Last Dance with Shinobu-Chan.
By Project Pegasus
Chapter IV: The Announcement.
That afternoon, Shinobu sat quietly at her desk. With her hands cradling her head, she recalled how at school that day, she had proudly given her name along side that of Urashima-Keitaro when asked by the secretary in the office what names were to be written on Shinobu's prom ticket. Nearby some girls were staring at Shinobu, but since she did not know who they were, she did not give them another thought. But later at lunch, Shinobu could hear interspersed throughout various conversations her name mentioned, as well as the name of Urashima-Keitaro. Even Hotaru, a girl who filled her world with so much melancholy and isolation that it gave her little room for petty social concerns, took note of Shinobu's sudden celebrity status and remarked in a emotionless voice, "My goodness, you've become an idol."
Shinobu was not amused. "You know it's not like that," she responded indignantly. But she could understand Hotaru's point of view. It all seemed rather shameless, and she regretted that Keitaro's name was being dishonored by merciless slanderers who didn't even know who Urashima-Keitaro was. It was as though an epidemic had hit her middle school. Each student was infected by the intrigue of Shinobu and Keitaro's relationship like a victim of the plague. After a person had been afflicted by some bit of gossip, he or she would then distort, embellish, and sensationalize the received rumor before passing the new strain of virus to somebody else. But even so, all this notoriety seemed almost like a pleasant poison for Shinobu. For once people would know who she was.
Ikuko, for her part, attempted to play it off, laughing coquettishly, carrying on mechanical conversations with boys, passing magazines between her friends, but never mentioning Shinobu since even she knew that a classmate who had a date with a Todai student had trumped her, and that it was better to ignore the situation than to seem jealous.
These memories illuminated Shinobu's mind as she held dear her ticket and revisited the names of Maehara-Shinobu and Urashima-Keitaro again and again. This seemed almost divine confirmation of a predestined love affair between Keitaro and Shinobu, as though the prom ticket had somehow mysteriously nullified the vow Keitaro had made fifteen years earlier: she was now Keitaro's 'promised girl'. Whenever Shinobu's rational side interjected itself and protested that panic, injured pride, guilt and circumstance were the real underlying causes of her date with Keitaro, her sentimental side would rebut, putting all of these haphazard conditions under one category: 'fate'.
Keitaro and Shinobu had decided almost wordlessly to keep their dance a secret from the rest of Hinata Sou. All of its residents had nothing to gain and everything to lose if they were to learn that Keitaro was going to be Shinobu's date to the prom. There was Naru. Shinobu knew that Keitaro loved Naru, and so she wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt Keitaro's position with her because the last thing Shinobu wanted was to make Keitaro miserable. Mutsumi had also loved Keitaro, so to show that Keitaro was becoming closer to Shinobu would have been unnecessarily cruel. In the case of Motoko, even though Keitaro had helped her deal with her sister, she still never ceased to warn Shinobu and Suu of Keitaro's 'corrupting' tendencies. As for Mitsune, they feared it would just give her another excuse to get wasted on booze.
As for logistics, they agreed to get ready for the prom at Haruka's house. Shinobu had decided to tell everyone else that she was visiting Hotaru's house, which wouldn't be hard to believe since she lived in a mansion with her father, who was a professor. Keitaro would manufacture some excuse about having to spend more time with Shirai and Haitani since they hardly seemed to appear anymore. All this subterfuge gave Shinobu the impression that they were doing something altogether romantic and daring. Perhaps, Shinobu even thought, two simple residents of Hinata Sou spending the whole night out would hardly be noticed by the others . . .
Shinobu smiled to herself once more and put the ticket in her desk drawer. She opened her backpack and began to set up her books and arranged her papers for her homework regimen when suddenly, her desk drawer flung open, and Tama-chan flew out with something in his mouth. When Shinobu inspected her drawer, hectically performing an impromptu inventory, she realized that her prom ticket was absent. She jerked her head up just in time to see Tama sail out the window toward Motoko practicing outside. She dashed down the hall toward the wooden balcony where Motoko spent so many afternoons deep in meditation and training. Motoko had been Shinobu's mentor in many ways. As a woman who unabashedly dedicated herself to an ancient practice traditionally reserved for men, Motoko had taught Shinobu some basic sword techniques, but more importantly, she was Shinobu's unfailing counselor and big sister at a time in life when Shinobu obsessively entertained so many insecurities about herself. Shinobu remembered her sweet blue days spent in conversation with, or training alongside Motoko as some of her dearest and most treasured. But none of that mattered now as Shinobu, in a near monomaniacal psychosis, shot down to the hall's end seeking to reclaim her stolen ticket. When she opened the door and poked her head outside, she huffed to Motoko, "Have you seen Tama-chan?"
Motoko inquisitively studied Shinobu's terrified face. "He flew by here but went down towards the living room. Is everything ok?"
"Fine," Shinobu said as she sprinted away. Motoko shrugged her shoulders and continued her drills.
Shinobu raced all the way downstairs to the main room where most of Hinata Sou's residents sat watching television. Shinobu remained in the threshold of the hallway while her eyes frantically searched for Tama-chan. Finally, she spotted him perched on Mutsumi's shoulder. Mutsumi had taken the ticket out of Tama's mouth and was examining it. Now Mutsumi knew everything. At that moment, Shinobu couldn't interpret Mutsumi's reaction. In fact, behind Mutsumi's mask of good heartedness, Shinobu could never tell if Mutsumi was ever truly happy or unhappy.
Shinobu, in a hushed voice and waving arms madly, signaled to Mutsumi. Mutsumi turned around and caught sight of Shinobu and, not certain what Shinobu was doing, waved back imitating Shinobu's manic motions. Shinobu pointed to Mutsumi's hand. "Shinobu-chan what's wrong?" she asked. Shinobu covered her mouth to try to indicate to Mutsumi that she had to be silent. Luckily, none of the other residents of Hinata Sou had noticed Shinobu speaking to Mutsumi.
"No Shinobu-chan, you don't have any food on your mouth," Mutsumi said in an uncertain voice. Suddenly, Mutsumi's face lit up with realization, "Oh! Do you want this back?"
Shinobu nodded her head with eyes bulging.
"And you want me to not talk so loud, right?"
Again Shinobu repeated this gesture.
"Now I understand Shinobu-chan! Here, I'll give it back to you at once. And don't worry I won't tell a soul that you're going to the prom with Keitaro-kun."
Shinobu tossed up her hands in resignation as the rest of the room turned toward Mutsumi and shouted, "WHAT?!"
Mutsumi put her hands on her face in embarrassment. "Ara! Ara! Shinobu-chan, don't worry, I won't tell anybody else your secret."
End of Chapter IV.
Disclaimer: All concepts, characters, and other copyrighted materials used in the fan fiction, "Last Dance with Shinobu-Chan" are property of their respective owners. This is to be used for non-lucrative purposes only.