Dance With Me, Kagome?
Chapter Two: Inner Rhythm
Hello! This is the second chapter of my Dance fic! Whee! (spins around in circles)
The song I use in this chapter is Domo Domo Domo by Smile.dk, a Scandinavian techno band that is popular in Japan and sings primarily in English, but also Japanese and French. Chances are, none of you have ever heard of this band. Unfortunately for you, since their songs are just so cute and happy and dance-y, ten out of the eighteen songs I will use in this story will be by this band.
As for the few of you who might have heard of SDK (probably just arwentheelf02), I did the Japanese chorus phonetically, so…yeah…
Have fun!
Disclaimer: Someday…someday…
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"Okay, Inuyasha, here's the plan. I'm going to dance for the first verse and chorus, then you'll join me for the rest of the song. 'Kay?" Kagome grinned at Inuyasha, who sat on her bed and was glaring perplexedly at her.
He groaned. "How did I get roped into this?"
She turned to face the mirror, gathering her hair into a sloppy bun. "Well, I recall a certain someone being all paranoid about my being molested…"
"I meant the dancing part."
"Don't you remember? I threatened to subdue you until you were incapable of movement until the dance, then you would embarrass yourself by not knowing how to dance." There was something vaguely threatening about the way she glanced at his reflection, a way that seemed to say, "And don't think that I'll forget that threat."
He shifted uncomfortably. "Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with."
Her irritation was evident in the crack of her hairtie snapping into place. But instead of yelling at him, she picked up one of those small, metal circles called "see-dees" and put it into her boom box, the contraption that magically spit out music when Kagome pressed a certain button. She had warned him several times not to touch it, on pain of being 'sat' straight through the floor.
"Okay. Why don't we do…ah, here, Domo Domo Domo! That's a good, bouncy song. Okay, Inuyasha, watch me, and you'll see how people in my time dance." She hit the play button and stepped into the center of the room. She sighed impatiently as a rhythm began to tap itself out and two strange women said:
Domo domo!
This is Smile.dk!
This song is dedicated to all our fans!
Let's go!
The music began, and Kagome started dancing. Nothing too difficult. A simple step-touch, step-touch, gently pumping fists, her head bouncing from side to side.
Hey! Listen DJ!
We're gonna have a party!
Party on and on and on!
Another voice immediately broke in as Kagome's hand gestures became more complicated, beckoning, waving, almost stroking the air.
Hey! Come on, DJ!
Gonna move our bodies,
Move 'em on and on and on!
Suddenly, Kagome spun, stopped, shifted her weight, spun again, stopped again. Inuyasha marveled at her ability to keep her balance.
So let the music take youHigher than before!
And let the rhythm hit you,
Once more, once more, once mo-oh-ore!She spun again, then settled directly into some complicated step. Left foot, cross, cross, walk forward, sidestep, right foot, cross, hop, skip…
Inuyasha shook his head. 'What the hell is she doing?'
Domo domo domo,
Smile omisete!
Odoro uta oh…!
Pati pati pati,
Pati tanoshi ma-oh!
Kyomo kyomo, tanoshi!In a fluid move, she stepped toward the boom box, hit the pause, then swept into an exaggerated bow. Glancing up at him, she grinned. "Well? What do you think?"
He blinked badly confused amber eyes. "What do I think? I think you're mad to think that I can learn that dance! I mean, how do any of the people in your time remember those steps?"
Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, then suddenly giggled. "Oh, Inuyasha, didn't you get it? I made it all up! It's all about being spontaneous! Just doing what feels right!" She studied him the way a woman with strong maternal instincts studies the cute little girl in the park who asks her where clouds come from. "Don't tell me you thought that there was a set dance for every song out there?"
"Well, that's how it is in the Feudal Era," he grumbled. "All those folk dances…"
She smiled at him. "There are way too many songs in the world for there to be a set choreography for each one. True, there are some, like the chacha, the macarena, the chicken dance, but those are special. For a lot of songs, you just do what your body tells you. Okay? Ready to give it a shot?"
Without waiting for an answer, she pulled off the bed and deposited him in the center of the room. "Now, don't be self-conscious. Remember, I'm the only one here, and I don't care if you're the world's greatest dancer, or if you're dancing is so bad that I fall over laughing every time I see it. The only thing that matters is that you're having fun."
"Easy for you to say," he growled as she hit the play button again.
Hey! Pump it up now!Gonna hit the dance floor,
Hit it on and on and on.
Inuyasha awkwardly copied Kagome's motions, shaking a fist while jumping up and down, bending to slap the floor. She turned and glared at him. "Inuyasha, don't copy me! Try to do something on your own!"
Hey! Don't you stop now!Come on and shake your booty!
Shake it on and on and on!Feeling like a complete fool, he shyly reverted to a more reserved version of Kagome's first dance, step-touch, step-touch, weakly waving hands. Kagome, on the other hand, was really getting into it, reaching for the sky, wiggling her hips (though not without a slight blush).
So let the music take youHigher than before!
And let the rhythm hit you,
Once more, once more, once mo-oh-ore!She cast him a perplexed frown, then reached over and hit the pause button. With flaming cheeks, Inuyasha glared at her defiantly. She sighed, then said, "Okay. I know this dancing thing is new to you…"
"Right in one," he snapped.
"But," she continued in a slightly louder voice, "this is not something I can just teach you. I can teach you everything I know about rhythm, beat, anything to do with music. But I can't teach you how to dance. It's like my arrows. I had to learn to shoot an arrow properly. But I felt how to infuse them with my purification powers. It's something that your body can teach you if you listen to it."
"Despite the pretty speech, Kagome, I still don't understand," Inuyasha grumbled, unable for the life of him to figure out the secret behind the dancing thing.
"I…you…" She sighed. "It's difficult to explain. Just listen to the music. When you listen to music, evenwithout any intention of dancing, don't you find yourself nodding, snapping, or tapping your toes, or something like that?" Inuyasha nodded hesitantly. "This is the same thing, but on a larger scale. Your body can feel the music. It's up to you to let your body do what it wants. It'll probably take a while to get the hang of it."
He groaned. "When is this dance thing of yours, again?"
"Today is Thursday, and the dance is on Saturday night, which gives us three days. And we still have to buy our clothes." Kagome flopped onto the bed. "Inuyasha, I can't explain it to you. You have to learn this on your own."
He nodded reluctantly. "Fine."
She smiled encouragingly at him and stood again. "Ready?" When he nodded again, she pressed the play button.
Domo domo domo,
Smile omisete!
Odoro uta oh…!
Pati pati pati,
Pati tanoshi ma-oh!
Kyomo kyomo, tanoshi!This time, he tried to concentrate, asking, 'Okay, hands, what do you want to do? Okay, feet, what about you?' Slowly, he settled into a more complicated variation of what he had just done. Cross to the left, cross again, stop, cross twice the other way. His hands still felt awkward, so he let them just pump side to side for now. Before he knew it, he was letting his head bounce to the rhythm.
Domo! Domo domo!Smile omisete, smile omisete!
Domo! Domo domo!
Kyomo, kyomo tanoshi!Kagome glanced at him and smiled, whipping around for a quick turn, then saying proudly, "There we go! That's a definite start!"
He blushed at the praise, wanting nothing more than to stop, turn up his nose, and snort. But…this dancing thing was kind of fun. And with just Kagome… 'Well, I could learn to like it,' he thought.
"Now," his dance partner said with a grin. "Let's see how you dance with someone else!" as the music settled into an instrumental dance break.
"Wh—" was all Inuyasha managed to say before Kagome grabbed his hands and suddenly twirled herself underneath one of his arms, letting the other slide around her waist. She turned back to him, blushing, but obviously having fun.
"Um, Kagome, what are you doing?"
She laughed. "Well, if we're going to the dance together, we may as well actually dance with each other!" With that, she released one of his hands, and spun until she was right next to him, all tangled up in one of his arms, then spun away again, until both of their arms were fully extended.
So let the music take youHigher than before!
And let the rhythm hit you,
Once more, once more, once more, once more,
Once more, once more, once mo-oh-ore!
He couldn't help but grin as he instinctively tugged her back toward him, letting her twirl twice under his arm.
"Great!" Kagome squealed, almost slamming into his chest as she tried to regain her balance. Inuyasha helped her out, grabbing her other hand and spinning her the other way.
Her giggles rippled through the room and floated out the open window as they spun faster and faster, somehow, in the middle of it all, linking arms and do-si-doing around each other.
Domo domo domo,
Smile omisete!
Odoro uta oh…!
Pati pati pati,
Pati tanoshi ma-oh!
Kyomo kyomo, tanoshi!They halted, gasping for breath, but only for a moment, for the song was still playing.
With a grin that could only be described as competitive, Kagome started another of her spur-of-the moment steps. As she finished, she challenged, "Well? Let's see you do better!"
Domo! Domo domo!
Smile omisete, smile omisete!
Domo! Domo domo!
Kyomo, kyomo tanoshi!
Inuyasha accepted the dare and did his own step, crossing, step-touching, unable to keep a grin off his face. Even as he felt a blush rise in his face, even as the thought, 'You're making a fool of yourself!' crossed his mind, he had to say, "This is fun!"
"Toldja!" Kagome said triumphantly. "I knew you'd get it!"
Domo! Domo domo!
Smile omisete, smile omisete!
Domo! Domo domo!
Kyomo, kyomo!
Kyomo, kyomo!
Kyomo, kyomo, tanoshi!
She joined in with his dance, striking a pose as the last chord pounded out of her boombox. For a moment, she held it. Then, she laughed and started jumping up and down, clapping her hands. "I'm so proud, Inuyasha!"
He grinned back at her. "I knew I could all along."
Kagome swatted playfully at his arm. "Just watch! You'll be a professional in no time!"
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And that's the end for now! I apologize for the length (or lack thereof), but all that's really happening is Inuyasha finding his inner rhythm. (imagines Inuyasha the DJ…or Inuyasha the rapper…) (shiver) Scary images…
But anyway, the next song I will use will also be by Smile.DK (because they're cool!). let me know what you thought of this one!
