Story: Hula Hoopnosis

 

The rafters of the Tendo training hall smelled of old cedar and the cloying, tropical scent of coconut oil. Shampoo clung to a support beam, her toes gripping the wood with feline precision. Below her, the "Hula Committee" continued their rhythmic, shimmering circle. The silver grass skirts caught the dim light, casting flickering, hypnotic reflections against the walls.

'Silly nice-nice girls,' Shampoo thought, her eyes narrowed as she watched them dance. 'They think they hide from Shampoo. But Shampoo see everything.'

Which was rather the problem, though she hadn't realised that. Not yet at any rate - and who knows if she will before it's too late? Let's find out, shall we?

She shifted her weight, feeling the slight pressure of the earplug in her left ear. The music - that persistent, undulating melody of 'Aloha Oe' - filtered through her right side, but it felt distant, like a song playing in a neighboring house. She watched Nabiki's hips sway, each motion she made precise and predatory. 

A strange warmth began to bloom in the center of Shampoo's chest. It wasn't the heat of combat or the fire of jealousy over Ranma. It was a slow, honey-like pull, a resonance that seemed to vibrate in her very bones. She frowned, her fingers tightening on the beam.

'Is just humidity,' she told herself. 'Or maybe too much ramen for lunch. Shampoo is warrior of Amazon. Shampoo immune to such baby tricks.' Or so she kept telling herself.

Below, the group stopped their synchronized humming. Nabiki tilted her head, her sunglasses sliding down the bridge of her nose. She didn't look up, but a smirk played on her lips.

"You know," Nabiki said, her voice carrying clearly through the hall, "it's really rude to watch a private meeting without contributing to the snack fund."

Shampoo froze. She didn't breathe. She didn't blink. Her eyes did narrow, however. How long had Nabiki known she was there...?

Nabiki finally looked up, her gaze locking onto Shampoo's hiding spot. "Why don't you come down, Shampoo? Or do you prefer the view from the ceiling?"

Shampoo scoffed, dropping from the rafters in a blur of motion. She landed silently in a crouch, her chui resting on her shoulder. She stood slowly, brushing a stray hair from her forehead.

"Nabiki-girl think she clever," Shampoo said, her voice steady. "Shampoo see your little sex cult. Very funny. Very pathetic. Shampoo just watch to see how much trouble you cause before Cologne find out."

Nabiki didn't look threatened. In fact, she looked amused. She began to sway again, a subtle, rhythmic shift of her weight that drew the eye.

"Sex cult? Please. We're a Disciplinary Committee," Nabiki replied. "We're bringing order to the chaos. And since you're so concerned about 'trouble,' maybe you'd like to help us manage it. You're a martial artist, after all. You'd be a perfect enforcer."

Shampoo laughed, but there was no mirth to it. "Shampoo not take orders from Tendo-girl. Especially not orders to dance like tacky tourist trap attraction."

"Who said anything about taking orders?" Nabiki stepped closer, the silver of her skirt shimmering with a sudden, intense flash. "I'm talking about a partnership. You want Ranma, don't you? You want him devoted, loyal, and perhaps... a little more malleable."

Shampoo's interest piqued. Because of course it did. Her primary interest was her wayward airen, now and forever. "Ranma be mine. Always be mine."

"He's stubborn," Nabiki noted, circling Shampoo like a shark. "He has that annoying internal discipline. But even the strongest wall has a crack. If we can get him into the rhythm, if we can Induct him... imagine it. A Ranma who doesn't fight your advances. A Ranma who follows your every whim because it feels <b>good</b> to do so."

Shampoo felt that warmth in her chest flare into a simmer. She looked at the other girls - Yuka and Sayuri - who were smiling with a vacant, blissful serenity. They looked... happy. Truly happy.

"Airen not fall for mind tricks," Shampoo murmured, though her own hips gave a tiny, unconscious twitch in time with the distant music.

"It's not a trick, it's a frequency," Nabiki said, her voice dropping to a soothing, melodic register. "Listen to the beat, Shampoo. Not with your ears, but with your blood. Can't you feel it? The islands calling? The rhythm of the tide?"

Shampoo tried to focus on her breathing, but the music seemed to be emanating from the very air around her. The earplug felt useless, a piece of plastic ignoring a force that was now vibrating through her skin.

"Stop talking," Shampoo commanded, but the command lacked its usual bite.

"Just one dance," Nabiki whispered, now standing mere inches away. "Just to see if your 'Amazonian will' is as strong as you claim. If you can resist it for five minutes, I'll give you all the dirt I have on Ranma's recent activities. Every girl he's talked to, every mistake he's made. And I'll help you seduce him as well. Deal?"

Shampoo's eyes flashed. "Deal."

Nabiki stepped back and signaled to the others. The music swelled, the 'Aloha Oe' melody becoming richer, more enveloping. Yuka and Sayuri began to dance around Shampoo, their movements fluid and hypnotic. 

Shampoo stood rigid, her arms crossed. She watched the shimmering silver of the skirts. She thought about Ranma. But as the minutes ticked by, the world began to blur. The edges of the training hall faded, replaced by a mental image of a golden beach and a setting sun. 

'I am immune,' Shampoo thought. 'I am a warrior. I am...'

Her feet moved. At first, it was a small thing. A slight shift of the heels. Then a sway of the hips. She didn't want to do it, but the movement felt like the only natural response to the sound. It felt like breathing. It felt like coming home.

"There it is," Nabiki purred. "The rhythm of the island. Let it in, Shampoo. Stop fighting the tide. Just float."

"Shampoo... not... floating..." Shampoo gasped, but her arms were already rising, her wrists curling in the sensual, undulating wave of the hula. 

The reflections from the silver skirts began to form patterns in Shampoo's vision-spirals of light that pulsed in time with the beat. The warmth in her chest expanded, washing over her mind, scrubbing away the tension, the anger, and the jealousy. 

"Does it feel good, Shampoo?" Nabiki asked, her voice sounding like it was coming from inside Shampoo's own head.

"Feels... warm," Shampoo whispered. Her eyes were glazed, her pupils dilated. She was no longer watching the dance; she was the dance.

"You're doing so well," Nabiki said, moving behind her and gently adjusting the angle of Shampoo's hips. "Just a little more energy. Feel the command of the music. The music is the law. The law is the rhythm."

Shampoo's mind felt like a piece of soft clay being molded. The thought of resisting seemed absurd, almost exhausting. Why fight when it felt this wonderful to obey? Why be a warrior when she could be a dancer?

"I... obey..." Shampoo murmured, her voice airy and distant.

Nabiki stepped back, a look of absolute triumph on her face. "Induction nearly complete. Now, for the finishing touch."

Nabiki reached into a bag and pulled out a shimmering silver bikini top and a matching grass skirt. "Put these on, Shampoo. The Uniform is the key. It amplifies the signal. It makes the Induction permanent."

Shampoo didn't hesitate. With a vacant smile, she stripped off her combat gear, her movements fluid and rhythmic even as she undressed. She slid into the silver fabric, the material feeling like a second skin. The moment the skirt settled on her hips, a jolt of pleasure shot through her spine.

The world snapped back into focus, but it was a different world. A world where Nabiki Tendo was the center of the universe.

"How do you feel, Shampoo?" Nabiki asked.

Shampoo performed a perfect, graceful turn, her hips swaying with a precision that would have made a professional dancer jealous. She beamed at Nabiki, her eyes shining with a newfound, mindless devotion.

"Shampoo feel wonderful, Leader!" she chirped. "Shampoo feel... light! Like coconut in wind!"

Nabiki chuckled, tapping her chin. "Welcome to the Committee. I think we can find a very special place for you. Your skills as a spy and a fighter will be invaluable."

"Anything for Leader!" Shampoo exclaimed, leaning in to give Nabiki a quick, affectionate peck on the cheek.

"Now," Nabiki said, her voice returning to its calculating tone. "Let's discuss our new assets. We have the boys, we have the girls, and now we have the Amazon. Our influence in the school is growing. But we still have the problem of the 'uncutes'."