Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ The Real Me ❯ Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 12 )

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

Disclaimer: This is the twelfth chapter. Well, you should have figured it out in the first chapter, for repetition's sake. The only thing I feel the need to disclaim is The Lion King. I don't own it, Disney does.

Author's Note: I was just going to do one at the end of this chapter, but I wanted to thank everyone for sticking by me, even if they weren't too thrilled with last chapter(only one person so far has been honest and told me so, and I thank them... they know who they are). I was really surprised at how many people were shocked, but really interested and hoping for some ass kicking action. Which I assure you, is a given in 99% of my work.

Surprisingly, the weeks following AJ and Kai's breakup went quickly, between training, and the challenges by mysterious beybladers who all had the biovolt symbol plastered on them somewhere. Of course, Kai went back to being an ice block, his relationship with Hilary had been reduced to about nothing, and she and Tyson hadn't nearly kissed since the day AJ said she was leaving.

Tyson was depressed about that one. Every time Hilary walked into the room, he couldn't quite meet her gaze the way he used to. It hurt her feelings a bit, but he couldn't help it. He just didn't know what to say, and he had heard from too many people the idiots they make out of themselves asking a member of the opposite sex out.

"Drigger, attack! Tiger claw!"
"I don't think so! Strata Dragoon!"

The sound of colliding beyblades eased his mind temporarily, but the champ couldn't quite shake the feeling of turmoil. And it wasn't just inner turmoil over Hilary, it was something else. Like something was going to happen.

"What's your problem, T-dawg?" Tyson rolled his eyes at his grandfather's slang.

"You know what, gramps, I don't quite know." Max was across from Tyson a few feet, watching the beybattle come to a close, with Ray as the winner.
"Everything's been messed up these days."

Daichi nodded. "I say we go do something. Like an amusement park."
"You can't handle a plane," Max said, with a laugh. "What makes you think you'd be able to ride a roller coaster, much less be tall enough to do so?"

Everyone started cracking up. Hilary accidentally bumped into Tyson, and their eyes locked, something Tyson was trying to avoid. He didn't know what he would do if he stared at her eyes too long.
"Tys, you're staring," Hilary said, uncomfortably. Her cheeks were flushed, and Ray chuckled.

He herded the group together, insisting that they leave the two of them alone. Only Kai remained on the back porch, but he was silent, and they had no idea if he was awake or not, with the earphones in his ear.

"No! Guys..." Tyson growled in frustration. Hilary was fiddling with the hem of her shorts, which in Tyson's eyes were way too short. Like she wasn't enough of a distraction...

"You've been acting weird, Tyson, what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that line of crap." He looked surprised. "You've been acting weird ever since that day on the beach." She noted that the Russian had squirmed a bit at the mention of that. "Not to mention the fact that you won't even look at me. What did I do?"

"Nothing," Tyson pressed. "It's just, ugh." He couldn't really think of how to say it. Hilary at this point was nearly standing on top of him, but a hand was extended in his direction, presumably to help him up. He took it and decided to prove that he was fine by pulling a prank.

Instead of Hilary pulling him up, he decided to pull her down. Which was perfect really, just a joke between friends. Except for the part where she landed right on top of him, caught completely off guard. It was at that point in time that Tyson made a rather exciting discovery. They fit well together.

"Well, you have my complete attention," Hilary said, a smile gracing her features. Her breath was hot on his face, and he really had trouble focusing now. "So what's up?"

Tyson smiled stupidly. "I don't know how to say it."

"Well you start when you think of the words. I can wait." She seemed to be comfortable in this position, and Tyson decided to roll her over, so she was the one pinned to the ground. "Or are we recreating the Lion King here, Tys?"

"Whatever you want."
"Well if we are, then who am I to mess it up?" She lifted her head the few centimeters to meet his and kissed him tenderly on the lips.

Then all hell broke loose.

Well, until they realized what they were doing, that is. And let's just say that Hilary's blouse was almost completely unbuttoned, and Tyson's shirt had been discarded as well. Then of course, both had bruised lips, Hilary had a love bite, and Tyson's hair looked even more disheveled than usual.

"What the hell was that?" Hilary asked quietly, as Tyson moved to allow her to sit up.
"Something I've wanted to do for a long time." Tyson covered his mouth as if to say that it had slipped and she shook her head.
"Well I'm glad you got to do it. I feel much better, how about you?"

"Yeah." Tyson leaned over and took her hand, squeezing it. He still wasn't wearing a shirt, and she just didn't care. "You aren't pissed at me, are you?"
"No!" She practically yelled it, and then covered her mouth. "I'm the one who kissed you in the first place, remember?"

"But the first time-"

"Shut up and kiss me again, Mr. World Champion."
"Yes ma'am!"

Meanwhile, Kai, who was still in the corner flipped through songs lazily. No one noticed his presence, and no one seemed to care that he could hear them practically groping each other in his back yard.

His thoughts meandered in the direction of a certain female, but he pushed them down, knowing that nothing good was going to come from those thoughts. He had no regrets for what he did, and he didn't want to think about it. It had been over a month, so why the hell hadn't he completely moved on? She wasn't stupid, she was good looking, and she had skills. Plenty of guys were probably chasing her all over Miami, so why the hell should he be so concerned?

After all, he is only the hottest beyblader, as named by just about every teen magazine on the planet. That was one thing he could always beat Tyson at.

She stalked into one of the hotter clubs in the city, flashing her id to say she was indeed eighteen. They placed a red 'X' stamp on the top of her right hand, and she rolled her eyes. Not like she wanted to get drunk anyway.
"Hey babe, can I buy you a drink?"

She shook her head, yelling over the loud music. "No, I buy for myself, thank you." Approaching the bar, she ordered a soda, Pepsi, with a bit of fresh lime mixed in. Placing a five on the table, she walked away, leaving the bartender with a decent tip.

With that, she went toward the center of the club, fully aware of what was going on. There was the sound of colliding beyblades, a few cheers, and some sparks. This was her environment. And her time to shine.

"I call winner." The two males competing against each other nodded, and the one, sensing his opportunity, knocked the other out of the dish, resulting in cheers from members of the crowd, which were mostly female.

"Alright, sweet thing," The victor said, giving her a once over. "How about we make a bet for this one?"

"Why not." She set down her nearly finished drink on a nearby table and approached the dish, which was clear, and illuminated by the neon lights under its top layer.
"If I win," he said, jutting a thumb toward his heart, "You go on a date with me."

"And if I win, you get lost."

"Fine. You got a name, girl?"

"AJ. AJ Carson, the US champ." She gave him a once over, not appearing impressed. "And you?"

"Michael. From the PPB All-Starz."
"I knew I recognized the cocky attitude. Not to mention the baseball glove." She looked around. "Someone count us down!"
The boy who had lost was a tall kid, clad in a basketball jersey, whom she figured was one of her opponents team mates. He nodded to say he'd start the battle.

"Bladers ready?"
"Just get on with it!" Michael yelled, his patience fading.
"Fine then, three... two... one!"

"Let it rip!"

"Trygle, Fast Ball Attack!"
"I don't think so. Viatsu, finish him quickly."

Within the blink of an eye, his beyblade had left the dish, and AJ recalled hers. "Holy shit." The boy who had agreed to be her referee extended a hand to shake hers with. "I'm Eddy. You're amazing."
"Thanks." She picked up Michael's beyblade. "You fared better than others I've dealt with." Handing it to him, she thought for a moment. "I'll retract my bet from before. Let's get out of here. I take it you're visiting?"
"Yeah, Michael's mom lives here," Eddy said. She nodded. "We decided to check out the city on this insanely chaotic night."

"Well, you're in the right place. It's good and chaotic." She turned to Michael, who still seemed a bit miffed over the loss of the battle. "Though we're headed out of that area right now. The beach is just at the end of this street."
"Dude, cheer up, we've got a hot escort around the city." Eddy turned to AJ. "Don't you live here?"
"Yeah."
Michael gave her a smirk. "You single?"

AJ froze, but collected herself and rebounded quickly. "Yeah, but don't get your hopes up." The three laughed, though Michael still felt overly defeated and in AJ's mind, it didn't feel empowering to declare yourself single if you're still in love. The group continued until they reached the beach. There was a concrete wall about two feet high separating the parking lot from the sand of the beach. Kicking off her shoes, AJ sat on top of the barrier between the urban and nature, peering up at the skies. Though all the light pollution, the stars were still visible.

The two All-Starz sat down to her left, watching the sky themselves. "This is a lot different than New York or Los Angeles," Eddy said. "It's a lot more laid back here."

"That's why I like it. Even though there's always a party downtown." The two nodded, and AJ pointed upward. "Hey! It's a shooting star!"

"Then make a wish. You did see it first."

"Maybe I saw it before her. It did come from my side of the sky." AJ laughed, bringing a smile to everyone's face. A moment before, the captain noted that her face seemed to be a little darker, almost depressed.

"You can have my wish, Michael, it's no big deal."

"Go ahead."
"Will someone just make a wish already?"

Both glared at him, and Michael insisted upon giving her the opportunity to make the wish. She grudgingly agreed, stating that if she saw another one, it was his turn to wish. After shaking on it, AJ closed her eyes and tilted her head back, skyward, as if thinking, or praying, or both. A moment later, she opened her eyes, her green eyes reflecting both the light of the moon and the water.

"What did you wish for?"

"If I tell you it won't come true," she whispered, almost in a childlike manor. Her hand went up to her necklace, and Michael recognized a ring on the silver chain. Somehow, it looked similar to something he had heard his coach, Judy, talking to her son about one morning before practice. She had been slightly off kilter, saying that something surprising had happened involving one of her son's friends. He figured he was just imagining things, or that it was similar and thought nothing further of it.

That night, or rather, that morning, AJ came home to an awkwardly lonley home. She entered the kitchen, throwing her keys on the island and hitting the play button on her answering machine.

"Audrey, it's Dad, call me- MESSAGE DELETED."

"AJ, this is Mr. Dickenson. I received your entry forms for the World Championships. Personally, between us, I think you have a great chance at winning. Call me tomorrow, I'm on my way out of the office. Or, if you'd like, I'm going to be in Miami for another few days, so you can drop by."

She saved that message, and waited for the next one.

"This is Tala Valkov, you know, that guy who does your dirty work in exchange for potential blackmail. I was just checking up on the Voltaire thing, he's got some flunkies that have been acting up around Moscow. I thought I'd play the good guy and tell you to keep your guard up- MESSAGE DELETED."

That was good to know, she thought, and went through and checked all the locks. Just because she wasn't with Kai, didn't mean she wouldn't be linked to him still. Her thought process became a bit less voluntary, as her mind played through numerous flashbacks and other memories that she was surprised to even possess.

Trudging upstairs, she threw herself on her bed, trying to clear her mind of all her reoccurring thoughts. Couldn't she just get over it? Well, she figured, her wish was about him anyway, so she kind of brought it upon herself. Though the company, as jock-ish, and airheaded as it had been, was nice, even if all the two athletes were looking for was a date.

Which they'd never get, she thought groggily, as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

"Give me the status on our operation, Heather."

"Sir, we have a total of three hundred bit beasts and counting."

"And are any of these the sacred spirits of my grandson or his team mates?"

"No, sir," she said,"I was informed that you've decided to change your plans."

"Then you know that you had better get moving with the operation. I won't tolerate this for much longer. Perhaps you should dangle something over their heads, to keep them on their toes. Whatever happened to the girl my grandson was infatuated with?"

"Sir, he got rid of her. She's in Miami, and she hasn't been in contact with him in over a month, almost two. We've been monitoring her as well. She's entering the world championship tournament for single bladers. According to most people in the blading world, she's the favorite to win."

"Keep monitoring her, and get some stronger bladers to challenge the B.B.A. Revolution team. Perhaps adding a few more concentrated spirits into your cyber bit beasts would boost the power."

"Yes sir."

"And do this rapidly. We need to get enough spirits to create the ultimate weapons for the championships. Thanks to Dickenson, we need five people this year. Make sure you get someone who will be ample competition for Miss Carson. We might need her for our championship team. It just might make our plans a bit more... effective. And easy, to say the least."

"What the hell are you doing?"
"Eh..."

"Well?" Hiro's face was red with anger. "You two are both supposed to be up and training already!"

"So?"

"I want more sleep," Tyson grumbled, pulling Hilary closer to himself, absorbing her body heat.
Hiro rolled his eyes and stomped out of the room, passing Daichi and Ray on the way. "You two deal with them. Or you can run extra laps with them."

"That's not really fair," Daichi pointed out. Ray nodded, but a smirk glimmered on his face.

"Be creative," The coach stated, walking through the kitchen and out the sliding wooden door. "Use your imagination."

"Yeah, but look at the bright side." The neko-jin pulled out a bucket from underneath the sink. "We get to be creative." Filling it with the coldest water he could manage, the boy picked up the large container and dragged it to the room where the group typically slept. Hilary and Tyson, the newly arranged couple amongst the group, was cuddled up in the corner.

And as much sympathy as the group had on the couple, who had gone out on a date the night before, it was their own dumb faults they wouldn't get up. "Are you two going to get your lazy butts out of bed this century?"

"No," both said, their voices groggy with sleep.

"Alright then," Ray said, and Daichi pulled out a camera. "Have it your way."

"Finally," Tyson said. "Someone gets iii-COLD!"

"Oops," the cat-like boy said, holding the bucket upside down, and smiling sincerely at the two drenched teens. "It slipped."

"It slipped my ass!" Hilary and Tyson glared at Daichi, who was snapping pictures rapidly, but they quickly shot up and after the two with a vengeance. They were out the door and outside, behind Hiro, in a matter of thirty seconds.
"I'm going to kill you, Kon! You too, Daichi." The boys quickly realized just how much of a morning person Hilary was not.
"Right after you run your extra laps, I hope," Hiro said, a smile on his face. "I took away five from these two, so you can do ten extra."

Kai grunted in amusement. Never a dull moment with this group, he thought.

"By the way," Kenny butted in, much to the annoyance of both Hilary and Tyson, "You received a phone call, Hilary." She seemed to immediately forget about the two boys she was about ready to strangle, as Tyson went back inside to grab two towels, seeing as they were only entirely soaked. "Apparently, your Uncle wants you to call him. Something about two tickets for some tournament you have to go to."

She glanced over at Kai, who rolled his eyes, pointedly avoiding her glance. He knew that it was something AJ was obviously involved with, and though it had been months, and the threats had not reached her, he refused to have anything to do with his ex.

Still, the boys pressed the girl on him, and they were pretty relentless. Hilary refused to say anything about Audrey to him, though he had learned that the ring wasn't on her hand anymore, and Hilary had told Tyson- in a hushed conversation, of course -that she hadn't worn it since the day they'd 'broken up.' In his mind, it was more like him saying that he couldn't be with her anymore because they'd just hurt her, and he didn't want that.

No one wanted that, except her, apparently. Her father didn't like the irrationality of the decision, being so sudden, and on such a monumental day in their relationship, but the man agreed it would protect her daughter. Her mother hadn't said a word, but he could tell she was not happy with him.

But he knew he had done what he had to do. If isolation kept his grandfather from his friends, it was worth it. She said she could defend herself, that she was of the championship level, that she was strong enough. However, his point had been that she was shot, and attacked twice in the course of less than six months. That meant that Voltaire was definitely watching her closely. If he had wanted her dead, either he had lousy flunkies, or she would've been.

He is Kai Hiwatari. He has no weakness. Love can't matter to him. That thought had been burned into his head, into his heart, for years. He had let that thought fade away for her, but he learned.

Love would only hurt him, and he didn't want that either.

He would not watch someone get hurt as an innocent bystander in his life. If that meant he could not live a normal life, like a teen his age, then so be it. He'd take that chance.

Even if it did bring him back around full circle.

Life always was pretty ironic, wasn't it?

Author's note: This one is kind of short, as compared to the others. I tried to give a bit of insight as to why Kai just randomly dumped AJ, and I know the time thing is a little screwed up. In all, where the chapter ended, was a few months after the day in the beginning, with the whole TyHil thing. And yes, they are a couple, who have finally stopped joking around and admitted their feelings.(and yes, the all starz appearance was kind of random, but who doesn’t like to see some American beybladers every once and a while.)

Also, I was thinking, perhaps, if anyone wanted, I could add a little one shot side thingy about Kai and AJ's breakup, since I didn't include a conversation there. I could do it from both pov's. But that's up to you. If people review(and by people, I mean more than one), and say they'd like it, I'll write it, and if not, then oh well.

So yeah, if you review, I can't promise anything but a hopefully quick update. So review, folks, review!

And thanks to everyone who has reviewed me. I have over 3100 hits now on this story, 70+ reviews, 15 people have it on their favorites list, and 17 peoples have me on their alerts for this story. I feel so special, and I owe you all.

(And I’m sorry, personally, I thought last chapter sucked, so I’ll try to make them better from here on in.)

x3 Distant Storm