Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Tears ❯ The Shadowed Blades ( Chapter 7 )

Summary/Disclaimer: check the prologue, I don't repeat myself.

“...” speaking

`Italics' thoughts

:: … :: bit beast talking

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Chapter 6... The Shadowed Blades


Beyblade's were quickly shot from every direction, grounding their attack rings, armed with sharp blades, into the lone black one, which wobbled a bit at the sudden attack.

“Go.” A simple word, a simple order. Enough to make the black blade gain speed and increase its power, managing to destroy each and every opponent on the old stadium. After the slight dust had cleared, the only thing left was a bey-dish with its edges crumbling down and pieces of broken beyblade's everywhere, where only the black beyblade was spinning intensely in the centre of the devastation, perfectly undamaged.

The girl watched everything with pale lavender eyes, not as much as blinking. The blade returned to its mistress, an eerie dark glow shining from the bit chip, boosting her already pale features. “So much power... And it's all mine...” a vicious grin made its way to her rosy lips. Although, it did not reach her emotionless eyes by far.

:: Feel it, little one. You will never forget its taste... :: a brooding voice sounded in her mind, enticing her with the need to train more and more, to keep her senses sharp, not to separate from this source of power she had now found. To bend her at the Darkness' will.

“Yes...” the pale girl walked away, her four companions swiftly following as their respective beyblade's returned to their hands, the stadiums where they were battling similar to the female's. “I know.”

“It is time...” one of them whispered, smirking.

“...For them...” the other one continued in the same tone, a similar smirk over his lips.

“...To know...” another one resumed.

“...The true meaning of power.” the girl finished, looking at the dark top in her palm, “The traitors will pay... I promise. Today is the beginning of the end of the world as we know it.”

“They won't even know what hit them...” the last male concluded as they chuckled, a cold sound resonating through the walls of the old warehouse they were training in.

:: But do not forget, younglings. Only if you defeat them... One by one. It is your mission. ::

“It's our mission.” The five teens repeated almost mechanically, heading for the exit.

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The first beams of sunlight made their way to warm the skin of a pale young boy, who roused himself from the depths of his dreams, light turquoise eyes opening.

A few minutes later, he got out of the bathroom, now fully clothed to face another day, letting the slate-haired teen take his place in it.

“Hey, have you guys seen Iris? She isn't here...” Ray's voice echoed in the small room.

“And Tyson's not here either. That's odd...” Max drawled sleepily as he opened the door to the other bedroom.

Tala and Kai frowned immediately as soon as they both heard the amber-eyed boy. Iris was a girl with a wild attitude and a short temper and she loathed being locked in a room, but she would never get out or leave without telling anyone where she was. And Tyson... Well, he only got up if food was involved and the canteen hadn't called to their room to complain yet.

“How could you not notice she was gone? She sleeps in the bed beside you both!” Tala glared at Kai then at Ray, slight worry in his eyes. `This isn't like her to do...'

:: It is okay, little one; Miss Blanchett is outside. And Tyson is with her. :: Wolborg's statement put a stop to the variety of thoughts the red-head was having, a relieved feeling washing over him almost instantly.

“Outside. Then, I suppose there's no problem.”

Sometime after, the rest of the gang stepped outside, and on the big garden at the back of the hotel, they found their missing members were.. training. Or better saying, the female part of the team was scolding Tyson's attack and lame defence, as she put it.

“...attack you leave an open space, which knocks your weak defence! Don't you remember what Max did when he wan? You may be the World Champion, but if you aren't careful you will lose in no time!” even if her voice was angered, Iris had the normal Kai-stance, crossed arms, confident stare and legs slightly apart.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I already heard that one hundred times!!”

“You don't seem to be paying attention then, if I keep repeating myself.”

“Wow, how the heck could you put Tyson training this early?” Ray snickered. “And without food?”

“Knock it off, will ya? And I did have breakfast. Only half of it, but if I train hard, she says she'll let me continue it. So, I've got no time to lose.” Tyson replied hurriedly as the others made an anime-fall. A heated battle was ranging between him and Iris.

The girl was still in the relaxed pose, not in the least worried; her hair, normally on a pony tail, tumbled down her back almost till her hips as it was wet and heavier, the red tips darker than normal, leading to the conclusion that she had taken a shower before. “Yesterday, I said his training would be longer and harder. So, here I am. He didn't want to at first, but...” she smirked, side glancing at them briefly, “A girl works her magic, et voilá.”

“HA, now you let your guard down and I'm going to defeat you!” Tyson suddenly grinned, bringing everyone's stare back to watch the combat intently. His confidence had returned once more, his tiredness now forgotten.

Dragoon actually seemed able to knock Lugiohan out of the dish for a moment, but at the last second, she managed to evade his move, much to his frustration.

“You wish...” Iris hissed mockingly, smirking, aiming to enrage Tyson. Rage... It could be fatal to the battle, but in controlled tantrums, it could gain you an easy victory. `And that's what I want you to do, Tyson...'

Tyson growled quietly at the back of his throat, `She's good, has a great stamina... Trying to tire her out will only weaken me. She's faster and lighter than me, so I won't even manage a clash at her side good enough to shove her off... Hmm, what could I do then? What's her weakness? Hang on! When I battled Kai... I only managed to win when I sent Dranzer flying.. So maybe, since her style is like Kai's, that may work...' “Dragoon!” the dragon soon made his appearance, as powerful as ever, looking at his master, who nodded. Dragoon and Tyson didn't have a bond strong enough to speak with each other, (excluding the time in the World's) but the dragon understood his young blader's plan. “Now Dragoon! Attack her as fast as you can before she escapes!!”

“Ah no, that won't catch me. Lugiohan!” despite being battling him, Iris smiled to herself; `He's finally starting to use his brain... About time too. Good one, Tyson, but still not good enough to defeat me.' Her bit beast rose, looking calmly at her opponent, as Dragoon narrowly missed her once more.

“Keep that up, Dragoon, it's the only way. Last time was close, c'mon, keep trying!”

`Yeah, that's it Tyson; insistence and hope is what drives you forward...But never drop your defence; it's the key to victory.' “Steady, Lugiohan.” Once more the black blade evaded the white one almost effortlessly.

`One more time, Dragoon, I know we can do this!' “C'mon, Dragoon faster!” Dragoon roared once before charging against his opponent. And this time, he managed a strong blow to Lugiohan's side, powerful enough to also send him off the dish, and back to Tyson's palm. A tie. “So...” The younger boy turned to look at her, after checking if his beyblade was damaged, “That good or what?”

“You're slightly better, faster and your technique is more strategic. That's all I'm saying.” Iris turned her back on them, going through the exit of the hotel afterwards, “See you later!”

Occupied with training as the rest of the gang was, no one saw the pale eyes spying on them or the way their owner easily descended the tree she was in, to jump over the wall easily and follow her.

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:: Where are you heading, Mistress? ::

`To train by myself... In the Old Meadow, remember? And if Kai or Tala are worried, Dranzer and Wolborg can pick up your presence, right?'

:: Correct, Mistress. ::

Swift legs carried the young girl through old paths, so known to her when she was a child. They carried her until she reached a rusty looking old gate, locked by thick iron chains. Iris climbed the tree that was beside the gate graciously and easily passed the fence to the other side, where a big meadow was located. The residence belonged to an old rich family, which passed this land to their children. Since the last generation went to live in France, no one entered here beside the gardener that took great care of this piece of paradise. And who was she to waste it?

Enormous trees were everywhere, pine-trees, stone pines, weeping-willows, chestnut-trees and much more which she didn't bother to remember the names. Small flower beds here and there and in the centre of this paddock, a crystalline lake shined like a mirror as the beams of the early morning found it. Birds chirping, squirrels everywhere, even one or two foxes, the nature at its best.

Beside the lake, a tree had been cut; rumours said that the owners thought it was too close to the lake. She didn't particularly care. Ever since she had learned how to spin a blade, this was her improvised bey-stadium. The inside of the trunk was slightly oval, Lugiohan having spun there for countless hours and because of that, it also was very smooth.

She smiled softly at the happy memories, long before Boris had taken her. Lugiohan was released swiftly. The first part of her morning was passed this way, no problems, no stupid dreams scaring the hell out of her... only in the company of her bit beast and the nature.

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Suddenly, as Ray launched Drigger, a pale blue beyblade shot out from nowhere, ramming into the grey blade's side and sending Drigger back to his owner's hand.

“Who's there?” Kai's cold voice sounded, as he glanced up at his right, Tala soon doing the same. A male frame jumped down from the roof, securing on a tree's branch and falling gracefully on his feet near them right after. The pale blade quickly moved to continue spinning calmly near his feet. Three other boys jumped down to stand beside the former, doing almost the exact same thing.

All of them had four things in common: black emotionless eyes, their launchers ready, the same black uniform and a smirk on their faces. The first one was a bit short, light brown hair and seemed to be the most playful or maybe the most rebel. The tallest had spiky black hair, a well-built body and emanated confidence... probably the leader. The other two were twins, like two droplets of water. Locks of white blond hair striking over charcoal deep hues, their faces a mask of carelessness.

“Hey... You're those guys, the Shadowed Blades!” Tyson pointed a finger at them, his stance now a bit unfriendly, not letting go of his launcher, a frown gracing his normally cheerful features. The bit chip of his beyblade shinned in response of his reaction.

“Oh, so you're not as stupid as we were told..” the short boy snickered at him, and by his accent he should be also Portuguese, like Iris, “My name is Pedro.”

“I'm Kyo and he's Kyu.” One of the twins said, tilting his head to the side and motioning the other.

“And I'm Chad. Now that this is done and over with, we defy you for a battle.” The leader walked to the bey-stadium, eyes looking at everyone until he stopped on Kai, “And I enjoy taking down the traitors... Right, Hiwatari?”

“Your way of thinking does not interest us. Leave.” Tala's eyes grew even colder, not looking at the boys, searching. Where was she? “And we battle on the stadium.”

`Where is the brat?' Kai's frown deepened, `Something's not quite right...', “Shut up... Chad, is it? I'll take you down on the tournament, don't worry. Don't be so eager to lose. Where's Bryan's sister?”

“Around. But that doesn't concern you. However, this does. Look out, Ray!” Kyo launched his beyblade, managing a cut to Ray's arm, much to the Chinese boy's surprise.

“Hey, keep the cheating to yourself! If you want to combat, you're on!” Max readied Draciel, sending him spinning into the dish, where Kyu's blade soon followed.

Chad sent his beyblade towards Kai, who dodged it almost effortlessly. He ran to the exit, quickly followed by the larger and taller boy. One on each side of the streets, they continued, their blades grinding together, sending sparks all over the place.

Back to Max's combat, Draciel was doing well. Even if Kyu's attack was at full-force, Draciel kept his ground steadily, knocking him out of the stadium, going back to Max's outstretched hand. As soon as the battle ended, Kyo sent his own top, as Ray launched Drigger. Drigger gave his best, but Kyo was helplessly faster. After one more failed attempt of his Tiger Claw, Kyo knocked him out of the dish.

“So... Seems it's just you and me, eh Tyson?” Pedro grinned at him, launcher in hand, simply circling the stadium, as Tyson did the same, keeping the distance between them the same. He soon let his blade loose, aiming to the building's wall instead of the dish. The blade made a deep cut on it before moving to spin on the same spot right in the centre of the bey-dish, Dragoon following swiftly.

However, it ended before it even started. The pale blue beyblade disappeared before their very eyes, reappearing right behind the white one, sending him against the closest wall with a short, but harsh clash to his side, not giving any chance to the navy-haired boy.

“No! Dragoon!!” Tyson knelt beside the destroyed beyblade. Pieces of the once mighty dragon were everywhere, even if the bit chip was intact, Dragoon shinning indignantly on its centre. “Don't worry... This isn't over; far from it. That I promise you. We'll defeat him.”

His opponent snorted lightly, “Don't make promises you aren't capable of fulfilling...” picking up the blue top, he headed towards the exit. Only when the three boys walked away did the rest of the gang realized that both the captains were missing.

“Where did they go?”

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Chad didn't seem to want to stop running. Kai was only following, even if the initial idea of getting out of the hotel was his. He hadn't done it to escape; he simply did it to avoid hurting the others. This guy didn't really inspire a good sense of sport on him and calmness in his battles, quite the contrary.

Said boy suddenly entered a seemingly abandoned house, passing through the front door, which was open. He followed. With a quick glance over the room, he easily detected a small camera in one corner, near the ceiling.

`Dranzer, before anything, destroy that camera. They must want to record our technique and moves.'

:: Understood, Kai. ::

As he was evading the other top, Dranzer took his chance, quickly moving up the wall, going straight to the cables there connected, destroying them while escaping the electricity-spiting cables. Right after that, Chad's top smashed against the phoenix's, backing him up to the wall.

Suddenly leaving Dranzer, the other blade advanced towards Kai. The slate haired teen dodged it, falling to the wooden floor in the process. The sudden pain in his ankle was forgotten in the adrenaline of the battle.

Frowning and speaking in a language he didn't understand, the other boy called back the beyblade, catching it in his hand.

“What do you think you're doing? We're not finished.”

“Yes, we are, Hiwatari.” Chad glanced over his shoulder as he spoke, “For now. To defeat you and your excuse of a bit beast, it'll be in front of a big crowd, for everyone to see and know just how good you are.” Smirking, he let himself fall out of the window as Dranzer missed him by a hairsbreadth, cutting some strands of his black mane. No doubt if he hadn't, Chad wouldn't have fulfilled his promise. `Not that he will, that is.'

As Kai reached the window with some difficulty, the other male was already gone; all that was left was his footprints. The crimson-eyed teen jumped down the same window since it was just on the first floor, gingerly. The pain from before returned while his mind finally realised he had gotten himself a twisted ankle. Looking up suddenly, he saw a black beam of light right in front of him, pointing skyward.

Not knowing what it was, but not liking it, he ran into its direction, worry slowly appearing at the back of his mind. Something was not right...

:: Master, Iris and Lady Lugiohan are battling. ::

And Dranzer had just clarified that for him. And who was the one missing?

`Bryan's younger sister... Sarabela.'

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Oblivious of what was happening to the rest of her team, Iris kept training.

She was leaning against a tree comfortably, eyes closed. She and Lugiohan had created their new attack, Seeker Spirit, and were now doing a few adjustments to it. It was slightly different from her normal style, but effective nevertheless.

Everything was silent, saving the relaxing sound of her beyblade spinning and the wild life around her. Till another blade suddenly crashed on hers. Lugiohan moved quickly, into Iris' palm. Pulling off the tree, she adopted a hostile pose, “Who's there?” the calmness she felt before was gone in the blink of an eye, her voice silky, but cold. “Show yourself.”

A blur of black suddenly appeared, picking up the other black blade. The very light, almost white hair, brushed her shoulders, some locks gracing her features, making her look angelic. But pallid lips were twisted into a mocking sneer and her once soft lavender eyes looked at her with taunting disrespect, “Long time no see, eh Blanchett?”

“And what exactly is wrong with you, Sarabela Kuznetsov?” the black haired girl took a step back, arms crossing over her chest. The girl in front of her wasn't the old friend she once knew. Something had changed in her and not for the best either... `Why is she smirking like that?'

“Things change... old friend.” The eerie chuckle that followed chilled her to the bones, “What do you say of a battle? It has been so long... I missed battling you. Or are you too afraid to even move?” the blade she was holding didn't left any doubts. `Black Dranzer...'

“I'm not afraid, and I never back down from a challenge. Neither does Lugiohan.” Iris went into position, Lugiohan shinning reassuringly in the bit chip.

With no previous warning, both black tops were released, starting to circle each other in opposite ways, occasionally clashing. Until Black Dranzer changed direction and attacked Lugiohan's weight disk head-on, making it crack a bit under the sudden pressure.

“C'mon, where's your spirit?” Sarabela smiled softly. However, her eyes were as cold as ice, “My bit-beast wants to play... Where's the ruthless Iris we all know and hate? You were a worthy opponent, excellent in fact. So, why are you stupidly holding back now?”

Iris growled low in her throat, “I don't want to fight you...”

The other girl rolled her eyes at that, “Has being with the Bladesuckers turned you that soft? Give me a break! I don't want an easy victory. That was the main reason why I chose to battle you in the first place.”

“Beyblading is not all about winning. It's about team-work, trust between blader and bit-beast, friendship and loyalty. You knew that. I was the one who taught that to you. What did that abomination did to you? Don't you remember anything? Are you that blind that you can only see the dark power he can give you for now?” Iris motioned to the opposite beyblade, whilst it gave a black, almost longing gleam in response. “Do you think he gives a damn about you?!”

Her face reflected confusion for a brief moment, before she gasped, shutting her eyes tightly and opening them again, anger blazing in them, “I don't care what you think! Black Dranzer is everything that I need, that I want! Every other bit-beast is useless!”

“You know that's not true.” `She seems possessed or something... What did you do, Black Dranzer?' “Snap out of it, Kuznetsov!”

A black aura surrounded the younger girl, the dark phoenix appearing in a flash of black light and a powerful screech, a black beam of pure raw energy shooting up to the heavens.

`I don't want this... It's wrong... wrong!' After receiving a light collision to her side, Lugiohan shot into Iris' hand again at her order. She couldn't believe it... Her friend was simply... gone... Prisoner of Black Dranzer's power.

Looking over at her with disdain for not giving much of a fight, Sarabela rolled her eyes once more, “Why would I want to, Blanchett? Oh well, never mind that. Bye, see you in the finals. If you get there, that is...” She walked away, snickering to herself, stepping out of sight between the thick trees.

:: Iris, are you ok? ::

`Yes... Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry. You?'

:: I'm fine. Lord Black Dranzer barely touched me. :: The hatred at having to call him `Lord' was noticeable. Just then, she had that feeling you get when someone is watching you. Slowly turning around, fearing Sarabela was back, she met two mahogany hues instead. Relief washed over her being, as she smiled ever so softly. “How did you find me?”

Kai slowly walked up to her, ignoring her first question, “You battled her, didn't you.” More like a statement than a question.

“I didn't want to...” her eyes lowered immediately, “But she gave me no choice. What happened to the others?”

“Those Shadowed Blades appeared some minutes after you left. And I think that Kuznetsov followed you from there. Their captain challenged me and brought me into that house.” He motioned to the abandoned mansion behind them, “As for the others, I'm not sure what happened.”

“We better go check it out then. Did you win?” they started walking at a slow pace, since Kai's ankle was giving him a hard time.

“He called his beyblade back before we finished. Guess all he wanted was statistics on me; that house had a camera installed. You?”

“Lost. I wasn't concentrating in the first place. My spirit wasn't on the battle.” Kai didn't fail to notice the slight bitterness her voice.

“You knew her, didn't you?”

“She started beyblading by my influence. I taught her most of the things. And from then on, she was always after me, wanting to learn more. It is something to gape at. I never thought this could happen..” Her eyes hardened ever so slightly.

They finally arrived to the hotel, passing over some remnants of the once shiny stadium and into their hotel room where everyone wanted to know what had happened to them.

“Will you guys just SHUT IT!” Iris hissed out quietly, but far from friendly. That made Max and Tyson shut up right away, something that she and only a few other people had the capacity of doing. “We battled. Nothing more, nothing less. Kai got himself a twisted ankle. Is that so stupidly interesting?”

Once she had given Kai some ice for him to apply to his ankle, Iris sat beside him, eyes slowly glazing over. “You ok?”

“I only need some rest. I'll be fine.” By the sound of his voice, he seemed slightly annoyed.

“Sleep will do you some good. Why don't you take a small nap?”

Kai rolled his eyes, “Yeah right. We need to train.”

“Pff, no way. We had enough with beyblading today. Besides, tomorrow the combat will be easy. The team is amateur.” She crossed her arms, smirking at him in a superior way while she loudly said the news, “Today there will be no training.” Followed by Tyson's high-five with Max and the turning on the PlayStation2 in their room.

“Just keep it low.” Kai pulled the covers over him, sighing softly. He fell asleep in no time, failing to hear the quiet click of the door.

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It was still quite early, eleven o'clock in the morning, and the day was warm and nice.

So, as the silver-eyed girl walked down the main market in the whole city, she decided to pass by the hotel where the White Tigers were. They would be there until the end of the tournament, as they were one of the two teams of honour, along with the Majestic's.

She was wearing a long feet-length black skirt, slightly heeled sandals and a light pink sleeveless shirt. A cap of the local football team finished her attire. Her hair was high and in a simple ponytail, and her usual black triangles were removed.

She had waited until Kai was asleep. Then, she had gotten out. Right now, alone with her thoughts, Iris did admit she was a bit unfair, but then again, her captain would only think of what she had come to do as a silly girly thing. `It's better if he sleeps away and lets me do my thing. Besides, if I told him I wanted to stroll around the Unconquered City (Porto is known for not letting the French Invasions invade it, history business), he'd surely follow me.' Yup, he'll be better off being blissfully unaware.

Luck seemed to be on her side today. When she looked up to the hotel, she saw Mariah coming out of the gates of the building. She hurriedly caught up with her. “Hey, hey, hey!”

The pink haired girl turned to her, slightly surprised, but happy nevertheless, “Oh hi, Iris. What's up?”

Iris smiled softly, `Hope she doesn't suspect anything...' “The sky... Well, I'm just walking around. You?”

“Same here. Still on the tournament?”

“And leaving damage!” she winked, “Wanna come along with me? I was heading to the river.”

“Sure. I didn't see it yet. I still don't know my way around this city. Too big.” Mariah giggled.

“It's not, really. But it does have too many alleys and stuff. But I'll show you.” Walking around and chattering about this and that, the two females reached the mouth of the river, the sun over it making it shine brightly and beautifully.

Mariah's amber eyes shone with innocence, an innocence the black haired girl had lost long ago, “It's gorgeous! Aww, why didn't I bring my swimsuit...” she let out quietly, as if afraid of destroying the view if she spoke any louder. “It's a beautiful view! Thank you for showing it to me.”

“It was nothing. I wanted to come here in the first place, remember? No big deal about it.” Iris waved a hand dismissively, “By the way, do you like Lee?” she knew that was a BIG lie, since they were brothers, but this way, she could find out what she wanted. `If I'm lucky, that is.'

The other almost fell over, “Kami, no! He's my brother!” a blush crept to her tanned cheeks.

“Oh, so sorry. So...” Iris continued, smiling innocently, “Who do you like then? That gleam in your eyes can only mean one thing.”

Mariah looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, “Err... Well, I... Umm, I-I don't like anyone...”

Silver eyes lit in amusement, “I don't kiss and tell, ya know. You can trust me.”

She sighed, “Meh... Fine. I know I'm obvious... I like Ray. There, I said it!”

“Was it that hard?” when she glanced at her, Mariah was already on her way. And by the way her shoulders were lifted and her slightly tense pose, Iris could swear she looked like a human tomato right now. She giggled to herself.

:: So, your suspicions are correct, Mistress. What do you plan on doing now? ::

`We'll see, my friend. And we'll wait.' Iris smiled one last time before going back to the hotel, and into their room. Looking around it, she was relieved to find that Kai was still sleeping lightly, the younger ones barely noticed her abstinence and Tala was out, somewhere.

She let herself sit heavily on the couch, placing her legs on it too, on top of Tyson's, much to the latter's annoyance. She got her chance, taking the remote from him (he was waving it, accusingly pointing it at her) and flipping through some channels, where she finally stopped on MTV, which was passing a video from the Portuguese band Da Weasel.

“Hey Iris!! I was watching Wrestling!”

“Ah, shut it, Tyson! It's not as if you don't know what will happen. A guy will lose, and the winner will be considered strong.” Ignoring his complains and not even noticing him getting up, Iris soon found she couldn't help but put the volume slightly louder and singing to the music. It was in Portuguese anyway, no one would understand what she was saying.

Kai awoke to the not so soft sound of a music of some sort, chanted by a guy and a girl. The voice of the girl though seemed oddly familiar, and, as he roused himself from the warmth of his bed (being reminded of his sore ankle as he got up), the female voice was definitely closer than the male's.

His feet padded softly and lightly towards the room where the sound came from. Peeking around the door frame of the living room, he simply quirked an amused eyebrow at seeing Iris sprawled on the couch, unaware of an audience, and singing along the song in a quick language. He couldn't understand even a word, but the fastness she sang made sure she knew the lyrics extremely well. `Must be in Portuguese.'

The beat had an interesting rhythm to it, and Kai found himself liking it. Knowing she didn't see him yet, he let his shoulder lean against the door frame casually. The subject of the song should be serious, since her expression was pensive, almost solemn.

“Vai haver um outro alguem
Que me ame e trate bem.
Vai haver um outro alguem
Que me ouca tambem.
Vai haver um outro alguem
Que faca valer a pena,
Vai haver um outro alguem
Que me cante este poema…”

The video clip ended and commercials started to appear on the screen. Iris sighed quietly. Forca. `Strength', it meant. The band had used a few situations, and called to their inner strength to help them out. In that, she completely agreed. A soft whistle sounded then. Her head whipped to the side, looking at the door and finally noticing the slate haired teen there. “What was that for?”

“I didn't know you knew how to sing. That was rap, am I right?” he moved to rest his elbows on the back of the couch, looming over her.

She gave a soft nod, “Hu huh. I don't like rap all that much, but I do like the themes that that band uses to their songs. So, I also like their songs.”

“I see.” He easily jumped over the couch, sitting beside her on the couch.

“How's your ankle?” she did the same she did to Tyson, her legs now over Kai's. He made no move to shove them off him.

“Better. Slightly.” His eyes glanced back to her face, their eyes locking. A fine dark eyebrow rose in question. Bracing himself with one arm, he leaned forward. “But it will be even better if you allow me to have one kiss, I'm sure.”

She rolled her eyes at that, “Only one, huh...” she trailed off as his lips hovered over hers mere inches away. Her eyes closed on their own. And as odd as it sounded, she was not afraid. Not with him.

“One is the least.” He lowered his head the rest of the way, capturing her lips in his in a gentle kiss. Parting for a split second and kissing her again. His hands tangled in her long hair, fisting once in a while, but not enough to hurt her. Never to hurt her.

Her hands ran over his shirt-clad back, clawing lightly, as a strange heat started in her abdomen. It was unfamiliar, strange, but in a good way. Pleasant. A soft moan escaped her throat, muffled by their kiss and lost in his lips.

Said lips left hers, running along her jaw. A gasp was his response as he licked her pulse. Those same pale lips returned to hers once more, his tongue slipping inside to sweep over white teeth. They finally parted for the much needed oxygen. Right then, the sound of a door knob being turned reached their ears.

They hurriedly separated, Kai sitting back and quickly bringing Iris with him as well. The sight that greeted our favourite red-head was one of the stranger ones. The teens on the couch were quite close, too close for one not to be suspicious, their cheeks were lightly flushed and they were glaring at him. `Okay, so I interrupted them for sure...' That made him smirk smugly, “Don't mind me, lovers, I didn't see anything.”

The female actually smirked back, which made Tala frown. That couldn't be a good sign. “Do not worry, my friend. I'll just go get Rosemary and tell her that you love her. IF you tell anyone about this, that is. So... what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

His eyebrows narrowed, a pale blush appearing over his cheeks, “Don't. You. Dare.”

“And why not? Afraid of a girl?”

Tala immediately huffed, “NO! It's just that... I.. don't like... speaking of that... openly.” He mumbled, turning away and heading for the kitchen.

Leaving a couple with two identical smirks upon their lips. They looked at each other conspiratorially.

“Blackmail sure is a pain in the ass.”

“You can say that again.”

«««««& #194;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â« 4;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â& #171;«««««Â 1;««««««& #194;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â« 4;«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â«Â& #171;«

In the next day, after an easy win with an amateur team, and after a very good lunch, the BladeBreakers made their way to the stands of the afternoon combat, the Shadowed Blades versus Les Danseurs.

Chad, the captain, was the first to combat against a little girl named Valerie. They changed a few words and crouched into their launching poses. It was a quick battle.

“Vincere, finish this. Now.” Chad crossed his arms, looking utterly bored, as the French girl fumed in anger. She cursed a few words in her native tongue and shouted at her top to attack, but it was no use. Her eyes widened in terror as that reality became clearer each second that passed.

Chad's beyblade was spinning in the centre of the dish and seemed like it wasn't even feeling the blows the other one sent at it. Suddenly, an eerie dark red light emanated from it, its speed increasing rapidly, until it left the circle it was making and gave a powerful jab at the opponent's blade.

In practically melted pieces, Valerie cradled her destroyed blade close to her heart, tears streaming down her face. Her five other team-mates carried her away, arms around her shoulders, each sending Chad a dirty glare, the next worse than the last, as he calmly made his way to his team's bench.

“But that's just sick!!” Tyson almost shouted, voicing everyone's thoughts, “How DARE he!? Look at her... Poor kid. Probably won't even watch another battle as long as she lives! The guy may be stronger, but that doesn't mean he needed to... to annihilate her beyblade or something like that!”

“I agree.” Max frowned, eyes softening as he looked at the now sobbing girl. “That's just cowardice.”

“He's superior and she's just an amateur, but that's just pure evil. And wanting to destroy her.” Ray crossed his arms and legs, leaning back on his seat, closing his eyes in frustration at the sight. Not a pretty one in any way you looked at it. Kenny just nodded, furiously typing on Dizzy.

“Hey Chief, slow down! That hurts, ya know?” the trapped bit beast complained as her user literally punched her keyboard.

“Sorry...”

Kai, Tala and Iris just watched solemnly the scenery, not uttering a word. How many times had they seen the same thing happening again? Countless. The weaker competitors were always used as punching bags to help the stronger get even more powerful. It was wrong, but it also was a reality they all lived in unfortunately.

“Bastard. He should be ashamed of himself.” Iris whispered to herself, looking away in disgust, while she uncrossed and crossed her legs once again. Kai glanced at her briefly. She hadn't stopped squirming ever since the combat started. He would ask her what was wrong, but Tala beat him to it.

“And what exactly is bugging you, little one? That's turning out to be quite annoying, as you can guess.” the redhead motioned to her legs as she yet again crossed and uncrossed them.

“I dunno, Yuriy... Something's making me uneasy, I guess. I feel like I'm being watched...” she closed her eyes, sighing softly. Tala locked his gaze with Kai's and both had a small idea of what could be the matter. Maybe that sick-minded crazy lunatic Boris was on the prowl, watching them. Maybe. All attention was needed. If he did catch her... Who knew what would happen then.

It was Sarabela's turn now. And pretty much the same, switching the name Vincere to Black Dranzer. No emotion to read in her light eyes, just an `I'm good, and I know it' gleam shinned in those hues, aside from the strange dullness Iris had noticed when they had battled. Like the White Tigers had said, they were cold and they were quick. The two remaining combats were much like the previous ones, and half through the last, the seven friends came out, incapable of seeing the carnage for a second longer.

Everything so perfect, so cold... So emotionless.

...TBC...