ArcIV: Homecoming
Chapter: The Dance
Ukyo found herself once again primping in front of a mirror. It seemed she had been doing this a lot lately and she was surprised that she was beginning to enjoy it. Because this time, unlike the other times, she was comfortable with what she was wearing.
She had on an all-white men's suit but one that made her look like anything but a man. The pants were cut slim and long, paired with open toed white heels, making her legs look like they went on forever. But what really caught the eye was the jacket. It had wide lapels and was long, ending at the hips, and cut close to show off her curves. The okonomiyaki chef wore nothing underneath, leaving an expanse of bare skin forming a wide v of flesh, her breasts proudly on display, the jacket just barely covering her nipples. She drew further attention to her cleavage by pairing the ensemble with a gold y-necklace that left two thin gold chains dangling between the valley her breasts created. Her long hair was slicked back and pulled into a high ponytail.
It was a blend of masculine and feminine that suited her perfectly and she knew she looked damn good.
It had been a long few weeks for the chef and she was at her wits end. The disastrous date with Ranma, the failed meeting with his mother, and then Ranma bursting into her restaurant after practically ignoring her for so long just to ask about Akane had taken a toll on her. But if she were honest, it was the last incident that had really shaken her.
She closed her eyes and a shiver ran through her as she remembered what happened. He had really frightened her that day and she didn't know how to feel about it. She knew he was a great martial artist but she had never really glimpsed his true power, especially not in any way that was directed towards her. Well, not since he found out she was a she. Even before that he hadn't fought seriously against her and was still able to easily beat her.
She pushed the feelings away or had tried to since it happened. But it didn't help that the entire school was abuzz about the incident. The other students who had been at her restaurant had spread the story all over the school and most of the students had taken his actions as a sign that he had chosen between his two fiancées. That had not helped her mood at all.
She attempted to spend time with him at school during lunch but he kept avoiding her, even when she had tempted him with a freshly cooked okinomiyaki. When she heard that both Ranma and Akane were nominated for The Royal Court she had been afraid that they would go together. She kept her ears open for any news and heard through the grape vine that they were going together but in a group. So it wasn't really a date.
At first she had been glad that they weren't going as a couple but then she had found herself annoyed that she hadn't been asked to join them. After she really thought of it, she knew that it was a stupid thing to hope for. She couldn't get close enough to Ranma for him to invite her and she would be damned if she was going to Akane - her rival - to get her another date with her own fiancée. She had tried to get an invitation from one of the other people in the group but she didn't know the boys at all and Akane's friends had proved to stand as a preverbal wall against her. She may have been able to trick Yuka into it but Sayuri, who was constantly at her side, had squashed the idea before Ukyo could really ask.
It didn't matter at the end. She was going to the dance stag. It didn't matter that she now had some doubts when she thought of Ranma, that she was a little scared of him. But she viciously pushed those nagging feelings aside. She had spent ten years chasing him and she was not going to give up on him at the slightest bump in the road.
No, she would not give up on him. She would make him see that she was the right choice.
She applied a thin layer of lip gloss and checked herself out in the mirror one last time, satisfied with the way she looked. She left the restaurant with a spring in her step, convinced that tonight would be the night that she could turn things around.
When she walked into the dance a few minutes later, she looked around for her fiancée and finally found him sitting at a table. Her eyes narrowed in anger at the sight.
When they reached the gym, Akane stopped and looked around, surprised by its transformation. She knew there would be some decorations but she was not prepared for this.
On the wall opposite the entrance door, the bleachers had been slightly pulled out to provide seating. Tapped to the bottom front of the bleachers were images of logs made out of painted cardboard. The back of the bleachers had a large construction paper palm trees taped to them adorned with decoupage coconuts.
The stage on her left had also been decorated, strings of small white lights had been strung from the ceiling with dangling stars suspended from the ends. Large decoupage oak trees were spread sporadically along the back of half of the stage, an old style post lamp was standing next to a park bench that was set at an angle on the right side of the stage. The scene was tranquil and romantic.
The wall opposite the stage was papered a light blue to resemble the sky, along the front were decoupage trees, but these were cherry blossom trees. Paper mache cherry blossoms were strewn around the floor and small fans along the back wall had been set up to blow the blossoms around gently, giving the effect of the cherry blossoms swirling from the wind.
Akane turned around slowly to look at the wall behind her. The area had been split, one side containing small groupings of tables for people to sit down at while the other side had a row of tables along the wall full of food. At the very corner there was an area for professional pictures that contained a small row boat with a giant shark head next to it with its mouth ajar set in front of a background of the sea. She looked up to see a shining disco ball twinkling from the center of the gym.
"Wow. This is...interesting," Yuka said as she looked around, apparently as stupefied by the hodgepodge decor as she was.
"Interesting?" Sayuri said exasperatedly. "It's not interesting, it looks like the gym has multiple personality disorder!"
"I wonder what happened," Akane said.
Ranma sighed and shook his head. "I know what happened. The decorating committee came into the Neko Hanten and got into an argument about themes. Half wanted to go with traditional Japanese and the other half wanted to go with something called Midnight in The Park. It got rather heated while they were there." He pointed to the Hawaiian decor and said, "I can only guess that was Principal Kuno's contribution."
They spent a few more moments taking in their surroundings when Daisuke asked the group, "So, what do you want to do?"
Music was playing but no one was on the dance floor yet. The people who had already arrived were congregated in small groups around the gym, some already taking pictures inside the shark's open mouth.
"We could go sit down for a while," Yuka offered.
"That sounds like a good idea. Would you prefer sitting on logs at the beach or a picnic table, my lady?" Hiroshi said jokingly, earning a giggle from Yuka and a frown from Daisuke.
"Why don't we pull a couple tables together and get some snacks," Ranma replied, pointing at the table with the food.
Akane smiled at this, it was so typical for Ranma to think with his stomach even after having just eaten. The rest of the group readily agreed and they walked over to the tables. The girls watched as the boys pulled two tables together and gathered six chairs before walking over to grab food. The girls sat down, leaving every other seat open, and were soon joined by the boys. Hiroshi and Daisuke were each carrying two plates of food and Ranma - using his waitressing skills - had managed to carry six plates all by using his forearms to balance the items expertly.
As he sat down, Ranma looked around. When his eyes tracked towards the front door, he saw Tatewaki Kuno walk in wearing a three piece black suit with a white shirt and a solid blue tie. On his arm was an attractive young woman wearing a sequin halter dress in gold. The halter was cut high at the neck and went down to her knees and swayed a little as she walked. It took Ranma a moment to realize that the "she" was actually Konatsu.
The pigtailed boy smirked and leaned over to Akane whispering into her ear, "Guess who just walked in?"
Akane tried to suppress the shiver that ran through her at the feel of his hot breath on her skin but failed. She took a moment to enjoy the sensation before turning her head towards the door. A smile graced her face as she said, "Doesn't he look beautiful?"
Ranma quirked his eyebrow at her and asked, "You knew he was coming as Kuno's date?"
A slightly mischievous grin appeared on her face and she said, "Who do you think helped him pick out that dress?"
The pig-tailed boy smiled back. He gulped when he realized how close his face was to hers. Without realizing it, he started leaning in, his eyes focused on her plump, pink lips. He moved slowly giving her a chance to pull back. But Akane had other ideas and started to lean in too, drawn to him like a magnet. Her heart started beating quickly as anticipation built up.
"Do ya mind if I join you, Ranma-honey?" came a loud familiar voice behind them.
The pair jerked back quickly and looked up to see Ukyo glaring down at them, her arms akimbo, a tight smile on her face. Akane noticed the slight battle aura she was emitting and instantly felt embarrassed at being caught almost kissing Ranma in public! What had she been thinking?
She smiled sheepishly at the chef and said, "Of course you can join us. Why don't you pull up a chair?"
Her smile faded when Ukyo brought a chair back and wedged it between Ranma and herself before she sat down and turned her back to the blue-haired girl, in a clear sign of dismissal. Akane leaned in and gave a small smile to Ranma before turning to talk to Daisuke and Yuka on her left. The pair had caught the exchange but chose not to comment on it, which she was glad for as she grit her teeth and tried to keep a pleasant smile on her face. She wasn't surprised by the way Ukyo had treated her and while she was annoyed she was determined not to let the chef ruin her night.
Ranma on the other hand had mixed feelings at the interruption. He really hadn't thought that their first kiss should happen in public - the neko-ken incident didn't count as he couldn't remember it - but he was sure that Akane had wanted it just as much as he did! Part of him was glad they were interrupted as he thought their first kiss should be private but a much larger part of him raged at the missed opportunity. Before he could say anything about Ukyo's sudden appearance, Akane had already asked her to join them. Ranma found himself narrowing his eyes at Ukyo's rudeness in turning her back on the person who invited her to sit with them.
"So Ranchan, you having fun?" Ukyo asked brightly, trying to cover up the anger she felt.
If she showed up a second later, she was sure she would have caught them kissing! She fumed as she wondered if this was their first kiss and figured that it must not have been. They wouldn't have been brazen enough to kiss for the first time in public, would they?
Ranma shrugged and said, "It's okay so far."
Ukyo waited for Ranma to say something else but was disappointed in his lack of response. She wondered when their relationship became so awkward. She wasn't used to this Ranma. Her Ranma was so jovial, so easy to hang around with. This Ranma seemed so cold. So angry. She pushed the thought away, knowing that he would never do anything to hurt her and she convinced herself that she had nothing to worry about.
Trying to find something to bridge the invisible gap between them she asked, "Do you want to come with me to get some food?"
Ranma just shook his head and gestured to the table in front of him.
"Already got some."
"Well, that never stopped you before, hun." The smile on her face was strained as she tried to coax him to leave with her.
Ranma suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He couldn't understand why Ukyo didn't get that he didn't want to spend time with her. He wondered if he was to blame for her persistence. He had always been so easily swayed before, so easily manipulated. But that was before Jusendo. There were times when he thought he could define his life into two parts; before Jusendo and after Jusendo.
Mentally sighing, Ranma took a sip of his drink and started to casually look around the gym, hoping to discourage her from further trying to get him to leave the group. He looked towards the gym doors. His eyes widened as he choked at the sight.
When Ranma started choking on his food, Ukyo began to get worried. "You okay, sugar?" she asked as she patted him on the back.
She noticed him staring at something and tracked her eyes to where Ranma was looking. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Kodachi had also come to the dance.
"I can't believe that psycho is here, she doesn't even go to this school!" Ukyo said in exasperation.
It was bad enough that Akane was at the dance, now Ukyo had one more person who would fight for Ranma's attention! With her luck the dumb Chinese bimbo would also show up and immediately glomp onto Ranma like a cat in heat, which wasn't far from the truth. She rolled her eyes when she took in Kodachi's dress. She was obviously trying to be sexy in that floor length black sequin dress with a thigh high slit and low cut halter but it didn't bother Ukyo because she knew she looked better. She had only seen a small part of Akane's dress and had been unimpressed by it. If the blue-haired girl was going for cute - because she definitely wasn't sexy - she had a long way to go.
Everyone knows that Ranma thinks I'm the cute fiancée, she thought smugly.
It was then that Ukyo realized that Kodachi had come to the dance with a date! The okonomiyaki chef smiled at the idea that the crazy gymnast had finally given up on her Ranchan!
She felt sorry for the poor sap that had to deal with the insane gymnast all night. She looked him over and thought he looked kinda nice too. He had broad shoulders, a lean body and a pretty but still handsome face. As she looked at him she realized that he looked familiar somehow but she couldn't place him. As it was a school dance, she assumed the boy was an upper class man she didn't know but probably saw in passing. The boy laughed in an almost feminine way and she immediately recognized him.
It was Konatsu.
Walking through the door was Konatsu, only this time he was wearing the black suit the Chiharis had given him when Akane was kidnapped, only without the top hat and cane. But what really shocked Ranma was that Kodachi Kuno was on his arm!
The rest of the table had turned to look at him with concerned looks on their faces. Ranma could only nod as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn't believe that Konatsu had come to a dance with both Kuno siblings!
Ranma turned to ask Akane if she knew what the kunoichi had planned for the evening and how he was going to get away with being at the dance with two different people. He was beginning to lean around the okonomiyaki chef when he saw Ukyo's smiling face turn into one of shock.
Dismissing her response, he asked Akane if she had known about Konatus' "double date" and she shook her head, having been just as shocked as he was at the turn of events. The pair laughed a little but stopped when Ukyo sat stone still and silent between them.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Ukyo then asked how they knew Konatsu was coming at all and she sat there shocked as she learned about Konatsu's friendship with Akane, his dating both Kunos, his training Akane - somehow that rankled most of all - and finally about his part in the her 'rescue.'
Ranma and Akane had both been surprised that Ukyo knew almost nothing about what had been happening over the last five weeks. They assumed she was aware of the goings on of her own roommate.
The table became quiet as the other occupants started to listen to the conversation, most not having heard all the details themselves. When the story was done an awkward silence came over the group before they started talking in smaller groups. Ukyo sat staring at the table and Ranma had gone back to eating.
Mousse came in shortly after, also wearing the same suit the Chiharis had given him. He had not wanted to deprive Ranma or Sayuri a chance to go to the dance but he could not open the restaurant by himself, so he had to close for the evening. Akane had come by shortly after they were closing up one night and asked him to go with them to the dance but he felt it was a pity invitation and had promised her he would think about it after her persistently asking him.
He had not intended to come but as he sat there home alone, the silence seemed to overwhelm him. Even when they weren't doing much but their day to day activities, there was always noise when Shampoo and Cologne were there. He missed the sound of Shampoo walking up and down the stairs, or her watching television in the living area. He even missed the sound of Cologne's cackling. He was just so...lonely at the Neko Hanten by himself.
So he found himself getting dressed and came to the dance, despite his misgivings. When he entered the gym, he had looked around and felt a little puzzled by the decorations but shrugged it off. He had never been to a dance before and presumed that it was normal. He walked around a bit before finding his friends and joining them. Though, now that he was there, he felt out of place. Everyone greeted him warmly but Ukyo, who strangely just sat there looking confused.
"I'm stuffed!" Ranma exclaimed shortly after, patting his belly.
"That's quite the feat for you, Saotome," Mousse said dryly.
Ranma ignored the quip and asked the group (though everyone knew that the question was addressed to the blue-haired girl), "Whadya wanna do now?"
It was the first dance for everyone and no one knew what they were supposed to do.
"Why don't we go take pictures?" Akane suggested.
"Oh, yes! That sounds like a great idea," Yuka said excitedly.
The group walked over to the picture area and stared awkwardly at the set-up. Exactly how were they supposed to pose in formal gowns with a shark head and row boat? They stood together puzzled before Sayuri decided to take charge.
She told Ranma and Akane to stand together on the bow of the dinge. Glancing at each other, they blushed a little. They moved forward causing Ukyo to finally snap out of her daze and she grabbed Ranma's arm and rushed him towards the boat, ignoring the glares from the three women behind her and the frown from Ranma. When they reached the front of the boat, Ukyo climbed in and tried to pull Ranma down to sit next to her but was shocked when he jumped out of her grip and landed on top of the shark head.
"I think I wanna be up here for the picture," he said as he sat Indian style on the shark before he looked at Akane.
Akane gave him a smile before turning her attention back to Sayuri as she directed Hiroshi and Daisuke into the mouth of the shark, telling them they should pretend to pry the mouth open. She had put all the girls in the boat with directions to look scared.
"Mousse, come stand between the shark and the boat," Sayuri said with a smile.
"No, thank you. I think I'll sit this one out; this should be for the people who actually go to the school," he replied, trying to back out of the picture.
"No, you should join us!" Akane exclaimed waving him forward.
"Ya, Mousse get in the picture," Ranma shouted from his perch.
Mousse waved them off, which started another round of pleas. This went on for a few more moments until Sayuri lost her temper.
"Get in the damn picture!" she shouted at him, pointing to the place she wanted him to stand. The group went quiet as they looked at Mousse for his reaction.
Mousse stared at her for a second before quickly walking towards the spot and assuming the pose she wanted. It was engrained in him to listen to strong authoritative women. While she wasn't a martial artist and could do nothing to hurt him, she was a little scary at the moment.
Sayuri only closed her eyes in frustration. She had been trying so hard to be nice! Trying so hard to put her best foot forward but her temper got away from her. She sighed and shook it off. She knew she never had a chance with him anyways.
When they had finished taking pictures and walked away, Mousse snuck a glance at Sayuri. She had really surprised him earlier. She had always been polite and sweet when she had worked at the restaurant, doing her job without complaint. So he pretty much ignored her.
This was the first time he had seen her assert herself and he found himself smiling. It had been weeks since someone had yelled at him and he realized now, that he kind of missed it. The yelling kind of reminded him of home and his mother.
He realized vaguely that she was kind of cute. Nowhere near as beautiful as his Shampoo but then no one was as stunning as she was.
After the pictures Akane headed off to the bathroom with her friends. She walked by some tables and saw Ms. Hinako sitting in her child form, plates full of sweets in front of her. She was eating with gusto causing small pieces of food to fly around, splattering the people sitting around her, and had a rim of leftover food around her mouth. Akane giggled at her teacher's enthusiasm.
As she approached the door she saw an attractive girl headed towards her in a short gold dress that was oddly accessorized with a tie. The girl winked at her as she tried to hurry off and was surprised when Akane grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side and waved her friends forward.
Bringing her hands up, she loosened the tie and brought it over the girl's head, rolling it up and handing it to her.
"You've got to be more careful with your quick changes, Kon."
She winked at her friend and went after her other friends.
It was an hour or so after the dance started and Ranma and his friends were back to sitting at their table, more food in front of them. The gym was now full of students and the dancing had begun in earnest. The girls had left to go chat with their other friends.
Ranma watched as a handsome young man weaved his way through the crowd, headed in his direction. The pig-tailed boy casually stood up and made his way through the throng and greeted the boy with a casual nod.
As they passed each other, Ranma said, "Lose the earrings."
He turned around shorty after to see Konatsu bring his hands casually up to his head and then walked away subtly putting his hands in his pants pockets.
She couldn't believe it. They were slow dancing together! And during a fast dance!
Ukyo watched as her rival batted her eyes and giggled at her partner. Ukyo's eyes narrowed when the girl had the nerve to lay her head on his shoulder like it belonged there! She had a burning feeling in her gut that was very familiar to her but she refused to acknowledge as jealousy.
Instead she reasoned that she was worried for her friend. She knew just how violent that lunatic was and he was dating her! Her of all people!
It had nothing to do with how handsome he looked. Or how her heart seemed to beat a little faster when she saw him smiling.
Ukyo continued to fume as she watched Konatsu and Kodachi together.
It was a magical night, she looked fabulous and was on the arm of the man she loved. Kodachi let out a girlish little giggle - a cackle to the rest of humanity - and moved closer to her man. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder. She loved having his arms around her as they swayed to the music. It was a fast song but it didn't matter to her, since she enjoyed being so close to him.
He was so different from all the boys she knew. He was handsome, more so even than Ranma, whom she rarely thought of anymore, other than in passing. He had a gentle way about him, almost feminine really, but was still so strong and confident that she couldn't help but be enthralled by him.
Though she was confused as to why it had taken so long for him to make a move. He had seemed interested enough but when pushed, usually with paralyzing drugs, he had perplexingly brushed off her advances. She had to commend him for his skills in evading her more...enthusiastic attempts but she was getting frustrated.
It was time. Finally, time for her lips to be taken, for her to shed her girlhood innocence. And whom better to bestow those honors but her wonderful beau. She pulled back slightly and looked into his warm brown eyes and batted her eyes prettily at him.
Looking down, Konatsu saw the desire there and knew that this girl he had in his arms loved him, in her own twisted way. She was beautiful with her smooth skin and sexy smile. And she wanted him.
"Kon darling, kiss me."
She closed her eyes and tilted her face upwards and he knew what to do.
"Yes, but not here, not where everyone can see. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."
She nodded, enthralled by his gentle, raspy, and slightly husky tone.
"There's a closet on the right side of the bleachers that we can sneak into. Meet me there in five minutes."
He brought his right hand up and brushed his fingers gently down her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. She nodded at him eagerly and he walked away, still holding her hand until only the tips of their fingers were touching. He lingered as he sent her one last look.
It was a long five minutes for Kodachi. She spent the time in the restroom freshening up her make-up and fixing her hair, wanting to look perfect.
She snuck towards the wall on her tip toes, her shoulders hunched, and her arms bent as she tried to be silent. When she reached the wall she plastered herself back against it, palms flat, and slunk along the wall, turning her head left and right to make sure she wasn't seen. Reaching the closet door, she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to enjoy the anticipation.
She brought her hand forward and turned the knob, cracked open the door only wide enough for her to allow her to slide in. She had barely closed the door behind her before a hand reached out and pulled her forward and she found herself wrapped in strong masculine arms.
Before she could take a breath she felt soft firm lips on hers. She sighed as a shiver ran through her. Melting into him she brought her arms around his neck. A groan escaped her lips as she felt his hands wander lower and gently cup her bottom.
This was everything she had ever dreamt off, and everything she had waited for.
Pulling back she placed her head on his chest and sighed, "Oh Kon, that was magnificent."
Suddenly she felt him stiffen and pull away from her.
"What's the ...?" she began when the light suddenly went on overhead. It took a moment for her to adjust to the darkness and then her eyes widened in shock.
"Tatewaki?!"
"Kodachi!"
Konatsu clung from the rafters and watched as the closet door burst open and Kodachi and Tatewaki ran out. The former bent over and began to dry heave and the latter wiped his mouth furiously with the back of his hand, shaking his head.
He had been through a lot with the siblings and actually had a fun time with them. He really did like them. In their own crazy ways, they loved fiercely. They loved to shower affection and attention on the one they love. It was the only time that he had ever received affection like that and enjoyed it.
To a point. They were just too obsessive in their love and only thought of themselves, their wants, their needs. They had not once tried to see what he wanted, what he needed. They lived in their own world, only caring about what they thought love should be.
He would have liked to be friends with the two after all this was done, but knew that would be close to impossible. For now, he would continue dating them both as he found he learned a lot about relationships from them; mainly what not to do.
So when Kodachi had once again asked him to kiss her, inspiration struck. He had already sent Tatewaki to the same closet not five minutes before, hoping he could ditch the lothario for a while before the kendoist came in search of him. He had hoped that this would teach the siblings a lesson about their aggressive amorous behavior.
Konatsu giggled as he watched the pair beneath him. They were facing away from each other and suddenly both stood up straight and tried to run out of the gym but ran into each other instead. They both jumped back immediately, repulsed, before they turned around and raced out of the gym.
A/N: Yeah, Konatsu is a little evil. I guess it makes me a little bit too, since I wrote him that way.
Big thanks to alwaysZutarian for being an awesome beta reader.
Original Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Revised: May 29, 2015