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Of Light, Shadow and Love: Volume 2 Chapter 10 “Dance with me.” Lightsider
sat in thought, wondering to himself as his host showered and made ready. Shadowdancer
seemed very friendly, and for some reason, that still made him incredibly
uneasy. He was so preoccupied that he did not hear the bathroom door open. “Ah,
that will just have to do.” Shadowdancer spoke, causing Lightsider to look at
her. Shadowdancer’s
hair was already dry, and as he watched, was being caught up and wrapped with
a golden ribbon from mid-back and down. The ribbon wrapped itself around her
hair, like a living serpent of gold. Her sleeveless blouse hugged her body,
the collar diving down in a seductive V, revealing the curve of her breasts
and exposing her firm, flat belly. At the flare of her hips, the black skirt
she wore was barely enough to cover what it should… and to Lightsider’s
alarm, he realized was made of some kind of lace or knit. He could see
teasing little circles of her skin peeking through the fabric, all the way up
to her hips. Puffy ornamental sleeves were laced to her arms, a deep rose in
hue, and black knee-high boots completed the picture. The
general effect on the poor doctor was the same as when he saw Tohru barely
dressed in her bathrobe that morning. No man on earth could have kept
coherent against such an onslaught. However, since the effect this time was
deliberate, it hit him like a freight train full of sledgehammers. Her every
movement was evident upon her toned body. Her step was as smooth and as
powerful as a stalking panther’s, her muscles hard beneath her smooth,
rose-petal soft skin. He
simply stared, too stunned to even stutter or turn away, his heart hammering
in his ears. Shadowdancer
turned to her dresser, near her bed, and slid into it with careless grace.
Almost without looking, she picked up some eye shadow and with the expertise
of someone used to doing things quickly, she applied it. It was purple,
contrasting neatly with her outfit. Then she picked up some lipstick. This,
she applied with greater care. She drew her lips gently, caressing them with
the stick, making them glow warm and moist and red, her lips parted slightly,
with just a flash of her white teeth revealed. Lightsider
tried no less than three times to wrench his attention away from
Shadowdancer. He failed miserably all three times. To all appearances, she
was either blissfully unaware of his admittedly rude attention, or was so
used to it that she didn’t give it a second thought. A small
part of his mind finally managed to wrench his attention away from Shadow.
Lightsider started looking out the window with the air of a man who feared
death if he looked anywhere else. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of
his head, tickling his ear as it went down, the warmth of his body only an
indication of the fire the sight of her had lit in him. “Yosh,
that will have to do!” Shadowdancer hopped up from the padded stool and spun
toward him, with all the grace she was named for. “Don’t want to keep
Hoturi-sama and Manta-sama waiting.” Her hips swayed in an unconscious
movement meant to seduce, to draw in, the light crepe-fabric skirt fluttering
with every movement. “Uh, sure,”
Lightsider said, suddenly finding his voice. Hoturi and Manta. The names
meant nothing to him, but they still left an unpleasant trail through his
mind, like the glistening tracks snails made across lettuce leaves. He
turned and hazarded a glance at Shadow, just as she twirled a bit to feel the
effect, looking girlishly over her shoulder at her mirror. Her smile was
pleased, artless and a curious mix of sexuality and innocence. He quickly
snapped his attention back to the Megatokyo cityscape. Shadowdancer
swept past him, stepped up to the window, then exclaimed in dismay. “Oh no.
We won’t be able to fly out of here without being seen.” She pointed at the
giant searchlights that flared upward against the spires, announcing the big
rave. Lightsider
shrugged. “Most of Megatokyo knows I can fly already anyway,” he said,
forming his wings. “I… oh. I guess there would be trouble if someone knew I
was here?” “Um…
it’s not that. Jumping out of the tower with so many people around would
cause a stir I’d rather avoid….” she fidgeted. Lightsider
nodded, realizing that the sight of a man jumping from the topmost tower
would not be conducive to the festive atmosphere. “If
anyone asks, I’ll say you escorted me to the rave. Then you can slip away.”
Her expression was sheepish. “Sorry about this. We lost track of time….” Lightsider
looked at the door, and at his white wings. He reformed them into his
customary doctor’s coat, but the effect was the same. He couldn’t stand out
more at a rave if he was cosplaying a Rent-a-Zilla. He thought for a minute,
and concentrated. 
His
clothes quickly changed into a dark purple coat, all gold embroidery and high
collar, with a charcoal ruffled shirt underneath. Dark slacks tucked into
high boots completed the outfit. There was even a satiny black ribbon now
tying back his normally unkempt hair. He looked like a 16th century count. “Maybe I
can get out the door in this…,” he suggested tentatively, then blinked.
Shadowdancer was looking him up and down, then, she circled him. He held
still, aware of her eyes running over his body, her scrutiny was as sharp and
as spine-tingling as if she were touching him. Shadowdancer
returned to her spot in front of him, and nodded approvingly. “Let’s go then,
O Gackt-wannabe.” She offered her arm. “Who?”
Lightsider took the proffered arm with a smile. He was still sweating a bit,
but, as they say, clothes make the man. The Illusion was good enough that it
even fooled that part of Lightsider’s mind that turned him into a gibbering
idiot in front of attractive women. Shadowdancer
laughed. “You don’t know Gackt? Oi vey. Never mind….” With that, she led him
from her room. As the door shut behind them, Lightsider heard the rustle of
books and scrolls returning to their designated places by magic. He
quickly got lost in the winding passages of the CoM, but Shadow seemed to
know where they were going. Soon, they were standing by the inner entrance to
the Lightsider
winced slightly. The music was deafening, a rhythmic thump-thumpa-thump. It
permeated his being, invaded him and seized control of his heartbeat. Or was it
his heart that joined the beat of the dance? He was no longer sure. Shadowdancer
steered him past the predatory glances of several women, knowing that he
probably wouldn’t want to face them anyway. Pity he really wasn’t going to
dance. He’d be a smash hit here. Even as she led him, the music and the beat
called to her, and her body responded, swaying unconsciously to the beat, as
she strode ahead of him. Then she
turned and saw that he too, was caught by the addictive beat. She smiled at
him. What harm could one dance be? 
Lightsider
watched, entranced, as Shadowdancer typified her name. She glided and weaved,
seeming to be part of the music itself. Her lithe body stepped in between and
around and through the beams of effect lights like they were her dance
partners. Her arms embraced the darkness with abandon, and, for an instant,
Lightsider wondered what it would feel like for those arms to embrace him. His
question was soon answered. Shadowdancer smiled up at him, her eyes bright
with a need akin to arousal, a look that knotted his belly. Why the rush? I danced against her
before... what harm could a dance with her be? One
slender arm snaked about his waist and drew him into the crowd. He caught at
her, as the press of tightly moving bodies threatened to tear her away.
Lightsider pulled her close against his chest, and glared at a young man with
black leather clothes who tried to reach for her, unaware that he had bared
his teeth in a slight snarl of threat. The
young raver backed off, turning to find another dance partner and Lightsider
felt a small surge of triumph. Shadowdancer, pressed against him by the crush
of bodies around them both, did not see his expression. Her heart hammered in
her ears, her blood pounded, and there was only one way she knew of that
could ease her need. Lightsider
stiffened as he felt her palm ease up his back, and her other hand pull him
close. Her hips pressed against his, then moved away again. His mind froze
for a moment, but his body understood and moved with her. “Dance
with me.” Neither was sure who said it, but it was a plea that could not be
denied, any more than the rhythm of the music could be ignored. As they
had been perfect opponents in battle before, so were they perfect partners in
the dance. In the music, Lightsider forgot himself, as Shadowdancer abandoned
her senses and body to the beat. It pulled at them both like a puppetmaster
playing his puppets. They danced together, bodies barely touching, and when
they did touch, they were caresses so light that neither was sure they had
touched. When she spun away from him, his arms reached out and caught at her
waist, and pulled her back to him, her arching back thumping against his
chest. He bent over her, clutching her close as he lead her in a tight series
of gyrations. His nose buried into her long hair and his eyes lidded as he
drank in the heady mix of her own sensual scent and the jasmine perfume she
wore. Shadowdancer
closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his body moving with hers, against hers.
She reached up and caressed his cheek, combing her fingers through his bangs.
Her other hand fleeced down his thigh, as she pressed against him. They moved
together, bodies timed to the beat, as their hips ground against each other. Shuddering,
Lightsider bent, his lips almost touching the smooth skin of her long,
elegant throat, when she suddenly broke away from him, like a heron startled
from the lake. She spun toward him once more, laughing in the glory of the
music that held her enthralled, unaware that she herself, for that moment,
held him enthralled. Shadowdancer’s
eyes opened. They shone now, bright and lit with glee. She grinned at him,
and held out her hand to him Dazed, unaware
that the song was winding down, the music’s spell over him newly broken, he
reached for her as a drowning man would reach for land. Unexpectedly,
Shadow threw her arms around the good doctor’s neck and favored him with a
heavy-lidded smile. “That outfit’s awesome. You fit right in.” She clapped
his arm, then gave him a critical look him up and down. “Where did you get
the idea anyway? It’s really good.” Lightsider
smiled. “I spent some time wandering around “Well I
think that if you lingered, you’d find yourself with no lack of willing
partners . . . ,” Shadow murmured suggestively, pulling him a little closer.
Her intent was clear, though. She hadn’t any intention of sharing Lightsider
with anyone. Lightsider
felt like he was losing himself. He could feel the sensuality, the desire
pouring from Shadow like heat from a blast furnace. It triggered a
sympathetic response within his own soul. His hand started to reach for
Shadow again, to share the dance with her, then the next, and the next. He
would share the darkness and the music and the noise and the life of the Rave
with her, and after that, more…. “Shadowdancer!” Lightsider
turned with Shadow. Unconsciously, he’d caught hold of her elbow and put
himself between her and the voice. Fortunately, Shadow hadn’t noticed, and
glided around Lightsider to greet the owner of the voice. “Hoturi-sama!”
she called happily. “Manta-sama! I’m sorry I’m so late.” Those
names again. Lightsider didn’t know the two Mihoists who were approaching. He
just knew he didn’t want them anywhere around Shadowdancer. Lightsider
gritted his teeth. He wouldn’t let them take what was his without a…. Lightsider
stopped himself in mid-thought, astounded. Jealousy?! The doctor felt like he’d been doused with ice water. I’m… I’m… jealous over her?! The spike
of sudden cold seemed to strike straight down into Lightsider’s heart.
Suddenly, he wanted to get away, to be anywhere but next to Shadowdancer. The
sudden and simultaneous feeling of fierce attraction and violent repulsion to
the beautiful woman sent a wave of nausea through the pit of Lightsider’s
stomach. “I… I
have to go,” Lightsider gasped. He didn’t even look at Shadow. He didn’t
dare. He turned away suddenly and lurched gracelessly for the door. Shadowdancer
turned and watched him leave, surprised by the sudden action. Surprised, and
strangely hurt. Typically, rejection like this would have had raised
automatic emotional barriers against him, rejecting him in turn. But this…
Shadowdancer eyes widened at the intense pain Lightsider’s sudden departure
created. Lightsider
disappeared through the crowd, and went out the door. He stood outside for a
minute, breathing deep draughts of fresh air. He longed to just leap into the
sky. On an impulse he couldn’t trace or name, he turned instead and walked
slowly back to the door of the dance hall. He looked in, wondering if… yes.
There she was. Shadowdancer
tried to shake off the strange ache in her heart, and looked at her dates
appreciatively. They certainly knew how to dress for a rave. She smiled at
them, then without a word, strode away, her hips twitching in time to the
music. She knew they would follow her. Lightsider
gave a small sigh and turned away again. They were the typical Mihoist
followers. Smooth, debonair, and not a hair out of place. Oozing with style.
For the first time in his life, he wished he could be like that. Lightsider’s
fashionable garb melted away like the last snow of spring as he walked from the
Church and the dance. He wasn’t like that. He never would be. Entering ravers
stared at the shining white figure as he made his way against the incoming
hordes. He never saw any of them. Shadowdancer
had seen him peek in, and had also seen the look of longing in his face, as
if he wanted to join in the fun. For a moment, she willed him on, wanting the
quiet doctor to join her in the dance…. Then, with an expression of sadness
that she could not understand, he slipped away. Hoturi and Manta stepped up to
her, and the three of them began to dance. All her worries, cares and griefs
melted away…. But, the
look of desperate longing in Lightsider’s eyes remained with her for the rest
of the night.
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