Chapter 5

When marimba rhythms start to play
Dance with me, make me sway
Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore
Hold me close, sway me more

Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway with ease When we dance you have a way with me
Stay with me, sway with me

09/19/2013

Shinjiro overlooked the crowd before him. Fuuka stood very close to him, most likely out of pity or fear of interacting with strangers. He looked down at her, and she gave a small, nervous smile. He gave her a smirk back; she was still so tiny and timid, even with her braid wrapped maturely in a tight bun. Shinjiro guessed all computer nerds were like her, but he didn't really mind it.

"The others should be here soon," Fuuka muttered softly. Shinjiro almost didn't hear her over the whining violin strings. The snazzy band in the corner didn't seem to notice everyone else trying to enjoy their night; they just played away at top speed.

"Tch," he muttered in response to Fuuka. She gave a real smile this time. Shinjiro pretended to roll his eyes, but it was just a hoax. Truth was, he'd become very fond of Fuuka since Aki had left. He'd been teaching her how to cook (even though it was more like doing it for her most times), and even actively listened to her tech speak. She'd become like his little lost puppy.

"Hey."

Shinjiro turned to the voice, wanting to give it a playful punch in the throat. Akihiko grinned at him, his eyes vibrating with a fighter's passion. A bunch of old memories fell into Shinjiro's chest.

But, to retain his cool, he gave Aki a brisk nod.

"Long time no see," he said. "Finally fall off your white horse?"

"Nah," Akihiko replied, shrugging the comment off. "Just taking a rest." He tried to hold back a laugh, suddenly. Shinjiro straightened up, glaring at his old friend.

"What?"

"Nice suit."

Shinjiro looked away. "Tch."

It wasn't his idea to get dressed up like this. After being given his outfit, he'd had to button down the tux so that he could breathe. And the tie Mitsuru gave him? Hideous! It was set in the men's restroom somewhere now. The purple monstrosity couldn't reach him now.

What Shinjiro missed most, though, was his beanie. Mitsuru's lackeys had spread gel all over his locks and pushed it back all of the way. He felt ridiculous, and now he couldn't even cover up his eyes to hide from the other guests' stares. He instead made them pierce Akihiko's very soul.

"You're one to talk about monkey suits," he hissed. Akihiko got a nauseous look on his face, and instinctively pulled on his own tux's collar. His tie was bright red and was completely undone around his shoulders. His muscles were nearly ripping the seams of it. He and Shinjiro were still the same as ever, more alike when they could ever know.

"Heya! Senpai!" The group looked over to where their old comrades, Junpei and Yukari, were approaching.

The brunette had, like Fuuka, let her hair grow out past her shoulder bones and the shorter strands curled up around her ears. She wore a bright pink dress that dangled over her knees and had spaghetti straps keeping it locked around her neck. Little hearts decorated the fabric, like some sort of love festival. She gave the group a smile and waved.

Junpei had on a tux that was neat and smooth, but when he saw the others' styles, he groaned, "Seriously? We can do that?" and loosened just about everything. He even pulled out his signature cap from his stuffed coat pocket and slipped it over his buzz cut. He sighed happily, then approached Fuuka.

"Fuuka!" He yelled. "You look very gorgeous for a geek!" He called out when a fist abruptly bombarded his head.

"Give it up, Junpei," Yukari scolded. "She's never going to go for you. Especially not with poor compliments like that…"

Shinjiro and Akihiko shared a glance and a smirk. It certainly brought back memories, being with the old gang.

"Where are Ken and Koromaru?" Fuuka interjected.

"They weren't able to make it tonight," Yukari explained. "They had some other things that they needed to do."

"Nonetheless, I'm glad you five could at least make it." Mitsuru glided over to them, sporting a skin tight cocktail dress seemingly made of white swan feathers. Her hair was elegantly done up, clearing her bangs to reveal her perfect snowy skin. She was easily the most beautiful woman in the room…and the most threatening.

Everyone greeted her, trying to keep their jaws off of the floor. She gave them nods and turned to Akihiko.

"I've got a friend for you," she told him. Then, Akira stepped from behind her, shyly bowing her head.

"Hey," she greeted softly. Her dress was a very pale blue, hugging very close to her body until her knees, where it flared out to grace the floor with its presence. Her hair was done in a long yellow French braid with flowers embedded into the individual strands. She had a light layer of blush on her cheeks and wore one of Mitsuru's white-silver snowflake necklaces.

"Hey," Akihiko muttered, trying not to stare for more than a few moments. Shinjiro didn't bother trying to hide his; there was something about the girl that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but…

She suddenly realized that he was standing there, and her eyes went wide when she met his gaze. It was like she'd seen a ghost or something. Shinjiro tried to ignore it for the moment, and extended his hand to her.

"I'm Shinjiro," he introduced, "this idiot's friend." His head bobbed to Akihiko, who gave him a short glare. The girl slowly reached out her hand for his.

"I'm Akira Narukami." When their hands touched, she looked even more shocked. Maybe it was the jolt that came from their touch. Or maybe it was something else.

"I'm Junpei Iori," the hat-wearer stepped in. He took Akira's hand from Shinjiro's and kissed it lightly. Akira seemed off-guard at first, then yanked her palm away.

"Nice to meet you," she replied, "but don't touch me."

"She's my kind of girl." Yukari was laughing and shook Akira's hand, too. "I'm Yukari Takeba."

"And you can call me Fuuka," the last girl said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you all, too." Akira slowly and subtly stepped closer to Akihiko. The boy didn't really seem to notice, but Shinjiro on the other hand could easily see that she felt safer with Aki than she did with anyone else in the crowd. When at a close enough distance, Shinjiro saw a relieved sigh pass through her lips. She even smiled-only slightly.

Mitsuru had said something, but Shinjiro didn't hear it. He looked up just in time to see her leave to speak with some important political figures in the crowd. The rest of the group chatted amongst themselves. He tried to pay attention, but enjoyed watching his best friend interact with the new girl. The way they talked to each other was so humorous. They'd meet eyes directly, then one would see the others' attire and would look away embarrassed. Akihiko was the biggest idiot of the two if for no other reason than that he was trying to avoid staring at the girl's two red eyes. The entire set of friends had recognized them-it was just that no one said anything.

Her eyes….were reminiscent of their old leader's….

Min-….

Shinjiro shook it off. This was no time to think of her. He couldn't faze out again.

He heard something peculiar then, just above the din. It was Akira's voice:

"Wanna go dance, Akihiko?"

The…idiot clammed up and wasn't quite sure what to say. Shinjiro knew that he was trying to decipher hidden meaning to the words, something he'd never been good at in his life. However, it was odd that he even thought to try. Usually, the dope couldn't think his way out of a paper bag when it came to women. But perhaps it was because of Akira's disarming red gaze that he'd become more aware of his surroundings.

Shinjiro shoved Akihiko towards Akira with his shoulder.

"Go," he muttered. "Dance with the girl."

Akihiko and Akira swayed awkwardly amongst the crowd, very careful not to bump into other bodies. The girl couldn't make herself look straight up at her partner, so she instead focused on the straining buttons over his chest. Suddenly, the boy laughed.

"What?" Akira asked, still not meeting his gaze.

"You've got that furrow in your brow," Akihiko replied.

"What furrow?"

Akihiko rose their joined hands and poked the center of her forehead. "That one." He gave a chuckle while Akira blushed. Their casual banter was getting noticed-mostly by the other woman looking upon her with hatred. Yet, Akihiko was as dim as ever, and didn't notice a thing.

"You have no regard for personal space," she said to him, frowning. She was trying to loosen the bond that was smoothing over their little not-so-private bubble. Whenever she got near to him, not only was everything suddenly familiar, but also very warm and buzzing. She didn't really understand what it all meant, and it was causing everyone around them to react, too.

Akihiko, of course, didn't sense anything was amiss. He just gave her a big, stupid grin.

"You're doing it again."

"Shut up! I am not!"

"Are too!" Another laugh from him.

"Pffft." Akira tried to remove herself from their stumbling waltz, but Akihiko's grip was very tight. He wasn't ready to let her escape the teasing.

Or…was it something else?
He was staring at her eyes again, losing himself in a fantasy that she could never decipher through his hazel pupils. She saw so many flickers of remembrance there. Akira gently pulled back; she was so tired of "almosts", and wasn't ready for certainties either.

She shook her head. Wait, what did she mean by that?

"Mind if I step in?"

Shinjiro was at their side, and looked like he had been for awhile. Akira wondered how much he'd heard of hers and Akihiko's playful banter.

"Sure," Akihiko said oddly, letting Shinjiro take his place. The brunette took her hand and hip, and started swaying with her much more expertly and steadily than her previous dance. Akira realized how limp she was at first, then moved her free hand to Shinjiro's shoulder. He was scrutinizing her very carefully, and Akira felt she would've been afraid of the serious glint in his eye on a normal day. However, this was a time where she just stared right back up at him, equally curious.

"So," he began, "you come here often?" He said it with such severe conviction that she burst into a fit a giggles. He tried to hide his growing smile. "That's the reaction I was looking for."

"Sorry I'm so serious." She apologized. "I guess I'm just a little shy around strangers." There was a silence between them.

"So what's life been for you since you met the meat-head?" He bobbed his head back towards Akihiko, who'd meandered to the food table to find something loaded with protein to snack on.

"Well, I still have no memory of why I'm in Iwatodai. But it really hasn't been that bad. Everyone's been really nice, so I can't complain too much."

"Quite an optimist, aren't you?"

"Well, what about you? Where do you stand?"

Shinjiro was silent for a long time, his scowl set deep into his face. He instead stated: "I've known Akihiko a long time. He's always been the cheerful one."

"What does that make you?"

Shinjiro met her crimson gaze. "Not."

Despite the dead-set heaviness to his words, Akira giggled again. "You sound like you have the plague or something."

"Tch," Shinjiro muttered. "Tell me about it…."

There was a commotion up front as the music abruptly stopped. Mitsuru had begun a speech, but the ground had started shaking beneath them. Everyone was panicking, screaming "Earthquake! Get out of the building!" Shinjiro brought Akira close into his chest.

"What the hell?!" He muttered. Akira clung to his jacket, staring at the others beginning to flee. Akihiko came back over, and Shinjiro threw the girl into him. "Get her out of here!"

The windows and walls of the ballroom's farthest side were cracking. Something was coming in.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The next exciting chapter of P3TM! Woohoo!

This chapter finally reintroduced everyone-although I can't promise that I'll dwell on everyone. Sometimes, you can't give everyone the same amount of screen time, ya know?

The song at the beginning was Sway by Michael Buble. Hee hee! I love that song!