Dancing in the Dark
Shadow Knight
Chapter 10: Jitterbug
Disclaimer: There are some things that make the truth look really, really evil.
"When did it suddenly get so dark?"
The question was left unanswered, as the young martial artist made his way down the street. Funny, he didn't really know where he was going, but he felt that wherever it was, he was going to find something at the end. As he continued, he didn't seem to realize that he was the only one on the lonely street. Nor did he realize that the normally busy and noisy filled street was silent, except for his lone thoughts.
"Ooooh. . ."
And that was why he was able to hear the pleasurable moan so clearly.
"What the-" He whipped around, looking for somebody he may have missed, walking along the road. Seeing no one, scratched his head, curiosity and doubt filling his eyes. "Come on Ranma," he said to himself, "There's no one out here. You're just imagining thin-"
"Oh my! . . . ah. . .ah. . AH! yes yes. . . yessss."
Starting to grow nervous, Ranma stood still. He knew that voice. . . it was familiar somehow. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that voice. . . . And for some reason, he really didn't like how the voice sounded so happy.
"Oh Mousse. . ."
Akane! He shot off like a bullet toward the sound of the voice. Oddly enough, it seemed to get a bit brighter as he heard the voice more clearly. Suddenly, a hand flew out from behind a corner, only to hide again. This didn't miss Ranma's notice as he halted abruptly, a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. Slowly, he crept towards the corner, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Little by little, he turned to look around the corner. The sight he saw left him screaming.
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Jumping from his futon, Ranma looked about wildly. As his senses registered, he realized that he was in his room. . . and laying in bed. Raising a hand to his forehead, Ranma wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead. He suddenly laughed out loud, chuckling at his actions.
Throwing the blanket off his legs, Ranma laughed again, "Like Akane would ever be kissing Mous-"
"Oh. .yesss . . . right there. . ."
Swinging around, Ranma searched frantically about the room. Silence encompassed the area. Shaking a bit, he ran his finger through his hair, a half reassuring grin lighting his face. "Thank goodness that was only a drea-"
"Aaaaah. . .oh Moussssee. . ."
Leaving no time to think, Ranma bolted from his room and ran down the hall towards Akane's room. Soft laughter ushered from inside. Thinking the worst, Ranma threw open the door with a slam.
"AKANE!"
The afore mentioned girl stared up at Ranma with a mix of emotions. Surprise lit her eyes, but her cheeks were shaded just a bit. Looking up to him, she asked casually, "Yes, Ranma?"
The martial artist's face burned, from embarrassment or anger, he wasn't sure. But he wasn't going to be caught as a dead duck in this situation. His mind frantically scrambled to think of an answer that was somewhat plausible. "Eh. . . um. . . Kasumi said lunch was ready! Bye!"
Quickly the door slammed shut behind him. Listening to his dark mutterings and cursing, Akane let a giggle slip past her lips as Ranma bounced down the last stair. Slowly that giggle erupted into laughter. Bending over her outstretched leg, she held her stomach as she attempted to breathe. Hearing laughter at the other end of her leg, she looked up with a smile and saw the boy at her foot slapping the ground as he too attempted to give his lungs air.
His face turning to hers, they stared at each other quietly, a blank countenance on both their faces. A snicker escaped his lips and they both fell over once again, rolling on the ground.
Wiping a tear from her eye, Akane sat up and smiled. "My goodness Mousse, I never thought a 'foot massage' would be such a great idea. Once this is over, I'll never let him forget it."
Mousse coughed and smiled. "Neither did I, but did you see the expression on his face? Priceless! I thought he would choke from anger. . . .or embarrassment."
Both conspirators fell over laughing once again.
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"This no fair! Shampoo have to do too too much work when Mousse go and. . . .and. . . ! . . . oh. . . Shampoo no know. . ."
Sighing, she glanced about the thickly populated restaurant. Balancing a few plates on her arms, she flashed a quick smile at the annoying customer in the corner calling her by the wrong name. "Shampoo be right with you, sir," she spoke through a forced smile.
In her mind, she was planning ways to kill the man with no one noticing. "Shampoo need to get out of here. Too too tired of crowds. Need. . . need. . . Mousse to do it."
As she said this to herself, she felt a blush dust her cheeks. Why had she been thinking so much lately about the duck boy? As IF she liked him. . . . Well. . . he did have a cute. . . NO!
She shook her head frantically and looked up to the heavens. "I don't like him! I will never like him! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!. . ."
Suddenly she realized it was incredibly quiet. Lowering her arms, she looked about her. Everyone was staring at her, mouths half open. Even the one who she wanted to die had stopped, ramen noodles slipping from his slack jaw.
A sweat drops riddled her forehead as she found she was the center of EVERYONE'S attention. Clasping her hands, she smiled as sweetly as she could and spit out a quiet, "Nihao?"
As the customers heard her familiar expression, their faces dropped back into to their food or acquaintances, as if nothing had happened. For every resident of Nermia began to except these things as normal occurrences.
Shampoo sighed and quickly made her way back to the kitchen. Dropping off her plates, she quickly swapped them for some knew bowls and ran back out. Thank goodness I didn't say that out loud in Japanese, she thought with relief. Unfortunately, she forgot that she wasn't the only one there who understood her native tongue. . .
"This is getting peculiar. . . I must investigate soon. Something tells me this trouble is brewing around the Tendo house. I don't like this situation. . . not at all."
With that, Cologne clambered up the stairs and into her room.
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"You know, Ranma, I somehow believe that you've got something against Mousse."
Hearing his name in a familiar sarcastic lathered voice, he turned his face from the dummy in front of him. Seeing the slight smile on the girl's face, he laughed awkwardly and let his hands slip from the dummy neck. When he did so, the head lolled haphazardly to the side, hanging by a few strands.
"What makes you think something like that, Nabiki?" He smiled crookedly and winced when he heard a slight clink behind him.
Nabiki's eyebrows rose with a smile as she watched the cheap plastic frames fall from the dummy's face, cracked and splintered from abuse. "Oh, I don't know Ranma. . . possibly because of. . . that."
Ranma laughed nervously again and quickly kicked the glasses into a dark corner. "Nope. . . I'm not jealous of him. This is just a practice dummy that. . . eh. . . well. . ."
"That just happens to look like him?" Nabiki supplied.
"Eh. . . yes? Look Nabiki," Ranma exclaimed hotly as he unconsciously ripped the dummy's arm off, "I'm not jealous of him! That four-eyed freak is nothing to worry about. He's not even getting on my nerves. . . ."
Nabiki watched Ranma wring the arm, bemused. "Right. . . . Oh. . .And when did I say you were jealous? I never mentioned anything of the sort."
His eyes suddenly froze as did the wringing motion on the now thin arm. He threw the arm behind him and fumbled with his fingers, the floor suddenly fascinating. "Well, it's not like that. I mean I just figured that's what you were trying to say and stuff. . . I mean. . . well. . . eh. ."
"You're jealous because Mousse is getting a little too close to Akane, right?" Nabiki poked at him "innocently."
"Y-I mean NO! Of course not! I mean who'd want a homely chick like her? She can't do anything right! I mean she can't cook, she can't look good in a dress, she can't-"
"Excuse me Ranma," Nabiki cut in coldly, "I didn't need a list of my sisters 'inabilities.' I was merely browsing about. I guess you really don't care then about what the two are doing. . . ."
Ranma quickly whipped about at her entailing voice. "What are you talking 'bout?"
Nabiki's lips pulled back in a feral grin. Thrusting her hand out, palm up, she smiled through slit eyes. "1000 yen and I'll tell-you a s-e-c-r-e-t."
His eyes quickly narrowed. "Why should I? I could just look about the house and find out."
She wagged her finger and tut-tuttted, "No, no, no Ranma my boy. They're not here. . ."
Ranma's eyes widened a bit. "Then. . . then. . . Then where could they be?!"
The same smile lit Nabiki's face once more. "Give me the dough and I'll let the secret go."
With an angry huff, Ranma reached for his money. As he counted his money in his hand, he looked up at Nabiki with a slightly weary face. "Eh. . .Nabiki?"
"Yes, Ranma?"
"I've only got 900 yen. Can . . . can you still tell me?" Ranma's eyes begged her.
"Well. . . .," Nabiki looked up as if contemplating the thought. Ranma grew hopeful as he watched her.
Suddenly, her hand snagged the money from his hand and slid it into her own pocket. With an angry "Hey!," Ranma stepped closer to her. She quickly held up her hand and blocked him. "I can tell you the area they're in, but since you don't have the whole 1,000 yen, I can't tell you the place. I just know Kasumi took them there."
Ranma's face was red for a moment and was about to object when Nabiki looked at her watch. "I wonder if they'll still be there. . . they did seem like they wanted to go somewhere else. . . ."
His mouth clamped shut and he slipped out the door. Coming back into the dojo with his shoes suddenly, he gave Nabiki a questioning glare. Without batting a lash, Nabiki sighed, "They went downtown near the ice cream shop."
Ranma quickly ran out and sped off to the downtown. Nabiki smiled and crooked her arms behind her head. "Akane. . . you owe me one for this. . . ."
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"You think they're going to come, Akane?"
"Yea. . . I think so Mousse. I let Nabiki know that we were headed here. Hopefully she didn't make Ranma pay too much money. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't disclose the exact location. But I'm sure they'll be here. Good thing Kasumi was able to teach us that dance before she had to go," Akane replied as she was twirled by his hand.
"Indeed. Though it was peculiar that your sister had to return home so soon. . .," Mousse replied as he dipped Akane to the ground.
"Do you think she realizes anything?" Akane looked worried for a moment, as did Mousse.
As the music paused for a moment in the background, they looked at each other nervously. "Nah," they said in unison and resumed dancing.
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"Dang it! If only I had one hundred more freaking yen, I wouldn't be running in circles like I am now!"
He wasn't completely sure how many times he had run past the ice cream shop. . . . or should we say. . . ice cream shops. "Stupid Nabiki! She coulda at least have given me the name of the ice cream shop. Why did there today have to be the day a bunch of new ice cream shops suddenly set up?!"
Things were not going well for Ranma at all. So the citizens of Nermia could tell as they neatly diverged from the path of the rampant martial artist. Like before, people got used to things. . .
"Stupid Akane. . . . .Stupid, four-eyed, blind, duck faced-UGH!"
Ranma's muttering was suddenly cut off when he felt a solid wall run into him. "Owww! When did Tsubasa decided to start attacking me again? Dang it that hurt!"
"Ranm-eh. . . Aerin? Is you?"
Ranma blinked for a moment from behind his hands. Nursing the large, red bump on his forehead tenderly, the pig-tailed boy squinted at the figure before him. With a lopsided grin, Ranma asked questioningly, "Eh, Tsubasa?"
Suddenly the air around him grew cold. The fine hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He looked up to see a black aura flickering around the shadowed figure in front of him. Two glowing, red eyes sent a withering glance at him, made him shrivel.
A hand abruptly grabbed a fistful of his shirt and jerked him off the ground. The black shadow hissed in low, dangerous tones, "What-you-say?"
Sweat drops littering the back of his head, Ranma stuttered in response, "Eh. . . . Sh. . . Shampoo?"
The dark shadow rapidly brightened and Shampoo beamed down at him, rays of sunshine streaming out from behind her. Ranma sighed in relief and stared for a moment at the panda behind her holding a sign reading, "Nice save!"
Grumbling about stupid fathers, he then remembered his task. Grabbing Shampoo by the shoulders, he shouted anxiously, "Shampoo! We have to find Akane and duck boy. Nabiki said they were somewhere around here and I think they went. . .eh. . dancing again. But we have to find them soon! Who knows what they're scheming?!"
Shampoo's eyes lit with flames for a moment as she dropped Ranma ungracefully to the ground and put her hands on her hips. Ignoring the small "ouch" behind her, she struck a pose, her finger extended to the sky. "Shampoo end this evil! She no let evil kitchen-destroyer take my Mousse- Eh. . . . Shampoo mean she no let Akane. . . . do more evil things! Yea. . . that sound right. . . Let's go Ranma!. . . .Ranma? Where is you?"
"You're standing on my spine. Please get off . . . NOW."
Shampoo looked down at the shriveled mess called "Ranma." She let out a small "eep" and jumped off, an embarrassed smile lighting her face. Dusting himself off, Ranma turned to her, "Let's get going. Nabiki said they were somewhere near an ice cream shop. But now there's a whole bunch of 'em. So we'll have a lot of searching-"
"You mean that one with the dancing hall next to it?" Shampoo asked.
"to do. . . . Yea. . . that would be it," Ranma pulled at his face for a moment in frustration before jumping back into action, "Okay, let's go!"
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"Wow, look at those two! They're marvelous!"
A sweep of the arm sent the short haired girl spinning gracefully in a circle.
"And look at that, they make such a beautiful couple. . ."
Suddenly, the girl was falling back in a wave of silk and satin before a long haired man lightly caught her before twisting her closely to his suit laden chest. Moving as one, they danced smartly across the floor as admirers glanced from the sidelines. Never did they're eyes leave one another's. It was like they were in a trance, dancing dangerously yet beautifully.
As the boy enveloped the girl in an embrace and tilted forward to send her arching back to the floor, he leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Akane, I think they finally made it. They're near the door."
Akane let her hands slip over his shoulders as he pulled her upright. Tilting toward him, she whispered back, "I see them, and man on man, do they look steamed. Hey, Mousse. . . ."
"Yes?" He murmured between pressed lips.
"Let's give them a real show," a devilish smile traced itself on her lips.
Mousse knew that smile and responded with one of his own. Suddenly, he clutched her closely as the music changed to a faster, more sensual beat. Akane wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned madly. And then they were off.
Akane bit her tongue to stop herself from giggling as she heard an angry screech of indignation from the Amazon in the corner as well as a furious huff from her pig-tailed companion.
As the beat grew faster, both began to sizzle and shake, dancing fervently as if enslaved. Eyes trained on one another, Mousse suddenly produced a red rose from his sleeves. Drawing Akane closer, he traced the rose along her arm with his spare hand. Akane "shivered" and let her arms slip into his.
"HEY!" An angry shout came across the room from a certain two teens. They were about to stomp over to them too if the crowd hadn't stopped them. One withering glare from the onlookers sent them shriveling backward, angry, but somewhat scared.
Mousse, about to laugh suddenly stopped as he felt a firm foot grind into his slightly. He let out a small "ouch" as Akane rested her foot back on the ground. Akane glanced carefully at the two. They were obviously trying to get to them, but they were more scared of the crowd at the moment. "Mousse. . . we've got to really reel them in."
"You've got it, Akane," Mousse smiled deviously.
Suddenly Akane was in Mousse's arms again, they're bodies swaying as one, the rose stem now between his teeth. As the music began to reach a crescendo, Mousse twirled Akane closely within arms reach. Suddenly he let her dip to the ground and swung her side to side beneath his legs, her hair scuffing the floor. Then, throwing her body upward, Akane met Mousse's face, her hands clutching the back of Mousse's shirt. Their faces came close and Mousse's hair fell forward, blending with Akane's shortly cropped hair.
When they broke apart, the rose was braced between Akane's teeth. "THAT'S IT!" Came the shouts across the room.
As applause rose from the surrounding crowd, Ranma and Shampoo charged toward the two. Akane lightly reached up and grabbed the rose from her lips. "I think that did it Mousse."
The Amazon smiled and glanced to his left. "And now, if we don't move, we're going to die. Let's get out of here."
"You're right, let's split."
They ran and burst through the back doors. "Mousse, go ahead and start heading back to the restaurant. You fulfill your part and I'll do mine as I head home. Expect me at 8 tonight."
"Okay Akane, I'll see you."
Running in different directions, they both let out the laughs they'd been holding for a long, long time.
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As Akane ran, her cheeks gleamed a bright red, laughter tumbling from her lips. Clutching a hand to her mouth, she tried to muffle her laughter and was distracted for a moment. Henceforth she didn't see the figure running her way.
And so, the laws of gravity were proven once again.
BAM!
"Ouch!" Akane moved to rub her sore nose when she suddenly realized that the ground beneath her was very warm. . . and soft. . . wait a sec. . .
Akane pulled her arm up and experimentally poked at the "ground." The "ground" grunted back. A tremble passed through her and she was about to let out a scream when suddenly a hand clapsed over her mouth.
"Please. . . . Please don't scream. I don't think I could take any more head aches today," Akane froze as she heard the familiar voice.
A red flush instantly bloomed on her cheeks. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. . . Her mind was tumbling as she heard the sigh of relief uttered beneath her from her silence. How did she keep running into Ranma like this??
Suddenly it seemed that Ranma realized the position they were in. His hand jerked from her mouth and he glanced at her awkwardly, smiling goofily. A flower bloomed along his face. Both stared at each for just a moment, not wanting to move in fear of shattering the moment (although embarrassing) forever.
Ranma, knowing that he couldn't be caught like so, lightly grabbed Akane by the shoulders and propped her up in a gentle sitting position. With that he leaped off the ground, furiously dusting off his clothes, trying to ignore the girl beside him. But as he glanced at her "slyly" out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something peculiar.
Her eyes looked almost. . . sad, like they were yearning for something lost, never to be truly obtained. This made him pause. Ranma looked toward her graceful figure with a look of concern on his face. Crouching down at her level he tried to look at her averted eyes.
"Akane?" he asked her almost experimentally, "Akane, are you okay?"
Akane scrambled furiously inside her head to think of something. . . anything that could get Ranma off the subject. Oh why did she have to look at him. . . feel that way. . . And at that moment too! Oh my, she thought, copying Kasumi's favorite phrase, I have to do something. .
"I'm fine Ranma," Akane tried to lie through her smiling lips, "My chest just hurts a little bit. . . from running into you. . .that's all."
Ranma stared at her for a moment, as if trying to see through her lie. Akane panicked for a moment as she thought Ranma was going to see through her lie. "Eh. . . I've got to go Ranma. I'll see you at home later. I've got something to do."
As she went to get up, she found a hand propped near her. Looking up, a flush ran across her cheeks once again. "At least let me help ya up, 'kane. You know. . .cause your Dad wouldn't like it and such."
Akane noticed the red on Ranma's face and smiled. Grasping his hand firmly, she let him pull her up off the ground. Once again they were holding hands. Both stared at their clasping hands, hot in the face. "Ranma, I . . . . I. ."
Ranma looked up for a moment. "Yea, Akane?"
With a shake of her head, she cleared the warm fuzz around her brain and smiled, "I'll meet you back home okay? Thank you."
She gently let her hand slip out of his, her fingertips straying for just a moment before she began to walk past him. Suddenly she paused by his side and quickly pecked his cheek. It felt like eternity. Akane, her boldness having run out, sped around the corner, her heart swaying and tumbling over and over.
Ranma stared after her, his face a bright pink. Reaching a hand up to his burning cheek, he touched it tenderly. Had she just. . . . no it couldn't have been! He must have been daydreaming again. But why did his heart beat so fast it hurt?
Abruptly, he smacked his cheeks and shook his head. He leaped to the roof the building and stared after the girl running down the street. "There no way I'm falling for that cu- I mean uncute chick!" His heart beat a little faster, "Am I?"
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"Oooh! Shampoo gonna kill duck boy once she get her hands on h-!"
Gravity:2, Them: 0
Her feet slipping from under her, Shampoo tilted toward the ground, waving her arms frantically for something to hold. Suddenly, they did. Her hands gripped a soft material and her body relaxed, the fear from the fall gone.
Then her mind began to work again. Her fingers gripped the supports beneath her. Odd. . . they felt warm and sturdy, almost like huma- . . . . WHAT THE-!
Shampoo jumped up quickly from the arms holding her up, or at least she tried to. Hands grasped her forearms gently but firmly. "I would be more careful if I were you, Shampoo."
The voice made her stop. Oh heavens, no! Why was her heart beating so fast? And why were her cheeks so hot? It was only. . . him. . . after all. But as the strong arms slid under her to support her into a standing position once again, she felt as if the spots where he touched were scalded, hot and pleasant.
She closed her eyes and frowned a bit. She shouldn't be feeling this way. She wasn't supposed and she wasn't allowed. But, it felt. . . so nice. It felt perfect to be in his arms. Like she was meant to lay within them. . .
Shampoo's eyes suddenly flew open. No! This wasn't how she felt. This was ridiculous. An Amazon warrior did not act like this! She-!
She whipped around towards the boy. Soft green eyes watched her as she looked at him. There was a small smile on his face, amused and happy. She felt her resolve suddenly grow slack as a wry grin grew on her face. How was she supposed to deal with this? When he had been spouting love to her for all these years, she could deal with that but this? This was different. She wasn't sure how to deal with this new Mousse. It was nice. . . .
And deep down, she knew she was falling for him.
"Shampoo? Are you alright? You look out of it."
Shampoo shook herself from her complicated emotions. "Shampoo fine, duck boy! She just slipped on trash. No need worry about her, need to worry about self. Move out of Shampoo way."
She pushed her hand against his chest and forced him against the wall. As she stalked past, Shampoo heard a chuckle from him. Turning around on him, she looked at him harshly. "What duck laughing at?!"
Mousse's eyes widened, and his cheeks turned a shade of pink, caught off guard, "You," he said simply.
Shampoo growled and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. "You think Shampoo funny now? We see how you laugh when Shampoo beat you to a pulp!"
His face heated up at the close proximity between them. Seeing this, Shampoo felt her own face heat up. He was always so cute like that. . . Back to the point! "Prepare to die, duck boy," she said, the red still lighting he cheeks.
"You're so cute when you're angry."
The statement made her pause. How her face burned! She dropped Mousse's shirt and clutched her burning face. No one had ever truly called her cute. Not like that. . . Sure, Mousse had always done that but now he sounded different now. Like he truly meant as he looked at her, not imagining her.
As she stood stunned, Mousse quickly walked over to her, unnoticed, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. . . . . then he bolted for his life.
It didn't take long for Shampoo to register the kiss. She smiled a small smile, secretive and happy. Gathering her face in her cheeks, she closed her eyes and sighed peacefully, a warmth engulfing her for a moment. . . before she realized. . . THAT DUCK JUST KISSED HER!!!!
Pulling out her boniboris ( I think that's how they're spelled), she gave a wild war cry, "SHAMPOO KILL!!!"
Charging down the street, she didn't notice the eyes watching her through thin slits. "This is not right. . . not right at all," hopping away on her staff, the withered woman hopped away.
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FINALLY!!!! I hope you all liked that. It certainly took me long enough. I've been so busy working and such that I haven't been able to work on my stories. Now I just have to work on Broken and I'll have accomplished a good ol' update. :o)
Well, I know that was a good tidbit, ne? Hope you all caught that and had a good laugh. It was fun making this chapter. Hope the romance tidbits were good for you guys too. I can just imagine how silly people can act and dance around romance.
Anywho, I probably wont be able to work on Broken for a while cause I'm kinda stuck. I'll try my best though. And just so you know, there should be some more interactions later. Plus this'll be ending soon (I hope).
Thanks for reading. . . .and PLEASE REVIEW!!! And remember, if you have any suggestions for tricks Akane and Mousse can play on Ranma and Shampoo, tell me, cause I'll try and incorporate them. Thank you all for reading once again.
Ciao. --