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tenipuri_xpDate: Current
Rating: PG
Warnings: Crack, cross-dressing, pineapples.
Summary: In which there is a performance, salsa, several cameos, D1 and RyoJi, and the phrase "in your dreams" is meant quite literally.
Yagyuu was flying again, rising up out of the backwoods training grounds at the Brotherhood's base of operations, slowly becoming weightless as the ground moved farther away from his feet. His shoes fell off, but his socks stayed on, and he kept floating, vertically, until his head poked through the top of the trees, and he could see the whole estate spread beneath him.
He could go anywhere now. It had been a long time since he'd flown. It was nice out here, in the cool night air. He could feel the wind in his hair. He missed this feeling. Too much restrained him when he was awake. He climbed higher, faster. Over the city, all alone ... out here he could breathe easier.... Faster, higher ...
..Jiroh leaned in close and stared at Yagyuu's face intently. The older boy's eyes roved underneath the closed eyelids, indicating that Yagyuu was inside a deep REM state. He giggled happily and dove right in, curious as to what someone like Yagyuu dreamed of.
He entered the dream in mid-air, startled for a moment into thinking he had missed and was somehow outside again. He laughed when he realized this was really just Yagyuu dreaming about..being in the air? Or flying. Jiroh giggled at the tohught of Yagyuu flying; it seemed silly. Then again, dreams sometimes were.
He looked around but Yagyuu was already far off, growing smaller in the distance as he flew towards the clouds. Jiroh wanted to call out to him but he already found the dream was shifitng, rapidly; he went along with it and decided toenter the world fully. Tonight he wanted to have some fun with Yagyuu.
His emergence into the room was met with applause. He blinked rapidly and glanced around at the sudden array of bright colors and ornate costumes. It was distracting enough that he couldn't find the other boy anywhere among the face. Where had Yagyuu gone?
He'd gone backstage, after falling through the roof (he'd left a big hole but maybe nobody would notice), and at least he hadn't interfered with the prologue. Yagyuu was just in time -- the orchestra was already playing, but he was already in costume, so he just needed to wait in the wings for his cue.
He ran into the costume mistress on the way out of the green room. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked, tapping her foot impatiently. She was wearing a yellow raincoat and carried a camera.
"I have to perform," Yagyuu said.
"Not looking like that, you're not." She gave him back his glasses.
Oh, that made more sense. He put them on, and stepped out on stage. They were performing the chess play tonight. He always liked this game. Even when he lost it was a great challenge of skill. But he would win tonight, he thought, because he was the King tonight. He hardly ever got to be the King.
It was several moments before Jiroh was fully aware of the situation. Upon further inspection, he noticed with dismay that everyone was clapping for him and the other actors onstage. Though the stage itself was different, set up strangely so the somehow it sported white and black squares stretching from one end to the next.
He looked down and noticed that he was standing near the middle of the board, on a black square. However his outfit led him to discover he was not a black piece at all. He tugged angrily at the lace collar around his neck and silently cursed Yagyuu again. Even in the other boy's dreams Jiroh was subject to humilation via lolita dresses. Although this one was completely white--and a little bit blinding. He swung around to see who was behind him and came face-to face with Niou.
Jiroh scowled. What was Niou doing here? And with a really awesome gleaming white sword in hand, no less? Niou smirked at him. "Cute dress, kid. Try not to get it dirty, ne?" Jiroh stuck his tongue out and turned around in a huff. Whatever. Hoepfully Niou would only be playing a small part in this dream. Jiroh looked out across the board at the black chess players, seeing many unfamiliar faces, though he recognized a few of them. Weren't they the kids from that other school--The Brotherhood?
This was a difficult scene to perform, but as long as Yagyuu stuck to the script he knew victory would be his. He needed only to focus properly, and not allow himself to be distracted.
But he knew he was going to be distracted. One of the White Knights was already not sticking to the script, joking with the pawn in front of him and outright flirting with the one in front of the Rook on his side. How could they possibly expect to put on a good show if the other side wasn't following the script? At least his pawns knew what they were doing: following the commands of his Queen, of course, a lovely young woman of slight build and luxurious wavy hair. She looked delicate, but it was difficult not to follow her commands when she delivered them in such a voice. Ah, she was so ... convincing. And beautiful. And he would do anything she asked.
Focus, Hiroshi!
He snapped back to attention, watching the scene -- his cue was not for some time yet, and it would not do to lapse before it arrived. The pieces fought valiantly, of course, so valiantly; so many sacrifices were made for his safety.
Sacrifices?
That wasn't in the script ... Yagyuu began to panic; this wasn't how things were supposed to go. His side was supposed to win -- where were all his pieces going? Was he doing something wrong? Had he misstepped? Why was White winning?
Jiroh could hear a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and spotted Hana-lady conversing with Fuji intently. He raised his eyebrows at her costume, which made him feel awkward, a little. She had skintight leather pants and a brassiere top on, with a long, flowing white cape. Jiroh hadn't felt this strange since that time he walked in on Mommy taking a shower. He averted his gaze quickly, but Hanamura had already called his name.
"Eh?"
"Jiroh, darling. Move forwards." She made a shooing motion with her hand, and he felt himself suddenly stepping out past the line of players. His feet jerked out against his will and he stopped dead in front of Saeki-kun, who was dressed in a strangely provocative black outfit.
"Hello, little one," Saeki-kun purred, and licked his teeth. Jiroh winced. This was getting weird.
He looked to the right of Saeki and was startled to see Tomoka-chan smiling and waving at him. Then, just as immediately, one of the black pieces lunged forwards and swiped her away with one arm, as if she weighed nothing. Jiroh nearly screamed, but clamped his hands over his mouth as the tall grey-haired youth leered towards him. Jiroh frantically looked for Tomoka, but she was nowhere to be found. The tall boy snarled at him. "You're safe for now, little girl." He laughed. "...But just 'cause I'm a sacrifice doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight." Puzzled, Jiroh gaped at him. What did he mean by that?
"Don't worry, Jiroh, we'll get to you in time. You're protected," Hanamura called. She continued shouting orders, and a few turns later he saw Ishida-sempai crush one of the black players, only to then be kicked out by a speedy youth with red hair.
Jiroh heard Niou shouting something, and turned to watch as he phased silently through a black player with blue hair to attack another enemy, a pretty boy with pair of fluffy black wings. Niou made short work of cutting him down with the sword and heaved a sigh of satisfaction when it was over, despite the harsh scowls of the other black players. Jiroh felt slightly faint--what was Yagyuu doing in this strange dream? On the other side of the board he heard Mizuki-kun's voice shout instructions, and was treated to a wave of flaming heat as someone nearby screamed and disappeared like the others-
-was that Sakuno-chan?? Jiroh wanted to crawl up and hide, desperately. This was too intense.
Hanamura's voice cut through the noise, and Jiroh watched as the game continued to play out--Momo-chan sempai swept up the board and got rid of two more black players. Fuji was able to get rid of Saeki-kun quickly as well.
"Jiroh-kun, you can move now. Get rid of Akutsu."
Jiroh twisted to look at her. "Wh-what? I don't know what I'm--" He felt his legs jerking again, and suddenly his face was pressed into Akutsu's abdomen. The tall boy with the grey hair...he leered down, and Jiroh wondered briefly what he was supposed to do. He reached out and poked Akutsu in the stomach; the monster disappeared in an instant.
"Good job," called Ryoma, and Jiroh felt his stomach flip, both from happiness and worry at the same time. Not Ryoma, too...was he going to get eaten? "I'm okay, Jiroh." He called, seeing the boy's stricken face. Niou waved from his square, too.
"We've got it under control, doll." He winked and Jiroh felt his face burning. Stupid Niou, thinking he could do anything. He took another glance at the board--Niou, Ryoma, Fuji, and Momo were the only ones left besides him. Hanamura and Ryoma's father were still safely tucked away in the back, with Momo and Fuji watching over them closely. The black players' numbers had dwindled considerably; there were few pawns left, but they were trapped. Yagyuu stood open, clear for attack. Mizuki-kun twirled his hair dangerously at Yagyuu's side. They were definitely planning something, even though it was clear they were losing.
Nanjiroh made a noise of disgust. "The kids think they've got us, even though we're clearly going to take this. Lookit--their king is shaking in his boots."
Jiroh gazed at Yagyuu carefully. If he really was shaking in his boots, he certainly wasn't showing it.
Yagyuu didn't have to take this. He wanted to shout, to tell the other players to stop cheating (they were cheating), and that they needed to follow the script and let him win, but that just wouldn't do; the King wasn't meant to shout or be loud at all -- that was the Queen's job, and she wasn't calling them on their foul play. She was just ... smirking. And Yagyuu was helpless.
All the more helpless when he found himself cornered -- the White Knight stood before him, hands splayed on either side, boxing him in.
"Checkmate!" the White Queen called out, and the audience roared with applause.
Yagyuu panicked. There were still some options open, right? He could still win ... "But --"
But 'checkmate', as it was, involved the board clearing, and the spotlight shining down on himself and his captor. The audience gasped, hushed, silent, a chill falling over the house. They were alone now, alone with everyone watching, with a thousand pairs of eyes on them, and the Knight shed his armor. When Yagyuu looked again he was center stage, they were, and Niou had his hands, Niou was leading as the music started, and Yagyuu could only follow his moves helplessly.
He ... enjoyed it. He could touch him, feel the skin of his hands and the heat of his body; he could feel his breath on his face as he pulled him in and then not, as he spun him out. The rhythm picked up, the spotlight grew warm, and Yagyuu knew he shouldn't be thinking of the eyes on them but the audience was so obvious, didn't Niou know that they were there?
But he pulled up from a dip, lips dangerously close to his ear, and he whispered, "You lead," and Yagyuu didn't have much choice but to do so. He knew how, of course, of course he did, and ... and it wasn't much better than letting Niou pull him along, because now it was his fault if he misstepped.
But Niou was stunning in that gorgeous red dress.
There was a swift change in the dream and Jiroh was swept to the side, standing among a gaggle of his classmates. He was startled to see Ryoma at his side, watching the dancefloor eagerly.
Oh, wait. Dancefloor?
Jiroh nudged Ryoma on the shoulder. "Um. Hi," He said, awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what a Ryoma would be like in Yagyuu's dream. If the blue cap with a gigantic pink feather poking out of it was any indication, Jiroh figured that in Yagyuu's dream people were likely to not be themselves.The Dream!Ryoma looked at him and put a finger to his lips, motioning for them to watch the dancers.
Jiroh spotted Yagyuu dancing along with a pretty girl who looked familiar to him, somehow; though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He looked back at Ryoma, who was now wearing a dress shirt with frilly sleeves and lots of frills spilling from the high collar. Jiroh raised his eyebrows at it, but said nothing; he realized that everyone was dressed equally as fancy, although it had to be noted that there was an abundance of strange, magnificently decorated hats like Ryoma's. Yagyuu had an eye for detail, it seemed.
Jiroh nearly wailed at the sight of his own dress. He was back in that awful lolita outfit that Yagyuu had put him in that one time, before his body had been stolen. In his mind, Jiroh replayed the scene of Yagyuu's untimely demise at the hands of godzilla several times.
"They're dancing," Ryoma explained, a bit redundantly, and brought Jiroh back to the situation at hand. He sighed. "Isn't Niou perfect for him? They're so good together."
Now nothing surprised him. Jiroh took a better look at the girl dancing with Yagyuu. Turned out it wasn't a girl after all--it was Niou, wearing a slinky red number and dangerous-looking high-heels. Jiroh noted that Niou had impressive legs, but then felt the backs of his eyes burning. Not a good thought!
"Why are Yagyuu and Niou dancing?" Jiroh demanded, and grabbed Ryoma's arm. Looking strangely docile, Ryoma smiled at him sweetly. It was...creepy. Jiroh didn't much like this dream Ryoma's personality, especially since this one was too nice to be really Ryoma. But it looked like him and that was good enough. ;lt3
"Because they love each other, of course. And Yagyuu wrote the script. He can make it go however he wants."
"But they can't," Jiroh said, feeling annoyed. "You love....you love Niou..." He said, voice cracking. He didn't like to admit it aloud that he knew about Niou and Ryoma, but it was the truth (even if he was working on making it not the truth).
Ryoma eyed him strangely. "What? That's ridiculous. Niou and Yagyuu belong together. Here--quick. Give me your hand." Ryoma snatched up Jiroh's hand, and Jiroh blushed madly.
"R-Ryoma, I-I--"
Someone much taller elbowed past and announced it was their cue. With a sudden rush, the people in the wings bursts outwards and onto the dance floor, and Jiroh felt Ryoma's arms encircle him as he was swept out.
With impeccably timed moves, the extras begin twirling choreographed dance moves around Niou and Yagyuu, yet still allowing them to be the main attraction. Jiroh was torn between relishing the feel of Ryoma dancing with him and keeping an eye on Niou and Yagyuu. They spun around and Jiroh was dancing alongside Niou, who glanced and winked at him.
"Yagyuu," Jiroh whispered, and tried to catch his eye. "Yagyuu!"
Yagyuu was all but oblivious. There was the music, and the spotlight, and Niou; everything else faded into the darkness, unimportant. He wanted so very much for this to be right. It made perfect sense in this realm, in this world of spins and dips and bright sequins and the golden eyes smirking up at him.
This, he thought, would be a much better place to kiss Niou than his room had been. It would fit his character if he did it here -- what had he been thinking, kissing him back then?
But he heard another voice -- a younger one -- calling his name urgently, and Yagyuu found he had to look away from Niou's eyes if only for a moment. He did not move his hand from the other boy's waist, did not skip a beat in leading the dance, as he turned to face the one who was calling him.
Jiroh fixed his most intense glare on Yagyuu, who looked like he was about to lean in and bite Niou's nose off, or something.
"We hafta talk," Jiroh said, his voice rising from a whisper. He didn't care if they were in the middle of some sort of...play. The music was almost drowning out his words. "You gave me really really tasty ice cream--except it was EVIL--and then I trusted you and you STOLE my body and I am very very angry at you," He tried his best to look intimidating. It was difficult to appear threatening, seeing as he was stuck in such a girly dress. The frilly headpiece wasn't helping, either.
"How are you gonna make it up to me?" he asked.
The girl that Echizen-kun was dancing with was saying something, but Yagyuu couldn't quite make it out. The voice sounded like it was more in his head than in his ears, and he understood then. He sort of remembered something about ice cream, but it had been another life, and he didn't know everything, and this girl was trying to take him away from Niou. Yagyuu didn't know if Niou would still be there if he went away.
So he flung his partner out in a spin, careful to keep a hold of his hand, and leant down to speak to the girl in the fluffy dress. "I'll bring you some toys for Christmas," he said. All kids liked toys. "And a part in my next play." That would work, girls liked fame.
But the girl's expression said that that clearly wasn't enough, or it was enough, but the wrong kind of penance for the sins Yagyuu had committed. Seven Hail Marys? No, that wasn't right, either. Chinese water torture?
"I'll bring you what you always wanted," he promised instead. "Your own heart's desire in exchange for my own." And he pulled Niou back, close to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, and kissed him thoroughly. If he could have this, then the girl could have Echizen, and all would be well, all would be right with the world.
He gave the girl a pineapple as a promissory note, and continued to dance dangerously close to his partner, hands joined and bodies swaying to the quickening rhythm. Of course: pineapple salsa. And hot, hot heat. And far more skin, and touch, and contact, and hotter, deeper kisses.
He blushed intensely. "H-heart's desire?" He glanced at Ryoma, who was still smiling at him weirdly, and then back to the pair engaged in...some rather dangerous-looking kissing. It was only a dream, though. Yagyuu couldn't really promise him something like that....could he?
There was a nudge in Jiroh's side and he realized Ryoma was trying to get him to start dancing again. But he couldn't move right away--not after witnessing the horrors that were Niou and Yagyuu kissing. Like grown-ups.
He grimaced, tucked his pineapple--yes, his very own pineapple--under one arm and swung around with Ryoma in time to the pulseating music, glancing over at Yagyuu when he could. He was alarmed to see that Niou was....was...really interested in...kissing Yagyuu. It made him shudder involuntarily.
Jiroh's mind began racing. Ryoma and Niou were...taken. Together. But Yagyuu wasn't. And Yagyuu dreaming about Niou like this meant something important. It could just be another weird dream, he supposed, but that rarely happened. Yagyuu was serious and weird all the time, wasn't he? He would only ever dream about this if he really, really, really wanted to hold someone's hand in the real world.
A slow smile spread across Jiroh's face, and he suddenly felt very devious indeed. He dropped the pineapple on the floor and tried not to step on it as it suttled between his legs to find its own dance partner.
Dream Ryoma was looking concerned. The feather in his hat drooped a little. "Something wrong?"
Jiroh shook his head. "Nope-nope. Just thinking." He paused and felt a tugging in his belly. Something was pulling at him, making its way through the dream...it felt like Yagyuu was going to wake up very soon, which was good, because Yagyuu and Niou were not quite dancing on the floor so much as they were dancing on each other, and Jiroh's retinae were beginning to burn because of it. This was so wrong. But really, didn't it help him out all the more?
He felt it again, stronger. The room was beginning to blue around the edges, and Dream Ryoma leaned in gently to kiss him on the cheek. He gasped and stumbled back a bit, but then the Ryoma was gone, too, and he knew it was time to leave. He glanced at Yagyuu and felt himself smile again, this time a wide, toothy grin. If he helped Yagyuu get what he wanted, then maybe Yagyuu really would keep his promise and give him his heart's desire?
Distantly, Yagyuu could hear the music changing, growing fainter and farther away, and he became more aware of the pillow beneath his head and the thick black comforter covering his body. He pulled it closer -- the building had been freezing for weeks now, and it was only getting colder -- as if by doing so he might return to wherever he'd been.
He clung to the fragments of dream, feeling both aroused and embarrassed by what he'd been thinking. Niou. And something about dancing, and chess -- or was it a play? Somehow the three themes seemed inextricably merged. Superceding all of that, though, was the phaser, and the image of his body, almost too close to Yagyuu's in a dark, hot room, and ...
... and it had been indecent. Almost ... decadent, really, but nothing that he would ever call 'frivolous'. Perhaps it hadn't been all Mizuki's personality stuck inside his own, back then, that bade him to kiss Niou's lips. But if not, then that meant it was ... something that Yagyuu wanted himself. And that ... that was okay, right?
Well ... yes and no, but what was okay in the waking world was less important when it had been just a dream. He smiled to himself before reaching for his glasses -- what he could remember of it had been a very nice dream. He let the smile fade as he got ready for his day, but couldn't help going back to that image, that feeling, again and again. Distracted? Maybe. But he could live with that.
For now.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Crack, cross-dressing, pineapples.
Summary: In which there is a performance, salsa, several cameos, D1 and RyoJi, and the phrase "in your dreams" is meant quite literally.
Yagyuu was flying again, rising up out of the backwoods training grounds at the Brotherhood's base of operations, slowly becoming weightless as the ground moved farther away from his feet. His shoes fell off, but his socks stayed on, and he kept floating, vertically, until his head poked through the top of the trees, and he could see the whole estate spread beneath him.
He could go anywhere now. It had been a long time since he'd flown. It was nice out here, in the cool night air. He could feel the wind in his hair. He missed this feeling. Too much restrained him when he was awake. He climbed higher, faster. Over the city, all alone ... out here he could breathe easier.... Faster, higher ...
..Jiroh leaned in close and stared at Yagyuu's face intently. The older boy's eyes roved underneath the closed eyelids, indicating that Yagyuu was inside a deep REM state. He giggled happily and dove right in, curious as to what someone like Yagyuu dreamed of.
He entered the dream in mid-air, startled for a moment into thinking he had missed and was somehow outside again. He laughed when he realized this was really just Yagyuu dreaming about..being in the air? Or flying. Jiroh giggled at the tohught of Yagyuu flying; it seemed silly. Then again, dreams sometimes were.
He looked around but Yagyuu was already far off, growing smaller in the distance as he flew towards the clouds. Jiroh wanted to call out to him but he already found the dream was shifitng, rapidly; he went along with it and decided toenter the world fully. Tonight he wanted to have some fun with Yagyuu.
His emergence into the room was met with applause. He blinked rapidly and glanced around at the sudden array of bright colors and ornate costumes. It was distracting enough that he couldn't find the other boy anywhere among the face. Where had Yagyuu gone?
He'd gone backstage, after falling through the roof (he'd left a big hole but maybe nobody would notice), and at least he hadn't interfered with the prologue. Yagyuu was just in time -- the orchestra was already playing, but he was already in costume, so he just needed to wait in the wings for his cue.
He ran into the costume mistress on the way out of the green room. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked, tapping her foot impatiently. She was wearing a yellow raincoat and carried a camera.
"I have to perform," Yagyuu said.
"Not looking like that, you're not." She gave him back his glasses.
Oh, that made more sense. He put them on, and stepped out on stage. They were performing the chess play tonight. He always liked this game. Even when he lost it was a great challenge of skill. But he would win tonight, he thought, because he was the King tonight. He hardly ever got to be the King.
It was several moments before Jiroh was fully aware of the situation. Upon further inspection, he noticed with dismay that everyone was clapping for him and the other actors onstage. Though the stage itself was different, set up strangely so the somehow it sported white and black squares stretching from one end to the next.
He looked down and noticed that he was standing near the middle of the board, on a black square. However his outfit led him to discover he was not a black piece at all. He tugged angrily at the lace collar around his neck and silently cursed Yagyuu again. Even in the other boy's dreams Jiroh was subject to humilation via lolita dresses. Although this one was completely white--and a little bit blinding. He swung around to see who was behind him and came face-to face with Niou.
Jiroh scowled. What was Niou doing here? And with a really awesome gleaming white sword in hand, no less? Niou smirked at him. "Cute dress, kid. Try not to get it dirty, ne?" Jiroh stuck his tongue out and turned around in a huff. Whatever. Hoepfully Niou would only be playing a small part in this dream. Jiroh looked out across the board at the black chess players, seeing many unfamiliar faces, though he recognized a few of them. Weren't they the kids from that other school--The Brotherhood?
This was a difficult scene to perform, but as long as Yagyuu stuck to the script he knew victory would be his. He needed only to focus properly, and not allow himself to be distracted.
But he knew he was going to be distracted. One of the White Knights was already not sticking to the script, joking with the pawn in front of him and outright flirting with the one in front of the Rook on his side. How could they possibly expect to put on a good show if the other side wasn't following the script? At least his pawns knew what they were doing: following the commands of his Queen, of course, a lovely young woman of slight build and luxurious wavy hair. She looked delicate, but it was difficult not to follow her commands when she delivered them in such a voice. Ah, she was so ... convincing. And beautiful. And he would do anything she asked.
Focus, Hiroshi!
He snapped back to attention, watching the scene -- his cue was not for some time yet, and it would not do to lapse before it arrived. The pieces fought valiantly, of course, so valiantly; so many sacrifices were made for his safety.
Sacrifices?
That wasn't in the script ... Yagyuu began to panic; this wasn't how things were supposed to go. His side was supposed to win -- where were all his pieces going? Was he doing something wrong? Had he misstepped? Why was White winning?
Jiroh could hear a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and spotted Hana-lady conversing with Fuji intently. He raised his eyebrows at her costume, which made him feel awkward, a little. She had skintight leather pants and a brassiere top on, with a long, flowing white cape. Jiroh hadn't felt this strange since that time he walked in on Mommy taking a shower. He averted his gaze quickly, but Hanamura had already called his name.
"Eh?"
"Jiroh, darling. Move forwards." She made a shooing motion with her hand, and he felt himself suddenly stepping out past the line of players. His feet jerked out against his will and he stopped dead in front of Saeki-kun, who was dressed in a strangely provocative black outfit.
"Hello, little one," Saeki-kun purred, and licked his teeth. Jiroh winced. This was getting weird.
He looked to the right of Saeki and was startled to see Tomoka-chan smiling and waving at him. Then, just as immediately, one of the black pieces lunged forwards and swiped her away with one arm, as if she weighed nothing. Jiroh nearly screamed, but clamped his hands over his mouth as the tall grey-haired youth leered towards him. Jiroh frantically looked for Tomoka, but she was nowhere to be found. The tall boy snarled at him. "You're safe for now, little girl." He laughed. "...But just 'cause I'm a sacrifice doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight." Puzzled, Jiroh gaped at him. What did he mean by that?
"Don't worry, Jiroh, we'll get to you in time. You're protected," Hanamura called. She continued shouting orders, and a few turns later he saw Ishida-sempai crush one of the black players, only to then be kicked out by a speedy youth with red hair.
Jiroh heard Niou shouting something, and turned to watch as he phased silently through a black player with blue hair to attack another enemy, a pretty boy with pair of fluffy black wings. Niou made short work of cutting him down with the sword and heaved a sigh of satisfaction when it was over, despite the harsh scowls of the other black players. Jiroh felt slightly faint--what was Yagyuu doing in this strange dream? On the other side of the board he heard Mizuki-kun's voice shout instructions, and was treated to a wave of flaming heat as someone nearby screamed and disappeared like the others-
-was that Sakuno-chan?? Jiroh wanted to crawl up and hide, desperately. This was too intense.
Hanamura's voice cut through the noise, and Jiroh watched as the game continued to play out--Momo-chan sempai swept up the board and got rid of two more black players. Fuji was able to get rid of Saeki-kun quickly as well.
"Jiroh-kun, you can move now. Get rid of Akutsu."
Jiroh twisted to look at her. "Wh-what? I don't know what I'm--" He felt his legs jerking again, and suddenly his face was pressed into Akutsu's abdomen. The tall boy with the grey hair...he leered down, and Jiroh wondered briefly what he was supposed to do. He reached out and poked Akutsu in the stomach; the monster disappeared in an instant.
"Good job," called Ryoma, and Jiroh felt his stomach flip, both from happiness and worry at the same time. Not Ryoma, too...was he going to get eaten? "I'm okay, Jiroh." He called, seeing the boy's stricken face. Niou waved from his square, too.
"We've got it under control, doll." He winked and Jiroh felt his face burning. Stupid Niou, thinking he could do anything. He took another glance at the board--Niou, Ryoma, Fuji, and Momo were the only ones left besides him. Hanamura and Ryoma's father were still safely tucked away in the back, with Momo and Fuji watching over them closely. The black players' numbers had dwindled considerably; there were few pawns left, but they were trapped. Yagyuu stood open, clear for attack. Mizuki-kun twirled his hair dangerously at Yagyuu's side. They were definitely planning something, even though it was clear they were losing.
Nanjiroh made a noise of disgust. "The kids think they've got us, even though we're clearly going to take this. Lookit--their king is shaking in his boots."
Jiroh gazed at Yagyuu carefully. If he really was shaking in his boots, he certainly wasn't showing it.
Yagyuu didn't have to take this. He wanted to shout, to tell the other players to stop cheating (they were cheating), and that they needed to follow the script and let him win, but that just wouldn't do; the King wasn't meant to shout or be loud at all -- that was the Queen's job, and she wasn't calling them on their foul play. She was just ... smirking. And Yagyuu was helpless.
All the more helpless when he found himself cornered -- the White Knight stood before him, hands splayed on either side, boxing him in.
"Checkmate!" the White Queen called out, and the audience roared with applause.
Yagyuu panicked. There were still some options open, right? He could still win ... "But --"
But 'checkmate', as it was, involved the board clearing, and the spotlight shining down on himself and his captor. The audience gasped, hushed, silent, a chill falling over the house. They were alone now, alone with everyone watching, with a thousand pairs of eyes on them, and the Knight shed his armor. When Yagyuu looked again he was center stage, they were, and Niou had his hands, Niou was leading as the music started, and Yagyuu could only follow his moves helplessly.
He ... enjoyed it. He could touch him, feel the skin of his hands and the heat of his body; he could feel his breath on his face as he pulled him in and then not, as he spun him out. The rhythm picked up, the spotlight grew warm, and Yagyuu knew he shouldn't be thinking of the eyes on them but the audience was so obvious, didn't Niou know that they were there?
But he pulled up from a dip, lips dangerously close to his ear, and he whispered, "You lead," and Yagyuu didn't have much choice but to do so. He knew how, of course, of course he did, and ... and it wasn't much better than letting Niou pull him along, because now it was his fault if he misstepped.
But Niou was stunning in that gorgeous red dress.
There was a swift change in the dream and Jiroh was swept to the side, standing among a gaggle of his classmates. He was startled to see Ryoma at his side, watching the dancefloor eagerly.
Oh, wait. Dancefloor?
Jiroh nudged Ryoma on the shoulder. "Um. Hi," He said, awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what a Ryoma would be like in Yagyuu's dream. If the blue cap with a gigantic pink feather poking out of it was any indication, Jiroh figured that in Yagyuu's dream people were likely to not be themselves.The Dream!Ryoma looked at him and put a finger to his lips, motioning for them to watch the dancers.
Jiroh spotted Yagyuu dancing along with a pretty girl who looked familiar to him, somehow; though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He looked back at Ryoma, who was now wearing a dress shirt with frilly sleeves and lots of frills spilling from the high collar. Jiroh raised his eyebrows at it, but said nothing; he realized that everyone was dressed equally as fancy, although it had to be noted that there was an abundance of strange, magnificently decorated hats like Ryoma's. Yagyuu had an eye for detail, it seemed.
Jiroh nearly wailed at the sight of his own dress. He was back in that awful lolita outfit that Yagyuu had put him in that one time, before his body had been stolen. In his mind, Jiroh replayed the scene of Yagyuu's untimely demise at the hands of godzilla several times.
"They're dancing," Ryoma explained, a bit redundantly, and brought Jiroh back to the situation at hand. He sighed. "Isn't Niou perfect for him? They're so good together."
Now nothing surprised him. Jiroh took a better look at the girl dancing with Yagyuu. Turned out it wasn't a girl after all--it was Niou, wearing a slinky red number and dangerous-looking high-heels. Jiroh noted that Niou had impressive legs, but then felt the backs of his eyes burning. Not a good thought!
"Why are Yagyuu and Niou dancing?" Jiroh demanded, and grabbed Ryoma's arm. Looking strangely docile, Ryoma smiled at him sweetly. It was...creepy. Jiroh didn't much like this dream Ryoma's personality, especially since this one was too nice to be really Ryoma. But it looked like him and that was good enough. ;lt3
"Because they love each other, of course. And Yagyuu wrote the script. He can make it go however he wants."
"But they can't," Jiroh said, feeling annoyed. "You love....you love Niou..." He said, voice cracking. He didn't like to admit it aloud that he knew about Niou and Ryoma, but it was the truth (even if he was working on making it not the truth).
Ryoma eyed him strangely. "What? That's ridiculous. Niou and Yagyuu belong together. Here--quick. Give me your hand." Ryoma snatched up Jiroh's hand, and Jiroh blushed madly.
"R-Ryoma, I-I--"
Someone much taller elbowed past and announced it was their cue. With a sudden rush, the people in the wings bursts outwards and onto the dance floor, and Jiroh felt Ryoma's arms encircle him as he was swept out.
With impeccably timed moves, the extras begin twirling choreographed dance moves around Niou and Yagyuu, yet still allowing them to be the main attraction. Jiroh was torn between relishing the feel of Ryoma dancing with him and keeping an eye on Niou and Yagyuu. They spun around and Jiroh was dancing alongside Niou, who glanced and winked at him.
"Yagyuu," Jiroh whispered, and tried to catch his eye. "Yagyuu!"
Yagyuu was all but oblivious. There was the music, and the spotlight, and Niou; everything else faded into the darkness, unimportant. He wanted so very much for this to be right. It made perfect sense in this realm, in this world of spins and dips and bright sequins and the golden eyes smirking up at him.
This, he thought, would be a much better place to kiss Niou than his room had been. It would fit his character if he did it here -- what had he been thinking, kissing him back then?
But he heard another voice -- a younger one -- calling his name urgently, and Yagyuu found he had to look away from Niou's eyes if only for a moment. He did not move his hand from the other boy's waist, did not skip a beat in leading the dance, as he turned to face the one who was calling him.
Jiroh fixed his most intense glare on Yagyuu, who looked like he was about to lean in and bite Niou's nose off, or something.
"We hafta talk," Jiroh said, his voice rising from a whisper. He didn't care if they were in the middle of some sort of...play. The music was almost drowning out his words. "You gave me really really tasty ice cream--except it was EVIL--and then I trusted you and you STOLE my body and I am very very angry at you," He tried his best to look intimidating. It was difficult to appear threatening, seeing as he was stuck in such a girly dress. The frilly headpiece wasn't helping, either.
"How are you gonna make it up to me?" he asked.
The girl that Echizen-kun was dancing with was saying something, but Yagyuu couldn't quite make it out. The voice sounded like it was more in his head than in his ears, and he understood then. He sort of remembered something about ice cream, but it had been another life, and he didn't know everything, and this girl was trying to take him away from Niou. Yagyuu didn't know if Niou would still be there if he went away.
So he flung his partner out in a spin, careful to keep a hold of his hand, and leant down to speak to the girl in the fluffy dress. "I'll bring you some toys for Christmas," he said. All kids liked toys. "And a part in my next play." That would work, girls liked fame.
But the girl's expression said that that clearly wasn't enough, or it was enough, but the wrong kind of penance for the sins Yagyuu had committed. Seven Hail Marys? No, that wasn't right, either. Chinese water torture?
"I'll bring you what you always wanted," he promised instead. "Your own heart's desire in exchange for my own." And he pulled Niou back, close to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, and kissed him thoroughly. If he could have this, then the girl could have Echizen, and all would be well, all would be right with the world.
He gave the girl a pineapple as a promissory note, and continued to dance dangerously close to his partner, hands joined and bodies swaying to the quickening rhythm. Of course: pineapple salsa. And hot, hot heat. And far more skin, and touch, and contact, and hotter, deeper kisses.
He blushed intensely. "H-heart's desire?" He glanced at Ryoma, who was still smiling at him weirdly, and then back to the pair engaged in...some rather dangerous-looking kissing. It was only a dream, though. Yagyuu couldn't really promise him something like that....could he?
There was a nudge in Jiroh's side and he realized Ryoma was trying to get him to start dancing again. But he couldn't move right away--not after witnessing the horrors that were Niou and Yagyuu kissing. Like grown-ups.
He grimaced, tucked his pineapple--yes, his very own pineapple--under one arm and swung around with Ryoma in time to the pulseating music, glancing over at Yagyuu when he could. He was alarmed to see that Niou was....was...really interested in...kissing Yagyuu. It made him shudder involuntarily.
Jiroh's mind began racing. Ryoma and Niou were...taken. Together. But Yagyuu wasn't. And Yagyuu dreaming about Niou like this meant something important. It could just be another weird dream, he supposed, but that rarely happened. Yagyuu was serious and weird all the time, wasn't he? He would only ever dream about this if he really, really, really wanted to hold someone's hand in the real world.
A slow smile spread across Jiroh's face, and he suddenly felt very devious indeed. He dropped the pineapple on the floor and tried not to step on it as it suttled between his legs to find its own dance partner.
Dream Ryoma was looking concerned. The feather in his hat drooped a little. "Something wrong?"
Jiroh shook his head. "Nope-nope. Just thinking." He paused and felt a tugging in his belly. Something was pulling at him, making its way through the dream...it felt like Yagyuu was going to wake up very soon, which was good, because Yagyuu and Niou were not quite dancing on the floor so much as they were dancing on each other, and Jiroh's retinae were beginning to burn because of it. This was so wrong. But really, didn't it help him out all the more?
He felt it again, stronger. The room was beginning to blue around the edges, and Dream Ryoma leaned in gently to kiss him on the cheek. He gasped and stumbled back a bit, but then the Ryoma was gone, too, and he knew it was time to leave. He glanced at Yagyuu and felt himself smile again, this time a wide, toothy grin. If he helped Yagyuu get what he wanted, then maybe Yagyuu really would keep his promise and give him his heart's desire?
Distantly, Yagyuu could hear the music changing, growing fainter and farther away, and he became more aware of the pillow beneath his head and the thick black comforter covering his body. He pulled it closer -- the building had been freezing for weeks now, and it was only getting colder -- as if by doing so he might return to wherever he'd been.
He clung to the fragments of dream, feeling both aroused and embarrassed by what he'd been thinking. Niou. And something about dancing, and chess -- or was it a play? Somehow the three themes seemed inextricably merged. Superceding all of that, though, was the phaser, and the image of his body, almost too close to Yagyuu's in a dark, hot room, and ...
... and it had been indecent. Almost ... decadent, really, but nothing that he would ever call 'frivolous'. Perhaps it hadn't been all Mizuki's personality stuck inside his own, back then, that bade him to kiss Niou's lips. But if not, then that meant it was ... something that Yagyuu wanted himself. And that ... that was okay, right?
Well ... yes and no, but what was okay in the waking world was less important when it had been just a dream. He smiled to himself before reaching for his glasses -- what he could remember of it had been a very nice dream. He let the smile fade as he got ready for his day, but couldn't help going back to that image, that feeling, again and again. Distracted? Maybe. But he could live with that.
For now.
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