Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ The Real Me ❯ Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: You know what I mean when I write fanfiction. By the way, the lyrics are from The Fray's "Over My Head" (Cablecar)

Notes: Forewarning, don't kill me at the end of this chapter. Other than that, read on!

Halfway down the road, she realized just where she was going and what Ray was asking her to do. Hilary squirmed and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. He wouldn't have it and only tightened his grip on her arm, dragging her down the street. "Ray, don't you think I can walk on my own?"

"I don't trust you. You're not going to get out of this one." He smirked at her. "If I let go of you, you'll run back to your house. I know you better than that."

"I'm scared," She said sheepishly.

"Don't be, we'll be close enough to save you if Tyson goes crazy." He laughed, watching her squirm even more.
"That makes me feel safe," she confirmed.

They entered through the main doors of the Dojo. Hiro looked at Ray suspiciously, and he let go of Hilary. "What's going on?"

"Hilary and Tyson need to have a heart to heart." Hilary gulped and Ray smiled at her. "Don't worry, you'll work things out."

"If we don't, it's your head," she warned, raising a fist threateningly. Ray nodded, confident in his decision.
"Hiro, would you go get your brother?"

"Sure." He flashed Hilary a smile. "Don't worry about it," The elder Granger assured. "I'll beat him up if he doesn't stop being an asshole.

Hilary mumbled something. Ray looked at her and laughed. "What?" She asked, threateningly yet again.

"You fell in love with an asshole. That's a good one to say." She punched him, rather hard at that. "Ouch!"

"What's going on?" Tyson asked, entering the front room with Hiro, his eyes trained on his sibling. He registered movement in front of him. "Ray... H-Hilary, what's up?"

"You two need to talk," Ray said.
"Yeah, little bro. Apologize for whatever you did that hurt her feelings." Hilary glared at Hiro, and he took a step back in confusion. "Wait. What the hell happened anyway?"

Ray grabbed Hiro by the arm. "I'll explain. It's an interesting story..." Guiding the coach out of the room, Hilary promised under her breath to kill both of them. If Tyson didn't kill her first.

"Uhh..." Tyson stammered a bit, not quite sure what to say. His brother and his team mate just about abandoned him in one of the most awkward situations of his life. "What's up?"

Hilary looked at him and took a seat on the wooden floor. Tyson leaned against the adjacent wall. "We need to talk about yesterday."

"Like you said, it was a mistake." She looked at him, and for a moment, she swore she saw some remorse in his eyes. The monotone he used surprised her, being a bit edgy, like he was angry.

"Yeah..." She trailed off, trying to think of how to fix the problem they had. "Tyson, you're my best friend, you know that, right?"

Best friend. Friend. Yeah, I got that, he thought bitterly. "Yeah, I know." He brightened up and looked at her with a smile that sent a shiver down her spine, though he didn't notice it. "We just kinda got caught up in the moment," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. God, he realized, I'm being so fake.

"Yeah. I don't want our friendship to be messed up by one kiss, you know?"

One kiss. "I know exactly what you mean." He sat down next to her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. God, he thought, she smells just like strawberries. She has no idea how much I want to kiss her again right now. She's a drug. And I'm a God damned addict.

And I want to be.

Hilary stood up and Tyson followed suit. She turned around after a moment of thought and hugged him tightly. "I was so afraid you were angry with me." She seemed like she was going to cry, and Tyson moved his hands to her face, and raised it up to be level with his.

"I was never angry with you. Never. You understand me?" She nodded, the look in her ruby eyes telling him she did comprehend. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, trying hard to resist the urge to move lower and kiss her nose, and finally, her lips.

"You're sweet when you want to be," She whispered to him, interrupting his thoughts again, and laying her head on his shoulder once more. "I like you the best when you're like this." Her nose was ticking his neck, and he started to panic, realizing how close they actually were. This kind of panic was good, he realized.

Very, very good.

Hilary smiled up at him, lifting her head up after a moment. Tyson caught something different in her eyes this time. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he wanted to know. "Tyson, did you want to kiss me?"

He looked surprised for a moment, but his expression quickly changed. "You want the truth?"
"Yeah," she said, inching her face a bit closer to him. He had the feeling he was doing more moving than she was though. Any closer, Tyson realized quickly, and they'd be back in the same situation as yesterday. Just a centimeter more...

"... And everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head..."

"God damn it!" Tyson pulled out his cell phone, and Hilary backed away to the center of the room. "What?" He practically screamed into the phone. He almost kissed her again. Which could've been a bad situation, but he didn't care. He wanted to kiss her a hundred times over, especially if he had the reaction he got yesterday.

"Tyson, it's AJ. Get your ass to the beach, and I'm sorry that I interrupted your make out session with my cousin."

"We weren't-" He began to explain, but by then, he heard the three descending notes on his phone meaning that the caller had hung up. "Hilary, something's up."

"I know, I heard her speak. She sounded pissed."

Hiro poked his head in the room. "Are you two better now?"

Hilary nodded. "Just fine."

Just fine my ass. Tyson nodded in agreement and slid open the wall on the other side of the room, leading to the outside. "We need to go to the beach. Get the guys. I think something's up."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine," he growled in response.

"Don't be cold to me, Kai." He froze and looked up at her from his position on the sand. She squeezed his hand and let go, laying down next to him.

"Sorry," he said quieter. She shrugged.

"I know." Taking a quick look around, she noted that no one was watching and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "That was just one hell of a battle."
"I noticed," a voice rang out from behind him. "Are you two okay?"

"Fine, Mr. D," AJ piped up, sitting up and brushing the sand off her back. "It was a close call though."

"They weren't aiming for me," Kai said gruffly. "They were aiming for her."

"Probably after Viatsu."

Dickenson nodded, and Kai pulled AJ closer. "Now I have good reason to never let you out of my sight."

"I love you too," she whispered, though the chairman heard, and quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry this happened today, I know how special an anniversary is." AJ nodded in agreement and Kai pulled an arm around her.
AJ squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again a moment later to see Kai watching her carefully. "I'm fine, hon," She assured.

"I don't think you are." He looked into her eyes, but from her point of view she knew it as his way of trying to read her mind. "Where'd his beyblade hit you?"
"Nowhere," she said carefully.
"Don't lie to me, Aud, I know you." His gaze intensified. "Where?"

"My back." He nodded, placing his hand on her back, gently, and lowered it until he felt her wince and a sob escape her.
"God, Audrey," he said, pulling her shirt up over her head. Her bikini was underneath, and the bullet hole was clearly visible. There was a line that stretched from one side of her lower back to the other. She had been more concerned with him, because he was the one beyblading the offending young woman. He had a multitude of brush burns and other small wounds. "Hold still."

"It hurts," she whispered, trying not to whine.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"My God, Dad, it's okay," AJ said, trying to calm her raging father down. "Kai took care of the problem."

Mr. Carson's eyes flashed in thankfulness for a moment before returning to their concerned and angry state. "Who the hell would do this?"
"We don't know exactly." Kai went to say something, but noted that AJ shook her head to stop him.

"They wanted bit beasts, I'll tell you that much," Mr. Dickenson said. The chairman held pieces of a dark colored beyblade in his hand. "The bit chip on this one held a cyber bit beast, much like the ones that have been used against the Bladebreakers in the past."
Kai growled, his thoughts concentrating a certain brunette... AJ placed a hand on his shoulder, and he relaxed a bit. She knew. She knew everything.

"I want to fight one of them," AJ said. "I'll destroy them."

"You need to worry about keeping yourself in one piece." She rolled her eyes at her father, and dropped her hand down to lock with Kai's. Squeezing it, his mind suddenly grasped a concept.
They were after him. And possibly his entire team. And they weren’t going to stop until they got what they wanted.

"Audrey, we need to talk."

In a blur, she passed Hilary, Tyson, and their entire crew. It didn't matter to her at that point.

"AJ! Come back here!"

She ignored it. She didn't look back, she didn't think twice. Her father came after her, but he too stopped after a length of time. If he called, she wasn't going to stop. Didn't he think they could take everyone? That together they'd be stronger?

"I don't want this for any of us. If this is the only way to help both of us, then so be it. I can't be with you."

She bit her lip, tasting the blood. She didn't care. She'd rather die. He didn't think she was good enough to be a part of this? That she couldn't help him take down his grandfather? She wasn't talented enough, charming enough, mean enough... the list could trail on forever. She wanted him, and he was saying no. Then fine. He wanted her to be safer, he thought cutting her out of his life would stop it? Nothing would stop Voltaire. He wouldn't rest until Kai's world came crashing down upon him and the old hag had control of the world. It was the classic evil genius complex.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, which she realized had probably been only about fifteen minutes, she came to the river and the bridge. "What happened?"

She looked up and saw a red head giving her a sadistic smile. "Get lost, freak."

"I don't think I will. What could be hurting a sweet little thing like you?" He gave her a once over. "You must make your boyfriend very happy." Sensing her anger at the third word to the end, he continued, a sneer on his face. "Or is that your problem. Did he lose interest?"

"Get lost."

"You need more comebacks, sweetie."

"Leave me the fuck alone or I'll kick your ass myself." Her green eyes peered out at the water. "It was my one year anniversary. He broke up with me after basically implying that I'm not strong enough."

"Now that sounds like someone I know. May I ask as to whom the bastard is?"

"Why the hell not? I'm not with him anymore." She parted her lips and looked at the boy who was speaking to her, a glimmer in her eyes apparent. "Kai Hiwatari."
The boy choked on the air he didn't have. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play coy, Tala. I know damn well who you are." His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.

"Did you just say Kai Hiwatari?" A boy asked, from next to Tala. He had white hair and piercing eyes.

AJ nodded. "Yeah."

"He never mentioned you."

"We kept it under wraps."

Tala snorted. "Is that what he told you?"

"When he was living at my house, dipshit." She smirked at Tala's shocked expression. The other boy wasn't about to crack, no matter how surprised he had become. "I figure you're going to find him. Tell my cousin, Hilary, that I'm fine. And that I'm going back to Miami."

"What makes you think I'll do it?" Tala's expression stated that he wasn't just going to do this out of the kindness of his heart, and quite frankly, she didn't blame him.

"This." She pulled out her wallet and fished something out of it. A picture. "For your own purposes, in case he tries to deny it. I have more proof than that." She blinked back a few stray tears in the corner of her eyes, and turned away from them.

Tala took the picture and glanced at it. There wasn't any picture editor that could make this print. It was of her, and him, to his surprise, in a pool. In what he figured was Miami. The happiness on their faces was priceless.
"You've got it," Tala said. "Come on Bryan, we have some business to take care of." The other Russian nodded, and started making his way briskly across the bridge. Once he was out of earshot, Tala turned to her. "Are you okay?"
"One gun wound later, sure, why the hell not?" Tala nodded, and wrote something down on a piece of paper in his pocket.

"Call me. I have a feeling you might want someone to talk to that knows what an idiot he can be."

"Why do you care so much?" She asked him, her tone colder than intended.

Tala shrugged. "Let me get back to you."

She nodded, but he had already passed her and was catching up with Bryan. Come to think of it, she wasn't even hurt anymore. But she had this incredible feeling. Like she wanted to beat something up with her bare hands. Or better yet, her beyblade.

The second he watched her run off, he knew that was it. And to his surprise, it just made him numb. Kai fought off the thoughts of running after her. She wouldn't be happy as the girl hurt by his grandfather's hands. And as much as he cared about her... he'd rather sacrifice both their feelings, as his actions had demonstrated.

Of course, her father nearly throttled him, until he explained just what was going on with his grandfather, whom he figured was at the brains of the operation. And if it wasn't him, it was Boris. And neither were a good thing. Then there was Tyson, who did throttle him once he found out that he had just dumped his girlfriend on their first anniversary.

"Personally, I think she'd prefer to die for you."

Didn't Tyson think he thought about that? He knew that, and he didn't want it to come to that, so if he had to cut her out of the equation, perhaps it would save her. He could go one without her, if he had Dranzer, he could manage.
Couldn't he?

"I can't believe you, Hiwatari. You have a girlfriend, and I can't even pick on you until after you've dumped her?"

Kai's head shot up. "Tala?"

"Fucking asshole, Kai. That girl doesn't seem afraid of Voltaire. I don't think she'd care if you threw her in the middle of the abbey if she knew she had your support." Tala turned to Hilary. "By the way, she said she's going back to Miami. I never caught her name, but she's pissed off. I think she might have actually loved you. Tough thing, for you to cope with that, heh?"

"He said it to her this morning," Hilary said. "I'll call her and make sure she's got everything in order. After all, who am I to stop her?"

Dickenson nodded. "I suppose her mission will have to wait. Hilary, I think you should take her place then."

"What is it?"
"I was going to ask both of you to join up as beybladers on the B.B.A. Revolution team this year." Hilary nodded, and Dickenson viewed it as settled. "I'll arrange flights for her, if she'd like. Tell her that."

Hilary nodded and drew out her cell phone. Punching in numbers, she waited.

"Hil?"

"Hey Aud, you okay?"

"I'm breathing."

"That'd be a no." She looked up and glared at Kai. "I talked to Tala. He's still not done ripping Kai a new one, and Bryan looks kind of ticked off too."

There was a bit of a laugh on the other end of the phone. "Did he tell you I'm leaving?"

"Yeah. Dickenson said he'd arrange airfare and flights and whatnot."

"Thank him for me, and tell him to call my cell with the details. I'm going to go deal with myself, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure. I'll make sure Kai here doesn't forget what he just did."

"It's not worth it. Put him on, and I'll do it myself."

"Okay." She walked slowly over to Kai. "She wants to talk to you."

Immediately following her words, everyone came closer to the cell phone, and Kai, conceding defeat, pushed the button for speaker phone.

"Kai?"

"Yes?" His voice was colder than usual, as though she was wasting his time. After all, they weren't a thing.

Not anymore, anyway.

"Any last words for me, Phoenix?"

"I don't love you Audrey, and second of all, don't call me that." Numerous gasps broke out among the group. One's mind didn't change that fast. It was only a matter of what? Eight, nine hours since he had first said it to her face?

"Okay, Hiwatari, have it your way. Just don't lose everything because you're too afraid to risk it all."

The line went dead, leaving some rather interesting expressions on people's faces.

"I'm going to say goodbye to my daughter." He gave Kai a disapproving glance, and the boy winced inwardly. He'd called that man his father.

"I guess my grandfather was right about one thing."
"What?" Tyson looked at him incredulously.
"You can't trust anyone other than yourself. They always let you down."

"Did you expect them to take it?" Hilary asked. Ray clenched his fists.

"You know, she's got a point," The white tiger asserted. "Voltaire will still go after her, I'm willing to bet you."

"That's not my problem, anymore."

"You won't trust people because you don't want to see them hurt."

"Leave me alone."
Max, who had said nothing up until this point approached the captain with disgust on his features. "She gave you everything she had, and you got rid of her because you thought it would be better for both of you if she wasn't around you. Well guess what? You just let Voltaire win. He'll just get more and more of you with everything you give up. You aren't saving anyone. No one asked you to be the hero."

Content with his speech, the boy stalked away with Hilary and her uncle.

"Way to go Maxy," Tyson said. He turned back to Kai. "You're an asshole Kai. I hope you realize that."

"Did she say she loved you before she ran off?" Tala asked. Kai nodded.

"Good. I hope you remember that for the rest of your life."

author's notes: Holy shit, I can't believe I just did that. (At least there was some TyHil, anyway) Well, we all know Kai would do something like that and think he was doing the right thing. Anyway, I promise, that plot line thing is coming along, slowly but surely. If you review, perhaps my updates may become more frequent... though I have to admit, I have a ton of reviews, and I want to thank everyone who has, and I promise, this whole dark thing will fade out eventually. But in order to not just be fluff, we need this angsty-ness.

And please, when you review, give me your thoughts on the Kai/AJ situation. I have a general idea of her role in the rest of the story, but I want to know how you think it should end, whether she comes back to him, or what not. I know a lot of you guys like her, but please lemme know.

Okay, I'm done now. So if you'd hit that magical purple button...

x3 Distant Storm