Eh, sorry for putting this on hold for a while, problem is I don't have much time on my hands these days. I didn't even get a chance to finish this chapter, it's supposed to be way longer than this. I was kinda hoping the whole thing would take only two chapters, but looks like it'll take up three. Oops?

Last time, Shinji (reluctantly) agreed to take Hikari's "dance lesson" after Reiji made him go to a formal dance with her as his date. Let's see what happens! This should be fun...

In the dark shadows, Shinji tiptoed around the tree-trunks, looking around cautiously. He looked left and right several times before creeping out into the small clearing beside the river where he had been earlier that day. That girl had told him to come here and meet her...

For a dance lesson.

Shinji shuddered.

He was too old to be afraid of the dark, but this was a pine-forest full of different species of Pokémon... including Ursaring, Beedrill, and others who wouldn't appreciate being woken up late in the night. He pulled out a Pokeball, and the sassy Sharp Claw Pokémon shot out in a white beam, crossing its arms and groaning.

"Behave," Shinji commanded angrily. It just shot a look at him, strutted over to a thick tree and sat between the twisting roots. He scowled, and then looked at his watch to know how long it had been. 7:22 pm.

The sky gradually became darker until it was pitch-black, and the full moon hung over his head, high up above. Weavile was snoring softly from the bushes. Shinji checked his watch again; how long had he been waiting?

It took about a few heartbeats for someone to finally come through the thick shrubs, while the sleeping Pokémon stirred, and then jumped in alarm. Shinji braced himself, and then relaxed as Hikari came out.

"Oh, hey, Shinji! You came!"

She grunted a little as she crept out of the bushes, with several leaves stuck to her and carrying a radio. Near her ankle, a small and hyperactive Buneary hopped around, until she saw Weavile, then they screamed in delight and ran off with each other in the forest, dragging Weavile by the arm. Shinji's gaze trailed after them in annoyance.

"Are you sure they should go?" He grunted, turning to the girl, who was setting up the radio next to him.

"Sure, they'll be back," she told him, waving her hand in dismissal. "Now, back to the topic...are we going to dance or what?" Her tone was too suggestive, and her mouth twisted into a playful smirk as she walked slowly towards him.

Shinji made sure she was not looking before he gulped in fear.

"I think we should start with....something simple," She said slowly. She squeezed his hand once directly in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. He stared with wide eyes, and then pushed her away firmly.

"Hey; I thought we were dancing?!"

"We are," Hikari was puzzled as she cocked her head.

"So what was that all about?"

She looked at him with widened eyes as though he were mad. "That's the basic posture, Shinji."

Oh.

Shinji felt sheepish. He'd never danced before, in his life. He couldn't exactly prove he was capable of taking care of himself by dancing. There was a sort of indecency in having this girl teaching him something. At least it was better than asking Reiji to teach him.

Hikari looked at him straight in the eye, ignoring his mental antics. "Okay, now you're going to have to put your hand on my waist."

"You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

She looked dead serious, her expression emotionless. Mumbling under his breath, he grudgingly placed his hand on her waist. Also trying not to blush as he felt her curves.

"That's good. Okay, all you have to do is mirror my movements for the first beat. Sound easy enough?"

"Whatever."

"I'll step back with my right foot, and you step forward with your left. Usually you'd have to lead, but I'll show you what to do."

He followed what she said carefully, trying not to step on her foot. "Now, step to the right with your right foot."

"What?"

"Then shift your weight to it. Keep your left still."

She seemed calm in what she was doing, while he was unsure and shaky for once. Battling is not anything like dancing.

"Slide your left foot over to your right and stand with your feet together for the next beat."

"I hate this."

"Deal with it. Step back with your right foot."

By now, Shinji was beginning to calm down. Truly, he would rather be anywhere else but there, but he might as well get it over with and do it right. Hikari was trying, why couldn't he?

"Do the opposite of the second beat I showed you."

He stepped to the left then shifted his weight on the left foot. In the back of his mind, he realised he'd actually done that part perfectly. Hikari noticed, too, and seemed impressed.

"Good! See, you're getting the hang of it!"

Shinji nearly smiled. Nearly. Instead he just gave her a smirk for the smallest moment before it disappeared.

"Now for the final beat. Slide your right foot toward your left until your feet are together.....Right! Now let's start over from the first beat."

"Huh....how long do we have to keep doing these steps?"

"Um, for the whole song, I guess. Hmm, I think we can try it with some music..." She walked over to her small bag, pulled out a CD that had the words "Owl City" scrawled across it in marker. She carefully put the disc into the radio and bent next to it until soft notes began playing.

He raised an eyebrow. "This isn't dancing music, is it?"

She shrugged. "It's the best I could find. It's a burned CD I got from my friend."

"And you listen to Owl City? The guy's lyrics are confusing."

"The lyrics have hidden beauty that you can't see, Shinji. Let's just get this part done. The faster we finish, the faster I can go to bed." They took position again and repeated the steps, this time in time with the music.

Time together is just never quite enough...
When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home...
What will it take to make or break this hint of love?
We need time, only time...
When we're apart whatever are you thinking of?
If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?
So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?
All the time, all the time...

Shinji blinked and stared down at Hikari. She was looking at him, yes, but her eyes were distant as if she were thinking about something else. He wondered if she was concentrating on the music or the steps, or just getting sleepy, because a few moments after she slowly closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest.

"Hikari..."

She gently opened her eyes. "Huh? ..." Suddenly she realised the position she was in, and recoiled in shock. She spluttered out a string of jumbled apologies in her defence. "Oh gosh! Shinji! I...Err, I mean, I'm really sorry, I..."

"It's fine." He whispered, and then was surprised at how gentle his voice came out. "Try staying awake."

"Um, okay." She flustered, trying to control herself again. She was glad Shinji did not see the slight blush still on her cheeks.

They continued dancing like that, with the music's soft melodies echoing through the trees and the moonlight shining above their heads. Looking into Hikari's clear blue eyes, the usually emotionless Shinji began to feel something...strange...in his chest at that moment, but before he could identify it, the song suddenly stopped playing, and his partner stepped away.

"Shinji, that was awesome! You've got it perfectly!" She grinned at him, and pulled him into a hug. "And you said you couldn't dance!"

The strange feeling came again when she wrapped her arms around him, but he didn't push her away. He just stared at her and waited. When she finally let go of him, her eyes shone brightly as she yawned. Still, Shinji stared, unable to think of words to say.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," she said, picking up her radio and whistling out into the trees. A brown little bunny burst out, sending a shower of leaves into the air. Shinji's Weavile came out, more slowly, and crossed its arms. Hikari picked up her Buneary, and ran off towards the city.

"Bye, Shinji!"

Shinji watched as Hikari headed back to the Pokémon Centre. It was probably the lack of sleep, but Shinji was feeling lightheaded and anxious. He couldn't understand what happened to him that night, if anything did happen, but he'd never felt so nervous about the day after.

"SHINJI! Get down here for a second!!"

"Grrrrr...."

Shinji stomped down the staircase. He was just getting ready for the dance that night, until Reiji called from downstairs. Already grumpy from having to go to the damn event, he didn't feel like talking. He wondered what Reiji wanted from him this time.

Glaring, he faced his brother. "What do you want, Reiji?" he grumbled, "I'm busy getting ready for the dance that you dragged me into."

Instead of grinning mischievously like he usually was, Reiji was wearing an odd expression, almost as if he were embarrassed. He looked around nervously, looking everywhere but not making eye contact. He patted the spot on the couch next to him. "Er, Shinji, why don't you have a seat?"

The confused Shinji sat.

Reiji took in a deep breath, and fiddled with his fingers a bit before talking. Yep, he was definitely nervous; it showed in all his actions. "So, Shinji...you're on your first date...and, well, as your older brother, there are a few...things...I have to talk to you about...like say...so you know how kids can sort of, er, lose themselves..."

Shinji took off like a bullet from his seat.

Reiji acted fast, and grabbed Shinji by the leg before he could get away. The younger boy let out a shout and kicked fiercely, but the other boy was stronger. Reiji tackled his brother, held the struggling Shinji in an iron hold, and pinned him to the couch quickly.

Shinji glared up at the teen with wild eyes.

"You cannot make me listen to this!"

"I can and I will."

"The talk, Reiji?! First making me go to the dance, and then giving me the TALK?!?!"

Reiji turned red. "Mom said I have to."

Shinji just kept struggling and kicking, while his face turned bright red. "But why?" He actually whined. He really didn't want to have to hear this. He knew how it went already...

Reiji thought for a while. "I don't want to do this just as much as you do."

"Then don't!!"

"I can't, Shinji," he said, with an apologetic look. "I'm just...trying to be a good guardian, okay? And someone is going to have to tell you sometime, whether you like it or not! Because if nobody tries to tell you how to behave, then you're gonna wind up like one of those kids on the street with drugs and a nasty disease..."

"FINE! Fine!! Reiji, I promise...I promise I won't...lose myself...with Hikari! All right? All right?!"

Reiji looked intently at him. Then let out a huge sigh of relief. Shinji also sighed as his older brother raised his arms off of him, freeing him from the embrace.

"Are we done?"

"Yep," The other said cheerfully. "You'd better get up there and dress, kiddo. Dance is in two hours!"

The doorbell rang.

"Coming!!" Reiji sang as he came for the door. Shinji rolled his eyes as the door opened to reveal Sumomo in a flashy blue gown. The kid watching tried not to notice the shine in Reiji's eyes.

"Hey, Sumomo, come on in! You look...great! Wow!"

The little Gym Leader smiled shyly. "Thanks, Reiji, that means a lot," she said, as a blush crept slowly across her face. Shinji wondered if he'd be like that when he was older. Hopefully not.

Then again...he wondered about Hikari. No doubt she'd join the 'dark side' and become one of them. It was like everyone around him was the same. He thought back to that night in the woods. Maybe she wasn't so bad...

"Shinji, you should go upstairs and change. Hikari should be here soon," Reiji advised him. His date was silently slipping into the bathroom to freshen up, when she waved at Shinji. She'd forgiven him for his behaviour at their Gym Battle, but Shinji still thought of her as weak. The only reason he never said that fact was because of her black belt in karate.

Right on cue, he heard someone yelling from the front door, and someone pressing the doorbell repeatedly. As if she couldn't be any louder.

"Eh, that must be Shinji's date..."

"Shinji's date?" The pink haired Gym Leader perked up.

As Reiji opened the door, that blue haired girl came tumbling in, and as soon as she realised her state began smoothing her hair down and grinning.

What an entrance.

At least she looked pretty. With her frilly pink and fuchsia dress lined with small gems, she looked great. More than great. Her hair looked silky and smooth without the hat on, and held up by two shimmering star-shaped hairclips in a ponytail. She held the hem of the jewelled dress as she bowed and said her greetings to everyone.

"Hikari! Nice to see you!" Sumomo exclaimed, and hopped over to give her friend a warm hug. "How've you been? So you and Shinji are together now, huh?" She added mischievously.

The other girl blushed and giggled at her friend's comment, with a quick glance at Shinji she whispered, "Heh, not really, but he looks cute in that suit!"

Shinji looked at her sharply.

"Alright, people, I think it's time to get going!" Reiji declared, clapping his hands once. "Shinji, do you think you could get my keys from the kitchen? Thanks, kid! C'mon outside, girls, we're on our way!" The two girls were busy gossiping and talking about their dates as they followed Reiji outside, and Shinji slipped into the kitchen.

There he leaned against the fridge and groaned. It was difficult to admit, but he was growing up. Reiji was right about that. A year ago he would have been rebellious, running away, being nasty to Hikari. Now he wasn't so sure about what he really wanted. Stupid hormones.

I was supposed to finish tonight, but I have classes tomorrow. :(

But with luck, maybe I can get the next chapter done by next week. If you guys want.