A/N: It has been some time since I wrote something for this pairing. Now I'm back with this one-shot. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in a review when you're done reading.

Pairing: Ryuga x Hikaru

Rating: T for some implied stuff

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it again? I don't and never will own any Beyblade series. I own only the story plot.

Loud laughs and chuckles could be heard from the shadows of an alley.

Some guys were calling names and harassing a young woman. Even if her face, arms and legs were bruised and injured, there were no tears running down her face. She was strong. She could keep the pain inside, but for how long?

How did she get in that mess was still inexplicable to her. Poor girl had a fight with her boyfriend, had kissed her job goodbye for nothing and was in bad spirits.

"I've got great news," a slim figure exclaimed with excitement as a taller one leaned over to leave a sweet, lingering kiss to an even sweeter pair of lips.

"Eh, really now. What could have made you this happy?" he murmured almost playfully as he enveloped her in a tight hug, his lips leaving a trail of butterfly kisses up her jaw line.

"Mmm, well, I just resigned my job as Ryo's assistant."

"And where are the good news?" he sighed in her ear before continuing the path of kisses down her neck, stopping from time to time to nip at the velvet-like skin and she had to bite her tongue to stop a throaty moan from escaping.

He was in a good mood. Great. Now all she had to do was to share with him the good part from quitting her job.

However, her trail of thoughts was discontinued when the girl found herself pinned to the bed by the bigger body of her boyfriend, a hand cupping her cheek while the other was running down her front towards her jeans' zipper. A dark blush painted her cheeks when she caught on with his intentions. She didn't know that all it took to have herself under his skilled hands and tongue was not seeing him for a mere week.

'She shall be absent more often then' was her conclusion as graceful fingers slipped through his white-and-red hair, getting the silly dragon crown he was still wearing out of the way.

A few moments and clothing articles later, she was trailing her nails down his bare back while they shared one of the hottest kiss they had yet. And there were so much more to come. He tore himself from her lips to nip and lick at her clavicle. Yeah she missed him all right, but she almost forgot about the great news.

"Ryu-Ryuga!" she gasped between ragged breaths. His response was a hum as he was making his way lower. "I-I got my Blader Spirit back!" This made him stop and gaze in her eyes intensely.

"I can battle again," she whispered with half-lidded eyes, enjoying the feeling of his six-pack as she run her fingertips down his abdomen.

"W-what?" She hadn't heard him stutter in a very long time. Why was he reacting this way? Shouldn't he be happy that she got over her Battle Bladers fear?

"You what? That's why you quit?" He frowned at her as he got off of her.

Wait, what was he doing? She watched helpless as he put his shirt back on.

"What do you mean by that?! I resigned so I had more free time, so I could be with you," her voice held confusion and anger. What was his problem now? He couldn't leave her like this.

"You hadn't battled in a long time, so why now all of a sudden? It's not like there are any tournaments around." He almost forgot that she used to battle in the past. It made him remember why she gave up the idea of being a blader even if it meant so much for her and her mother.

"Why not? You can't say what I can do or not!" she yelled as she took her shirt and jeans from the floor and slammed the bedroom door behind her slim frame.

She stormed out of her lover's apartment, determined to never see him again, and was so lost in her own world that she took a wrong turn and got were she was right now: in the hands of some retarded jerks. Maybe even drunk, too.

"How about this, girl? You still won't fight us?" A loud thud! was heard as her abused body hit the ground. "That sure will teach you!"

"Yeah, show her!"

"Hey. I say we have some fun with her right now," another one suggested as his friends nodded in agreement.

Understanding what were they aiming for, the icy-blue haired girl took a fatal position, a whimper making its way past her swollen lips.

"Let it rip!"

That was all the bladers could hear before a bey was launched in their direction, making an explosion that blew them off of their feet.

"...Ryuga..." Hikaru faintly said his name, both relived and tense to see him there. Letting her head down and never looking him in the eyes, the young woman tried to hide her beaten form from him though she was already aware it was too late.

The said man was boiling with rage. His whole body language screamed danger. They dared to touch and hurt his girl. His girl!

"Get out of here! If you ever think of laying a single finger on her again, I'll personally hunt you down. Do you hear me?"

The attackers shivered at his deadly glare and stumbled over each other's feet to get away from the dark alley. The white haired male still glared until they were out of view then moved his gaze toward his first priority. Hikaru.

Her frame was trembling as she struggled to stand up only to yelp and fall back to the ground on her hands and knees. Obviously, she was in pain so, not to stare like an idiot, he rushed to her side and extended his hand for her to take.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Ryuga asked her when she didn't accept his help. Of course she wasn't okay. Some mindless idiots decided to mess with her and, if he hadn't come to Hikaru's aid, who knows what they were going to do afterwards.

Those were unnecessary questions, so why did he ask them? It was an impulse, to assure her that he cared, to assure himself that it wasn't what it looked like, that it was an ugly nightmare. That he didn't fail to protect her.

To his surprise, the amethyst-eyed girl let out a small, bitter chuckle. What surprised him even more — and he wasn't easily surprised — was that she actually responded to those stupid questions of his.

"I'm good, it's just some bruises. Nothing I can't handle..."

Ryuga almost smiled at her words. That was his Hikaru, optimistic and determined.

"But," she continued, "I didn't pay attention where I was going, had my mind elsewhere. I run into those so-called bladers, was asked to fight them — that is if lashing your bey at a person, demanding to battle you, means asking — and I declined. I tried to get past the idiots!" Hikaru started to rise her voice even if it was hurting her to talk.

"But they didn't want to freaking get out of the way. They gave me the same bullshit about being the best and invincible, saying that if I didn't fight them I'd be a coward..."

Ryuga could only listen, being aware that if he interrupted her, he'd be in big trouble.

"...I tried to find an excuse, didn't have time for their stupid talk, told them it wasn't a suitable place for battling and they probably thought I was scared because the red haired one tried to make a move on me."

His muscles tense, the man raised from his crouched position and, with a newfound source of rage, he roared, "He did what? And you let him?"

"Shut up, Ryuga!" Hikaru glared up at him. "You didn't let me finish."

He shut his mouth, crossed his arms over his chest and let her continue.

"I slapped him, of course, and he obviously didn't like that. He told the other three that if they couldn't fight me in a bey battle, they'd fight me physically and then you got here and well, that's it."

If Ryuga was feeling bad back then, now he was feeling really terrible for not being fast enough.

"It could have been worse so it's fine. Thanks for saving me."

What saving? He just stopped them, but too late. The damage was already done.

"...Why...?"

"What?" Hikaru inquired.

"Why didn't you accept the battle? You could have easily defeated them. It wouldn't have took even a minute."

"I...I couldn't...couldn't fight them..." Hikaru said, her voice a merely whisper. She could feel tears coming, but bit her lip to stop them from flowing over her bruised cheeks.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you fight them?" he shouted, clearly angry with her weak response.

"You should already know why," was all she said.

This made him frown in confusion. How should he know? He just get there, for crying out loud! His reaction didn't help either, only making her madder.

"You should know because you told me not to battle anyone or don't you remember? I was listening to what you said and now I hope you are happy with the results." Hikaru let out her tears. She couldn't hold them in any longer.

He moved his stare towards the ground, anywhere but her. Those rich golden eyes of his held only regret. It hurt him too much to look at her defeated form, small palms covering her beautiful face as she cried and let all her suffering out through loud sobs.

He tried to hug her only to got his hands slapped away from her trembling frame.

"You think anything can be solved with a hug or a kiss? You screw up and then you give a fake smile, saying that you're there for me? Well, if you don't remember, I shall remind you then why I am so angry in the first place," she shouted in his face.

He winced, knowing that the bad part was coming.

"I gave up battling because of you. You took away my Blader Spirit, you destroyed me back then. I was so miserable, so broken and afraid of you. But now...now when I got over it, when I am no longer afraid of you...you just take it back, like I should remember the rest of my life that my only love made me suffer the most. Is that what you want, you jerk?"

When she finished her tantrum, Hikaru widened her eyes, realizing her mistake. She said all those words she vowed not to spoke ever again. She reminded him of the past, of the monster he was back then.

Seeing his clenched fist, she closed her eyes, not knowing what to expect. To her increasing confusion, nothing happened in the first moments. Then, his nicely muscled arms curled around her, bringing the blue haired girl in his lap. Hikaru didn't protest this time and let herself be enveloped in his embrace.

"You know," Ryuga started, making her look at him. "I was an idiot, a really big one, for saying those things to you. I was trying to protect you, to make something like this never happen to you again, but looks like I failed."

The tears stopped long ago, but she could feel new ones coming in their place.

"I'm still sorry for what I have done to you, how could I ever forget that. I'll never forgive myself for it. I thought that if you battled someone, they'd hurt you like I did. I don't want you to go through something like that ever again. I won't tell you to forgive me, but to try and understand what a big idiot I am," Ryuga finished, pulling her even closer to him.

Hikaru smiled. He gave up his pride and admitted that. For her. She closed her eyes again and hugged him back. "You are forgiven, you big idiot."

He laughed at her response. Everything was fine in the end.

"Let's hope that doesn't transform into a nickname."

She tried to grin at him, the cuts and bruises on her face making it look odd.

"You look horrible!" Ryuga cried in mock surprise, making her giggle. Even like that, she was still beautiful for him.

They looked at each other and busted out laughing.

"Let's get out of here and get you fixed up."

He made a mental note to pursue the four not-so-lucky bladers that were silently praying for their lives. Later. For now he was pleased with just holding Hikaru. His Hikaru.