PAINFUL INTERACTIONS
Mai strode out onto the dancefloor, taking care to keep her pace slow but deliberate. Linking into the music, she timed each footstep to fall in line with the beat, accentuating each stride with a sensuous swing of her hips. Her head was up, her arms swung casually by her side and her shoulders were back. No one looking at her would have imagined just how self-conscious she felt or could have guessed that she was itching to turn around and see if Seto was watching.
She still felt a buzz of exhilaration. Brushing past a Seto and catching a glimpse of his bewildered expression – that had been good. She angled herself to glide effortlessly through the crowds to join Serenity and Téa, her confidence faltering as she realised she would have to dance to music that she neither recognised nor liked.
As Serenity squealed in delight at her arrival, Mai had to hope that her old-school moves would still work for this modern dance stuff.
0oooo0
Seto watched Mai's departure and frowned. The encounter hadn't gone quite as he had planned. It had been an impulsive decision to come. A hint, dropped by Mokuba, that Mai might be attending the evening's gathering, had been enough and, when Yugi had said her name, when he'd looked up to see her at the balcony staring back at him with her eyes wide, for a brief moment, he'd thought the impulse had been a good one.
At the sight of her, Seto had experienced a peculiar feeling of elation that seemed to begin in the pit of his stomach and, whilst her expression had been difficult to read, there had definitely been something in that long gaze they held – or so he had thought.
He turned away from the dance floor and blinked in surprise as he was met by the curious expressions of Tristan and Joey.
His eyes narrowed. "Something you want to say?"
"Seto!" Mokuba stepped forward quickly. "You're here. How… why…"
"You invited me."
"Yeah, I mean I always invite you but you never… it's great to see you though!"
"I thought I would stop by and see where you like hanging out." Seto glanced around him as if to give credence to the statement and caught sight of Tristan and Joey exchanging knowing glances.
Seto fixed them with a cold glare.
"Do you want a drink, Kaiba?" Yugi asked, giving Joey a subtle dig in the ribs with his elbow.
Seto tried to work his expression into a gracious smile. "Yes. Whisky… please," he managed in a voice that sounded only slightly strained.
As Yugi left for the nearby bar, a heavy silence descended upon the group.
Mokuba sighed inwardly. For all that he loved his brother immensely, he had to admit that Seto's social skills were somewhat lacking on occasion. Not always of course, after all, Seto had hosted numerous business and charity events and had mingled with everyone from heads of state to famous actors, royalty to business rivals. No one could ever exactly call him 'friendly' but he certainly seemed to pull off being charming and witty when he chose to. It was just that he never chose to with Yugi and his friends.
"Seto's just come back from England?" Mokuba said, trying to diffuse the air of barely concealed animosity that was emanating from his brother like a thick fog.
Seto twitched his head in the approximation of an agreeing nod.
Mokuba felt a moment of hope as Joey took the bait, his expression transforming into one of genuine interest.
"Cool!" he said. "Did ya see the king?"
Mokuba did a mental head slap and looked at his brother, silently pleading with him to let the comment pass without a rebuttal.
"Of course," Seto replied, his voice smooth, masking any sarcasm. "I spent an afternoon at the palace. The king and I discussed Duel Monsters over tea; he's quite the enthusiast."
Joey's eyes widened. "Really?!"
Tristan smacked Joey on the back of the head. "Shut up Joey – he's just foolin' with you."
Seto blinked, only the slightest movement at the side of his mouth giving away the fact that he was laughing at them both.
Mokuba scowled and tried to get the conversation back on track.
"Seto was chasing down the people who were responsible for the bomb last week," he stated, a hint of pride evident in his voice.
"Nice," Tristan said, casually fending off Joey's attempts to get him back for the head slap, "did you catch 'em?"
Seto flicked a quick glance at Mokuba and then looked levelly at Tristan.
"We caught two," he said coolly, "the other we let drop."
Mokuba, who had just taken a sip of his drink, made a strange noise and clasped a hand to his mouth as he started choking.
"Jeez, are you okay Mokuba?" Joey asked moving quickly to his friend and slapping him hard on the back despite Mokuba trying to shoo him away with a flailing arm.
Tristan shot Seto a quick look and was surprised to find the hard features softened by a small smile which disappeared as soon as he realised he was being watched. The two men locked eyes.
"So," Tristan began with an expression that made Mokuba's eyes widen in alarm, "what's with the look you were giving Mai?"
Joey and Mokuba both turned to look at Seto. Mokuba, his face red and his eyes swimming with tears looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but he couldn't get any words out.
Seto stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Joey, gave Mokuba one last strong slap on the back. "Of course you don't," he said, with a shrewd grin.
"More importantly," Tristan continued, enjoying the feeling of having the upper hand, "what's with the cold shoulder she gave you?"
"You'd better not have done anything to upset her," Joey said, his voice suddenly serious.
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you going to ride to her rescue, Wheeler?"
Joey suddenly laughed. "No," he said with a grin, "I just wouldn't want to be the one to upset her – she's got a pretty fierce temper!" He shook his head as if remembering an event from the past and made a pained expression.
Seto wasn't quite sure what to say. He'd started the conversation on pretty safe territory; mocking Joey and Tristan was so easy and felt so familiar that he had almost enjoyed himself. But then her name had come up and, try as he might, he just couldn't seem to get a hold of the situation. He cast his eyes around at the expectant faces, knowing they were expecting him to say… something, anything. But his mind was a blank.
"Here's your drink, Kaiba."
Seto jumped at the sound of the voice at his shoulder and turned to see that Yugi had returned with his whisky.
He grabbed at it, bringing the glass to his lips and drinking down the liquid in one smooth motion. He banged it down on the table and then, without meeting the surprised expressions of the people around him, he turned and began to walk away.
"I'm going to the bar," he called out behind him.
0oooo0
Mai was beginning to relax. It turned out that dance music was quite good to dance to, and even though she didn't recognise half the songs, the beat was strong and repetitive enough for her to feel confident with what she was doing. She was even starting to enjoy herself.
To the right of her was Téa who was dancing with an incredible elegance, her lithe limbs twisting and moving to the music perfectly. In front was Serenity who was shifting her feet rhythmically from side to side and swaying her arms around happily. Her lips formed the words of every song and, each time a track changed, she would give a little squeal of delight.
Mai herself kept her feet firmly planted in place making all her movements center around her hips and shoulders, gyrating them seductively in time with the beat so that she twisted and turned smoothly with a cat-like grace.
In the busy club the trio of girls had not gone unnoticed, and Mai had already observed a number of men who had been eyeing one or other of them up. For most, a quick glare had been enough to warn them off trying anything, but she was becoming increasingly aware of two men whose furtive glances had turned gradually to lecherous stares as they had consumed one drink after another in quick succession.
Mai frowned as the pair, egging each other on, made their way onto the dance floor, clumsily stumbling into other dancers as they approached. One of the men, the shorter of the two, moved towards Téa, looking for a way to get near to her even as she twisted and turned; her eyes glazed with concentration. His goofy smile turned to a frown as he was constantly prevented from getting close by Téa's sweeping arms. Blinking slowly, he turned to his friend who nodded his head towards Serenity.
The larger of the two men had maneuvered himself around so that he was standing behind Mai. He stood, motionless for a moment, watching the sensuous movement of Mai's body, and then he took a step towards her…
0oooo0
Seto made his way back across the VIP area, drink in hand. He had spent as much time as possible at the bar, deliberately delaying his inevitable need to return to the group. He half expected their annoying interrogation to continue from where it had left off, so was surprised when his return went completely unnoticed.
Mokuba, Yugi, Joey and Tristan were all standing at the balcony overlooking the dance floor. No one was saying anything.
Seto made his way to stand beside his brother.
"What are we looking at?"
Mokuba pointed down at the mass of people dancing below them. "Over there, Mai, she has an… admirer."
Seto followed the direction of Mokuba's hand, and his eyes narrowed as he spotted a burly man dancing up close behind Mai, clumsily trying to match his hip gyrations to hers.
Mai carried on dancing, seemingly oblivious to the smirking man behind her. Seto's grip on the banister tightened as he watched, a sliver of anger building within one of Mai's dance moves led to her turning so that they could see her fierce expression. She appeared to say something, but he just leered at her and moved even closer reaching out a hand to her left hip.
Seto felt his stomach twist, a bile rising in his throat. He turned away taking a step towards the staircase before being stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Don't do it rich boy."
He spun round locking eyes with Joey. The blonde quickly drew back his hand at Seto's glare but held his ground, his expression serious.
"You're just going to—"
"Mai can look after herself." Joey's eyes cut across to the dancefloor and back to Seto. "And she certainly wouldn't thank you for trying to interfere."
"He's right man," Tristan added as Seto made another glance towards the stairs, "and trust me, he should know."
"Don't forget, that's my little sis' down there with some jerk tryin' it on." Joey turned back to watch the girls, his face grim. "Now I could go down there and pummel him into next week, and maybe I should, but I trust Mai to handle it."
Seto frowned but stayed where he was. Now he looked at Joey properly, he could see that the blonde was tensed up as if he was ready to pounce. Clearly, despite his words, not intervening was proving difficult for him too. Again, Seto felt the sickening twist in his stomach as he saw the man place his other hand on Mai's right hip so that he was now stood directly behind her with only inches separating them. He placed his hands back on the railing, the fingers of his left hand tapping against the metal as he gritted his teeth.
0oooo0
On the dance floor, Serenity had become aware of the short man as he danced closer and closer behind her. Her smile faltered, her steps falling out of time as she cast a desperate look at Mai. The woman was still dancing but her movements were tighter and her expression sharp. A tall man lurched awkwardly behind her, his large hands resting on her hips and Serenity gasped at the sight, her wide eyes meeting Mai's for the first time.
Mai met her stare with a level gaze, a small nod telling Serenity that she had it under control. And then a smile twisted her lips in a way that made the younger girl bite at her lip nervously.
As the short man started to reach out towards Serenity, Mai dropped down slightly, driving her elbow back into the tall man's groin. She turned, twisting herself away from his grip and stepping backwards out of his reach as his face registered his surprise before scrunching up in pain. Mai held his gaze as he doubled over and then she took a second step back. She was just behind Serenity now, standing next to the shorter man who gawped at her in surprise. Mai's open palm connected with his shoulder, spinning him to face her. He opened his mouth in protest just in time for her knee to hit home.
Mai stopped and watched impassively as both men crumpled to the floor clutching their genitals defensively, although it was clear that the protection was coming altogether too late.
Above them, watching from the safety of the VIP area, five men were wincing.