Ranko exhaled nervously, stepping up to the microphone stand on the plywood platform that made up her kingdom. It felt too empty tonight. Hitomi and Emi both were needed at the Yokai studio to work on a music video for another artist. Shinji hadn’t showed up, either, and they’d not spoken since he walked out on their band meeting two days ago. Mei hadn’t heard from him, either, not that she much cared to after his outburst.
At least one part of Ranko’s world felt like it was returning to normal – for the first time since early December, Izumi stood behind the service bar, looking as radiant as ever in a shiny silver cocktail dress. And that’s tame compared to what she’s gonna stuff me in for the wedding. Gods help me.
Because all three of Ranko’s youngest sisters were working, Akane had the night off, but Ranko had asked her to come in anyway, and she’d taken her usual place at the VIP table. She really needed Akane close right now, and she’d been saving the song she was about to sing for just such a moment.
“You guys ready to hear something new?” Ranko willed herself to smile, waving to the crowd. She may not have shown much excitement, but the crowd certainly did, roaring in approval as Jacob’s synthesizer came to life with a slow ballad. The songstress blushed, looking down at the black Mary Jane shoes she’d paired with her black pleated skirt and a blue crushed velvet tee.
Ranko balled her left fist loosely and held it fingers-down, rubbing the back of it in three circular motions with her fingers as she looked off to her left.
Akane blushed. She’d learned that gesture from Nanami, whose girlfriend Mitsuru had a hearing disability. It was the Japanese Sign Language representation of I love you. Ranko had picked up on it immediately as a way to acknowledge Akane discreetly from the stage. She began singing with no musical accompaniment.
“You just got home from a long, long day, and you wanna let off steam. It’s my fault. I should be ready, but I was lost in a daydream. I could open up my closet, pick out something for our date, but the more I think about it, you know what really would be great?”
Crash’s guitar and Ken’s bass drum joined the rhythm, which nearly doubled in intensity as Ranko reached out, snatching the microphone stand and pulling it closer to herself, trying to will herself to come to life with the music. I may feel like shit, but damn it, I wrote this for Akane, and I’m going to show it to her properly, Ranko thought to herself.
“Let’s skip our dinner plans! I don’t need red wine.” Ranko waved her hand dismissively, as if pushing something away. “Just a blanket and some popcorn and your arms will do just fine.”
She twirled a loose strand of her flame-red hair around her finger. “Let’s watch old movies, and you can play with my hair. There’s no dress code for our living room, and if there is, I just don’t care!”
She made a skeptical face, shaking her head. “Tonight, Cinderella… is saying no to the baaa… aaa… aaa… aall…” Turning to Akane with a soft, loving expression, her voice took on a hauntingly quiet tone. “Because I’d rather stay right here with you tonight, wearing nothing at all.” Her voice climbed halfway through the fifth octave as she uttered the final three words of the chorus.
Akane blushed. She remembered more than one evening where this exact conversation had taken place between herself and her lover. Of course, the nature of Ranko’s skin condition had all but given Akane romantic superpowers, and rarely was there a time where her redheaded soulmate would choose literally anything else other than the feel of Akane’s fingers on her flesh.
“I could put on that white sundress, the one you like on me.”
The one you dressed me in on our first day together, remember, baby, she thought to herself. The one I was wearing the day you asked me to be your wife?
“There’s that dark blue denim skirt that doesn’t reach down to my knees.” Ranko giggled, using her fingers to mark a line about halfway down her thigh with a smirk.
“We could go more formal, break out my bridesmaid’s gown, just in case you wanna show me off at all the hottest joints in town…” The crowd roared, acknowledging that they were in one right now.
Izumi smirked up at her sister. Oh, like you’d willingly wear that again, Izumi mused. You should know better than to sing about fashion on a night I’m working, kiddo.
“I don’t know what you’re planning. Making me pick’s not fair. You can dress me up if you wanna…” Ranko winked her left eye with a devious grin, turning her head off toward the VIP table. “... but you don’t have to take me anywhere…”
Blushing, Akane grinned as a devious thought crossed her mind. Oh, challenge accepted, lover girl. You’re lucky it’s not a school night, because you won’t be sleeping much.
“You’ve been waiting for this all week long, and baby, I have too, but there’s nothing in my closet that looks as good on me as you… so let’s skip our dinner plans! I don’t need red wine! Just a blanket and some popcorn and your arms will do just fine.” Ranko let the microphone stand support itself, crossing her arms over her chest and hugging herself as she swayed.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Let’s watch old movies, and you can play with my hair. There’s no dress code for our living room, and if there is, I just don’t care! Tonight Cinderella’s saying no to the baa-aaa-aaa-aaall, because I’d rather be right here with you tonight, wearing nothing at all…”
Swaying her hips, Ranko looked back at the half of her band that had showed up for tonight’s performance, swallowing hard as her eyes fell on Crash. She noticed that his eyes were not on the crowd, but on her.
Does he always do that? I can’t ever tell, ‘cause he’s always behind me. Is that normal? Is it just ‘cause I’m singing, or ‘cause I’m in front of him? Or, does he just wanna stare at my ass? Does he really still feel that way about me like Akane said? Gods, I hope not. He’s too good a guy to have to suffer like that, waiting for something he’s never gonna get.
“I’ve got all these outfits from all my nights on stage. My sister told me all the magazines say that they’re the latest rage.” Izumi laughed, giving Ranko a cheer and holding up the bottle of vodka she was pouring from.
“Wore this one for Halloween…” Here, the crowd whooped, remembering the corset-and-petticoat witch outfit she’d donned for their party that night. “And here’s my Christmas dress. This green outfit from my birthday party’s fine enough, I guess.”
Ranko bit her lip, bending her knees and rolling her hips teasingly. “My little pink dress is perfect to break your concentration. The way it fits me doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination.”
Akane blushed again. No. No it does not, Ran-chan, she thought with a quiet giggle.
“And here’s my leather jacket from when I first sang Rise, but tonight the only thing that I want on me is your eyes.” The audience howled in approval at the mention of her biggest hit, though judging by the reception it had been receiving, Sneak would soon be taking that crown – and that only if Not Yours, Don’t Touch didn’t beat out both of them. As the bridge began, Ranko glanced back to Crash with a hard swallow.
Thinking about Sneak had just brought her impossible choice back to the forefront of her mind. A stranger, or the mayor of the friend zone? Who am I gonna have to submit myself to? Akane still hadn’t come up with a better answer, and they were running out of time.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by the synthesizer changing keys, reminding her to finish the song she’d started.
“I could do an old tee shirt, a worn-out pair of jeans. But I can’t wait for laundry day, ‘cause you know what that means…”
She willed herself into another bright smile. I’m sorry, Akane. I love you, and you deserve better than this performance. I just can’t get out of my own head tonight.
Akane bit her lip, trying not to visibly cringe. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but she’s not right up there tonight.
“We get to order some takeout, open our own red wine. I get to lay here on a blanket getting some of your quality time. Turn off the movie, and you can play with my hair…”
Ranko slid her fingers up her leg, lifting the hem of her skirt ever so slightly to the adulation of most of the male contingent of her audience, and a few of the girls too, Akane among them. “There’s a dress code for our bedroom, and baby, I’m already there. Tonight Cinderella’s saying no to the baa-aaa-aaa-aall, because I’d rather be right here with you tonight, wearing nothing at all.”
The crowd roared in its approval, but Ranko barely managed a bow before turning back to her bandmates. “You guys wanna go ahead and take ten?”
Crash nodded, starting to lift his guitar over his head to unstrap it from his chest. “Great set, Ran-chan. They loved it.”
“Whatever. I sucked. Sorry, guys. I’m just gonna throw out a cover or two, I guess.” Ranko sighed, shaking her head. She could barely even make eye contact with Crash as he left the stage with Jake and Ken.
Sighing as she realized Ranko wasn’t going to come down from the stage after the song, Akane slipped out of her chair and walked over to the bar, slipping behind the counter. She blinked with surprise, looking up at Yui. “Um… Yui? What are you wearing?”
The blonde blushed, hiding her face a bit. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a loose black tee shirt, and a black men’s sports coat. “What do you mean? This is perfectly fine, Akane.”
Tapping her fingers on the bar counter, Akane just offered her soon-to-be-sister-in-law a skeptical smirk. “Uh-huh. What happened?”
Yui’s face was neon red. “I… um… I was over at Sakura’s, okay? And we were messing around, and my dress got… well, it just needed to be washed, and I didn’t have any other clothes over there. Her stuff doesn’t fit me, but an old boyfriend of hers left this in her closet.”
Laughing, Akane put her arm around Yui’s waist. “Well, you look great. But you’d better be careful. You might almost pass as a…” Akane’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, and she gasped audibly, never finishing her sentence.
“Um, sis? You okay?” Yui waved her hand in front of Akane’s face. “Hellooo?”
Akane whirled, darting the few feet over to the service bar and grabbing Izumi by the wrist. “Izzi, c’mere, quick!”
The brunette gave her sister a confused shrug as she was dragged into the back room. “Okay, Akane, what’s all this about?”
Akane grinned, standing on her tiptoes to peek over Izumi’s shoulder and make sure they weren’t followed into the kitchen. “Izzi, I need a favor, and it’s gonna be tough, but if anyone can do it, it’s you…”