About that music, Rosa... (Item required, Pink Trigger)

I don't think any show Eva saw without music will be representative of the type of performance we're looking for. Luckily, I have just the thing that'll let Rosa show us how she moves with it... I produced the pink portable cassette player from my pocket and shook it lightly. This ought to do the trick.

"You're... really serious about this, then?" Rosa asked. She still looked shocked, but I could see her internally coming to terms with what was going on. "You came to this island... equipped with a cassette player full of dance music... and you intend for me to use that to entertain Battler, of all people?"

That's obviously incorrect. I intended to have Rosa entertain me. Of course, saying that would add new complications, so I shrugged and told her it was right.

"Hm... You're paying quite a lot for it, Mr. Player." Rosa tilted her head toward the floor, but looked up at me a bit bashfully from beneath her blunt, brown bangs. "I don't know if I'll meet your expectations."

Just having Rosa look at me this way was already way above my expectations, but I didn't let her know that. Go ahead, please.

With a mixture of emotions, Rosa sighed, tensed her brow, then tried to relax as she heard the music begin. "Y-you have to stop me if someone's coming, okay? Promise!" The relatively young mother raised her hands in the air as she continued to tap her toe to music only she could hear, ending with one hand lilting in the air and the other grabbing that hand's wrist. Slowly, she slid that one down her raised arm, now bumping her hips from side to side with skirt-swishing movements. She had found a resting face that looked slightly entranced, her eyes low-lidded and her lips parted. I thought to myself that even this teaser was incredibly sensual.

"It must be nice to have the free time to learn something like this," Eva muttered to herself, understanding Rosa wasn't seeing or hearing her. I hardly thought that was charitable, but there was no point in protesting it. Besides, I also could hardly imagine where Rosa had found the time to learn this...

She had turned her back to us now (me in particular, I fancied) and repeated the motion with more pronounced bumps. In this position, it was impossible for me to avoid staring at her hips, in spite of the conservative, dark skirt that still covered them. As if realizing I had that weakness, once her hands were down this time, she cupped them just below the curve of her buttocks, then slid them upward as she continued to shake them, drawing the tail of her black gown up. It only revealed a bit more of the back of her red skirt beneath, but the intention behind it shone through. When they were almost waist-height, she released her gown and raised her hands behind her head, bumping her butt out just slightly and jerking it hypnotically up and down, left and right.

Rosa whirled around, allowing her dress to float above her ankles, then placed a hand on either hip and continued her jerks from the front, raising and lowering her shoulders in alternate timing. I couldn't hear her music, but I could tell her gestures had the rhythm almost perfectly. She caught my expression, probably a stupid stare, and nearly knocked me over with a wink. Seeming to understand the power she had over me, she approached and hooked her arms around my neck, now looking slightly up into my eyes with her shining brown ones. Her shimmying chest was almost against mine. She might not have quite as much to shake as the other women she called sisters, but this pressure... was still intense...!

"How about it, Player? Even as a mother, I'm still plenty charming, hm...?" She smiled at me, and I fancied that she had a bit of color in her face for me, as well. "Why don't we forget about Battler? You can just give me the money without a middleman, can't you...?"

I might have been about to say "yes..."

Luckily, Eva was there. She plucked the headphone out of her sister's ear with some irritation to snap both Rosa and me out of it, then clapped her hands, wearing a satisfied smile. "Very impressive! Who knew my little sister was capable of these kinds of man-pleasing motions?"

Teasing her about it turned out to be an effective way to get Rosa to clam up, just as she probably intended. "Y-yes... Well, I'll do my best to teach you, but it actually isn't easy. If you're ready, let's go ahead."

Eva nodded, and lead Rosa away quickly by the hand. I saw Rosa turn her head with an apologetic tilt of her brows... and even saw her stick her tongue out, an expression I thought said "your loss."

Was she still thinking she could make me change my plans at the last second and squeeze more money from me? Or was she... actually interested in me as a partner? Probably not likely...

Thinking the youngest daughter of Ushiromiya Kinzo was not to be underestimated, I went about the remaining preparations for the night's events.