The Night [5]

Chapter 14: Zero to Hiro

"Well, you actually did it, Rebecca, how's it feel that your vision has finally come to life?" Hyde asked me as I sat down across from him at one of the many small tables in the ballroom. I, deep in thought, as usual, did not answer him right away, looking around to see that the party was now in full swing. Freddie and Charlie were in charge of music, which I knew was not the smartest choice, but I had no other choice. Both of the males directed the music from two large set of speakers and a computer sitting on a table that had a playlist and YouTube even available for them to play music for the dance. For the moment, there was softened jazz music playing to start off the night, which surprisingly, was a very good choice to have in my own personal opinion. I could see multiple creatures over at the food table, which was obvious, from Wildfire munching on some cookies and Redfeather sampling some of the punch in a large glass bowl to Sebastian putting some food on a plate for his own meal. I could see his gaze shift to a plate that I had set out on the table that had several small square chunks of meat on it with a white notecard that said 'ONLY FOR RYUU' written in bold permanent marker. I saw the purple-haired male look around for a moment before his line of sight found me. This was expected, so I just nodded to him with a slight smile, so without further ado, he picked up one of the square cubes of meat sniffing it slightly before looking back into his hood and I could see him mouthing something to Ryuu, who was most likely just waking from a nap. Sebastian dangled the cube over his hood and in less than two seconds, a red-furred tomcat's head poked out from the hood of the sweatshirt and snatched the piece of food from the other male's hand, munching it quietly before sinking back into the warm hood. It made me smile and it even brought slight amusement to me, seeing the ghoul always in his boyfriend's hood in his feral form. "Rebecca?" Hyde asked me again and I forgot that he had asked me a question only a minute or so previous to that. I flashed the hellhound an embarrassed and apologetic smile. "Ah, sorry about that. I'm very happy that this could actually happen, I love to see my characters interacting with one another and having a wonderful time tonight. The night isn't even in full swing yet, but I can already tell that this is already a grand success just by looking around." I said with an actual happy smile on my face, which made Hyde smile as well, seeing me in an actual good mood that was not forced in any sense. "Even if this whole party is the best thing in the whole world, I'm just glad that you are happy tonight." He said, looking at me for a moment before sitting back in his chair and taking a sip of water as he looked out at the dancefloor.

In the one of the corners of the large, spacious ballroom, Scruffy, or Hiro, as he had claimed to be earlier, looked around at the various creatures that inhabited the area, his foot quietly tapping against the polished wooden floor underneath him in a steady rhythm to the jazzy music that Freddie and Charlie had chosen to play now on the large twin speakers. He had always be a huge fan of good music like this where it can relax you, other than that loud rock-and-roll or metal music that some people listened to. Of course, the male never bashed anyone when it came to their tastes in such things - some liked country, some liked metal and others like techno or disco. To be honest with himself, Hiro liked a wide variety of music types, like a relaxing classical music piece that involved a piano or violin or instrumental types with a guitar that could put a good beat into the atmosphere. Deep down, in his heart, he knew that the new him should stop focusing on things like this, things that Scruffy liked, but it was the only way to calm his shaky nerves. It was like he was being introduced into the family like he was some sort of newcomer, despite being the first creature to ever be created by Rebecca. No, he shouldn't think about that. He was not Scruffy anymore, he was Hiro now. A confident male that could wisk any lady off her feet and not the tiny, pathetic puppy that everyone looked down upon like some sickened joke. As he pondered about this, a familiar pair caught his eye now from across the room - Piper and DJ. The two of them were currently conversing at one of the tables in their feral forms with happy, content smiles on their faces. Ever since he had encountered that canine in the hallway several days prior, he did not like seeing him, especially around Piper. He knew that from Rebecca, DJ was Piper's first friend from another universe, but this did not sit well with him. The canine was too close, too physical and too friendly towards the female while when she was away from him, he was some snarky, overconfident bastard that acted like he had everything in his paws with nothing to stop him. Oh, but now he had the upper hand, he could now show DJ that he wasn't the only person in this room. Hiro was so much more talented and skilled than he ever would be. The male shook his head when he truly took note of what he was now thinking, why was he thinking like this? He had never thought this way on a day previous to this one. Or had he? He was very unsure, but doubt and hesitation was his enemy, Hiro just needed an opportunity to strike by timing things just right before it was too late.

As if on a timed cue, Hiro watched as Piper said something to the large wolf before shifting into her human form, wearing a deep orange-hued dress. She looked beautiful and stunning in the dark-haired male's eyes as she made her way over to the food table, most likely to get the two of them some food to eat. This was not a time to hesitate, so without any more thinking that would distract him, he quietly walked over to the food table with a soothing smile slipping onto his expression, although his heart was beating a million times faster than it was usually in his chest. He had not felt this way in a very long time and he knew this, but would that stop him from this once in a lifetime opportunity? No, it would not. Although, Hiro was not an idiot and would have to play this out with a smooth and confident attitude - that is what girls liked, wasn't it? Hyde had gotten Rebecca and he seemed pretty confident in his own abilities to swoon and attract his owner, or best friend, Rebecca was Scruffy's owner and he was no longer that stupid mutt that everyone thought lowly towards. Hiro gave a low exhale of breath and went up to the table, standing beside Piper as he grabbed an empty plate to put food onto. He was glad that he had judged the height of this form correctly, so that he did not make himself appear shorter than Piper in her own human form. He had read about a statistic once that girls almost never went with guys that are shorter than them. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiro noticed the female glance at him as he rested various foods on his platter and he did his very best to not get too nervous in this process. To his luck, it would seem that he would not have to start this conversation between them. "Oh, hello there!" Piper said, "You must be one of those creatures from another universe that Rebecca invited to the dance!" Hiro mentally prepared himself for this moment and finally it would go into play now. He turned to look at her with the smile from before still evident on his expression. "Ah, yes, that certainly would be the case for me," He said, his tone coming out as warm and soothing to any ears that listened, "I was afraid that I had arrived too late because I had gotten a little lost on the way here, but to my luck, I found the manor right before Rebecca had shut the doors. Sadly enough, I was not able to get introduced like the others here. My name is Hiro and it is a pleasure to meet you, my dear." Hiro dipped his head in a respectful manner, feeling like there were certainly boundaries that he had to stay behind for now. He had to remember that Scruffy had history with Piper, but Hiro did not - they were strangers right now. "Well, I'm glad that you could make it." She exclaimed with a small giggle, "My name's Piper and I welcome you to the Feral Plains manor."

The short male gave her a friendly smile, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside because it felt like he was getting a second chance, a second time to get to know her. "Piper, that's a beautiful name you have. I hear it means that you have a wondrous sense of adventure, but that's just the meaning behind the name, I bet there is so much more about you." This caught the female slightly by surprise, not expecting such words with a smoother tone and it even made sure cheeks flush with a bit of color. "Me? Adventure? Goodness, I've probably never gone that far from the mansion to experience a real one. I'm just some shy girl with not many words to say." She said with a lightened giggle stirring from her, though Hiro felt that she was much more than some shy female, so much more. He simply chuckled at this. "Ah, don't say that. Everyone has their own special charm to them." He remarked, "That is a very lovely dress you're wearing, by the way. I couldn't help but notice you from across the room in such a ravishing color." In the back of his mind, he knew that if Rebecca was here to see this, she would probably tease him about being too corny with these lines, but Piper seemed to like them, so it did not matter either way to him. "Thank you, Hiro.." She murmured, blushing a small bit at his words, "To be truly honest, I didn't know if this would be too much for something of this occasional, but I really do like it and thought it was the best choice compared to the rest in my closet." Hiro simply just nodded to this, looking back to the set of tables against the wall from where he was before. "Ah, well, I don't wish to take up anymore of your time at the dance, Piper, I'll let you enjoy your night and get back to my table." He said before lifting his plate and beginning to walk away, but Piper soon stopped him. "Hey, wait! If you don't have anyone to sit with, you can come sit with me if you like, nobody deserves to be alone on such a wonderful night like this." She said as he glanced back at her with a certain look in his eye as his gaze temporarily shifted over to the table where DJ sat in his feral form, now taking note of the male that now talked with Piper with an unknown emotion in his blue-hued gaze now. "Are you sure that your date over there would not mind?" Hiro asked her, still not turning around, "I would hate to intrude on a lovely, young couple such as yourselves." That made Piper look over at DJ for a moment before looking at Hiro once again. "Oh, no. We're not together in that way, we're just friends." She said, assuring him, which made a smile reemerge on his face, "He loves to make new friends, so I don't think there would be a problem with you joining us." Hiro the turned around and stepped back over to her. "Is that so? Well, I certainly cannot say no then to such a kind offer now."