From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 160: The Three Buske-teers (8)

"What ’s your preferred music genre to dance to?" Ari asked Shai, a tan boy wearing the same red bucket hat and white jumpsuit as the rest of the Kosmic Krew.

"You can play me whatever, I’ll beat your best dancer regardless," Shai replied while looking at Mathew, who was thoroughly stretching his body in preparation.

As someone who was part of the dance community, especially the one based in Los Angeles, he knew Mathew not just because he had won several dance competitions, including World of Dance, but he had also taken classes taught by Mathew and attended classes with him as well.

He knew how good of a dancer Mathew was, but that didn’t mean he lacked confidence in himself.

He knew he was good, too, and he would prove it here.

"Any kind of music?" Ari double-checked, having been briefed by Mathew on the types of songs he should pick if it came to dancing.

"Anything."

"Oh? Is that so? Can you dance to this?"

With a sly smile, Ari began playing a slow, classical music lullaby.

As the delicate piano sounds rang out of the speakers, Mathew met his eyes before cleanly pirouetting onto the dance mats that had been set up.

- What the heck is going on?

- A ballet?

- Are they going to dance to this?

The crowd that had gathered around the mats stared curiously at the sudden genre switch from the rap battle that had happened previously.

As Mathew gracefully jumped up into the air, before bowing to a polite round of applause, Shai gave Ari an unamused look.

"You did say anything, and I obliged."

"...A hip hop song."

Skrrrrp skrrrrp skrrrrp

"Coming right up."

Spinning the turntables, Ari quickly selected a basic hip-hop dance track on the laptop and began playing it.

Shai quickly moved onto the dance mats, popping and locking in a controlled, jerky motion to the beat before smoothly sliding around as he freestyled a dance.

His arms swung around as he performed intricate footwork, and as the song ended, he gave Mathew a challenging look, but Haruto jumped onto the mats with a quick flip and began break dancing.

He kicked his legs around like a helicopter, weaving them through his arms before freezing as he balanced on one hand in the air, holding the position for several seconds.

Then, he lowered his body in a controlled motion, balanced on only his hands, before forcing his body to hop up and down in time with the beat.

- wooooahhhh

- That’s so cool

As Ari watched, mouth open with shock, Haruto then flipped onto his head and began spinning on the dance mats, using one of his hands to increase his rotation speed.

After two rotations, Shai also joined him on the ground and began rotating on his head as well, basically turning into a red and white blur as he kept spinning faster and faster.

After about 30 seconds, it seemed that Haruto slipped because of his hair and fell onto his back and lay there panting while the crowd cheered and members of the Kosmic Krew jumped up in excitement.

Shai flipped onto his feet in a fluid motion before helping a slightly sad Haruto to his feet.

The two boys clasped their hands before hugging briefly, and Ari spun the turntables to stop the music and grabbed his microphone.

Skrrrrp skrrrrp skrrrrp

"We have a clear winner for round 2. It goes to Kosmic Krew’s Shai Leroi. Good job to both individuals for an amazing performance, I’m actually not sure how they’re not throwing up from dizziness because I know I would be. Now, who’s next?"

"I’m going again, and I’m challenging him, and I’ll go first. WOD rules. 1 minute each." Shai pointed at Mathew with a determined expression.

Mathew, who was currently comforting Haruto, raised his eyebrow before nodding.

"Sure. Let’s do it."

skrrrrp skrrrrp

Spinning the turntables and picking an upbeat, popular hip-hop song, Ari turned the music up.

Bum bum bum, bum bum bum

The sound of trumpets rang out for several seconds before the song properly started.

Jump in that-

Summon that b-

Jump in that b-

As the music began, Shai began dancing at high intensity.

His moves were sharp and forceful as he moved around the dance mats, tensing and releasing his body to hit every beat.

"10, 9, 8, 7-"

Ari began counting down the seconds remaining, and as he reached 1, Shai pulled up and posed in front of Mathew, who just smiled at him.

Skrrrrp rrkk rkkk

As Ari spun the turntables and increased the volume of the music, Mathew began his turn.

With the intensity of the trumpets and drums, he matched Shai’s energy, jumping and displaying intricate footwork while keeping his characteristic grace.

Boom boom!

Beat em up, beat em up, beat em up ah

Keeping in line with the lyrics, Mathew got on the ground pretending to stomp, punch, and elbow somebody.

As the lyrics repeated, the crowd began getting excited.

Beat em up, beat em up, beat em up ah

"Beat em up, beat em up, beat em up ah!!!" in an excited voice, Ari sang along with the crowd while copying Mathews’ choreography and pretending to beat somebody up to each beat of the song.

As Mathew moved his body as sinuously as a snake, completely focused on Shai, Ari marveled at the sheer control he had over each and every part of his body.

Every limb and joint were perfectly controlled, making each move look graceful yet powerful.

And when Mathew perfectly replicated some of the choreography that Shai had performed earlier, the difference in the skill was apparent even to amateur eyes.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

As the music died down, the crowd around them filled with people watching and recording, cheered loudly, and Ari couldn’t help but clap along.

Truly, it was amazing to watch and he couldn’t even imagine moving his body like that even with the JukeBox Skill.

Both of them had done great, clearly pushing their bodies to the limit and showcasing all of their skill.

But there could only be one winner.

"That was a pretty amazing performance, wasn’t it? Let’s give a round of applause for these two amazing dancers. It’s not every day that we get to see a masterclass in dancing."

- Good job, boys!

- That was amazing!

- Can’t they both just win?

"Unfortunately, there can only be one winner. Those who think Mathew won it, please make some noise!"

- wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

- Whistle!

- Clap clap clap

Loud screams and sharp whistles persisted for several seconds until Ari waved his hands to calm them down.

"And those who think Shai won this round, please make some noise as well!"

- Woooooooooo!!

The cheers, while loud, weren’t as loud as before.

"Alright, alright, we have a winner, and Pop Star Academy is back in the game. The current score is 2 to 1. Who’s next?"

"I’ll go and I’m challenging Benji over there." Wilbert stepped forward, his eyes completely focused on Benjamin.

"You sure about that?"

"Of course. Unless you’re scared to have a no-holds-barred rap battle against me? I didn’t see you wimp out like this when facing Jada."

"No holds barred, innit? Fine. Challenge accepted." Benjamin gave him a sharp grin.

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