CHAPTER 40: DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

Shion pointed to a run down, dilapidated building that looked like a strong gust of wind would convince the army or termites holding it up to abandon ship.

 "There's the place I was telling you about," she said.

 A glowing neon light hung above the front door: Dick's Discotheque.

 I nearly facepalmed. "I hope that's a reference to Philip K. Dick," I said.

 Shion raised an eyebrow. "Why's that? Afraid it's a reference to you?"

 I just rolled my eyes.

 "Oh, it's a shame that it's closed," said Yuki. "It looks like such a fun place. I would have loved to have come here when I was alive."

 She sighed and spun. Her ghostly, bare feet floating inches above the muddy road. The dance hall's neon lights reflected through her misty form in the puddles on the street.

 Then she stopped. "I do miss dancing. It's not quite the same when you can float."

 Inwardly, that stung. I'd love to take Yuki dancing but how?

 "You're right, Shion. This place looks awesome in spite of itself. I can't wait to come here this weekend."

 She took a breath and scoffed. "Really? Are you sure, Ryu? You want to hang out with a bunch of monsters?"

 She practically spat that at me.

 "What was the deal with telling the bus driver that bs about you going to a school with a bunch of monsters? Like whatever you are is totally human, huh?"

 "Shion," Yuki said.

 "Just wait a second, Yuki," I said. "Shion's right. She's got every reason to be pissed off at me. I… I really messed that up bad."

 Yuki nodded and floated backward half a step. Shion crossed her arms and looked down her nose at me.

 I took a breath. "I'm sorry about that. There were so many other ways I could have said it."

 Shion's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. There were. But you said it like you're different than the rest of 'us'."

 I let my shoulders drop. "…and I'm not, am I?"

 She didn't move an inch. She let her stare bore daggers into my soul. "You have snake-eyes, Ryu. What'd your file say? You one of those lizard people that secretly rules the world, or just a typical insensitive jerk with novelty contact lenses?"

 I looked up at her, unsure of myself. "It said 'black dragon spirit', but I have no idea what that means. And I am a dumbass, Shion. Not because I don't know what I am, but because I put myself on a side that's different from you."

 She looked away. "There. You admitted it. You, Ryu Kazeyama, are now, and from this day henceforth, a first-class dumbass."

 Yuki stifled a laugh. "He got a promotion."

 Shion nodded. "So… black dragon spirit, huh? That explains so much."

 The way Shion said it, like she was putting puzzle pieces together, made me feel lightheaded.

 "How so?" I asked.

 Suddenly, the air around us began to buzz. Shion, Yuki, and I all looked up at once at the world exploded into gross, yellowish light and electric singing.

 "Oh my god, the streetlights are hell," said Shion.

 "It's getting late, and I've got to get back to the onsen," I said. "Otherwise my mom, er, I mean Hibana'll be mad that I skipped supper again."

 Shion took a breath and laughed. "Listen, Ryu. Don't you dare tell her that you hang out with me after school. The last thing I want is Hibana's narrow ass coming up to me and yelling about how I don't make sure you're eating enough. I'm not your mother and I'm too much of a walking disaster to even consider taking you under my wing."

 She pointed at me, the yellow street light making her pale skin softly glow.

 "Anyway, I'm not your handler, your girlfriend, or your babysitter. You start falling apart, that's your problem."

 She paused. "…Just don't skip dinner again, okay? Moron." She added flatly.

 Yuki giggled. "Golly, Shion. Nurture really is like second nature to you."

 Shion's mouth dropped open so I smiled.

 There's a nameless park outside of town with a graffiti-tagged bench, a couple of not-quite-as-dead-as-the-forest trees, and one of those "grandma's livingroom yellow" streetlights.

 Shion rolled her bike and propped it beside the bench. Then she casually leapt over it, turned towards me, and sat down. She patted the empty spot beside her.

 I sat down too and Yuki floated beside me.

 She tried to sit on the bench but floated about half an inch above it.

 I pretended not to notice. Then, Yuki crossed her legs and subconsciously kicked every couple of seconds with her bare feet.

 The last rays of the sunset caught perfectly in her silver/white hair, turning it golden orange.

 Shion sat on my other side. Her pale skin looking pristine marble. The tips of her fangs made a tiny indent in her lower lip.

 "I wish I could stay here forever," I said.

 Shion didn't laugh. Yuki didn't smile. But for a second, no one floated, no one fought, and no one fed.

 "This was the first place I came too when I arrived on the island," Shion said after a minute.

 The light buzzed overhead. The trees didn't rustle. The world held its breath, just for us.

 "It was right before I met you riding up the hill on my bike. I stopped here for a second because I realized that, for the first time in forever, I was up during daylight."

 I breathed in the salty Pacific wind. From up here, the whole town looked like a memory just waiting to fade.

 The onsen was a little higher up the hill. Then the switchback, and the road climbed to the top of the hill where Crescent Moon Academy sat, perched over Shin'yume like a gargoyle.

 "I'm glad you showed us," said Yuki. "It's pretty here. And quiet. I can barely hear the waves from the beach. They're like a whisper. Oh, they're like me!"

 I smiled at her.

 Distant waves. Something between a hush and a half-remembered dream.

 Yeah, that sounds just like Yuki.

 Then I remembered something from earlier. "Shion, what do you know about this black dragon spirit stuff?"

 She smiled.

 Then she stood up.

 "Get your butt off the bench, Blondie. There's something I've wanted to do since I first met you."

 I stood up, believing I was ready for anything. "Oh yeah? Wha-"

 Suddenly, I saw Shion's fist flying like an arrow straight at my face. 

 I saw her fist flying through the air.

 Everything around me roared to life: the buzzing light overhead, Yuki's high-pitched scream, the gravel shaking as a girl jogs nearby, the moth's wings as it circled the light, even the whoosh of air around Shion's knuckles all pulsed and vibrated through the air, the earth, and my bones.

 Her arm came at me—but not fast.

 I saw Shion moving like she was in a dream. Or throwing a punch underwater.

 It was like I'd seen this punch before. Like I'd been watching her throw it just so I could follow its arc through the air.

 Her knuckles tilted, her shoulder dropped, her weight shifted, and I could feel the way her left foot drug across the dirt and grass beside the park bench. 

 She was throwing a textbook right hook. I saw it. All of it.

 Even before a fraction of a second passed, I knew exactly where her first was going to land, so I simply sidestepped and made sure I wasn't standing there.

 Her fist grazes air.

 And her eyes go wide as she grins.

 "Shion! Gracious me! Why are you fighting Ryu?" Yuki asks.

 I stand there as the rest of the world catches up with me.

 And a second later my knees buckle and I'm on the ground, clutching my stomach as I retch.

 "Shion!" Yuki yells again. I feel her cold presence by my side.

 "Yuki, it's okay. Relax. Stop yelling. I'm not fighting Blondie. He knows what's going on, right? What's the first rule?"

 I wipe my mouth off. Then I feel Shion's cold, stiff hands gently helping me get back to my feet.

 "Rule number one is show don't tell," I said, sitting back down.

 Shion nods, her hand on my shoulder beside me.

 "Right you are. I bet you feel like you just got hit by a truck, huh? Maybe you shouldn't have dodged my fist and let that hit you instead, huh?"

 I put my head in my hands. "What's going on?"

 "You've got snake-like reflexes. That's my best guess. Freak-a-zoids like us don't come with instruction booklets, do they?"

 Sometimes I didn't know whether Shion was the best friend I had, or a dark mirror that wasn't afraid to reflect the worst parts of myself with a smile.