Title: Club Liquid Midnight

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Me no Konomi-san. Me no own TeniPuri

AN: It seems like most of my stories come from me listening to music. I hear a song and an idea pops in my head (read my AN from Close Encounters). This time I was listening to Towa Tei's "Angel". The club is more on the lines of Trance/Electronica. You know, people just coming to listen to the DJs spin and dancing all night.

Hope you enjoy (niku niku)! Reviews and allthatare welcomed :)

Ryoma had no idea why he was standing outside the looming brick building. He knew he didn't belong here. All he could remember was the conversation he had with Tomoka. Well, actually, just the names Sakuno, Hajime, and Club Liquid Midnight. Everything else that she had said kinda just meshed together. He was here because 'she' was going to be here.

He looked around to see if he could spot them in the blue haze and smoke that hung thick overhead. The large neon sign cast a pale blue ghostly light on all the colorfully dressed bodies that were standing by the building. Ryoma kicked a cigarette butt on the ground anxiously. If they didn't show up in the next five minutes, he was going to leave. He felt out of place among the throng of clubbers, and besides, if his coach knew that he was here, he'd be running laps until his legs fell off.

"Ah! There you are!" a familiar voice rang through the haze and the noise. Ryoma turned around and saw Tomo frantically waving at him to come over. He could barely recognize her as he drew closer. She looked as if she had been let loose in a clown's trailer. Her hair was completely teased to outlandish heights. She had on a bright pink tank top with matching leggings, a short white miniskirt, and a blazing neon yellow belt. All she really needed now was tanned skin and dyed hair to complete her transformation into a full-fledged Ganguro.

"C'mon Ryoma. Sakuno and Hajime are already at the door." Tomo said hastily, grabbing Ryoma's arm and pulling him down to a dimly lit staircase.

Now, Ryoma was really unsure about tonight. After taking one look at Tomo, he was quite wary to see Sakuno.

"Found him!" Tomo slung Ryoma around until he was face to face with Sakuno. As soon as he looked at her, all his fears vanished. Her hair looked normal, hanging down to her waist and her face wasn't covered in goop like Tomo's. It looked as if she sparkled, but on closer inspection, Ryoma could see that it was just body glitter. She was wearing a white tank top that had a royal blue Hawaiian hibiscus flower in the center and a matching blue miniskirt with a white flower in the corner. She looked so clean standing next to her disaster of a friend.

"Ryoma-san, you came!"

"Yeah," he answered flatly. Ever since their last year at Seishun, Sakuno started calling him Ryoma-san. He hated it. He felt so displaced from her when she called him that. It was so impersonal. He wished she would at least call him Ryoma-kun. Better yet, he wished she would just call him Ryoma; that was more personal.

"Well, let's go in. Hajime-san already paid for our bracelets." Sakuno called over her shoulder as she headed through the door. Ryoma's back bristled as he heard that name roll of her lips just as casually as she had said his name.

"You mean to tell me that the fourth bracelet I paid for was for Ryoma-KUN? If I had known that I would have saved some money." Hajime joked as he watched Ryoma walk towards him.

"Forget it. I'll get my own." Ryoma started to turn around and walk back up to the window upstairs.

"Oh no you don't! Just take this!" Tomo snatched the bracelet from Hajime and handed it to Ryoma. Defiantly, he put the bracelet on and followed everyone through what seemed to be an everlasting dark tunnel. He couldn't really hear the music as he walked through, but he could feel the heavy thud of the bass. It felt like it shook his very soul. As if it was inside of him, like another heartbeat. Soon, they exited the darkness and entered into a world Ryoma had never seen before.

The place was about the size of a grand slam tennis arena. Every space was filled by a body. Lights, in a vast rainbow array, flashed on and off; some were completely controlled by the music. For each beat, the lights pulsated throughout the place. Huge monstrous speakers hung in every corner, churning out the sounds and rhythms that all the bodies seemed to impulsively obey. Four huge stages were built up all the way in the back of the club and Ryoma could make out the outline of four bodies hunched over tables—craftsmen of the sounds. As he took in the sights Ryoma found that Tomo didn't look too far out of place as he thought.

"Let's go dance!" Tomo squealed. She grabbed Sakuno's hand and pulled her towards the dance floor. They turned around to see if their guests were following them. They stopped and laughed.

"I guess this is all too much to take in for the first time." Sakuno yelled in Tomo's ear above the music. The girls led the two gawking boys towards some tables. "Sit here for a moment to take it all in, then join us on the dance floor!"

Hajime and Ryoma only nodded; their eyes still wide with awe. They watched as Sakuno and Tomo made their way through the waves of moving bodies and found a spot in the middle of the floor. With astonishment, they continued to watch as the girls' bodies began to flow into the movement of the mass.

"Well, well, Ryoma-KUN. Are you ready to dance?" Hajime sneered as he stood up and walked towards the dance floor. Ryoma hesitated for a moment, then rose out of his seat and followed Hajime. As they neared Sakuno and Tomo, Sakuno's face lit up and her smile helped ease Ryoma, somewhat. But only a little.

Ryoma had survived through three songs, but his dancing looked more like painstaking movements compared with everyone else's. Ryoma watched Sakuno as her body moved freely to the music. This was certainly not the same clumsy girl that he first met at Seishun. She danced as if every pulse, every beat emanated from her body instead of the two-story speakers that dangled over the dance floor.

For the first time in a long time, Ryoma felt out of place. He was a tennis player, not a dancer. And this was his first time in a club like this. It must have been written all over his face because Hajime moved over to Ryoma and shouted in his ear, over the music, "You look uncomfortable, Ryoma-KUN. Why don't you sit back down and let me take it from here. Don't worry, Sakuno will be in real good hands!"

Ryoma pushed Hajime away with his elbow. After that, there was no way he was going to get off the dance floor. Not now. Hajime was not going to have his way. Hajime gave Ryoma a false, polite smile and slithered closer to Sakuno and Tomo. Ryoma could feel the back of his neck burn with anger as he watched the three dance together. Hajime wasn't actually dancing with her, just near her. It was near enough. Ryoma admitted to himself that Hajime did have a little bit of skill when it came to dancing, but her sure as hell wasn't going to make it known and admit defeat.

Ryoma tried to follow the beat of the music. He knew when the beat came, but he couldn't coordinate his body to move in time. He would move one way, only to have someone bump into either one of his sides, or bump him from behind, causing him to be thrown even more off beat. And when he did get a hang of it, his movements were more mechanical than the flowing way that Sakuno danced.

He couldn't take his eyes off of Sakuno. It was as if her dancing entranced him. How he wanted to be dancing by her side like Tomo and Hajime, instead of awkwardly moving in front of them.

The driving bass in the song slowed down and all that could be heard was a sharp treble beat and synthesizers. Sakuno looked over at Ryoma and cocked her head to the side as a child does upon seeing some fascinating, strange, and peculiar thing. She walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Relax and let go." She said stopping him. "You're trying too hard."

Ryoma just looked at her.

"Just let go and do what the music tells you to do. Obey the music. Here, keep your eyes on me."

The driving bass picked back up and Sakuno began to sway back and forth to the music. Ryoma followed, not turning away from her eyes. He began moving right with the music; he could feel his body actually responding to the jolting beats. But as soon as he became aware of what he was doing, he began to get off beat. Sakuno shook her head and smiled. Ryoma watched as she mouthed the words 'let go and obey'.

As soon as she said that, she began to move freely as before. Ryoma let out a breath and followed her movements without losing eye contact. Before he knew it, his body began to move just as freely as Sakuno's. His arms and legs flowed instead of moving mechanically, as if he was being controlled like a puppet. It was as if that same beat that emanated from Sakuno enveloped the both of them and only them. Even the dancers around the two made some space while some stopped dancing just to watch. At that moment Ryoma and Sakuno were perfectly in sync. He continued to watch her as the words steadily pulsed in his head.

"Obey. Obey. Obey. Obey the music."

As he moved, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Sakuno's waist and pulled her closer to him. His eyes stayed fixed on hers and it seemed as if Sakuno hadn't blinked the whole time she steadily gazed into his. All that mattered was the music; and, as long as it kept going, they kept dancing. Their bodies were moving perfectly in time.

The beat suddenly cut off as the DJ spun the record. Ryoma and Sakuno abruptly stopped, but remained close together. His arms still enclosed around her waist and her hands resting on his chest. Their gaze still remained locked on one another. Finally Sakuno smiled and said, "You did it Ryoma!" She had called him Ryoma, not Ryoma-kun and not Ryoma-san.

Ryoma blinked and nodded his head. "Um, yeah, only because of you."

Sakuno's cheeks, although already flushed from dancing, glowed with a reddish tint. Ryoma let a small smile escape his lips. It never failed. When Sakuno blushed, Ryoma just couldn't help himself. He moved closer to her face, their noses almost touching. His heart beat wildly as he felt Sakuno clutch his shirt. They knew what they both wanted to happen.

The music suddenly picked back up and the crowd swarmed the entire dance floor, almost pushing Sakuno over just as their lips were about to touch. Ryoma caught her and placed her back upright.

"Daijobu ka?" he mouthed. (Are you okay?)

Sakuno nodded in response. Hajime broke through their hold and shouted "WATER BREAK!" He dragged them off the dance floor. Ryoma could have gotten angry, but he knew there was no need to. Sakuno seemed to have made her choice. Ryoma won.

Tomo watched as the three walked off the dance floor. She chuckled, shrugged her shoulders and followed suit. "Those two will finally get it right one day."

AN: Hajime is being very hostile to Ryoma even though it sounds as if he is being polite. I capitalized "KUN" at the end of Ryoma's name to emphasize the hostility.

Also, the remark about the way Tomo is dressed is a result of looking at a "fruits" magazine/photo book. "Ganguro" was a trend in Japan, especially in Tokyo, where the girls would die their hair blond, have really really really tanned skin, wear outrageous clothing and make-up. Also, in the Dec. edition of Shojo Beat, they did a little article on the club life in Tokyo. Take a look at what the kids are wearing. Another example of a Ganguro is Arisa from Imadoki and the 'mod' girls from Wallflower.