Post by Ayami on Feb 1, 2021 19:52:49 GMT
[Babystep Weights Applied, PL gains doubled!]
The Citrus Sands Disco Palace...The Elfen inventor's journey to master her own skills had taken her to this establishment. As she arrived music was already booming from inside the place, echoing out into the late evening streets and announcing to all that this was a place to let loose and dance the troubles of the outside world away. Some part of her mind held doubt...Doubt that this line of thinking would lead anywhere. That doubt was intermixed with intimidation, certainly the Elfen could dance. But could she DANCE? Ayami took a deep breath and forced her doubt and fear away into the back of her mind. She strolled right through the front door as though she owned the place! Breaching the threshold into the Citrus Sands the music immediately increased in decibels due to no longer being absorbed by the exterior walls of the establishment. The smells were a mixture of incense and cheap cola, a neon sign above the bar featured an animated scene of dancing palm trees and listed the disco palace's name in vibrant colors of pink and blue. The bar was beautifully decorated and a white foggy glass shelf held various bottles of unknown drinks with a counter below it to hold one's bar-tending equipment. The bar itself was a deep mahogany finish that shined underneath the pink and purple lights that hung above the bar from the ceiling. The entire place was filled with the buzz and murmur of people conversing with one another at various mahogany tables which each had blue suede chairs. A table in the corner of the place featured booth seating that wrapped around it. The floor was like something out of a 90s arcade, featuring stars in neon colors emblazoned on a black floor.
And in the middle of the room sat the center-piece of the Citrus Sands:
A disco dance floor with panels that changed into all manner of wild and beautiful colors. The floor was raised very slightly and each of it's four corners had wood panel partitions separating the rest of the place from the dance floor. The ceiling in the center area was raised very slightly and held up multi-colored spotlights which dipped and spun their lights all over and a disco ball which reflected the ceiling lights above. There were already people in the center stage, dancing together as the crowd cheered and watched on in great interest. Ayami walked further in and took a seat at the bar, turning to watch the spectacle going on. As she did so the clinking of a cup rang out behind her as a man cleared his throat.
"Can I get you a drink?"
He looked at the elfen expectantly, waiting for a reply. The young inventor waved her hands dismissively in a panic, she was only 17! She DEFINITELY couldn't drink, and wouldn't have been allowed to anyway!
"U-Uh no sorry! I'm only 17 years old!"
The bartender simply gave a nod, smiling as he closed his eyes and focused on cleaning a cocktail glass with a silken white cloth. He gave a light chuckle in response to her panic.
"Young blood huh? Guess you must have come here for the dancing then. I keep telling the boss we need to start serving non-alcoholic but he just doesn't listen."
Ayami blinked, turning her head and looking back at the man in surprise by his statement. From those words she could make only one assumption.
"You get a lot of..."Young bloods" here?"
He simply gave a nod, setting the glass down on the smooth mahogany bar top and reaching for another dirty glass, swiftly repeating the cleaning motions he had done with the previous one. As he cleans the glass with swift skill he responds to her question
"Yeah, a lotta kids come here once they hear about boss's dancing skills. Mostly just teens looking to learn from him, but there are more than a few of 'em who think they can challenge him and win. Personally I think it's foolish but I don't judge. I just serve drinks."
"Boss"...And the boss dances here? Ayami begins to wrack her brain trying to piece everything together...So the owner of this place liked to dance, that much made sense. Nobody would seriously open a place like this in good faith if they didn't have interest in it themselves. "Disco Palaces" weren't exactly lucrative choices for someone looking to get rich so often were only operated by hobbyists. But then this guy was apparently so good at dancing that kids came from all around to challenge him and admire him? So he was the owner, he was a dancer, and he was good enough to draw crowds. Then who was on the floor right now? Ayami looks over at the dance floor to see the two people locked in groovy combat and then turns back to the bartender.
"So who is that out there right now?"
The man glances over at the dance floor, raising a hand over his eyes to focus his vision...He turns to face the elfen seated at the bar in order to answer her question
"Oh that's the boss now, speak of the devil!"
The boss was on the floor! And the boss...Was...
"MIRACULOUS J OWNS THIS PLACE?!?!?!"
Suddenly the music stopped! The crowd hushed and the two dancers stopped their competition and stared over at the girl who had just let out a deafening shout! The entire place was drawn to her attention now all because of her expression of surprise! The Elfen slinked back on her bar-stool, looking quite apologetic
"E...Er...Sorry?"
After an awkward silence filled the entire disco palace the music THANKFULLY started back up and the crowd soon returned to their murmured conversations. However the competition on the dance floor had ended, and the man himself stepped off stage, approaching Ayami! Miraculous J...Pop superstar and expert dancer. He was known the world over for his dancing skill and music! It seems that the elfen wasn't the only one who remembered their dance off at the arcade...He took a seat next to her, spinning as he landed on the stool without missing a beat or landing "off balance".
"CHIKA WOO! What brings you to my little dance paradise under the sun?"
Well, it wasn't exactly as graceful as the inventor hoped, but she had gotten to meet the man himself once again. If she was going to learn the styles of dance, he was the one who could help her do it. She grinned brightly at him under the colorful lights of the Citrus Sands
"I've been struggling for so long with my skills...I want to learn the ways of the dance!!!"
Miraculous J spun circles in his seat, suddenly stopping on a dime as he pointed at her dramatically.
"Another student to the...CHIKA BOOM!!! School of dance! I'll teach you all the ways to win the hearts of the people!"
Ayami's mood got a significant boost at this good news! But she was definitely surprised. He was willing to teach her with no expectancy? No "Prove yourself to me first!"? None of that? Well...She certainly wasn't going to complain, but the elfen had to be sure of just why.
"Just like that? You're gonna teach me without anything in return?"
Miraculous J hopped off of his seat, moon-walking a few steps away before spinning in place and stopping with a free hand pointed right at the young inventor.
"Someone like you's got potential don't you know? Besides I can see the true desire in your heart! The desire to win someone's love with those swift feet!"
Ayami's eyes went wide. Well it was true that she wanted to impress a certain someone... But was that really her main goal all along? She wanted to get better with her skills, that much is for sure, but the more she thought of it, the more she realized...Just how woefully incapable she was when it came to reaching the android's heart. She slowly gives a nod to the dancing king.
"I want to learn how to become the queen of the disco!"
Miraculous J extended his hand and opened his palm, looking at the elfen as his feet moved despite the man himself not budging an inch.
"Then take my hand and I'll lead you on a spiritual journey! A JOURNEY TO WIN HEARTS! WOO!"
Ayami reached out to grab hold of his hand and the pair hopped out onto the disco floor at the center of the club, sliding to a stop as they did so. Miraculous J released her hand and pointed to the DJ, motioning for him to change the music! In an instant the music shifted to something a little faster paced and a crowd once more gathered around the floor!
"Here is how you dance with passion! Just follow my lead and you'll get it in no time!"
The crowd began to clap to the beat of the song, and Miraculous J began to dance very slowly, showing her his moves in a calculated, easy to follow way.
"Repeat after me! Left foot forward!"
Ayami followed his instructions, sliding her left foot forward after he had done so.
"Left foot forward!"
"Good! Right foot back!"
He drew his right foot back and the elfen followed suit once again, bringing her right foot back.
"Right foot back!"
"That's how ya do it! Balance on your left heel and spin!"
He spun swiftly on his left heel, bringing his right leg in closer as he did so. Ayami was a quick learner and followed along perfectly to his slow paced instruction! He soon stopped with both legs placed squarely together and she matched it seconds after!
"Left heel spin!"
"You're getting it! Ready to pick up the pace? Side step right, side step left, left foot forward, right foot backwards! Now spin on your left heel and stop!"
The two began to dance in unison, stepping to the right then the left, putting their left feet forward, then their right feet back, they ended with a wild spin!
"Side step right, side step left! Left foot forward, right foot back! Left heel spin! Not done yet! Hop! Cyclone kick AND POINT!"
But this time Ayami added her own flair to the instruction, finally breaking free of needing instruction once she stopped spinning she slid her left leg back and leapt into the air, performing a simple upper mid-air kick with her right leg and then sticking the landing perfectly and pointing up to the crowd from a crouched position!
The crowd erupted into cheers as the two dancers bowed to them. Even Miraculous J began to clap after coming up from his bow!
"Looks like you've got the hang of it! But before you can really feel the rhythm you've gotta prove your worth in a dance off!"
Miraculous J spun in place for several seconds before stopping to perfectly point at the Elfen.
"DANCE. FOR. YOUR LIFE! CHIKA WOW!"
A group of six dancers watched from the side of the dance floor, each seemed to be increasingly more adept at dance than the last, but one thing was for sure...If Ayami wanted to learn the art of the dance, she would have to defeat all of them in a competition.
"You're on! LET'S DANCE!!!"
And so the girl who had come here to learn rhythm now prepared herself to challenge her own skill against that of her superiors. Would she come out on top? Or would she be a flop? Only the flow of the music could say for sure.
[TO BE CONTINUED...]
