As the Years go by Will You Still Dance for Me?
Year of the Ram
Step, step, step, jump, step, turn, jump, step, step, and step. C'mon you stupid monkey! Keep up! You're making me look bad in front of Kisa! It's not like the dance it that hard! Argh!
Here I am at the Sohma main house on New Years. The Year of the Ram is ending and the Year of the Monkey is just starting so what am I doing? I'm dancing with that stupid Ritsu! And why am I dancing? Because of that damn stupid girl! Dumb Tohru! Dummy!
Last year she and Kyo had come to visit for New Years. It was the first time we had seen them since the curse broke. They were a day late and Tohru was depressed because she had missed out on the Zodiac Dance.
"But they don't dance anymore," Akito told her as they sipped tea together. Kyo, still weary around Akito, had anxiously left Tohru in Akito's hands as he went to visit Kazuma.
"Wha-? Why not?" Tohru said dumbly.
"Well, now that everyone is free of the curse, instead of coming back here, they'd much rather spend their time elsewhere," Shigure said. Akito's mood soured a little at the term 'curse'.
"That's… so sad," Tohru said, her head drooping as her hands clutched her small, handle-less cup of tea. She remembered Kyo's beads. She still had them; they were kept in a small bowl. The bowl usually sat next to a picture of her mother on a mat that contained her thirteen zodiac ornaments.
"Sad? Why would we be sad? We're finally free of her!" Rin Sohma, the previous horse, had casually strolled into the room. She pointed rudely at Akito.
When Kyo entered Kazuma's dojo she confronted him, demanding to know where Tohru was. Rin loved Tohru, and while it angered her that Tohru would even consider being Akito's friend, she still appreciated that Tohru was so kind as to be Akito's friend. That didn't mean she trusted them alone together, though.
"It's sad because all of you still had a bond at some point or another…" Tohru had begun to say. "One time, however hundreds or thousands of years ago, you were all together, and happy enough to have a banquet and be joyful and friendly with one another. But now it's all come to an abrupt end."
A vision of her mother passed through her eyes. An abrupt end.
"It hurts… when I go visit my mother." Tohru's eyes were beginning to sink, still saddened by her mother's death after all these years. "But, I still do it because she meant so much to me. She still means a lot to me and without her I wouldn't be who I am today. Honestly, without all of you I wouldn't be who I am today."
She realized how low her aura had become. She didn't want to trouble them with her opinions and thoughts on the matter, and she especially didn't want them to feel burdened by her thoughts of her mother.
"I don't know if I'm even making sense! I'm sorry! Never mind me… uh…" She waved her hands in front of her body frantically as her cheeks reddened from embarrassment.
"No I get it," Hatsuharu Sohma said as he walked further into the room. He, along with Kisa, me, and Momiji Sohma had trailed in after Rin; Kisa and Momiji hoping to see Tohru.
"It's like a school reunion," Haru continued. "I might not have liked school all that much, but if my graduating class chose to have a reunion I'd probably go. You're right, school was a part of my life, and I wouldn't mind seeing my classmates again."
"I'd go with you, Haru!" Momiji chimed in.
"I'll dance next time it's my turn if you'd like oneesan," Kisa said humbly. Even though the previous tiger was now sixteen years old she was still adorable and shy. That was never going to change. "Honestly, I've always kind of wanted to have you watch me dance."
"Ooh! Ooh! Me too! Me too! I've wanted you to watch me dance too, Tohru!" Momiji said.
"I would love it if I could watch your dances," Tohru beamed. A grand smile spread across her face. "And Rin-san and Haru-san and Hiro-san and Shigure-san, I would have loved to watch you dance as well! And of course Ayame-san and Richan-san, Kagura-chan, Hatori-san, and Kureno-san!" Her expression softened as she thought about Yuki. She hadn't seen him in so long. "And Yuki-kun too."
"Then it's decided! We'll all have one last banquet!" Momiji said.
"Huh?" Akito was distraught. "You hated the banquets and now, now that the bond is broken, you actually want another one?"
"Qué será, será Akito, let the kids do what they want," Shigure chuckled. "You should know by now what Tohru's influence is like."
"My, uh, oh no, I don't…" Tohru was confused. My influense? Uh….
"Ha! Don't expect me to participate in some stupid dance!" Rin argued but regretted her projection when Tohru's face fell a little. "Well, damnit…"
"I don't think one last banquet is enough anyway," Haru said. "That's like trying to convince everyone that they have to learn two dances in one year just so we can all perform for you next year."
"We could all just have one dance that we do together though!" Momiji said.
"I'm not too sure all of the other members would appreciate that. Just think of how Yuki would feel. He'd have to dance with Aaya." Shigure beamed at the idea. He was sure, somewhere, Aaya was beaming at the idea too.
"So we'll just do what we always do then," Kisa said. "And once we get back around, full circle, then we'll be done." She giggled happily. It wouldn't be for awhile, but eventually, she'd get to dance for Tohru.
"So you'll all do it?" Tohru stood up and smiled brightly, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I mean, if it's a burden to anyone then please, don't feel like you have to, I'll understand if it's not what you want." She looked from Haru to me and then to Rin.
"I'm fine with it, it sounds interesting to say the lease," Haru said.
I glowered at Tohru, but Kisa liked the idea so much that I couldn't say no. "Fine, this is stupid, but I'll do it."
"Thank-you Hiro!" Kisa said happily as she leaned over to me and kissed me on the cheek, much to my, Akito's, and Tohru's embarrassment.
"Aw, young love," Shigure said.
We all looked at Rin but she snapped her head to the side. "I already told you, hell no!"
Haru looked down, nearly disappointed. "The banquet we would have had this year, between Rin and Hiro, has already passed anyway. Plus, there's no time for them to come up with a dance. We can start the beginning of the Last Banquet next year, with Hiro and Richan."
He looked back up to Rin, who met his gaze. "And who know, maybe in twelve years, she'll have changed her mind."
Rin looked at him sternly. "Never."
The room was quiet and Tohru was growing nervous because of the tension. "Oh!" She said. "But what about Kyo-kun? He was never invited to the other banquets… so…"
Everyone in the room looked at Akito.
"Of course he can come," she said, annoyed, before standing up and leaving the room. Everyone made such a big deal about being free of the curse but they still asked her permission over something like that. She smiled once she was free of the room, and ultimately, our gazes; it meant that, on some level, she was still included, we still thought about her.
"That's great! I'm really looking forward to it!" Tohru was happier than ever. "I! I need to go tell him!" She bowed. "Please excuse me!" She rushed out of the room and out of the house, making her way to Shishou's dojo, not able to wait to tell Kyo the great news.
And now here I am, dancing for that stupid girl!
I spun as Ritsu clumsily made his way around me.
No. Not for Tohru. For Kisa. It's always been for Kisa. She wanted me to do this so here I am, trying not to make a fool of myself for her.
Ritsu nearly tripped.
Damn monkey! You're making me look bad in front of Kisa! Get it right!
I almost laugh at the expression on Ritsu's face when he sees me glower at him mid stride. That's right monkey, you're causing this. Don't you dare break form and start screaming out some stupid apology.
He's probably embarrassed because of everyone who's here. I kind of am too; not that I'd ever admit that to anyone, but myself. But the crowd is a lot larger than I thought it was going to be. Sure Akito, Tohru, that stupid cat and the rest of the Zodiac are here, but so are a few others.
Hatori went ahead and brought his fiancé with him. I guess she was once Yuki's, Kyo's, and Tohru's homeroom teacher or something.
And Ayame brought his wife or girlfriend or whoever she is; Mine or something or another.
Shigure invited some girl named Mitsuru. I guess she's going out with the Monkey. It's too much to keep up with.
While I'm not too shocked by Shigure's and Ayame's decision to bring a guest, I am a little bit surprised that Hatori did it too. Just a little though, I mean, if his friends did it then why not do it too?
Yuki however, I never thought he'd bring a girlfriend. Some really weird girl named Machi. Everyone was shocked; especially Akito.
We turn and twirl and continue our steps. A lot of the times the members of the Zodiac will use fans when performing, and we're no different. We gracefully throw them high into the air and then we toss them to one another. It goes back and forth like that.
Don't drop it! Catch it!
Ritsu isn't that bad when it comes to that part of the dance. He's pretty good at parlor tricks. Ha!
Now for one of the harder parts; we twirl and stop, facing away from each other, then toss our fans behind us and do a back flip, catching each other's fans and we land and spin before we continue to our stepping motion.
Fail! Fail! Fail! Damnit monkey! You weren't supposed to do it right!
I catch his fan but misstep when I land. We go through the motions so fast that I'm sure the others don't even realize I messed up. Of course this is one of the few things that Ritsu can actually do right, and he looks obnoxiously graceful while he does it.
Damn monkey! That's right, that's the look of terror that should be on your face. You're going to get it once we're done.
I'm glaring at him again and he looks more distraught than ever.
"Smile, idiot," I whisper to him while we step close to one another. The last thing I need is for him to look like a fool the entire time, because then I'll look like a fool.
During the banquets, the dancers' perform on a circular stage that's surrounded by chairs on all sides. We normally sit in order, starting with 'God', then Yuki, and onward until we get to Kagura who also sits beside 'God' on her other side. Back in those days, while Akito did enjoy being entertained by us, I could always tell that he was upset that Shigure and Kureno weren't beside him. Yuki was never good enough. And even though Shigure was just one seat away from him, and with only eleven chairs, due to the two members who were performing; and the stage being so large, the chairs were spread out so Shigure was still far away.
Now that the curse was broken and everyone's dirty little secrets were out in the open, I can understand why she used to be so upset.
Everything was screwy now though. No one cared where they sat. The arrangement pretty much goes like this: Starting with Akito, then Tohru and Kyo, then Kagura, Kisa, Momoiji, Rin, Haru, Machi, Yuki, Ayame, Mine, Mayuko, Hatori, Kureno, Mitsuru, and Shigure who sat next to Akito; though the chairs were still spread apart. With so many people here, there was less space in between the chairs.
I almost wonder if Akito is happy about that. Why didn't we ever do this before? The banquet would have been so much fun if it was as relaxed as this; us Zodiac members actually dancing because we want to and not because we're forced to. No! I didn't want to do this. I just wanted to make Kisa happy.
We cartwheel away from each other, ending in somersaults and then standing straight up sturdily, right before we reach the edges of the stage. I'm directly facing Kisa while the monkey is facing Mayuko and Mine. I take a second to look at her and take her in. She's seventeen now, just one more year and she'll be out of high school. Her hair is a little shorter than it used to be. I guess she likes it short but it doesn't matter to me what she does, she always looks cute no matter what.
She's beaming. She's having fun.
That's right Kisa, enjoy the show. I'm doing this for you. You know that right?
The pause is over and it's back to dancing. We're halfway done now. We bend over backwards and leap, doing half back flips as we let our hands touch the floor. Then it's back to more spinning and stepping. This is Richan's half of the dance. The first half represented the ram. So I decided on most of the choreography. Whenever I dance, I try to embody the ram because that's what I am… Err… was. So my movements are normally forceful and head strong and it's Richan's job to imitate that.
Now though, we've reached the second half of the dance, so, in respect to greeting the New Year, the year of the monkey, Ritsu is in charge of coordination. He's good at long sweeping fluid motions and flips, which I kind of suck at. Nonetheless I'm now trying to keep up with him.
I don't mind if I mess up though, not anymore; it'd just show bad judgment on his part since this is his doing. I'm still trying my best though. I figure it'd be best to not make him look like a complete fool in front of his girlfriend, so I won't purposefully bring him down.
You better be grateful.
Thinking about it now, I'm not too sure why I was so opposed to this. If I have to admit it to myself, doing this again, and having Kisa watch me so intently… Yes, I'm having fun. It's nice to have the Zodiac gathered again and in such a relaxed and familiar state. It's almost like when we had all gone to the beach house together, only Akito is part of the fun rather than trying to ruin it.
It's too bad I'll only be doing this once though. Wait, what am I saying? Once is plenty! Rin and I put up the most resistance, so we're lucky we only have to go through this once. Though Hatori and Kureno weren't exactly thrilled at the idea…
Still. If I could do this one more time, in twelve years, I wouldn't mind if Hinata and my mom came to watch. The dance is embarrassing, but I wish I could share it with them.
Maybe someday when Kisa and I get married we'll have our own Zodiac dance; a dance between the ram and the tiger. We'll perform it in front of all attending.
Wait! When Kisa and I get married? My face is beat red. I'm trying to avoid shaking my head at my own stupidity. Get it together! I can't be thinking about this kind of thing while I'm trying to dance. Especially since this part of the dance is so frigging confusing.
A dance with Kisa would be nice though. She's always so beautiful when she dances with Haru and Momiji. I wish I could have danced with her. Instead I was stuck with Rin… and that STUPID MONEY! Stop improvising!
I guess Ritsu has always been the kind to feel the dance; so sometimes he changes the choreography. I've only danced with him one other time before this, but I have heard stories from when he would dance alone to bring on his year from the ram. And even though the curse is broken now, I used to always have a feeling in my gut about what the ram would have to put up with in regards to the monkey in previous incarnations.
So my annoyance is from centuries of annoyances. Though I suppose the previous rams weren't always as cool and hardheaded as I am. Now that the curse is broken I should really try to feel less annoyed by him, but that's too much effort. He could really just try to be less annoying anyway.
As he does an extra twirl here or an extra flip there, I'm stuck trying to keep up and remember what the next step is. His improvising throws me off and I doubt myself a little.
It doesn't matter though; everyone is having fun watching us. I can tell that Kyo, even if he's trying to hide it, is also having a good time.
How does it feel cat, to finally be included? Sometimes I wonder if he ever feels jealous that he's only as accepted as he is because of her. I doubt it.
I relax a little. The dance is almost over and I might as well enjoy it while I can. I won't be dancing again. Embarrassment aside, even though I can't show my dance to Hinata or my mom, I think I'd still like to bring my future children with Kisa to watch these dances.
Future children? I'm sixteen! I shouldn't be thinking about this sort of thing!
I take a step and, in my embarrassed state, slip and fall.
Damnit!
It's over, I'm ruined. I stay on my knees, shamelessly holding the upper half of my body up with my arms. Ritsu dances and twirls around me.
He even has the audacity to leap over me… I guess it was part of the original choreography but it still pisses me off.
I raise my upper body up drastically in protest and shame and more embarrassment.
Argh!
The monkey goes ahead and finishes the dance as I focus all of my energy in not snapping at him or anyone else. It's not their fault or his fault that I got distracted and messed up.
The dance comes to a close and Ritsu gracefully takes my hands and pulls me up so that we can bow before everyone as if my falling was part of the dance. Who would think that?
Afterwards we breathe. Dancing like that is exhausting. Then, once we've collected ourselves, we leave the room and change into regular clothes.
"That was amazing Hiro-san!" Ritsu applauds me. "That improvising you did at the end was ingenious. It really felt like a transition from the ram into the monkey. I'm impressed at your natural talent! You should really consider being a professional dancer."
I want to punch you! I want to punch your face!
"What are you getting at monkey? Are you making fun of me?" I snap at him.
"Nooooooo!" Ritsu is alarmed at my accusation. "Heavens no! You're robust form falling to the ground as it did. It was like you, being on all fours, had embodied the heart of the ram. And then when you rose up it was as if you had the spirit of one."
I stare at him.
"It was really quite impressive! Please don't think I'm weird!" He's almost crying; overly energetic about everything as normal.
I ignore him. If he's dumb enough to think that I did that on purpose then maybe everyone else will too. I doubt it though. I'm sure the dog, dragon, rat, and bird could tell at least. I won't have to worry about the majority of them, but that stupid dog has a big stupid mouth.
We finish changing and meet everyone else in a separate room filled with comfier chairs and a large table to sit at for when we eat.
"That was an incredible fall Hiro-chan," Shigure says as the servants begin laying out our meal and we gather to the table.
Akito snickers.
"Hiro-chan didn't fall! He gracefully embodied the spirit of the ram!" Ritsu says.
"Yes and he did it amazingly," Tohru says, agreeing dumbly.
"Hiro-chan even said that he'd consider becoming a professional dancer!" Ritsu adds. We were all sitting now, ready to start the feast.
"Really Hiro-san? That's incredible!" Tohru says.
"I'll personally design all of your costumes," Ayame says.
"I didn't say anything like that!" I'm angrier now than when I messed up the dance. "Stop making things up!"
"Heh, heh, Hiro-chan reminds me of Kyo back in the day," Shigure chuckles, trying to get the cat to react. Kyo had been remarkably calm the whole night though.
"I'm nothing like that stupid cat!" I yell.
He doesn't react though. Kyo's to absorbed in steeling back Tohru's attention.
Kisa reaches under the table and takes my hand in hers. Alright Kisa, I'll let them have their stupid fun.
She gives me a smile that almost tells me thank-you as if she could read my mind.
My heart skips a beat. This beautiful girl sitting beside me. Someday Kisa, I will marry you. I avoid her gaze as my face reddens from my internal vow, choosing instead to clutch her hand tighter.
We lace are fingers together. Never leave me. Never leave my side. Be mine forever, Kisa.
As we finish the feast and head for the room's balcony, all of us watching for the sunrise of a new day; a feeling wells up inside me. I can feel it again: the spirit of the ram that had once possessed me. It doesn't feel cursed though. It's peaceful.
I close my eyes and try to imagine it. A glorious beast of a ram stands before me. With long spiraling and winding tan horns that were decorated in a design that was gold in color. Its entire body trumped that of a normal ram, it was huge in size, lavished and powerful.
I wonder if maybe this is the ram's true form. Like how the cat had a true form, only this isn't cursed.
The ram bows to me, then walked out of the corner of my mind and the feeling of being possessed again, is gone.
I cry one last time, feeling so overrun by emotions of happiness and content. Kisa holds my hand and looks at me.
"What's wrong Hiro-chan?" She whispers into my ear.
"Nothing Kisa. I'm just very happy," I tell her.
She smiles at me again.
"Look Tohru the sun's coming up!" Momiji exclaims.
"You're right!" Tohru says happily.
The sun rose that day with glorious colors of red and purple, and us of the former Zodiac, surrounded by 'God', and a few of the people close to us, shared it together as one.
A feeling inside me told me that I could do anything. And I believed it. For once, I didn't feel like a child without power. I felt like a man, who could move the world, and all I wanted was already next to me, holding my hand, ready to face the day with me. Together.
"What was your New Year's wish Hiro-chan?" Kisa asks.
"Probably to be a famous dancer," Momiji says.
"Shut up, rabbit!"
I look at kisa and smile. I didn't make a wish, because I have everything I could ever want, right here.
She smiles back as if saying to me, "Me too."
xxx
AN: So about the genre's. Friendship seemed like the main theme of this since the characters will be doing this for Tohru... That's friendly.. yea... And the hurt/comfort was because these are all internal monologues so idk it just seemed fitting too since the characters all pretty much had screwed up lives and they'd probably reflect on that.. maybe?
I didn't list any specific characters since the POV is going to change each chapter.
Look for chapter two on Feburary 1st. Year of the Monkey! ^^