It was noisy and hot in the arcade. Machines were moved fron their regular places and set back several feet. The Burger Bar (wow, am I imaginitive?) was busier than ever and the tables and chairs were gone for standing space. The main attraction of the day was a Dance Dance Revolution Tournament. Dancers from nearly all of the Zones were there. The Zukins and the Konsentos and Kensentos from the Puppet Zone; Tracy, Izam, Ni Na, Dread Snake and Boldo from the Disco Zone. There was Disk A and Disk B, but no one knew where they were from. And from the Future Zone was Charmy and Astro. From the Burning Zone, where the tournament was held, were Emi, Rage and Lady.
The diversity of Zone players excited the crowd, expecting to see a great tournament. Emi and Rage signed in as singles and as a team. Charmy and Astro, as well as a few unmentioned and mentioned characters did the same. Lady, feeling a bit left out, went to sign in as a single.
"Do you have a partner?" the woman at the table asked.
"Yeah, me" cut in a vioce, as Lady was about to say 'no'. She turned around and saw Dread Snake and grinned, trying to hide her surprise. He grinned back, tilting his sunglasses down a bit and giving a wink.
Tracy was in the Burger Bar, sipping her water, watching as the players teamed up and got to know eachother. Boldo came over and leaned against the wall beside her.
"This will be good. Its about time someone shows Rage he isn't as good as he thinks he is." Boldo said, watching Rage as he and Izam 'hyped up' while Emi and Ni Na pretended not to know them. "A little defeat should humble him a bit~" he muttered. Tracy nodded, worried about the future of Emi and Rage's relationship.
Emi gazed around the familiar arcade and unfamiliar faces. This tournament was the Burning Zone's attempt at attracting more travelers to the Zone.
"Watcha thinking about?" Rage asked, suddenly hugging Emi from behind. Emi jumpe and squeaked. Izam and Ni Na laughed at this, making Emi blush. Rage laughed too and pulled Emi's beanie down over her eyes.
"Rage, leave her alone. I guess the kid never saw this manypeople from different Zones before!" Izam laughed rudely. Emi blinked and realized she was 'the kid'. Rage guess that Emi was offended and hugged her tighter.
"Hey, it's not Emi's fault she's tiny!" he said to defend her, then covered his mouth quick, but not quickly enough. Izam laughed loud and hard at Emi, making her blush a deep red. Too embarassed to say anything, she quickly disappeared in the crowd, followed by Ni Na who looked at Izam disapprovingly. "I can't believe I said that out loud...." Rage groaned. Izam just kept laughing.
-----
Ni Na found Emi by an Air Hockey table, far from the tournament. She leaned against it and nudged Emi. Emi looked up, then down. The two listened to the noise for a while before Ni Na chose to speak.
"You know, Izam doesn't mean what he says. Hes just being rough on you since you are new to the group. It was always just him, Rage and me. Well, Izam and I started going out when we were younger...but we never had enyone else bother to enter our little group. I guess its hard for him to accept that there is someone else Rage is spending his time with. I'm sure Izam will get over it soon." Emi shifted her weight from on leg to the other and remained silent. "I heard it was hard for you and Rage for a while. Don't worry, all couples fight" Ni Na assured Emi.
"What about school?" Emi asked. Ni Na stared. "When School starts again, there is going to be so much~ talk about me and Rage~" Emi paused and bit her lip. "When Izam called me 'kid', it just brought up everything I've been worrying about these past few weeks." Emi sighed, then stood straight and streched. "But I can't let that interfere with the competition right??" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air, mimicking Rage. Ni Na laughed and did the same. "Nothing will bring us down today! This is all about fun!"
---
The manager of the arcade came out with a megaphone and announced the beginning of the tournament. The crows cheered while Oshare Zukin bounced around happily. Emi held Rage's hand tighter everytime a group was about to be announced, releasing a bit when their names weren't called. Rage grinned down at her and squeezed back. Even though he had been in countless tournaments, Emi's nervousness seemed to be passing through to him. Emi squeaked when their names were finally called and was half dragged by Rage onto the stage. Emi was sure that her bones were made of lead and stood on the player 2 side awkwardly. Rage placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and nudged her forward. Emi scrooled through the songs and landed on Butterfly. She smiled appologetically at Rage and he smiled, then watched the screen. Both stood in the middle of their stage and danced to the song they commited to memory.
Suddenly, the song was over. Rage hugged her and they stepped off, after both recieving A's. Another couple walked past, but the Burning Rage team was met by Izam and Ni Na.
"We're off to a good start!" Rage smiled, high-fiving Izam. "So, who's up next?" he asked. Ni Na forced a smile and pointed. Rage and Emi turned around. Emi cheered for Tracy and Boldo as they were introduced. Rage, on the other hand, was glaring at Boldo. The team turned around and chose Synchronized Love. Emi hugged Rage, not noticing that he was glaring at Boldo.
"That jerk needs to start leaving me alone." he grumbled. Izam nodded while Emi looked up, confused. She held his right hand in both of hers throught the song, but Rage was still tense, glaring at Boldo. When the song was over, Emi hugged Tracy and congratulated her at the Perfect Attack. Rage was looking away, off to the side. Boldo walked past and shoved Rage over. Rage whipped around, but did nothing. Angry, Tracy hurried Boldo away, scolding him for trying to make a scene.
Next were Charmy and Astro, dancing to Trip Machine (no, I do not know what Mix this is :P). Emi noticed that Rage was mesmerized by this team, and didn't realize why until Izam laughed and elbowed Rage in the ribs.
"Keep you eyes on your own girl, or are you looking for someone a bit older?" he laughed. Emi looked up at Charmy and noticed how short her shirt was. Ni Na pinched Izam's ear and pulled it down until she could whisper harshly into his ear. Izam straightened up and smiled sheepishly while Ni Na smiled at Emi.
Izam shoved past Emi to advance to the stage, followed by the much more polite Ni Na. Thier song was Boom Boom Dollar (dodges thrown objects 'hey, i still like this song!'). Rage clapped his hands loudly and Emi cheered. At the end of the song, someone, most likely Rage, shouted out Izam's name, and he bowed, comically hitting his head on the safety bar. There was an intermission, and Rage, Emi, Izam and Ni Na met Boldo and Tracy at the Burger Bar. They talked for a bit until dancers were called back and the competition started up again.
---
Finally, after an hour, groups were sitting down, due to losing in earlier stages. It was Boldo and Tracy's turn, and they were dancing to Afronova Primeval. Emi was floored; the color was gone from her face and she began to feel sick. Rage tried to get her to eat something or to drink water, but she couldn't bring herself to do either.
"Rage....no, I can't, I'm sorry..." she whimpered, trying not to cry. "I know how much this means to you..." Rage held her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.
"....Its alright Emi. We'll just watch the rest okay?" he asked. Emi looked guiltily up in his face. She saw the disappointment he tried to hide and shook her head. "Listen, eat something, you are really pale..."
"Next: Team Burning Rage!" the announcer called. Ni Na, who was watching Emi and Rage while Izam rolled his eyes and muttered about the 'sappyness', ran over to the announcer.
"One of the team members isn't feeling too well. Could another team go first until they feel better?" she asked. The announcer frowned down at her.
"I guess...." he said slowly, then into the megaphone "There is a slight delay with team Burning Rage, so could Ni Na and Izam please take their places on the stage!" he shouted. The crowd cheered, a bit confused. Izam hurried up, frowning a bit, the regained his composure. Emi send Ni Na a 'thank you' smile and hugged Rage. Ni Na smiled and took her place.
"Are you trying to tell me something?" Izam asked so only Ni Na could hear. She looked at him, confused, but he shook his head and chose their song.
-
"Rage, I'm feeling better now...." she aruged pathetically as Ecks came up with a hot dog and a drink for Emi.
"Hes right Ems, you are pale. Just eat a few bites before you go up there, you look like you might pass out." Ecks urged.
"But I don't---" she didn't get to argue, because Rage tore off a bit of hot dog and stuffed it in her mouth. Emi chewed and swallowed, but the dog just felt like a fist in her stomach. "I'm fine! Come on Rage, its our turn..." she said, tugging his hand. Ecks leaned on the counter and watched his best friend go, thinking about nothing in general, then took an order.
Faces swarmed around Emi as they made their way onto the stage. Light, sounds, faces. They all melted together until Emi found herself on the stage, her feet planted on the left and right arrows. Rage was bent over, choosing a song. Still feeling lightheaded, Emi stood back a step. Somehting felt wrong, but she ignore it and Rage's song, Paranoia Evolution, started (Really, I have no clue what mix this is o_o). Rage started dancing, then the crowd became silent, then murmering started to spread. Eim's side was filled with arrows of different colors, filling most of the screen. she panicked and leaned against the safetybar. Rage stopped dancing and looked at the bottom right of the screen and groaned. Emi stood too far back when rage chose the sng, and her level was on heavy instead of Light. he continued dancing, but only passed with a C.
--
Finally, the winners were announced. Tracy and Boldo were in 1st, Izam and Ni Na in second and Rage and Emi last. Right after they were announced and the crowd began to disperse, Boldo stepped in front of Rage.
"Great job Rage. Next time, don't have your partner humiliate the both of you. But hey, at least you got to taste defeat!" he laughed, then was hit in the hed with Tracy's purse. Boldo tried to follow Tracy, but she was angry and refused to talk to him for the rest of the evening. Izam was about to say something, but Rage left. Emi tried to follow, but she was still feeling ill and tired. She caught him in the Cule, a small area where there was a tall, shady tree with 2 park benches with springy grass. Emi grabbed his arm there to stop him. Rage, angry, whirled around.
"You could have said you wanted to forefit!" he yelled. Emi jumped back, unable to hold back her tears any longer. Rage frowned and turned away.
"Rage.." she sobbed, trying to reach out to him again.
"Save it Emi." he snapped. Emi whimpered, then knocked him hard on the back of the head. Rage turned his head, but Emi was walking back to the arcade. He sighed, then a few minutes later was picked up by Izam and Ni Na, who dropped him off at his apartment. Emi, on the other hand, was driven home by Ecks. Walt sat in the front seat. Emi forgot he was at the tournament and felt even worse. The car was silent on the way to Emi's, except for a soft 'good night' from Ecks and a snif from Emi. Walt and Emi took the elevator upstairs, silently.
--
"Emi? Do you need me to call the doctor?" Walt asked. Emi walked to the bathroom and looked at her reflection and sighed. The tears has dried on her pale face and she was still breathless from the match. She washed her face with cold water, then collapsed on her bed, face down. Walt made himself dinner, ignoring the fact that it was 5:50 in the afternoon.
Rage paced his apartment, cursing himself. Just as everything was getting great between him and Emi, he had to blow up at her.
'Why didn't I call the last round off? I saw how nervous Emi was, why did I continue it? Why did I let Boldo hurt her like that? Why did I hurt her like that...' his thoughts trailed off. He called Ei's apartment around 6 P.M., but got Walt. Walt never knew about what happened after the tournament, but said that Emi was sick.
"Can I come over?" Rage asked.
"Please? I can't cook and I burnt my 3rd grilled cheese." Walt said. Rage forced a dry laugh.
"Well, neither can I. I'll bring some condensed soup for the three of us." he offered.
"Already got some. Hey Rage?"
"Yeah?"
"Hurry over?" he asked. Rage agreed and was over there within half an hour. Emi was still asleep when Rage got there, so the boys started making dinner without her. She finally appeared when they were pouring the soup into the bowls. The noticed her when she groaned.
"Do I really have to clean this up?" she asked, staring at the mess in the kitchen. They looked around, then back at Emi.
"We'll clean it, we promise!" Walt squeaked. Emi nodded and collapsed in a chair.
"Whats for dinner?" she asked, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Whatever it is, it smells burnt." Walt quietly placed a bowl of tomato soup in front of Emi, grapped a bowl of chicken noodle from him and Rage sat down with his own chicken noodle. Dinner, like the ride home, was silent. Walt began cleaning the kitchen when they were through, along with Rage while she collapsed on the couch. When they were through, Walt went into his room and shut the door. Rage took this oppertunity to sit next to Emi, who was flipping channels.
"Emi" he said, trying to get her attention. She kept her eyes on the T.V.. "Emi" he said louder, taking the remote from her hands. Emi le go, but refused to look at Rage and began crying again. "No...Emi...dont..." he wiped her tears with his hands. She squirmed to get away, but he held her close suddenly. "Emi, I'm sorry, I had no right to yell at you. There will be other competitions..." Emi pushed Rage away and ran to her room. "Emi!" he yelped. she paused in the doorway.
"Rage? How will we be 3 weeks from now?" she asked. Rage paused. "Thats when school starts. How will we be then if we fight like this now? Over small things?." Of course, she didn't think disappointing Rage by losing the competition was small, but his refusal to accept her appology stung.
"Then I'll be a better boyfriend, I promise! Lets start now by forgetting today!" he said. Emi looked up from the ground into his face. "Come on Emi, we have nothing to lose at this point" he said, and opened his arms. Emi sighed, then ran into his arms, surprising Rage. He hugged her tight. "I won't make you cry anymore" he promised.
"Don't leave tonight..." she begged. Rage blushed and looked down at Emi, then nodded.
"I won't leave..." he promised.
Walt walked out of his room around midnight to get a glass of water. He looked on the couch to find his sister being cradled in Rage's arms on the couch. Both were fast asleep. Walt smiled and put a blanket on them, then got his water and went back to sleep.