A Dance to Remember!

School was finally over for the day, the students had free time. They could access all the labs until 8pm. The activities and recreation areas were open till 9pm

Sora wanted to check out the arcade. He had heard the school had developed an new level of VR, it was based on the same technology as the interface he was using for his robot project with Ayumi. But instead of controlling a remote controlled drone, you would control a humanoid avatar inside a virtual space. Supposedly, it was so realistic that people would have lasting sensations, some time after the game was over. Sora couldn't wait to try it out.

He walked down the halls towards the arcade. There were posters plastered everywhere advertising the newest games coming soon to the arcades. Most of them involved shooting things— guns, lasers, swords, etc. There were games of skill, where you could earn points. You could then exchange those points for prizes. Other games were designed purely for entertainment purposes; they offered little challenge and relied heavily on luck and chance.

The most popular games right now were the "Idol Master" games. They allowed you to live the life of a J-Pop Idol. The computer that ran the simulation was absurdly powerful. It could model an entire country, down to the individual people. In the game, you lived the idol dream. Your goal was to become famous enough to tour Japan, meet fans, get signed by a record company, and eventually release albums and music videos.

You could actually feel the heat of the lights on the stage, the excitement of singing Infront of thousands of fans. And because it was a game, you didn't really need to have any talent in singing. It was just a rhythm game after all. The AI programmed itself to produce pitch perfect renditions of songs, no matter what your ability was.

There was even a dating sim version of this game. Instead of meeting idols, you met cute boys and girls. The players role was to guide these love interests through various scenarios such as dates, parties, photo shoots, shopping trips and concerts. Then when you found someone you liked, you had the option to confess your feelings. Depending on how well you performed during each scenario, the odds of success varied greatly.

The arcade had a bowling alley, darts, table tennis, pool tables, and many others. The place was packed with students playing different types of video games. Some played alone, some in pairs, and there were groups scattered throughout the area competing in tournaments.

Sora ran into Rina in the arcade, she looked different. She was wearing an tube top and very short jean shorts. Her body was covered in sweat from her workout earlier. "Hey Sora," she greeted him cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking out the arcade, what about you?"

Rina blushed slightly, "Oh nothing special. just going dancing... YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME!!!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Sora nodded slowly, "Sure." he responded, not sure if he should ask questions or keep quiet.

They went downstairs to the dance studio. The room was dimly lit with strobe lighting. A strong techno beat was playing, lasers dancing around the room. People danced wildly to the loud beats, moving their bodies and waving their arms in the air. Many of them wore glow sticks, flashing brightly as they moved across the floor.

Somebody handed Sora two glowing plastic wristbands, "Here you go! Put 'em on!"

Sora put them onto his wrists, feeling oddly compelled to move along with the music. He felt himself start to sway side to side, closing his eyes as he let loose with the rest of the crowd.

As the song ended, a new tune began. A slower one, filled with deep bass and electronic synths. As soon as it started, Rina took hold of his hand, leading him forward to the center of the dance floor. She wrapped her slender fingers around his palm and placed her cheek against his shoulder. Their skin was warm and sweaty together, causing sparks to fly between them.

It was hard to tell who was sweating more, Rina or Sora. They pressed themselves closer as they swayed to the hypnotic rhythms of the music. Sora kept trying to pull away, but Rina held tight. Soon her lips brushed lightly against his neck, sending shivers up and down his spine. She pulled him deeper into her embrace, pressing her chest against his bare torso.

She whispered something softly in his ear. The music was loud, and he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Huh..." he said confused.

"I.. said....." Rina seemed like she was shouting.

"What did you say? I can't understand you," Sora asked again, only louder this time.

"DO YOU WANT TO ENTER THE DANCE CONTEST!" Rina shouted loudly, "THERE IS 150,000 yen IN CASH AND PRIZES UP FOR GRABS!!"

Sora blinked in confusion, "Wha...? What do you mean?"

Rina grabbed him by the hand once more and dragged him toward the DJ booth. She showed him a flyer. at 8pm tonight, Artemis Institute is holding their annual dance off. There are three categories, most style, most energetic and most passionate. Prizes will be awarded to the winners in each category. Each pair gets a five minute slot on the dance floor Contestants must wear glowsticks for visibility. Entry fee is 10000 yen per person, which goes directly to charity.

"So, we're entering the contest?!" Sora exclaimed happily.

Rina grinned broadly back at him. "Yup! We got this!" she replied confidently.

Sora smiled widely and reached out to give her a hug. "Which category should be choose? it says we can only choose one!" he joked.

Her face flushed red and she turned her head aside shyly, "Uhmmmmm...most passionate sounds best, don't you think?" she mumbled quietly.

"Yeah, that makes sense," he agreed enthusiastically. "I'm the only boy in the school! We got this!"

9pm came and the contestants began taking the floor. There were high energy dances with amazing acrobatics, perfectly coreaographed routines, and sexy slow dances. Everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves, especially Sora and Rina. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation.

The judges sat behind a podium watching intently as the couples took turns performing before them.

Finally it was Sora and Rina's turn to dance. Sora took Rina firmly by the hands and led her onto the floor. His heart was beating faster than ever as he stared deeply into her bright blue eyes, wondering why he'd never noticed how pretty they were before. The slow EDM beat started. Sora guided her gently forward as they swayed side to side, locking their hips tightly together as they moved.

Their movements were smooth and graceful. Rina leaned in close and whispered in Sora's ear. "This feels incredible, doesn't it?"

His cheeks burned hot as he nodded silently, unable to speak.

The bass beat increased its intensity, pounding in his ears. He closed his eyes and lost himself completely within the trance of the music. Every inch of his being became attuned to hers, every nerve alive.

Suddenly, without warning, the tempo changed drastically. It became quick, short and sharp bursts of sound punctuated by sudden silences. This was quickly followed by a buzzing that actually vibrated his whole body.

His head swam and everything felt hazy. Then the vibration disappeared, leaving only the sound.

His consciousness snapped back into the moment. Sora felt incredibly high and floaty, and yet incredibly light. He felt tingly all over, his heart beat increased, his pupils dilated. A nervous, shimmery smile graced his lips as he lost himself to the euphoria of the high. He noticed Rina grinning back at him and he winked back at her.

As the music progressed, Sora and Rina's movements became more fluid and sensual. Their bodies seemed to move as one, their eyes locked in an intense gaze. The audience was captivated, feeling the passion that emanated from their dance. The music seemed to take control of their bodies, guiding them through each step and turn with a fiery passion. The air was thick with electricity. Sora could feel every ounce of passion pouring off of Rina. The more he felt it, the higher he flew on the wings of ecstasy, feeling truly free.

Suddenly the beat shifted again, Sora looked out at Rina as she gasped in shock. His hands clinched and locked into hers in reaction. He wanted to fly away with her and run off with her. There was this powerful pull between them that felt as strong as the force of gravity, a power that drew them together like two pieces of magnetism.

Rina pulled herself into him, grinding into him while she rode the beat. Sora looked at her, dazed and confused, wondering what was happening, how his feelings could be so strong. It all just seemed too real. She pressed up against him as their movements got more and more sensuous.

Heat and electricity flowed through Sora. He pulled Rina closer into him, her body soft and warm. She gripped him tightly in return. Everything about the moment was heightened, heightened beyond any other feeling Sora had ever experienced before. Sora could feel the vibrations in her body through their touch, like two waves about to crash together.

He wanted to kiss her, he needed to. Riding high on the back of the trance-like, he found himself holding back, feeling a nervous, instinctive fear. She pulled her lips back to meet his, their breath intermingling between their faces.

She was so close their lip mere millimeters from each other. Sora's heart beat a mile-a-minute in his chest as her lips pulled gently into his. It was like there were all sorts of different feelings whizzing around, overlapping and intertwined with one another like the notes in a melody.

Just before the kiss connected, the music suddenly stopped. The feeling quickly subsided. Theirs minds began to clear.

Sora couldn't help but blush. Rina, realizing that something had gone awry, quickly dropped his hands from hers and retreated from the floor to stand back against the wall. Her face burned as she stared at the floor.

"What the hell was that!?" she blurted.

"I don't know, I was aware of what was going on but...it just kind of...c

ame over me," Sora was at a loss as to how to explain the feeling.

"Just happened, eh!? It looked to me like you were looking to rip off my shirt!" Rina cried.

"I had no control! Besides, you looked like you wanted to mount me on that floor," he chuckled nervously.

'Yeah, I did but I can't explain why..." she replied confused.

A voice came over the speakers. "Can I have yout attention!"

"That was awesome, just a bit longer and I bet you two would have fucked right on the dance floor!" a voice said.

Rina whipped her head toward the direction of the voice in surprise, to find it belonged to Ryoko. She had the reptation of being the sluttiest girls in school. Her research had something to do with sound.

"You see, they say that when music moves your soul, you're just listening to the sound. But really, we're listening to the emotions we feel because of that sound! Listen to the music, listen to the world." Ryoko sultrily walked onto the floor, the room dead quiet in the absence of music.

She brought her arms to her sides and arched her back, bringing her small chest out for a better angle of vision, leaning her head back while letting out an "aaa" like an animal in heat.

"You two were perfect! I'd love to so some more research!" Ryoko declared. She put her finger into her mouth and let out an excited "Ahh!" like she was eating good cake, giving the audience a sexy smirk in the process.