Rimnerel: Okay, this is my newest project, and I would like to thank B.Tiamat Atardecer and Dark-Mage-Quisits for reviewing the first chapter of this before I posted. And I hope that everyone likes this project. It might even turn out to be a yaoi eventually with any time of pairing you would like to have! Now on with the story!

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The young woman with dark plum colored hair sipped on a soda as she leaned against a tree looking at the winter sky. Her thoughts were occupied for the most part as she stood outside the huge stadium that an intense battle was going on within. Today was the last day of the World Beyblade Championships, an event she stopped watching the second battle around. She knew what was going to happen, there was no need for her to watch. The young woman allowed her teammates, of an amateur beyblade team, to continue to watch in order for them to gain experience for their appearance in the circuits next year.

She wanted them to study all the competition so they knew what they were going up against. She already knew what to expect from their first tournament, which is why she stood outside the arena. That and the fact of the matter chills ran up her spine for just being there. Not near the stadium, if it were that simple she wouldn't worry. Some thing else put her at unrest. Her eyes went to the sky, sighing, and a light puff of breath coming out in the process.

She wore a light coat, contrasting completely with her teammates bundling up. Complaining about how cold Russia was, and how anyone could live there. She had only smiled at the comment, but her mind continued to remain trapped in old memories. She actually liked this weather. It was relaxing in some ways, almost tranquil.

"Hikaru! Hey Hikaru!" The girl looked towards where the voices were coming from to see a girl with short black hair and a younger boy with dark brown hair running towards her. These two were part of the Beyblade team she put together known in underground tournaments as Selece.

"What's up?" the young lady called Hikaru inquired, continuing to sip on her soda.

"They won! They really won, Hikaru!" The young boy with brown hair bounced up and down excitedly. Hikaru raised an amused brow at the boy's obvious sugar high. The other girl with him just grinned.

"Oh, all right." Hikaru, also the team captain of Selece, gave them a nod. Of course the Demolition Boys had won. They were strong, and would never be able to lose to a team that was just made no more than months ago. "They're strong, that's why they won."

"Yeah, but we thought for sure that they would lose. That guy had him on the ropes," the girl with black hair said.

"What? What do you mean...?" Hikaru felt slightly unnerved by what her teammate had just said. "Rika, what happened, who won the match?"

"Well, that guy on the Bladebreakers team, Tyson. I thought you stayed for the entire match?" Rika replied. She watched a strange change occur within her team captain's eyes. A blank look overcame the young captain as the soda can slip from her hand, clattering to the ground. "Hikaru-san?"

"Oh...fuck..." Hikaru took off for the stadium arena. She could hear the cheering even before she made it back into the stadium. Once she reached the inside, she headed for the nearest railing, looking down at the Demolition Boys walking back to where they were being waited for. Nobody seemed to notice the fear that clung to them, as they headed for their locker room, but she noticed and knew what was to come. "I...I can't believe...they lost...how?"

"A miracle," a voice said. Hikaru glanced briefly at the girl beside her with hot pink hair, streaked with cyber blue. Her cyber blue eyes studied her team captain for a long minute. "I thought the other boys would win also. The red head was really strong."

"No..."

"Hikaru? Are you okay?" The girl saw her captain gripping the railing tightly, enough that her knuckles were turning white. Plum hair curtains the anguished look in her eyes. The pink haired girl saw the visible tremors shaking the other. "Hikaru..."

"Kira," Hikaru said. "I'm starting to feel sick. Take Maseo and Rika back to the hotel with you. I'll be there in a while once I feel better."

Hikaru leaned against the pole. The pit of her stomach filled with dread for the outcome this battle had brought. The Demolition Boys lost, that meant too much for her to handle right now. In a tone too low to hear or even understand if the other had been listening, the plum haired girl said a Russian prayer. Those boys would need it for what laid ahead for them.

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"Are you sure you're all right?" Maseo questioned his captain once more as he followed her down the corridor that one of the competing teams was in. He didn't know which one, but the girl seemed to have a good idea where she wanted to be. What was going on? Why was she acting so strange? First she told them to go back to the hotel without her, and now she's wondering around the empty halls as if waiting for something. Since he and Rika had told her about the Bladebreakers' win, her attitude quickly changed.

"I'm fine, you can go back to the others," Hikaru said. She was annoyed that they would leave Maseo to watch over her as if she was a baby, but in a way, she was also touched that they cared that much for her to make sure she was all right. But this was dangerous, having him follow her. If anything...she didn't want him, or the others becoming involved in this mess. It was already too much that they had come to Russia in the first place. But then she had to witness such an upsetting lost on top of it all.

"You sure that you're all right. Come on, let's get back to the others," Maseo said, tugging on her shirt.

"Don't worry about me, Maseo, I'll come real soon, I promise you that," she said to the boy. She didn't know if she could keep her promise to him, she hoped to God that she could just find out something without being spotted.

"But Hikaru!"

"Maseo, I--" The girl's sentence was stopped when she heard loud Russian cursing from one of the locker rooms. Quickly making her way to it, she pressed herself against the sidewall listening in. Maseo followed example, but he made a face not understanding why they were doing this. Or even what the man was saying.

"Hikaru," Maseo began to whine.

"Sh! Maseo, they'll hear us," Hikaru whispered.

"But Hikaru," Maseo whined again. "I don't know what he's saying!"

"Shut up, Maseo," Hikaru hissed, as she clamping a hand on the boy's mouth. The last thing she needed was to be caught eavesdropping. "If I tell you what he's saying, will you shut up?"

The young boy nodded his reply since she had covered his mouth. Hikaru continued to listen to the angry Russian words, recognizing that voice to be the Demolition Boys' keeper. That was indeed Boris Balcov; she would never forget that biting tone for anything. It still haunted her dreams sometimes. A slight tremor rolled through her body subconsciously, remembering the past and why she had not wanted to come to Russia in the first place. A muffled sound called her attention back to the young boy, whose mouth she still covered. He was still waiting for her to tell him.

"He's saying you're worthless children. I don't know why I saved you from the streets. You can't do anything right. What good are you now to me, I should just get rid of the lot of you," Hikaru repeated back in Japanese. Even though there was more to Boris's words, the boy did not need to know all of them

"Mmm..." Hikaru removed her hand from over his mouth. The boy turned to his captain, his eyes huge. "You can understand Russian! I never knew that! Wow, that's amazing!"

"Sh! Maseo! They'll hear us!" she whispered just as a slap was heard. Hikaru flinched, almost able to feel the slap herself. It could be worse, she told herself. He could have done so much worst. Yet, she also knew that it first started with slaps. Later would come horrendous punishments for this failure today.

"That must have hurt..." Maseo whispered, lowering his eyes. "Do you think the guy who was yelling hit them?"

Hikaru didn't answer him. She gripped her palms, unaware that her nails sunk into her skin until she felt the pain. Looking down, she found small dots of crimson rising. Unclenching her hands, she pulled out some paper from her back pocket, wiping her hands on it. This shouldn't be happening, none of it.

"Hey, what are you two doing out here?" Both bladers nearly jumped out of their skins as they turned their heads, to see two young men watching them. One boy had dark red hair that stood up chaotically, while the other was a blonde. Hikaru quickly identified both as being Johnny and Enrique from The Majestics. She wondered what they were doing around this area. It was off limits to everyone, but she had managed to slip herself and Maseo into the area.

"You nearly gave us a heart attack!" Maseo said hastily.

"Sorry, but we were just wondering how you two managed to get around here. Don't you know it's closed off to spectators," Enrique remarked, checking out the girl.

"We weren't doing anything. We were leaving," Hikaru said.

"Nothing eh," Johnny smirked. "Seems to me that you were eavesdropping."

"Will you lower your tone, they will hear us!" Hikaru said softly.

"All right, now, what are you doing here?" Enrique remarked.

"Listening to the man yell," Maseo said honestly. Hikaru looked at the boy. Sometimes she swore that he was too honest for his own good. Well, who could blame the kid for wanting people to trust him? She would have to talk to him again about telling complete strangers his business no matter how friendly they seemed. That was what got people in trouble in the first place.

Enrique and Johnny looked at the girl who shifted her eyes away from them. "You understand Russian?" Enrique asked. There was definitely something about this girl that didn't seem right. Her eyes...something about her eyes wavered, something he couldn't pick up on.

"Yes, I understand Russian, now be quiet!" she hissed softly, annoyed that they were trying to get them all busted, and the fact that she was being exposed. She never wanted anyone to know that not only could she understand the language, but also speak, write, and read it fluently, too many questions about how, where, and when. All those details she would love to forget. Coming here to Russia was only a quarter of her idea. The others had practically begged her to come she had eventually given in.

"Okay, so what's being said?" Enrique questioned.

"You don't want to know," Hikaru said. Looking over to the boy beside her, she motioned for him to move. "Maseo, we're leaving now, we have to head back to the hotel."

"Yes ma'am," he replied, knowing when she got in one of these moments not to question her. There was something going on that she didn't want to speak about to anyone. He wondered what it was, and why she didn't talk to him about it. After all, he has known her for practically two years now.

"Hey, wait a minute. I never got your name," Enrique said, as the girl started to walk off. "I'm--"

She cut him a short stare. "I know who you are. You're Enrique, and he's Johnny. Both of you are from The Majestics," Hikaru stated. "The name's Hikaru Uesugi, and his name is Maseo Tsutomo. There's no need to make acquaintances, we won't be meeting again for a long time to come." Just as she was about to walk off, the door to the Demolition Boys' locker room swung open. Hikaru froze in her place, her eyes wide. Had they heard them outside the door talking? She couldn't face them...not Boris, or those boys...she just couldn't, at least not now.

Seeing how panicked the girl seemed, Enrique took it upon himself to be her knight. Pulling the girl to him, he knew he would probably get slapped for it later, but this would work. Without waiting for her consent, the blond kissed her on the lips, wrapping his arms around her. That was enough to snap her out of her spell. She was about to protest when she realized that he was blocking her from sight. Johnny had already led the brunette boy away, saying that he didn't need to watch that, and having the younger ask why, only to have Johnny tell him he would understand later in life.

'Note to self, slap him later.' Hikaru thought, wrapping her arms around him. Peeking slightly over his shoulder, she watched a bunch of guards leave, followed by a tall male with purple hair, which was Boris, and the Demolition Boys. The captain of the team had a handprint across his cheek, which would end up bruising. She could sense the tension in the air, and it made her stomach turn.

One of the guards stopped, noticing the two that were kissing by the locker room. "Hey! What do you two think you're doing there?"

Enrique pulled out of the kiss, turning his head to the guard with a giant goofy grin. "Oh, sorry. Is there a problem? This girl was just driving me crazy to kiss her, so I had to oblige her wishes. Isn't that right baby?" Enrique turned back to the girl, who had a brow rose.

"Anata wa do korosu shimasu deshou," the girl muttered to him. Enrique felt a bead of sweat roll down his face. Yep, he was definitely going to get it later if she kept that tone with him. (Translation: "How am I going to kill you?")

The guard stared at the two for a moment. "Whatever, now move along. This is a public place. Reserve that sort of activity for your hotel room," the guard voiced.

Enrique shrugged indifferently, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Come on baby, let's go explore my hotel room then." The girl muttered something else in Japanese, translating into "you're digging yourself a deeper grave, buddy."

Enrique began to lead the girl away when someone said something in Russian that made Hikaru stop in her tracks, turning her blood to ice. Hikaru couldn't have moved to save her life if she wanted to. They were probably watching her, looking suspiciously at her every motion. Why? Why was this happening?

"Miss," she heard the guard say. "Would you mind coming here a second?"

"N-nani?" she stammered. Thank god for being Japanese, if she had to speak English, she might have broke down completely by now. "Eigo wa wakarimasen. Nihongo ga hanasemasu ka." (Translation: What? I don't understand English. Can you speak Japanese?)

"Hey dude, get your own chick! You know how hard it is to find a great Japanese chick these days?" Enrique said, pulling the girl along with him. "Come on baby, let's go." Hikaru allowed herself to be pulled away, still feeling the eyes on her back. It was too soon to return. She shouldn't have risked it at all. It had only been two and a half years now since she first left. Boris would not have forgotten her just yet. He knew her fear better than anyone else. He knew her barely successful escape all too well, and the chance to bring her back into the fold for good would not go unchallenged. He knew she knew he had to know.

She couldn't face him here, not now, not with her teammates waiting for her. The time wasn't right, but she didn't want to leave those boys in his clutches for too long. It was killing her even now, but she had no choice. She would find the right time to come back for them, on terms that were in her favor. As she and Enrique rounded the corner, she looked up at the male who seemed a little too comfortable with his arm around her waist.

"Hey buddy, you can drop the act now," Hikaru stated. Enrique looked at her with a slight teasing pout.

"I was just getting use to the non-English speaking bit too. Do I really have to?" He batted his blue eyes at her; only to have another brow rose at him.

"Not unless you want to lose that arm, pal," Hikaru remarked. "I'm not just a pretty face, I'm also one hell of a fighter when pissed off."

"Okay, I get the point." Removing his arm, Enrique gave her a serious look. "What was that about back there?"

"Do you have a place I can use a phone at?" She countered the question, with one of her own.

"Changing the subject on me now. So that must mean you don't want to talk about it," Enrique said. "Fine you win. I could never argue with a pretty face. Yes, there is a place you can use the phone at. I was heading somewhere actually you can come with me and use the phone. What about your little friend?"

"He's headed back to the hotel, he won't disobey my order," Hikaru replied, crossing her arms over her chest. She shouldn't leave them unsupervised for too long. If Boris knew she was traveling with others, they would be in danger. It was better she told them to leave as soon as possible and not stay and sightsee. Boris had men everywhere, and if he got his hands on a hostage to bring her back to the abbey...she didn't want to think about it too much.

"Well, I guess we can go find you that phone then," Enrique shrugged. What was it about her that he couldn't shake? There was a huge air of mystery surrounding her that only seemed to get bigger. Who was she? And why was she so scared of the leader of the Demolition Boys' team?

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"You boys were amazing, congratulations," smiled Mr. Dickenson to the Bladebreakers as everyone cheered for the five boys who had brought a stop to Biovolt's plans. They were all sitting in this huge suite living room Mr. Dickenson had arranged for them. Everyone was there, the White Tigers, All Starz, and The Majestics.

"Yes. It was indeed an excellent match, an astounding upset that Tyson pulled off," Robert stated. "You saved the world, Tyson, that is something you should be proud of."

"Indeed, quite a feat," Oliver agreed. Tyson, whose head was already five sizes too big, swelled even more at the remarks that his rivals were giving him.

"It was nothing special, really!" Tyson grinned from ear to ear, like a maniac. The other Bladebreakers allowed him to gloat and bask in his glory, he did deserve it after all. Well...at least for now anyway. Later, it would be hell when Kai got back on his case when training was in full effect. Right now, Kai had a sort of distant look on his face no one seemed to notice. His thoughts were somewhere completely different. "Hey, by the way, where are those two loud mouths?" His reference was on Johnny and Enrique who had yet to come back from getting something at the stadium.

"Watch who you're calling loud mouth," came Enrique's voice, as he and Johnny (who he met up with halfway back to the room, after Johnny made sure the young boy, Maseo reached his destination safely), and to everyone's surprise a young woman with dark plum colored hair walked into the room. Her eyes flickered over things before spotting a phone and going over to it. Picking up the receiver, she dialed a number and waiting. All eyes went to Enrique and Johnny who didn't seem to mind her just using the phone like that.

"Um..." Max started.

"She was in distress, I couldn't leave her alone," Enrique said with a huge grin. "What can I say, I have a soft spot for cute girls? Sue me for it."

"Hopefully you caught a name?" Robert said, shaking his head. What was he going to do with the Roman boy?

"Her name's Hikaru Uesugi, and happens to be the best kisser I've ever known." There was silence in the room as everyone just stared at the eccentric Roman blader. Sometimes they wondered if he was wrapped all too tightly. The young woman on the phone, Hikaru, stopped talking to whoever was on the other end to stare at Enrique with a rose brow.

"Baka ne, byoin e iku tehazu o totonoemashou ka," the girl said to him before going back to talking to the person on the other end of the phone. A couple of people, mainly Kenny, Tyson, Max, and Rei snickered at the remark that they understood quite clearly. (Translation: Shall I make arrangements for you to go to the hospital, idiot?)

"Don't be like that, baby," Enrique remarked as she finally hung up the phone. "You know I was just teasing you!"

"You want to be hurt don't you?" Hikaru remarked. "Thanks for letting me use the phone, I'm out of here now."

"Wait! You never told me," Enrique said as he grabbed her elbow to stop her.

"Tell you what?" Hikaru asked, reframing from flipping him on his back in front of his friends.

"Back there at the stadium. Why were you afraid of Bor--" Before Enrique could finish his sentence, he found himself on his back, a fist inches away from his face. The girl's eyes had changed once more, half filled with fear, and the other half fury. If it weren't for the fact she was still hot, he would be offended by the fact she had taken him down so easily. That and she were scared of something.

"Don't you dare mention that name!" she hissed. "Just drop it, you don't want to get involved in this. Okay, you don't know where I went, you have no clue what my name is, and you have no clue if I'm still in Russia, got it."

"Yep. Pretty much so," Enrique said, at her mercy. She let him go and was about to leave, but one Bladebreaker member was not about to let her go so easily. Was Enrique about ready to say why was she afraid of Boris? For a split second, Kai had a flashback of an older girl holding off the guards while he escaped.

"Asuka..." came a soft whisper that was heard despite everything. Steps were stopped and eyes turned to meet auburn ones.

"You..." Her words were in Russian; she knew he could understand her. Her eyes softened. "Kai...you're still all right, thank God."

"You escaped...I thought..." Kai started. He had heard rumors that she had died by Boris's hands. When he first came to Russia, went back to the abbey and remembered everything, and joined the Demolition Boys' team once more, no one had mentioned a thing about her absence or that of her brother's. What had happened after he left Russia that surrounded such strange events now?

"No...I made it out all right. But Kai...I have to go. You know, if Boris..." she lowered her eyes.

"I know," Kai said. "I won't stop you, you know that. If you need any help, don't hesitate to contact me. I will do anything in my power to--"

"No. I'm not bringing you down too. You escaped, don't draw yourself back into the web. I'll find some way, for everyone. I promised myself a long time ago I would take care of all of you. And I intend to keep that promise."

Kai was silent, having nothing to say. When she got like this, there was no way to talk her out of it. She had always been like that, always putting everyone's needs above her own. Hikaru saw the look on the younger male's face and sighed. He wanted to help her, but this was her fight. There was no way she would drag him in it.

"Kai...if you manage to save them first...tell them...tell them I said sorry," Hikaru replied, walking out the room, leaving everyone stunned by the fact that Kai seemed to know the mystery girl, and the trickle of Russian dialogue that had transpired between them. Who exactly was she and how did she know Kai. A bigger mystery had appeared than anyone knew, except for the young team captain of the Bladebreakers. And if everyone knew Kai as well as they did he wasn't about to tell.

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Rimnerel: Wow, wasn't that a great chapter! If anyone has any problems with the translations, I'm sorry, I was doing a half and half job in my studies. I hope everyone likes it, and get in your voting now on pairings if you really want pairings to be added. Now, I'm going to work on Sympathy, if you like this one, I will update it. Later now!