CHAPTER I - RED HAIR, BLUE EYES
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Maybe it was the stupid grin that caught him off guard, or perhaps the wide blue eyes that sparkled with so much joy it made him sick to the stomach –it might have been the flaming red hair too, the bright color that made her stand out from the crowd. He surely didn't know what it was, but for a second, she caught his attention, the uniform she wore too big for her as she twirled in the middle of the street with one of her fellow students. His crimson orbs bored over the two girls as they went on the other sidewalk, across from him –the limousine was late, not that he minded since he got to explore the city where his boarding school was situated. At least he had one more year to go through and then he could chase his own aspirations –it had been a while since he last beybladed and the more time passed the more itchy it felt.
It took the loud honking of a truck to make him turn his attention to the closer laughter of the red haired girl from earlier and it took him less to realize what was going to happen. Without second thoughts, he lunged forward as the redhead stopped abruptly to stare horrified at the approaching truck that noticed her too late to hit the breaks. If only her schedule from school didn't slip out of her hand and in the middle of the street; her lips pursed together as the music in her headphones continued to soothe her tensed body at the approaching threat –however, he was there just in time to pull her violently out of the way with a strong yank into his chest and then on the pavement.
The redhead let out a gasp of air and her wide blues mirrored crimsons that didn't appear very pleased.
"Are you stupid?"
And those were the first words of her savior, words that got engraved in her mind as she realized she was still alive and well –she shakily stood up as her friend ran over to her aid, trembling at the very thought of the tragedy that could have happened if the male wasn't there.
"Oh God! Oh thank God, thank you so much –oh God!" the blonde continued, looking the redhead over with the worry of a mother "Rippu, why did you do that!? One day you will end up hurt! Where is this brain of yours, huh? This is what happens if you always wear those stupid headphones, you didn't even hear the truck!" she threw her hands in the air while the other girl kept staring, still shaken from the event "I'm fine" she finally muttered and then glanced at him, that glint in her eyes that he saw from the first time. Ignoring the sick turn of his stomach, Kai dusted himself off and turned to leave with no other words, but the annoying girl had other plans.
"Hey, you! Thanks! Now I have a debt to pay to you!"
He couldn't find sarcasm in her voice and as he glanced back, she was grinning that stupid grin of hers. "Hn –whatever " and he was lucky that his limousine finally pulled up to where he requested so that he could leave already because he felt as if he would puke very soon if he remained with those two any longer.
Churippu wasn't an ordinary girl. She was a dreamer! At least that's what she would tell herself in order to stand out from the oblivious and static. The ginger was from an average family with a single mother and a very annoying baby sister –luckily with no red hair that made her look like a carrot. In fact, that was one of the things she used to be called…along with gingerbread, menstruation, no soul, carrot top, bloody mary and many others she couldn't recall now.
Today she was different though! She got a second chance at life and it felt as if she was reborn. That's why she woke up early in the morning to prepare a special lunch box for the stranger that saved her. How did she know where to go? His uniform, the only boy's boarding school in the city and luckily, she was in the only other boarding school that was not…far from his. Well, you did need to take the train there, and then a bus but still, it wasn't…that far. With positive thoughts in her mind, she went on to collect her debt and pay the boy for the fact that he gave her an opportunity to see things differently.
"It is time, Wendy!" the redhead exclaimed with her trademark grin that scared off boys on a 5 meter radius. Wendy was her only friend since kindergarden, a nerd as most would label her, dirty blonde hair and brown eyes behind big round glasses and faint freckles. Truth be told, she was a genius, only God knows how many times she saved Churippu from failing her classes and exams –she was a saint indeed.
"Don't you think it's inappropriate to show up in a school filled with boys only to give a guy you don't even know a lunch box? How will you even find him?" the blonde shook her head at the playful laugh that left the other girl's lips, almost knowingly.
"I will ask people about him, y'know, spiky blue hair, red eyes, uhh….kinda…uh, was he tall?"
"…this is going to be…exhausting" Wendy concluded as she rubbed her temples.
"It's Kai Hiwatari, one of the rich kids here, he's probably in class"
And they thought it would be hard to find him? It was enough to say blue hair, red eyes, serious face and average height. Apparently, he had quite a reputation here and as the two girls passed by the male students, the stares were inevitable, of course.
"See, Wendy? It was so easy!"
Whitney Prep School was not easy to figure out, especially if you weren't from around the place and the many hallways proved to be difficult to follow. In the end, before the lunch break was over, they finally found the class they were looking for and wasting no more time in her quest, Churippu slid the door open to reveal a few boys here and there and then her target.
A few seconds passed and silence fell over the others as they eyed the red haired girl with curiosity. With confident steps, the female walked in and to his desk and by the first impression, Kai thought she was going to kill him with that weird expression on her face –until she slammed a lunch box on his desk, earning a raised eyebrow from the beyblader.
"This is a little part of my debt to you" she grinned –that stupid grin again. With a frown, the male regarded her, trying to figure out if this was some kind of joke.
"How did you find me?" because this was more important given that it took her so little to pinpoint his location so accurately. "The uniform" –right, he was wearing it when he saved her ass from getting squished like a bug. It wasn't hard to look for him if she knew the school and it made sense now.
"I don't need your lunch"
"You don't have to need it"
"Then take it and leave"
"I'm not leaving until you take a bite" and with that, she pulled a chair from one of the desks and sat down, elbows resting on the back of it, eyes sparkling in that mysterious way that had him want to just tell her things that he wished he didn't think of. "That means the staff will throw you out. This is a private school" he muttered, leaning back in his chair.
"Do I look like I care? I owe you a debt and until I've paid it, I'm going nowhere"
And that explanation had him narrow his eyes at her tenacity. The girl only smiled and then glanced at her blonde friend "Y'know…you can always step inside" "Rippu! Enough of this! We must go, what about our classes?" and for a split of a second, Kai caught the ginger's irritation until it broke into a grin "You're too paranoid" and that was the end of the conversation, because Wendy just shook her head and left, this time making the weird girl frown and turn to him.
"You'd better eat that…I woke up early to make it" and she pushed herself off the chair and out the door, probably after her friend. The simple fact that she woke up to make this for him felt humiliating, especially said in front of everyone in the class –and no longer did he wait until he was assaulted by his colleagues.
"Kai, is that your girlfriend~?" it started "No" –and then it ended with just that and with him throwing the lunch box in the trash, where it belonged.
At the end of classes, Kai was frustrated to find that same redhead waiting at the gates patiently, fidgeting with her scarf thoughtfully. Her long hair shone in the light of the setting sun in a way that made it look like a burning flame and when she noticed him and turned to face him completely, he was able to see the rest of her features from up-close, standing a bit too close to her for comfort. His attitude was supposed to intimidate her, his crimson hues to scare her off, but it only had her turn calmly at him and stare him down with those ocean blues –he got lost in that autumn breeze that passed them by and blew the dainty strands of her flames around, sprinkling them as if it was really a burning fire, reminding him of a phoenix.
Absentmindedly, he raised his hand and brushed those untamed strands out of her face and her only reaction was to close her eyes and flinch back –that had him stop and realize what he was doing, but also question her choice of reacting.
"Why are you stalking me?"
"I'm not! I'm paying my debt!"
"There is no debt, it's only in your damaged mind"
"Might be, but it's still there, you see?"
He wrinkled his nose and passed by her, standing still a few feet away and waiting for the limousine to pick him up again and get him home. "I'm planning to save you at some point if you were wondering what I was-" "I was not wondering" "Oh, well, you know now anyway!" she smiled brightly and stood there with him in silence.
"So….who are you waiting for?" but it was broken with her annoying voice again "My car" "Ooooh right, you're one of those rich boys" "Yes, I'm one of those, care to leave now?" he turned a sharp glance her way, tempted to just shove her in the middle of the street and hope for a truck to pass by.
"It doesn't bother me if you're smug, you still saved my life" she shrugged and started humming to the noise in her headphones that now rested around her neck. Her theory made sense, not that he was going to say that, but it did and he had to say that being in the company of someone was…oddly better than he thought, even if said company was a probably retarded and mentally damaged girl that was now making a hobby out of stalking him.
The car finally pulled up and without a word to her, he climbed in and told the chauffeur to drive off. "GOODBYE KAI!" and it was loud enough for him to hear and the driver to hear as well, the female waving painfully at his window until the car pulled away. Glancing back, he noticed that she was walking in the opposite direction, which meant she took the bus and the train all the way here to see him off and then go back to wherever she lived.
"What an idiot"
