You all deserve an apology, and I really am sorry. My com crashed TWICE in the time that I couldn't update, I lost my longest story and just got most of it back, and since then I've just been so unmotivated and lacking inspiration. After getting an email from Ruri Hoshino, though, I've become inspired to pick up my story once more, even though finals are less than two days away! Wish me luck!!
That aside, it's time to end the mystery. Why was Lyric so out of her mind with worry that she was frequently interspersing spanish into her english?
Oh! And that above was written over three months ago, but it's July 6th just now, I think. FF net wouldn't let me update, so blame it all on them! Although, this chapter will be a little longer than what I had tried to send it before. I felt like adding, so I listened to 'Dragon Boy' from the Spirited Away soundtrack, and everything from the non stop DDR contest and downward was added, you hear me? ADDED TODAY!! HOT OFF THE PRESS!!
Okay, I'll allow you to enjoy this chapter yourself, so.. ta ta!
Chapter... blank-ety, "Let Me Hear Your Heart Flutter"
The girls were home in record time. Tires screeching as Lyric braked in the drive, she and Pan flew to the doors- Lyric filled with motive and Pan following with no idea as to what had made Lyric so spastic.
Skidding into the dining room, Lyric panted, elbows up with the rest of her arms hanging down. She could have resembled a scarecrow. Her eyes were wide, the blue irises wide and fearful, the elbows up, and feet apart, the ankles raised slightly so her toes somewhat pointed inward.
At the large rectangular table before her, Neo sat on her right, her mother sat on her left, and her father at the head of the table, in the center.
Pan stuck her head in the doorway, which was to the left, behind Eira .
"Have I come at a bad time? Or would someone please tell me what's going on here?" Pan asked, a sheepish smile on her face.Taking a deep breath, Lyric sat down opposite her father.
"I see you have made it in time for dinner," Neo said with a barely contained smile. Julio and Aera looked only slightly miffed, while Aera beckoned Pan to sit next to her.
"Sooo... why did Ly act as if her life depended on getting home as soon as possible?" Pan asked, a hint of unease in her voice.
"Dad hates it when we're not together for dinner, at the very least. It's the time of day, or, rather, night, when we actually TALK. Basically we discuss whatever went on today, or anything else in general, all as we eat fine food," Neo explained. Julio cast his son a dirty look, then turned to Pan with a kind smile and said, "My son is correct. If there is anything you would like to discuss, please put it on hold for a few seconds as I retrieve our food."
That said, Julio and Lyric got up from the table and ran into the kitchen, which was though the doorway behind Julio. Pan cast Neo a nervous glance, to which he responded with reassuring smile, eyes gentle. Aera did not miss this exchange and nearly flew out of her seat with happiness.
A slam was heard as Lyric and Julio kicked the doors open, both holding tray upon tray of food.
"Amen and take your seat, it's time to eat!" father and daughter recited happily, setting the food-ladened trays down along the long table.
"It's every person for themseeeelves!!" Lyric shouted as she picked up a cob of corn and Aera some orange colored rice and refried beans.
Pan stared in wonder.
'I think I love this family,' she thought as she watched everyone, even Neo, attack the vast amount of food like a bunch of wild beasts... once it was on their plate, of course.
Not wanting to be left out, Pan finally dove into the trays and took bits of everything, having never tasted Mexican food before.
"Pan, my dear, have ye ever had Mexican before?" Aera asked cautiously. "Mm, mno," Pan replied around a mouthful of beans and rice.
Aera smiled happily in turn.
"Oiga, Pan! Have you got a little Mexican in you?" Julio asked with a great laugh, which was cut off by an elbow to his ribs, the offending elbow belonging to his very peeved son. His face was slightly down turned, eyes closed, and he was still forking rice into his mouth when he elbowed his father.
Julio frowned slightly, "Neo, what the hell was that for?!"
"You know very well what my reason is, so stop pretending, father!" Neo responded in a calm, albeit irritated tone.
Julio laughed sheepishly while Aera scowled.
"Please don't mind my husband, Pan love. He's just a useless lecher," Aera smiled.
"Wha-!? This useless lecher cooks the food in this house!" Julio shouted....
which was justly followed by Pan orally spraying her food.
All eyes turned to Pan as she choked and gagged.
"Erm... was it something I said?" Julio replied, looking very much like a nervous Neo then and there.
After clearing her throat and drinking some water, she patted her chest and asked, "YOU made the food?"
"Yes, with some assistance from my daughter, of course.""But daddy makes the food. I just hand him the ingredients," Lyric shrugged.
"YOU... made the food?!"
"Yes, is there anything wrong with that?"
"No! Not at all! Surprising, but... nothing wrong! This food is GREAT!" Pan exclaimed enthusiastically as she shoved more rice in her mouth, nearly choking as she went. Slowly, the four family members gradually returned to their foods as well.
As soon as everyone had settled down to a regular pace in their eating habits, the conversations burst forth like water from a broken dam.
"Neo, damnit, when did you take my Kahlua?!"
"Speaking of which; Aera, would you happen to remember what I did with that wine in our room?"
"I thought you had it cooli- JULIO!!""Whaaat?" Julio answered innocently, a sheepish smile spreading across his face instead of an overly confident or lecherous one. Aera rolled her blue eyes and smiled.
Pan couldn't help but smile. These two were perfect for each other, it seemed- yin and yang- yet it seemed like nothing but business could separate them. It reminded her of her grandparents, and then her own parents to the point of tears.
All eyes once again turned to her over their squabbling, Lyric hovering over the table, left hand holding Neo by the collar with the other arched in the air and ready to punch, Julio with one arm raised prepared to grab the offending arm and Aera with both hands raised between her children, Neo's head hanging limply at Ly's mercy while the rest of him below the neck lay semi-sprawled on the table.
Aera was the first to speak.
"Pan, love, is there somethin' wrong?"
Upon not getting a response from the obviously distraught girl, Aera jumped off the table and into the kitchen, then bounded back in holding a vegetable.
"Do you want a carrot? Is it a carrot yer wantin'?" She asked, a smile on her face in the hopes of cheering her up. Pan giggled behind her tears, but wouldn't stop crying.
"Erm... Pan, child, do you need to tell us anything?" Julio asked, slowly returning his hands to his sides.
Pan laughed again, tears streaming, rushing harder than before.
"Neo," she said, sniffling somewhat. Neo raised his hands to pry his vulnerable neck from his sister's now nerveless grasp and answered, "Yes?" in an almost frightened way. "Do you remember, heh, what I told you on the plane?"She was still giggling somewhat through the tears. Neo wanted desperately to make her stop crying, but instead he slowly responded, "Well, you told me you had discovered something interesting that day, but you never told me what it was..."
Pan finally breathed in shakily and answered, "Julio, Aera, Ly, you all might wanna take a seat for this..."
Ly rolled her eyes as she realized what was to come, but never let anyone see this reaction and instead put on a false look of surprise.
"Neo, I'm pregant," Pan said, tears suddenly stopping. Aera's eyes widened and Julio stared, eyes sweeping from Pan to Neo. He wanted to clap Neo's back and tell him that he was proud, or twirl the pregant girl, but he found the situation too tense to perform such reckless acts.
Neo gaped. Finally, he asked, "Is it mine?"
Wrong answer.
A loud slap sound resounded throughout the mansion.
There stood Pan, an irate expression gracing her face, her arm raised with the palm open, and Neo with twisted neck, a red handprint on his left cheek.
"I'm not a tramp, Neo, of course it's yours!!" Pan yelled. She was, however, cut off her emotional rampage by Aera, whom had hugged her tightly and rubbed her face against Pan's face.
Gasping, she cried out,
"I can't believe it! Meh first gran'chil'! Pan, dear, we'll do anything to help, just say the word!! Oooh, this calls for a celebration! I mean, I take it Neo hasn't proposed, shy boy that he is....the act was probably one of both of you being drunk," she joked, not knowing how close she'd hit to home as Neo and Pan both blushed and laughed nervously. Everyone came out of the darkness that Pan had unwittingly created.
Julio finally clapped Neo on the back.
"My son, I never thought you had it in you!!" he grinned perversely while Neo resisted the insane urge to punch his own father. Ly and Aera hovered around Pan, Aera asking Pan if she needed help with anything and Ly teasing Pan relentlessly about the fact that they'd been in bed together. Pan also had to resist an urge: to tell Ly that they hadn't been in bed, but on a couch when they woke up together.
'Think it'll be a boy or a girl?" Ly asked.
"Well, there are only two genders," Pan replied sardonically.
"Crap, let me rephrase that-"
"Lyric!" Aera shouted.
"Sorry, mom!" Lyric squealed, embarrassed to have cursed in her mother's presence."I think I meant to say: Which gender do you think it will be? A boy, or a girl?" Lyric asked once more.
"It's too early to tell," Neo replied, just as Pan had opened her mouth to answer. 'Nice save,' Pan thought, eyes half wide, eyebrows raised.
"Oh, duh! It couldn't have been less than a week ago since you two-"
A loud whistle was heard, interrupting Lyric's speech.
Neo's eyes were closed, a goofy and sheepish smile spread across his handsome face, his right hand in the air with his index finger raised and the rest of his fingers clenched, as he ended his whistling and nervously uttered,
"Too much information!! (1)
Tokyo club scene...
Bra happily hopped off the stage with a bow. People were clapping, while a few guys were even whistling. Some sounded dejected and kept shouting 'Encore! Encore!'
"Top that, cyborg!"
"It's 'Android,' you twit," oathed Seventeen as he took his place on stage.
"Hey, I thought Miss Bulma said you weren't allowed to go out with him," Goten asked Bra, his eyes on Seventeen while his ear was leaned toward the fabulous Miss Bra.
"What mommy doesn't know won't hurt her," Bra said determinedly.
"Um...Bra?"
"Yeah?""Is there a reason you wore a white shirt at night?"
"Well, I thought I'd make a fashion statement," Bra said with a roll of her eyes.
"Um.. just thought I'd let you know that you can see through a white shirt if a stage light shines on it," Goten replied nervously.
Bra gasped.
"That stupid android!" she seethedMeanwhile, on a dig somewhere in Europe far, far away.
"Gohan! I found something!"
Videl, in archaeologist's garb, climbed her way out of the dig with ease, raising a hand to wipe her sweaty brow and exhaled lowly. She smiled triumphantly and walked over to her equally raven haired but bespectacled husband as he shouted, "Well, let's see it!"
Watching with pride as he took out a magnifying glass in his right hand and a scroll of paper in his left, she observed carefully while he did research.
"Ever the scholar, honey?"
"I could say the same to you, dear," Gohan replied with ease, sweat forming at his forehead as well.
"Well? What is it?"
Sighing, Gohan finally replied, "It just looks like another tablet. We'll have to call in actual experts to translate this."
Videl looked at her feet and blushed.
"Do you think that we should have stayed until Panny left?"
Gohan looked up finally to face his wife.
"Of course not. I didn't want to leave at all, remember?" he replied, a look in his eyes that relayed sarcasm."But we have to give her the space she needs. She's almost twenty, ya know?" Videl responded, unfazed by Gohan's answer.
"Almost legal, you mean," Gohan muttered mutinously.
"Gohan!"Gohan froze and sheepishly answered, "Yes, dear?"
9:00 PM, California
"Pan, let's go! Work time!"
"What?"
"We're going to the club again, come on!" "Alright," Pan yelled unsteadily from her room.She quickly got dressed and ran out of her room and down the stairs. She had finally figured her way out of the maze that was the home of Neo and Lyrics' parents.
Lyric whistled. "Lookin' cool, Pan. Don't you think so, Neo?""Yeah. Makes me think of,"
"DDR?" Lyric said at the same time as Neo. "JINX! You so owe me a soda," Lyric smiled.Neo grumbled and stalked off toward the little blue car.
"Ly, P-chan, come on!"
Pan looked at herself. What was so special? Spiked bracelets on both wrists, relatively puffy blue jeans, a slim red tank top, and a puffy white hat with her short black hair pulled into two tiny pigtails. The shoes were two simple white sneakers. This ensemble was cool?
She finally came back to Earth and glared daggers at Neo.
"Dude, you don't call people P-chan!"
"Well, your name IS Pan, Pan," Neo responded with a non-mocking smile.
"We only call pigs P-chan! Well, if they're our pet, anyway..."
"Aaah... I knew that..."
"DAMN YOU, NEO!"Neo pressed the accelerator before Pan could grab his neck from her position in the back seat. The inertia forced her backwards against the seat, where she crossed her arms and looked out the window, anger evident in her stark onyx eyes.
Neo and Ly laughed at Pan's cute pout as they drove off toward the clubs.
"Soo, it's Sunday night... I'm ready to dance," Lyric exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Really?" Neo asked, one eyebrow raised, both eyes on the road.
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"No reason. No reason at all," he grinned.
Lyric punched his arm.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Neo exclaimed, a hint of laughter in his voice made even more obvious if you saw the way his eyes crinkled.
"No reason. No reason at all," she replied sarcastically. Pan laughed hysterically when she saw the annoyed expression that immediately replaced the smile on Neo's face as he put his foot on the pedal, lurching the car onward toward their final destination.
And in Japan, far, far away...(snickers)
"How about this place?" A girl with short blonde hair waved her hand in the direction of a store to her left.
"No..." murmured her companion.
"Oooh! They have the cutest barette clips in this shop he-"
"Noooo..." Bra sighed.Marron rolled her eyes and stomped her right foot, exhaling as though she were trying to blow Satan City away in one breath.
"Damnit, Bra, you act as if someone died!! We're young and alive and we should be acting like it!" Marron screeched, annoyed with her blue haired friend's moody behavior.
"Well, Pan left on us, remember? We were supposed to see her off and everything!" bra responded, voice upset.
"So? She left for her own reasons. She obviously didn't want to see us when she left, so she took off without us. Speaking of taking off without us, where's your brother? I haven't seen Trunks in a while."
"He made a run for it and decided to choose a day in the office instead of an afternoon with us lovely young ladies," Bra informed with a devilish smile on her face.
"Oohhh, GOOOOTEEEEEN!!!" Bra called with a large smile on her face.
People stopped to murmur as they heard what sounded like an earthquake begin to erupt somewhere far off.
Something zoomed past with lightning speed. Women's skirts flew up, and some men dropped their own things of importance.
Bra giggled girlishly as Goten stopped directly in front of her, causing the wind force that was behind him to blow forward, not noticing that it's sole cause had already stopped.
"Anything you want, Bra?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his face.
Bra and Marron turned their heads to face each other and share a knowing smile.
"Bring me Juu-kun- we're out of zenni-"
Bra elbowed Marron when she noticed that the blonde was about to protest.
" We're gonna shop til we drop!!" Bra stated. The girls laughed maniacally.
Goten sweat dropped.
'This... cannot be good news for me and Seventeen...' he thought to himself.
"Alright, so now what?" Pan asked, looking at her surroundings.
"We start the party and we party like it's the end of the century!" Lyric said, whipping off her black sunglasses, indulging the crowd around her with a dazzling and toothy smile. Neo smiled self consciously as a few people chanted 'Ne-o! Ne-eo! Ne-o!"Pan tightly clasped Neo's right hand in her left, letting him know that this atmosphere was, oddly enough, something new to her. Neo smiled and pulled her closer, edging his way toward the stairs.
"How do you like DDR?" Neo shouted to Pan over the loud music that was blasting.
" I love it! Let's DDR!!" she shouted happily.
When they finally reached the machines, people began to clap and cheer like crazy.
Neo payed for the game, something else that Pan was unused to- someone else paying for her to play. Back in Tokyo, even Trunks wouldn't pay for her DDR addiction.
While getting the settings ready, Neo asked, " What do you want?"
Pan was taken aback. "What do you mean, what do I want?!"
"Light, Standard, or Heavy?"
"HEAVY!! DUH!!" Pan shouted jokingly. Neo chose Heavy for Pan and Standard for himself.
When getting to the songs, he stated, "You choose first, I choose second, and you choose third. Sound good?"
"Sounds great!" Pan responded.
Scrolling through the list of songs, Pan's eyes rested on one song.
Eyes widening, she turned to Neo. "Please?" she asked, eyes wide.
Neo stared at the song in question. He couldn't read the name because he didn't understand Kanji, but he knew this song from experience. Gulping, he held up a finger to tell her to wait, and pressed back on his side twice. He was now on Heavy. London blues turned to look at midnight blacks, he silently nodded.
The crowd around them watched the exchanged with great interest and cheered as the song began.
The song was a japanese tribal mix, much like Tsugaru but much faster. Neo only recognized the song by it's trademark card: White kanji in the center of the card, the rest in a swirled sort of purple, like the sky during the aftermath of a thunder storm. (2)
Pan concentrated as she hit every note with a precision that startled and even frightened many of the onlookers, while some cheered for the 'new girl,' which Pan had obviously become. Neo couldn't help but laughed as they finished.
Both had AA's, but Pan's was higher. Neo broke out in proud laughter and hugged Pan.
"Hey, we have two more songs!" Pan warned. "Right," he grinned, and turned to the monitor. He scrolled through until he found a familiar song. He looked at Pan, grinned devilishly, and pressed the button.
Pan stared at him. "You're evil, you know that?" she stated stoically as she got into position.
Neo leaned over and whispered into her ear. "And you're carrying my 'evil', you know that?"
Pan, eyes widening, couldn't stop the blush that immediately spread across her cheeks, even as she started to play.
Neo had an A rating, Pan's rating a C.
"I hate that song with a vengeance, okay!?" Pan gritted as Neo laughed.
"No hard feelings, right?""It ain't over til the fat lady sings!" Lyric shouted challengingly, jumping up as she was lost somewhere in the crowd behind them.
Pan and Neo turned to look at Lyric, then looked each other in the eyes and nodded simultaneously.
"Now who's suffering from 'Paranoia'?" Pan and Neo joked aloud at the same time. They looked at each other again and laughed.
Pan turned to the monitor while still giggling and giddy.
Deciding to tone things down a bit, Pan stepped on the up arrow on her pad twice and let the scroll arrow rest on
'Look To The Sky (True Colors remix)'. (3)
Neo stepped on the up arrow on his side twice as well. They gave each other final looks as their last song started belting out it's sad, yet beautifully joyful and entrancing music.
Pan closed her eyes and raised her head skyward, and began to dance elegantly. Neo tried only to dance without tiring himself.
With the songs end, Pan had an AA ranking, Neo a B.
They both got an overall ranking of A when the game was finished. Pan's score was still higher.
People clapped and cheered. Usually, not even certain asians matched up against Neo on DDR, and the stereotype as of late had been 'Asians are insanely great DDR players'- a somewhat positive one, albeit still untrue.
As Pan and Neo stepped off the stage, the onlookers immediately began to complain and whine, but Neo, with an apologetic smile and face, delicately stepped past the crowd, Pan at his side. Pan looked back at the machine, a curious expression on her face. 'Strange... I checked this place out this morning, but I don't remember seeing DDR Extreme...'
Shaking her head, she finally spoke to Neo.
"Now what?"
"You can have fun, but I'm pretty much the body guard. Lyric is the DJ or MC, I'm usually DJ, though on a good and bad day, Dad will be the DJ and Ma will be the MC, leaving us to tend to what we need to tend to," he laughed.
Pan looked at him strangely. "Dee Jay? Em See? Explain." she stated, obviously confused.
Neo gladly explained.
"DJ stands for Disc Jockey. MC stands for Master of Ceremonies-"
Pan felt stupid, and not the good kind, if there ever was. A voice suddely boomed through the club.
"May I have you attention please?"The crowd quieted somewhat, but it was barely audible.
"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP!?"
Everyone quieted, with a few angry shouts and looks being given at nothing in particular. Some even laughed.
"Sorry I had to resort to that, but that aside, everyone, but I have to do this! TOOOO THE STAAAAGE!" shouted the voice, which Pan recognized as Lyric's. Neo laughed heartily and took Pan by the arm and led her across the upstairs room to a long, but high stage.
The equipment surrounding it looked fairly high tech, and Pan was feeling antsy as she saw it.
Even Bulma wouldn't trust even her own son with her inventions, good or bad. They were just too complicated.
"Don't worry. We have safeties on our technology, so no one has gotten electrocuted to death yet," Neo said calmly, noticing Pan's expression.
Pan snapped her head to Neo and nodded, a weak smile on her face.
Lyric pushed through the crowd to get to the second floor, and had to push again just to get to the stage, which many were trying to take now, but weren't quite able to, thanks to the good graces of Neo and Pan.
At long last, Lyric pulled herself to the stage, hummed into her mic twice and grinned.
"Now! Who's ready to sing?" she said in a mock questioning tone, a sly smirk on her face.
Everyone cheered as she sang out, "Feeeel eeexciiiiited?"
Pan raised her eyebrows. She sounded so much like Ana from Look To The Sky. Of course, considering that the line she had just sung WAS from Look To The Sky, she shouldn't have been surprised, but Lyric did have a very decent voice. Bra's was not pleasant at all unless it was a super poppy sort of song.
People were already making requests, but Pan felt herself being picked up-
"Waaah? AACK!!"
-And unceremoniously tossed onto the stage...
"Pan!! Great, you're singing?!"
"Uhhh...."
"Okay, just give me the song and I'll look for it!"
A few people began to murmur about 'the New Girl'.
"Hey look, it's the New Girl!"
"Didn't Lyric just say that her name was Pan?"
"Yeah, I think she did. Damn, she's hot!"
"get over yourself, dude!"
"I wonder if she's a good singer?" etc.
Pan looked absolutely baffled but someone or something whispered in her ear. She couldn't help but listen to it and respond, "...Ordinary World...."
"What?" Lyric asked. "I can't hear you, these people don't know when to be quiet! Yeesh! What's happened to our degenerate generation!?" she laughed.
"Ordinary World by Aurora and Naimee C," Pan responded with a less than confident nod of her head.
Lyric looked at her, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, and a generally very surprised expression on her face.
"Okee dokie... I'll just set up the kareoke and we'll be ready for ya!"
Lyric was about to make herself invisible, when she turned back to Pan, grinned and said, " You might want this, dear!" then shoved the mic into her hand before finally making herself invisible.Lyric hopped somewhere off stage while Pan stood center stage, looking down at her chest where she held the microphone.
'What now?' she wondered to herself.
In less than a minute after the crowd quieted down, music blasted from huge speakers that were on either side of Pan, startling the demi saiyan greatly. She had to repress the insane urge to blast them to pieces when they started blaring music from their depths, but she found herself beginning to move a little to the beat, if only to get herself into a rhythm.
Pan began to sing.
'Came in from a rainy thursday, on the avenue.
Thought I heard you talking softly...'
Pan had a confused look in her eyes as she danced, moving side to side, but she continued to sing in an entrancing voice, even though she could have sworn that before this moment she had only heard this song, but never memorized the lyrics.
'I turned on the lights, the tv, and the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you!'
Pan let herself get confident and began doing slightly flashier dance moves. She moved her right hand around in the air in specific gestures now, having ended the fourth line in the song with a sweep of her arm, the hand positioned in a way that suggested she should be delicately holding a flower by the stem.
What has happened to it all?
Pan gave an intense and emotional stare into the audience as she sang that line.
'Crazy some say'
She gave a shake of her head to emphasize the line before.
'Where is the life that I recognize?'
She put her arm straight out in front of her and raised it slowly.
'Gone away!'
She tossed her head to the side, her eyes closed, the left arm raised straight to the air.
She brought her hand back to her chest and side, moving it about as she felt, moving her head as she imagined she should while she sang the rest of the song.
But I won't cry for yesterday,
There's an ordinary world
somehow I have to find!
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive!
Pan allowed herself to dance in wild abandon, forgetting about the fact that a crowd-at the moment, in enchantment- was watching her every movement. Neo kept his gaze on her as she continued her siren's song, his eyes intense and yet serene in a strangely paternal way.
Passion or coincidence
Once prompted you to say
"Pride will tear us both apart"
Well now pride's gone out the window
Cross the rooftops
Run away
Left me in the vacuum of my heart
What is happening to me?
Crazy, some'd say
Where is my friend when I need you most?
Gone away
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Papers in the roadside
Tell of suffering and greed
Here today, forgot tomorrow
Ooh, here besides the news
Of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrow
It's all gone away
And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Every one
Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one
Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one
Is my world
Every one
Is my world
People were silenced by Pan's performance. Some murmurs began to rumble through the crowd until, finally, someone began to clap. Soon, there was a wave of clapping and cheering, whilst a confused Pan searched for the face of the first clapper. Her eyes drifted in Neo's direction, and she could see him smiling in a way she barely recognized. Was it pride or joy, she did not know. Finally, smiling to herself in celebration, she hopped off stage and allowed others to give it their best at Kareoke. Some sounded disappointed when she left the stage, but others were more than happy to take her place.
"So now what do we do?" Pan asked as soon as she was by Neo's side. Looking down at her, he responded, "Well, this is a club. Although I don't particularly condone drinking, there is the bar, the dancing, Kareoke, video games, etc. We tried to make this place as fun as possible."
"Is that so?" Pan asked, a mischievious yet seductive glint in her expressive eyes. Neo gulped. 'What am I getting myself into?' Neo thought before he responded."Yes, that is so, I guess," "Okay! Wanna try a stamina test?" Pan asked, eyes closed as she gave Neo a smile, her mouth closed, and leaned forward a bit, resulting in Neo leaning the opposite way out of shyness. "O...kay... what do you have in mind?" Neo asked, eyes closed, and smiled with his mouth open as he sweatdropped. He would have read her mind, but Pan was making him really nervous.
Pan giggled, her mouth closed, and pointed a finger from her right hand into the air.
"I propose non stop DDR!"
Hearing this, Neo jumped excitedly.
"Of course!!!"
Some people stared as the two danced away on the DDR machine's metallic pads. Their 'non stop' DDR contest had gone on for over an hour now, and neither looked very tired. If anything, it seemed that their energy burned brighter with each new song.
However, as it happens with every contest for anything, there comes a time for someone to get tired and drop out. Pan gasped as she tried to hit every note on Sakura on Heavy at eight times the speed with the arrows set to solo and stealth succeeded for the most part.
Neo had done pretty the same, but had put his arrows on dark and set them to hidden. He was very excited to have met Pan- No one had lasted with him on DDR as long as she had just now. He was having little trouble with the arrows, and even laughed a bit as he danced to this particular song, albeit he had to gasp a bit as he laughed.
Both failed the song less than five seconds before it was to finish. Neo laughed and gasped, while Pan simply gasped.
"WHOO!! That was fun, wasn't it, Pan?"
"Fun? FUN!? You called that fun?!" Pan shouted hysterically. Neo immediately stopped laughing."Every single time I have ever played non stop mode with any of my friends, they gave up not twenty minutes into the songs! YOU LASTED FOR OVER-" Pan cut herself off, brushed her spike right bracelet to look at her watch, then screamed hysterically once more, but in surprised. " THREE HOURS!?!" Looking up at him with wide, crazy eyes, she yelled, " That was NOT fun! THAT was MIND BLOWINGLY AWESOME!!!"
She jumped onto Neo and clung to him, laughing her head off. A few people in the audience stopped staring in fear and surprise and started cheering or wolf whistling. Neo's eyes had widened in shock at having this pretty, relatively mysterious, asian, female dancer jump on him as she did, but eventually he tentatively wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling off. He smiled nervously once more as he heard one person shout 'Get a room!' but he decided to try and push it from his thoughts.
Pan, meanwhile, was fighting a silent battle all her own....
P POV (Pan's Point Of View, for those that have forgotten!)
I like Neo. I never thought that I would like him in quite this way, but I do. Then again, I am pregnant with his child. I almost forgot about the baby! Is it really safe to dance while carrying? Oh Kami sama...
Oh kami, I was supposed to come back in four years! What are they going to think when I don't come back for another eighteen years!? And if I do come back in four years, what will Neo, Lyric, Aera, Julio, and my baby think of me?!
Pan mentally grabbed her head in pain.
Oooh, major headache!! If I don't go back within four years, I won't be able to reconcile with anyone! Gah, who's to say I'll be able to reconcile with 'anyone' even now, after just taking off like that!? 'I' wouldn't forgive me!! But if I leave, I risk the chance of having my little one getting mad at me!
I asked Neo to put me down right then and there. It's already 1:42 or something, anyways, so I told him I was 'feeling sick.' Poor sweet heart. He offered to take me back to the house and stay with me and everything! Lying to him is going to kill me... but who says I have to? Maybe he'll understand... I just hope you understand... Neo....
1:43
Neo gently set Pan back on her feet. "I'm feeling sick." she'd said.
"Are you alright? Do you want me to drive you back? I can stay at home with you, if you like, Pan," he responded gently.
Pan shook her head, a gentle expression in her eyes.
"No, but thanks for the offer. You're very nice, Neo."
Neo seemed to cringe slightly when she told him that he was 'nice.'
Pan giggled somewhat and hugged him once more, but stood there a while longer.
'I want to hold you once again....
...As softly... as I possibly can....' She thought, her eyes still closed. Neo rocked back and forth slowly, and jerked his head in the direction of his sister's magnified voice in the speakers as she spoke into the microphone.
"And for all of you young lovers, or long time couples, out there, married or simply going out, a love song for the ages! If you can name this song, I'll kiss you, girl or guy. If you can name the band that performs this song, I'll set you up on a date with Neo, or I'll date you myself if you're a girl or a straight guy! Actually, I wouldn't mind going out with a gay guy, but I don't know how that person would feel about a date with me!" she laughed. Many people in the audience laughed good naturedly while a few men turned pale and laughed nervously.
Neo grunted lightly. He lightly moved his body in such a way so that he would bump Pan gently. "Pan?"
"Mmm, yeah?" She yawned."Let's move over to the dance floor. I think I know what song my sister is going to play.
Sure enough, as they made their way to the dance floor, the lights dimmed, then purple and blue colored lights grazed their way to the polished floor, giving a soft, wonderful light to the dance floor. An older song began to play. Pan recognized it immediately. The entire song seemed to be made up of guitar playing. Four guitars or more, perhaps, all playing in a romantic unison. Pan came to life immediately, even though the song was actually rather sleepy. Neo chuckled, the sound low and seductive to the demi saiyan's sensitive ears. 'There it is.. I knew he could manage it,' Pan thought to herself with a smile.
They danced to the song, lost in their own world. Some of the other couples watched the silver haired and raven haired racial mixes and murmured.
One couple, a girl with long, dark hair, doe like brown eyes and a softly curved face and a boy with short, spiky brown hair, thin brown eyes and a pointed chin looked at them in curiosity, the boy behind his large round glasses."Look at those two. It's been a while since Neo's liked someone enough to dance with them, hasn't it?" the girl asked, her eyes on the other two. The boy nodded, his eyes glued to the sight as well, and responded.
"Well, the case isn't that he hasn't liked someone enough to dance with them. The issue is that he hasn't opened up to anyone enough to get over his shyness and dance with them. He's a great instrumentalist, so, although I can't help being a little jealous as I admit it, I'm surprised that girls haven't just thrown themselves at him."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, hon," the girl smiled, then giggled as her partner responded in an angry whisper. "What!?"
"Just kidding!" she said, putting a finger to his lips, them removing her fingers in order to kiss him.
"I love you, Kei..." "Me too, Moto...."
Pan's eyes were half lidded as she danced to this slow, albeit somewhat short song. Neo had twirled her once or twice and she loved it. He was actually a good dancer, even when he was not playing DDR. As the end of the song calmly announced itself, Neo slowly dipped her and his gently lips grazed her neck. As Pan's heart beat faster and her eyes widened, she couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips even as he brought her back to a standing position.
Neo took a step back from her and bowed. Lifting his head to look at her from behind the hair that had gotten in his eyes, he smiled again in that way that Pan had deemed seductive. "May I thank the lady for the lovely dance?" he said, having assumed a british accent. Pan laughed hysterically and, seeing that he was serious, she took his hand in hers, curtsied, and grinned. "Yes, you may, and I thank you as well." They smiled to each other, identical smiles, until a loud voice interrupted there moment once more.
"Okay, so no one knew what the song was, right? Neo, would you tell them for me?!"
Neo looked back at Pan from looking at Lyric and mouthed 'I'll be back' and winked. Pan simply stared as he went off towards his younger, green haired sister. She put a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating pretty harshly, in her opinion. 'Could Neo feel that?' Pan blushed at the thought.
She heard Lyric begin to speak again, so she stopped her thoughts in order to listen.
"So, my annoying older brother is finally up here!" Many people laughed.
"Ly..." Neo uttered, apparently annoyed.
" Now would you tell them what the name of the song is? You know, since you know the name of just about every song ever made in US history... then again, you know some japanese songs and one hell of a lot of classicals, too!"
"You're the music expert, 'genius," Neo responded in a sarcastic manner. "Why don't you tell them?"
"Because guys fear smart girls, and I'm not giving up my social life, unlike you!"
A lot of people made 'ooooh!' sounds, and there was some playful laughter in the crowd as well.
"Who says I gave up my social life? I simply dedicated my life to making sure you don't make any stupid, life changing mistakes, like to you tend to do!" he responded, then continued."And who says guys don't like smart women?"
Lyric answered without missing a beat.
"Well, there is YOU, Neo, and a couple others that like smart girls, I admit, but then again, you have something to admit as well." Lyric had cocked her hip to the right and crossed her arms, the left arm over the right.
"And what is it that I have to admit, oh great little sister?"Smirking, Lyric answered. "What even you cannot deny, big brother, is the ultimate truth of teenagers and generally horny people all over the world!"
Neo gulped and a few people shrieked with laughter.
"Which is?"
"Some like it hot."
Neo coughed so hard that he stumbled off the stage, much to the obvious amusement of the crowd. Recovering, Neo yelled. "LYRIC!?"
"Come on, Neo, don't try to hide it! I know you've got the hots for someone!"
A lot of 'whoooo's!' were made in response, instigating an answer from a very flustered Neo.
Blushing, he defended himself weakly. "And so what if I do? It's not like I'd have... 'those'.... thoughts about her!"
Lyric laughed triumphantly.
"Oh, my poor, naive older brother! You knew what I was say, didn't you? Well, people, I always say this, so you can quote me on it- Remember: We're all perverts inside. Some of us are just better at hiding it!" she laughed.Neo blushed faintly, but what started out as a faint pink blush metamorphosed into a sharp crimson sign of embarrassment as his perverted little sister then added, "And besides; Who's to say that the one you like doesn't have 'those' thoughts about you, as you so eloquently put it, Elder Brother?"
The audience cheered loudly. At a loss for anything else to say, Neo sputtered, "J-just get on with the song, already."
"But you haven't even named the last one!" Lyric complained, her arms straight at her sides, hands fisted.
Turning to the audience, Neo grabbed the mic from his sister and spoke as clearly and concisely as possible.
" Forgiving my whore of a sister-" Lyric shouted 'Hey!!'-
"We now move on to the name of the song. If you've watched the movie about Ritchie Valens, they play this song at the end of that movie while they show footage of his funeral, and someone shouts 'Ritchie!'
This also plays during a scene... um... in a different movie about... vampires, and... incest. Disgusting, I know! The song is called 'Sleep Walker' but I have no clue as the name of the band that plays it. Ask our dad. He's the one that got the song!"
A few people clapped as Neo bowed and briskly left the stage.
"Alright, then! So, we were at Maui, and it's a beautiful island, people! It's definitely the party island, though!" she laughed.
"So, in memory of that," Lyric mockingly sobbed, "I will be playing a Hawaiian song called 'Ulalena,' and I'm actually not supposed to play this for a crowd, you know, since they want you to watch Ulalena the play, but the music was so wonderful, and, if you ever get a chance to go to Maui, reserve some tickets to a showing of Ulalena; You won't be disappointed, because, even though we never even got to see the show, an uncle of ours did with our cousins, so he bought the cd for Neo and me to enjoy!" Lyric smiled.
Pan was still staring at Lyric in wide eyed wonder at witnessing this girl stuff so many words into one sentence when someone grabbed her shoulders. She couldn't help jumping slightly, and a small sound of surprise had even managed to escape her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Neo with his hands on her shoulders, his head leaned over her right shoulder, and a lip, closed eyed smile. She relaxed immediately. She even managed to smile."What was that all about?" Pan asked, eyes wide.
"We normally do a 'show.' I think it's just Lyric's much harsher way of telling me to get a life outside family, friends, and work." He smiled sheepishly. Pan's smile grew wider in response to his own shy one. Pan yawned then, and mildly cursed herself for ruining the moment."Mm! What time is it, Neo?" Pan asked. She was too lazy to look at her watch.
"Uh-" Neo brushed her spike bangles aside to get a look at her watch. "It's almost two. We were actually supposed to close a half an hour ago," he ended, eyes showing that he was both surprise, and mild fatigue."I'm actually not all that tired. I can't believe it," Neo said, his eyebrows raising inquiringly at what seemed to be his own insomnia attack.
"Although, now that you've mentioned it, I was wondering when the place closed. Now I'm wondering why it hasn't," Pan mused.
Another low hum was heard. "Alright you guys! You know what time it is! My brother is probably falling over himself cause he's so sleepy, so we're doing this right NOW tonight, and I don't want to see you again for another twelve hours hours, OR, if I can help it, MUCH later!" Lyric announced happily, despite the fatigue in her voice. A loud yawn was heard.
"Sorry guys! I still had this mic close to my mouth when, heeheh, yeah... sorry... anyways! Moving on...NEO, GET YOURS ASS OVER HERE!..! NOOOOOOWWW!!"
Neo winced. Pan blinked in confusion. 'What the heck is going on here, anyways?' she thought to herself.
Neo lightly grabbed her arm and led her downstairs to the raised podium, where the black piano sat.
Seating himself in front of the black Stein, he unveiled its' keys and pressed eight of them. Soon, he began to play the opening strains of a vaguely familiar song.
"Aww, Neo! I don't want to sing 'Heart And Soul'! I don't even know the lyrics!" Lyric joked.
"Well, People! I'm gonna talk it over with my bro, but if things go as planned, he might know how to play a piano version of 'Take A Bow,' by Madonna!" Lyric announced into her mic.
"Um... I'm playing WHAT, again?" Neo said, voice slightly angry.
"Do you even remember 'Take A Bow,' bro?!" Lyric whispered angrily.
"No, I don't! If you keep that attitude with me, I might just forget it entirely!" Neo whispered darkly.
Lyric grinned nervously. "Okay, well... it goes kinda like..."
Lyric hummed the beginning of the song. Neo blinked in response as his green hair sister, blue eyes closed, hummed a soft and gentle sounding song. "Actually, I think I might know that song," he mumured blankly. He attempted something on the ivory keys, and Lyric hugged him. Squealing, she squeaked out her thanks.
"Okay, guys! It would seem that my brother CAN actually play this song, so you're in for a treat!"
Lyric gave Neo a sign that consisted of a quick side nod of her head, to which he responded by beginning the song.
After he set up his intro, he let her begin the song.
Take a bow, the- night is over, this
masquerade is- getting older.
....Lights are low, The curtain's drawn....
By the time Lyric's performance had ended, many were already setting up to leave.
Then again, many had already left, knowing it wouls end with Neo kicking them out to begin with. Pan walked up to Lyric with a small blush gracing her cheeks once more. Lyric blinked twice before Pan leaned her face in close to hers and whispered something in her ears. Lyric giggled and pointed in a certain direction. Pan nodded, then hugged her and took off running in the direction in which she'd pointed.
"What was that all about?"
"I really should respect her privacy and not tell, but she only needed to know where the bathrooms were," Lyric responded simply.
"Ah... I see. A most wonderful evening from where it starts to where it ends," Neo added, a goofy look on his face.
Lyric stared at her older brother in awe.
"I can't believe you just made a semi dirty joke..."
Foot note 1: Neo's reaction to what he knew Lyric was about to say was inspired by Hakkai and is served a la Saiyuki. (Gensomaden SAIYUKI is the name of the anime that Hakkai is from.)
The art isn't particularly bad, but it isn't the very best. BTW, I claimed Hakkai from the get go while everyone else claimed Sanzo, Goku, or even Gojyo, lol.
Gah! I know it's short, and after all of these months, you truly deserve better!!
There IS a point to this- I SWEAR it!!
Foot note 2: I don't know the name of the song because I canNOT read Kanji. It's on DDR EXTREME. The 'card' (those boxes that appear next to the song with the title of the song on it?) is a stormy sort of purple, and the beats are pretty strong. I accidentally tried that on Standard raises her head and eyes while taking a noisy breath through her teeth.
I totally sucked, don't laugh! pouts
=
((Hold on! When I wrote this, I didn't know the name of the song. I left Reno over eight days ago holding the new knowledge of the name of that song.) ((AN 2: The song is from DDR Extreme. I found out that it is called Sakura. If I try exceptionally hard, I can manage a C rating. laughs sheepishly If I try REALLY, REALLY HARD!)
Footnote 3: She is doing this song on Standard, in case you didn't catch that! Speaking of which, Neo lowered his own level to match hers, so he played this song on Standard as well. The levels in which they played these songs go in this order: Heavy, Heavy, Standard. nn The songs that they danced, I believe, go in this order: Sakura, Paranoia 180, and Look To The Sky.
Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those stories that is going to progress slowly, with foreshadowing bits that aren't obvious until the end, when they're pointed out.
School had been driving me absolutely nuts!
Okay, I suck a math, it's believable... --; Don't rub it in...
((Also, when I wrote this, I thought I was going to Summer school. Turns out that I am not...er... Um... I actually just found out that I am going to the second session of Summer school beginning sometime next week. However, I might be able to write a bit more. Be warned, I have semi high standards, and won't add a chapter until it has reached a border of AT LEAST twenty pages on my com!! sweat drop However, when I have summer school I don't write as much, mainly because I tend to add to my chapters during the wee hours of the night (Sometimes from midnight til two, if I can take it. My eyes are getting bad, and the lack of sleep is getting to me. nn)
OO Holy crab, this thing reached thirty six pages!!
I had to be extra sneaky in order to get this chapter uploaded. I fear that this 'trick' will only work one more time, so you, the gentle reader, are probably not going to see much of me anymore if FFnet keeps not letting me update my stories directly. crosses fingers Here's to hoping they will!!