The Outside Looking In

"You got it, guys! Enjoy!" Ranko dropped off the large pizza in her hand on a little metal riser at the center of table seven with a warm customer service smile. "Anything else you need?"Hearing none of the four young men at the table speak up, Ranko nodded and headed back toward the bar. The second her back was turned, the smile faded. Her customers didn't need to know it, but she was miserable tonight. All she could think about was Akane, and how she was probably sitting down to dinner right now with her eldest sister. In Ranko's home. While denying she existed and kicking her to the curb for the night. She felt like a puppy that had been put outside for breaking a rule they didn't yet understand.She wore the white floral dress Akane had picked for her the morning after she'd spent the night at the Phoenix the first time. The first time Akane had called her cute. Ranko had just grabbed it as the first clean thing she reached in the closet, but now as she saw her reflection in the mirror behind the back bar, she wondered if she hadn't subconsciously chosen it for that very reason, as if she was letting her appearance quietly whisper the secret that Akane insisted she keep and hoping someone, anyone, heard it.Fortunately, it was a relatively slow night at the Phoenix, and Ranko didn't need to run quite as hard to keep up. She hadn't been sleeping, both because of her jam-packed schedule and her clouded emotions. Most nights, she didn't sleep long enough to dream at all, but last night, she'd managed to do so, just enough to dream that Akane dumped her for Crash so she'd have someone she could take home to her family.It was also fortuitous that it was a slow night because they were a sister short; the longer Izumi's pregnancy went on, the harder it was getting for her to make it through a shift. She was taking more and more nights off these days, at their mother's insistence, but it did make more work for Yui, Mei and Ranko. Hana herself was pitching in more of late to fill in the gaps, and while Ranko did miss hanging out with Izzi, it had been nice to work alongside her mother more of late. She did make a mental note that if she could ever find a few free hours, she needed to get over to Izzi and Kaito's apartment for a visit. She hadn't seen her nephew in weeks, and she missed him. Plus, Ranko could imagine that Hoshi might be feeling a little underappreciated with so much of his parents' focus on getting ready for the new baby."Hey, Yui-chan, can I get another one?" Ranko sat at one of the stools on the patrons' side of the bar, resting her elbows on the bar and her chin on her hands.Her blonde sister turned to her with a concerned expression while handing a young woman back her credit card. "I'm not sure you should. You're going to explode your heart or something."Ranko sighed heavily. "Would you rather I just get up on stage and take a nap? C'mon, Yui."Shaking her head in exasperation, Yui reached into the ice bin behind the counter and produced a narrow silver-and-blue can. "Last one for tonight, okay?"Answering only with a shrug, Ranko snatched the energy drink on the counter, popping the tab open and downing half the can at once."Listen, little sister, I'm really worried about you. You've got to stop doing this to yourself, kiddo." Yui frowned, suspiring softly. "Something's gotta give."Ranko nodded, still supporting her head in her right hand while her left continued to periodically tip the can of Red Bull toward her mouth. "Yeah, I know. I probably shouldn't have started cheerleading. I thought it would be a chance to perform more, and honestly, I kind of hoped Akane would find it kinda hot. Not that she'd notice."Yui put her hands on the bar top, leaning on it a little. She wanted Ranko to see that she had her full attention. "You have got to talk to her, girl. The longer you let this go, the angrier you're gonna get."Shrugging and rolling her eyes, Ranko drained the last of the can and handed Yui the empty container. "And say what? Akane, I think you should lose everything you ever wanted, because it's more important to me that you hold my hand when we're out? I can't ask that of her." She hung her head, letting it fall into her hands. "Maybe I should just let her go. It would be easier for her."Yui reached across the bar, placing her hand on Ranko's left shoulder. "Come on now, you don't mean that. You girls are made for each other. And if the two of you can't make it, what chance do I have of finding somebody?""You just need to start writing your phone number on receipts whenever cute girls buy drinks." Ranko managed a brief little giggle, sitting back a bit on her stool."That's not a bad idea, you know." Yui smirked, rubbing her wrist through her sleeve. Her scars always seemed to itch a little when she thought about dating again. She hadn't been with anyone since Kimiko, all those years ago. She'd just never been able to bring herself to do it. She wouldn't admit it to Ranko while she was struggling with Akane, but seeing how good their relationship had been the first few months was giving her the courage to finally think about trying again.As Yui spoke, an attractive brunette in a blue minidress sauntered up to the bar to Ranko's left. "Hey! Can I get a Manhattan, please?" Ranko looked over at her with a little smirk, then up to Yui.Yui blushed a little, recognizing Ranko's unspoken suggestion. "Uh, sure." She picked up her bottle of vermouth and set a martini glass on the bar.As Yui worked, the brunette turned to Ranko. "Hey, are you okay, hon? You haven't sung all night."Ranko shrugged. "Just got a lot going on, I guess."The brunette nodded contemplatively. "Yeah, you kinda look it, no offense. But the regulars do miss you when you're not up there. If something's bugging you, maybe getting it off your chest would help."Ranko looked up at the empty stage. "Yeah, maybe." As she spoke, Yui handed the drink across the bar to the woman, who passed her credit card in return. Yui quickly swiped the card in the credit card imprinter on the counter, and Ranko straightened up on her stool, craning her neck over the bar to read it."So, Sakura, huh? That's a pretty name." Ranko smiled coyly toward her sister.The brunette blushed. "Thank you."Ranko slid off of her stool to her feet. "I'm Ranko, and that's my big sister Yui." Ranko looked over the bar at her sister, whose face was the color of the maraschino cherry she'd just dropped into the woman's drink.Sakura smiled at Ranko, and then at Yui, surprised though she was at the way this conversation had begun.The redhead left the two of them alone, walking over to the audio engineering table near the stage. With the bar shorthanded tonight, Mei was in the kitchen cooking, so Ranko was on her own for operating the equipment. She thought about doing a sappy love ballad, in the hopes of setting the mood for Yui, but her heart wasn't in it enough at the moment. Sakura's suggestion sounded pretty good, though. If something's bugging you, get it off your chest.Ranko popped in a tape, pressing play, and rushing around the table and up the stairs just as the first notes played, quickly snatching up her headset microphone as she passed its hook. The second her feet touched the stage, a small collection of whoops rose from the patronage, and more followed as awareness spread that she had taken her rightful place.At first, she just stood still on the stage as she sang. She really lacked the stamina to dance as the song demanded, but she'd chosen it for its lyrics more than its beat."Lost in a dream, I don't know which way to go. Oh, let me say, if you are all that you seem, then baby, I'm moving way too slow…"As more and more of the bar's crowd began to cheer and focus on the stage and the young girl holding court on it, Ranko felt herself start to perk up a bit more. The energy of an excited crowd had always done more to invigorate her than cans of caffeine and taurine ever could. She'd been surviving on it for months now. Ranko placed her hands on her hips and began to rock them side to side."I've been a fool before. Wouldn't like to get my love caught in the slamming door. How about some information, please?"Ranko bit her lip in the split second before the next line. She was singing to a woman that wasn't in the room, but serving notice to her nonetheless. Sooner or later, Akane was going to have to decide whether she loved her enough to take a risk. She had a message to send, and she needed to make sure at least someone received it, even if it were just a handful of random people trying to get a nightcap on an otherwise-boring Thursday night.The first note of the chorus dropped, and Ranko's body came alive on the stage."Straight up now, tell me, do you really wanna love me forever? Oh, uh-oh, or am I caught in a hit and run? Straight up now, tell me, is it gonna be you and me together? Oh, uh-oh, or are you just havin' fun?"