Confessions on a Dance Floor
Author: Green Phantom Queen
Rated: T
Summary: Meet Luna Iwashimizu, an aspiring idol who has decided to take the new step to the world of show business by becoming a model for Yggdrasil. Along the way, she begins to find herself diving into the secret dark world that most girls never dare confess to the public, and the struggles between leaving the only home she's had versus the true feelings in her heart. These are the confessions of an aspiring dancer.
Notes: Takes place starting with "Cherry Picking" chapter 7. Title of the story and chapters are named after the Madonna album "Confessions on a Dance Floor"
Dance 1: Hung Up
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."
-William Feather.
"Don't make me destroy you, little girl."
"No papa! You have to fight it! Don't you remember me?"
"Shut up! I will kill you if I have to!"
This is the current debate that's in front of me. A man possessed by some strange supernatural entity, and a girl in yellow who has waited to reunite with the father she could never be with. I'm at the sidelines, unable to do anything. It's not because I'm a bystander, but it's because there are two arrows made of light aimed at my face. The moment I make one false move, I'll be killed quicker before I could even say, "Nijiyome Gakuen: Z-Cune Aoi."
The warriors in front of me are a man wearing armor based off of cherries, and a woman wearing armor based off of Arabia and a peach. I wish I was making this up.
All around me, I observe six teens and some dinosaur based fighters going against more fruit based warriors and strange creatures that eat locks to power themselves up. All of Zaname is in a panic, and here I am unable to fight. What can I do?
As my ears pick up the sounds of people running away from the swarm of strange monsters—Inves, I remind myself—I feel a part of my mind trying to figure through a whole week's worth of memories that lead to this single moment, hoping to create a solution to get out of this situation.
Who could ever guess that I fould myself entangled in this madness all because I decided to take a step forward with my life-long dream?
0-0-0-0-0
My name is Luna Iwashimizu, age 16. If you write my surname with kanji, it holds the character for 'blue'. I don't know how or why it's written as that, but I'm not the one to judge. That's what the Family Circle gave me when I was dropped at their doorstop at the tender age of five. I don't even remember my previous family name.
The Family Circle is a bit...weird, I guess you can say. It's a rental company, where people got hired to act out as different types of people. Want to reconcile with your dead wife? They'll hire someone to make a faux farewell. Need to have that perfect date with your boyfriend? They'll bring the best boy they can find and make sure he treats you with respect. Have a jealous wife that you want to stab to death? The woman will die happily because they played their role to the end.
I rarely went out to do roles. Most of the time, I was someone's daughter who ran away from home or something of the like, which annoyed me seeing as I never WAS anyone's daughter to really get into my job. I was mainly the apprentice to the head seamstress of the company, Yuko Yamada. She didn't like that name for some odd reason, personally asking people to call her 'Yumeria' or something of the like. I liked the name Yuko—the kanji read that she was a nice child. That's what she was. I looked up to Yuko-sempai and loved helping her with whatever she needed. We were the perfect team together: I helped her design new outfits, and she would be my support for becoming an idol. There was nothing else I could ask for.
Oh, you're wondering why I want to become an idol? Well, it's mostly to perform in front of people the way I want to be shown—not by having requests being shove down my throat that I'm X's daughter, or Y's girlfriend. I am Luna, and no one would change that. Secretly, I want to become so famous that maybe I'll be able to find my parents when they see my name spread across the globe...but that's another story for another time.
On the Saturday that changed my life, my morning was normal. I woke up in Zaname City at around 7:30 AM, showered, ate breakfast, said my morning prayers, and then prepared the Sew Sweet Costume Shop that I ran. Okay, I didn't actually run it as it was actually one of the stores that belonged to the Family Circle, but since I was the only person stationed in Zaname City, I began to consider the shop as my own. Every day I prepared the dresses that Yuko-sempai and I made on the weekends I went to visit her in Akibahara, and also displayed the handmade accessories that I would make the night before. Then, I was at the cash register, the radio blaring songs and a magazine in my hand as I waited for people to come and browse my wares...if anyone actually came, anyhow.
On that particular Saturday afternoon, April 28th, 2012, as the radio began to play a song known as "Dino Soul", I received a text message from Yuko. I hoped that it would tell when we could come see each other again. Instead, I was devastated to learn what the message foretold.
"I've been fired from the Family Circle, nya! What did I ever do to displease them?"
Yuko-sempai was fired? This couldn't be possible. She was the kindest person I've ever met! She never got impatient with the demands, nor did she ever take down a job that had her go out to console a sobbing couple or the like. What caused this? I instantly sent a reply, hoping to get to the bottom of the mystery. This just wasn't like the Family Circle to fire Yuko after she worked for them for the past eleven years!
I didn't have time to comprehend just what Yumeria could've done to cause herself to get the pink slip when the door to the shop opened. I looked up, seeing a teenage boy in a blue kimono followed by someone dressed as a maid with long brown hair. The maid began to inspect a white dress with a red ribbon around the waist, their eyes showing some sort of hope or relief just by touching the strawberries sewn at the bottom. Curious and curiouser.
"Welcome to Sew Sweet," I began, bowing toward the boy with the kimono and the maid. "My name is Luna Iwashimizu, and I'm sorry that you had to come at a bad time. You see, business has been bad as of late and-"
"It's fine," The kimono-wearing boy interrupted me and bowed back. "My name is Kota, and the maid with me is Annabelle. We're here to purchase some outfits for her."
Kota? As in Kota Kazuraba? I knew that he was the leader of a Beat Rider Team, but this seemed very suspicious. For one thing, he wasn't wearing his trademark blue/black and white checkered jacket. Second, there was something wrong about his eyes. Of course, I couldn't just point out useless theories without evidence, so I had to focus my mind somewhere else.
"Oh, is she being hired to the local maid café?" I asked, seeing Annabelle looking at the other dresses on the rack. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the maid's posture, the facial features, their hands...after being an apprentice to Yuko for so many years, I've learned that appearances always hid the truth from the rest of the world. The maid was no exception. "Or should I say...'he'..."
Bingo. The maid turned his gaze to me as I approached him, leaning from side to side to get a better look. His makeup was properly put on, and the shade of red really matched his lips. The glasses gave him that type of moe look for those who liked glasses. The only thing that was out of place was how he was constantly rubbing his thighs and had his hands folded over the area where his crotch was. Ah. That explained everything.
The maid outfit looked fairly typical for any café—or any loving couple with a meido fetish—to have. However, I noticed a pattern on one of the pockets: it was a rabbit with angelic wings. Interesting.
I continued my inspection by placing my hands on the male maid's chest and stomach underneath his outfit, noticing that he wasn't wearing any upper undergarments or the like. I was going to put my hands on his waist, but stepped back after considering what was "happening" underneath.
"Well," I announced. "Annabelle is a still a pretty maid and I can tell that she has such impeccable taste. Now, I can offer you a few suggestions on outfits with matching accessories all on a 50% discount for the whole shebang. What do you say...Annabelle?"
"Call me Hideyasu," the maid replied. "Thank you for your kindness." I was slightly shocked at the name, let alone how high his voice rose to imitate a girl. What was Hideyasu Jounochi, the leader of Team Invitto, dressed up like a maid and asking for girl clothes? I mean, wasn't it already a bit too much for him having an all-girl team to lead and those outlandish camp-like outfits he wore? He did look nice with colored scarves, come to think about it.
Still, I had to play it cool. If I just helped them with their little dilemma, then they wouldn't suspect me of someone who was catching on to them. A lot of things that I've learned in life came from Yuko's teachings, and pretending to act like you had no idea what someone was doing was the most important one. That didn't mean that I had to convince myself that I was a ditzy airhead, but if people perceived me as one, then it worked to my advantage.
I showed Kota and Hideyasu some of the dresses in the shop—particularly the strawberry dress that Hideyasu admired when he first entered—before handing the maid a couple of dresses to try on. He looked like he was skipping in those high heels of his all the way to the changing room, as I stood in front of it to prevent Kota from getting...'close' to the maid.
"You have to respect the customer's privacy," I elaborated, watching as Kota just folded his arms across his chest. "Also, I don't want to see that you were having sex while other potential customers are getting ready for their purchases. I've dealt with guys like you who see their lovers in adorable outfits to the point that you'll fuck each others' brains out."
"Such strong language from a girl like you," Kota mused. I nearly rolled my eyes at the comment. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," Which was true. I recently turned sixteen a few weeks ago. I celebrated it with Yumeria and I dressed up as a pair of miko and we had some okonomiyaki at our favorite restaurant. Good times.
"Yet you're the one who runs this shop?" Kota continued, looking around at the dresses, the accessories and the like. Way to point out the obvious.
"Your point is?" I replied. Kota just stared at me with an eyebrow raised. There was some more silence between the two of us, the radio blaring a song by some guy named Jimmy from Futo, and Hideyasu rustling behind me in the changing room. Seeing as this was nothing more than a stalemate, I sighed. "The truth is, I work for a rental company near Kyoto, but I'm only using it as a stepping stone for an idol career. And speaking of truth...care to tell me why you're here, Kota Kazuraba?"
"That's a secret," Kota placed a finger on my lips as he fished out some money from his wallet. "If you keep this a secret, Hideyasu and I will personally make sure you get a job where you can display yourself as an idol instead of that rental place."
He's not even questioning what the rentals are about? Still, if he's telling the truth...I had to take that leap of faith. I couldn't sit back as I was being shoved around being someone else's "special someone". I had to be me. I had to be selfish.
"Well, I dunno..." I replied, taking the money into my hands and pulling out my cellphone. I looked back at Yumeria's message, of the shock that she's going through in leaving her family...especially not of her own will. "Then again, if the higher-ups decided to fire Yuko-sempai after her dedication to them that came from the 'Roots Incident'..." I turned to Kota. "When can I schedule an appointment, and what type of things will I be doing?"
The latter question was the most important one. If I had to be one of those ladies of the night, then I'd file a complaint with the Family Circle. The biggest benefit that the Family Circle had was that minors were not allowed for sexual favors. Even Yuko-sempai was asked for a little night fun, but she always refused in the end. I don't even want to deal with the consequences of losing my virginity in my pursuit for a happier life.
"I'll ask Ryoma-san once shopping is over," Kota clapped his hands together, looking quite pleased with himself. "Oh? It looks like our little model is ready to be shown."
I turned around, seeing Hideyasu approach us in the white dress. Atop of the wig was a white sun-hat with a large red ribbon, and dangling around his neck was a pendant with a white strawberry. He even tried on a spare pair of white heels the shop had which was topped with a pair of red and white striped stockings. He looked so...adorable.
I had to be honest here—if Kota got me a great deal to model around Hideyasu, then I'd leave the Family Circle in a heartbeat. Yuko would love dressing him up in so many dresses! I was already taking photos with my cellphone when he spoke.
"Thank you for your kindness, madame," Hideyasu said, bowing toward me. "Once I get my job at the maid café, I promise that your first meal will be on me. I'll even be your personal maid with my personal butler to give you a nice shoulder massage.."
"Well, Yuko-sempai would love seeing this," I smirked, imaging how Yuko would faint at moe it would be. "She needs to prepare that doujinshi for a convention coming soon. And...oh?" I turned around to see someone passing the store and looking at the display case. The person looked through the window and their eyes widened. "Wait a minute...isn't that Mai Takatsukasa from the Gaim Beat Rider team?"
"Shit," Kota cursed. "Luna, could you distract her? I can't let her know about 'Annabelle'."
Curiouser and curiouser. The plot thickened. I had no idea what Kota was hiding, but I was going to find out. And anyway, I wouldn't technically be lying to Mai if I myself had no idea what Kota's agenda was for the time being. Plus, there's no way she'd react well to having a good friend of hers accompanying a male maid for dress-up and probably doing things virgin minds like her could never understand.
"I better get that interview during Golden Week," I answered through gritted teeth as Kota pushed Hideyasu back into the changing room. I snatched the money from Kota's hand as he passed me, pocketing it just as Mai entered the shop. I cleared my throat and smiled. "Good afternoon, and welcome to Sew Sweet. How can I help you?"
"Kota was in here," Mai began. "I've been trying to find him all day. I need to know what's going on with him. Could I see him for just a second?"
What to do? I had to maintain the lie. No matter what, Mai shouldn't know the truth. It was better this way.
"S...sorry, I can't allow that," I answered, keeping my voice calm. "For one, I only have one changing room and also I can't let you see him because...because he's helping someone super important for this part-time job he's applying for."
"But he already has one in the Charmant patissere," Mai replied. "Why does he need another one?"
"Maybe he just wants to make extra cash around these parts?" I shrug my shoulders, feeling the money Kota gave me in my pocket. I felt so ashamed in lying to her—I mean, when I go do my job in playing someone, I'm not lying. I am that character for the moment. But here? I felt like I was going to puke. She doesn't deserve this. "I mean, with all the talk about Inves games and such, he's going to need some cash to survive if his family inevitably kicks him out."
"But that's the thing!" Mai screamed in my face. She looked on the verge of breaking down. I bit my lip, resisting the urge of hugging her. That's what Yuko did to me whenever I was down. "Someone was moving his belongings and his sister doesn't even remember that Kota was her little brother! I can't contact him nor Micchy and...please, I need to know."
She was so close to crying. Being nice wasn't going to cut it. I had to be mean. Yes it would hurt, but it was better this way. She'll understand...hopefully.
I went back to the cashier and opened a drawer. I pulled out a gun, watching Mai's eyes grow wide at the implications.
"I really cannot do anything about your situation right now," I told her, my voice turning icy. "I'm not Kota Kazuraba's keeper, I am a simple shop owner that wishes to help her customers out. If you are not going to buy anything I suggest you leave. Now."
Mai gulped. My finger was on the trigger, ready to squeeze it and fire a bullet. There was some more silence, except for the hum of the air conditioning, and the small radio blaring a song called "Switch On!" that came at what I believed was a very ironic time. I'd dance to that song later.
"I am licensed to use this weapon, and I know that your dancing skills won't be enough to stop a bullet to the brain," I continued, my hand trembling. There was a tear that fell down Mai's eye. That was the clincher. "Now get going. Kota will message you when he can. You just have to stop being a nosy little mouse and back OFF!"
Mai swallowed the lump in her throat and ran off, trying not to show her tears as I slipped the gun back into the drawer. I looked at the money in my hand and set it on the counter, taking a good look at it. It's blood money at this point—but if it would give me a chance to leave the Family Circle and pursue my dreams, I would have to get a little dirty. Please forgive me later on, Mai. This was for your own good.
I walked toward the changing room and knocked on the door. "Come on, Kota," I said. "Mai's gone. She won't bother you for a while."
There was some silence as I waited for a response, the radio blaring a song called "Solid Bullet". After twenty or thirty seconds of silence, I sighed, pinched the bridge of my nose, and opened the door. I saw Kota and Hideyasu making out, legs intertwined with one another—their underwear scattered all over the floor—and there were various bite marks on Hideyasu's neck. Ugh.
On the bright side, none of the dresses hadn't been soiled with...male juice yet. Yay?
The two of them looked nervous, but they shared a kiss as if they were blatantly ignoring me. I snarled.
"I am giving both of you until the shop closes at 5 PM to get yourselves cleaned up before I have to kick you out," I told them. Hideyasu turned and smiled, his lipstick painted lips looking looked so...kissable. Damn it brain, don't have fujoshi thoughts now.
"I bet that won't look good on your recommendation papers," he giggled. I shook my head and sighed a bit. This was for my dream. I could tolerate this.
"Listen up," I said, leaning close. "I just saved your ass out there, Kota. The least you can do is give me some compensation other than cash. I want that interview tomorrow morning. No exceptions."
"All right, all right," Kota placed a kiss on Hideyasu's ear. "Someone will come pick you up at 9 AM and we'll proceed from there. Um, do you have spare underwear on you?"
"No, I'm not a lingerie store. If you want some lady panties, it's down the block and it's the first store to your left." I pointed to the right with my left hand. "Now will you please hurry up, pay for 'Annabelle's' wardrobe, and get going? I don't feel right lying to Mai about this whole situation."
"She'll get over it in time," Hideyasu replied with a wave of his hand. "Thank you so much, Luna-chan. If there's anything you need from me, don't hesitate to ask. I...I don't know what to say."
"How about 'I'll hurry up and put some underwear on'?" I suggested, covering her eyes when I saw how Hideyasu's cock was exposed, along with the ring that prevented him from having an orgasm. There was even cum dripping off the tip—if this was a doujinshi, I'd be cooing over it. Right now, I didn't want to get in trouble for having guys fuck in my store. "For the love of Nidhogg, you're lucky that you're the only customers here right now."
I left the changing room and began to count my money, trying to forget Mai running off in tears. I wished there was a better way for the two of us to have our cakes and eat them, but in this world, you have to fight to survive. If not, sucks to be you.
I sat down at my chair and looked through my magazine. I flipped to a page, taking a glimpse of a photo I kept inside. It was for one of my first cosplays, and Yuko-sempai was there dressed with long black wig and a light blue dress, while I had my black hair down to the waist, a striped periwinkle shirt topped with an orange vest with fur trim and my eyes covered with dorky glasses. I wished for those happy days to continue, but to keep my happiness, I was going to have to work for it.
I just hoped that I wasn't going to lose my mind until then.
0-0-0-0-0
Kota and Hideyasu finally paid for the dresses, accessories and what not around five minutes before closing time. I had never scanned so many items in my life. With all the money spend on dresses, I had enough for at least ten cosplays! My sewing machine was going to overheat from it all!
"Thank you so much," Hideyasu told me for the umpteenth time. "I owe you."
"I want that interview tomorrow, all right?" I told Kota, tempting to pull out my gun to make sure that he would come through with his promise. Kota just smiled and nodded his head.
"You have my word," he said, grabbing one of many shopping bags on the counter marked with the Sew Sweet logo (the name of the store with a threaded needle in the middle of the shop's name) into his hands. "Have a good evening."
Hideyasu blew me a kiss as he carried most of the bags in his hands, dressed up in my special Luna Moth mini-dress, which I thankfully lengthened all the way up to the knees. I waited until they fully left the shop before I went to it and flipped the Open sign to Closed. I still had a bad feeling about this, but there was no time to worry about that. I had to go back to my apartment and get ready for the evening.
Turning my radio off, I pulled out my gun and pressed a button on its side. The gun split apart, revealing an action figure of a young girl with light blue hair. I never wanted to intimidate anyone with Aoi-tan, but a girl had to do what she had to do.
I closed the shop after doing inventory on what was sold, sent a few messages out to the Family Circle—making sure none of them involved the bribe money—turned off the lights, and locked the door to the shop so no one could enter. Then, with my laptop and Aoi-tan in my purse, and the money in my pocket, I walked to my apartment. I looked back, seeing the Yggdrasil tower looming over the entire city, my heart fluttering in my chest as I saw what would be my future in such a short time. I knew that Yggdrasil helped Zaname back in the past, but something about that tower made me feel nervous. Then again, a lot of executives I worked with made me feel nervous, so this wasn't new at all.
I shook the thought out of my head as I reached my apartment, looking at my cellphone to check the time. I've got time for a few more things.
0-0-0-0-0
"I'm home," I said to my empty apartment. It had a living room, bathroom, kitchen, dining room and a bedroom for one. It's lightly furnished with a chair and a table for dinner, a couch and a sofa, a desk in my bedroom, and some other items. I have no pets since I wouldn't have time to take care of them. At the far corner of the living room was my sewing machine and a giant crate of fabric scraps, along with numerous pictures on the wall for my cosplay ideas.
I set my bag down and pulled my phone out, immediately calling Yuko's number. I waited for the phone to ring five times before I'm greeted with her answering machine.
"Hi, this is Yumeria! If you hear this, I'm off to deal with costumes and other things cosplay! So leave a message after the meow! Meow~"
"Hi Yuko," I said, walking toward the balcony. I glanced a bit at the late afternoon sun before continuing. "It's Luna. I got your message about leaving the Family Circle, and you know what? I'm leaving it also. I have to move forward. Send me a text message when you get this voicemail, and let's see if we can meet up in Zaname City in the future, okay? See you then."
I hang up and let another sigh before turning to my computer desk, where I kept my backup gun. I'm not lying when I said I had a license—it's just that I like to have Aoi-tan on me moreso than a gun that I'm allowed to use rubber bullets with. Of course with all the Inves monsters coming out and attacking everyone, it pays to have a little firepower behind you when things get rough.
Speaking of Mai, would she have the power to stay tough through all this? Why did I feel so sorry for her? I guess it was because she reminded me of myself, in a way. When all of this settle down, I'd give her a complete makeover at Sew Sweet on the house. It's the least I could do to make up for my behavior.
But now, I had to get ready. I had a date tonight with an online boyfriend! It was off to the onsen, then get dressed in my cosplay, and then meet up for dinner and our first meet up! I was going to wear my first ever cosplay so he knows the type of girl I was!
"Have an appointment in the hot springs tonight, and then dinner plans with Souji-kun!" I said, a giant grin on my face. "I can't believe Souji Ripper wants to meet face-to-face for the first time! We've only been an online couple for three months!"
I opened the door to my bedroom with enthusiasm, excited for the night ahead. Nothing was going to ruin it. I wouldn't let anything ruin it.
