Dancing In the Night

[Dante Kimura]

"Perhaps you won't," Dante said, "but perhaps you will," his voice was low, meant so that even with such a slow song, only she could hear and not any other couples who might dance close to them. When she suggested it, he took the lead smoothly.

"Let them wonder," he said, amused. He never took much notice of other people. At least, not until she had drawn his attention in the cemetery.

"I would like to hear you sing some time," he said. "I'm sure you have a lovely voice."

At her compliment, he blushed a little. "Thank you," he said.

[Kairi Valor]

Looking up at him, and seeing his blush, she giggled, but kept her voice low. "Awww, that's so cute!"

Her smile faded only a little. "Even though it gets me nowhere, I still wonder, about everything I don't know. But then again, I have a feeling that if I knew, I wouldn't be who I am now."

She blushed, once again hiding her face away, this time in his shoulder. "Do you always have the intent to make me blush? Not only do I fall all the time, but I'm always as red as a tomato."

A few seconds later, the slow song stopped, and another one came on. This would probably be the last slow song for a while, and Kairi smiled against his shoulder. "We'll sit this next one out. I don't really do fast dances. Well, not too many."

She stayed silent for a moment, and then, "I still feel a few stares. Is it because we're dancing up here, and not down there?"

[Dante Kimura]

Dante put on mock affront. "Men are not 'cute.' Men are 'dashing' and 'handsome.' Little children and girls are 'cute.'" However, he was smiling, to show that he was joking with her.

"Well, I suppose it is wondering that got me my name...in a backwards sort of way," he confessed, shrugging. After all, if his parents had never wondered about the literature of the pre-Armageddon time, they would never have discovered the poet that was his namesake.

Her comment about blushing made him laugh again. "I don't intend to make you blush. Perhaps you just blush easily," he proposed. Then, he paused for a moment. "You know, I don't think I've laughed this much for a long time." He informed her.

"I don't do fast dances either. I can only imagine how much I would embarrass myself were I to try," he said dryly, sitting back down at their old table. "And I think it's partially that, and partially that we're following the opposite of the normal pattern. Most of the people here are dancing during the fast songs and sitting out the slow ones."

[Kairi Valor]

Kairi blinks, and then giggles as she sits opposite him. "That is right, isn't it? We are dancing the opposite way than them."

Kairi rolled her eyes at him playfully. "I don't care if your the sexiest man alive, I'll call you cute if I want to anyway."

Smiling, but her eyebrows knitted in wonder, Kairi glanced up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure where my parents got my name, or why they named this way......" she shrugged, before showing him a large grin. "I am just Kairi Valor, nothing more and nothing less."

Remembering his earlier comment, Kairi cocked her head to the side. "You said you haven't laughed this much in a long time......Well, I don't mean to pry, but, why? I can't imagine someone with a beautiful laugh like yours not being able to."

She blinked, realizing what she'd said, before blushing and slamming her hands over her face, blushing. "Pretend you didn't hear that!"

[Dante Kimura]

Dante cast a glance down, and was amused to see that there were plenty of people glancing up at them.

He crossed his arms and made a little "hrmph" noise, but other than that decided to drop the argument. Clearly, this was one battle he could not win.

"Not everyone's parents are literary scholars," Dante joked, of course referring to his own parent's strange occupation. "So I suppose not everyone can be named after a poet who was ancient a thousand years ago." He said. He blushed at her saying his laugh was beautiful. That was something he certainly didn't hear very often.

"I believe it would be less awkward if I did," he said, and caught himself laughing a bit.

[Kairi Valor]

Following his gaze to the people staring at them, Kairi couldn't help but giggle softly. "They probably think we're very weird, or at the very least, me."

Smiling, Kairi leaned over the table and poked him in the chest. "Don't you 'hrmph' me, mister."

She leaned back in her seat with a chuckle. "Well, I don't know what they did for living, but at my house, I have a lot of old antiques and artifacts, and things like that. I'm still not sure what they were though. Perhaps archeologists? Eh, either way, I'm sure I wasn't named after an artifact."

She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. "Now your laughing at me. I say something honest, that I didn't mean to say in the first place, and your laughing at me!"

But still, she noticed that she herself was also trying not to laugh. "Just when I think it's not possible to embarrass myself farther, I do. But you know." Kairi smiled earnestly at Dante. "I haven't had this much fun in a while either, so thanks."

[Dante Kimura]

Dante smiled a bit. "Oh no, I believe they probably think I'm a bit odd as well. After all, I am here with you," he joked. There was another thing he didn't do often-joking. Kairi was bringing out a side of him he hadn't previously known existed.

He raised his eyebrows when she poked him in the chest. "I will 'hrmph' you all I want, madam, thank you very much," he replied, a heavy amount of sarcasm in his voice.

"Archaeologists? Interesting," he said. It genuinely did fascinate him. After all, in some of the old books he had read, there were descriptions of artifacts and devices that even now he wasn't sure could be recreated. "And I doubt there is an artifact known as a 'Kairi.' Perhaps an ancient queen or princess?" He proposed, smiling slightly. "It would certainly be fitting," and there it was, the lovely art of flattery.

"I'm not laughing at you per se," Dante protested. "I would never be so crass as to laugh at a lady. Besides, you're laughing as well," he pointed out, a smile dancing across his face. "And I am certainly glad we ran into each other, even if meeting in a cemetery is a bit...unorthodox."

[Kairi Valor]

Kairi playfully glared at him. "Oh, ha ha. Wait a minute." Her mind processed what he'd just said, and though she was smiling, she poked him in the chest again. "Just because I call myself weird, doesn't mean you have to agree!"

She giggled a bit, letting him know she was only joking. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, excuse me, dear kind sir, but I don't think so. Besides, 'hrmph' isn't even a sound!"

Her grin was wide and large, and her eyes were glimmering, like crystals, but at the flattery, a deep red painted her cheeks. "No, sadly. I wish. But I do have some old artifacts that I know for a fact don't exist in this time of age anymore."

Kairi's smile faded only slightly. "After all, we're more advanced now, we don't need the old stuff anymore.......But I still keep it, to remind me of the times long since past. I think, though I don't like to reflect on my own since I can't remember anything, that the past can be important. I don't think it should take over your future, but I don't think it should be forgotten either."

Kairi knew she was talking a lot now, but she was on something that truly interested her, so she continued. "Besides, someone, I can't remember who, though I think it was my Father, used to tell me, 'Never forget the past, live in the present, and always look to the future.' I loved that saying, and I follow it, though it's hard these days."

Kairi smiled, then leaned over and brushed some slight strands of hair out of his face. "I'm glad we met too, and I'm even more glad we did meet in the cemetery. Maybe....." Her eyes gleamed in humor. "Your Grandmother is to blame."

She was joking, and she hoped he didn't take offense to that as she sat back in her seat. "I hope that didn't offend you, but I believe, even dead, the dead have humor. So, why not throw a joke or two around? I'm sure they like them as much as we do."

[Dante Kimura]

Dante just smiled. He didn't even really react to her poking him in the chest. "But it would be impolite to disagree," he said.

"And 'hrmph' is clearly a sound, as I just made it." He said. "Therefore, I will make that sound whenever I so choose." He informed her, his voice dry.

He carefully considered what she said, and nodded. "I believe that is what my parents are trying to do by researching old literature. After all, are not the words of the past as important, if not more important, than the artifacts?" He shrugged. "It gives a deeper insight into the thoughts of the people of the past...or so I believe." He shrugged. "Perhaps that is why I took some books with me when I left home."

Amusement reappeared on his face. "Actually, I think she would find it quite appropriate. She was a large supporter of jokes when she was alive." He reached out and took her hand. "And I feel she would have very much liked you, miss Kairi."

[Kairi Valor]

Huffing, Kairi glared at him playfully. "It was impolite to agree." Though she couldn't help the smile that surfaced moments later.

"Well, maybe you made it up, but by my standards, that is no sound. That is an inarticulate noise." Kairi's smile widened as she teased him.

Kairi nodded, cocking her head to one side in thought. "Well, yes, I believe your statement stands true. The words of the past do give a deeper insight to the thoughts of the people in the past." Kairi cocked her head to the other side. "I have never really thought of that before."

Shaking her head, she turned to him, leaning slightly forwards. "Do you want to be like your parents, or something else? In a way, well." Kairi looked away for only a moment, before looking back. "I've always wanted to be a teacher."

She looked at their hands, her face flushed a deep red, but she only looked out over the dance floor below. She had no desire to pull away, and to show she liked his gesture, she squeezed his hand. "I wondered if she would have liked me, earlier, in the cemetery. I'm glad to know she would have."

[Dante Kimura]

Dante shrugged. "Then I suppose that was one of the few times you will ever catch me being impolite." He said.

"Perhaps it is." His eyebrows flicked up. "But sometimes, words simply cannot convey certain things, and so monosyllabic grunts have to suffice. Though I suppose that might have been disyllabic. Is that even a word?" He mused aloud.

A slight smile flicked across his face at her agreement. "The poetry is especially elegant. It is quite unfortunate, but the art of verse seems to have been lost to the modern mind. As has the art of true literature." He said. "Though I have managed to memorize some of the ancient poetry. It has rhyme, rhythm, and flow unlike anything from this era."

He was a bit surprised by that question. "I suppose I've never really thought of it. This clan war just...never seems to end." He sighed. "Though I'm sure you would make a wonderful teacher. And perhaps yes, I would like to be a scholar like my parents."

He glanced down when he felt her squeeze his hand. It surprised him in a very positive way to know she liked it. "It really is too bad you couldn't have met her."

[Kairi Valor]

Kairi smiled at his words. "Yes I suppose so. I will have to take glory in knowing the ever polite Dante was impolite." She was teasing, her voice tilted with the tone of her teasing.

Kairi had to laugh. "Well, no, I do not think that is a word. But I think I've made up some worse ones."

Kairi turned to face him again, her eyes a lit with happiness. "Like Shakespeare. I loved his work. My favorite was Macbeth." She sighed happily. "And the art, like Leonardo Davinci."

Kairi became sad at the mention of the War. "Do you think......" She blushed. "We'll be able to meet again after this? Or......Is this it?"

Her eyes welled with tears, but she pushed them back, and took a deep breath, smiling. "I think you would make a great scholar. I can just see it."

She squeezed his hand tighter. "I wanted to. I think we would have gotten along really well. If we're not together, do you mind if I......" She blushed. "Go to her grave, sometimes?"

[Dante Kimura]

Dante just shook his head. "Well, don't ever expect to see it again," he said, smiling slightly.

"Oh really." He said. "Why does that not surprise me?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. He couldn't help but smile at her next statement, glad that he had finally found someone else who appreciated the past as much as he did.

"Shakespeare was a brilliant playwright." He agreed. "He knew how to capture all of humanity's best and worst traits. And da Vinci had an incredible talent for so many things, not just artwork." He said. "He designed a flying machine centuries before the airplane was invented, and so many other amazing things."

Dante shook his head. "This is only it if we allow it to be it," he said. "If we decide to, we can meet again." His voice was firm, deciding. He was sure that he wanted to see her after this, that he did not want this to be he last time they met.

However, her next statement brought up quite a bit of amusement. "I have seen it, Kairi darling. It involves quite a bit of being buried under large amounts of paper." He informed her. "And you are welcome to visit her grave," he said. "I certainly cannot stop you."

[Kairi Valor]

Kairi grinned. "Oh, well, a one time thing will generally, normally speaking, happen again." She was still teasing him.

Kair found she rather liked teasing him about his politeness. It amused her.

She snorted in an undignified manner at him. "It shouldn't surprise you. I'd be worried if it did."

Kairi nodded. "Shakespeare and Davinci both saw what others refused to see: our potential as human beings, and the ability to surpass our limits." She smiled shyly. "At least, that's my opinion, just my opinion after all."

Kairi nodded her head in agreement. "Then we will definitely meet again." A soft smile made it's way to her face. "My Brother is worried about me. Hell, I'm worried about me." She laughed. "But despite the danger, I like our, uh, whatever you would call this."

After hearing what being a scholar entailed, she laughed. "Yes, and I'd be there to laugh at you. Of course, having me anywhere near you while you have paperwork is generally not a good idea." She shrugged sheepishly. "The paper tends to end up everywhere."

She nodded, a little embarrassed for asking. "She was your Grandmother. I didn't want to be rude."

[Dante Kimura]

Dante didn't even bother to dignify that rather convoluted statement with a response. He just shook his head, amused by Kairi's oddness.

He gave her a slight smile. "I've only known you for a few hours and already I expect you to be strange."

He couldn't help but agree with what she said about Da Vinci and Shakespeare. "Perhaps it is not that others refuse to see it, but that they simply could not and cannot. Most people are very shortsighted. They see little beyond themselves and their own desires. The great artists and writers of history were able to transcend that, I believe, and that is what makes them so great."

Dante looked nervous for a brief moment that the mention of her having a brother. Then again, what young man who was, admittedly, attracted to the young woman telling him about such a relative wouldn't be? "I like it too, Miss Valor," he said, "and I do wish to see you after tonight, even if it is a bit...complicated."

"Wonderful," he said dryly. However, there was no one he would rather have laughing at him. "It isn't as if it doesn't end up everywhere without help," he said, shuddering as he remembered his parents' offices.

He shook his head at the suggestion that her visiting his grandmother might be rude. "Hardly. It is always good to have someone visiting those who have passed on."