Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Azumanga Daioh Fan Fiction ❯ Love Reincarnate ❯ Are We Dancing? ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Serenitychan13 
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Author's Note !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After reading a review that said something about this chapter was a little cliche, I figured I'd better explain myself. This whole chapter came from a dream I had one night. Yes, I'm a hopeless damsel-in-distress romantic. (But not too much, the girl still needs to use her brains. I don't DO brainless female leads.) But anyway, this came straight from a dream, so if you're criticizing this chapter, then you're just telling me that I have weird dreams.
Ralph doesn't like it when people make fun of my dreams. Just so you know. And it's not a good idea to upset Ralph.
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Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Azumanga Daioh Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.28.2004 | Updated On: 08.11.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 326 | Status: Completed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Author's Note !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After reading a review that said something about this chapter was a little cliche, I figured I'd better explain myself. This whole chapter came from a dream I had one night. Yes, I'm a hopeless damsel-in-distress romantic. (But not too much, the girl still needs to use her brains. I don't DO brainless female leads.) But anyway, this came straight from a dream, so if you're criticizing this chapter, then you're just telling me that I have weird dreams.
Ralph doesn't like it when people make fun of my dreams. Just so you know. And it's not a good idea to upset Ralph.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Azumanga Daioh Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 07.28.2004 | Updated On: 08.11.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 326 | Status: Completed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Author's Note !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After reading a review that said something about this chapter was a little cliche, I figured I'd better explain myself. This whole chapter came from a dream I had one night. Yes, I'm a hopeless damsel-in-distress romantic. (But not too much, the girl still needs to use her brains. I don't DO brainless female leads.) But anyway, this came straight from a dream, so if you're criticizing this chapter, then you're just telling me that I have weird dreams.
Ralph doesn't like it when people make fun of my dreams. Just so you know. And it's not a good idea to upset Ralph.
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Love Reincarnate
A Rurouni Kenshin Alternate Universe Fic
By: Serenity-chan
Chapter 6:
Are We Dancing?
Midori had almost gotten cold feet when she drove up to the dark-looking building that neon lights announced to be Club Ai. In her mind, nothing good could come out of a place that was called "Club Love". But Nanaka and Tomo dragged her out of the car anyway. Sakaki and Yomi followed, with Osaka in the rear.
"We're all over eighteen!" announced Tomo as they passed the guard.
He nodded at them, having seen Tomo and Nanaka there several times before. He shook his head at the new girl's face. She was nervous, he could tell. But then a pair of rowdy boys started causing chaos at the karaoke stage, so he went to investigate that.
"Good luck, kid," he muttered in Midori's general direction, though he knew she couldn't hear him.
In truth, Midori couldn't hear much of anything over the roar of music from the gigantic speakers. The group of girls split up for a while, agreeing to meet at the bar at the first slow song. Tomo headed for the bar immediately anyway. Yomi followed, trying to convince her to "avoid a repeat of last time." Midori suppressed the urge to shudder at what "last time" might have been. She was rapidly getting the message that Tomo was a little crazy and needed constant supervision. So she followed.
Normally, she didn't drink, but tonight she felt that she needed something to help her loosen up a little. So she got a shooter. It was one of those things that came in what looked like a test tube, so she was a little nervous about doing this. As soon as she swallowed, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. For a moment, she thought she would retch, but then she felt uncomfortably warm and could not suppress the urge to get up. She didn't know what it was that drew her out into the middle of the crowd, but it did.
She found that dancing came easy to her, moving her body along with the sensual rhythm that seemed to pulse through the air in the club. Soon, she was taken away by the music and dancing in her own world, her movements always matching the rhythm. She was almost unaware of the strong hands that gripped her hips, holding her against a firm body. But this didn't feel right, not the right person. She slipped away, finding another crowd.
The music called to her and she gladly answered, her movements becoming more sensual and enticing to any male watching. And quite a few of them were. Midori, a little uneasy after her last encounter, tamed her dancing a little. But it wasn't enough to discourage a fairly large man who seemed to be quite a bit older than her. His thick arms held her tight to him and her struggling only served to urge him on. Midori was no longer having fun. She was scared and just wanted to get away.
'Why doesn't somebody stop this guy?' she thought, looking out to the crowd for a caring face.
But everyone seemed to be on the man's side. They were urging him to pick it up and he was responding to their encouragement. He held Midori so tight that he was hurting her and now he was nuzzling up to her neck. She could smell alcohol on his breath and struggled harder. Apparently the man took that as more encouragement. He was about to move farther when Midori decided enough was enough. The man reeled for a moment when a shriek rang out practically in his ear and dropped her roughly to the floor.
Midori curled up on the cement floor, afraid to move and afraid to get stepped on. Her eyes squeezed shut and she hoped she would wake up at home, safe and secure. Then she heard something she had only heard a few times before. It was the sound of a fist making a solid connection with a vulnerable area. She heard the man who had scared her swearing and a familiar voice swearing right back at him. She cracked one eye open as a warm, callused hand touched her arm.
"Midori-san, are you alright?" she heard Souzou asking.
She nodded shakily as Souzou gently pulled her up so that she was sitting.
"Did he hurt you?" his gentle voice persisted.
Midori shook her head, not willing to admit that that man's hands would probably leave bruises.
"Come on, let's get you out of here," urged Souzou.
He helped Midori to her feet and started pulling her towards the exit. She stopped short, making him tilt his head in confusion.
"My friends..." she said breathlessly. "I don't want them to worry. I'm supposed to be waiting at the bar for them by the first slow song."
"Ah, alright," agreed Souzou.
"I can get there on my own," Midori offered timidly, not wanting to trouble Souzou anymore.
He shook his head emphatically.
"No way, that guy's totally pissed," he told her. "He could hurt you just for the sake of his wounded pride."
Midori shuddered at the thought and nodded. Souzou smiled at her and reached for her hand. She let him lead her across the floor, trusting him to guide her. They were almost there when the first slow song of the night started up. It was old, but one of Midori's favorites - "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. Nanaka must have requested it. Souzou stopped and turned to Midori.
"Will they worry, or can we have one dance?" he asked, his voice lower and deeper than Midori had ever heard it.
"I think one dance would be fine," answered Midori, her voice a breathy whisper.
Souzou whispered his thanks in Midori's ear and tenderly eased his arms around her small body, holding her close. He noticed how perfectly she fit her body against his. The two swayed slowly to the beat of the song. Midori hadn't done this since high school and was a little nervous about being pressed so intimately against a man's body, especially with what just happened. The alcohol that was supposed to make her loosen up seemed like it had left her long ago.
"If I'm too close, just tell me," whispered Souzou.
Midori shook her head and, without thinking, laid her head on Souzou's chest. She supposed it was the last of the shooter in her. At first Souzou was a little surprised at the intimacy of her gesture, but he wasn't complaining. He had to admit, if only to himself, that her warm body pressed against his felt so right. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment all his life. From the way Midori was snuggling up to him, he wondered if she felt the same way.
Nanaka, the only sober member of the group left besides Midori - who had a remarkable tolerance for alcohol considering she almost never drank - , was watching her friend dance. And unless her eyes were fooling her, that man she was so close to was the one from her drawings. Nanaka blinked rapidly to try and steady her vision. Could that be possible or had somebody spiked her drink? It couldn't be anyone else! She pulled her digital camera out of her purse and zoomed in on the couple, just to make sure her eyes weren't hazed by alcohol. A few quick pictures and the camera was back in the purse before anyone ever knew it was out.
'Excellent...' she thought. 'Now I can remember to ask her about it in the morning.'
The song ended all too soon for Souzou and Midori. Souzou gave Midori a gentle squeeze, holding her close as if he would never have the chance again. Then, reluctantly, he let her go and she slowly stepped back out of his arms. Suddenly, she felt vulnerable, like she had just left her only sanctuary from the world. She snapped out of her reverie when she felt Souzou's hand on her cheek.
"May I?" he asked softly.
Midori nodded mutely and Souzou smiled. Tentatively, as if he expected her to snap out of it and slap him senseless at any second, he leaned down close to her. He watched Midori's violet eyes fall closed, leaned closer and lightly kissed her cheek. Midori gasped when his lips touched her cheek and she blushed warmly to the roots of her hair. In her mind, disappointment registered vaguely, wishing he had just given her the first real kiss of her life.
Souzou noticed the tiny flash of disappointment in Midori's sparkling violet eyes and bit his lip. He couldn't just kiss her outright, not when they had just met earlier today! It just wouldn't be right. So he just gave her a quick hug and a smile and disappeared into the crowd. Midori watched him go, her mouth open slightly and her cheeks red.
"Come on girl," said Nanaka, acting drunk and doing a good job of it. "You gotta drive us back. Everrrrybody's... totally plotzed!"
Midori was on Cloud 9 all the way back to the dorms. Tomo, who was indeed totally plastered, couldn't walk and had to be carried piggyback back to the room she shared with Yomi. Yomi was giggling crazily and mumbling about nonsense. Sakaki had her normal expression on her face, but she was emitting cat sounds every few seconds and hiccuping. Osaka was out cold and Nanaka was halfway dragging her back to the room she shared with Sakaki.
With goodnights said and re-said, Midori snuck off to her room and bolted the door, feeling totally drained. She wrangled herself out of the dress and shoes, then fished around for her makeup remover wipes. With all that taken care of, she brushed her hair and went to get her sketchbook. She found the correct bag and opened it. The entire dorm woke up at the shriek that followed when she figured out that her sketchbook was missing...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Author's Note !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After reading a review that said something about this chapter was a little cliche, I figured I'd better explain myself. This whole chapter came from a dream I had one night. Yes, I'm a hopeless damsel-in-distress romantic. (But not too much, the girl still needs to use her brains. I don't DO brainless female leads.) But anyway, this came straight from a dream, so if you're criticizing this chapter, then you're just telling me that I have weird dreams.
Ralph doesn't like it when people make fun of my dreams. Just so you know. And it's not a good idea to upset Ralph.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love Reincarnate
A Rurouni Kenshin Alternate Universe Fic
By: Serenity-chan
Chapter 6:
Are We Dancing?
Midori had almost gotten cold feet when she drove up to the dark-looking building that neon lights announced to be Club Ai. In her mind, nothing good could come out of a place that was called "Club Love". But Nanaka and Tomo dragged her out of the car anyway. Sakaki and Yomi followed, with Osaka in the rear.
"We're all over eighteen!" announced Tomo as they passed the guard.
He nodded at them, having seen Tomo and Nanaka there several times before. He shook his head at the new girl's face. She was nervous, he could tell. But then a pair of rowdy boys started causing chaos at the karaoke stage, so he went to investigate that.
"Good luck, kid," he muttered in Midori's general direction, though he knew she couldn't hear him.
In truth, Midori couldn't hear much of anything over the roar of music from the gigantic speakers. The group of girls split up for a while, agreeing to meet at the bar at the first slow song. Tomo headed for the bar immediately anyway. Yomi followed, trying to convince her to "avoid a repeat of last time." Midori suppressed the urge to shudder at what "last time" might have been. She was rapidly getting the message that Tomo was a little crazy and needed constant supervision. So she followed.
Normally, she didn't drink, but tonight she felt that she needed something to help her loosen up a little. So she got a shooter. It was one of those things that came in what looked like a test tube, so she was a little nervous about doing this. As soon as she swallowed, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. For a moment, she thought she would retch, but then she felt uncomfortably warm and could not suppress the urge to get up. She didn't know what it was that drew her out into the middle of the crowd, but it did.
She found that dancing came easy to her, moving her body along with the sensual rhythm that seemed to pulse through the air in the club. Soon, she was taken away by the music and dancing in her own world, her movements always matching the rhythm. She was almost unaware of the strong hands that gripped her hips, holding her against a firm body. But this didn't feel right, not the right person. She slipped away, finding another crowd.
The music called to her and she gladly answered, her movements becoming more sensual and enticing to any male watching. And quite a few of them were. Midori, a little uneasy after her last encounter, tamed her dancing a little. But it wasn't enough to discourage a fairly large man who seemed to be quite a bit older than her. His thick arms held her tight to him and her struggling only served to urge him on. Midori was no longer having fun. She was scared and just wanted to get away.
'Why doesn't somebody stop this guy?' she thought, looking out to the crowd for a caring face.
But everyone seemed to be on the man's side. They were urging him to pick it up and he was responding to their encouragement. He held Midori so tight that he was hurting her and now he was nuzzling up to her neck. She could smell alcohol on his breath and struggled harder. Apparently the man took that as more encouragement. He was about to move farther when Midori decided enough was enough. The man reeled for a moment when a shriek rang out practically in his ear and dropped her roughly to the floor.
Midori curled up on the cement floor, afraid to move and afraid to get stepped on. Her eyes squeezed shut and she hoped she would wake up at home, safe and secure. Then she heard something she had only heard a few times before. It was the sound of a fist making a solid connection with a vulnerable area. She heard the man who had scared her swearing and a familiar voice swearing right back at him. She cracked one eye open as a warm, callused hand touched her arm.
"Midori-san, are you alright?" she heard Souzou asking.
She nodded shakily as Souzou gently pulled her up so that she was sitting.
"Did he hurt you?" his gentle voice persisted.
Midori shook her head, not willing to admit that that man's hands would probably leave bruises.
"Come on, let's get you out of here," urged Souzou.
He helped Midori to her feet and started pulling her towards the exit. She stopped short, making him tilt his head in confusion.
"My friends..." she said breathlessly. "I don't want them to worry. I'm supposed to be waiting at the bar for them by the first slow song."
"Ah, alright," agreed Souzou.
"I can get there on my own," Midori offered timidly, not wanting to trouble Souzou anymore.
He shook his head emphatically.
"No way, that guy's totally pissed," he told her. "He could hurt you just for the sake of his wounded pride."
Midori shuddered at the thought and nodded. Souzou smiled at her and reached for her hand. She let him lead her across the floor, trusting him to guide her. They were almost there when the first slow song of the night started up. It was old, but one of Midori's favorites - "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. Nanaka must have requested it. Souzou stopped and turned to Midori.
"Will they worry, or can we have one dance?" he asked, his voice lower and deeper than Midori had ever heard it.
"I think one dance would be fine," answered Midori, her voice a breathy whisper.
Souzou whispered his thanks in Midori's ear and tenderly eased his arms around her small body, holding her close. He noticed how perfectly she fit her body against his. The two swayed slowly to the beat of the song. Midori hadn't done this since high school and was a little nervous about being pressed so intimately against a man's body, especially with what just happened. The alcohol that was supposed to make her loosen up seemed like it had left her long ago.
"If I'm too close, just tell me," whispered Souzou.
Midori shook her head and, without thinking, laid her head on Souzou's chest. She supposed it was the last of the shooter in her. At first Souzou was a little surprised at the intimacy of her gesture, but he wasn't complaining. He had to admit, if only to himself, that her warm body pressed against his felt so right. It was as if he had been waiting for this moment all his life. From the way Midori was snuggling up to him, he wondered if she felt the same way.
Nanaka, the only sober member of the group left besides Midori - who had a remarkable tolerance for alcohol considering she almost never drank - , was watching her friend dance. And unless her eyes were fooling her, that man she was so close to was the one from her drawings. Nanaka blinked rapidly to try and steady her vision. Could that be possible or had somebody spiked her drink? It couldn't be anyone else! She pulled her digital camera out of her purse and zoomed in on the couple, just to make sure her eyes weren't hazed by alcohol. A few quick pictures and the camera was back in the purse before anyone ever knew it was out.
'Excellent...' she thought. 'Now I can remember to ask her about it in the morning.'
The song ended all too soon for Souzou and Midori. Souzou gave Midori a gentle squeeze, holding her close as if he would never have the chance again. Then, reluctantly, he let her go and she slowly stepped back out of his arms. Suddenly, she felt vulnerable, like she had just left her only sanctuary from the world. She snapped out of her reverie when she felt Souzou's hand on her cheek.
"May I?" he asked softly.
Midori nodded mutely and Souzou smiled. Tentatively, as if he expected her to snap out of it and slap him senseless at any second, he leaned down close to her. He watched Midori's violet eyes fall closed, leaned closer and lightly kissed her cheek. Midori gasped when his lips touched her cheek and she blushed warmly to the roots of her hair. In her mind, disappointment registered vaguely, wishing he had just given her the first real kiss of her life.
Souzou noticed the tiny flash of disappointment in Midori's sparkling violet eyes and bit his lip. He couldn't just kiss her outright, not when they had just met earlier today! It just wouldn't be right. So he just gave her a quick hug and a smile and disappeared into the crowd. Midori watched him go, her mouth open slightly and her cheeks red.
"Come on girl," said Nanaka, acting drunk and doing a good job of it. "You gotta drive us back. Everrrrybody's... totally plotzed!"
Midori was on Cloud 9 all the way back to the dorms. Tomo, who was indeed totally plastered, couldn't walk and had to be carried piggyback back to the room she shared with Yomi. Yomi was giggling crazily and mumbling about nonsense. Sakaki had her normal expression on her face, but she was emitting cat sounds every few seconds and hiccuping. Osaka was out cold and Nanaka was halfway dragging her back to the room she shared with Sakaki.
With goodnights said and re-said, Midori snuck off to her room and bolted the door, feeling totally drained. She wrangled herself out of the dress and shoes, then fished around for her makeup remover wipes. With all that taken care of, she brushed her hair and went to get her sketchbook. She found the correct bag and opened it. The entire dorm woke up at the shriek that followed when she figured out that her sketchbook was missing...