Tender is the Night

AN: Again, reviews were highly appreciated, even if I did take forever to update. :) Thanks very much.

Disclaimer: Standard

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Tender is the Night

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She stood, one hand poised over the railing, very still as she gazed down at the crowd. Little did she know they were looking back at her, out of the corner of their eyes, through glasses, throwing curious glances up.

She was gorgeous, this woman, blond hair gleaming in the soft indoor light, blue eyes flashing slightly as she turned her head. The figure was soft, flowing, holding a sense of unforced grace, and yet her body was lithe. The features were almost innocent, and yet there was something enticing and knowing about them. And the dress, gods, the dress appeared to have descended from heaven just for her. Long, lovely navy blue, the style traditional Chinese, it was trimmed in golden hints, copper whirling in a cloud-like design, and light blue giving accent. Deep within it’s depths, the dress would gleam a fire eyed red, as darkly, almost invisible dragons peered out from behind the clouds, breathing the element. Around her neck on a golden strand hung a simple pendant, tassel swishing below, that sported a golden dragon, king of them all, rearing proudly. The colors accented her natural features marvelously, blue was good for her, and made her seem almost unearthly in comparison with the rest of the guests.

Quite simply, she was an angel. The dress was merely something she had brought down with her for her short visit to the earth.

She stood, one hand poised over the railing, very still as she gazed down at the crowd. And finally, she caught the annoyed gaze of the person she was looking for. Turning to thank the coat check man for waiting for her, she passed off her wrap as well for now and descended the stairs.

The owner of the annoyed eyes was there to catch her arm as she reached the bottom. “Took you long enough, onna,” Hiei muttered, his expression carefully neutral as he moved closer to the party.

“Sorry, you said we should enter separately, but I’m afraid I got a bit lost. You never told me the house was this big!”

“Hn.” And then they were standing before another man, his eyes a bit too small for his face, but his bearing portly, reflecting a rich lifestyle for most of his life. Beside him, his wife was floating, giddily clinging to his arm while almost perpendicular to him, chatting to her friends nearby. “Nakano-san.” The short man nodded briefly, the woman next to him sharpening her gaze.

Blinking and smiling grandly, the host of the party gazed down. “Why, Hiei-san! What a surprise! I am honored that you chose to attend my little get together when you’re usually in the country for such a short stay. Your sister didn’t join you? And who is this lovely young woman that you have on your arm?” Boisterous laughter let out.

Hiei’s stony gaze was palpable. “My sister is currently involved in a wedding. It would be too taxing of her to travel here just for a party.”

Nakano nodded it off with the air of a man who knew everything. “Oh yes, of course, Yumiko-san. Well, tell Yukina-chan that I will see her at the wedding! We upper class have to stick together you know.” Again the laughter.

In front of him, Hiei was barely controlling the twitching. Of course Nakano wanted to stick close to Yukina, she was richer than him after all. And her wealth, elegance, and kindness were some of the only reasons Hiei himself was rarely remarked on. It was mostly that knowledge, that any rude remark he gave would be reflected on her, that kept his mouth in line. He shouldn’t worry as much, Yukina knew how to handle fools like this well enough, even with her soft ways.

Ignoring the comment for all he was worth, Hiei turned shortly and brought the woman beside him forward. “This is Amelia Bird,” he said simply, giving the name in Western fashion. “I met her in America and she’s visiting the country. I thought that your entertainment would be a good way to show off what the elite of Japan do with themselves.” The tone of his voice was mocking.

Obligingly, the blond nodded, letting out a happy smile. “How do you do?” It was voiced in English, the accent carefully American. Slowly, hesitantly, she repeated it in Japanese.

Nakano smiled broadly, as if she were an exotic animal doing a smart trick. “It’s lovely to have you, Bird-san, you are welcome to enjoy the full benefits of living wealthy in Japan for the evening.” He had totally missed Hiei’s maliciousness in that statement. “I hope you have a good time.”

“Arigato,” the girl said softly, still smiling.

Across from her, the man winked openly. “And you must be quite talented to catch the eye of our little Hiei. He’s been firmly a bachelor for quite a few years now.”

The comment left the girl blushing, but it was only a miracle that Nakano’s wife, at this point, pulled him firmly into her conversation. “Oh, dear, you must tell them what a lovely time we had in Athens last summer! Nuriko just won’t believe it!” A half drunken giggle and an apology and the couple had turned away, placing Hiei and his fierce glare behind them.

Staring for only a moment longer, the short thief turned with militaristic precision, bringing his guest along with him. “Pretentious shieiji.” His muttering was quiet but full of venom. “He really makes me sick.”

“Oh, come on, he can’t be that bad,” the girl tried with a half smile. Her blond hair glittered under the chandeliers. “After all, if arrogance passed disease, you’d be a walking contamination.”

The sudden pause he took to positively glare at her had people running into them left and right. Disgruntled guests made soft comments while the blond winced, then hurriedly, grabbed tighter to the man’s arm. “Hiei! Why didn’t you tell me there was sushi!” The voice was loudly English. “Honestly, I supposed to be experiencing Japan!”

His look sent shivers down her spine, but at least he complied and started leading her away before they made a bigger commotion. Hiei spoke quietly the entire way to the buffet table. “Baka onna. If you feel comfortable enough to insult me, I might just expose you right now. And they’ll trust me over you, so behave yourself. I did not have to agree to this.”

“Right, right,” she said hurriedly, reaching for a cup to sooth her nerves. Its contents, red wine, gave her eyes the faintest lavender sheen in reflection, closer to their true color. Botan winced slightly at the blond beside it. Honestly, why did Hiei think she could pull this off? He had said he was testing her acting skills, but she wasn’t sure she would pass. It was hard acting classy at a party, she had rarely been in this kind of situation and now felt like a fish out of water. At the academy it had been overwhelmingly academics, there were only a few “en vivo” experiences to recount, and most of those had been tracking down people with the police force in the area. For some reason, elegant parties and manhunts just did not coincide in Botan’s head. Not at all.

But she managed to sip the drink elegantly and as smoothly as if she had been brought up amongst such richness for all of her life. The glass was set back down, the alcohol hardly taken in, as she turned back to her companion. “Okay, now that we’ve met the host, shall we get down to the task at hand?”

“Not yet,” he shot back, frowning distractedly as he watched the center of the room. “We have to been seen for a longer amount of time, blend in, otherwise they’ll become suspicious of us later.”

Nodding to herself with comprehension, Botan followed his gaze, then let a small smile linger on her lips. “You know, Hiei-san, this is a party.” The voice was almost thoughtful.

In response to the tone, he turned to look at her, a sign to continue, though his posture said he wasn’t quite sure where she was intending to go with this.

And her hand came to rest on his arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Hiei-san, I do believe it is the man who leads the woman to the dance floor.”

The pause was infinitesimal, not noticeable but for the flash in his eyes. “No.”

“Dancing is good for your body, makes you more limber,” she reasoned, the smile never wavering as she watched couples swirl. Botan could almost feel the refusal hovering on his lips. “And anyway, what better way to be noticed and not have to talk to anybody?”

There, she had hit it, his anti-social streak. Damn, but her reasoning was good! And it wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to dance. Odd knowledge, picked up here and there. He’d done the rounds as a high class jewel thief for several years now. The pause now was longer, and not a bit more agreeable. “Fine. We’ll dance. But you will remain silent.”

She never gave reply as he was leading her forward with determined steps, the hand over hers on his arm not merely for a show of affection but also to keep her startled feet in time with his own brusque movements.

They hit the floor and he whirled her abruptly to face him, only to easily begin following the dance patterns of those around. A salsa. Someone had signed up a fake Mariachi band to play for the occasion. Hiei almost snorted. Japanese culture displayed indeed! This was Spanish if he’d ever heard it, though that peculiar twanging of strings did add the oriental flavour.

Dresses swished as hips moved with the rhythm. Botan watched with interested eyes at the display around her. Obviously, some knew the dance and some did not. She watched a particular couple trip and nearly take out three others around them. Thank goodness she had a good grasp on this one. Kurama always did like to go out to shady halls after finishing a job, to take a drink, relax with his hidden smile. Not that she had ever danced much with him. Likely Botan would have gotten her eyes scratched out by a dozen or so of his instant admirers, but there was this interesting Brazilian who had tried to charm her on occasion by twirling her around the floor. She’d been flattered, impressed by his moves, but hardly swayed away. ‘Cute but no cigar,’ the phrase might have gone.

Attention drifted from those around them to her own partner. And Botan could barely keep down the smirk. Hiei danced with precision, every move was exactly as it should be, but there was no freedom, and especially, what all latin dances demanded, no swinging of the hips. He was as stiff as a board in that respect.

So it was no surprise that she tried to improve that. Hiei’s eyes snapped back to her the moment he realized what was going on. “Onna, I don’t know where you learned, but traditionally the man is supposed to lead.”

No, response, only a tightening of her hands on his and a broadening of her smile as she moved closer, swaying exaggeratingly and trying to force him to reciprocate some of the movement.

“Onna!” he hissed out, pushing her back slightly.

Her face turned into a fake but cute moue. “Oh? Am I allowed to speak now?”

The glare was back, doubled. “You’re treading a fine line.”

“Hiei, don’t cause a scene,” she chided slightly, smiling at him. “You’re too stiff, loosen up and have a bit of fun.” She led them into a short spin, while he tried and failed to stop her, forced instead to go along lest he break the rhythm of the dance. “Otherwise people will notice,” Botan added innocently.

“You’re testing my patience, onna. Stop leading.” There was a spark in his eyes as he said it, spinning them back to their previous position.

With elegance, she twisted, drawing them into a brief promenade. “Come on, what’ll you do if I stop? Become stiff again?”

It came again, that short spark. She was challenging him, and he would rise to meet it. “This.” As she closed their formation again, back to starting position, he surprised her, by quite simply forcing her into a quick trot across the floor, backwards the entire way. They were cutting through couples with ease as he added a few turns to keep her from running into people. Obviously, Hiei knew how to dance.

Botan’s eyes were wide as she watched the dance floor slide away, then come back in close as he turned them back around to cut through again. She gasped, almost yanking out of his grip on her hands before she caught herself. No, no, two could play this game. The Brazilian had been good, and she could do better. And so she began ruthlessly using the ladies’ moves. Twirls, spins, regal twists of the feet. He would only get her back a few paces before she managed to strike first. And once they started a new move, they couldn’t stop unless they wanted to fall flat on their faces. Tension ran high as each struggled to be the first to recognize the end, so they could be the first to begin the next pattern.

It was with belated realization that they both stilled, pausing for breath as they strained to listen for music to keep the rhythm. There was nothing, the band had finished, and there was a small circle around them as the rest of the dancers watched their silent pantomime and struggle.

He leaned in almost savagely, being noticed more now than he’d ever wanted to be in the first place. The whisper was in her ear. “When we get out of here, I am going to kill you!”

Breath still came fast from the exertion as all she could manage were short, scared huffs of laughter. He wouldn’t be joking. Not when his voice was so... so... she couldn’t put it in words. Serious was just too light. A shiver ran up her spine in reaction.

“Brava!” The shout rang out across the quiet room as Nakano moved forward, his larger girth forcing others out of the way. “Very good, Hiei-san! You, too, Amelia-chan! Who knew we had such talent at our party? You’ve really managed to keep us entertained!”

The shorter thief felt like growling, but kept it to a grumbled, “Hn.”

“Th-thank you,” Botan said, a half smile on her face, one hand clinging nervously to her partner. It dropped almost immediately. Why was she clinging to him? He was the one going to murder her!

Nakano took the action a different way entirely. Obviously, the poor girl was just embarrassed about her attraction for Koorime-san, no doubt about it. When he had whispered sweet nothings to her at the end her face had been totally red. The host flashed a smile of reassurance at the girl. No problem, he was feeling beneficent tonight, he’d graciously honor them with another chance to express their feelings. And of course Hiei would owe him for that.

A quick clapping of hands rang through the room as he turned to the band. “I think we might let the couple have one more dance, what do you think? Since they obviously enjoyed the last one so much.” Short laughter emerged as the other guests forgot their surprise and caught on to Nakano’s matchmaking plans. They thought they were teasing their oddest member about his new girlfriend.

They had no idea.

Hiei was glaring at everyone, arms crossed over defensively, but what did they care? They all knew that Yukina’s brother was a bit of an odd ball and definitely a grouch at times. Of course he would become obstinate over people finding out about his relationships. What else would be normal?

“Mariachi! I think, hm... I think that one would be best, don’t you?”

Across the room, his wife squealed, obviously a bit out of it from the alcohol, but she looked positively enraptured by the thought. “Oh, yes! You know how I love watching that dance! So romantic!”

In the middle of the floor, thoroughly confused, Botan was blinking. “Hiei, what are they talking about? Hiei?”

Forgoing reply, the short man merely watched with hard eyes as Nakano smiled gleefully at him and winked at Botan, while the band rolled their eyes at their employer’s antics (they followed instructions, though, as he paid marvelously) and started up the next tune. It took only the few opening bars for identification.

“Hn, tango.” His arm became a steel band around her waist.

“What?!” The girl’s eyes flew wide. “You’re not - Hiei, don’t tell me we’re going to dance this!”

The red flew to her own concealing blue. “You know how to do it?”

“Well, yes...but I’m not that good at it, I’ve only done it a bit out of fun, and really it’s so sensual, I don’t really think this is a good idea- !” Her voice flew up a bit as he whipped her to the right suddenly, and into a dip.

Looking at the set line of his mouth, Botan could tell that Hiei was hideously not amused by this whole ordeal. But he would go through with it. Because it meant a lot less trouble on a night where he needed none. His eyes glared, floating up from their position near her neck as he held her tight to prevent falling. “Onna, you got us into this mess. So you’re damn sure going to follow through!”

And then she was up, spinning out, and holding still, her body automatically assuming the required pose, summoned from her memory from those nights out with Kurama just in time. This was her least favorite dance, she didn’t know it as well - but his eyes were promising extreme suffering if she didn’t at least attempt to avert some of this attention she had so unwillingly caused. If they refused now, Nakano would never stop pestering them, and that would make the upcoming theft very difficult. With the thought, her backbone snapped into place, making her head lift. She would not fail, especially after coming this far, failure was not an option!

The briefest sign of satisfaction at her unspoken agreement in his face, and then the music ended is traditional introduction and picked up the pace.

Footwork took off at an impressive rate. Where he had picked this up, she’d never know, but it was an effort to keep up with the speed. Every thought was directed towards putting her shoes down in the right place at the right time. One, two, three, hook around the right leg, step in, out, in between, back! - the dramatic twirl gave her only the shortest respite before she was spinning in towards him again. Why did they give the women the more complicated moves?! Her mind was desperately throwing movements at her and she just managed to grip them in time.

Concentration was a must for Hiei as well, moving to keep their dance smooth. His eyes glanced at her face every time it came into view, noting the burning flush found there, and the unseeing eyes as her focus was internal. Her chest was heaving at a rapid pace from exertion and still they moved faster. Turn, footwork here, pull her in, to the side, behind! - another pause as she spun at his back, coming around to return to the starting position before it began again. It was luck that he caught the wobble in her steps.

“Relax.” A command.

Botan’s eyes blinked as she displayed a grimace trying to find her place again. “What?”

He rolled his eyes, tugging her in close for another pause, this time speaking to her shoulder. “I said relax, onna. If you fall on your ass, I’m laughing at you as well.”

She tossed herself back to begin the footwork again. “I thought you were going to kill me?”

“Hn, I’ll laugh first.”

There was a long silence here before her mind belatedly caught the joke. It was silly, and probably not very funny, but a joke for him. Startled chuckles emerged. “Of course.”

His smirk flashed back at her for the merest second. “Yes, of course. Now pay attention and stop worrying. You’re messing up the flow.”

She complied and they continued, easier, but before they knew it, the music was drawing to a close and Hiei was dipping her once more, hand pulling her knee up as he gave small pants into her neck. The final bars played as they held the position longer. “That’s it, onna. Get up.” Clapping and hoots were coming from around them as the guests displayed their enjoyment of the dance.

The blush was not distinguishable from the redness of the workout. “I can’t, you’ve got my leg.” Actually, it felt a bit nice like this, she was tired, and not having to support her own weight wasn’t a bad thing. Never mind that his hand seemed unusually soft...

It slid away quickly as Hiei uprighted them, letting her loose to stand on her own.

Nakano was smiling at the suddenly out of place pair. “If you do that again, I might have to suggest that you get married.”

This time, Hiei did growl, but it was drowned out by Nakano’s wife rushing onto the scene. “Oh! Amelia-chan, that was absolutely lovely! You’ll have to tell me where you learned to dance like that! I was never able to, even though I took lessons for over three years with this adorable Russian - oh, his muscles were to die for, I’m telling you! - I only managed to keep on falling down.” The giggle here was slightly lewd, as if she had been doing other things while down. “Come with me, you’ll have to tell the girls as well!”

“Hiei?” Botan flashed an uncertain and nervous look back as her partner, eyes skittering between him and the two Nakanos.

“Forty minutes,” he replied, eyes intense, before turning away from his host’s mocking statements and off to find the refreshment bar again. Let Botan swim through that mire of sociability. He needed a break.

--

“Here, hold these.” Hands caught the pumps easily as Botan quickly slid on a pair of socks over her stockings, coming from the bag she had dropped earlier out in the yard. After retrieving it from an open window, it wasn’t difficult to begin her transformation.

The wig was wiped off next, replaced instead by a black hat over her pinned down hair. Jewelry clasps released as she packed everything into the bag, then looked up at Hiei, who was standing nearby and leaning against the door of the dark room.

Silence raged for a moment, before Botan voiced the obvious. “Could you turn around?”

“...why?”

“I’m about to change!” she snapped, holding out a pair of pants and a tight shirt. “See?”

The man shrugged. “I doubt you’ve got anything impressive. Stop making a fuss, onna, and hurry up. You’ve only got twenty minutes left to complete this.”

Her mouth flew open to respond, face blooming colors, before she closed it with an audible snap, glaring. She turned around instead, not looking at him as she began to tug the straps down her shoulders. “Humpf! I didn’t think you’d be so low to connive a strip show for free, Demon.”

Red eyes glared down an empty hallway. “Shut up, baka onna.” Like hell he wanted to see her anyway. The mind was kept furiously off her raging pulse when they had danced. “You know what you’re doing?”

The shirt was pulled down over her head hurriedly as she began shimming out of the rest of her dress. “Yes. Crack systems, set the cameras into loop, then open the safes.” Pants were tugged up over her stockings and socks and fastened. “That these people set up camera’s in their bedrooms is disgusting.”

“Hn. They’re just paranoid. Nakano wants the highest security available, and his wife doesn’t want the jewels out of her hearing range when asleep.” He rolled his eyes at this one. “Makes her affairs very difficult to conduct in that room.”

Botan sighed to herself. “She wasn’t very interesting to talk to for forty minutes. Why couldn’t you have dragged me away sooner?”

“I didn’t feel like it,” he grumbled back. Eyes watched as a servant scurried across the hall, running back to the kitchens for more supplies. “As it is, everyone thinks that we’re doing stuff now. Fools.”

“It’ll all be over in an hour,” Botan reminded him, putting her things in a corner, then resting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m ready, you?” She smiled as he threw a look in her direction. “Thanks for turning a bit.”

Hiei let an eyebrow rise slowly before opening the door a bit wider. “Whatever. You weren’t worth the attention anyway.” Her sigh was ignored as he glanced both ways, then shut the door firmly.