Akane took her seat at the one table left on the floor, off in the side wing where the pool table and arcade machine used to be. The other tables were stacked behind her, freeing more space in the main bar for the crowd to stand. She looked around the room at the hundreds of assembled revelers waiting for Ranko to take the stage, and smiled warmly. She was so proud of Ranko for finding a way to reinvent herself so successfully.
Mei walked out onto the stage and the crowd erupted. “Hey everybody! Welcome to the Phoenix! We having a good time tonight?” The crowd roared. “That’s what we like to hear! But it’s not what you’re here to hear, is it?” She tapped her temple twice with the microphone, letting the thump thump echo through the speakers. “What could it be, what could it be… Oh! You’re here to see my little sister sing, aren’tcha?” Akane thought her eardrums would burst as the crowd responded. “Well, then I guess we better get her out here, huh? Hey Ran-chan! You ready?”
Ranko’s enthusiastic voice rang through the speakers. “You know it!” The crowd buzzed as Ranko ascended the stairs to the stage, the second microphone in hand. Akane whooped loudly as she passed.
“So…” Ranko leveled her hand over her eyes, surveying the crowd. “Have you all been good this year?” The crowd whooped loudly, and Ranko laughed. “Well, good news, everybody! You’ve still got a couple days before Christmas to screw it up! So let’s put some names on that naughty list, huh?”
Akane smiled up at her, watching her soak in the call and response from the crowd. Ranko looked as if she was having the time of her life. Whatever had happened to her hand yesterday, it was gone from her mind, and there was a joy and an energy in her eyes that Akane had only seen once before – the first time she saw Ranko on stage almost three weeks ago. The songstress looked off to the side where Mei was setting up the sound board, pointing at her and making the shape of a heart with her hands. Akane felt a pang of jealousy, but it quickly faded – she had barely met these women, but Ranko considered them her “sisters”, so it was unlikely anything was happening. Besides, it’s not like she and Ranko were a couple anymore, right? Right?
The speakers pounded to life with a high-energy remix of Jingle Bell Rock, and Ranko began to sing. The crowd joined in through the choruses, and Ranko stalked the stage back and forth, making eye contact with as many people as she could, rallying the crowd to the celebration. Her brow dripped with sweat as the hot red and green incandescent lights blazed on her overly sensitive skin, but she seemed not to care. Akane couldn’t believe that this was the same person who she had to threaten with a hammer in order to get a backup singer at parties just a year ago. But then again, a lot about the person up there had changed since last Christmas.
“Alright!” Ranko clapped her hands. “I’ve never had four hundred backup singers before! Not bad, everybody!” The crowd whooped loudly. “So, are you all ready for Santa?” Yet another roar came forth from the assembled revelers. “I don’t think he can hear you! We’d better call him! Ready? SANTA! SANTA!” By the second repetition, the crowd joined in the chant, and on the fourth repetition, the tape she had queued up with Mei blared out the speakers just as she had scripted it, and Ranko flowed from the chant directly into the verse. “SANTA! SANTA Claus is coming to town!” There was an almost sultry sass on her vocals and choreography that did not escape Akane’s notice. “He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good…” She looked back over her shoulder at the crowd off to her left, putting a mischievous twinge into her voice. “So, be bad, for goodness’ sake!” She winked and kicked one of her heels back behind herself, and the crowd erupted.
Ranko surveyed the massed partiers as her song drew to a close. People were clapping, cheering… she even saw a few video camcorders here and there. She still couldn’t believe this was all for her. Sure, people had always admired her talent as a martial artist, but folks pretty rarely applauded her for a fight. It hadn’t happened since… She swallowed it back. Not tonight, Mikado, she thought to herself. You can’t take this from me tonight, and you’ll never hurt me again.
She must have gotten lost in her thoughts for a moment, because the full bar regained her attention by chanting her name. “Ran-KO! Ran-KO!” She smiled, waving to the crowd, but still taking in the moment. They see me as who I am. Not who I was or how I got here. She looked down at the dainty lace glove on her right hand, her blackened knuckles still aching as she gripped the microphone. They don’t know where I came from. She raised her eyes to the anxious crowd, and an impish smile was all it took to rile them back to buzzing. But they know this is where I belong.
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She caught Yui out of the corner of her eye, still frantically shaking cocktails. She must have been exhausted already. “Hey, real quick - is everybody enjoying the drinks tonight?” Another assenting cheer rose from the patrons. “Then let’s all give some love to Yui and Ayako back there at the bar, huh?” She pointed with her open hand at the back bar, and both women raised the bottles in their hands in response to the cheering crowd. “You guys in the back! How’s Izumi treating you tonight?” The roar continued.
“Do I sound okay? If so, thank Mei! She’s running the audio and lights for our little party tonight!” Mei looked up from the papers and waved from the little makeshift booth and the crowd cheered again. “And let’s not forget Hana – the heart and soul of the Phoenix. We love ya, Mama!”
Hana waved from the saloon doors, yelling back, “Yeah, yeah! Now sing something, will ya?” The crowd laughed in unison.
“And, I’ve got one more person I want to mention.” Akane blinked, looking around. She could have sworn there were only four other women in the bar; did they grow on trees? Ranko lowered herself down and sat on the edge of the stage, dangling her feet off and crossing her ankles.
“So, there’s somebody here tonight that’s… really special to me. She’s been there for me through some stuff I couldn’t even begin to describe, and…” She turned her head to Akane, the sole occupant of the sole table, leaving no doubt to whom she was speaking..She smiled warmly – almost lovingly. “I just wanted to tell her thank you. For everything.” Akane blushed, hiding her face a little bit as the crowd cheered.
Ranko laughed into the microphone, scanning the throng with her eyes. “You know, it was actually Akane here that got me into singing?” A few whoops came up from the crowd. “Yeah, would you believe I used to hate it? And now, I couldn’t imagine my life without it. She used to make me get up in front of parties and sing with her, and it embarrassed the crap out of me.” Ranko reached next to herself and picked up the second microphone from where it lay on the edge of the stage, spinning it around in her left hand so that the handle side was offered outward to the lone table in the room. She leaned down into her own microphone with a devilish smile. “What would you all say to helping me return the favor?”
Akane’s eyes widened in shock as the crowd began chanting her name. She shook her head, all the blood in her body rushing to her face, and otherwise did not budge. Ranko grinned, the microphone still extended toward her once-fiancee. “You know how stubborn I am. I’ll wait here all night until you get your butt up here with me. You wouldn’t do that to all our new friends out there, would ya? C’mon!”
After a few seconds of the chanting, Akane rolled her eyes and stood, and the crowd roared. She made her way up the stairs, and Ranko rose to her feet, handing over the microphone. Akane shook her head with a grin, having not yet turned the microphone on. “I’m gonna get you for this, you know.”
Ranko grinned back roguishly, switching off her microphone just for a moment. “Is that a promise?” She switched the mic back on, turning her body away from Akane but lulling her head cutely to the side with a playful challenge in Akane’s direction. “I really can’t stay…”
Akane shook her head in amusement. That little minx! They had sung this song together at the last Christmas Ranko had spent at the Tendo residence, but even though she was in her feminine form, Akane had gotten a kick out of giving her the masculine side of the duet. By singing first, Ranko had flipped the script on her. Still, the musical gauntlet had been thrown and it was too late to back out, so Akane responded. “But, baby, it’s cold outside…”
Ranko took a few steps away from her, looking back over her shoulder and coyly playing with her braided hair. “I gotta go away…”
Akane smiled and shook her head incredulously. She strongly doubted this flirtatious act was for her, but the crowd was eating it up. “Baby, it’s cold outside…”
Ranko took another few steps away, putting on a shy face for the crowd. “This evening has been so very nice…”
Akane stepped closer toward her, singing her part as well. As the song continued, Ranko made a show of trying to get away, with Akane picking up on the act and giving chase. As the first verse ended, she closed the gap enough to really get a look in Ranko’s eyes, and there was an unexpected sincerity in her expression. “I ought to say, no, no, no sir. At least, I’m gonna say that I tried…”
As the second verse came to a close, Ranko took a step back toward Akane. “There’s bound to be talk tomorrow…” and she expected there might be. “I really can’t stay…”
Akane stepped within arms’ reach of her, and they harmonized together, smiling into each other’s eyes. “Ah, but it’s cold outside.” The crowd roared in approval as the song ended, but the two young women on the stage barely seemed to notice.