#54: Masquerade / ep.6
I wanted to find Shandy as soon as possible.
The only reason Rinko, who hadn’t been invited, had been able to infiltrate the party was because Shandy had helped her get in. The two people who had been hastily invited, as announced during the meeting with the Secretarial Division outside the venue, had to be Rinko and Shandy.
But the dance party showed no sign of ending.
Even after the painful dance with Rinko, Mikoto couldn’t leave the floor. The female guests simply wouldn’t leave her alone. There was no one from the Hibiya side serving as the male lead, so it was inevitable that women who wanted connections with Hibiya would invite Mikoto to dance. Some approached her simply because they found the novelty of it intriguing.
Dancing socially with someone she had no interest in.
Dance was supposed to be merely a means of communication, yet embracing women other than her was excruciating for Mikoto.
When the only person she truly wanted to hold was Shandy.
She finished dancing with several guests. Even then, she noticed women waiting around her in a loose circle, and Mikoto began to feel exhausted. Shandy’s words came back to her.
There’s no point being popular with anyone except the person you love.
Then, just as several guests were hesitating over whether to approach her, a red-and-black two-tone dress cut between them.
A woman who looked remarkably similar to Mikoto, both in appearance and height.
“Would you care to dance with me next, dear sister?”
The guests who had been watching for an opportunity had no choice but to retreat when actress Kurosu Kotone appeared. The moment she gently intimidated them in her actress persona with a, “May I have one dance with my sister?”, they scattered in all directions.
“…Sorry for making you worry about me.”
Kotone abandoned her refined expression and broke into a goofy grin.
Proof that she had gone from actress back to little sister.
“You’re way too nice to everyone. Life’s easier if you divide people clearly into the ones you like and the ones you don’t, like me and Shandy.”
“You two are so brutally straightforward that someone has to worry about everyone else.”
“Really? Well, thanks for that.”
Kotone hugged her, seemingly on impulse.
Although the sisters were the same height, Kotone was taller at the moment thanks to her heels. It had been more than ten years since Mikoto had last hugged her little sister. She felt strangely happy embracing a sister who was now taller than herself, and who was becoming a successful actress.
Kotone was a proper adult now.
She was no longer the little sister who would cling to Mikoto forever.
“You learned to dance too?”
“Nope. I can’t dance at all. Wanna do a bon dance to the music?”
“Then what did you even come here for…?”
The song was the quickstep Mikoto had barely had any opportunity to practise.
Sing, Sing, Sing, a classic of standard jazz.
Unlike the waltz, it was in four-four time and had a much faster tempo.
“No worries, no worries. If the beautiful sisters everyone’s been talking about are standing together, it’ll look good enough without actually dancing.”
Kotone was right.
The audience’s eyes were more captivated by the sisters appearing together than by the dancers racing around the floor. If they simply embraced loosely and swayed from side to side in time with the rhythm, they could probably get away with the quickstep.
“You really said that yourself?”
“Look over there. Rinko-chan’s taking loads of photos on her phone. It’s hilarious.”
Mikoto looked.
At the very front of the audience surrounding the dance floor, Rinko was pointing her phone at them.
When Kotone waved conspicuously, Rinko shook her head violently from side to side.
To Mikoto, she looked like a toddler in the no-no phase, desperately denying something.
“She looks like an otaku refusing to acknowledge her favourite celebrity. Isn’t she funny, Rinko-chan?”
“Well, yeah.”
Mikoto and Kotone took the Closed Position, the one dance position they knew by heart, and swayed from side to side. Every now and then, they added a few forward and backward steps for variety.
Mikoto tried to concentrate on the dancing.
If she didn’t, she was afraid she would remember the sorrowful smile Rinko had given her at the end.
Even so, Kotone paid no attention whatsoever to Mikoto’s state of mind.
“She’s cute, isn’t she? Soft, warm, big boobs, nicely fleshed out. Don’t you think she’s basically an ideal type?”
It was such vulgar talk that Mikoto wanted to cover her ears.
She knew from Rinko herself that Kotone had slept with Rinko during the latter’s time working nights.
Not on a dance floor.
In a bed.
It was complicated.
Rinko was her colleague, and Kotone was her own younger sister. Mikoto didn’t want to imagine either of them in those circumstances, and knowing that Kotone looked at Rinko with that kind of gaze was hardly pleasant.
“Can you stop talking about that? This is really complicated for me.”
“I knowww. It’s gross when people talk dirty about acquaintances or family, right? Like, your birthday’s in March, Sis, right? Ten months and ten days before that is May, which is Mum’s birthday, so Dad must’ve—”
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you!? And if you say that, what does that make you, born in October!?”
“A white Christmas. A present from Santa.”
“Kekeke,” Kotone laughed.
“What on earth are you trying to do…?”
“I’m talking about Rinko-chan, you idiot sister.”
Kotone suddenly put on a serious expression.
“You made her cry, didn’t you?”
Mikoto had no choice but to fall silent.
It wasn’t difficult to imagine that Rinko had been unable to hold back her tears after their parting.
“What’s wrong with her? Rinko-chan’s a good girl. A little quick-tempered, but devoted. I think she’s a much better woman than Shandy.”
Even coming from Kotone, that was something Mikoto couldn’t let slide.
There was no comparison.
It wasn’t even possible to compare them.
“The only person I fell in love with was her. I don’t have any special feelings for Rinko-san.”
“Then give it a try. Maybe if you have a little taste, you’ll fall for her.”
“Never say that in public. Don’t blame me if you get cancelled.”
“I know, I know. We’ll just do it in secret.”
“You…”
Kotone had absolutely no sense of delicacy.
Perhaps she had left common sense and consideration behind in their mother’s womb. Or perhaps it was the profession of acting, the necessity of playing every kind of person, that had made her this way.
Mikoto hated to insult a respectable profession, but she couldn’t help thinking so.
She wasn’t going to accept Kotone’s invitation.
Instead, Mikoto made her own feelings clear.
“I can love only one person, and I will love only one person.”
“Then…”
Kotone didn’t look at her.
Her gaze was directed towards Rinko, still holding up her smartphone and taking photographs.
“Can I have her?”
“What?”
“Rinko-chan. I’m going to take her. I thought I should at least tell you first.”
“Rinko-san isn’t a thing.”
“Ah, was that a bad way of putting it? Then I’ll steal her. I want to steal Rinko-chan’s heart, every last bit of it, even though she’s so devoted to you.”
Kotone was an actress, and observing people was her hobby.
There were two meanings behind that declaration.
It shouldn’t be taken at face value.
“What do you mean by steal?”
“Hehe. What do you think I mean?”
It was mimicry.
A deliberately suggestive phrase that refused to reveal its true meaning, just like the ones Shandy used.
“Tell me. Depending on what you mean, I can’t just overlook it.”
“Wow, look at you playing the big sister now.”
“Kotone.”
“But you want to know, don’t you? If I make Rinko-chan fall for me, then the woman who gave up on you will have settled for your little sister, right? What do you think Rinko-chan would feel? What do you think she’d be thinking when she held me? I want to observe it.”
Mikoto pushed Kotone away.
That was too much to overlook.
Kotone merely grinned, as though there were nothing wrong with what she had said.
A malicious smile was plastered across her face.
“…That’s a horrible thing to do.”
“Mm. It is. It’s horrible. But I don’t want to hear that from you, Sis.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You hurt Rinko-chan with your half-hearted kindness, didn’t you? Someone like that can’t exactly say, ‘I won’t forgive you if you hurt her’, can she?”
Kotone said it without a hint of concern, then hugged Mikoto again.
The side-to-side steps they were using to disguise the fact that they weren’t really dancing were nearing the end of the song.
No one around them could hear the sisters’ conversation.
Sing, Sing, Sing drowned out everything.
“Well, that was a joke. I haven’t fallen that far.”
“That isn’t something you can just dismiss as a joke.”
“Then I was simply speaking on behalf of Rinko-chan’s anger. She’s going to have to keep killing her feelings for you from now on.”
Even after being rejected, she would remain Mikoto’s best friend.
That had been Mikoto’s kindness, done for Rinko’s sake.
But it was still only kindness as Mikoto understood it.
For Rinko, it might be a selfish and cruel kind of kindness.
“…It couldn’t be helped. That was the only thing I could do.”
“Well, whether it’s a man or a woman, that’s what break-ups are like. Normally, you can’t just go back to being best buddies.”
“I know.”
“Whose pain are you talking about?”
“Both. Rinko-san’s and mine.”
“An equal share of pain, huh? You really are a troublesome sister, always insisting on carrying things that aren’t yours to carry.”
“That’s why I love you,” Kotone added, smiling shyly.
It was the first time she had looked like a little sister again.
“…All right. I’ve avenged Rinko-chan. I love you, big sister Mikoto.”
“Yes, yes…”
For all her faults, Kotone was still Mikoto’s clingy little sister.
Apart from their parents, she was the person who had been beside Mikoto the longest.
Mikoto couldn’t simply cut ties with her, nor did she have any intention of doing so.
“…Do you like Rinko-san?”
“I think so…”
Kotone swayed slightly as she answered, groaning as though she found it difficult to put into words.
Before long, the song finished its outro and slowly faded away.
As the other pairs gradually slowed their steps, Kotone’s cheeks quietly turned red.
“…I think I probably do. Seems like it’s romantic feelings.”
“I see…”
Faced with an expression from Kotone she had never expected to see, that was all Mikoto could say.
Even if she thought about it, she couldn’t imagine any other response.
“No chance for me, though. But I’m going to steal Rinko-chan’s heart away from you, Sis. All of it. Her complicated feelings that I could use in my acting, that adorable devotion where she throws her feelings at you without holding back, and her boobs. Everything.”
“Why are you telling me all that…?”
“I told you I’d be fair about it. And also…”
Kotone stopped dancing and pulled away.
Then she ruffled Mikoto’s hair vigorously, laughing.
“Rinko-chan isn’t your backup plan. Don’t expect her to be there for you if you ever break up with Shandy. I’m going to make all of that girl’s kindness mine.”
“…Thanks for the roundabout encouragement.”
“Hehe. That was fun. Next time, I’ll learn at least one proper step. Everyone’ll be happier if the beautiful sisters dance beautifully, right?”
“Please do.”
In an instant, Kotone put her actress face back on.
She gathered up the hem of her dress, bowed elegantly, and left.
The applause filling the room was undoubtedly directed at the sole star of the floor: Kurosu Kotone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have now reached the final song of the evening. This is our annual traditional event. We invite everyone to participate.”
The announcement came from another hotel employee, not Kuze Fumika.
The exhibition.
The final dance before the showdown with Akazawa.
Win or lose, Akazawa was waiting for her afterwards.
Mikoto looked at the women standing on the dance floor.
She needed to find someone other than the Secretarial Division and Akazawa who would practise with her.
If she wanted to dance on equal footing with Akazawa, even a hastily acquired skill was better than nothing.
She looked around the room.
She couldn’t find golden hair or amber eyes.
If only she were here.
If Mikoto apologised to her, surely she would teach her.
“Excuse me. Would you allow me to be your final partner, Kurosu-sama?”
The hand extended towards Mikoto did not belong to one of the female guests in a dress.
It belonged to a Maverick hotel employee.
Kuze Fumika.
The woman known as the Cheshire Cat.
＊
At the same time, in the hotel corridor outside the guest rooms.
Sanae had tracked down the room booked under the name Raicho Akazawa and had casually lied that “I was asked to do this personally”, obtaining a spare key card.
Room 1508.
Sanae inserted the card into the slot above the door handle and spoke to Iida on the phone.
“Iida-kun, have you found Charlotte?”
Sorry! I still haven’t been able to find her!
“Where on earth has that woman gone at a time like this…!?”
It was infuriating.
Even after Sanae had warned her repeatedly, Charlotte hadn’t listened. Worse, she had apparently gone so far as to make contact with Mikoto while disguised.
Even Sanae could tell how devotedly Mikoto trusted Charlotte.
“Anyway, contact me if Charlotte appears. We’ll secure Kosugi here.”
She hung up and turned the handle of room 1508.
She opened the door a crack and peered inside with Toko.
In her hand was a butterfly knife she had brought for self-defence.
“Is he not here after all?”
“No. If Akazawa’s objective is what I believe it to be, he’ll be here. No, he must be being held here.”
“Woooow. Being held captive sounds scary.”
“This isn’t something we can exactly criticise her for.”
“Shh.”
Sanae silenced Toko, who had delivered the line in a monotone, and slowly pushed the door open.
The room Akazawa had reserved was a semi-suite.
Beyond the short corridor from the entrance were two adjoining rooms, the living room on the left and the bedroom on the right.
According to the official website, it cost at least ¥100,000 a night.
An outrageous waste of company expenses.
“On three.”
“One, two…”
“Three!”
Using the mirror of a make-up compact, they couldn’t see into the blind spots of the room.
From the corner of the corridor, Sanae leaned out in the opposite direction from Toko to check the bedroom on the right.
“He’s not here. What about you?”
“…He’s here.”
Sanae folded the butterfly knife she had been carrying for self-defence.
There was no longer any need for it.
“Oh, dear. Poor thing. Did Akazawa do this to him?”
“Apparently. I have to admit, I’ve gained a little respect for her. I don’t dislike a woman who has the resolve to get her own hands dirty.”
“Hahaha. Sanae, you’ve got such an evil face right now. It’s cute!”
“Kosugi is merely receiving the punishment he deserves for insulting me and Kurosu-san.”
“Serves him right?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
Just as Sanae had predicted, Kosugi lay sprawled on the floor in a completely transformed state.
“Mmmph! Mmmmph!!!”
“Oh, he’s still alive. Surprisingly tough!”
“Akazawa’s objective is social destruction. There would be no need to kill him.”
Kosugi was alive.
He had been gagged and stripped completely naked, tied to a chair.
Apparently he had tried to escape and fallen over. Still strapped to the chair, he lay on the floor, eyes bulging as he screamed through the gag and wept.
This was once the head of the Planning Department headquarters, a former star employee.
There was nothing more pathetic.
“What should we do, Sanae? Want to give him an injection?”
“First, let’s take a photograph for posterity. We can silence him afterwards.”
Sanae took out her phone and pressed the shutter.
Unfortunately, she had accidentally switched to the front-facing camera.
Her phone displayed the horrifying smile on her own face.
＊
An unfamiliar waltz filled the ballroom.
Mikoto accepted Kuze Fumika’s invitation and took the familiar Closed Position.
For a while, they swayed from side to side as Mikoto watched for Fumika’s lead.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation. I was secretly afraid you might refuse.”
“Not at all.”
Mikoto’s curt response was understandable.
Fumika had once been Shandy’s partner.
Mikoto didn’t know which meaning of partner that referred to.
Her dance partner?
Or the Cheshire Cat?
Mikoto steeled herself.
“Kuze-san, are you the Cheshire Cat?”
Fumika’s eyes widened.
Then she sighed in confusion, as though silently begging for mercy, and slowly opened her mouth.
“So my senior really was telling you lies…”
“Lies?”
“I’m not the Cheshire Cat. She’s just a colleague.”
“Is that so…?”
Mikoto was left deflated.
She had been convinced that Fumika was the Cheshire Cat, and every time she saw her, she had worried about it.
What if Shandy left Mikoto and returned to the Cheshire Cat’s arms?
The memory of that terrible game, the day Shandy had tested her, would come flooding back.
“The Cheshire Cat is someone else.”
“Then…”
“I’m sorry, but even if it’s a request from you, Kurosu-sama, I can’t tell you. My senior seriously told me not to say anything.”
For the moment, Mikoto was relieved that Fumika wasn’t the Cheshire Cat.
But the knowledge that there was someone else left another knot in her heart.
Still, there was no point asking who.
It was all in the past.
“That’s all right. I don’t particularly want to know.”
“No wonder my senior fell for you. She really is a selfish person, and as her junior I can only apologise.”
As she said this, Fumika gently drew Mikoto closer.
Back when she had been Shandy’s partner, she must have been the male lead.
Now that she was dancing with Mikoto from the female side, she was still trying to lead as smoothly as possible.
“As an apology for failing to stop my senior’s lies, please allow me to give you a dance lesson.”
“Really!?”
“Yes. I observed Akazawa’s dancing and worked out what she intends to do. What she’s planning to use is the prescribed waltz choreography from a competitive ballroom-dancing tournament three years ago.”
Three years ago.
That was exactly the year Akazawa had joined Hibiya.
The choreography prescribed for that year’s competition.
In other words, Akazawa was going to throw the routine she had practised most against Mikoto.
“We have very little time. We’ll be lucky if we can run through it four times. Calling this last-minute practice would be an understatement, but will you try?”
Mikoto didn’t hesitate.
“Please!”
“…Very well. Starting with the Overturned Natural Spin Turn. I’ll move on the next beat. Three… two… one…”
These were steps Mikoto had learned from Shandy as fundamentals and from Rinko as more advanced applications.
Under Fumika’s lead, Mikoto danced elegantly.
Her footwork, learned mostly by feel, was unreliable, but as Fumika guided her, her movements were naturally corrected.
Then the steps continued without interruption.
Turning Lock to Right.
Weave from PP.
One unfamiliar step after another, Mikoto somehow managed to perform them according to Fumika’s instructions.
Even as she communicated directions through her body, Fumika spoke to her.
“Have you heard about my senior’s past?”
“No. The only thing she told me was that she was betrayed by the Cheshire Cat.”
“Do you intend to ask?”
“No. Not unless Shandy-san decides she wants to tell me.”
Once Fumika judged that Mikoto truly meant what she said, she smiled.
“Then please watch over my senior. Though I doubt I need to tell you that.”
The dance was complicated.
Even while talking to Fumika, Mikoto could never have memorised the entire routine during her first attempt.
Still, she had three chances remaining.
If she could somehow drill the steps into herself during those attempts, they would become a weapon against Akazawa.
Fumika instructed her through the Double Reverse Spin.
Mikoto had once managed to lead Rinko through that step. Now she somehow internalised the movement by borrowing Fumika’s body as a guide.
“You did very well just now. No doubt thanks to Shirai-sama desperately learning the step.”
“I heard she learned it from you. Thank you.”
“It was my senior’s request. I suspect that even this final lesson I’m giving you is exactly what my senior intended. She didn’t give me any direct instructions, though.”
Shandy’s intention was to protect Mikoto and help her grow.
For that purpose, she had given indirect instructions to both Rinko and Fumika.
Rinko must have been persuaded to follow Shandy because it was for Mikoto’s sake.
Rinko’s devotion was painful to watch, and there was something frightening about Shandy’s cunning, her willingness to make use of anyone who could be useful.
But Mikoto still didn’t know why Fumika had chosen to stay by Shandy’s side.
“What kind of relationship did you and Shandy-san have, Kuze-san?”
“Underturned Outside Spin.”
After giving the instruction and turning, Fumika hesitated slightly.
There was something difficult about the answer, as though the words were caught between her teeth.
“Just colleagues at work and dance partners. There was no romantic relationship.”
“…Are you sure?”
Fumika still struggled to find the words.
Unlike Shandy, she probably wasn’t capable of lying.
There might be some connection between them beyond simply being hotel employees.
“I’m sorry. I’ll remain silent. My senior ordered me not to say anything.”
“Is it something concerning Shandy-san’s past?”
“You can probably guess.”
With that, Fumika returned to explaining the choreography.
The final step in the prescribed sequence was the Outside Change.
That brought the first complete run-through to an end.
Without even pausing to rest, they immediately began the second.
“Then why did the two of you become partners?”
“It was my senior’s prank. She threw a tantrum and insisted she wouldn’t dance with anyone but me. I wanted to dance the woman’s part…”
There was no lie in Fumika’s slightly sulky tone.
Mikoto could almost picture the relationship the two of them had shared back then, and she found herself smiling.
“That sounds just like Shandy-san.”
“That’s the kind of person my senior is. A selfish, secretive woman.”
The second attempt at the Turning Lock to Right still wasn’t perfect.
Even so, now that Mikoto understood what she was supposed to do, it was easier to correct her mistakes than before.
She was beginning to get it.
All thanks to Fumika’s instruction.
“But perhaps my senior would open her closed heart for someone like you, Kurosu-sama.”
“She doesn’t have to.”
“Why?”
“I decided that as long as she wants me beside her, I’ll stay.”
“Haah…”
Fumika let out a deep sigh.
Then came the Natural Spin Turn, immediately after the familiar step Shandy had taught Mikoto.
“Sorry. Was that a terrible step?”
“No…”
Fumika sighed again.
“I’m simply exasperated by how my senior suspects even the kindness of someone like you. Her distrust of people has truly reached its absolute limit…”
“That’s just who she is.”
The word distrust caught in Mikoto’s mind.
There had been someone she had spoken to about exactly that shortly before the dance party began.
A woman with a stutter, who had said she was lonely after fighting with her lover.
Riddle Smith.
“…I’ve decided, Kurosu-sama. I’ll tell you what form my senior has taken to infiltrate Maverick.”
“No, Kuze-san, you don’t have to—”
“No. I don’t mind breaking the gag order that stubborn woman imposed. If this continues, Kurosu-sama will simply be pushed around by her. That must not happen.”
Contra Check.
The woman bends her body gracefully, striking an elegant pose.
Fumika’s instruction was superb.
Unlike that mischievous teacher, she was actually teaching Mikoto properly.
“Kurosu-sama. The alias my senior used to infiltrate the party was…”
“It’s all right. You don’t need to tell me.”
“But…”
Mikoto already had a good idea.
Almost a certainty.
“This is a game Shandy-san set up. If she infiltrated the venue using a false name and disguise, then I have to find her myself. Otherwise, it wouldn’t really be a game between us.”
Shandy loved games.
Of course she would do something like this.
Even when she was in trouble.
Even when the two of them were on bad terms.
Shandy would still try to test Mikoto through a game.
Shandy didn’t trust people and couldn’t believe in affection from others.
So she tested love.
Because she became anxious whenever she felt that love wasn’t directed towards her.
For a poor woman like that, the only way to save her was to play along with her game.
“…I’m glad my senior met you.”
“I’m glad I met Shandy-san too.”
“Then tell her that yourself. If I tell her for you, she won’t believe me.”
“She doesn’t trust people, after all.”
“Indeed.”
Fumika and Mikoto laughed softly together as they danced.
The second run-through ended, and they began the third.
At last, Mikoto’s lead was becoming natural.
This was intensive practical training over an absurdly short period.
Even if the steps themselves weren’t properly ingrained in her, understanding what movement came next made them manageable.
She felt as though she might actually be able to do this.
“…Kuze-san. Please tell me more things sometime. Stories about Shandy-san from her days as a hotel employee. Whatever you’re able to tell me.”
“Of course. As many as you like.”
And precisely as they finished the fourth run-through of the figures, the song ended.
Mikoto thanked Fumika and headed towards the centre of the floor as instructed beforehand.
At that moment, the lights illuminating the room went dark.
A spotlight descended upon Mikoto.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the exhibition dance. First, representing our company: Kurosu Mikoto.”
The solemn announcement of a male hotel employee echoed through the room.
Walls of people surrounded her on all sides, their cameras unleashing layer upon layer of dazzling flashes.
Somewhere among those countless bursts of light, Shandy was watching.
The moment Mikoto thought that, her tension and anxiety vanished.
Just knowing that Shandy was watching over her and helping her grow gave Mikoto this much strength.
No matter what happens, I will believe in Shandy-san.
Her body began to tremble quietly.
A tremor of anticipation.
Excitement enveloped Mikoto.
“Next, Raicho Akazawa.”
A spotlight came down directly in front of Mikoto.
Standing within the pillar of pure white light was Raicho Akazawa, dressed in a crimson gown.
Akazawa slowly approached.
The spotlight followed her.
Her expression was, as expected, seductively composed.
The madness she had displayed in the dressing room had vanished completely.
She drew near and extended her hand.
As planned, Mikoto lowered herself and took it.
“Sorry for dragging you into this, Mi-chan.”
“…If you’re sorry, you shouldn’t have dragged me into it in the first place.”
“I had to. Otherwise, I couldn’t take revenge on Kosugi-kun.”
“Revenge?”
“Yes. By humiliating you in front of everyone here.”
Akazawa squeezed Mikoto’s hand.
Her grip tightened.
It hurt.
“…And if humiliating you isn’t enough to satisfy Kosugi, I’ll kill him.”
“Akazawa-san!?”
The music began.
Three beats to a bar.
A waltz.
Except—
“This tempo is so fast…!?”
Khachaturian’s Waltz.
Masquerade.
Its tempo was twice that of a conventional waltz.
This was the trap Akazawa had prepared.
“Hehehe… What a shame. You worked so hard to learn those figures. But can you actually finish this dance without falling over, Mi-chan? Even professionals have trouble dancing this piece properly.”
Closed Position.
Preparatory step.
Akazawa’s feet moved with astonishing speed.