Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Tears ❯ The beginning of a new Era ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DarkFangs 
Anime/Manga: Beyblade Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.15.2007 | Updated On: 12.15.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 222 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Beyblade Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.15.2007 | Updated On: 12.15.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 222 | Status: Completed
Summary/Disclaimer: check the prologue, I don't repeat myself.
“...” speaking
`Italics' thoughts
: … : bit beast talking
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Chapter 2... The beginning of a new Era
“Well, it could be that Dranzer and Lugiohan have both their power so high and similar that their sparring can't be done. As if they repelled each other, making it almost impossible to make contact.”
“Well, yes, it's an interesting theory, Dizzy...” Kenny mumbled to himself.
“Or like Drigger and Galux. They are soul-mates; they cannot fight for long...” continued Dizzy. The bit chips clutched in both Iris and Kai's fists shinned indignantly.
“Err are you saying that... they are soul-mates?”
Dizzy seemed to be aware of both phoenixes' annoyance as she quickly added, “N-No, I'm talking about Drigger and Galux's case; in both phoenixes', it's their similar strength that keeps them away from each other!” one could almost imagine her sheepish grin.
«««««& #194;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â« 4;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â& #171;««««« 1;««««««& #194;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â« 4;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â& #171;«
But, as we all well (and unfortunately) know, all that's good quickly has an end, and three weeks passed in no time. The team trained daily, made some stretching right after, ate and had some fun. The request of bringing another bed for the newest member of the team was soon forgotten.
Sunday arrived at last. The first beams of sunlight poured through the room's wide window, illuminating the partially relaxed features of a slate-haired, pale young 14 year-old boy. He growled at the intromission and turned his head to his right side, arms encircling the small fragile female body beside his strong one. She flinched slightly.
Kai let out a silent sigh, `What did they do to you, for you to be so afraid?'
:: Give her some time, young one. She passed through too much to simply turn her back on her past and forget it. She will tell you in due time. :: came the wise, deep, soothing voice of Dranzer.
He slowly nodded. His lips were beside her ear, grazing it, as he whispered, “Time to wake up, take a shower and pack things up. We leave today.” The boy carefully got out of the bed, as not to disturb the still half-asleep Iris on it.
“Hnnnnn... me goin', I'm goi...” the sentence trailed off, interrupted by a soft yawn, as she stretched on the mattress, while Kai rolled his eyes.
The departure was at 12.50pm from Tokyo's airport, a journey of almost 22 hours, where they would stop at Geneva's airport, in Switzerland. They'll stop for three hours before taking off again. From there, they'll leave to Porto, in a flight of 2.05 hours, which they'll arrive at 16.35pm, local time.
Yup, almost two days of journey... The first flight will be surely boring, with absolutely nothing to do. And knowing Tyson... Yup, a very long day ahead. They needed to hurry, so that everything would be on schedule.
When Kai entered the kitchen, Ray was already there, making pancakes, and almost burning himself, as he rubbed the laziness and sleepiness from his cat-like eyes.
“G'mornin'...” was muttered through a yawn. The mahogany-eyed teen only nodded at him, an eyebrow rising.
Around 9.00am, Iris came down the stairs, wide-awake now, and sat at her usual place beside the captain, wearing a silver sleeveless top, and light wide bell-bottom jeans. A few minutes after that, they heard a THUMP.
“And what exactly was that?” Iris looked up, as if expecting the ceiling to fall.
“Let's check it out...” Ray got up and climbed up the stairs, the other two following him. Kai opened the door to the first bedroom at their left, which happened to be Tyson's. They entered.
Tyson was beside the bed, sleeping on his knees, face on the ground, Max looking over the edge of the bed, looking at the former, very disappointed. A bit behind was Kenny, holding Dizzy like always, almost bursting with laughter at Max's expression.
“What happened?” Ray chuckled.
“We wanna wake up Tyson, but as you can see, he keeps sleeping...” Kenny snickered.
“Well, duh, that just means you guys should use another method.” Iris grinned evilly, her sharp canines exposed, as she moved over and crouched beside Tyson, whispering in his ear, “Hilary's downstairs waiting for you, in a see-through lace swimming suit. What are you waiting for?”
Tyson opened his eyes immediately and ran downstairs, almost knocking Ray and Kai off their feet. They all snickered, except Iris, who smirked in victory and Kai who put his hand over his eyes and shook his head.
“HEY! HILARY'S NOT HERE!!!” Tyson suddenly shouted. That only made the gang laugh harder.
A few minutes later, they were ready and entering the BBA bus to take them to the airport, on time as always. A small trip, 30 minutes to get them there. Tyson was still angry at Iris's joke, so he was quiet for once, grumbling here and there, sitting beside Kenny, who was typing away on Dizzy, in the front seat of the bus. Ray was laughing at Max's jokes and Kai and Iris were talking quietly at the end of the bus, hided by the seat in front of them.
“So your bit beast wasn't yours in the first place.” Kai put one arm around her shoulders, caressing the soft, smooth skin absently.
“She was my sister's. But when she died, I took her beyblade, therefore Lugiohan. At first, I couldn't really control her, but in time, I managed that.” Goose-bumps formed over the skin he was touching, as she shivered lightly, but did not pull away.
No one had said they were in a relationship. Not even themselves. Although, they couldn't deny the mutual understanding of the situation. None of them had said anything at all about it, but none had pushed the other away. But the tone she used right after, even if whispered, suggested that she wanted to.
“Kai..” His hand snaked under her arm to her side and, ever so softly, to brush her breast, as her breath tickled the skin on his neck, “Have you ever been in love?”
She didn't pull away from his touch, but her body tensed visibly as she looked in his deep mahogany eyes. However, hers weren't afraid.
“Maybe. What do you call this?”
“A state of sheer confusion, in some ways.”
He chuckled softly, just before her lips covered his own. He allowed his other arm to reach up and gently cup softly her breast. Her kiss slowed down, as she didn't respond at first, but as he stopped moving his hand, she continued.
Her soft moan into the kiss was the only hint he had that his touch wasn't unwelcome or hurtful. But by her body language, it wasn't quite welcome either, it was just slightly pleasant. Her muscles were still quite tense.
Ever so slowly, her hands went up to grasp his broad shoulders, taking in the strong muscles underneath her fingers. He parted the kiss, his lips leaving a trail of fire in his way, as he kissed down her neck. Her head tilted back, eyes closing for some moments.
`Every time a man touched me, it was to hurt me, but you, Kai... You erase all those memories and make my mind focus only on the feeling you're giving me... I was an un-wanting whore, but now that doesn't matter.. All because of you... Why?' At that thought, her nails dug into his shoulders.
He let his hands fall to her sides, as he pulled away. At the lack of his warmth, she frowned lightly, as she leaned against his left shoulder, eyelashes drifting close, near his neck. She took a deep sigh and snuggled into his warm body. A proof of her trust in him.
`Thanks Dranzer, you were right.'
:: It's okay, little one. ::
They finally arrived, and all of them got out of the bus with their belongings, walking towards the line of passengers of their flight.
But soon after, a hostess stepped into their way, “Are you the BladeBreakers?”
“Yes, we are.”
The young woman nodded, “We were expecting you. Follow me, if you please.” She took them to the check-in beside, and took their luggage. “You can go in right away. You have another flight waiting. We are sorry we didn't warn you before. It leaves in twenty minutes. It's from Iberia, its code 8717. Your gate is the 56.”
They gave their passports and tickets to the police and passed to the other part of the airport. They were now in the waiting room ready to aboard the plane.
“Do you know which teams we're against, Chief?” Ray yawned softly.
“Well, the Demolition Boys are no where to be found, after all that happened. The All Starz are in a campaign to help orphans though. But I think the White Tigers are coming. They too have a new member. I don't know about the Majestic's though.”
“Cool!” Max punched the air.
“The passengers of the flight 8717 Iberia, to Porto, with transhipment in Geneva, please make your way to gate 56.” the programmed voice of the airport suddenly announced.
“That's us. Let's go!” They got up.
While they were boarding, the hostess greeted them, “Buenos dias!”, which no one understood, except Iris, who just responded, “Bom dia.. Maybe for you.”
“Is that your language?” Tyson looked at her curiously.
“Nah, that's Spanish. I speak Portuguese, she speaks Spanish.” She snorted lightly. “Spain... They think they're so good... Hmph!”
They weren't very lucky with the seats; they only stayed together in pairs, Kai with Ray, Tyson with Iris and Kenny ended up with Max. The two older boys were on the front, the `couple' four seats behind them. Kenny and Max were beside the wing.
“So what's going on between you and her?” The Chinese boy turned to his captain, smirking.
“And what do you mean with that.” Kai replied calmly, quirking an eyebrow at him.
“It's not obvious, but I do have eyes that actually work. So, spit it out.”
“Stop sticking your nose in other people's business...” the other boy rolled his eyes, but those words gave him away, even if his face was a total mask of indifference.
“Come on, the looks at breakfast, through the trainings?” Ray's smirk widened slightly.
Kai's eyes finally turned to him, a frown in place, “You noticed that?”
“It wasn't easy, just one or two of them. But it was enough. I doubt anyone else noticed.” Kai was slightly taller than Ray, but more muscular and clearly stronger. That was a plain weakness for the latter, a reason why he couldn't annoy the other all that much, “So?”
His only reply was a flash of annoyance through mahogany hues, and the turning of his head.
“I don't kiss and tell, so no need to worry.” Ray added to no one in particular. But Kai knew he wouldn't tell; one thing he liked on the other boy, he was true to his word.
“Umm could you please try not to hit me?” Tyson backed away as much as he could in his seat. Iris was at the window, playing a game on Max's portable console. As a big fluffy looking cloud appeared, Tyson pushed her arm unintentionally, making her lose the game. Now her eyes were a bit red around the pupil and he was way scared.
“I won't, but I wish I could. Just because we're on a plane. If you push me ONE more time, you'll regret it for the rest of your life, mark my words.” She whispered menacingly. “Oh yeah, I'll be responsible for your training. I still didn't talk to Kai, but either way, I will.”
“What?!”
“Yes, And do you know what that means? NO pissing me off, or else, you'll be the one who will pay.”
He gulped, grinning nervously, “Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight... Err, sure! How about using the you-don't-annoy-me-and-I-won't-annoy-you-rule?”
“That should be the first intelligent thing you've ever said in your life, T.”
“Why, thank you, Iris, I- HEY!!!” he quickly pouted at that, as she snickered softly.
“Max, would you please keep your mouth shut?” Kenny pleaded, with his hands on his ears. The poor genius was tired of listening to the blonde's talking and lame jokes. He couldn't concentrate on writing Iris's profile on Dizzy to present to the tournament. Unfortunately, Max didn't even hear him and kept blabbing about some clown that did god knows what.
“Hey, Max!” The black haired girl turned to him, “Do you know that one about the tailor and the dancer?”
“Err, no, I don't.” he tilted his head to the side, curious.
“I don't either.”
As the others sweat-dropped at the lameness, the blond cracked up laughing, “THAT'S SO FUNNY!!!”
Iris shook her head at him; “If you say so.”
“Do you really find that funny?” Tyson quirked an eyebrow at her.
“No, but if it keeps him shut through the rest of the voyage, that's good enough for me.”
“Got that right.”
Almost twenty two hours of basically sleeping, small talking and eating, they finally arrived to Geneva, in Switzerland.
“FINALLY!!!” Tyson shouted to everyone who had ears, as he looked around the big airport. For that, he received a kick on the shin, courtesy of the feminine part of the gang. “OWW!”
“This is almost as cold as Russia.” Max commented, while pulling his coat from his pack, shrugging into it quickly.
“Russia is quite colder, believe me.” Iris walked a bit faster at that. Kai noticed the way she tensed at the mention of Russia.
:: Kai.. I feel... a strange power.. A dark power... extremely powerful. ::
`Is it Black Dranzer?'
:: I cannot tell. But it's more powerful. Worse too... I do not know where it comes from, but its presence is very strong, since we entered in Europe. ::
Kai could only nod in understanding. `More powerful, huh? Great, just what we needed, more trouble.'
Iris glanced back at him in that same moment, a grimace in her face.
“Did Lugiohan told you?” he walked beside her, whispering quietly, not wanting to worry the others.
She nodded, “What do you think it is?” she used the same tone of voice.
“To tell you the truth, I don't know. But I can imagine.” He looked up to the sky, his memories filling his mind. `It cannot be anything else, I'm afraid...'
The teens made their way to the airport, walked quite a bit, ate and sat in front of the gate that would lead them to their other plane. The luggage was picked in Portugal.
They boarded the plane quickly after almost three hours of waiting. The plane on its left side had seats for three passengers and on the right side, for two. This time they were side by side, Ray, Iris and Kai and in the other side, sat Kenny and Tyson, respectively.
“Okay, we need to discuss who will go with whom, in the pair's combats.” Kenny adjusted his glasses, “The preliminaries though are singular and best of five, three rounds, and we need to decide who goes first in those too.”
“Well,” Ray started, “I think Iris should go first. You know, to intimidate...”
“Yeah, then me!” Tyson shouted, making half of the flight look in their direction.
“Yeah, and Kai in last, maybe?” Iris said thoughtfully, her thumb brushing her chin.
“We start with that combination and then we'll change it, as Max and Ray to compete too, hai? What do you think, Kai?” asked Chief.
“Whatever.” Came the careless reply.
“And for the pairs? In the second part of the competition, the combats are two singulars and two duos. Although, the players can combat more than once.” Kenny continued.
“That's pretty obvious. Ray and Max go to the single ones to make up for the preliminaries. Then Max and Tyson could go. Max's defence can help the lack of it in Tyson's part.” Kai scowled at the naïve shorter boy who grinned sheepishly, “And Iris's way of thinking in battle is similar to mine, so I think that's settled.”
“Okay, if you say so...” Kenny looked at the others, “Do you all agree?”
“Yeah!!!”
“So, this is Portugal, eh?” Tyson looked around the small airport, after they got out of the plane. “Doesn't seem like it's too much of anything...”
Iris smacked his nape, frowning lightly, “Shut it! I'll let you know that we may not be a big country, but the people are quite nice! I'm gonna retrieve my other luggage; could you carry my other sack, Kai?”
“Hai.”
They waited for their luggage to get there. After 15 minutes, Iris arrived with a suitcase trailing behind her, but still no belongings.
“Where's the baggage?” she asked.
“It didn't arrive yet, you dope!” Tyson snapped at her. All he wanted at the moment was to lay down on a fluffy bed and sleep, and he didn't notice with whom he just talked to.
That comment sent Iris, who was equally tired, over the edge too. Her eyes flared red briefly, as she prepared to punch him. She would've succeeded, if it wasn't for the strong hand catching her slender wrist at the last minute.
“Here isn't such a good idea. Calm down.” Kai swiftly whispered at her ear, as she struggled to free herself. With a last push, she glared at the boy behind her, but didn't do anything, opting to sulk instead.
Finally, their luggage arrived and they trailed behind their leader to the small bus. As the hotel wasn't in a very accessible street, the driver handed them a map.
They got out of the bus and into the main street. They all recognized the similar style of the houses and streets of when they travelled through Europe and in Russia. Although, it had a more welcoming touch to it than the former.
`Must be because I'm here on my free will, and not training to be a ruthless beyblader or anything...' Kai frowned at the irony, as his eyes glanced at the girl walking in front of him. She had a smile plastered to her face, her eyes glazed over by her memories.
As if she could hear his thoughts, she stopped and looked at him, her smile not wavering, “This is still a bit far from my house but I know this place soo well!! It's so familiar... I used to play here with my sister, when my parents came to lunch in my uncle's restaurant. This is called the Ribeira, in your language, Riverside. There are a lot of small stores with regional specialities a bit more to the west. Believe me, Tyson will love the food here.”
“Sincerely, I don't think there's something the kid doesn't like to eat.” Kai rolled his eyes (“HEY! I heard that, Kai!”), “So, which way?”
“That way, come on.” They kept going up through a very old-looking street.
“Umm, are you sure this thing is safe, Iris?”
“Tyson, your mother wasn't even born yet and this street already existed just the way it is now.”
“Soooooo... Is it safe?”
An annoyed sigh sounded, as she looked through the map, “Yes, Tyson, it is.”
“Good!”
Silence.
“I ris?”
“Will you shut up? I'm not a tour guide!”
“It's not that, it's just-”
“Shut it, you good for nothing-OUCH!” she rubbed her sore forehead, as she looked up.
“-the post.” Tyson snickered at her quietly, as she glared daggers at him.
After arriving to the hotel, they could only look and sweat-drop as Iris quickly spoke with the man behind the counter. Seemingly, they only understood one word; “Não” they were sure it meant “No” if the look in her face was any indication.
She finally turned to them, making a face, “Meh, I asked for private rooms, but Mr. Dickenson clearly said that we should stay in only one room. I couldn't do anything to change that.”
They arrived to said room. It was quite big, with six beds, three in each room, a balcony and an enormous bathroom. Tyson, Kenny and Max were in one bedroom, and Kai, Ray and Iris were in the other. This was where they were going to stay until the end of the tournament. It was going to start within a week and from then on, things were going to get interesting.
Of course that the couple couldn't lay down together, with Ray in there, even if he already knew. That was why Iris suddenly woke up, not used to sleep without a warm body beside her. After waking up three times in a row, she gave up, got up and went to the bathroom. She drank a glass of water and while passing the beds to the balcony, she stopped, moving her body closer and leaned in a bit to see Kai's soft features bathed by moonlight.
His lighter hair framed his forehead, giving way to normally furrowed eyebrows, now relaxed, eyelids closed softly, hiding those deep reddish beautiful eyes of his, long dark lashes brushing his pale cheeks, now without the light blue triangles, an aristocratic nose, and soft full red lips.
“You're too beautiful for your own good...” she found herself whispering quietly, “But I can't do what you want me to do... and I'm sorry for that...” Her hand made its way to his bare chest, tracing his strong, well-defined upper chest, going up passing his neck, and traced those bow-shaped lips, resting her hand over his cheek. Ever so slightly, she felt him lean into her touch.
Kai woke up to a feathery touch on his chest. He didn't move; Dranzer would've warned him if it was some stranger. So he kept still. And he heard her, the softest whisper, “You're too beautiful for your own good, but I can't do what you want me to do... and I'm sorry for that...” Her hand came up to his neck, resting it lightly on his cheek. Even if it was quite warm, he still leaned into her touch.
She straightened back up and stopped at the balcony, her eyes lowering, “And I'm not that sure if I'll ever be ready for it...” she finished half-heartedly.
“Don't say that...” his whisper visibly made her jump.
“Don't you do that!” her glare and hand over her chest, trying to calm her heart, was enough to put him chuckling lightly, as he got up.
“What are you doing up anyway?” he avoided asking her about what she just said. It would be a delicate issue, and having her pissed off at him right on the first day wasn't a very good idea.
“Couldn't sleep, that's all...” she shrugged, walking towards the balcony once more.
“Is that so?” Kai opened the balcony's glass doors for her, stepping aside, letting her pass first.
“I'm used to sleep next to you. Now it feels a bit odd not to.” a faint blush showed upon tanned cheeks, as Kai leaned over the railings. A comfortable silence ensued.
“Are you happy to be back?”
“To my country, you mean? Course I am. It's no paradise or anything, but is home. That's enough for me.”
He nodded as she walked forward, leaning against the wall, looking up at the starry sky. After a while, she went back inside, but Kai didn't. He was still thinking on her words, lost in thought.
««Flashback»»
“You're too beautiful for your own good, but I can't do what you want me to do... and I'm sorry for that...”
««End Flashback»»
`Almost each day, I learn a new thing about you, Iris, but you don't seem to say it willingly... Where do you come from? What did you pass through?'
Finally giving up, he walked back inside, glancing at the clock on his way. 6.20am... `Soon, we'll get up. I'll take the chance and have a shower first. I won't sleep any more, either way.'
At 6.45am, Kai was ready for training. He moved to Iris's bedside, running his hand through her hair as her eyes snapped open, confused and unfocused for a moment, but as they took in his frame she relaxed, her lips curving into a lazy smile. “Hey...”
“Slept well?”
“A bit better, yeah. Thanks.”
“Go take a shower before I wake up Tyson. We have a long day ahead of us.”
“Got that right. Although I feel kinda sorry for Tyson...” she smirked conspiratorially at him, “Would you mind if I took over his training? A couple of good lessons will only do him some good.”
“No, go ahead. Good luck though; he's lazier than a snail when it comes to training.”
She got up, stifled a yawn and searched through her clothes, “Nah, he'll do what I tell him to do. I can be quite persuasive, if I so want to.”
A slate eyebrow rose, “If you say so.” He turned to wake up Ray as Iris locked herself in the bathroom. After waking up the Chinese boy, the team captain entered the other bedroom, where Kenny was trying to put his shorts backwards, and yawning loudly.
He shook his head at the sight, crossing the room to Max's bed. Then he moved to confront the biggest challenge: waking up Tyson.
Which wasn't all that difficult, “Tyson, get that lazy fat arse out of bed, or you won't get any breakfast. Not to mention that you'll have to deal with me...” the older boy leaned against the door frame, looking at the still snoring World Champion.
A few seconds later, Tyson was up, clothes in hand, scrambling out of the room and knocking on the bathroom door loudly, “LET ME IN!! I DON'T WANNA LOSE BREAKFAST!!! AND KAI'S GONNA KILL ME!!!!!!!”
“Sod off, you idiot! Now you'll wait! Besides, Kai won't kill you, I will, if you don't hurry up with breakfast. You're training with the `je' here, so you better do as I say.” The female resident inside seemed to be smirking widely.
“Come again?!”
“Tyson, do me a favour, don't try to understand, just do what I say! Go eat breakfast while you can!”
“Err, ok!” the navy-blue haired boy grinned, walking out of the room, snickering at Kai, “Perhaps it's better if she trains me, ya know, she seems nicer!”
Soon, the rest of the team was descending the stairs, entering the canteen to have breakfast and then train some more.
TBC
“...” speaking
`Italics' thoughts
: … : bit beast talking
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Chapter 2... The beginning of a new Era
“Well, it could be that Dranzer and Lugiohan have both their power so high and similar that their sparring can't be done. As if they repelled each other, making it almost impossible to make contact.”
“Well, yes, it's an interesting theory, Dizzy...” Kenny mumbled to himself.
“Or like Drigger and Galux. They are soul-mates; they cannot fight for long...” continued Dizzy. The bit chips clutched in both Iris and Kai's fists shinned indignantly.
“Err are you saying that... they are soul-mates?”
Dizzy seemed to be aware of both phoenixes' annoyance as she quickly added, “N-No, I'm talking about Drigger and Galux's case; in both phoenixes', it's their similar strength that keeps them away from each other!” one could almost imagine her sheepish grin.
«««««& #194;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â« 4;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â& #171;««««« 1;««««««& #194;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â« 4;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â& #171;«
But, as we all well (and unfortunately) know, all that's good quickly has an end, and three weeks passed in no time. The team trained daily, made some stretching right after, ate and had some fun. The request of bringing another bed for the newest member of the team was soon forgotten.
Sunday arrived at last. The first beams of sunlight poured through the room's wide window, illuminating the partially relaxed features of a slate-haired, pale young 14 year-old boy. He growled at the intromission and turned his head to his right side, arms encircling the small fragile female body beside his strong one. She flinched slightly.
Kai let out a silent sigh, `What did they do to you, for you to be so afraid?'
:: Give her some time, young one. She passed through too much to simply turn her back on her past and forget it. She will tell you in due time. :: came the wise, deep, soothing voice of Dranzer.
He slowly nodded. His lips were beside her ear, grazing it, as he whispered, “Time to wake up, take a shower and pack things up. We leave today.” The boy carefully got out of the bed, as not to disturb the still half-asleep Iris on it.
“Hnnnnn... me goin', I'm goi...” the sentence trailed off, interrupted by a soft yawn, as she stretched on the mattress, while Kai rolled his eyes.
The departure was at 12.50pm from Tokyo's airport, a journey of almost 22 hours, where they would stop at Geneva's airport, in Switzerland. They'll stop for three hours before taking off again. From there, they'll leave to Porto, in a flight of 2.05 hours, which they'll arrive at 16.35pm, local time.
Yup, almost two days of journey... The first flight will be surely boring, with absolutely nothing to do. And knowing Tyson... Yup, a very long day ahead. They needed to hurry, so that everything would be on schedule.
When Kai entered the kitchen, Ray was already there, making pancakes, and almost burning himself, as he rubbed the laziness and sleepiness from his cat-like eyes.
“G'mornin'...” was muttered through a yawn. The mahogany-eyed teen only nodded at him, an eyebrow rising.
Around 9.00am, Iris came down the stairs, wide-awake now, and sat at her usual place beside the captain, wearing a silver sleeveless top, and light wide bell-bottom jeans. A few minutes after that, they heard a THUMP.
“And what exactly was that?” Iris looked up, as if expecting the ceiling to fall.
“Let's check it out...” Ray got up and climbed up the stairs, the other two following him. Kai opened the door to the first bedroom at their left, which happened to be Tyson's. They entered.
Tyson was beside the bed, sleeping on his knees, face on the ground, Max looking over the edge of the bed, looking at the former, very disappointed. A bit behind was Kenny, holding Dizzy like always, almost bursting with laughter at Max's expression.
“What happened?” Ray chuckled.
“We wanna wake up Tyson, but as you can see, he keeps sleeping...” Kenny snickered.
“Well, duh, that just means you guys should use another method.” Iris grinned evilly, her sharp canines exposed, as she moved over and crouched beside Tyson, whispering in his ear, “Hilary's downstairs waiting for you, in a see-through lace swimming suit. What are you waiting for?”
Tyson opened his eyes immediately and ran downstairs, almost knocking Ray and Kai off their feet. They all snickered, except Iris, who smirked in victory and Kai who put his hand over his eyes and shook his head.
“HEY! HILARY'S NOT HERE!!!” Tyson suddenly shouted. That only made the gang laugh harder.
A few minutes later, they were ready and entering the BBA bus to take them to the airport, on time as always. A small trip, 30 minutes to get them there. Tyson was still angry at Iris's joke, so he was quiet for once, grumbling here and there, sitting beside Kenny, who was typing away on Dizzy, in the front seat of the bus. Ray was laughing at Max's jokes and Kai and Iris were talking quietly at the end of the bus, hided by the seat in front of them.
“So your bit beast wasn't yours in the first place.” Kai put one arm around her shoulders, caressing the soft, smooth skin absently.
“She was my sister's. But when she died, I took her beyblade, therefore Lugiohan. At first, I couldn't really control her, but in time, I managed that.” Goose-bumps formed over the skin he was touching, as she shivered lightly, but did not pull away.
No one had said they were in a relationship. Not even themselves. Although, they couldn't deny the mutual understanding of the situation. None of them had said anything at all about it, but none had pushed the other away. But the tone she used right after, even if whispered, suggested that she wanted to.
“Kai..” His hand snaked under her arm to her side and, ever so softly, to brush her breast, as her breath tickled the skin on his neck, “Have you ever been in love?”
She didn't pull away from his touch, but her body tensed visibly as she looked in his deep mahogany eyes. However, hers weren't afraid.
“Maybe. What do you call this?”
“A state of sheer confusion, in some ways.”
He chuckled softly, just before her lips covered his own. He allowed his other arm to reach up and gently cup softly her breast. Her kiss slowed down, as she didn't respond at first, but as he stopped moving his hand, she continued.
Her soft moan into the kiss was the only hint he had that his touch wasn't unwelcome or hurtful. But by her body language, it wasn't quite welcome either, it was just slightly pleasant. Her muscles were still quite tense.
Ever so slowly, her hands went up to grasp his broad shoulders, taking in the strong muscles underneath her fingers. He parted the kiss, his lips leaving a trail of fire in his way, as he kissed down her neck. Her head tilted back, eyes closing for some moments.
`Every time a man touched me, it was to hurt me, but you, Kai... You erase all those memories and make my mind focus only on the feeling you're giving me... I was an un-wanting whore, but now that doesn't matter.. All because of you... Why?' At that thought, her nails dug into his shoulders.
He let his hands fall to her sides, as he pulled away. At the lack of his warmth, she frowned lightly, as she leaned against his left shoulder, eyelashes drifting close, near his neck. She took a deep sigh and snuggled into his warm body. A proof of her trust in him.
`Thanks Dranzer, you were right.'
:: It's okay, little one. ::
They finally arrived, and all of them got out of the bus with their belongings, walking towards the line of passengers of their flight.
But soon after, a hostess stepped into their way, “Are you the BladeBreakers?”
“Yes, we are.”
The young woman nodded, “We were expecting you. Follow me, if you please.” She took them to the check-in beside, and took their luggage. “You can go in right away. You have another flight waiting. We are sorry we didn't warn you before. It leaves in twenty minutes. It's from Iberia, its code 8717. Your gate is the 56.”
They gave their passports and tickets to the police and passed to the other part of the airport. They were now in the waiting room ready to aboard the plane.
“Do you know which teams we're against, Chief?” Ray yawned softly.
“Well, the Demolition Boys are no where to be found, after all that happened. The All Starz are in a campaign to help orphans though. But I think the White Tigers are coming. They too have a new member. I don't know about the Majestic's though.”
“Cool!” Max punched the air.
“The passengers of the flight 8717 Iberia, to Porto, with transhipment in Geneva, please make your way to gate 56.” the programmed voice of the airport suddenly announced.
“That's us. Let's go!” They got up.
While they were boarding, the hostess greeted them, “Buenos dias!”, which no one understood, except Iris, who just responded, “Bom dia.. Maybe for you.”
“Is that your language?” Tyson looked at her curiously.
“Nah, that's Spanish. I speak Portuguese, she speaks Spanish.” She snorted lightly. “Spain... They think they're so good... Hmph!”
They weren't very lucky with the seats; they only stayed together in pairs, Kai with Ray, Tyson with Iris and Kenny ended up with Max. The two older boys were on the front, the `couple' four seats behind them. Kenny and Max were beside the wing.
“So what's going on between you and her?” The Chinese boy turned to his captain, smirking.
“And what do you mean with that.” Kai replied calmly, quirking an eyebrow at him.
“It's not obvious, but I do have eyes that actually work. So, spit it out.”
“Stop sticking your nose in other people's business...” the other boy rolled his eyes, but those words gave him away, even if his face was a total mask of indifference.
“Come on, the looks at breakfast, through the trainings?” Ray's smirk widened slightly.
Kai's eyes finally turned to him, a frown in place, “You noticed that?”
“It wasn't easy, just one or two of them. But it was enough. I doubt anyone else noticed.” Kai was slightly taller than Ray, but more muscular and clearly stronger. That was a plain weakness for the latter, a reason why he couldn't annoy the other all that much, “So?”
His only reply was a flash of annoyance through mahogany hues, and the turning of his head.
“I don't kiss and tell, so no need to worry.” Ray added to no one in particular. But Kai knew he wouldn't tell; one thing he liked on the other boy, he was true to his word.
“Umm could you please try not to hit me?” Tyson backed away as much as he could in his seat. Iris was at the window, playing a game on Max's portable console. As a big fluffy looking cloud appeared, Tyson pushed her arm unintentionally, making her lose the game. Now her eyes were a bit red around the pupil and he was way scared.
“I won't, but I wish I could. Just because we're on a plane. If you push me ONE more time, you'll regret it for the rest of your life, mark my words.” She whispered menacingly. “Oh yeah, I'll be responsible for your training. I still didn't talk to Kai, but either way, I will.”
“What?!”
“Yes, And do you know what that means? NO pissing me off, or else, you'll be the one who will pay.”
He gulped, grinning nervously, “Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight... Err, sure! How about using the you-don't-annoy-me-and-I-won't-annoy-you-rule?”
“That should be the first intelligent thing you've ever said in your life, T.”
“Why, thank you, Iris, I- HEY!!!” he quickly pouted at that, as she snickered softly.
“Max, would you please keep your mouth shut?” Kenny pleaded, with his hands on his ears. The poor genius was tired of listening to the blonde's talking and lame jokes. He couldn't concentrate on writing Iris's profile on Dizzy to present to the tournament. Unfortunately, Max didn't even hear him and kept blabbing about some clown that did god knows what.
“Hey, Max!” The black haired girl turned to him, “Do you know that one about the tailor and the dancer?”
“Err, no, I don't.” he tilted his head to the side, curious.
“I don't either.”
As the others sweat-dropped at the lameness, the blond cracked up laughing, “THAT'S SO FUNNY!!!”
Iris shook her head at him; “If you say so.”
“Do you really find that funny?” Tyson quirked an eyebrow at her.
“No, but if it keeps him shut through the rest of the voyage, that's good enough for me.”
“Got that right.”
Almost twenty two hours of basically sleeping, small talking and eating, they finally arrived to Geneva, in Switzerland.
“FINALLY!!!” Tyson shouted to everyone who had ears, as he looked around the big airport. For that, he received a kick on the shin, courtesy of the feminine part of the gang. “OWW!”
“This is almost as cold as Russia.” Max commented, while pulling his coat from his pack, shrugging into it quickly.
“Russia is quite colder, believe me.” Iris walked a bit faster at that. Kai noticed the way she tensed at the mention of Russia.
:: Kai.. I feel... a strange power.. A dark power... extremely powerful. ::
`Is it Black Dranzer?'
:: I cannot tell. But it's more powerful. Worse too... I do not know where it comes from, but its presence is very strong, since we entered in Europe. ::
Kai could only nod in understanding. `More powerful, huh? Great, just what we needed, more trouble.'
Iris glanced back at him in that same moment, a grimace in her face.
“Did Lugiohan told you?” he walked beside her, whispering quietly, not wanting to worry the others.
She nodded, “What do you think it is?” she used the same tone of voice.
“To tell you the truth, I don't know. But I can imagine.” He looked up to the sky, his memories filling his mind. `It cannot be anything else, I'm afraid...'
The teens made their way to the airport, walked quite a bit, ate and sat in front of the gate that would lead them to their other plane. The luggage was picked in Portugal.
They boarded the plane quickly after almost three hours of waiting. The plane on its left side had seats for three passengers and on the right side, for two. This time they were side by side, Ray, Iris and Kai and in the other side, sat Kenny and Tyson, respectively.
“Okay, we need to discuss who will go with whom, in the pair's combats.” Kenny adjusted his glasses, “The preliminaries though are singular and best of five, three rounds, and we need to decide who goes first in those too.”
“Well,” Ray started, “I think Iris should go first. You know, to intimidate...”
“Yeah, then me!” Tyson shouted, making half of the flight look in their direction.
“Yeah, and Kai in last, maybe?” Iris said thoughtfully, her thumb brushing her chin.
“We start with that combination and then we'll change it, as Max and Ray to compete too, hai? What do you think, Kai?” asked Chief.
“Whatever.” Came the careless reply.
“And for the pairs? In the second part of the competition, the combats are two singulars and two duos. Although, the players can combat more than once.” Kenny continued.
“That's pretty obvious. Ray and Max go to the single ones to make up for the preliminaries. Then Max and Tyson could go. Max's defence can help the lack of it in Tyson's part.” Kai scowled at the naïve shorter boy who grinned sheepishly, “And Iris's way of thinking in battle is similar to mine, so I think that's settled.”
“Okay, if you say so...” Kenny looked at the others, “Do you all agree?”
“Yeah!!!”
“So, this is Portugal, eh?” Tyson looked around the small airport, after they got out of the plane. “Doesn't seem like it's too much of anything...”
Iris smacked his nape, frowning lightly, “Shut it! I'll let you know that we may not be a big country, but the people are quite nice! I'm gonna retrieve my other luggage; could you carry my other sack, Kai?”
“Hai.”
They waited for their luggage to get there. After 15 minutes, Iris arrived with a suitcase trailing behind her, but still no belongings.
“Where's the baggage?” she asked.
“It didn't arrive yet, you dope!” Tyson snapped at her. All he wanted at the moment was to lay down on a fluffy bed and sleep, and he didn't notice with whom he just talked to.
That comment sent Iris, who was equally tired, over the edge too. Her eyes flared red briefly, as she prepared to punch him. She would've succeeded, if it wasn't for the strong hand catching her slender wrist at the last minute.
“Here isn't such a good idea. Calm down.” Kai swiftly whispered at her ear, as she struggled to free herself. With a last push, she glared at the boy behind her, but didn't do anything, opting to sulk instead.
Finally, their luggage arrived and they trailed behind their leader to the small bus. As the hotel wasn't in a very accessible street, the driver handed them a map.
They got out of the bus and into the main street. They all recognized the similar style of the houses and streets of when they travelled through Europe and in Russia. Although, it had a more welcoming touch to it than the former.
`Must be because I'm here on my free will, and not training to be a ruthless beyblader or anything...' Kai frowned at the irony, as his eyes glanced at the girl walking in front of him. She had a smile plastered to her face, her eyes glazed over by her memories.
As if she could hear his thoughts, she stopped and looked at him, her smile not wavering, “This is still a bit far from my house but I know this place soo well!! It's so familiar... I used to play here with my sister, when my parents came to lunch in my uncle's restaurant. This is called the Ribeira, in your language, Riverside. There are a lot of small stores with regional specialities a bit more to the west. Believe me, Tyson will love the food here.”
“Sincerely, I don't think there's something the kid doesn't like to eat.” Kai rolled his eyes (“HEY! I heard that, Kai!”), “So, which way?”
“That way, come on.” They kept going up through a very old-looking street.
“Umm, are you sure this thing is safe, Iris?”
“Tyson, your mother wasn't even born yet and this street already existed just the way it is now.”
“Soooooo... Is it safe?”
An annoyed sigh sounded, as she looked through the map, “Yes, Tyson, it is.”
“Good!”
Silence.
“I ris?”
“Will you shut up? I'm not a tour guide!”
“It's not that, it's just-”
“Shut it, you good for nothing-OUCH!” she rubbed her sore forehead, as she looked up.
“-the post.” Tyson snickered at her quietly, as she glared daggers at him.
After arriving to the hotel, they could only look and sweat-drop as Iris quickly spoke with the man behind the counter. Seemingly, they only understood one word; “Não” they were sure it meant “No” if the look in her face was any indication.
She finally turned to them, making a face, “Meh, I asked for private rooms, but Mr. Dickenson clearly said that we should stay in only one room. I couldn't do anything to change that.”
They arrived to said room. It was quite big, with six beds, three in each room, a balcony and an enormous bathroom. Tyson, Kenny and Max were in one bedroom, and Kai, Ray and Iris were in the other. This was where they were going to stay until the end of the tournament. It was going to start within a week and from then on, things were going to get interesting.
Of course that the couple couldn't lay down together, with Ray in there, even if he already knew. That was why Iris suddenly woke up, not used to sleep without a warm body beside her. After waking up three times in a row, she gave up, got up and went to the bathroom. She drank a glass of water and while passing the beds to the balcony, she stopped, moving her body closer and leaned in a bit to see Kai's soft features bathed by moonlight.
His lighter hair framed his forehead, giving way to normally furrowed eyebrows, now relaxed, eyelids closed softly, hiding those deep reddish beautiful eyes of his, long dark lashes brushing his pale cheeks, now without the light blue triangles, an aristocratic nose, and soft full red lips.
“You're too beautiful for your own good...” she found herself whispering quietly, “But I can't do what you want me to do... and I'm sorry for that...” Her hand made its way to his bare chest, tracing his strong, well-defined upper chest, going up passing his neck, and traced those bow-shaped lips, resting her hand over his cheek. Ever so slightly, she felt him lean into her touch.
Kai woke up to a feathery touch on his chest. He didn't move; Dranzer would've warned him if it was some stranger. So he kept still. And he heard her, the softest whisper, “You're too beautiful for your own good, but I can't do what you want me to do... and I'm sorry for that...” Her hand came up to his neck, resting it lightly on his cheek. Even if it was quite warm, he still leaned into her touch.
She straightened back up and stopped at the balcony, her eyes lowering, “And I'm not that sure if I'll ever be ready for it...” she finished half-heartedly.
“Don't say that...” his whisper visibly made her jump.
“Don't you do that!” her glare and hand over her chest, trying to calm her heart, was enough to put him chuckling lightly, as he got up.
“What are you doing up anyway?” he avoided asking her about what she just said. It would be a delicate issue, and having her pissed off at him right on the first day wasn't a very good idea.
“Couldn't sleep, that's all...” she shrugged, walking towards the balcony once more.
“Is that so?” Kai opened the balcony's glass doors for her, stepping aside, letting her pass first.
“I'm used to sleep next to you. Now it feels a bit odd not to.” a faint blush showed upon tanned cheeks, as Kai leaned over the railings. A comfortable silence ensued.
“Are you happy to be back?”
“To my country, you mean? Course I am. It's no paradise or anything, but is home. That's enough for me.”
He nodded as she walked forward, leaning against the wall, looking up at the starry sky. After a while, she went back inside, but Kai didn't. He was still thinking on her words, lost in thought.
««Flashback»»
“You're too beautiful for your own good, but I can't do what you want me to do... and I'm sorry for that...”
««End Flashback»»
`Almost each day, I learn a new thing about you, Iris, but you don't seem to say it willingly... Where do you come from? What did you pass through?'
Finally giving up, he walked back inside, glancing at the clock on his way. 6.20am... `Soon, we'll get up. I'll take the chance and have a shower first. I won't sleep any more, either way.'
At 6.45am, Kai was ready for training. He moved to Iris's bedside, running his hand through her hair as her eyes snapped open, confused and unfocused for a moment, but as they took in his frame she relaxed, her lips curving into a lazy smile. “Hey...”
“Slept well?”
“A bit better, yeah. Thanks.”
“Go take a shower before I wake up Tyson. We have a long day ahead of us.”
“Got that right. Although I feel kinda sorry for Tyson...” she smirked conspiratorially at him, “Would you mind if I took over his training? A couple of good lessons will only do him some good.”
“No, go ahead. Good luck though; he's lazier than a snail when it comes to training.”
She got up, stifled a yawn and searched through her clothes, “Nah, he'll do what I tell him to do. I can be quite persuasive, if I so want to.”
A slate eyebrow rose, “If you say so.” He turned to wake up Ray as Iris locked herself in the bathroom. After waking up the Chinese boy, the team captain entered the other bedroom, where Kenny was trying to put his shorts backwards, and yawning loudly.
He shook his head at the sight, crossing the room to Max's bed. Then he moved to confront the biggest challenge: waking up Tyson.
Which wasn't all that difficult, “Tyson, get that lazy fat arse out of bed, or you won't get any breakfast. Not to mention that you'll have to deal with me...” the older boy leaned against the door frame, looking at the still snoring World Champion.
A few seconds later, Tyson was up, clothes in hand, scrambling out of the room and knocking on the bathroom door loudly, “LET ME IN!! I DON'T WANNA LOSE BREAKFAST!!! AND KAI'S GONNA KILL ME!!!!!!!”
“Sod off, you idiot! Now you'll wait! Besides, Kai won't kill you, I will, if you don't hurry up with breakfast. You're training with the `je' here, so you better do as I say.” The female resident inside seemed to be smirking widely.
“Come again?!”
“Tyson, do me a favour, don't try to understand, just do what I say! Go eat breakfast while you can!”
“Err, ok!” the navy-blue haired boy grinned, walking out of the room, snickering at Kai, “Perhaps it's better if she trains me, ya know, she seems nicer!”
Soon, the rest of the team was descending the stairs, entering the canteen to have breakfast and then train some more.
TBC