A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for all the reviews! Please keep them coming! I appreciate them a lot! Here is a long chapter for you all. Hope you enjoiy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the lyrics or artists mentioned in this chapter.
Her heart was pumping so fast she was seriously worried it might explode. Already, sweat was beginning to bud at her hairline and there was a slight waver to her vision. Slowly, Mai lowered herself into a seat near the back of the club. Lowering her aching head to the cool surface of the tabletop, the blonde tried to calm down. Her boys were ready for this; they knew their dances, knew the roles they had to play, and could do it well. They were as prepared as she could have made them, and she was proud of how much each had progressed.
She felt Hiei slide into the seat beside her. Ignoring his presence, she closed her eyes tighter, willing her body to calm down. Focus was what she needed - focus and the strength to deliver tonight. It was on her dancing, too, more than the boys even knew. Gods, she needed-
"Onna," Hiei's voice interrupted her thoughts.
She didn't move, and Hiei frowned. He was growing more and more concerned for the hanyou. He had noticed that her headaches had been getting worse and lasting longer, that she was always tired and that her appetite seemed completely gone. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand, almost snatching it back before strengthening his resolve and placing a hand on her thigh.
"Onna, are you okay?"
"Yes," came her response, muffled by the table.
"Doesn't seem like it."
"I'll be fine," she said. "Thank you, Hiei."
The fire apparition was in no way convinced, but he knew she wouldn't admit that there was something bothering her. He just hoped it was nothing too serious. She lifted her head from the table and stood. He followed suit and took the opportunity to sweep his eyes over her a few times.
Her blonde hair was pulled into a side ponytail, the soft waves falling over her shoulder and draping past her collarbone. She wore a red off the shoulder shirt which hung away from her body. It emphasized her bosom a little, but was overall loose-fitting and comfortable looking. Clinging to her legs was a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, and his sharp eyes found how much thinner her legs had become. On her feet were silver heels; simple but still, he wondered how she could dance on such unstable footwear. A small sweeping of glitter on her eyelids and beneath her eyes, some eyeliner and a fair amount of glossy pink on her lips completed the look. She looked good, but he had to admit that this new, too thin Mai was worrying him a great deal.
So lost was the fire demon in his thoughts that he did not notice moss eyes moving over his form as well. He was so attractive it couldn't be possible that he had chosen to court her of all people. He wore black jeans, a white t-shirt and a black vest over that. A set of dog tags, which were actually some new Spirit device or another Botan had given them to try out, hung from his neck. Hiei's stance, straight backed minus the slight backwards tilt of his shoulder, one hand shoved into the pocket of his jeans, and his crimson eyes probing slowly around the room all made him the epitome of nonchalant badass. She had never thought she'd be the girl who was into that kind of guy, but here she was, wanting little more than to jump his bones right there on the dance floor.
"Ready to kick some ass?" Yusuke's shout pulled her from her ogling, and she flashed him a brief smile.
"We got this in the bag!" Kuwabara declared arrogantly.
"No getting overconfident, boys," warned the hanyou sternly. This wasn't a game, and they were all going to put everything into that night.
"Do not worry too much, Mai," Kurama advised, stepping up to join the group.
"Me? Worried?" she smiled at their shared joke. She was always worried it seemed, and they all knew it.
"I must have forgotten who I was speaking to," Kurama played along.
Yusuke grinned cheekily and jerked his thumb in Mai's direction. "This girl worries about nothing. Cool as a cucumber."
They shared a laugh, even Hiei letting out a barely discernible chuckle, before the DJ began to speak through his microphone, "How y'all doin' tonight?"
A roar of approval met his ears and he continued, "We gonna have a competition up in here tonight! We got dancers from all around who are here to dance their hearts out!"
Another wave of sound erupted from the clubbers before the DJ began to explain. "Alright, y'all, we gonna draw the order randomly. Each contestant's name has been entered into my computer. After each song, it will shuffle the names and randomly select the next to perform. Now, if we can all put our hands together for our judges, we got Senji Takani!"
A spotlight whirled to a table off to the side of the dance floor and stopped on an auburn haired man who had a small smile on his face. He wore a dark green suit jacket over a white button-up, but had left the first few buttons undone. Perched halfway down the bridge of his nose was a pair of wire-framed glasses. The man gave a tiny wave to the crowd and turned to look down at the sheaf of papers in front of him.
"We got the lovely Miss Kiriko Yamata in the building!"
The light moved down the table, illuminating a beautiful woman with hair the color of corn silk. She had ocean blue eyes which were thickly outline in black, her lips bright red and glossy. A sapphire colored dress with a sweetheart neckline covered her torso, also calling attention to her plumped up breasts. Beyond her heavily endowed chest was a tiny waist which disappeared behind the table. Mai felt a surge of jealousy; this woman was the definition of gorgeous. She had been virtually starving herself for a little over a month, and was nowhere near her level. Her green eyes flashed to Hiei for a moment, looking for his reaction to the beauty beneath the spotlight. His face was blank, except for his trademark glare, which comforted her slightly.
"And we got Masao Funji!"
The light moved once more and fell on a man with a huge grin on his face. He had sandy brown hair that fell in front of dark brown eyes. He swept them to the side, still smiling at the audience. His jaw was strong and square, giving off an undeniable alpha male vibe. His shoulders were broad and sturdy looking, giving way to an expanse of chest covered in a tight green button-up. He too left the first few buttons open, revealing a thick Adam's apple and the hollow at the base of his throat. Hiei felt the hairs at the back of his neck prick up slightly, and realized he felt slightly threatened. But he knew he could take this guy; he was a freaking fire demon and had a nearly impeccable record of wins. Then what was it? His eyes slid down to the tiny blonde beside him. Her eyes were focused on the DJ, waiting for him to go on and get the competition started. That was it, then. He was afraid that the other man could be competition with the woman he was courting.
"Ok, so now we gonna get this party started! Let's see who's up first," The spotlight rotated back to the DJ as he smacked a button on his computer with the wave of a hand. Behind him, a screen came to life, a series of names flashing across it so fast that the words were impossible to read. Finally, one name shone frozen on the screen in lime green letters: Yusuke Urameshi.
"Nice, looks like we get to set the bar high from the start, eh, Mai?" Yusuke chuckled.
"Guess so," Mai replied vaguely.
Everyone left the dance floor, save Mai and Yusuke. They stood side to side, and Hiei almost chuckled at the sight they must have been to everyone else. Tiny, four-foot-eleven Mai, next to five-foot-ten Yusuke. The noise of the crowd died down to a murmur, then the first beats of "Shots" by LMFAO began to boom through the speakers.
Mai was only slightly surprised when Yusuke fell easily into the practiced movements. He was fluid, and was clearly having fun with it. There was no improvisation, just the steps she had choreographed for him.
As the song moved into the chorus, the two moved back into their positions standing side by side, fist-pumping energetically to the pulsing beat.
"The ladies love us, when we pour shots, they need an excuse, to suck our cocks," the song continued, as Mai and Yusuke took to grinding on the dance floor.
"We came to get crunk, how 'bout you? Bottoms up, let's go round two!" The pair's feet flew across the floor around each other, hips rocking and shoulders rolling, before falling back into a series of wild fist pumps.
Their energy was incredible to watch. It was infectious, Hiei decided, seeing the crowd dancing and fist pumping along with them. He turned his eyes to the judges' table, and saw the two men give a small nod at each other. That had to be a good sign, right?
The song was winding down, and Mai and Yusuke's steps were faster, shoes sliding across the floor along to the beat until finally, they each rolled their shoulder to the side, Mai touching her left shoulder to Yusuke's arm to lean against him. They crossed their arms and flashed the crowd a smile as the last note died in the air. The crowd cheered and Yusuke and Mai made their way back to the rest of the group as names began flashing across the screen once more.
"Okay, everyone, next up is…!" The flashing names came to a halt, and Kuwabara grinned in anticipation.
"Alright. We got this. Let's do it, Mai," he declared and strolled confidently to the center of the dance floor.
Mai followed, but stopped several feet away from her human friend. From the speakers began to play "Where Them Girls At," by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj. Kurama chuckled at the perfect song choice for their friend, and shifted his weight to be more comfortable as he and his comrades watched their friends begin their dance.
"So many girls in here, where do I begin? I see this one, I'm 'bout to go in, Then she said, 'I'm here with my friends, She got me thinking and that's when I said…"
Kuwabara sent a look around the crowd before walking forward to Mai's side. She gave him a flirtatious smile and looked up at him through her eyelashes before they began their steps. Hiei hated watching their interactions in this dance. The looks she gave the oaf were so blatantly sexual. He wanted to punch the fool in the face then turn to his onna so she could look at him like that.
Their dance consisted largely of swaying hips, linking arms, rolling shoulders and miming along to the song. It was not a technically advanced dance, but it was a good display of role playing, energy and fun moves. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, and hopefully the judges would agree.
Mai blinked a few times to clear the blurriness from her vision once the song had ended. Kuwabara slapped her a high five and gestured for her to follow him back to his team. She followed slowly, thankful for the reprieve she was about to get. Her green eyes found Hiei, and she wanted so badly to cuddle into his arms. She needed to feel his strength, and craved the comfort he gave her.
He frowned and turned his eyes to her. "You may want to save yourself the effort and stay right there, onna."
Mai raised a questioning eyebrow before following his gaze to the screen behind the DJ. Kurama's name was staring back. A small noise of despair fell from her lips before she could help it. She needed a few minutes to recover, not to immediately go back out there and perform! Slapping a smile on her face so as not to let any of the boys catch on, Mai linked her arm through Kurama's offered one and headed back out to the dance floor.
Their song, "Blackout" by Breathe Carolina, was a funky one with a definite techno flare. Hiei didn't watch their moves too closely as they slid their feet across the floor, jerked their shoulders in different directions and used their bent knees to allow for greater swinging of hips. He watched Mai carefully, finding that her smiling face was simply a mask. It looked convincing to others who didn't know her, but the fire demon easily saw that the smile didn't reach her mossy eyes, nor did her lips curve up at quite the right angle. Conjectures on what was affecting her so much had not concretely formed in his mind when anger wiped all thought from his head. This part of the dance was even worse than those damned looks she gave Kuwabara.
Mai rolled her hips against Kurama's groin, the pair grinding into the next few lines of the song. Kurama's hands on her hips made him want to show the fox exactly what his katana could do. At least when Yusuke had to perform such a move with his onna, he didn't have his hands on her as well. In some part of Hiei's mind, he knew that Kurama would never try to get between him and Mai, but that part was very, very small, and the fire demon had to use all of his resolve to not go out on the dance floor and pull the redhead away from Mai.
"What's up your ass, Hiei?" Yusuke asked, bringing the shorter demon back to reality, away from plots to keep Kurama away from Mai.
"Hn," he gave his signature noncommittal response. He crossed his arms and ignored the smug look on the Spirit Detective's face.
The song ended as Mai froze against Kurama's chest, one of his hands at the small of her back and both of her arms wrapped around his neck. He smiled at her in relief that they had performed well. She returned it with a relieved grin of her own, but hers was due to the fact that she could lean against him and catch her breath for a few seconds. Her heart was pounding as if it was trying to beat right out of her skin. The bottom layer of her hair was wet with sweat and she felt shaky all over. Therefore, she was even more relieved when he led her back to Hiei on his arm.
As she stood next to the fire demon, she wanted so badly to lean into him. Her eyes kept fluttering shut, as if her eyelids were weighted down. She saw him glance down at her, the barest sliver of concern visible in his ruby orbs. That was enough for her, though, and quickly muttered, "I need to go fix my hair. I'll be right back."
She hurried from her friends and those crimson eyes trying to hide their worry for her, slipping away to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she pulled her hair from her ponytail and fluffed it in hopes of drying the damp layers. It tumbled over her shoulders in slightly frizzy waves, almost like she had teased it. Giving it a slight nod, Mai leaned heavily against the sink. The night was over halfway done; she could do this.
"Ready, onna?"
Mai nodded, staring at Hiei's name spelled out on the screen. They made their way onto the dance floor, and Mai took a deep breath. She fell easily into this role; it wasn't even completely acting on her part. She looked up at him with a flirty smile, letting the physical desire she felt for the fire demon bleed into her eyes. Puffing out her chest and arching her back to stick out her butt further, she tried to exude as much sexiness as possible.
He stood in front of her, looking down with a slightly hardened face, determination and a hint of the male instinct to dominate in his eyes.
"Enrique, Usher, This is for the dirty girls, All around the world, Here we go!" the first lines of "Dirty Dancer" filled the club.
They approached each other slowly at first before he took her hands in his, pulling her close. Their bodies rocked back and forth to the beat, their dance a series of small touches, slight but provocative movements of the hips.
"She don't wanna love, she just wanna touch, she's a greedy girl to never get enough, she don't wanna love, she don't wanna touch, got all the moves that make you get it up…"
The blonde narrowed her eyes seductively at the fire demon, stepping backwards then extending her hand to lay her palm on his chest. She dragged her hand across the broad expanse of his chest, then shoulder blade as she slowly circled around him. He spun around, grabbing onto her hips and pulling her into him.
"She's a dirty, dirty dancer, dirty, dirty dancer, never ever lonely, she's a dirty, dirty dancer, dirty, dirty dancer, she'll never be your only…"
They grinded their way through the chorus before melding back into their former, more subtly sensual movements. As the song began to wind down, the chorus was repeated twice. Hiei used his anchor on Mai's hand to spin her so her back was to him and he ground his hips into her bottom. She rolled her hips back as he splayed his hand possessively over her stomach. Reaching back, the blonde laced her hands behind his neck, burying her fingers in the tuft of hair there. She arched her back, pushing out her chest and allowing for a more impressive angle between her body and his.
"The girl don't stop, dirty dancer, the girl don't stop," the song repeated itself several times. Mai quickly turned on her heel, swinging her right leg up and around Hiei's waist and using her new hold on him to pull their bodies flush together as they continued the rotation of their hips. It was all the fire apparition could do to prevent a physical response from the closeness of her warmth.
As the last notes of the song faded, they ceased their movements, frozen in an embrace. Mai ran her fingertips down the side of his face before they too halted their slow procession. The crowd gave a loud response, perhaps louder than many other dances that night. Mai couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling their dance had been received quite well.
"Woo, is it just me, or is it getting' hot in here, y'all?" the DJ called from behind his turntables.
Mai smiled at Hiei, allowing her leg to slide back down to the floor. His face swam before her own and she nearly stumbled as they walked back off the dance floor. Hiei must have seen her falter, for his hand darted out to wrap around her elbow. He guided her back to their friends before dropping his hold on her. She was thankful for the fact that he remained close, taking comfort from his presence as she fought the blackness at the edge of her vision.
"Alright, y'all, that's it for all our guys tonight!" the DJ announced.
"Nice, let's get outta-" Kuwabara began, but stopped at what the DJ said next.
"Now let's get our girls out here! Who's the lucky lady who's up first?"
Mai felt guilty, looking at the surprised expressions on the boys' faces, their eyes locked on the screen once again flashing through names. As the sound of the shuffling from the screen ceased, each pair of eyes flew back to her. The blonde groaned slightly, knowing it meant that she was up once again. She forced a smile at them, hoping that it was convincing and that she'd be able to pull off what she had to do. With false confidence, she spun on her heel, shutting her eyes tightly against the wave of dizziness the movement caused.
Ignore it, she ordered herself, striding onto the dance floor once more. She quickly threw her hair into its side ponytail again and pulled her shirt farther down past her shoulders. Then "Fire Burning" began and Mai gave herself over to the pleasure of dancing.
Hiei watched as Mai began rolling her hips to the right, her shoulders to the leftt and then the opposite. Side to side she swayed, before hooking a thumb in her belt loop and raising a hand in the air, bouncing to the beat as it quickened its pace. As the beginnings of the chorus approached, her moves became more advanced than anything he had seen her do yet.
"She get it, pop it, lock it, drop it, that birthday cake, Got a candle, need to blow that crazy flame away, Now take my red, black card and my jewelry, Shawty is cool like the fire, cool like fire, Somebody call 911, Shawty fire burning on the dance floor, whoa, I gotta cool her down, She wan' bring the roof to ground, On the dance floor, whoa, She's fire burning, fire burning on the dance floor, That little shawty's fire burning on the dance floor…" The hanyous moves turned into jerky yet fluid steps. Her knees slightly bent, her right foot pivoted forward, to the side, behind her left leg and back to the front with the beat before she slid to the side. Her arms bent elegantly into different angles along with the steps.
"That body is a masterpiece, The order is one in every hundred years, But ain't no doubt I'm taking it home, home!" Catcalls could be hears above the music as Mai swung her hips around, her hands crawling down her own torso and thighs in a clearly provocative manner. Hiei's eye twitched, both out of complete rage that other men were looking, and because the sight was almost too sexy to handle, especially since his instincts were already heightened from their own dance just minutes before.
The blonde repeated some of her earlier fast-paced steps through the next few verses, before she sunk to the floor, clearly going all out for the last repetition of the chorus. She spun on her hip, her bottom, lifted herself on her forearms, crossed and uncrossed her legs – the series of movements was so circular and fast that Hiei had to concentrate to consciously perceive each move. He had no idea she could – what was the ningen word? – breakdance, nor that she would be so good at it. The crowd let out several murmurs of amazement, before their cheering increased greatly in volume.
Mai straightened, pumping one fist in the air and thrusting her hips forward and back a few times, before pitching forward into a brief handstand. Using her hold on the ground to push off of, she spun on her head several times, earning more cheers and even a nod of approval from the judges. As the song wound down, hitting its final notes, she fell out of the spin and into a resting position on the ground. Her elbow was propped up, face on her raised hand. She lay on her side, on leg bent and her free hand resting idly on top of it. She smiled at the judges, letting them know she knew she had just killed her performance.
"Well, that is gonna be hard to beat!" announced the DJ. "That little shawty is fire on the dance floor!"
Mai stood and gave him an appreciative wave before turning back towards her friends. Yusuke and Kuwabara were cheering right along with the crowd, and Kurama was clapping for her. Hiei was stationary, but there was a small smile on his face- a smile! She realized she had never seen a true smile on the fire demon's face until then, and although it was a small one, it made her heart flutter that she had gotten such a reaction from him.
The giddiness was short-lived as she took a step forward; her legs felt like overcooked noodles and the darkness creeping in on the edges of her vision was back, pushing toward her central vision with full force. She made it back to her friends in a haze.
"Holy shit, Mai! You were fucking amazing out there!" Yusuke congratulated.
"Hiei…" she managed, trying to push back the coming darkness.
"Hey, I compliment you and all you care about is the shrimp?" Yusuke said, jokingly sounding affronted.
The blonde woman ignored him, adding, "Please catch me," before everything was black.