
She leans over, and pours them their wine; her impeccable balance means that the threat of red wine on their gorgeous outfits is unlikely to come to pass.
From this best seat in the house, they're able to watch the opening Acts of Swan Lake: Odetta and her sisters cursed to become swans, and Prince Siegfried, who abandons his hunt when he realises the swan he was hunting was truly a beautiful maiden.
He swears to love only her, and Yua sniffs, dabbing at her eyes delicately with her handkerchief as she's overcome with emotions from the beauty of the ballet. Not only a dramatic romantic tragedy, but one which requires stark technical skill... who wouldn't be moved?
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Maybe no escape, but perhaps reprieve. After all, there's some privacy and quiet here. And Miho thus comes to take a seat, moving with the grace of a cat towards the chair--and then smiling, when Yua sits on her lap. Naturally, she is comfortable showing Miho her blind side.
...But Miho appreciates it, all the same; it, too, is a token of their bond.
Miho will be watching the performance too, of course. But she picks up her wine, and takes a sip before it begins; it is important to taste without muddying the senses. Understand one thing, then sense the next.
To love only her...
It is beautiful, and Miho too is moved. Yua can tell--because she relaxes slightly, because the tension in her jaw is unwound, because her hand stills about Yua's waist, and she actually watches.
She does not interrupt, even in their own private booth, until intermission.
But for now, she holds a little more closely to Yua, as she notices her emotion.
She smiles.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Miho relaxes, and Yua, in turn, sinks into her; she sips at her own wine, here and there, appreciating the rich flavours of the deep red drink. This bottle, too, much have been costly; having tasted affordable red wine at her dinner table at home when her parents relented to let her try it, the experiences are worlds apart.
So, too, the experience of watching Swan Lake from above, as the Prince shatters his crossbow in a grand gesture to prove his love to Odette and earn her trust. As the maidens turn to swans again with the dawning sun, and the curtains draw for the intermission, Yua places her glass down on the table so that she can place her hand to Miho's chest instead.
"It's so beautiful," she says, turning to her, and the richness of her own smile could not be brought with any amount of yen. "I can't wait to see Siegfried's grand jetes -- and Odile's fouette turns! Ahh, I was just practicing them this morning... thirty-two turns is astoundingly challenging. But how sad, just the same... that he would pledge his love to the swan, only to be misled. Their happiness is so ephemeral... for the forces pressing on them!"
She sighs, resting her head against Miho's shoulder as she hugs herself to her. "Oh, if I were a swan," she says, "I'd fly away from all of this... if only the lake did not chain me!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Here and there. It's meant to be an accoutrement, rather than the focus of the occasion. A bottle this expensive, just to 'enhance' something else, rather than to be enjoyed only for its own sake. It's a great luxury. And it is beautiful.
Not nearly so beautiful as the ballet. Miho listens, to the music, watches the performance, and when intermission comes, her glass is already down on the table again. She looks to Yua, whose hand is on Miho's chest. And she is still smiling.
Yes. This is the sort of place Yua should be; smiling amidst beauty.
"The athleticism behind the loveliness only enhances it for me--knowing how hard they work to be so beautiful, it brings it to new heights."
A pause. "But..."
Yes. They are chained.
She wraps her arm more tightly about Yua. "...We could," she says. "We could fly away, never to be found."
"But..."
"We'd never be able to return home."
"We must purchase our freedom with blades, not wings. And one day... We will have it."
"Without chains."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Miho's luxuries are strange and wonderful, to Yua, just as they were when they were younger and Miho would take her on far more lavish dates than their peers could ever manage. (If she were wealthy, would this feel more normal?) If anything, her horrific experiences in the interim have made them more striking -- even if she's in a gilded cage, now.
(A cage they share. Neither money nor influence alone can buy a path through Hell; only the chance to be afforded the respect of a player, rather than a piece on the board.)
Still, she shines. Her joys over the performance are real; she could not feign her emotions, the smile on her face. "Their self-mastery is beyond reproach," Yua agrees, her smile widening. "The sheer amount of work they needed to do in order to attain that flexibility, that level of control over their movements -- they're dancing in the Vaganova style, it's a discipline which destroys the unworthy."
Still... that's not the only way to destroy a woman.
Miho grasps her, tightly, and Yua turns her face up to gaze at her girlfriend. At least she can feel safe when Miho is holding her, though there is so much to threaten her, out there.
"Exile would be a terrible fate," she agrees, softly. "At least here, I'm close to home. Another country might be kinder to us... but their sand wouldn't be mine." Tokyo's sands aren't hers, either; but it's just a day's trip out. It's not so bad, if she's only this far away.
It's not so bad.
She reaches up, with her untrapped hand, to cup Miho's cheek as she looks up to her. "My hands were not built to hold a blade," she admits, her brow creasing with the weight of it. "I'm... so glad I can rely on you. You're as strong as an Amazon... you're really amazing, Mimi. If you say we'll be able to grasp it... I believe in that. Just..."
Her smile grows more fragile, smoothing Miho's short hair down at the side of her face. "You promise it's not a tragedy?" She asks, as her eye tracks over Miho's face, searching. "We won't end up forced into the lake, bereft of any hope but to die together? Even if it would break their curse upon the world... I don't want you to die."
She takes a breath.
"I don't want..."
It's harder to finish that next statement.
It's not that she doesn't believe Miho, when she says she'll find a solution.
It's just...
The end is a thing which weighs in her chest. She feels her malaise, the thousand little ways her body is failing. She knows that she is dying. She is afraid.
She can't accept it, when the woman she loves is right here.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho is accustomed to such things. That's not to say she doesn't appreciate them--but it's in the sense of savoring, more than not expecting. These things are to be savored indeed--but are normal to her.
(Miho is not through her Journey there.)
"Yes," she says. "Through you, I know how hard they must work. And that's all the better."
She will keep Yua as safe as she can--which is not so safe as she would like. But it is safer, for sure, then she was while they were apart.
"Yes," she says. "We should go," she says. "To see your home, after the Olympics. If you feel up to it."
Sumaru City may be Miho's home--but indeed. Yua's...
But her hands, "That is all right," she says. "Your hands need not bear that weight. Allow mine, instead. They are larger, stronger--made for such work."
But a tragedy...
"I promise," Miho says, full of intensity. "I will shake the very Firmament if I must to ensure it is so. I will descend to Hell to find the path."
She doesn't want to die. The end is weighty...
"If your life is bought by an ocean of blood," she says, "Then I will shed it gladly. For more days with you."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Really... Yua's still in awe of Miho, sometimes.
It's such a different life...
How wonderful that she can share it!
"It's just like how I know the effort behind those duels, no?" She asks, tilting her head. "When you or Recchi step into the duelling grounds, it's only the latest movement of a thousand come before..."
Before -- before was before, before Miho knew where she was, before Miho could save her. Now Miho has saved her; now she will save her.
She needs that safety. She craves it. And all her hopes are laid in Miho, now.
Her crimson eye brightens, again, when Miho suggests visiting Kikojima. "Oh, let's!" She exclaims, smiling again. "I want to see Mama again -- she won't leave any more... and you can meet our matriarch again! I'm sure Grandmother will love the woman you've become," she adds, her fingers playing at the edge of Miho's ear.
Her gaze drops, then, to Miho's fingers, curled about her side, holding her close and secure. Her hand drops, too, to drape delicately over them, in stark contrast. "I'm in your hands," she offers herself, to her, freely and at once.
Though her palms... must surely be red.
Isn't that why they're strong?
Yua looks back up to Miho, as she promises, with that ferocious intensity which rocks her to the very core of her heart, that she will find a way. Her breath shallows in her chest, gazing up to her, and in the love that overcomes her she finds she is afraid of the cost Miho would so gladly bear. An ocean of blood...
With her red hands, she...
How much has she done? How much will she do? For Yua's sake, she would condemn her own immortal soul!
She should put an end to it, shouldn't she? Isn't she the only one who could?
But -- but she --
"No one has ever loved me as fiercely as you," Yua breathes, her half-gaze fixed on her. "If there is a way... I know you'll find it. Oh... I shouldn't abide by such sacrifice..."
Tears well, in one eye. "But I don't want to die," she pleads, against all sense and piety. "Mimi, I don't want to die! Please, save me--!"
And there -- the denial of her punishment, that attempt to escape the sad fate she deserves, a thing she earned when she worried Number 99 down until she could resist no more, as she trapped them there, in that place, THAT PLACE, betrayal on betrayal --
She feels her heart squeezing, as she tries to punish herself for her own transgressions, through the chemical haze of the leash she's placed upon herself. But she grits her teeth, and shuts her eye, and gains a grasp on herself in a silent moment of tension wrapped around her own psyche.
A beat of silence passes.
And then, "I'm okay," though her voice is shallow.
"I'm okay," again, a little firmer. She cracks her eye open, and looks to Miho, her face ashen under her beautiful makeup. "I'm just... not as strong as you... sorry, Mimi..."
It isn't that she isn't strong.
She's just... not in agreement.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
To share is what makes it worthwhile.
"True," Miho agrees, and thinks for a moment of her friend, also rescued from the jaws of Cerberus. Only a moment, though; a fond reflection, and then back to Yua, who is here and now. Here and now, and pinning all her hopes on Miho. Miho will be the iron foundation on which those hopes can rest.
"I would like that," Miho says. Yua's grandmother to appreciate her... yes. That would be rewarding. She smiles down at Yua, squeezes her lightly with the arm around her.
She is in her hands, Yua says. And no, Miho's hands are smooth and not at all red... to look at.
One must look deeper to see the flesh, bloody like meat around the bone, bloody with dark deeds and stained with horror.
But Miho will bear it as she must.
"And more by the day," Miho assures Yua. But... she shouldn't abide?
"I am what I am," Miho says. "I--"
But suddenly--she needs her to save her, and 99 is trapped. The moment--
Miho holds Yua securely, looking into her eyes--into her eye. She sees that ashen face...
"It is not a lack of strength," Miho assures Yua. "For the strong perish as surely as the weak."
"...But together, we will find better," she says softly. "We will. You don't have to worry about me. ...So long as you're with me, it's all worthwhile."
"I love you."
If she needs to go, they will go; it's that simple. Yua will call that shot, this time.
Because...
"Strength... is different than that."
"And our love will be more than strong."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
Another protector. Yua needs so many, delicate as she is.
Delicate as they made her.
But Yua's Grandmother is strong, a leader in her community, fearsome and respected -- as women can be, when they take the lead. Yua understands the concept of the three submissions, of course, but she's never much thought Miho ought to cleave to them. She is built to be a matriarch, though she was born in the wrong place to be one.
Couldn't Miho lead her own family?
(Their own family?)
... that's a desire for later, though. There are some things Yua needs to muster more bravery to suggest to her girlfriend, though her desires have remained true since she was young. It is true that they only found each other again five months ago... and she didn't always make sense after her rescue, especially early on.
Even if it seems silly... to worry about whether she'd accept, when she would slit so many throats just to keep the breath flowing through Yua's.
(Slit to expose that bloody meat, the thing which lies beneath their skin, and oh, she is afraid of blood and what it nourishes, afraid of --)
"I'm with you," Yua promises, a touch dizzy, grasping at what she can offer like the lifeline it is. "I'll always be with you. I'll be yours. I promise! Right here -- beside you. No matter what... I'll support you, Mimi. Even if that's all I can do..."
It's horrific. It's horrifying. But it's still Miho, even if the acts are unspeakable, aren't they? Miho, who loves her so much...
"I love you too, Mimi," Yua says, nuzzling her face in against her neck. "More than anything."
Strength is different...
"We'll be more," Yua agrees, "so we won't perish." She won't... perish. It's so hard to believe that, when she felt her self-destruction roiling inside her... but if anyone could do it, Miho could.
Just don't think about how, she tells herself, firmly. And again: don't think about how. Just like she doesn't think about what happens to those cute little pigs and cows... just like how she doesn't think about what happened to the ones who died.
Stay blind to it, and everything will be fine.
Everything will be... fine.
"I want to watch to the end," she decides, intuiting the precise thing on Miho's mind. "Even if they die and go to Heaven... it's just a story. It's different to us..."