Rated: PG-13
Pairings and warnings: secret, but I guess you know me...
Disclaimer: Some characters (C) Clamp, "Man! I feel like
a woman" (C) Shania Twain and Mutt Lange,
"Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered" (C) Rodgers/Hart.
Club Regina: Do You Remember Love?
Part 2
by Beth
"As you can see, I am very much real here," Sakura smiled.
"Wow!" Casey exclaimed. "This calls for celebration!"
"Casey..." the other singer sighed. "You drink too much. And you're due on stage in three minutes."
"Like they'll listen to me after having heard you..." Casey snorted.
A begloved hand was laid on her shoulder. "You underestimate yourself, Casey."
"Thanks, Sakura!" The gaijin girl hugged her friend and kissed a porcelain-white cheek. "I'm going to get out there and slay them! Just you watch!"
She bowed to the group at large, winked at Seishirou and rushed toward the stage. Three seconds later she ran head-on into Kamui, spilling his Coke.
"Sorry!" she apologized, dusting him off clumsily. "I'll buy you another one when the song's over, okay?"
"It's nothing-" the boy muttered hesitantly.
"Oh no, of course it is, and I can't possibly ruin your first visit to a nightclub!"
Kamui gaped. "How do you know-"
"The bouncer only lets in minors one time, unless they've got a regular's recommendation."
"Oh..."
"I'll recommend you the next time, honey, just tell him you're a friend of Casey's, right? Now I gotta go, song's on!"
Indeed, the band's guitarist already started torturing his instrument. Casey came up to the stage and grabbed her microphone, but instead of climbing the steps, she turned to the audience again. As the first chords of her song started, she raised her hands and gave a short wolf-whistle.
"I'm going out tonight-I'm feelin' alright!" she sang, winking at Kamui.
"Gonna let it all hang out..." She started to head across the dancefloor and towards the bar, swinging her hips.
"Wanna make some noise, really raise my voice,
Yeah, I wanna scream and shout!"
She punctuated this with a howl as she pirouetted between tables.
"No inhibitions, make no conditions,
Get a little outta line."
She graced a group of junior businessmen with a brilliant smile.
"I ain't gonna act politically correct,
I only wanna have a good time!"
She kicked playfully at a man's chair, almost sending him to the floor. Across the room, Sakura hid her head in her hands.
"The best thing about being a woman
Is the prerogative to have a little fun and..."
She reached the bar and turned back to face the room again. She leaned back, propping herself on the counter between Kamui and Sorata.
"Oh, oh, oh!" She whopped, clearly enjoying herself.
"Go totally crazy! Forget I'm a lady,
Men's shirts, short skirts...
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild!
Yeah, doin' it in style!"
She alternated between singing to the two boys on her sides and the men at the tables nearest to the bar.
"Oh, oh, oh! Get in the action - feel the attraction
Color my hair, do what I dare
Oh, oh, oh! I wanna be free
Yeah, to feel the way I feel..."
She threw her hands in the air and swung her head around, her red hair like the tail of a comet.
"Man! I feel like a woman!"
She threw a companionable arm around Kamui's shoulders before starting on with the second verse. Back at the table, Fuuma glared at her.
"I'm sure Casey-san did nothing that would justify the look you're giving her," Seishirou murmured.
"She's-"
"She's drunk," Sakura stated flatly. "Oh gods, I was supposed to make sure she didn't..."
"She's not having any problems with the song," Hiroshi tried to cheer her up.
"Yet. You'll excuse me - I have to talk to the band leader and change the line-up to songs she's less prone to forgetting."
"Does this mean we'll be hearing many 'Moulin Rouge' songs tonight?"
"Yes. And..." she hesitated. "If I may ask a favor of you, I would that she sat here when she's not singing."
"Staying out of trouble and out of the booze," Katsu nodded.
Before Sakura left the table, Seishirou took a brief hold of a begloved hand. "I am looking forward to your next song."
"I will attempt my best," she smiled sweetly. "And later I would like to... talk to you."
"Of course... dear."
"And I'd like to hear more about you, Mrs Sakurazuka," Fuuma added. He wondered how Satsuki had known, and then realized that all marriage records and employment contracts were computerized, therefore within Beast's reach.
By the bar, Casey finished her song with another expansive "I feel like a wo-man!" and got her microphone snatched out of her hand by a frowning Sakura.
"Go sit with Hiroshi and Katsu," the white-clad singer said. "You're a disgrace."
"Sure!" The red-head laughed and nodded. "Your wish is my command... and I promise not to drink anymore."
Kamui tried to talk to Sakura, but Casey grabbed his arm and dragged him along to the table. Sorata shrugged and followed them as the other woman made her way onto the stage.
She closed her luminous eyes as the music started. Then she opened them, and smiled bittersweetly.
"He’s a fool and don’t I know it
But a fool can have his charms," she mused.
"I’m in love and don’t I show it
Like a babe in arms."
She walked along the length of the stage, seemingly oblivious to her audience.
"Love’s the same old sad sensation
Lately I’ve not slept a wink."
"She hasn't, really," Casey muttered. "She stays up till dawn here, and then goes on to whatever she does during the day."
"Since this half pint imitation’s
Put me on the blink."
Seishirou chuckled silently.
"I’m wild again, beguiled again,
A simpering whimpering child again."
Sakura sang slowly, as if savouring the words.
"Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I."
"I have a feeling we're left out," Hiroshi noted. "Does this song hold a special meaning for you two, Seishirou?"
"I haven't heard it before," Seishirou admitted, "but the sentiments have been voiced... repeatedly."
"Oh, so you're the reason she's so sad!" Casey exclaimed. "Then as her friend, I have to warn you, either you mend your ways or I'll- Oi, prettyboy, stop glaring at Fuuma!"
Kamui seethed. "My name is Kamui."
"Prettyboy fits you better," she giggled. She turned to the other Ten no Ryu. "And you are?"
"Sorata Arisugawa..." The young monk seemed too amazed by the circumstances and company to even add his habitual 'call me Sora-chan'.
"Enjoying the show... Sorata, Kamui?" Seishirou smirked.
"Leave him alone," Fuuma muttered absent-mindedly. This caused one of the Sakurazukamori's eyebrows to rise slightly, but he decided to drop it and turned his attention back to the stage.
"Oh I lost my heart but what of it?
He is cold I agree."
There was a trace of resignation in Sakura's voice.
"Oh but he can laugh and I love it,
Although the laugh’s on me."
She sent another smile Seishirou's way. He smiled back, raising his glass in a silent toast.
"I’ll sing to him," she sang, tossing her long black hair.
"Each spring to him-" She lifted her left hand, spreading her long fingers and then clenching them as if grabbing - a branch?
"And long for the day I’ll cling to him." There could be no mistaking the direction of her gaze.
"Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I," she ended softly.
Another round of thunderous applause filled the room. Casey let out a long wolf-whistle and waved at Sakura, who smiled back. Seishirou leaned over to the red-haired gaijin and whispered something in her ear, which caused her to grin mischievously.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
Author's Notes:
Yes, both songs are missing some lines. Those were sung during various conversations. I tried to keep more-or-less in real-time with it all.
Casey is about 20, so she can be interested in Kamui (I'm not saying whether she is, though).
The description of Sakura singing "Bewitched" is based on Martha Shroeder's interpretation of that song.
"Moulin Rouge" does not pertain to the Paris nightclub of that name, but the Baz Luhrman movie. Two songs from which are upcoming. No, not "Lady Marmalade" ^_~
Seishirou, Subaru, Fuuma & Kamui: Thank god!
Beth: *pout*
(if you've no idea why they're so relieved, see my infamous version of Lady Marmalade)