Chapter 51

Dance With Us

The quiet shut in is super nervous. But somehow, also very excited at the same time. While Ikaruga is tending to the new dress she bought for her, the violet haired girl puts both fists on her chest. She is wearing a red short dress that exposes her shoulders, her cleavage and most of her legs in the front. She is also wearing golden high heels on her feet. Ikaruga is wearing a white short dress with silver, glittering high heels. Murasaki looks over at the rich girl.

"U-ummm…Ikaruga-san…"

"Yes, Murasaki-san?" Ikaruga says sweetly as she makes a few adjustments to the dress.

"I-I'm so scared…" the quiet girl says. "There is going to be…so many people. I don't know…if I can even be here without…um…..r-running away…"

"Don't worry," Ikaruga says. "You'll be fine. Asuka-san and Katsuragi-san and I will be with you the entire time. If other people try to do something funny, we'll shoo them off. Besides, Imu-san was very serious about you attending this ball I'm hosting. I was supposed to greet the guests, but Asuka-san is doing the job for me. Father didn't mind." She finishes making the final adjustments and backs away two steps to admire her. "Murasaki-san…you look so beautiful."

"B-beautiful…?" Murasaki says quietly, clenching her fists on her chest.

"Mmhmm~" Ikaruga replies. "That pony-tail on you suits you as well. I'm very glad I tied it up well~"

"Oh…" the violet haired girl reaches back to feel her very long purple mane tied into a cute pony-tail. "Th-thanks for doing that for me…"

"No problem~" Ikaruga then extends her hand. "Now then, shall we attend the party, Murasaki-san?"

The quiet shut in stares at the hand and then up at Ikaruga, who puts on a gentle smile on her face. As much as she wants to run home right now, she knows it would be pointless since Ikaruga worked so hard to buy and put on the dress just for her. Plus that, Imu would be totally angry at her. Besides, Murasaki's best stuffed toy, Bebe-tan, is to remain in her room until the ball is over. She really has no choice in the matter. She reaches out and gently grips the rich girl's hand.

"Let's go…Ikaruga-san…" she says softly. "I want to experience…the ball with my very own eyes…"

"Excellent~" Ikaruga says. "That's the spirit. Right this way~"

Ikaruga leads Murasaki to the large ball room where the party is located. She opens the double doors and she is greeted by lots of people wearing fancy clothing. Some of them are sitting down at the tables, eating, others are standing, talking while drinking some wine. There is also a big space in the middle for dancing. The piano is playing in the back as well. Murasaki feels really nervous, but the gentle grip on her hand from Ikaruga soothes her a little. The rich girl urges her to keep walking until they meet up with Asuka and Katsuragi. Asuka is wearing a long green dress, but the front exposes her stocking clad legs and black high heels on her feet. Katsuragi is wearing a short light blue, frilly dress with silver high heels on her feet.

"Yo, Ikaruga~!" Katsuragi greets with a friendly wave. "You got our star now? That's brilliant!"

"I-I'm a star…?" Murasaki says. "Since when….?"

Ikaruga rolls her eyes. "Don't listen to her, Murasaki-san. She's just exaggerating."

"No way~!" the perverted blonde gives a toothy grin and puts aside her punch. "Our star is here because hey look~!" She points to the half exposed cleavage on Murasaki. "These babies are just BEGGING to say "Hi" to me! Ohhh, this is very good! I'm gonna grab some-OW, OW, OWWWWW!"

Ikaruga uses her ninja speed to step beside Katsuragi and pull on her cheek very hard. "Behave yourself, Katsuragi-san. We're at a ball and we must act accordingly. I took you to this ball because Asuka-san insisted."

"That's right~!" the spunky Hanzo leader says, pumping both fists. "You two are my big sisters, there's no way I'm leaving Katsu-nee behind…ahahaha…even if she has her perverted thoughts on…these ladies in short dresses." She sweat drops at Katsuragi drooling and wiggling her fingers while staring at the other girls.

Ikaruga bonks her on the head. "What did I just say…?"

"I'm so sorry…seriously…!" Katsuragi groans, rubbing her head.

Asuka then turns to the quiet shut in. "Woooow! Murasaki-chan, you look absolutely beautiful in that dress! Ika-nee made a fine choice. And that pony-tail looks so cute on you~!"

"Th-thank you…" Murasaki blushes from the compliment.

"Wooo!" Katsuragi cheers, pumping up a fist and startling the poor shut in. "Let's get this party started!"

"Uhhhh…it started like a half hour ago…" Ikaruga says.

Asuka takes the quiet girl's hand. "First, let's go get some food. You can have anything you want, okay~?"

"Alright…"

Asuka leads her to the buffet and she hands her a plate. Murasaki looks at the food that's on the large table before her. Chicken, steak, rice, gravy, some mixed vegetables, juice, spaghetti with meatballs and so on. She picks out some chicken, gets some rice and pours some gravy on it, puts in a little vegetables, but Asuka puts in more on her plate. When they are done serving themselves, they head over to an empty table for 4 and sit down. Katsuragi and Ikaruga start to walk toward them a few minutes later and sit down next to them.

"Were you waiting long?" Ikaruga asks.

"No, we just got here~" Asuka says.

"Wow, what a fine choice of food," the rich girl says. "Good for you, Murasaki-san~"

"Thank you…" Murasaki takes a bite of her chicken with the rice and gravy and hums softly at the taste. "Mmmm….it's really good…"

"Glad you like it," Ikaruga smiles and begins to eat her own food.

There is nothing but silence as the four of them eat their food. Eventually, Asuka takes a piece of her steak and holds it out to Murasaki out of the blue.

"Asuka….san?" the quiet shut in says.

"Hehe! Murasaki-chan…say 'Ahhhh'~" the spunky Hanzo leader says.

"O-okay…" Murasaki opens her mouth and Asuka feeds it to her. She can feel the juices melt in her mouth as she chews and then swallows. "Mmmm…delicious…~"

Katsu grins and holds out her piece of food to Ikaruga. "Hehe! Hey, Ikaruga, take a bite of mine~!"

The rich girl blushes and looks around. "K-Katsuragi-san…this isn't…really…"

"Aw, come on~" the blonde says. "It's just a friendly indirect kiss. It's not something lewd or anything~"

"Mmmm…alright," Ikaruga opens her mouth and Katsu feeds it to her.

Asuka giggles at this sight. "My big sisters sharing their food. How adorable~"

Murasaki gives a soft giggle. Seeing something like this is pretty cute. She's seen this a lot in anime she watches in her room. The group finish eating and drinking until their plates are empty. They just sit there to digest their food a little bit, listening to the piano. Murasaki closes her eyes as she listens to it. It sounds so soothing…so relaxing. When was the last time she heard something like this? She can picture herself laying on her big sister's lap outside under a big tree. It's so beautiful.

Fortunately, Asuka gets her attention. "Murasaki-chan~?"

"Mm…yes….?" the quiet shut in says.

"It's been over a half-hour~" Asuka says. "I guess you really like that piano music, huh~?"

"Y-yes…" Murasaki nods. "It's so…relaxing…"

"Hehe! Then how about all of us dance to it~?" the Hanzo leader holds out her hand after standing up. "Do you mind~?"

"Great idea!" Katsu stands up as well. "There's four of us, so we can switch however we want to~"

"Certainly," Ikaruga says, as she also stands up. "I want to dance with Murasaki-san when the time comes, too."

"E-everyone…" Murasaki blushes, looking at the three Hanzo students.

A few minutes later, Murasaki finds herself dancing with the Hanzo leader herself. Asuka has her arm around her waist with one hand and gently gripping Murasaki's gloved hand with the other. They slowly waltz this way and that, keeping up with the piano music that caresses their ears.

"Having fun, Murasaki-chan~?" Asuka asks with a bright smile.

"Y-yes…I'm having…lots of fun…with you three…" Murasaki replies.

"Hehehehe~" Asuka giggles and then leans in to kiss her on the cheek, making the quiet shut in blush. "Just remember…to always smile…have positive thoughts, okay? Take it from me. It'll make your life a whole lot easier. Like right now, you see~?" She looks toward Katsu and Ikaruga, dancing wonderfully. "Katsu-nee, Ika-nee and I will help you get through life positively."

"Th-thank you so much…" Murasaki says.

Eventually, the group switches and Katsu is now dancing with Murasaki while Asuka dances with Ikaruga. The blonde gives a toothy grin as her waltz is a little bit faster than the rest, but is still smooth.

"You dance pretty good~" she says. "Hehehe! I can see those babies right in front of my eyes this way. It makes me want to…well…you know. Hehe! But…not tonight. Ikaruga would surely kick the shit outta me if I did that right here and now."

"R-right…" Murasaki looks down at the floor a little bit before Katsu gently caresses her cheek to have her look up.

"Listen, I may be a huge pervert, but that doesn't mean I can never be gentle," the blonde says. "Whatever goes on in your life right now, try to live to the fullest. Cause you never know what's in store for you~"

"A-Asuka-san…said the same thing basically…"

"Hehehe! She's always one step ahead of me, it seems~" Katsu giggles. "But the point is: Murasaki, all of us love and care for you. Don't think you're alone through all of this. All of us will help you smile more."

"K-Katsuragi-san…" It is then that the quiet shut-in feels Katsu's lips touch hers briefly before pulling away.

"Now then…off you go~" Katsu gives Murasaki a bit of a twirl, right towards Ikaruga, gently pushing Asuka away.

"Hehehe! Now I get my favorite~" Katsu says, giving a toothy grin and Ikaruga rolls her eyes.

"At least Katsuragi-san is acting accordingly," the rich girl says. "So…Murasaki-san…how is it so far? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Y-yes…" Murasaki says. "The ball…is very lovely. I'm so grateful…for you inviting me here."

"You're very welcome," Ikaruga says and then leans in to kiss her on the lips briefly. "You're more than welcome to come over to my mansion. Heck, Leo-san? She told me you and her danced together that one time."

"Eh!?" Murasaki jumps at the mention of the other rich shinobi, but has far more wealth than Ikaruga. It was…rather a while ago that she did that. She has almost forgotten that she has actually been to a ball before this. "W-well…um…what makes you mention Leo-san all of a sudden….?"

"She and I are good friends," Ikaruga says. "She comes over to this place every now and then for some tea and a chat. So you may see her someday as well."

"I, umm…look forward to that…" Murasaki says.

The slow dancing takes about another half hour or so before the group decides to take a breather outside. Ikaruga leads them out of the ball and upstairs to her chambers to step into the balcony where the moon is lit above them. They walk over toward the railing and almost instinctively put their hands on each other's. Murasaki looks up at the bright moon before her while the light wind blows, making her cute pony-tail sway. It is then that Asuka hugs Murasaki first, then Katsu from behind and then Ikaruga hugging her from the other side.

"E-Everyone…" Murasaki gasps.

"Why don't you stay with us for the rest of the night..?" Ikaruga whispers in her ear. "That would be very lovely."

"You're always alone in your room, it's kind of sad that you barely have anyone to sleep with," Asuka says.

"I always have Bebe-tan…" Murasaki corrects her.

"Yeah, but still," Katsu says. "Come on, Murasaki! You gotta open up a bit more! Just sleep with the three of us! It'll be good~!"

The hugging gets a bit tighter and Murasaki closes her eyes with a small smile. "Okay…I'll…sleep with you three."

"Yay~!" Asuka cheers and kisses her on the cheek. Ikaruga does the same.

In no time at all, the three of them help clean up after the ball, change their clothing and then, within a few minutes, they are sleeping in Ikaruga's room on the very large bed, under the warm covers. Murasaki in the middle, Asuka on her right, Ikaruga on her left and Katsu next to Asuka. They are all sleeping soundly after a nice time at the ball. Murasaki hasn't realized it yet but….she may have opened up to society a lot more than she expected.

Next Pairing: (Crossover) Murasaki x Rinko x Yukikaze