I don't do anything

You decide not to do anything. A place like this, something is interesting is bound to happen anyway...About 5 minutes into doing nothing, your guess is made correct.

“Kenji?” A girl with long, deep balck hair approaches your partner. “Anatana no?”

Kenji looks up and then smiles slightly. This probably isn’t the person he was hoping to find since his expression is lack-luster. His tone that carried with his reply is also flat and careless. “Ogenkidesuka?”

The girl giggles. Her smile radiant and porcelain white - perfect in every way possible. She looks at you, as if just now realizing you’re sitting there. “Kare wa dare?”

Kenji’s eyes dart to you. Her question (?) makes him clear his throat. Now he looks a little more serious. He tells her to speak English, and to introduce herself. This, at first, makes the girl laugh. She looks at you again and places her slender fingers on her hips. She knits her brows and puckers her lips. There’s a faint purple behind the brown of her eyes...Interesting. She looks at Kenji again. “Eigo?”

She swallows. “Eng-English?” The accent that escapes her mouth is heavy. She looks at you and smiles again as she stretches out a sweaty hand.

“Hello!! I am Sachio and I like cheese!”

Now you’re smiling, it’s more or less **** however as you give a slight bow in response to her introduction. “Wh-what is your...um...your name? What is your name??”

She manages. You stammer at first, trying hard to bypass the seemingly large language barrier that is between you too. Kenji isn’t assumed however, he calls out her name and nudges “Sachio” slightly. She lets out a few bursts of stifled laughter and looks back at him. “Gomen! Gomen!”

She rolls her off-colored eyes and tilts her head at you. “I can speak English just fine.”

There’s no accent this time, which surprises you. “We’re all very accustomed to it. If you go up to any of the dancers and they tell you otherwise, it means they don't want to talk to you. But take no offense, we’re not really allowed to have any friends outside of our circle. Keeps the lineup pure and easy to deal with. Isn’t that right, Kenji?”

“If you’re looking for a cool dancing friend, we have a show with the Black Glass Performers this summer. Germans, Japanese, Koreans, and the Russians- uhm, well, not the ones further North, are much less restrictive and friendly.” She sits close to Kenji, crossing her legs and she ends. She stares at Kenji, expecting him to say something, but instead he just smokes, so she looks back at you.

“You said your name was Warren? Right? I heard one of my friends mention someone with that name. Don’t talk to Akiko anymore, got that? Stay away from her.”

Her friendly face fades in an instant. “Why?”

“She’s already in a relationship.” She spits.

Before you can reply. She tilts her head at Kenji. “It’s Kenji. They’re both madly in love--”

“Sachio!” Kenji barks. She begins to laugh.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” She clicks her tongue. “She’s probably sleeping. Been out of it since the furnace started to act up. She’s Okinawan - the only one out of the 30 of us.”

“Why does that matter?”

Sachio shrugs. “She’s all lonely. She doesn’t talk to one anyone besides me, which is why I know your name. Hey, would you like to look around the studio while we bake?”

For some reason, you look at Kenji, almost as if you’re asking for permission. He pinches the end of his cigarette and nods at you. “You better get familiar with the place. I’m gonna take a walk around myself.”

“Ah, see that?” Sachio beams. “I had a feeling you were going to go off alone again. Don’t disappear now, please?”

Her words that time seem a bit poisonous, but you don’t dare involve yourself in that subject. You both stand up and you step towards her, making her retreat a few steps awkwardly. You should probably keep your distance. She seems more inviting than the others, but she seems more interested in Kenji. She banters for a second with him in Japanese before he moves away. She looks back at you and winks.

“Alright. Let’s go!”

Sachio leads you through the plush chairs and towards the dance floor. You were soon making your way to the rear of the stage...speaking rear, being behind her gave you a perfect look at her butt. You had to bury these thoughts though. God only knows what kind of punishment you’d gave for gawking at the clients like that. You cleared your thoughts and removed any embarrassment.

“So, how did you and Akiko actually meet? She doesn’t mention anyone outside of our little troop here very often.”

You suppose that was pretty normal. People that are from the Japanese island probably didn’t get to do their own very often. So your run in with her must’ve been pretty impacting...maybe you’re just flattering yourself?

You heard a quick snap and looked up. Your eyes are fixed on her ass still, even though it hadn’t registered. You looked up and saw her glaring slightly. “I’m talking to you.”

...“By an accident. Just ran into each other this morning. She spilled coffee over herself and I came to investigate the noise she made.”

“I see…” you pass several dancers, none of the Akiko. She pushes against a door with the label “lower level” on it.

You take a flight of stairs down to another level below. You don’t talk the entire trip down, but as soon as you eat the tiles below, she starts to point and make a few comments. This was an old nuclear shelter. The museum was much more...massive than you thought. You always pictured these old shelters to be creepy, unsettling, and to be honest, this was. It was cooler down here and there wasn’t any noise aside from your own voices and the clicking of her heels.

You take a sharp U-turn suddenly at the end of the hall. Another hallway, but twice as long. You’re going back towards the direction of the stage. You walk under some speakers, you can hear them hiss with white noise as you pass them. She says something, but you didn’t catch it. She stops however and looks at the speaker. A few seconds after she does this, faint music can be heard playing from them...it looked like she was gauging whether or not she needed to go back. She looks back around and shrugs. “Not my rehearsal.”

The music is soft as it enters the hollow guts of the lower level. “Do you know that song?”

You listen closely but can’t pin it. You’ve never heard that song in your entire life. So you tell her that.

“It’s simply called ‘Dance’. It’s the first movement of our routine.”

Now both of you stare at the speaker. It sounds like a dozen violins are playing at once before a piano joins. It’s just a few notes at first, but it starts to spiral into the mix of stringed instruments. The cool ones cease briefly, allowing the piano a main role in the music. As the piano’s strings are struck, you can hear rapid footsteps directly above you, all moving in perfect unison.

Both you and Sachio listen to the music and the synchronized thumps caused by the dancers. The piano plays just a few notes as the violins retake the spotlight in the music. Sachio swallows, hugging herself as she continues to listen. It seems this song carries something more personal to her.

From one side to another, the dancers above switch from different angles of the stage; pounding their feet as they repeat their steps over and over again. It’s strangely relaxing. The sounds, joined by the ballet dancers, gives you an odd sense of peace - a classic feel of a better time. When it ends, all you hear is the silent ringing of the hollow corridor.

Sachio sighs just a few seconds after it stops. “Here comes the ‘second’ now.”

Over the speakers, the piano begins to play once again. It's soft and gentle, alone and strong. It’s a beautiful sound. Soon, the violins join again as well. Another nameless tune to you; yet nostalgic. You could have spent the rest of the day down there, but Sachio decided it was time to keep walking. “We shouldn’t stick around here for too long, something might happen that will either require me or you to go back up.”

The piano, violin, and her heels, all bounce from the walls, penetrating your ears with relaxation. It’s hard to focus now that you are starting to feel tired. You think about asking her a few questions, but she beats you breaking the ice. “You should hear the music when it’s played live. We haven’t had a chance to do anything like that here in Deadwood, but I’m sure if you stick around long enough, you’ll get a chance one night to watch us dance with real music playing. It’s honestly surreal the first, or so I’m told.”

“I have no doubt. You guys usually hire musicians to play with you, or do you have your own people that do that too?”

“Depends. California allows us to be a little more independent of outside help. Down there we have our own security, buildings, and even special guests. This far north, we’re very dependent on outsiders.”

You get to the end of the corridor. Double doors with the words “music room” plastered on them. “You’ll be going to this room often. The elevator is out of order currently, but the route we just took is the alternative path. When you’re running it doesn’t take this long.”

She opens the door and flicks on a light. The dark room is flooded by an electronic, yellow-ish orange light. You see guitars, a piano, a few drums, cellos, violins and trumpets. The room is also warmer than the hallway you were in - as well as humid and carefully tailored. She walks in, hugging herself again as she trails off to the middle where the room dips down a few steps. “This is important because of that.”

She points to a door. A fire exit. “The old lock is faulty and we’ve had a few unwanted guests come in a few times. The main alarm doesn’t work, but the silent one does. You and the rest of your team will get buzzed to check it out. Nothing stolen, of course, but no one wants to walk in here to some crazy homeless person.”

Sachio walks over to the piano, which is covered by a blanket. “I’m...going to ask a few questions though, if you don’t mind.”

“Shoot for it. I’m more than qualified for-”

“No, this isn’t about the job. It’s about Kenji. I’m going to look like an idiot for opening up to a stranger, but you’re the first person from the security team that doesn't seem so generic.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

She sits on the piano bench. Her cheeks are starting to become pink. Despite her adult attire, she looks like a teenager that is about to open up to her parents about a big secret. “What’s wrong?”

Sachio sighs. “I really like Kenji. What do men like that a woman can easily do? I’ve tried talking to him, but he never gives me the feedback I’m looking for. Is there another girl that he’s seeing that I haven’t seen yet?”

Jeez, this isn’t what you were expecting. “I hardly know the guy.”

She looks at you, expecting more. “I mean, hey...Listen, sometimes you just gotta keep talking to that person, make a decent foundation so they want to keep talking to you. As long as you keep it natural and keep poking for more things, I’m sure he’ll open up to you.”

The sudden memory of him with Scarlet comes to mind, but that didn’t really seem intimate. “I don’t believe there’s another girl. He’s just a...team player, I guess?”

Unsatisfied with what you told her, she shrugs. “I don’t know you, but do you think you could maybe swing things in my favor? I’ve liked him since forever. Even if I could just get him to be my friend, I’d be happy. I already have a plan that I’d like to try out.”

“Sachio...We’re not exactly friends. You and I, or me and Kenji. I’m not someone you should be going to-”

“Please! I’m so ****! I’m not going to Mikka or Zuprik about this! I’m talking to a Contractor, aren’t I?” Sachio’s voice sounds pathetic. “Please, Warren I just want a good chance with him. What do men like?”

You sigh as you look at her. She looks adorable, even in her state of despair. If you had a girl this cute trying to get you to like her, she’d have no problem what-so-ever. Even the off-brown color in her eyes is attractive.