Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe I'm back! I'm not sure how many people will remember me, but the last time I published a story was back in 2009. How times change. Since that time, I've had some pretty major life changes, including graduating college and graduate school, marrying the love of my life, and celebrating our first wedding anniversary. Now I teach biology at a community college and fill in the gaps with freelance writing.
Writing is what brought me to this site and is also the reason I'm coming back. I've been freelancing in the grant writing and advertising sector for a portion of my income for a couple of years now, and I've reached a point where I've almost forgotten how it feels to write for pure enjoyment. So I'm returning to my roots, so to speak, and re-booting a project I had intended to write years ago. I have always loved writing within the Beyblade universe, and this is the sequel to my most successful story, As Different as the Seasons. My writing style has matured greatly since concluding that story, so I've increased the rating here for safety. It will contain more mature themes but no language or explicit sex scenes. I prefer the fade-to-black, implied intimacy to give the readers free reign for their imagination.
If you enjoyed As Different as the Seasons, I hope some of you are still on this site and that this story meets your expectations. If you are new to my writing, I encourage you to read that story first before tackling this one so you can meet my colorful cast of characters and enter their world first. Without further ado, please enjoy this extra-long introductory chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. I just own my OCs and the plot of this story.
Chapter 1: Seasons of Change
There's a difference between being alive and living.
The only requirement for being alive is to have a beating heart. A person in a coma is alive, but he is not living. He merely exists, waiting for the day when his heart gives its final beat and his lips breathe their final gasp. On the other hand, it takes a special kind of person to truly live. Living means facing each new day wholeheartedly, including those sunny days that make the heart sing and the inevitable trials that darken the proverbial skies. But more than the good times, it's the battles that each person fights that make him stronger. Just like the four seasons that make up the year, people go through seasons of life filled with struggles, but those who overcome emerge from the forge with wills strengthened and tempered in the fires.
And of all the trials that a person faces in life, none are more demanding than the ones waged in the heart.
Moscow, Russia
"Okay, I added the tuna and the noodles. What's next, Pyrix?"
The red and orange wolf propped her front paws up on the kitchen counter so she could peer down at the open cookbook. Normally her shoulders came up to Eri's waist. When she was propped up on two legs, however, she was almost as tall as her mistress' 5'9". The golden armor on her chest and the red ruby on her forehead glittered brightly under the kitchen lights. "Next, spread the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese evenly over the top to make the crust."
"All right, got it." Eri's jade green eyes narrowed, and her face was a mask of total concentration as she used a knife to apply the mixture according to the recipe's instructions. 'American cookbooks have the most unusual recipes,' she mused privately. 'Who would have thought you could put canned tuna into a casserole?' After a couple of tense minutes, she laid the knife down to survey her handiwork with satisfaction. A strand of dark brown hair had worked itself free from her ponytail, which Eri brushed behind her ear with the back of her hand. "Now do I just stick it in the oven?"
"That's correct," Pyrix replied. "You did remember to preheat it to 350 degrees, right?"
"Of course I did! Give me a little more credit that that," Eri answered somewhat indignantly. Using oven mitts, she opened the hot oven and carefully placed the casserole dish on the top rack before closing it swiftly.
After a moment, Eri took a cautious step backwards, hands held up as if afraid of somehow ruining her hard work. "Pyrix," she announced slowly, "I think…I may have just succeeded in cooking something edible."
"Yes, well…that's assuming you remember to actually take it out of the oven this time," Pyrix reminded her dryly.
Eri rounded on her bit beast with a sharp glare. "Hey, that only happened once!" The wolf cocked her head to one side with a disbelieving expression. "Okay…twice," Eri acceded. Pyrix narrowed her eyes and growled softly. "The third time wasn't my fault! My cell phone alarm didn't go off to remind me!"
"That's because you set it for 6 AM instead of 6 PM," Pyrix reminded her.
Eri groaned in defeat and frustration. Sometimes Pyrix's flawless memory was positively infuriating. "Hey, at least I do better at this than you. You have to give me that much." Great, now she was grasping at straws.
"Very well, Eri. I will admit that you cook better than a four-legged animal spirit lacking opposable thumbs," Pyrix replied sarcastically.
For a moment, Eri could only stare at her bit beast in utter disbelief. Finally she muttered, "I'm going to stop talking right now before I dig myself into an even deeper hole…"
Pyrix's barking laughter accompanied Eri's walk of shame out of the kitchen. She was a world-class beyblader, the captain of the team that placed third in the last World Championships, and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. However…
…she completely and utterly failed at cooking.
While the casserole cooked in the oven, Eri and Pyrix lounged on the couch in the living room to watch TV. Eri rested a hand on the wolf's warm, furry neck while Pyrix sprawled lazily across her mistress' lap. The soothing heat radiating from Pyrix's body lulled Eri into a light doze. Twenty minutes later, the front door opened, jolting her awake. Pyrix lifted her head, and her happy tail wag told Eri immediately that it was Tala.
Before Eri could get up, Tala poked his head through the doorway. "Hey, Eri," he greeted her with a gentle smile.
Pyrix retreated to her beyblade to give the couple some privacy while Eri got off the couch and hurried to his side. He pulled her into his arms in a caring embrace as she replied, "Hello to you too."
Tala pulled away and gave her a quick kiss. "Did you have a good day at work?" he asked curiously.
"It was…interesting. We had a few tournament bladers stop by for repairs, but that was about it." With the World Championships over, Eri had recently gone back to working at a beyblade repair shop in Moscow, which had been her usual place of employment since she had turned sixteen. Not to mention she picked up plenty of tips on how to repair and upgrade her teammates' beyblades in the process. "Oh, I almost forgot! I need to check the casserole!"
As Eri rushed past Tala into the kitchen, his face instantly took on an amused expression. "Oh? You actually tried to cook?" he asked with a slight smirk.
Eri shot him a withering look. "Not you too. Pyrix was giving me grief all afternoon while I tried to make it." She pulled on her oven mitts and opened the oven, carefully removing the hot casserole dish and placing it on the stovetop to cool. She gave her dish a quick onceover. She checked the internal temperature with a cooking thermometer and checked it twice for good measure. "I think…it's done. And it's actually not burnt for once." She closed the oven and turned it off.
Tala peered over Eri's shoulder at the casserole. "Hmmm…looks edible." He "oofed" as Eri jabbed him sharply in the gut with her elbow.
Eri tossed him a sideways glare. "Do you have a problem with my cooking?"
Tala smirked. "Not as long as I don't keel over from food poisoning," he teased.
"Well, you don't have to worry this time. Look, I actually used a recipe." Eri indicated the open cookbook with a wave of her hand.
Tala bent down to get a closer look, and his eyes widened in mock surprise. "Well, what do you know…? This is a welcome change from when you try to wing it."
Eri sighed in annoyance. "Since when did this turn into pick-on-Eri's-cooking day?"
Tala chuckled. "You're right, I'm sorry. It's not like I can do any better." He kissed her on the cheek to placate her. "Honestly, it's a wonder we don't starve to death around here."
"Speaking of which, who does the cooking at your place anyway?"
"Spencer usually. He's actually a pretty good cook. We also order take-out when he gets sick of cooking all the time…or when we forget to go shopping."
"Wow, Hina would get a kick out of you guys if she knew that," Eri replied with a laugh.
"Yeah, I suppose so. But then she should be happy that her boyfriend has a slight domestic side." Just then, Tala's stomach growled. Rather loudly. "So are we going to stand here talking or take our chances with your casserole of death?"
Eri bit her tongue this time. Trying to make a comeback was already a lost cause.
As it turned out, the casserole really was perfectly edible. If Tala thought it tasted odd, he didn't complain. After eating and cleaning up the kitchen, Tala and Eri settled comfortably on the couch to watch the evening news. At first, the headlines were about the same as usual. Stock market…travel delays…politics…etc. Then one headline caught their attention.
Seven months have passed since the trial of Xhaiden Chesnokov and Boris Balkov, two head agents of an underground beyblading company called BIOVOLT, but the aftermath of that controversial case is far from over. U.S. and Russian social workers are still trying to locate the families of over two hundred children rescued from two beyblade training facilities that were implicated in numerous cases of first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault, and child abuse. Children with no apparent family members are being placed into foster care until further notice…
CLICK. Eri switched off the TV and set the remote aside with a heavy sigh. Sensing her change in mood, Tala wrapped both arms around her and pulled her against his side, kissing her forehead tenderly. "I can't believe it's been seven months. I thought they would have closed the book on him by now."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Eri," Tala replied softly. "It's going to take time to find homes and families for all the displaced beybladers, and it'll take even longer for them to recover physically and mentally."
'Yeah, and I'm the poster child for that,' Eri thought bitterly. She extricated herself from Tala's arms and abruptly stood up, heading for the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"To get a shower. It's still early, but I'm pretty tired from work." She took the stairs two at a time and disappeared up to the second floor before Tala could reply.
Once he was alone, Tala sat back against the couch with a weary sigh. Master? Wolborg inquired.
'Looks like the headline shook her up a bit,' Tala replied, answering Wolborg's unspoken question. 'Seven months…time passes quickly, doesn't it?'
Indeed, for my kind, seven months is little more than the blink of an eye. It is surely not enough time to heal the emotional scars that have been inflicted over a span of many years.
'Yeah,' Tala replied noncommittally. But he couldn't deny his bit beast's statement. After all, it wasn't as if he couldn't relate.
Life had settled down quite a bit since the World Championships. March had just begun, ushering in the season of spring, though it was hard to tell in the frigid climate of Russia. After defeating the BBA Revolution in a stunning upset and claiming the title of World Champions, the Blitzkrieg Boys had returned to Moscow and were already training for next year's tournament.
Following the trial of Boris and Xhaiden, BIOVOLT had been forcibly dissolved, and the courts had ruled that the company pay reparations to each child subjected to the cruelties of the Russian and American facilities – at least to the ones that came forward. That meant that the Temporal Knights, the Blitzkrieg Boys, Omega Platoon, and all of Boris and Xhaiden's surviving trainees had been awarded a substantial sum of money for medical bills, pain and suffering, and potential lost income as adults due to psychological and emotional trauma. Eri, Sonja, and anyone over 18 could access those funds immediately, while the sums awarded to minors were set up as trust funds for when they became legal adults. Eri had worked with Mr. Dickenson to tuck her funds away in safe investments to provide residual income, but she still wanted to pull her weight with a job. The trial had been a matter of international consequence, considering that so many of the children came from different countries, so dozens of national governments were still working together to ensure that each victim in the case received his or her share to help them begin rebuilding their lives. For the Temporal Knights, Blitzkrieg Boys, and Omega Platoon, the money bought them valuable time to figure out where they would go in life now that they had their futures ahead of them at last.
As for the rest of Eri's team, they had gone their separate ways and returned to their home countries after the trial had been decided. Sonja was back in Thessaloniki, Greece with her extended family. Nakia was back in Cairo, Egypt and had transferred to a new high school. Hina had remained in her hometown of Osaka, Japan and was a high school 2nd-year. Kai, Bryan, and Spencer kept in regular contact with them through email, phone, and Skype, but Tala could tell that they missed them, even though they didn't explicitly show it. He was just lucky that Eri lived so close to Moscow. Any time that he wasn't training his team was spent with her.
At first, things were a little awkward for Tala and Eri. Brought together through adversity, they were suddenly faced with the novel situation of actually having a normal dating relationship. It had taken Tala some time for Eri to get used to having him around, and he had worked patiently to earn her trust. But in hindsight, Tala knew that all his effort was more than worth it. She had opened up to him considerably and seemed more relaxed and at ease. Their relationship was far from perfect and carefree, but it was the effort they made that kept their bond strong.
Tala stayed downstairs and idly flipped through the channels for another half hour to give Eri some time to finish her shower and get ready for bed. Then he picked up the sounds of footsteps coming from the direction of the bedroom, so he clicked off the TV and headed upstairs. He entered the bedroom to find Eri at her desk shutting down her laptop. She was wearing a pale blue cotton shirt and gray sweat pants. "Checking email?" Tala inquired.
"Yeah, Nakia emailed me this afternoon," Eri replied a bit absentmindedly. "Apparently her spring break starts soon."
"Yeah? How is she enjoying her new school?"
Eri rolled her eyes a little. "She complains all the time about the uniform. She hates wearing skirts every day. But other than that, she loves it. She got special permission from the BBA to use a portion of her trust fund to cover the tuition." Her eyes took on a mischievous expression. "Between you and me, I think she transferred so she can more easily apply to international colleges to be closer to Bryan."
Tala chuckled softly, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Your secret is safe with me."
Eri craned her neck back to regard her boyfriend. "You know, you don't have to come to bed now if you don't want."
"No, it's fine. I had the team up early for training this morning, so I'm pretty wiped out too," Tala replied. He went over to the dresser and pulled out a change of clothes. They had recently passed the milestone where they each had a designated drawer at each other's house. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and went into the adjoining bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Tala came out a few minutes later in a white t-shirt and black sweat pants to find the bedroom empty. He heard Eri's voice coming from the hall talking softly in Greek. She came back in a few moments later, flipping her cell phone closed. "That was Sonja," Eri offered by way of explanation.
"I figured as much," Tala replied. He smirked slightly and added, "With you around, I may learn enough languages to become an interpreter."
"Ha ha, very funny," Eri replied sarcastically. One thing Xhaiden had emphasized in his Abbey was learning multiple languages for international tournaments. Since the Abbey was in the U.S., Eri had learned English as a second language early in life, followed in turn by Japanese, Greek, and Egyptian Arabic. Although, she had to admit her Arabic was rusty, as she didn't start learning it until her early teens, when she met Nakia.
Tala crawled under the covers first and scooted back to make room for Eri as she followed suit and rolled onto her left side so she faced the door. Wordlessly, Tala wrapped an arm around her waist and let her snuggle back into his chest. This was how they slept every night; in fact, Eri physically could not sleep unless she could feel the full length of Tala's body pressed against her back – or the wall, in case he wasn't there. The first time he spent the night, Tala had thought nothing of it, but as he noticed that she slept in the same position every night, he grew more and more perplexed. Not that he complained over being able to hold her so closely in his arms every night, no, far from it. However, his curiosity finally got the better of him and he asked Pyrix to explain it to him.
That habit goes back to her days at Xhaiden's Abbey, Pyrix had told him. The trainees could attack each other on a whim, and it was perfectly acceptable to attack from behind. Eri always slept facing the door with her back to the wall so no one could sneak up behind her and stab her in the back to eliminate a potential rival. It's so ingrained into her now that she does it without thinking.
The mere thought that Eri had to survive in such hellish conditions roused Tala's protective instincts, and his arm tightened subconsciously around her, pulling her closer to his chest. Sensing a change in Tala's mood, Eri craned her neck to look back at him. "What is it?" she asked softly, her face bearing a groggy, confused expression that Tala found adorable.
Tala gave her a reassuring smile. "It's nothing. Go to sleep." Satisfied, Eri shifted into a more comfortable position against him and sighed in contentment. He softly kissed the nape of her neck and was rewarded by feeling her shiver. Smirking, Tala trailed gentle, lingering kisses up and down her neck.
Eri moaned breathlessly in pleasure. "Tala…" she groaned. "You're making it…difficult to sleep…" she managed between moans.
"Who said anything about sleeping?" he teased suggestively. He "oofed" as Eri jabbed her elbow back into his gut. "I was kidding!"
"I know, but you still deserved it," Eri replied with a hint of mirth in her voice. "Now are you going to behave, or do I have to get mean?"
Tala sighed in mock defeat. "Killjoy." He kissed her neck one last time. "I love you."
"I love you too," Eri replied softly. Tala felt her relax against him, comforted by his presence, and soon her breathing evened out to indicate that she had fallen asleep.
Tala gazed protectively at the young woman asleep in his arms and thought privately, ''I'll do anything to make her feel safe again.' Assured that she was sleeping soundly, Tala closed his eyes and drifted off shortly thereafter.
Even though her subconscious knew this was a dream, the instinctive dread was devastatingly real. The cold stone walls, the damp chilly air, the bare light bulbs that flickered constantly, and the silent, foreboding atmosphere were exactly as she remembered. Six-year old Eri sat at an overly crowded, rickety table with a dozen other young girls. However, the childish cheer and light that should have shone in their eyes had long been extinguished. Now their group sat in a solemn silence, picking at their meager lunch and casting wary glances at each other, as if fearing an ambush.
This was how they spent every lunch period, eating in silence and watching their backs. However, Eri had gotten to know the faces of each of the girls, even if she did not know their names or even speak some of their languages, and she took some small measure of comfort in that familiarity. But today saw an empty seat. Taking a mental inventory of the faces, Eri realized with a jolt that the empty seat belonged to her roommate, a timid five-year old girl from Hungary. Language barriers had prevented them from communicating, but Eri still maintained some small affection for her.
An instinctive, nameless dread gripped her heart without warning, and Eri jumped out of her chair, ignoring the stares in the silent mess hall when it clattered noisily to the ground. Without a backwards glance at the guards lining the perimeter, she dashed out of the room and down a familiar stone hallway as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. Her footfalls resounded like hammer blows in the dead silence of the hallway, and her breath came in short gasps as a cold sweat broke out on her face. Eri reached her room at the end of the hallway and yanked the door open with both hands. A shaft of light pierced the darkness of the tiny room, and Eri's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes widened and she gasped silently in horror.
Broken glass littered the cold stone floor, the window having been shattered by a bullet. In the middle of the floor, between the two narrow beds, lay Eri's roommate in a pool of her own blood. Her broken body lay facedown on her stomach, one hand stretched in front of her as if reaching for the door. A single bullet hole in her back revealed the cause of death with painful clarity.
Eri was too stunned and horrified to move. She could only stand there and stare in disbelief, her hands covering her mouth, which hung open in a silent scream. A rough hand on her shoulder jolted her back to reality, and she was forcibly turned to face the cruel, yet handsome face of Xhaiden Chesnokov. Her cold-hearted drill instructor pinned her with his icy cobalt gaze.
"That, young Eri, is the price for failure…"
Eri's eyes flew open as she abruptly jerked away with a strangled gasp. Her breathing came in panicked bursts as she glanced frantically around the dark room, her muscles instinctively frozen in unnamed fear.
She gave a start as an arm tightened its grip around her waist, and she became aware of the warm, muscled body pressed against her back. "Eri? Are you okay?" Tala's voice asked worriedly.
Reality started to overpower the horrific images of her dream, and Eri focused on the feeling of safety that Tala's presence provided as she forced her tense body to relax. "I'm fine…"
Tala gently trailed his fingers up Eri's arm and caressed her cheek in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. "Do you want to talk?"
A part of Eri's mind screamed at her to roll over and bury her face in Tala's chest, while the other part, one that was much more ingrained, kept her frozen in place facing away from him. "…No. I just want to go back to sleep," she finally replied.
Tala sighed, knowing it would do no good to try and reason with her. "All right, but I'm here if you need me." He pulled her a little closer and pressed a soft kiss against the exposed skin on her shoulder. He lay awake with her for nearly half an hour until he felt her breathing slow into the familiar rhythm of one who was asleep. Only then did he relax his silent vigil enough to allow his eyes to close.
'I'm sorry, Tala,' Eri thought privately as she sensed him drift into sleep. A single tear tracked a salty trail down her cheek as she resigned herself to wait out the rest of the night.
Thessaloniki, Greece
The crowded streets of the city of Thessaloniki bustled with activity as people hurried to and fro, going about their daily business. Modern and classical architecture heralding an age long past intermingled in a chaotic, yet harmonious symphony. A young woman with chin-length, honey brunette hair weaved through the pressing throngs of locals and tourists, despite her vision being partially obscured by a paper bag of groceries.
At long last, the crowds started to thin as she moved past the metropolitan areas to the residential outskirts of the city. Towering apartment buildings gave way to smaller condos and a few small, old houses that had survived the ravages of time. It was at the doorway of one of these antiquated houses, complete with a small garden in the backyard, that she finally stopped. Balancing her burden on her hip, she produced a brass key from her pocket and unlocked the front door. The familiar, homey scent of baking bread greeted her senses as she entered the house.
"Grandmother, I'm home!" she called.
"I'm in the kitchen, Sonja," an elderly woman's voice called back, her voice slightly muffled by the walls.
Sonja entered the small, yet cheery kitchen to find her grandmother, Cloris Vasdekis, hunched over the oven, taking out a freshly baked loaf of bread. She set her burden down on the counter and kissed Cloris on the cheek in a fond greeting. "I got the groceries and picked up your medicine."
"Thank you, dear," the shorter, gray-haired woman replied, a perpetual smile playing at the corner of her lips. "Dinner will be ready soon. I'm sure you're hungry."
Sonja laughed gently. "Grandmother, that's one thing I never have to worry about around you." Just then, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Sonja's heart skipped a beat at the name that appeared on the caller ID. "E-excuse me," she stammered with a slight blush. She quickly stepped out of the kitchen to answer the phone, switching her speech to Russian. Cloris waited patiently for Sonja to finish, despite not understanding what Sonja was saying. However, the unusually excited tone of her granddaughter's voice told her that this wasn't a routine call from her team captain.
After several minutes, Sonja returned, clutching her phone in one hand and grinning from ear to ear, a rare occurrence for the normally reserved girl. "Grandmother, we're going to have a visitor."
Cairo, Egypt
The bell tolled at precisely 2:55 P.M. at British Columbia Canadian International School, and dozens of students attired in the red, black, and beige tones of the school uniform began streaming from the ornately designed main building and breaking off into smaller groups. Some began heading for the metro, while others gathered in the parking lot to catch up on the day's gossip before heading to their after-school activities or home.
"So, Nakia, how did you think you did on the biology exam?"
The dark-haired, tanned Egyptian teen ran her hands through the wayward strands of hair that had come free of her ponytail. "Argh, I don't know. That class is hard!"
"Tell me about it," another girl in the group chimed in. "I'm just glad spring break starts soon. What are everyone's plans?"
The other girls in Nakia's group began rattling off plans to visit friends, relatives, or even go on a short holiday with their families to other parts of the country. "What about you, Nakia? Are you visiting Russia again?"
"Yeah, we can't wait to watch you in the next World Championship!"
Nakia giggled nervously and replied sheepishly, "Well…about that…" At that moment, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she quickly scrambled to open it to find a much-anticipated text message. She couldn't stop the excited squeal as she jumped up and down excitedly. "It's my boyfriend! He's coming to visit and just confirmed his flight time!"
That got a reaction from the group of high school girls, as she had kept her relationship a carefully guarded secret, and they immediately started peppering Nakia with questions about the so-called mystery boy.
"BRYAN?! From the Blitzkrieg Boys?!"
"Oh my gosh, we watched you both in the World Championships!"
"He's so hot!"
"Lucky you!"
Classic high school girl chatter came from all directions, and Nakia could only giggle in embarrassment. 'Uh-oh…me and my big mouth…'
Moscow, Russia
Tala woke up early the next morning to find the space next to him conspicuously empty. The sheets were cold against his fingertips, indicating that the occupant had already been awake for some time. Sighing, Tala sat up and ran his hand through his sleep-mussed hair.
I take it you didn't sleep much either, master? Wolborg inquired.
'Yeah…' Tala replied. 'What about you?'
Pyrix was restless last night after Eri woke up, Wolborg explained simply. In his mind's eye, Tala saw Wolborg lift his snout and sniff the air. I smell coffee.
'Typical,' Tala muttered mentally as he threw off the covers and decided to head downstairs to check on Eri.
Sure enough, he found Eri in the kitchen next to the coffee pot. She leaned with her back against the counter while she held a full mug of coffee in one hand. She gave a small start as Tala walked into the room, as if she had been lost in thought.
"Coffee?" Eri asked, indicating the mostly full coffee pot with her mug. She secretly hoped the change of topic would stave off any questions or unnecessary concern about last night.
"Sure." Tala grabbed a clean mug out of the cabinet and poured himself a cup of coffee, making sure to avoid the sickly-sweet chocolate creamer that Eri always used. He preferred his coffee black. Tala took a long swig, composing his thoughts, and broke the silence. "What happened last night?"
Eri chose her words carefully. After all, there was no need to worry him anymore than necessary. "It was just a dream," she replied with a careless shrug. "It doesn't mean anything."
Tala wanted to press the issue further, but he knew such an effort would be wasted. He could sense an invisible wall between them, one that Tala had tried to get past but with limited success. She was still too used to keeping her thoughts and feelings private for her own protection. And based on the defensive set of her body and her refusal to make eye contact, he definitely wasn't going to get any more information out of her.
"I see." Tala downed the rest of his coffee in a single gulp and set the mug in the sink. "I'm going upstairs to take a shower." He left the kitchen wordlessly, leaving Eri alone with her thoughts.
Mistress? Are you okay? Pyrix prodded gently.
'Yeah…I'm fine.'
Osaka, Japan
The sun was leaving heavily toward the west as the after-school bell chimed and the cram school teacher finally closed his notes. "That will be all for today. Please study the required readings for a quiz tomorrow."
"Yes sir," the class chimed in unison before rising to gather their belongings.
Hina sighed wearily as she closed her notebook and stuffed it into her bag, which was already bursting at the seams with her normal classwork. 'I'll be awake for half the night with all of this extra work,' she thought, resisting the urge to yawn.
Mistress, will you be okay? Arashi asked in her mind.
'Don't worry. I'm just extra busy right now with the upcoming exams,' Hina reassured her bit beast.
"Hina-san, you seem tired today. Are you not feeling well?" one of her classmates, a friendly girl with whom she studied, asked in concern.
Hina smiled at her friend reassuringly. "No, I'm fine. I promise, I'll get some more sleep once we get through this week's exams."
That answer seemed to satisfy the other girl as they departed the classroom with a few other female classmates. Hina listened politely to their conversations for a few moments. "The new teacher sure is strict. I'm worried about the quiz tomorrow."
"Yes, I've already had to call out of my part-time job a few times to study."
"Yuuki-san, did you say you had a date on Sunday?"
"Oh no, you're right! Thanks for reminding me! I almost forgot to call him back!"
"I'm amazed you have time to go on dates while attending cram school."
Hina suddenly stopped in her tracks and gasped, rummaging in her bag in a panic. "Hina-san, what's wrong?" one of her friends asked.
"I can't believe I almost forgot…!" she trailed off, pulling her cell phone out and flipping it open. The screen said she had missed one call, and her heart sank. She punched the redial button before considering the privacy of the conversation. The call was answered on the first ring. "Spencer, I'm so sorry! I had cram school tonight, and…" Her voice cut off as she listened, and her friends gathered closer, their curiosity suddenly piqued to hear their normally quiet classmate talking to a boy.
Her expression suddenly changed to one of complete delight. "Of course! I'm free all next week!" She nodded emphatically, even though Spencer couldn't see from the other end. "Yes…right…I'll meet you there! See you soon!" Hina ended the call and closed her phone, and only then did she notice the teasing, knowing expressions of her classmates. "…eep!"
"Soooo…" Yuuki drawled. "It appears that someone has been keeping secrets!"
Hina gulped. Arashi? Help?
'Sorry, Mistress, but matters of romance as they relate to human females are beyond my knowledge,' Arashi replied immediately, ruffling his feathers and leaving Hina to the interrogation of her too-curious friends.
Moscow, Russia – That same morning
Eri finished her coffee and walked back upstairs to her room to check on Tala. Upon entering her bedroom, she heard the sound of the shower running from behind the closed door of the adjoining bathroom. One thing she never had to worry about with him was fighting over the shower. He always showered in the morning, while she did it at night. It was a minor detail, but it was just one more thing that made their relationship run more smoothly.
She walked over to her desk to unplug her cell phone from its charger. At the same time, she heard the shower cut off. To pass the time, she sat on the edge of her bed and checked her messages…or lack thereof. Whatever her teammates were up to, they were obviously having fun, or else they would have called.
After a couple of minutes, Eri turned her head in the direction of the closed bathroom door. "You know, Tala, if you stay in there any longer you'll look like a prune."
As if in response, the door swung open wordlessly, letting out a decent-sized cloud of steam. Tala was standing in front of the mirror towel-drying his hair. However, Eri blushed furiously upon noting that he wasn't wearing a shirt.
Eri coughed to get his attention. "Tala, you remember that little conversation we had about modesty?"
Tala gave her a look of pure innocence. "What? I'm wearing pants," he replied, glancing down at said pants for emphasis.
Eri flopped back onto the bed with a groan. "I swear, you're unbelievable sometimes." Tala just chuckled. Eri rolled her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "You mind telling me why exactly you're standing there shirtless with the bathroom door open?"
Still rubbing his hair with the towel, Tala replied, "Because it gets oppressively hot in here. I had to let some of the steam out before I melted. It's one of the disadvantages to having an ice-element bit beast." He glanced over at Eri through the towel. "Honestly, I don't know how you tolerate it."
"Well, that's just one of the advantages to having a fire-element bit beast," Eri replied with a smirk. Now it was Tala who rolled his eyes. Eri turned her head to the side and watched in silence as Tala finished drying his hair and hung up the towel. His blood-red locks hung straight and came down to lightly brush the top of his shoulders. Eri had never seen him with his hair down like that, but she had to admit that it looked very good.
Uh-oh, somebody's staring, Pyrix teased in a singsong voice.
'Shut it…' Eri grumbled back. However, she forgot about her annoyance at her bit beast when she saw Tala reach for a bottle of…something. "What's that?"
Tala showed her the bottle and gave her a perplexed look. "Hair gel. Why?"
Ah-hah, so that was the secret to his bizarre hairstyle. Eri stood up abruptly and swiped the bottle from his hands. "Hey! What are you doing?" the redhead protested.
"We're going to try something new today with your hair," Eri replied matter-of-factly.
Tala quirked an eyebrow. "Since when did you join the fashion police? And there's nothing wrong with my hairstyle."
Eri gave her boyfriend a mild glare. "Well, that doesn't mean you always have to have two devil horns sticking out of your head." When Tala glared at her in return, she just rolled her eyes. "Oh, just go with me on this. If it doesn't work, you can gel it into a Mohawk for all I care."
Tala crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her in a mock challenging manner. "Fine, fine, there's never any point in arguing with you anyway."
Grinning at her minor victory, Eri turned him around to face the mirror and stood behind him, running her fingers through his hair to get out the tangles. She was surprised at how silky and smooth it was without the gel, and the feel of it slipping through her fingers sent a brief shiver down her spine. It only took a minute to work out the tangles, but Eri ran her fingers through his hair a few more times just for the heck of it. After all, this might be the last time she got to do this if Tala didn't like it.
Grabbing one of her spare hair ties off the counter, Eri gathered Tala's hair into a low, short ponytail that came to the nape of his neck. She left the two long strands free so they could frame his face. "There. What do you think?"
Tala stared at his reflection in the mirror for a moment, as if making sure the person staring back was really him. 'Well, what do you know…'
Not bad, Wolborg remarked.
'And who asked you?' Tala shot back. He turned to Eri and chose his response carefully. After all, he couldn't give her too much satisfaction, now could he? "Not bad…" Wolborg grinned wolfishly in his head, which Tala ignored. "And now it's my turn," he added with a smirk.
Eri's eyes widened. "W-what?"
"Well, if you want to comment on my hairstyle, it's only fair that I get a turn as well," he replied.
Eri crossed her arms defensively over her chest, taking a step backward into the bedroom. "Oh? And what would you know about women's hairstyles?" she asked skeptically.
Without answering, Tala stepped closer so that Eri could feel his warm breath on her face and reached up with one hand to where she kept her hair in its usual ponytail. Eyes half-lidded, he gently tugged out the hair tie so that her dark brown tresses spilled freely down to her shoulders. "There. That's better," he whispered in a husky tone. He reached up with one hand to cup her cheek, letting his fingertips entwine with her hair, while the other slid from the back of her head along her side and down to her hip bone, gently grabbing it possessively.
Eri swallowed a moan as passion flared up, hot and insistent. Even after all the time they had spent together, he could still render her weak in the knees with just a look. "You're still not wearing a shirt," she protested weakly.
"So?" he asked barely above a whisper. Then he dipped his head and took her lips in a heated kiss. Eri rested her hands on Tala's shoulders and pressed closer to him as she surrendered to the mind-melting bliss. The naked heat radiating from his bare chest felt positively heavenly, and a few stray water droplets lingered on his skin, giving him a vaguely disheveled, yet still drop head sexy appearance. Tala wasted no time in gaining entrance to Eri's mouth and smirked against her lips when he felt her shiver. He coaxed her down onto the bed without breaking the kiss so that he ended up on his hands and knees above her. Eri finally had to pull away for air, leaving Tala free to trail soft, lingering kisses down her neck. She slowly trailed her hands up his well-toned chest, causing him to moan softly while he lavished attention on her neck, and wrapped them around his broad shoulders. Feeling bolder, she pulled him down closer so that she could feel the full weight and length of his body pressed against hers. Tala shuddered in a sudden rush of pleasure and abruptly lifted his head to take her lips in a fervent, hungry kiss.
The unwelcome sound of Eri's cell phone killed the mood about as effectively as a bucket of ice water. Eri groaned and shot a hateful look at the offending piece of technology. She reached for the phone, muttering something about chucking it out the window, while Tala rolled onto his side and cuddled her from behind to wait out the unwelcome interruption.
"Hello, this is Eri speaking…" A brief pause. "Oh, Mr. Dickenson. Good to hear from you…Hm? What is it?" Silence fell over the room for several long moments while Eri listened to whatever Mr. Dickenson was saying. Then, she suddenly stiffened in Tala's arms, and her tone of voice changed. "Oh…I see…"
Sensing Eri's change of mood, Tala instinctively tightened his grip around her to try and reassure her with his presence while he waited anxiously for the phone conversation to end so he could get an explanation. Eri extricated herself from his arms absentmindedly and crossed the room nervously as she listened. Eri's distress was mirrored by Pyrix, which in turn set Wolborg on edge. He paced restlessly within the confines of Tala's mind and tried to reach out to Pyrix, but she had shut him out to respect Eri's privacy.
"I'll make the necessary preparations. Thank you for letting me know." Eri snapped her phone shut and set it back on the nightstand with a heavy sigh.
"Eri?" Tala prodded gently, giving her a blessed anchor to reality. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" He wished he could see her face so he could tell what she was thinking.
A pregnant pause filled the tense atmosphere before Eri finally spoke. "Mr. Dickenson…he…found my family…"
Author's Note: I thought I'd keep alive the tradition of cliff-hanging you guys on the first chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! If I get a positive response, I'll continue this project and see it through until the end.