The Hell Traveler's Palace: Meioshi's True Home (cont'd)
"Milady! Elder Hikozaemon II! It is an honor to meet you again! I was not prepared for such a visit! Forgive me for not arranging things!" Jaken pleaded, performing the dogeza.
They were at the guest ryokan in the youkai district where Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Ah-Un had first rested in Heiwa. Jaken was quite confused by this. When he first went to investigate Heiwa and its protector, Jigoku Meioshi, he had been expelled from the village via a powerful barrier blast. His name was not on the registry at the time, but neither was anyone else's from the House of Inu! Shouldn't the barrier be exploding by now? What is the meaning of this? Furthermore, why were the ruling authorities of the House of Inu even visiting Heiwa? Were they all supposed to be going overseas and leaving him behind?
"There's no need... imp?" Milady said as if trying to remember Jaken's name.
She was more interested in hearing Sesshomaru's explanation for this sudden desire to vacation and give gifts to this mystery woman he had been around as of late. Truthfully, Milady had expected Sesshomaru to be rushing to his whelp's side by now. He left months ago to visit her. It was quite odd for him to be involved with another woman when he seemed so happy with the little girl. He practically begged Milady to do something to save the child's life, and Milady was sure she asked the imp how Sesshomaru felt about the servant girl. The little creature said she made him happy. So..., what the hell had gotten into him to pursue this other woman? Really, her suspicions should have been raised when he pleaded for a way to save this "friend" he had in Sozosora, but she was so elated and heartbroken to see her old friends there that she merely hadn't paid attention. Since she promised herself that she would look after Hasumi whenever she could, her attentions were going to go to her again. Ultimately, that's why she invited herself to this family outing. She caught Hasumi's scent in this new village, so she was going to locate her after dinner, but she now had a new reason to give her attention to her son once more. She never met this friend he was trying to save, and she didn't know the friend was a young lady. Sesshomaru was doing a lot of unlikely things for his friendship with said woman. He was entering baking competitions voluntarily, no less! Playing games and wanting to leave the country? Making friends with demons from other worlds!? Her unfriendly son is... having fun all of a sudden? Was he drugged?
"My adorable pup has been most dishonest with us as of late. Keeping secrets, no less! If you want to be useful, produce the little skank he's been 'familiarizing' himself with," Milady demanded, keeping her mischievous smile and displeased eyes ever prevalent.
"Uuhhh, he's been acquainted with multiple women." BAM! "OW WOW WOW OW!" Jaken shouted, rubbing the steaming lump on his head now.
"If your friend is going overseas with you, you'd best warn her of our presence, my young one. Voyages like this must accommodate all travelers with the proper number of rations, safety equipment, passenger weight capacity, and number of sleeping cots. A trip to the main Silk Road can take several days by boat. Though we are not human and will not take nearly the amount of time that they will take, this is still something the captain must know if we are traveling by vessel. I can sense your eagerness to travel elsewhere, but I will not tolerate spontaneity at another's inconvenience. Planning is paramount for naval voyage. Go to your friend after dinner," Hikozaemon II advised.
"..."
Though his mother ranted to him about his sudden need to go on an adventure, Sesshomaru found the family time to be... pleasant. Annoying... but pleasant. Perhaps, as it should be. Hikozaemon II was also right. He needed to plan ahead and help others plan ahead for this trip. The House of Inu needed to be informed about his departure, too. Hell, everyone had to be informed! He could at least ask Yamashi and Meioshi about how long they typically stayed out. He imagined quite a few days, but, just in case it was longer, he at least wanted to inform Lady Kaede and Rin. As an apology for the long wait for his visit, he thought of giving Rin some gifts. Walking through the youkai district for dinner was an interesting thing. Milady was having the time of her life! The sights, sounds, and presence of demons from other places caught her immediate interest. The dome-demons all looked at the House of Inu with some suspicion and some curiosity while the foreign demons were none the wiser. Sesshomaru, Reijiro, Sanraku, Hikozaemon II, and Milady eventually walked together in a group. Homugi was the only one missing for it to be a full caravan.
However, Sesshomaru merely watched his group play around and sample different foods to eat. Hikozaemon II was a little more reserved, but he did spot the two demons from Zhongguo that Nihipali mentioned. They walked up to each other, measured each other up and down, and saluted each other quietly. Sesshomaru and Jaken watched this with great interest.
"Ah, Lord Sesshomaru!" Nihipali called, walking up to him with a sake cup in his paw. "You made it to the banquet, after all. Free from your mother's lecturing, I take it?"
"Not quite..." Sesshomaru grumbled, eyes narrowing. Milady smirked in the distance and turned to him slightly before spotting a cute purse. She was making the most of her time on holiday! He didn't notice that her hair was down, and her kimono was changed to something more casual. She even wore slippers. "Those demons over there with my grandfather, are they from Zhongguo?"
"Yes. Apparently, they sensed your grandfather from outside of the gates. They were waiting for him. Did you go see Lady Meioshi's home yet?" Nihipali asked. "The ladies will be arriving soon."
"... I need more plants. Where is that flora journal?" Sesshomaru asked, hating himself for even asking that question.
Nihipali laughed warmly but said, "Let's play another game to stall for time. The ladies can't perform for us if we're all not here, after all. They'll be playing in Lady Meioshi's garden in the meantime. We can use this opportunity to make something quite special. Interested? Plus, we can win your mother's forgiveness in the process. She seems to love fine purses!"
"What game did you have in mind, lizard demon?" Jaken asked out of curiosity.
"Ah, I am Nihipali the Mo'o Merchant of the Austronesian people. You may call me Pali for short. Who are you to Lord Sesshomaru? You couldn't possibly be an inu like him."
"I am an imp. I have served Lord Sesshomaru for many years. My name is Lord Jaken."
"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Jaken," Nihipali greeted, bowing with respect. "I think Lord Sesshomaru might like this game. He's very good at finding things! I think a gift basket would be an excellent way to win the ladies' approval and his mother's forgiveness, don't you think?"
"A gift basket?" Jaken questioned, tilting his head with some confusion.
"Why, yes! This game has multiple purposes but, ultimately, you can make a small feast platter for someone special to you whether that be your relatives, friends, or a - how do you say - romantic interest. You can also gift your teachers or allies with a platter if you do intend on traveling overseas. It is largely a relationship builder. Now, this game is very specific to location. You can only make the platters at marketplaces. It would be odd, or perhaps extremely fortunate, for you to find things like cheese just lying around on the ground. That's something that usually must be made. Finding milks from rare animals could improve the quality of the cheese, however. Meats are a bit different. They must be prepped sanitarily, but you might be able to find that on the road just by hunting. Try to find a good butcher. The better the quality, the greater the reward," Nihipali explained. "The same can be said for any food items you collect. The rarer, the better."
"Why would Lord Sesshomaru want to do something like that? The House of Inu has plenty of resources that would suffice for gift-giving," Jaken mentioned. "Right?"
"You must be new yourself, Lord Jaken. Different lands have different foods and flavors. Lord Sesshomaru may have the perfect sweet in his inventory, but he has other tastes in the flavor palette to fill if he intends to impress the ambassadors," Nihipali replied, wagging his tail slowly like a pendulum. "I'll tell you an embarrassing secret about Japeng's current youkai ambassador, Prince Yamashi. He is an excellent salesman. His tastes are quite refined, and he can tell when something is of good quality or not. He has a true merchant's eye, and a wonderful personality that's honest and playful, but the poor lad can't cook to save his life. Most of the ambassadors think Japengese cuisine is terrible as a result. That's why we mostly enjoy the entertainment and nature walks. Funny, isn't it?"
"What's Japengese? You mean our people? Our food isn't terrible!" Jaken defended. "There are fine cooks here!"
"We can't tell," Nihipali informed, pointing the tip of his tail at himself. "Lady Meioshi refrains from allowing her chefs to cook for us to teach Prince Yamashi how to identify quality cuisine. He'll eat just about anything in order to survive, given his background in warfare, but that came at a cost. He simply cannot figure out how to identify the taste palettes of the others because he was never a picky eater! If he doesn't succeed in acquiring a pickier taste, he will have a hard time convincing more of our kind to visit Japeng. We have gone outside of Heiwa before one year, but that was only because Prince Yamashi was quite desperate. He was humbled by that experience. Perhaps he will be brave enough to tell you that story."
"Prince Yamashi seems like such a confident fellow now," Jaken said. "He was happy to be able to start his family. He said as much when he ran through here to embrace Yuko. Hasn't he learned all there is to know?"
"Not quite, Lord Jaken. He's established fine relationships in weapons trading, but he wants to do more than that. Going forward, he'll have to change up how he handles business. Lady Meioshi will only act as a guide from here. She will no longer be his mentor like she had been when he started. He has to go it alone more than ever now. She put him through some intense training, though. He hated her for it at first, but I believe he values those teachings," Nihipali said, nodding. "After all, there was no Welcome Center here when I first came to Japeng."
"There wasn't?" Jaken questioned, surprised by this.
"You had to go to the memorial building by that art studio on the beach. Imagine having to sleep in a room where nude art is displayed on the walls! You'd think you were in a brothel!" Nihipali said with a laugh.
"You poor soul..." Sesshomaru whispered lowly, feeling the merchant's pain.
"Oh, it's no problem! Everyone reproduces in their own way, and the lovely doctor explained what the paintings were for. It's not a perverse art. The humans feared us, so Lady Meioshi had us moved to the youkai district instead. It's much better now! If humans want to interact with us, they must do so of their own volition. No one has to lose business!" Nihipali cheered.
"Where did you go when you explored our lands, Nihipali-san?" Jaken asked.
"Oh! You gave me your honorific! It's to die for!" Nihipali gushed, hugging himself. "We went to Zaōsan via Lady Meioshi's flying boat one year. Some snow demons were terrorizing a walking trail, and Lady Meioshi had to purify the area. She said it was against the law for her to purify areas with an active Shinto figurehead nearby, but she had to act quickly. Humans were in danger. Unfortunately, I don't remember why she said it was unlawful to act. I may take this time to ask again, but I loved going to Zaōsan! We got to take a 'snow monster' home as a souvenir since Lady Meioshi couldn't remove the snow from all of the trees! I have my own winterscape at home now! And, her food was amazing! I think that's why the ambassadors gave Prince Yamashi another chance to impress us."
"The wild boar prince represents us so poorly if you don't trust our food," Jaken remarked, slapping his forehead in disbelief.
"The current ambassadors don't mind because we enjoy your culture and natural landscapes more. Your flora is very unique and beautiful. Lady Meioshi offers us something new to look at or do every year, and, when she sees that Prince Yamashi is struggling, she takes over and has local chefs appease us. Eventually, as humans have a short lifespan, she won't be able to cover for him. That's why she used to be adamant about helping him find his 'niche' as she called it. I'm eager to see the new performances, though, and I got to meet the members of the House of Inu this year. Your [ceremonial shokupan] was the best thing I've tasted by far, to be honest. I have confidence that you will be the one to impress me, Lord Sesshomaru," Nihipali complimented.
Though his lordship didn't blush externally, he was flattered on the inside. He had to close his eyes to hide it, but, when he opened them again to look to his side, he could sense Nihipali's friendly warmth and the lizard fellow clapped his paws slowly to show enthusiasm.
"Prince Yamashi is quite lucky to have only one flaw. As said, he's one of the best businessmen to come from this country, especially with his knowledge of fine weaponry and armory. I firmly believe that's why Lady Meioshi taught him what she knew of trade. She is a merchant's daughter, after all," Nihipali informed, making Sesshomaru turn to him at this bit of information.
You were... a merchant's daughter? Sesshomaru thought. But, merchants are terribly poor. You are not this. Is that why you became a doctor? Or joined the army? To make more money? Or was it because of your duties as a holy warrior?
"A-ha, didn't know that about the village doctor, did you?" Nihipali asked, holding a finger. "See? Always something new to learn here. Come, come! Let's play this game! You can explore Heiwa more and see Japeng from an outsider's point of view. After all, it is considered a hub. Also, do you even eat cheese?"
"Not often. Our cheese is called so," Sesshomaru explained.
"I'd love to try it one day. Listen to me! A lizard eating cheese," Nihipali said, putting a paw to his cheek. "Well, this game of ours will be much easier since we'll be in the market to purchase things but try to go hunting every once in a while to see other options of choice meats and cheeses. Let's make that gift basket!"
|| ~ Hunter-Gatherer Buzz ~ ||
"She'd better be appreciative of this damned thing!" Sesshomaru said under his breath.
"Which she?" Nihipali asked mischievously, turning away just in time before Sesshomaru could snap at him. Pali merely snickered and then instructed as they walked to a booth, "First things first, we need to choose a meat for the proper plating. Animals who are solid in color typically go on bronze plates or wooden boards. Their meat isn't marbled or anything. It's just regular protein. Animals with marbled fur have more marbled meat. They up the quality of the plate to something more silver and the wood is finer in quality. Mottled animals are both rare and valuable for their meat. They go on gold plates or fine wood board. What would you like to give your mother?"
"... Rabbit, though I am tempted to say pheasant," Sesshomaru replied with a raised brow.
"Let's see... it looks like Japengese rabbits are largely solid in color. That will be a bronze plate or wooden board dish. That's 1 point. What would you like to give the ladies at the doctor's home?" Nihipali asked.
"How's about nothing?" Jaken grumbled with his arms folded. "They let children beat me up during training!"
"You were training," Sesshomaru emphasized with a ghost of a smirk. "Goose."
"Aw, like a mother goose?" Nihipali cooed with a light blush. How sweet!
"No, like a hissing, angry goose," Sesshomaru corrected, thinking of times when he made Meioshi angry. To him..., the resemblance was uncanny.
"Ah, we have variety now! Solid and marbled patterns on this feathery fellow. That's a silver plate. 2 points. We'll add the so cheese, and... this fruit here, little rice cups, and this wine here. Now, a basket," Nihipali said, picking things out to complement Sesshomaru's choice.
"Go with these," a familiar voice said.
"Oh?" Nihipali replied, turning around to see the claw of... "Prince Yamashi, hello!"
"Two blue baskets. 6 points," Yamashi said with a smirk. "Meioshi's home. You goin' to the dance hall, Pali-sama?"
"Ah, I got -sama twice!" Nihipali gushed, putting both paws on his cheeks and wiggling his tail. "I have one more thing to do before I go. I'll be in shortly."
"Oh? And what's that?" Yamashi asked with a warm grin. He seemed gentler around Nihipali.
"Well, I have to wrap my gifts, of course! We can't send food to the ladies like this!" Nihipali cheered, shaping a heart with his tail.
"I saw you making flower bouquets earlier. You didn't wrap those," Yamashi reminded.
"All in due time. With the baskets and bouquets ready, I'll surely win a small love prize!" Nihipali gushed, hugging himself as though he were holding a lady in his arms.
"I'll walk with you to deliver the gifts. I miss my Yuko," Yamashi said with a light purr. Seemed genuine.
Much like the first time Sesshomaru had returned to Heiwa, he spotted a woman chanting just outside of her home. The hell traveler's flags were still in place from the heritage festival, but their numbers dwindled to merely a few. Her house looked the same as before, being a small compound with the larger garden and animal barn, but Sesshomaru was onto the trick now. A spell was on this "castle". He demanded to see the rest of the house. The nerve of her to make him, Lord Sesshomaru of the West, sleep on the floor in a small tatami room! He would not be disrespected so grossly! But..., Meioshi indeed had returned to her home.
She was wearing a large, black coat that covered the entirety of her body, and her hair was in a very non-traditional hime style; in fact, Sesshomaru couldn't quite call it a hime style. The typical hime style was straightened and well passed a noblewoman's feet, but... Meioshi seemed to have her hair curled instead. Her hair was divided, it seemed. She had hair pins of very fine quality made from what looked like ivory or bone on her head that were pinning a thick-bodied, hollow bun at the top half. It was high above her head and almost perfectly circular, but closer inspection revealed that the bun was in an elliptical shape that could be an eye, raindrop, oval, or some other shape. Only some of her fringe was left alone, the rest was pulled back and waxed to make this elaborate but beautiful style with little curly waves adding a helical effect. The inside of the bun had a small plate or amulet with tassels and crystals attached and dangling in its direct center. It looked like flowers and trinkets were just being added to decorate her hair fully. To perhaps show her social status, the rest of her lengthy hair was tied back between the nape of the neck and just below the shoulder, so she wasn't a commoner (who typically wore their hair closest to the nape) or a noblewoman (who pinned their hair further away from the nape of the neck). She was more or less middle class... somewhat. The sides of her hair formed messy wings, but they were waxed or oiled and pinned toward the middle of hair to help form the top half. An ornament was connecting the pins, but it made determining her status difficult for his lordship. He could only tell that she wasn't impoverished from the lower pin and ornament. The upper pin completely threw him off. Was that meant to mean that she was... an untouchable?
Nihipali cleared his throat, alerting Meioshi, and walked over to her with great confidence. Meioshi, recognizing the lizard youkai, smiled and walked over to him and bowed respectfully in front of him. Finally, Sesshomaru could get a closer look at her. When she rose..., she took his breath away and made his eyes widen. That's what Meioshi looked like as a Nihonese person? She was wearing a gorgeous kimono underneath the coat. It was an eye-popping blend of peach, rich, deep indigo that was closer to bright blue than that cousin of purple, green, and red. The black coat had a large pocket to hold her parasol. A cold wind passed through, hence the large coat, and colorful leaves from her orchard or elsewhere were blowing everywhere. A light drizzle was threatening to come. The coat even matched her kimono! It was black, but the colors found in her kimono were accent pieces of beads and rope sewn together to form little designs of the fall weather. She wore the makeup again, and she was wearing earrings like the night the two battled for a second time among the lavender fields. They matched her kimono as well. A gust of wind picked up and chilled the air, making Meioshi gasp and close her coat and smile. One would think that her travels to hell would make her used to the cold, but the good doctor could tell you the difference between hell's chill and the mortal realm's chill.
Yamashi looked at Sesshomaru for a brief moment to see his reaction and visibly smirked at his lordship. Yamashi had been waiting on this particular moment for a while. Not so much for Meioshi to change into proper Nihonese attire, but for Sesshomaru to be honest with himself. The village doctor may have been human, may have even been annoying sometimes, but she was single, intelligent, independent, loved Nihon and its natural beauty, and... if the sudden silence wasn't a clue, she was a fine choice for courtship. Excuse him, a damn fine choice for courtship. That's what Yamashi thought about Yuko when they had first met. It didn't make any sense to him at the time either. For some unearthly, unholy, unnatural reason, he was just drawn to Yuko. When Meioshi dolled her up one night, and he doesn't even remember why now, Yuko became a beauty and snatched his breath away. He had to have her. Sesshomaru... was feeling what he felt back then. Yamashi could sense it, could feel it, could see it.
"Yo, Doc, where's my woman?" Yamashi asked, nodding and raising a brow.
"In the gardens, of course," Meioshi replied breathily. She was laughing from the winds picking up and tossing her coat about. "Didn't think it'd be so windy today. This was an awful day to do my hair! I wanted to visit the beach to see the ships. I love the colors."
"I mean if you're available for a romantic stroll, I could make time," Nihipali offered.
"I thought you said you were gifting all of the ladies!?" Jaken questioned.
"I'd like that, Pali-sama. I just so happen to have some old star lamps and a new quilt to stay warm. We can have dumplings!" Meioshi encouraged sweetly.
"Oh my..." Nihipali swooned from the idea of cuddling with the lovely doctor.
"Don't encourage him! What is wrong with you?" Jaken questioned, stomping his foot.
"Are you jealous, Lord Jaken? I'll always have a special place in my heart for you!" Meioshi cheered with her bubblegum smile.
"LIKE HELL I AM! AND I DON'T WANT A PLACE! I WANT TO MOVE ON TO MY NEXT FIGHTING LESSON!" Jaken roared.
"You'll be at level zero for another fifty years until you learn how to dodge properly," Meioshi joked, snickering when Jaken got close to her face.
"WHAT!?" Jaken roared.
"Zhe-Zhe! Did you remove the seal, sister?" Fuyu Joo asked from the distance.
"Coming!" Meioshi replied, hopping up to her feet and lifting a hand to remove the seal.
Before Sesshomaru's eyes, a burst of green and blue fire woke Meioshi's estate and a wall of rippling energy shook the fabric of reality. Fuyu Joo, dressed in a lovely pastel purple kimono with fall leaves of red, orange, and dirty yellow equivalent to ochre or light brown as the design, came up to the doctor with a playful smile. She was gorgeous and also wearing a light coat. She seemed to appear from thin air until the rippling wall she came from finally revealed a stone garden. It was a rather large and spacious garden that easily matched Lord Kirameku Ha's grand display of flora. Short wooden and stone fencing formed the entryway into the wonderland, and you could see other ladies chasing each other and doing each other's makeup or hair. Some were even trying on the lingerie kimonos that Meioshi stitched at her art studio. The lace and sheer fabrics showed off the curves of the native women.
"Oh, my heavens!" Nihipali said before flopping onto his back and blushing from head to toe.
"Lord Sesshomaru there has a gift for you, Doc," Yamashi said, nodding over to him. "I'm going to my wife."
"A gift?" Meioshi questioned.
"The swordsman has something for you, sister?" Fuyu Joo asked, grabbing her hand to hold it. She also had more of a half updo with fall leaves decorating it.
"..."
"Wha - ? Huh?" Meioshi questioned, looking at Sesshomaru's twitching hands. He had the bouquet and charcuterie basket in his hands.
She didn't say anything more, but she did look at Sesshomaru with some suspicion at first. When he didn't move from his spot or give a clue to what he was thinking, her suspicions had changed to something softer. For a moment, time seemed to stop. For a moment, the winds were pushing them to meet each other in the middle. For a moment, their eyes locked and took notice to their armor cracking. Not literal armor as his lordship's was cracked from the battle against Maboroshi no kohime, but a different kind of armor. One that Sesshomaru wouldn't let anyone else crack aside from Rin and the few allies and/or acquaintances he had made leading up to the final battle against Naraku, and one that Meioshi wouldn't let anyone else see whether she knew the person or not.
For a moment, they had forgotten that they were enemies, rivals, temporary allies. For a moment, they saw something in each other that they simply hadn't before. There was a sweet side to Sesshomaru that made his voice, appearance, and demeanor soothing. She may have teased him about it before, but seeing him out of his snippy, haughty, and sometimes intolerable elements put things into perspective. He may have been a demon like the others in her village, but he was not so cold and heartless that he was devoid of giving comfort. Pfft! An odd thought, but Bichisutomu, her beloved ancestor, had said the same thing about King Shanwang. Despite the overbearing cockiness, Shanwang was capable of comforting another. It was in his nature, especially being a male oni. Perhaps, Sesshomaru was much like her old friend. Overbearing in personality and power... but a soothsayer by nature and instinct.
Likewise, there was... a sexier side to Meioshi that made her quirkiness, playfulness, and honesty enticing. Though he loathed to admit it, Sesshomaru had a great fear of becoming attracted to a human. A human woman killed his father, killed his brother, and destroyed his family with this foolish idea of love. He knew love. His parents demonstrated that for him in his early childhood..., and it took a human woman to crush it all. Sesshomaru was even willing to give Inuyasha a chance to come home to the House of Inu - to prove himself - and it took a human woman (regardless of the involvement with a tainted soul) to take that opportunity and reunion away from them both. No human woman was worth the price of his family, but one was always behind its destruction. Love should be patient, encouraging, something you're willing to hold onto, something you're willing to give, something that gives you that last bit of fight to live on even on the brink of death..., and it became a weapon right before his eyes. It cut ties, severed bonds, split relationships. It made him jaded. He rejected love. He still feels he should. It's done nothing for him. Rin was a special case, and she will remain that way. Jaken was different - always had been. Yet... this one warrior, this one girl, this one healer... keeps touching the very thin, snappable thread of hope and desire. She's not plucking it, not pulling at it, not even trying to break it. She just strokes it, inspects it, and is unknowingly making it useful again. It's not often, but there are small moments when Meioshi ignites this want to be closer to her. It's not trust, but it's like warmth. It's a feeling of comfort. He doesn't how to get it, only that... he wants it.
Within a moment, Meioshi hesitantly took the gifts from Sesshomaru and observed the bouquet.
"This arrangement is curious," Fuyu Joo said softly. "Read it for me at the party, sister!"
"Read it?" Meioshi questioned, turning to her friend.
"Use your magic!" Fuyu Joo encouraged.
"What party? There's more? Why do you humans celebrate everything? Next thing you know there's a party for breathing air!" Jaken complained.
"Well, the ladies and I are merely having a slumber party to celebrate the launch of the new lingerie dresses," Meioshi explained. Women were coming in and out of the garden to retrieve instruments and fans. Some came by to take Nihipali's flowers and Meioshi's gift basket to the garden. "It's nothing exciting. We are heading over to the Welcome Center now, however."
"ON MY WAY!" Nihipali sang, dancing his way to the center. Hearts were popping out of his head with excitement, earning the giggles of beautiful women.