Innocence
An alternate universe Rurouni Kenshin fanfic.
Chapter Seven
"What are
you smiling at?"
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"A
change would do you good."
-Sheryl
Crow-
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Everyone has their own way of doing things, that's about as simple a fact as
you can state. The way one might choose however, is mostly influenced by what
kind of mood your in.
Judging from
the way Misao was bogeying down with her vacuum cleaner, Yuki could only guess
that she was in a good one.
Ten years
living in a paper bag
Feedback baby, he's a flipped out cat
He's a platinum canary, drinkin' falstaff beer
Mercedes rule, and a rented lear
Bottom feeder insincere
Prophet lo-fi pioneer
Sell the house and go to school
Get a young girlfriend, daddy's jewel
A change would do you good
A change would do you good
Still not
aware of her bemused best friend standing in the doorway, Misao proceeded with
a shimmy n' shake that would have definitely upped the club's rating by at
least a few points. Keiko, who was standing on the low table in the center of
the room tried to copy her mother's move, giggling loudly to herself when her
efforts caused her land squarely on her round little bottom.
God's
little gift is on the rag
Poster girl posing in a fashion mag
Canine, feline, Jekyll and Hyde
Wear your fake fur on the inside
Queen of south beach, aging blues
Dinner's at six, wear your cement shoes
I thought you were singing your heart out to me
Your lips were syncing and now I see
A change would do you good
A change would do you good
Laughing along
with her daughter, Misao switched to a kind of modified version of the
cha-cha-cha, dancing in a circle around the noisy machine as she slid it around
the rug. Keiko, not one to be left out pushed herself up onto her feet again
and raised her chubby hands high into the air and moved her hips left and
right, laughing with glee that she could keep up with the music.
Chasing
dragons with plastic swords
Jack off jimmy, everybody wants more
Scully and angel on the kitchen floor
And I'm calling buddy on the ouija board
I've been thinking 'bout catching a train
Leave my phone machine by the radar range
Hello it's me, I'm not at home
If you'd like to reach me, leave me alone
A change would do you good
A change would do you good
Rocking her
shoulders in time with the beat, Misao spun around on her heel to see Yuki
standing in the doorway. Surprise of surprises, not only did she not look the
least bit embarrassed at her own antics, she in fact grabbed hold of her
friend's hand, abandoning her makeshift dance partner for a real one.
A delighted
Keiko clapped her chubby hands, "Dance, Yuki-san!" she squealed.
Unable to deny
such a heartfelt request, Yuki shrugged her shoulders and danced with her
friend. Grabbing a pillow off of the floor, she held in front of her like a
guitar as Misao chose a hairbrush to be her imaginary microphone.
Hello, it's
me, I'm not at home
If you'd like to reach me, leave me alone!
A change
would do you good
Oh! I think a change would do you good
Yeah! I
said a change would do you good
As two young
women collapsed on the floor in a giggling heap, Keiko seized the opportunity
to dive off of the table and into her mother's waiting arms.
"My
little performer," Misao laughed as she snuggled the child, "Where
did you learn to stage dive?"
Yuki grinned,
"Must be in the blood," she observed, "Speaking of which, I came
over here to remind you that we have rehearsal in an hour, lover-girl."
That did it.
"It's not like that!" Misao squealed.
Yuki smirked
to herself as she rose onto her feet and straightened her skirt. "Whatever
you say, Lady Chatterley," she said as she bent down to take Keiko from
her mother's arms, "But you and I both know that simple friendship brings
not such miraculous transformations in personality."
Misao reddened
again as she lifted herself off the floor but this time she didn't retaliate.
What Yuki had said was true, although she had told herself for weeks that
Soujiro was nothing more than good friend, little by little she was finding
herself becoming more and more frustrated with the platonic nature of their
relationship.
Yuki shifted
the toddler's weight so that she rested more comfortably on her hip. "Hey
Kei, you know what?" she said in a conspiratorially quiet voice,
"When I left the apartment, Obaa-san was putting something into the
oven."
Keiko's brown
eyes grew round, "Baa-san's making snacks?" she asked delightedly.
Yuki feigned
ignorance, "Well, I dunno," she said, "But we can go find out
while Mommy goes to change."
"Yeah!"
Misao was
snapped back into reality by her daughter's voice, "Save some for me
ok?" she said with a smile.
************************************************
"And a
one and a two and…"
At the sound
of Yuki's cue, the empty club filled with the liquid beat of techno coming from
it's many hidden speakers all around the room. Both
she and Misao were on the main stage, wearing black, leather n' lace teddies
that clung to both their bodies with all the tenacity of a lover's touch. The
most enticing accessories they wore however, were the
long black chiffon blindfolds that hid their eyes from view and trailed down
their backs to rest ever so delicately on their derrieres.
Both were
standing back to back when the music began, but as the beat established itself
within the air-conditioned room they slowly and sensuously began to move apart,
not so much dancing as blatantly tantalizing any so-inclined person that might
have been watching at the moment. The blindfolds made the act seem even more
titillating as they afforded the illusion that both girls were unaware of
anyone who might be watching, causing some small, perverse corner of the
viewer's mind to believe that they had happened upon something exotic and
forbidden. Something that they had neither right to see, nor
the power to resist.
Knew you'd be here tonight
So I put my best dress on
Boy I was so right
Our eyes connected
Now nothing's how it used to be
No second guesses
Misao and Yuki
circled each other in a stalking fashion, hands carefully reaching out for some
clue as to the other's whereabouts.
Track in on this feeling
Pull focus close up you and me
Nobody's leaving
Got me affected
Spun me 180 degrees
It's so electric
The two girls
closed the circle until their faces were mere inches apart, Misao facing the
backstage as Yuki faced the front. Slowly, deliberately, Misao's hand rose
until it was almost caressing her friend's cheek. Although she was not quite
touching her partner, Yuki's face took on a look of pure ecstasy as she threw
her head back so that Misao's hand could continue it's
mock-glide over her neck and down her chest.
Slow down and dance with me
Yeah, slow
Skip a beat and move with my body
Yeah, slow
Come on and dance with me
Yeah, slow
Skip a beat and move with my body
Yeah, slow
It was now
Misao's turn to lean backward as Yuki's hands pressed themselves against the
small of her back as she drew closer, her lips seemingly blowing cool air over
Misao's throat and breasts. Misao gave her audience the desired reaction, her
full lips parting as her body writhed inches away from Yuki's.
As the chorus
ended, they both slid apart and continued on as if their contact had never
happened at all. Their moves took on a more dance-like style, each mimicking
the other while still preserving the illusion that they each believed that she
was the only one present.
Don't wanna rush it
Let the rhythm pull you in
It's here so touch it
You know what I'm saying
And I haven't said a thing
Keep the record playing
On the last
line, the two found themselves back to back, pressing against each other as
they ran their hands through their hair and over their own bodies, slowing
their movements in time with the music.
Slow down and dance with me
Yeah, slow
Skip a beat and move with my body
Yeah, slow
Come on and dance with me
Yeah, slow
Skip a beat and move with my body
Yeah, slow
Read my body language
Take it down, down
Still pressing
against one another for support both women slid downward until they both were
on their knees. At the same time they both arched backwards suddenly, Misao's
torso angling itself so that she and Yuki both had the room to move.
Slow down and dance with me
Yeah, slow
Skip a beat and move with my body
Yeah, slow
Come on and dance with me
Yeah, slow
Skip a beat and move with my body
Yeah, slow
Curling
forward again, both ladies rose to their feet again and began their circling
routine, gradually closing it's radius as the music winded down.
Skip a beat and move with my body
Skip a beat and move with my body…
Skip a beat and move with my body
Slow…
For a brief,
tantalizing moment they stood face to face as their hands seemingly began to
move toward one another again, but at the last moment, Misao's rose to bury themselves in her hair as she thrust her hip outward. Yuki
on the other hand, allowed her body to glide down to the floor on one knee and
her arms encircled Misao's legs instead of her waist.
"Feh."
At the sound
of the word, Misao's hands came down from her hair to fold themselves tightly
across her chest and Yuki's facial expression soured visibly from under her
mask. A round of disapproving noises rose from around the room in support of
the girls' distaste.
"Oh, like
you can do any better?" came the disgruntled
voice of another dancer.
"I can do
better than you." was the arrogant reply.
Yuki rose to
her feet and untied her blindfold, "I'd like to see you try…old man."
"Oi!"
Mashiro
chuckled from behind the bar, "Hiko-sama hasn't been on a stage since the
Ice Age."
"And
even then you were already retired." came another female voice.
That raised a chorus
of loud laughter from all around the room. However, it would take much more
than that to faze Seijuro Hiko.
"Nice,"
he said dryly, "I wonder if it will still be funny in the unemployment line?"
Misao laughed
as she pulled her blindfold off without untying it. Hiko might have been very
good at pretending to be annoyed, but deep inside she knew that he adored his
staff at the club.
"Oh you
won't fire us Hiko-sama," she quipped as she jumped off of the stage and
onto the main floor, "Who else will you find to take your bullshit?"
Despite
himself, the corner of Hiko's mouth twitched, "Well look who's in a good
mood for once." he observed.
Yuki's face
took on a look of deep self-satisfaction as she mockingly wrapped the blindfold
around her shoulders and fluttered her eyelashes.
"It's
'cause of her new booooooyy-friend," she said.
For the first
time in a long time, the staff of the Black Sakura was rendered silent by the
news. Mashiro was the first to recover, carefully setting the glass bottle he
was holding onto the counter, he pressed his fists to his hips and raised an
eyebrow in Misao's direction.
"Say…what?"
"Oh it's
true," Yuki gabbled on as Misao grew red with embarrassment, "Rode
right into her life like a knight on a white charger too. Some perv tried to
get fresh with her at the Glass Slipper but then el hero stepped in and got her
out of there." She sighed, touching her forehead with the back of her hand
like they do in old movies, "It was love at first sight."
"Oh, grow
up," Misao growled.
Sasami, the
idealist of the group, clasped her hands together and squealed the customary
phrase, "That's so romantic!"
"You
wretch," said Suki, the dancer who added the insult to Hiko's injury
earlier, "If Yuki hadn't opened her blabbermouth you two would have eloped
by the time we knew anything!"
Mashiro strode
out from behind the bar and stood in front of Misao, "The first bite you
haven't ignored and you don't tell me?" he said pressing his hand to his
chest in a hurt fashion before leaning down closer to her face.
"So, does
he have a nice ass or what?"
Suki covered
her ears as Sasami giggled, "Aw, goddamnit Mashiro!" she wailed.
Mashiro turned
his head and shrugged, "What? That's a basic requirement!"
"The
man's got a point." Yuki agreed.
Misao suddenly
felt as if she were trapped in the twilight zone, "If you all will excuse
me, I think I'll just go find a hole to curl up and die in." she said as
she turned toward the dressing rooms.
On the way,
she passed close to where Hiko was sitting apart from the others, as she came
closer his voice took on a serious tone meant for her ears only.
"This
guy," he said, "Are sure that he's…?"
Misao smiled
as she patted her boss on the shoulder, "What's good for me has to be good
for her, first." she said softly and reassuringly.
Hiko looked
satisfied. Getting back into "boss-mode" again, he turned his eyes to
where the others were pressing a delighted Yuki for more information.
"Alright,
break it up!" he barked, "Suki, get up there and put your money where
your mouth is!"
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