Chapter 23: Dance-off

This little trip to the arcade certainly had been enlightening to Ishi. As in more trouble than it was worth for his cousin.

“I wonder when people are going to get privy to you being here?” He commented to Rinse as they wandered around. “Because when that happens, I’d like to not be standing next to you.”

“Usually that only happens after a half hour when I show up to a public place.” She answered. It sounded normal to her, but to him that type of life sounded absolutely dreadful. Who would want to be recognized everywhere? Though the irony here is that Ishi was also rather well known in town. Just that most people took that to not talk with him unless necessary. “I wonder what we should be doing next?” she wondered out loud, then noticed something about her relationship with Ishi.

When did they get so comfortable with each other?

Here she was hanging out with a boy her age. Something that the girl had never done since turning into her teens years. Shouldn’t this be something that breeds more anxiety inside of her? Was this because they weren’t actually friends, or perhaps, did they just grow into this naturally?

“Ooh, ooh!” Koto raised his hands as if he was in class. “You should try out the dancing machine.” He really wanted to see her dancing in person, so that was a great excuse for him to make the suggestion. “The one here is real special.”

“He’s not exaggerating.” Ishi agreed for once. “It’s not the type with those four steps. It’s a flat board with circles across that you step on for the moves.” A different way to describe the machine was to think of the popular game, ‘Uso’. Where players click on circles on the screens to the beat of a song. “But seriously, just because you’re an idol doesn’t mean you always gotta be dancing.”

“But I love dancing.” She responded by twirling on her foot in a circle. “How else did you think I became an idol?”

“Just wanted to make sure, that’s all.” He wasn’t going to fight her. A part of him felt a little bad that people kept asking her to do this on account of her profession. But at the same time, she seemed to want to always please. “Go ahead, but Koto please be more careful this time.” That boy ended up spraining his ankle the last time they played on this.

“Don’t worry, now come on Rinse.” He dragged her on top of the dance floor. The boy was just so excited that he forgot about the people around them as he selected one of the songs available.

“Hey look, isn’t that Rinse Hattori?” Someone took note of the rare sight. Of course getting a performance from anyone known for dancing would garner a crowd. In response to their interest, she gave them her trademark warm smile as the notes began to play.

Besides her was Koto who was elated to be able to have this chance to share a dance with an idol as their feet moved to the rhythm. This was a different experience than she was used to, having to react to the circles as they came compared to her rehearsed performances. Of course, a little improvisation wasn’t a mystery to her so this came easy.

Ishi stood towards the back of the crowd, arms crossed, watching the two of them having the time of their lives. That girl really was something else. He could tell how happy she was to put on a show and a smile for everyone. This wasn’t like before back at the beach.

“So this is your true form.” He commented to himself, knowing that no one else would understand what he saw. This performance was so much fun that everyone was getting lost in the moment. Even though it wasn’t supposed to be a game with singing, Rinse did start singing along with the lyrics.

To him, it really was hard to separate her livelihood from her personal self. Especially when she’d pull something like this out, making an impromptu concert out of thing air. That girl really was someone special, and somehow this was also his neighbor.

After this performance finished, that was when the trouble in his mind came to reality. A lot of people wanted to also share a dance with her, which given the number would be an impossibility. She also would be getting tired if she tried to do even a fair number from the crowd. Now it was his time to step up.

All right everyone, let’s not go too crazy.” The boy leaped up onto the stage to grab their attention. In this moment, he thought to himself. It turned out that it wasn’t just the youth he should be disappointed in. Pretty much everyone lost their minds when it came to a local celebrity. “We all know it’s not going to happen.”

“Ah great, it’s Ishi.” Someone complained out loud.

“Yeah, you already get plenty of time with her. You can’t just go dance with her.” Their whining was irritating his ears. Must people really be treating him different just because of his circumstance. Actually, this wasn’t all that different than how he was treated before she arrived to the town.

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“I don’t want to dance with her.” He responded to this crowd that was beginning to get a little rowdy. This was bad, since they were in a public place and he didn’t have the advantage of dealing with people his age. “I swear, it’s like people keep forgetting who I am.”

“Ishi, what are we going to do?” Koto showed his fear to his cousin. Of course, Ishi knew that they were in zero danger. It wasn’t as if all these people would hurt them or anything, they just wanted to have some fun. Which gave him the idea he needed in this moment.

“How about this? Hattori isn’t the only person that can dance. So why don’t we all have a little contest to see who’s the best. Then they can dance with her.” A little bit of a tournament excited the people around them as they cheered at the idea. Already he was mobbed by people wanting to put their hats into the ring, with others wanting to watch from the sidelines at the games.

The competition had begun as duo faced off against each other on the many popular songs for this machine. Meanwhile, the trio set themselves off to the side to observe the whole thing. Of course there would be no need of judges as their was a score mode in this game to decide the winner.

For Rinse, this was the most fun she ever had with dancing, and this time it had nothing to do with her. It turned out that there were a lot of entertainers in the crowd that was nice to see pulling off moves. Was this how people felt when they saw her perform? The perspective gave her a new view on how to really please an audience.

She wasn’t the only one getting into the fun. Everyone around them were cheering on the competitors. Their eyes were glued onto the dancers as the music filled the large room. Somehow, this was better to them than watching a popular idol perform.

“This is wonderful!” A man approached her. He was the owner of the arcade who was more than happy with the results here. “I haven’t felt this good in months. Who would’ve guess that getting people together like this could be so much fun. That’s Risne Hattori for ya, I guess.”

“Actually you should be…” She tried to respond to him, but he left just as soon as he came. After all, the people around them were having the time of their lives right now and he wanted in on the action.

But, why did he thank her? Sure, the girl got everyone hysterical over here. Yet it was Ishi’s idea that drove the whole thing. In fact, as she looked over to him where the boy was simply enjoying the show, he came up with a lot of ideas.

Sure, he’d say that he only did this to solve a potential problem, but this one gave everyone a lot of joy. That couldn’t have been an accident. Perhaps Otoya was right when he said that a lot of people seemed to be helped out by Ishi, regardless of his intent.

“Why did you come up with this?” She loudly asked him over the music. “You could’ve come up with something more luck based like before.”

“People forget that idols aren’t the only ones that can sing and dance.” He answered. “So sometimes, they just need a little reminder.”

When he said that, Rinse finally understood the boy standing by her side. The two of them weren’t so different after all. Maybe one could say their methods were polar opposites, but the results were very similar. They both made people happier, just in their own ways.

She inspired with her talents. Using song and dance to bring up the moods of others. By helping them live life to their fullest and to chase their dreams. Meanwhile he was brash and harsh. There was no holding back for this boy when it came to the words he said to others. But it was because of his direction that guided others when they lost their way. When they needed that one push to follow their true selves.

She didn’t tell him about her revelation. Chance were that he’d just deny it and call her silly for thinking of it, but how could one not see it? There was no way he could’ve done all this on accident. Even if no one was willing to give him any credit, she vowed to never forget his contributions.

“You know, I think they kind of forgot about you.” Ishi commented as they watched another pair duke it out. They seemed to be enjoying this more than what the prize was supposed to be. “Maybe we could sneak out and they wouldn’t mind.”

“Hehe.” She giggled at the suggestion. “I’ll be staying.” Rinse answered. “After all, we made a promise, and I keep those.”

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