Aberrant: 200X - A Date around the World [Mature ]

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

He nods once, pulling her to him and expanding his quantum field around her before teleporting to Moscow, and the Bolshoi.

"And here we are." He smiles and nods. "As Promised, one Russian Ballet, In exchange for the pleasant company of such a beautiful young woman."

[Bombshell]

It was evening in Moscow, the sky a deepening indigo, Katya's eyes were bright, the fine lines of her face painted gold by the lights of the central fountain. She looked on in wonder, as did Ryusei, the prestige and elegance of the Bolshoi theatre washing over them, earned by near two and a half centuries of excellence.

"Oh, Ryu! It's even more spectacular then I remember from when I was a little girl." Katya leaned into Ryusei, his arm going around her.

Their sudden appearance hadn't gone unnoticed, eyes turning towards the debonair Nova and the petite beauty on his arm. Though people looked, none approached - to the upper class who attended the Bolshoi, it would seem crass to be seen fawning.

Ryusei escorted his lovely companion inside, Katya speaking to the usher in fluid Russian and indicating to Ryusei to hand over the tickets. The usher, seeing the class of ticket and class of patron, called an attendant over to escort them to their private box-seat.

Their attendant took their drink orders, handed them a pair of programs, and informed them that the performance would begin in about thirty minutes.

Katya didn't even bother looking at the program and excitedly began to explain to Ryusei the story of Swan Lake and the characters of Odette, Siegfried, von Rothbart, and the others.

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

Ryusei took in the majesty of the theater and their service, vowing to learn Russian next.

He listened intently to Katya's retelling of the story and smiled. "Sounds like this is going to be a a great performance. I know the story from somewhere, I think something my sisters watched once."

He smiles and takes a hand of hers in his. "Though I'll wager it will mean much more to me watching it with you."

[Bombshell]

Katya turned to Ryusei, a bright smile on her red lips, as she traced a line with her free hand down his arm. The simple, yet incredibly intimate touch sent a chill down Ryusei's spine.

"You charmer, flattery will get you everywhere." Kat leaned over a gave him a deep-tongued kiss, then pulled back with a playful sniff of disdain. Mostly playful."Watched it, indeed. On TV, you may have seen the story, but through dance, you will feel it, experience it. You'll see. Who is playing Odette, for that matter?"

She reached over with her free hand and opened the program. Ryusei watched her eyes track down, then freeze, growing wide. Her breathing grew rapid and shallow, her cheeks flushed with sheer excitement.

"Rusalka?! This is a performance by Rusalka as Odette? She is the only Nova to be bestowed the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta. How did you get these tickets, Ryusei? It must have been sold out for months!"

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"I have someone something better than money, at least in his eyes. He gets to enjoy things a good while longer now, In exchange for allowing me a box this evening."

It was a close to saying what he'd done, what he was capable of doing in public. "It was a fair trade in my opinion."

He smiles. "Who is Rusalka, and why is the title important?"

[Bombshell]

He was being coy and mysterious, and Katya found that she liked it. It must have been a favour of some sort, Nova-class.

"Whatever you traded, I think you'll find that it was most worth it." Kat's grin held many promises, but her mouth dropped open when she heard Ryusei's ignorance of who Rusalka was - for some reason, she just figured a Nova would at least have heard about another Nova.

"A Prima Ballerina Assoluta... It is - you are a martial artist, yes? I have done some kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do. It is like being a step beyond tenth Dan. Rusalka is only the tenth woman, ever, to be bestowed this rank."

Katya sighed. "Rusalka was a Prima Ballerina before her eruption... since then, her dancing, by all accounts, is divine. It is not that she is superhumanly lovely, she is attractive, but not Nova-level and certainly nowhere near, say, Jason's level. But the way she moves, her every expression, she makes you live the story of her character, it... I cannot explain anymore than that. I could never afford a ticket to a Rusalka performance. We will experience this for the first time... together."

She slid herself into his lap, her kiss even more ardent than before. "And I don't know anyone I would rather be with for this, either."

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"Then I'm happy to make a wish come true for such a beautiful woman."

The Performance was about to begin and Ryusei smiled to Katya. "Here we go."

[Bombshell]

Katya slipped back into her seat, though she left her hand entwined with Ryusei's. She leaned her head against his shoulder, focusing on the stage in rapt attention.

The first act went flawlessly, the dancer playing Siegfried evoking his dismay at not being able to marry for love. Then the second act began, and with the appearance of Odette - played by the inestimable Rusalka - the whole experience changed drastically, grew even more intense.

As Katya had implied, Ryusei saw that Rusalka was no more attractive than Katya herself. But her every movement drew the eye, said more than a thousand words, tugged at the heart strings, and made the audience feel this tale of love and lost.

Ryusei felt himself being drawn in. The stage faded away, and he was no longer seeing a set that suggested a lake, he was standing on the shore. He could smell the water and the trees, could feel the cool evening wind blowing across his skin and the heat from the bodies of the swan-maidens as they flitted past. Somehow, Katya was at his side, yet she wasn't.

The unreal performance - the more real than real performance - continued. Ryusei's emotions were no longer his own, but belonged to Siegfried, Siegfried's face was no longer the dancer's, but his face. Odette pirouetted, her feathered cloak flaring, and it was now Katya who danced with the Ryusei-Siegfried, not Rusalka, every line of her face etched with love and grief.

Ryusei watched on, feeling Siegfried's and Odette love and resolve as they realized they could not break Von Rothbart's spell, consigning Odette to eternal swan-hood. His heart broke as the star-crossed lovers jumped into the lake, to be together in death as they could not in life. He felt a grim sense of justice as Von Rothbart was consumed by his own shattered spell. Then his heart soared once more as he saw the pair of swans burst from the placid lake, drops of water soft and warm as tears falling on him, as they wheeled around each other, ascending to heaven.

Sound stopped. The world stopped. For a full five munites, only the beating of his heart was real, its beating and the synchronous beating of another.

Then the theatre burst into thunderous applause and Ryusei found himself back in his box, tears sliding down his face, Katya curled up in his arms, her face pressed to his chest, her body trembling with sobs of grief and joy.

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

He couldn't reeally speak. He just hel Katya and wiped away the tears, praying nobody saw them. Finally after five minutes he regained his own composure, he smiled. "I see what you meant by her performance. That was amazing."

"We'll defintely have to come again for another of her shows."