Just a little Shinji/Hiyori fluff. Besides, we all know Shinji is a dang good dancer.
Kubo Tite. He owns Bleach.
Hiyori didn't like to share.
The warehouse was theirs, darn it. Yes, there was plenty of spare room for guests, but considering they were outcasted, company wasn't something the Vizards usually were used to having. Part of her argued that it wasn't like Orihime was staying here. She just asked politely for help, and Hiyori got outvoted. That's all.
It still bothered her, like an invasion of privacy or something. Her artificial family was all she had. Having an outsider in their "home" wasn't easy to swallow. It required trust, and Hiyori didn't see how an innocent, pretty face and a friendship with Ichigo instantly gave Orihime enough trust points.
Music played in the main, empty room. Hiyori glanced down from her perch on the third floor of the main room down to the ground floor. The second and third story's floors had been destroyed before they even lived in the building, but fixing it was out of the question. It provided an interesting training ground and open air-like living room.
The music wasn't modern, and it wasn't exactly "old", just "older" than what Hiyori suspected Orihime listened to. Orihime's peculiar request gave Shinji and Rose an excuse to break out both of their extensive music collections. One hundred years gave them an opportunity to collect music from multiple eras, in multiple formats, which was exactly what Orihime was needing. The night before was unofficial musical bonding time for Rose and Shinji as they prepared what she said she needed.
Hiyori smirked, remembering that morning. Orihime's reaction to Shinji's record player was priceless.
"Oh!" Orihime's eyes lit up at the sight of Shinji's favorite piece of machinery. "I've never seen one of these before!"
"What? The record player?" Shinji shrugged, smiling his twisted smile, "Yeah…that thing's important to me. Be careful with it."
"I can tell!" The player was well dusted and polished. The gold color on the handle and needle still shown, the horn not discolored either. The wood that made up the box was treated on a weekly basis. The Vizards knew if anyone were to so much as scratch that old music player Shinji would go ballistic. And Shinji was scary when it he lost his cool. His records were still his favorite musical medium, even over that little multi gig MP3 player in his pocket.
"Was this your grandparent's?" Orihime looked up from the record player. It was an innocent question. Still, Hiyori laughed and the other Vizards smirked or shifted uncomfortably. Shinji was at a loss for words. He suddenly felt old.
Luckily for him, Rose saved the day. "Orihime, here." He handed her a CD, also well taken care of, and she looked it over. "Most of the songs on this album are from that era. Here's another CD too…" Rose was mostly in charge of picking the music for this little "training session", as Lisa sarcastically called it. Once that was done it was time for the exercise to begin.
Orihime picked up the moves pretty easily. Then again, Shinji was a good teacher. He and Rose both loved music but Shinji was a better dancer, by a long shot. Still, whoever's idea it was to have a "Blast from the Past" dance at Karakura High School was going to get a sandal slap to the face one of these days. It was their fault Orihime came for help. She wanted to know how to dance, maybe to get the courage to ask a certain someone to dance with her, Shinji guessed. Orihime blushed her answer.
Hiyori looked down on them, spinning, stepping, and smiling to the beat. Shinji would instruct her and Orihime would follow. He didn't bother picking the songs, whatever order they played on the CD was how he taught. He knew them all. Hiyori knew he knew them all. Through the eras, he kept up with a lot of human culture, dancing and all. He knew how to do everything from the jitterbug to the electric slide. And what was the worst, he was good at it.
Really good.
Hiyori couldn't do even the simplest dance to save her life. She felt awkward, trying to move like that. Seeing Orihime pick it up so fast just made here angry.
The song changed.
It was a slow song, slower than the previously dubbed "slow song". Orihime blushed. Shinji looked a little confused.
"What's wrong? Ya wanna skip this song?"
She thought for a moment. "No, no. Let's dance."
She placed her hands around his neck. He placed his on her hips.
"Seriously, though. What's wrong?"
Orihime looked away, embarrassed. Shinji just looked at her.
"What…what if…?"
"Come on, spit it out."
"What if…the person you ask says no? That they don't want to dance with you?"
Shinji thought, momentarily placing his hand on his chin, "Well, I guess they just don't wanna dance."
"Oh…Okay…."
"But-" Orihime looked up. "Considerin' it's somebody like you, they gotta be crazy to not wanna dance." He grinned.
She laughed.
The song ended and twenty minutes later, practice was over. Hiyori watched Orihime thank Shinji and ask him to thank Rose for her. She left with a spring in her step, and as the door warehouse door opened an obnoxious wall of light appeared.
The door shut and Hiyori jumped down the ground floor.
"Whacha thinkin' about Hiyori?"
Hiyori didn't look at him. He knew she was in a bad mood, and knew well that the slightest thing could earn him a slap to the face. Regardless, he walked over, grabbed her shoulders, and spun her to face him. Her sandal was two inches from her hand when she noticed the music was back on.
"Look, ya can't just sit n' watch every time." He placed his hands on her hips. She twitched at his touch, she felt her face blush. A glance around the room from over her shoulders confirmed it was only him and her. She sighed.
"I'm taking that as a yes."
Step, step, step…Well, this wasn't too bad. Step, step, step… She loosened up a little, making her movement slightly less robotic. Step, sweep, step…Shinji didn't say anything, just looked at her. Still she refused to make eye contact. Step, sweep, pivot- Dang! She stepped on his foot. Step…Step, sweep, pivot…Got it that time…She smiled in her mind, this was pretty nice…
"I'm gonna spin ya, okay?" His voice was soft. Hiyori vaguely felt the rush of air around her as he slowly spun her around. As she came back, her arms wrapped around Shinji's torso. He was warm and just as stick thin as she made fun of him for. She didn't realize how close she was until she finally looked up.
The song ended, and Shinji backed away.
"That's it for today." His signature grin was back.
Hiyori's mouth dropped open in shock, partly because their dance ended so suddenly and partly due to what came from her mouth.
"Why?"
Shinji turned and said, "One step at a time, Hiyori…One step at a time."
She felt better when she heard the familiar slap of her sandal against his face.
Hope you all liked it.
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