Okay, developing Issei the way I wanted him to go is proving a little more difficult than I'd initially expected. I've got some definitely plans for him, but they involve a lot of character justification, and keeping him in character while leading him along the path I want him to follow is proving difficult. So please, if you find that I'm straying out of character for him, TELL ME! I apprecaite any feedback in this direction! As well as all other feedback, of course.
Chapter 6
The club wasn't what Issei had been expecting. Actually, he wasn't entirely certain what he'd been expecting; something dark and too noisy to hear himself think over, he supposed.
They had no trouble getting inside, even though neither of them really looked quite old enough to pass for twenty. It was obvious to Issei that the bouncers were just a formality, something the owners could point to as an attempt to weed out the underage kids if they did happen to be raided by the police.
Inside, the first room they came to was what Issei mentally dubbed 'the drinking room'. There was a long, polished mahogany bar, with half a dozen bartenders behind it serving drinks of all colours and flavours. There were stools at the bar, as well as tables and groups of tables scattered throughout the room. Double doors at the back led to a hallway, and every time they swung open the music got louder. Even so, it was quiet enough for the patrons to be able to talk, though they still had to raise their voices.
"First thing's first," Sakura declared, pulling him towards the bar. They'd been holding hands pretty much since they'd left the house; partly that was an effort not to be separated by the crowds on the subways and sidewalks, but partly it was just because it felt nice for both of them.
"You're not planning to get drunk, are you?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. He wasn't a prude, exactly, but neither did he fancy the idea of having to carry a passed out Sakura home. For that matter, he wasn't too keen on the idea of passing out himself. He'd been drunk enough to be sick, and it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.
"Not drunk, just buzzed," she reassured him. "It's more fun to dance if you're a little blurred, but getting sick isn't fun by any standards. No worries. What do you want?"
"I've never had anything but sake," he admitted as they came up to the bar. The array of bottles was truly staggering, and he didn't have a clue where to start.
"Do you like sour stuff, or sweet?" she asked.
"Sour, I suppose," he said after a moment of thought. "Too sweet and I'll get sick even if I'm not drunk."
She ordered for both of them, and handed him a bottle of 'hard cider' a moment later. He tried it, and found that it actually tasted rather good. Unlike sake, the cider flavour covered the alcohol quite effectively. Which meant he'd have to be more careful about watching how much he drank, but at least he wouldn't be trying to get the taste out of his mouth all night.
They drank the first bottles sitting at one of the tables, talking about school and everything that had happened over the last week. 'Talking' consisted mostly of Issei listening to Sakura chatter, and occasionally inserting a reply at the appropriate moment, but he was more than used to that.
The cider was stronger than he'd thought; by the time they were done the first round and grabbed another set of bottles, he could already feel the beginnings of a flush on his cheeks. Sakura wasn't showing any signs beyond a slightly manic glitter in her eyes, however.
"C'mon, let's go to the dance floor," she suggested, catching his hand once more and tugging.
"If you keep leading me around by the hand, I'm going to feel like I'm either about four years old, or your pet dog," he told her, laughing as she blushed. When she tried to tug her hand away, embarrassed, he tightened his grip minutely and smiled until she relaxed again.
"I'd hit you, but one of my hands is occupied and I don't want to spill my drink," she threatened, brandishing her bottle at him.
"If you spill your drink on me, I'll dump mine on you, and then we'll both smell awful," he countered, grinning. "Now are we going to go dance, or what?"
"C'mon, boy, heel," she commanded, earning a mock growl from him. They went through the double doors, and found themselves in a short hallway that contained the washrooms. At the far end was another set of doors, through which the music was even louder.
Going through those doors brought them to a room that was a little more like what Issei had initially expected. It was brighter than he'd thought it would be, with pulsing coloured lights flickering over the sunken dance floor, but there were plenty of shadowed corners as well. He blushed and looked back towards the centre of the room when he caught sight of some of what was going on in those corners.
The music, thankfully, was quite good, albeit not the sort of thing he would normally choose to listen to. The beat was hard and steady, but there was actually a melody over it, rather than the awful remixed, repetitive 'dance music' so many clubs played.
He let Sakura lead him out onto the dance floor, though he felt uncomfortable the moment he set foot on it. He'd never been much for dancing, and didn't really understand the process. He always felt like he was making an idiot of himself when he tried to dance.
"Stop worrying so much!" she called to him, leaning in close to make herself heard. At his surprised look, she chuckled. "It's written all over your face. Ninety percent of the people on the floor look like idiots. Nobody cares - just dance and have fun!"
It wasn't quite that easy for him, though Issei gave it his best shot. After two songs, he gave up and tapped her shoulder. "I'm going to go stand and watch," he called, and she nodded.
"I'm going to stay out here for a while," she replied. "I'll join you when I'm tired, or you can come back out when you feel like it."
Smiling at her, he made his way off the dance floor. Luck and good timing allowed him to snag a chair at a two-person table that had just opened up, and he settled in to watch the sea of humanity, sipping at his drink.
Sakura was actually a decently good dancer, he realized, watching her. She moved well to the beat, and her movements were both graceful and coordinated. She wasn't the sort of dancer who had people moving aside to give her room, but she had nothing to be ashamed of, either.
Issei noted with amusement that now that he was no longer present, several boys were working their way closer to her, trying to get her attention. He had to fight off a brief impulse to go back down to 'protect' her from them; she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and if she needed help, she'd ask for it.
By the time he finished half of his second bottle, the alcohol in his system was definitely starting to take effect. There was a pleasant flush throughout his body, and he felt more relaxed than he had been to start with. Unfortunately, as he'd discovered the one previous time he'd been drunk, alcohol also lowered his ability to shield out the emotions of people around him. He hadn't been in such a crowded place the last time, and he'd forgotten about that particular side effect.
Sighing, he finished off the bottle and decided against getting another. The last thing he needed was to be caught up in the feelings of the people around him, though it certainly would have had the effect of distracting him from his own thoughts. Still, in a place like this, the prevailing emotions were lust and a subtle sense of desperation, neither of which he needed right now.
He leaned back in his chair, stretching and shaking his head slightly, trying to get feeling to come back into his face. There was an odd numb sensation to his features, which was most likely from the alcohol. A nearby spike of emotion caught his attention; it was desire, which should have just blended into the background, but it almost felt like it had been directed at him.
Glancing over automatically, he saw a small group of people looking his way. Both of the girls were watching him and smiling enticingly; he blushed and started to look away again, embarrassed. It hadn't really occurred to him that he would have people watching him the same way they watched other attractive people in the crowd. He'd been something of a wallflower for most of his life, despite his 'pretty' looks.
Before he'd turned away completely, however, something else caught his attention; the girls weren't the only ones watching him. Their single male companion had also been staring, though less obviously than his friends. Issei looked back at him, wide-eyed with surprise, and caught another faint spike of emotion before the other boy looked away.
Now, this was a possibility that really just had never occurred to him. If he'd sat down to think about it, he'd have been able to predict that some of the girls present would surely find him attractive. He was pretty, after all, and plenty of girls went for the kind of androgynous looks that he had. But... other males?
Well, and why not? It wasn't as if he was the first man on the planet to be attracted to his own sex. There were others out there, he knew that on a theoretical level. He'd just never encountered any; at least, not that he knew of.
Sweeping his gaze around the room, he saw several other people looking his way, and while the vast majority were girls, not all of them were. Flushed with both embarrassment and pleasure, Issei smiled softly to himself. Maybe going out tonight had been a good idea, after all. It was nice to have it confirmed that not every guy would reject him the way Jinpachi had.
"What are you smiling at?" Sakura's voice came from beside him unexpectedly. He jumped a little, then turned his smile on her.
"Nothing," he said, though he was sure his expression gave his every thought away. "Just enjoying the attention."
"Attention?" Looking around, Sakura grinned. "Ah, I see. Not used to being admired, are you? You deserve it, the way you look tonight. And the flush from the drink doesn't hurt, either."
"Done dancing?" he asked, deciding to steer the conversation in safer directions. She shrugged, and plopped down in the seat across from him.
"For the moment. I was getting overheated. And I was done my drink, too. You want another one?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"No. If I have any more, I'll start to lose my shielding," he said, a bit regretfully.
Her eyes widened. "Oh. I never thought of that. Damn, that's too bad. You having fun, though?"
"I am, actually," he confirmed with another smile. "I like watching you dance, you're very good." She blushed faintly at that, and rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm going for another drink," she announced. "You coming with, or do you want to stay here and keep basking in the attention?"
Now it was his turn to blush. "I'm staying," he declared. "I might even try dancing, now that I feel a little less inhibited."
"That's the spirit!" she said, patting his shoulder. She stood and headed for the doors back to the bar, and he leaned back in his chair to contemplate the dance floor.
It was a little intimidating, really; all those people, so many of them better dancers than he was. Still, there was no way he'd improve by just sitting here. And Sakura really had looked like she was having fun out on the floor.
He made his way down to the steps, and found a relatively uncrowded corner of the floor to dance on. His movements still felt awkward to him, but eventually he began to at least be able to match the rhythm of the song, and started to lose himself in the music.
People brushed against him with every beat, and at first he found it disconcerting. He was even more distraught the first time he felt someone deliberately pat him on the ass, and it brought a fierce blush to his cheeks. Looking around, though, he could see that it wasn't an uncommon occurrence; plenty of people were using the excuse of the close quarters on the dance floor to snitch a feel here and there. He decided that so long as nobody got too fresh, he'd tolerate it, and even enjoy the attention a little.
Sakura returned after a few minutes, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the rhythm. Issei didn't have the energy to match her; after a few songs he caught her eye and nodded towards the hallway. She gave him a thumbs up and kept dancing, and he made his way off the floor.
The alcohol was making itself felt in other ways now, and he made a quick trip to the men's room. Looking in the mirror above the sink, he was surprised by his own appearance; cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling, mussed hair, and the dark eyeliner making him look more dramatic than usual. He grinned at himself, thinking that he looked a bit like someone who'd just been thoroughly fucked. At least, his expression certainly matched Enju's memories of her own appearance after spending time with Gyokuran, though without the ultimate air of smug satisfaction.
On his way back to the dance floor, he found his way blocked by three men who looked like they were probably college seniors. They were heavily built for Japanese men; the athletic sort who were probably on half a dozen sports teams, Issei thought to himself. He stepped aside to allow them to pass, and was surprised when they stopped in front of him.
"So, you are a guy," one of them said, a sneer in his voice. Issei tensed slightly, his eyes narrowing as he registered the tone. He'd been picked on by more than enough bullies in his time to recognize them when he saw them. "And here we were thinking you were just a flat-chested woman."
"Pay up, Hideo," another one spoke up, jabbing a third in the ribs. "You bet he was a girl, you owe me two thousand yen." The loser grumbled, but dug into his pocket for his wallet.
The first speaker, apparently the ringleader, took a step forward and leaned against the wall, trapping Issei between his arms. "So what's a pretty boy like you doing in a place like this, hmm?" he drawled, and Issei had to fight not to turn his face away from the reek of alcohol on the man's breath. If he looked away, the man would probably take the opportunity to try to punch him, and Issei wanted to avoid a fight if possible. He could handle a couple of drunken college boys, but there were enough of them that he wasn't entirely certain he could win a fight.
"Looking for other pretty boys to screw him, of course," the man who'd won the bet proclaimed with a nasty smirk. "What else does his kind ever want? Hell, look at him, he's even wearing makeup."
"I don't want a fight," Issei stated calmly, making certain the nervousness that was settling in his stomach didn't show up in his voice. "Surely you've got better things to do than harass me. Why don't you just go finish getting drunk, and leave me alone?"
"Tough words from a pretty boy," the ringleader snorted, leaning in ever closer. Issei shifted his balance, readying himself for a possible attack, more grateful than ever that Jinpachi had dragged him along to the dojo and insisted he learn martial arts to better defend himself. "We don't like your kind around here, pretty boy. The girls are too stupid to realize they don't have a chance with you, and you're so damn pretty they all like you."
"And of course, it would never occur to you that maybe we'd choose someone like him over someone like you because he has both brains and manners," Sakura's strong voice came from behind the group of them. Startled, they turned, and Issei took the opportunity to slip out from under the leader, ending up standing near Sakura. "Why don't the lot of you just grow up and piss off?" she continued, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at them.
Seeing the looks on the men's faces - and the determination on hers - Issei caught her arm and tugged at it. "Sakura, leave it," he urged her quietly. "It's not worth getting into a fight over. Please?" he added when she turned to look at him.
"Hmph." She gave the college boys one last glare for good measure. "Jerks. C'mon, Issei, let's go dance some more."
Shifting so his hand slid down her arm to her hand, she caught his fingers and tugged him towards the dance floor. He went willingly, grateful just to be out of the situation.
"Does that happen often?" she asked when they were far enough away for conversation. "You looked more resigned than anything."
"Often enough," he admitted ruefully. "People like that are the reason I learned martial arts. I'm too pretty for my own good, and always have been."
"Well, I think they're just morons," she announced, making him chuckle. The music had slowed down a bit, and as they stepped onto the dance floor, Issei saw that most of the dancers had paired off. It was still a fast enough beat that there were some solo dancers, but not many. "Dance with me?" she half asked, half suggested. "It'll get the creeps off your back, at least for tonight."
He hesitated; dancing with her was flirting with a line that would be dangerous to cross. He didn't want to encourage her crush on him, or lead her on by accident. But she'd offered, and the music wasn't so slow it was truly a slow dance.
He nodded, and they moved a little closer, arms wrapping around each other as they danced. It felt awkward, being this close to her, even though they'd been closer many times before when hugging. This was different, though, or at least it had a different connotation.
Once they got the hang of it, though, Issei found that it wasn't so bad. It was nice to dance with someone so close to him; oddly, this was something that had never made it into his fantasies about Jinpachi. He supposed that was because it was too public, something that would never happen between them even if his wildest dreams did come true and Jinpachi fell for him.
He could feel Sakura's contentment through his bond to her, and although it was laced with an edgy sort of frustration, he was glad he could do this much to make her happy. He could tell she was trying hard not to let his nearness affect her, and he appreciated the effort she was putting into it. He knew better than most how difficult it could be to ignore an unrequited crush.
"You okay?" he asked her, when they'd been dancing for a few minutes. She made a soft sound of agreement, and he hesitantly pulled her a little closer, enough so that she could rest her cheek on his shoulder. There was still enough distance between them to keep them from otherwise touching, but it felt nice to have her leaning against him like that.
He knew he was pushing the line, though. He could feel her longing building with each phrase of the music, a stifled feeling that struck a chord with his own long-buried feelings for Jinpachi. With his shields blurred by the alcohol he'd imbibed, it was a little difficult to tell where her feelings ended and his own began.
She shifted, nuzzling a bit into his neck, and he drew in a sharp breath as he felt his body react. It wasn't a drastic reaction, not the sort of flooding emotion he'd felt sometimes when he let himself get too close to Jinpachi, but it was a reaction nonetheless. Why... he thought to himself, bewildered, but then she shifted again and he understood.
He was reacting to her emotions, not his own. Being this close to him was triggering her desire for him, and because he was in such close contact, his empathy was pulling the sensation into him, making it feel almost like his own emotion. His body didn't know the difference, so it reacted; the weaker strength of the reaction was due to the slight detachment from the emotion because it wasn't his own.
This was a bad idea. He sighed, and started trying to think of a graceful way to end the situation. A stray thought passed through his mind, however, making him pause. I wonder if her emotions would start to influence mine, if we stayed like this long enough...
With a sense of wonder, he realized he might just have found the answer to both their problems. The only thing missing from his relationship with Sakura was a sense of physical desire. She had that for him, in plenty. And through his empathy, he was able to share that feeling, the physical need that otherwise escaped him in her presence.
What if he just let himself react to her emotions? If he let her influence him instead of fighting against his empathic connection to her; could he make a relationship between them work? Given enough time and repeated exposure, could her emotions cause his to shift focus? It was possible, even probable.
"Issei? What is it?" He glanced down to find her looking up at him in bewilderment, and realized he'd come to a standstill in his shock at the epiphany.
"Nothing," he told her, not wanting to get her hopes up until he'd thought the idea through completely. He'd tell her what he was doing before he tried it, of course; it wouldn't be fair to her otherwise, and he cared for her too much to hide something like that from her. It would be up to her if she wanted to try the experiment.
In the meantime, he just tugged her close again and resumed dancing, this time wilfully opening himself to her feelings. She was confused, but still happy for the chance to be close to him, and as her desire for him flooded his system, he found himself reacting again.
This might actually work, he thought, elated. If I can't have Jinpachi, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be with than Sakura. There's no one else I trust as much as her, that's for certain. Oh, Sarjareem, maybe this won't turn out so badly after all.
Smiling softly to himself, he leaned his cheek against her hair and gave himself over to the music, and to her.
Chapter 6
The club wasn't what Issei had been expecting. Actually, he wasn't entirely certain what he'd been expecting; something dark and too noisy to hear himself think over, he supposed.
They had no trouble getting inside, even though neither of them really looked quite old enough to pass for twenty. It was obvious to Issei that the bouncers were just a formality, something the owners could point to as an attempt to weed out the underage kids if they did happen to be raided by the police.
Inside, the first room they came to was what Issei mentally dubbed 'the drinking room'. There was a long, polished mahogany bar, with half a dozen bartenders behind it serving drinks of all colours and flavours. There were stools at the bar, as well as tables and groups of tables scattered throughout the room. Double doors at the back led to a hallway, and every time they swung open the music got louder. Even so, it was quiet enough for the patrons to be able to talk, though they still had to raise their voices.
"First thing's first," Sakura declared, pulling him towards the bar. They'd been holding hands pretty much since they'd left the house; partly that was an effort not to be separated by the crowds on the subways and sidewalks, but partly it was just because it felt nice for both of them.
"You're not planning to get drunk, are you?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. He wasn't a prude, exactly, but neither did he fancy the idea of having to carry a passed out Sakura home. For that matter, he wasn't too keen on the idea of passing out himself. He'd been drunk enough to be sick, and it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.
"Not drunk, just buzzed," she reassured him. "It's more fun to dance if you're a little blurred, but getting sick isn't fun by any standards. No worries. What do you want?"
"I've never had anything but sake," he admitted as they came up to the bar. The array of bottles was truly staggering, and he didn't have a clue where to start.
"Do you like sour stuff, or sweet?" she asked.
"Sour, I suppose," he said after a moment of thought. "Too sweet and I'll get sick even if I'm not drunk."
She ordered for both of them, and handed him a bottle of 'hard cider' a moment later. He tried it, and found that it actually tasted rather good. Unlike sake, the cider flavour covered the alcohol quite effectively. Which meant he'd have to be more careful about watching how much he drank, but at least he wouldn't be trying to get the taste out of his mouth all night.
They drank the first bottles sitting at one of the tables, talking about school and everything that had happened over the last week. 'Talking' consisted mostly of Issei listening to Sakura chatter, and occasionally inserting a reply at the appropriate moment, but he was more than used to that.
The cider was stronger than he'd thought; by the time they were done the first round and grabbed another set of bottles, he could already feel the beginnings of a flush on his cheeks. Sakura wasn't showing any signs beyond a slightly manic glitter in her eyes, however.
"C'mon, let's go to the dance floor," she suggested, catching his hand once more and tugging.
"If you keep leading me around by the hand, I'm going to feel like I'm either about four years old, or your pet dog," he told her, laughing as she blushed. When she tried to tug her hand away, embarrassed, he tightened his grip minutely and smiled until she relaxed again.
"I'd hit you, but one of my hands is occupied and I don't want to spill my drink," she threatened, brandishing her bottle at him.
"If you spill your drink on me, I'll dump mine on you, and then we'll both smell awful," he countered, grinning. "Now are we going to go dance, or what?"
"C'mon, boy, heel," she commanded, earning a mock growl from him. They went through the double doors, and found themselves in a short hallway that contained the washrooms. At the far end was another set of doors, through which the music was even louder.
Going through those doors brought them to a room that was a little more like what Issei had initially expected. It was brighter than he'd thought it would be, with pulsing coloured lights flickering over the sunken dance floor, but there were plenty of shadowed corners as well. He blushed and looked back towards the centre of the room when he caught sight of some of what was going on in those corners.
The music, thankfully, was quite good, albeit not the sort of thing he would normally choose to listen to. The beat was hard and steady, but there was actually a melody over it, rather than the awful remixed, repetitive 'dance music' so many clubs played.
He let Sakura lead him out onto the dance floor, though he felt uncomfortable the moment he set foot on it. He'd never been much for dancing, and didn't really understand the process. He always felt like he was making an idiot of himself when he tried to dance.
"Stop worrying so much!" she called to him, leaning in close to make herself heard. At his surprised look, she chuckled. "It's written all over your face. Ninety percent of the people on the floor look like idiots. Nobody cares - just dance and have fun!"
It wasn't quite that easy for him, though Issei gave it his best shot. After two songs, he gave up and tapped her shoulder. "I'm going to go stand and watch," he called, and she nodded.
"I'm going to stay out here for a while," she replied. "I'll join you when I'm tired, or you can come back out when you feel like it."
Smiling at her, he made his way off the dance floor. Luck and good timing allowed him to snag a chair at a two-person table that had just opened up, and he settled in to watch the sea of humanity, sipping at his drink.
Sakura was actually a decently good dancer, he realized, watching her. She moved well to the beat, and her movements were both graceful and coordinated. She wasn't the sort of dancer who had people moving aside to give her room, but she had nothing to be ashamed of, either.
Issei noted with amusement that now that he was no longer present, several boys were working their way closer to her, trying to get her attention. He had to fight off a brief impulse to go back down to 'protect' her from them; she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and if she needed help, she'd ask for it.
By the time he finished half of his second bottle, the alcohol in his system was definitely starting to take effect. There was a pleasant flush throughout his body, and he felt more relaxed than he had been to start with. Unfortunately, as he'd discovered the one previous time he'd been drunk, alcohol also lowered his ability to shield out the emotions of people around him. He hadn't been in such a crowded place the last time, and he'd forgotten about that particular side effect.
Sighing, he finished off the bottle and decided against getting another. The last thing he needed was to be caught up in the feelings of the people around him, though it certainly would have had the effect of distracting him from his own thoughts. Still, in a place like this, the prevailing emotions were lust and a subtle sense of desperation, neither of which he needed right now.
He leaned back in his chair, stretching and shaking his head slightly, trying to get feeling to come back into his face. There was an odd numb sensation to his features, which was most likely from the alcohol. A nearby spike of emotion caught his attention; it was desire, which should have just blended into the background, but it almost felt like it had been directed at him.
Glancing over automatically, he saw a small group of people looking his way. Both of the girls were watching him and smiling enticingly; he blushed and started to look away again, embarrassed. It hadn't really occurred to him that he would have people watching him the same way they watched other attractive people in the crowd. He'd been something of a wallflower for most of his life, despite his 'pretty' looks.
Before he'd turned away completely, however, something else caught his attention; the girls weren't the only ones watching him. Their single male companion had also been staring, though less obviously than his friends. Issei looked back at him, wide-eyed with surprise, and caught another faint spike of emotion before the other boy looked away.
Now, this was a possibility that really just had never occurred to him. If he'd sat down to think about it, he'd have been able to predict that some of the girls present would surely find him attractive. He was pretty, after all, and plenty of girls went for the kind of androgynous looks that he had. But... other males?
Well, and why not? It wasn't as if he was the first man on the planet to be attracted to his own sex. There were others out there, he knew that on a theoretical level. He'd just never encountered any; at least, not that he knew of.
Sweeping his gaze around the room, he saw several other people looking his way, and while the vast majority were girls, not all of them were. Flushed with both embarrassment and pleasure, Issei smiled softly to himself. Maybe going out tonight had been a good idea, after all. It was nice to have it confirmed that not every guy would reject him the way Jinpachi had.
"What are you smiling at?" Sakura's voice came from beside him unexpectedly. He jumped a little, then turned his smile on her.
"Nothing," he said, though he was sure his expression gave his every thought away. "Just enjoying the attention."
"Attention?" Looking around, Sakura grinned. "Ah, I see. Not used to being admired, are you? You deserve it, the way you look tonight. And the flush from the drink doesn't hurt, either."
"Done dancing?" he asked, deciding to steer the conversation in safer directions. She shrugged, and plopped down in the seat across from him.
"For the moment. I was getting overheated. And I was done my drink, too. You want another one?" she asked, and he shook his head.
"No. If I have any more, I'll start to lose my shielding," he said, a bit regretfully.
Her eyes widened. "Oh. I never thought of that. Damn, that's too bad. You having fun, though?"
"I am, actually," he confirmed with another smile. "I like watching you dance, you're very good." She blushed faintly at that, and rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm going for another drink," she announced. "You coming with, or do you want to stay here and keep basking in the attention?"
Now it was his turn to blush. "I'm staying," he declared. "I might even try dancing, now that I feel a little less inhibited."
"That's the spirit!" she said, patting his shoulder. She stood and headed for the doors back to the bar, and he leaned back in his chair to contemplate the dance floor.
It was a little intimidating, really; all those people, so many of them better dancers than he was. Still, there was no way he'd improve by just sitting here. And Sakura really had looked like she was having fun out on the floor.
He made his way down to the steps, and found a relatively uncrowded corner of the floor to dance on. His movements still felt awkward to him, but eventually he began to at least be able to match the rhythm of the song, and started to lose himself in the music.
People brushed against him with every beat, and at first he found it disconcerting. He was even more distraught the first time he felt someone deliberately pat him on the ass, and it brought a fierce blush to his cheeks. Looking around, though, he could see that it wasn't an uncommon occurrence; plenty of people were using the excuse of the close quarters on the dance floor to snitch a feel here and there. He decided that so long as nobody got too fresh, he'd tolerate it, and even enjoy the attention a little.
Sakura returned after a few minutes, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the rhythm. Issei didn't have the energy to match her; after a few songs he caught her eye and nodded towards the hallway. She gave him a thumbs up and kept dancing, and he made his way off the floor.
The alcohol was making itself felt in other ways now, and he made a quick trip to the men's room. Looking in the mirror above the sink, he was surprised by his own appearance; cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling, mussed hair, and the dark eyeliner making him look more dramatic than usual. He grinned at himself, thinking that he looked a bit like someone who'd just been thoroughly fucked. At least, his expression certainly matched Enju's memories of her own appearance after spending time with Gyokuran, though without the ultimate air of smug satisfaction.
On his way back to the dance floor, he found his way blocked by three men who looked like they were probably college seniors. They were heavily built for Japanese men; the athletic sort who were probably on half a dozen sports teams, Issei thought to himself. He stepped aside to allow them to pass, and was surprised when they stopped in front of him.
"So, you are a guy," one of them said, a sneer in his voice. Issei tensed slightly, his eyes narrowing as he registered the tone. He'd been picked on by more than enough bullies in his time to recognize them when he saw them. "And here we were thinking you were just a flat-chested woman."
"Pay up, Hideo," another one spoke up, jabbing a third in the ribs. "You bet he was a girl, you owe me two thousand yen." The loser grumbled, but dug into his pocket for his wallet.
The first speaker, apparently the ringleader, took a step forward and leaned against the wall, trapping Issei between his arms. "So what's a pretty boy like you doing in a place like this, hmm?" he drawled, and Issei had to fight not to turn his face away from the reek of alcohol on the man's breath. If he looked away, the man would probably take the opportunity to try to punch him, and Issei wanted to avoid a fight if possible. He could handle a couple of drunken college boys, but there were enough of them that he wasn't entirely certain he could win a fight.
"Looking for other pretty boys to screw him, of course," the man who'd won the bet proclaimed with a nasty smirk. "What else does his kind ever want? Hell, look at him, he's even wearing makeup."
"I don't want a fight," Issei stated calmly, making certain the nervousness that was settling in his stomach didn't show up in his voice. "Surely you've got better things to do than harass me. Why don't you just go finish getting drunk, and leave me alone?"
"Tough words from a pretty boy," the ringleader snorted, leaning in ever closer. Issei shifted his balance, readying himself for a possible attack, more grateful than ever that Jinpachi had dragged him along to the dojo and insisted he learn martial arts to better defend himself. "We don't like your kind around here, pretty boy. The girls are too stupid to realize they don't have a chance with you, and you're so damn pretty they all like you."
"And of course, it would never occur to you that maybe we'd choose someone like him over someone like you because he has both brains and manners," Sakura's strong voice came from behind the group of them. Startled, they turned, and Issei took the opportunity to slip out from under the leader, ending up standing near Sakura. "Why don't the lot of you just grow up and piss off?" she continued, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at them.
Seeing the looks on the men's faces - and the determination on hers - Issei caught her arm and tugged at it. "Sakura, leave it," he urged her quietly. "It's not worth getting into a fight over. Please?" he added when she turned to look at him.
"Hmph." She gave the college boys one last glare for good measure. "Jerks. C'mon, Issei, let's go dance some more."
Shifting so his hand slid down her arm to her hand, she caught his fingers and tugged him towards the dance floor. He went willingly, grateful just to be out of the situation.
"Does that happen often?" she asked when they were far enough away for conversation. "You looked more resigned than anything."
"Often enough," he admitted ruefully. "People like that are the reason I learned martial arts. I'm too pretty for my own good, and always have been."
"Well, I think they're just morons," she announced, making him chuckle. The music had slowed down a bit, and as they stepped onto the dance floor, Issei saw that most of the dancers had paired off. It was still a fast enough beat that there were some solo dancers, but not many. "Dance with me?" she half asked, half suggested. "It'll get the creeps off your back, at least for tonight."
He hesitated; dancing with her was flirting with a line that would be dangerous to cross. He didn't want to encourage her crush on him, or lead her on by accident. But she'd offered, and the music wasn't so slow it was truly a slow dance.
He nodded, and they moved a little closer, arms wrapping around each other as they danced. It felt awkward, being this close to her, even though they'd been closer many times before when hugging. This was different, though, or at least it had a different connotation.
Once they got the hang of it, though, Issei found that it wasn't so bad. It was nice to dance with someone so close to him; oddly, this was something that had never made it into his fantasies about Jinpachi. He supposed that was because it was too public, something that would never happen between them even if his wildest dreams did come true and Jinpachi fell for him.
He could feel Sakura's contentment through his bond to her, and although it was laced with an edgy sort of frustration, he was glad he could do this much to make her happy. He could tell she was trying hard not to let his nearness affect her, and he appreciated the effort she was putting into it. He knew better than most how difficult it could be to ignore an unrequited crush.
"You okay?" he asked her, when they'd been dancing for a few minutes. She made a soft sound of agreement, and he hesitantly pulled her a little closer, enough so that she could rest her cheek on his shoulder. There was still enough distance between them to keep them from otherwise touching, but it felt nice to have her leaning against him like that.
He knew he was pushing the line, though. He could feel her longing building with each phrase of the music, a stifled feeling that struck a chord with his own long-buried feelings for Jinpachi. With his shields blurred by the alcohol he'd imbibed, it was a little difficult to tell where her feelings ended and his own began.
She shifted, nuzzling a bit into his neck, and he drew in a sharp breath as he felt his body react. It wasn't a drastic reaction, not the sort of flooding emotion he'd felt sometimes when he let himself get too close to Jinpachi, but it was a reaction nonetheless. Why... he thought to himself, bewildered, but then she shifted again and he understood.
He was reacting to her emotions, not his own. Being this close to him was triggering her desire for him, and because he was in such close contact, his empathy was pulling the sensation into him, making it feel almost like his own emotion. His body didn't know the difference, so it reacted; the weaker strength of the reaction was due to the slight detachment from the emotion because it wasn't his own.
This was a bad idea. He sighed, and started trying to think of a graceful way to end the situation. A stray thought passed through his mind, however, making him pause. I wonder if her emotions would start to influence mine, if we stayed like this long enough...
With a sense of wonder, he realized he might just have found the answer to both their problems. The only thing missing from his relationship with Sakura was a sense of physical desire. She had that for him, in plenty. And through his empathy, he was able to share that feeling, the physical need that otherwise escaped him in her presence.
What if he just let himself react to her emotions? If he let her influence him instead of fighting against his empathic connection to her; could he make a relationship between them work? Given enough time and repeated exposure, could her emotions cause his to shift focus? It was possible, even probable.
"Issei? What is it?" He glanced down to find her looking up at him in bewilderment, and realized he'd come to a standstill in his shock at the epiphany.
"Nothing," he told her, not wanting to get her hopes up until he'd thought the idea through completely. He'd tell her what he was doing before he tried it, of course; it wouldn't be fair to her otherwise, and he cared for her too much to hide something like that from her. It would be up to her if she wanted to try the experiment.
In the meantime, he just tugged her close again and resumed dancing, this time wilfully opening himself to her feelings. She was confused, but still happy for the chance to be close to him, and as her desire for him flooded his system, he found himself reacting again.
This might actually work, he thought, elated. If I can't have Jinpachi, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be with than Sakura. There's no one else I trust as much as her, that's for certain. Oh, Sarjareem, maybe this won't turn out so badly after all.
Smiling softly to himself, he leaned his cheek against her hair and gave himself over to the music, and to her.