To Kurai-Gaara

Shadowess: Hello all, this is a special belated birthday gift to Kurai-Gaara. This is a Beyblade story just for her.

Oh yes, please forgive me, Kurai-Gaara, I have taken the attitude of Tony to be that of Yusuke off of the abridged series. There's not too much of a difference actually… Enjoy!

Part One: Encountering the Phoenix

The sky flashed with lightening, beating the heavy rain against the car window. Those slate eyes watched the water bead off the glass. Another tournament has ended and he finally got to get away from the so-called team he had.

Two out of the three other bladers on his team were excelled players. Max, with striving defense and Ray, with enduring agility, they both were good players. The third one though… Tyson… he was either up on his game or down. Usually down throughout his training but somehow, for some reason, he would be able to pull through. If only his attitude towards blading would be as promising as his battles.

'Best not to get your hopes up…' Kai sighed. His gaze turned back out the back window. He was being driven down the street towards his home.

With a jerk of the vehicle and his body being lurched forward against the seatbelt, he heard a hard thud against the car as they came to an abrupt stop.

"What the hell?!" Kai cursed as he rubbed at his shoulder. He needs to be in his best shape for anything and having a over stressed joint anywhere would be problematic.

"Apologies, sir! Something ran in front of the car!" the driver got out of the car in to the rain.

Kai sighed. "You better not have hit a stray…" He took off his seat belt and got out of the car in to the rain.

"Oh what the fuck was that…?" a female voice came to his ears as he closed the door.

"Miss, please try not to move." Kai's driver tried to speak.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck… Anyone get the plate number?"

Kai came around the front of the car and saw a woman with choppy black hair, blue rain jacket and jeans, and black sneakers. "Actually, you were hit by a car." Kai glared at his driver.

"Oh, what's the plate of it?" her hand went to her head, still not facing him.

"The car is right beside you." Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. His driver was fired come next morning.

She blinked and turned her head, seeing the plate number. "Wha…?" she turned her eyes to the guy who came before Kai. "You son-of-a-bitch!! You fucking nearly ran me over! If I was a little kid you'd have blood on your hands!!" She stood up, standing, to Kai's surprise, taller than the both of them. "I outta knock your lights out in return to trying to run me over! I was crossing when the lights permitted me to, you asshole! You need to get your fucking eyes checked!" She swayed. "Whoa… okay, need air in lungs to get brain functioning."

Kai could see from the headlights that there was some blood down the side of her face. The nearest medical facility was two hours away…

"Get in the car. I'll make sure you don't have any serious injuries. And Takeno," his driver looked towards Kai. "I want your resignation in my mail before dawn."

He gave a light wail or sorrow. "Yes, sir…"

Kai took the woman's elbow. She wasn't really that much taller than him, now that he noticed. "Come on."

"Whoa whoa! Hey! Don't grab me like that! And what the hell do you mean to get in the same car that hit me!? I'm not going anywhere except to where I'm going and THEN I'll head to a hospital!"

Kai groaned. "Just get in the car, I promise that no further harm will come to you."

"So… if I purposely cut myself, I can sue you since you promised that?"

'Oh dear gods she's worse than Tyson…' Kai grumbled. "Self-inflicted wounds are not covered by my word."

"Damn. Okay. Fine. I'm tired of being soaked by this rain." She muttered, crossing her arms and heading to the side of the car.

Kai got her in the car and shut the door before returning to his own seat on the opposite side. Takeno, the driver, got back in to the drivers seat and continued driving back towards Kai's home.

She had been simply running to her destination. It was just her damn luck that allowed her to miss the bus and run through the conveniently placed storm! Seriously, whatever she did to Mother Nature, she was willing to take it back ten-fold!

"Stupid storm, stupid bus, ah!" she stumbled. "Stupid rock!"

Lightening flashed across the sky, showing that there was no one on either side of the street. Ahead were some tail lights of some vehicles… the bus being one of them.

Her, Tony, had come to this city to watch the recent Beyblade tournament that just ended. It was pretty cool even though she was like… fifteen rows up and had to watch the entire thing through the jumbo screen.

It was pretty cool to watch the possessed blades duke it out in a giant bowl. Wolves, turtles, dragons, tigers, and the coolest of all… the giant phoenix bird. They were the spirits inside the blades.

'Well they look like spirits since they're kind of transparent and there is not technology yet to simulate a holographic projection that can fit in to the blades…' she shook her head. 'Cursed science and logic. Oh how I hate thee!'

There was an intersection up ahead, and to her luck, the light was flashing for her to walk. She was already running so there was no need to slow down. Plus there wasn't any headlights in sight.

There was a squeal of tires and flash of man-made light, making her freeze like a deer.

"Oh fu—" she was hit and thrown in to a dizzy spin.

She lay on the asphalt for a few moments. That was a huge blur and not a good high. How high did she fly? To the sky?

'Ugh… Ow. That hurt. Note to self: don't do that.' Tony groaned and tried to push herself up, seeing as she landed and rolled on to her gut. "Oh what the fuck was that…?

"Please miss, try not to move." This weird male voice said. She didn't see any people unless they came out of a building. Those tires squealing were pretty loud.

"I feel like I was hit by a truck… Anyone get the plate number?" Head. Throbbing. Not the greatest sign.

"Actually you were hit by a car." This new voice, another guy, came in. This one sounded oddly familiar but… Her head hurt too much to really identify the voice.

"Oh… what's the plate of it?" She put her hand to her head, feeling a warm substance. 'Am I bleeding? Or did the rain get warm?'

"The car is right beside you." The oddly familiar voice came in again.

'Come again?' she blinked a few times. "Wha…?" I looked up to the guy who was in front of me. "You son-of-a-bitch!! You fucking nearly ran me over! If I was a little kid you'd have blood on your hands!!" She stood up, standing, to Kai's surprise, taller than the both of them. "I outta knock your lights out in return to trying to run me over! I was crossing when the lights permitted me to, you asshole! You need to get your fucking eyes checked!" Her vision darkened a bit, making her sway and her head to throb harder. "Whoa… okay, need air in lungs to get brain functioning." She took a couple of slow deep breaths.

"Get in the car. I'll make sure you don't have any serious injuries." Mystery dude number two said. "And Takeno." Oh, I guess that reveals mystery dude number one's name. "I want your resignation in my mail before dawn."

What do you know, the driver of the dude just got fired because of me… Well, that's what he gets for running someone over! Better me than a little kid or else this guy would have not just lost a job, but get a lawsuit on his hands!

The Takeno guy basically whimpered. "Yes sir…"

My elbow was grabbed making me jump. "Come on." Mystery guy was right by me.

"Whoa whoa! Hey! Don't grab me like that! And what the hell do you mean to get in the same car that hit me!? I'm not going anywhere except to where I'm going and THEN I'll head to a hospital!" I had to get to my hotel reservation to call a cab to get to the airport so I can head out to the next area of interest… of which I can't remember at the moment.

The dude groaned. "Just get in the car, I promise that no further harm will come to you."

Promise, huh? "So… if I purposely cut myself, I can sue you since you promised that?"

"Self-inflicted wounds are not covered by my word." He sounded stressed. 'Well I get that reaction out of people who don't know me.'

"Damn. Okay. Fine. I'm tired of being soaked by this rain." Tony muttered, crossing her arms and heading to the side of the car. She was soaked and cold and her head hurt and who knows what else.

She got inside the comforting dry vehicle and shook out her hair quickly. Bad idea since her head didn't focus on anything for a good minute.

She most likely had a concussion, since she definitely blacked out for a few seconds. How long did she need to stay awake to make sure she wouldn't have a brain bleed? Five hours or something?

"What's your name?" the dude asked beside her.

"Huh? Oh. It's Tony."

"Last name?"

"Why would I want to tell a complete stranger that? So you can stalk me? I'll keep that little bit of information to myself." Tony groaned at the throbbing of her head.

"Stranger, huh? I guess it's good that you don't know me since I am recognized everywhere." He mused.

"Well it's kind of dark and I can't see your face and you do sound familiar but yeah. So… Since you know my name, what is yours?"

"…Kai."

She blinked. "Kai? As in the beyblader Kai?"

"The one and only." He said in a bland tone.

"Oh. Okay. So the driver of Kai of the Bladebreakers runs me over. Great…" Tony cradled her head in her hands. "Well nice to meet you, Kai. I'd be more enthusiastic about this if I wasn't hit by a car and my head wasn't trying to split atoms."

How lucky her day was…

Kai led Tony inside the mansion via the garage so they didn't have to go through more rain. The driver, Takeno, was dismissed. Never to be seen again.

Having become engulfed in illumination, Tony and Kai got to see each other without the hindering darkness. Tony found Kai to be quite attractive, always did from watching tournaments and seeing the posters and whatnot, but he was wearing regular clothes. A dark red button-up shirt and dark pants. It was a great contrast to his slate-colored eyes and two-toned blue hair.

Kai looked to Tony and saw that her eyes were dark, almost black, but were definitely a dark blue. Her skin was pale and she was very slim. She shrugged off her rain coat to reveal a midnight blue shirt with a modest V-neck shirt and no sleeves, showing her skinny arms. He took her jacket and put it on a coat rack, along with his own jacket which he took off in the garage.

"Follow me, I need to check your head to see where the bleeding is coming from." Kai told her, motioning her to follow him.

"Yeah. It's from my head, obviously. I guess it wouldn't hurt if you knew exactly where it was coming from…" Tony told him. "Actually, it would hurt if you touched it seeing as it is bleeding and causing immense pain to my cranium."

Kai rolled his eyes as he started towards the washroom. He's had enough wounds in his life to know what to do for non-threatening injuries. He flicked on the lights and had her sit on the toilet seat cover.

"Damn, you'd think that bones would be broken, not make your head bleed if hit by a car." Tony held her hand atop of where the blood seemed to source from. "I guess I can cross that off my list of 'things that could never really happen to me', huh?"

"Any other things on this list that has been crossed off?" Kai bemused as he searched for his first aid kit.

"Two other things actually. One was getting thrown across a field by a twister, and the other was having a dwarf person beat me in a fist fight."

Kai blinked. "You lost to a dwarf?"

"Believe it or not. And I don't really think it was fair since I was already disoriented from going on the zipper amusement park ride for the entire afternoon that same day. But it counts so its crossed off." Tony looked at her hand, seeing it covered in blood before putting it back on her head to compress the bleed. "So what was the most unlikely thing to happen to you?"

"Have my driver hit a pedestrian." He answered, successfully finding the kit, opening it to make sure everything was inside.

"Okay… how about before that?"

"Be set up with the unlikeliest group of bladers as team captain." He took a towel and ran it under warm water.

"Oh. Well that is pretty unlikely." Tony blinked. She flinched as Kai pressed the wet towel to her head. "Listen, I appreciate you doing this, but wouldn't you have dealt with less trouble if you had just dropped me off at a clinic?"

"The closest clinic from here is 2 hours away. I do have experience treating wounds and I know the signs of a concussion." Kai explained, pushing her hand away from her head.

"Yeah, I figured as much that I had a concussion. How long do I need to stay awake so I don't well… Die of a brain bleed in my sleep?"

"At least four hours, six to be sure." Kai folded the towel, continuing to wipe away blood.

"Alright. I can stay awake. So when can I head back to the place I'm staying at?"

"Staying at? So you don't live around here." Kai made note that keeping a conversation will make sure that there isn't any brain damage.

"Hell no. I actually have a job that keeps me from staying in one place. I got some time off and I choose to spend it here." Tony rubbed the back of her neck. She must have had whiplash somehow too.

"What is it that you do?"

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that. I could be called a multi-use detective in a way." Tony chuckled. "You know, if I actually told you everything that I did, you'd sooner bring me to a loony house than to a hospital."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "And how would I know that this isn't just a side-effect from your head injury?"

"That's true. You don't know. Probably best if you didn't know anyway. I'd probably have to go M.I.B on you and blank your memories of what I told you." Tony joked.

"Good luck in that." Kai finished wiping away the blood and parted her hair to see the rather nasty cut. She winced painfully as he took the antibiotic ointment, dabbing against her wound.

"What would you do if you decided to stop blading?" Tony asked.

"Head back to Russia and train kids how to blade the proper way. Not the way I was taught." Kai's expression darkened at the flash of memories from the abbey.

"Yeah well, I guess most people go with what they were brought up with." Tony shrugged. She had a job that about… 99.5 of the world human population did not know about. For that, it was nuts. The world simply just wasn't ready for the knowledge of demons.

Speaking of demons, that was probably a reason why she took up the interest in beyblade. It was the advanced players that initiated her interest because of their bit beasts. They resembled demons in their purest form. At least, to her they did.

"Ow!" She jumped at a burning sensation coming from where the antiseptic was placed. Kai gently blew air on the area, making her calm in relief. "Thanks…"

"Just don't go running to the tabloids that Kai Hiwatari is actually a nice guy." Kai mildly joked.

"No worries, your inner warm fuzziness will not be betrayed."

Kai wrapped a bandage around her head to keep some pressure on the wound and promote healing. "Your head's done. Anything else that doesn't feel right?"

"Besides my pride, I think I just got a little road rash. No big deal about that though."

"Okay. Come on, I'll get you something to drink." Kai put away the medical items before leading her down to the kitchen.

Tony looked around for a brief moment. The house was actually pretty huge… Did Kai live here all by himself? He obviously likes his privacy but still… wouldn't it get lonely?

"Do you stay here by yourself?" Tony asked.

"Only when there are no tournaments announced. Like now for the next few weeks." Kai brought her in to the kitchen and brought out a couple glasses. "Water, milk, or juice?"

"Juice." Tony sat down on a high chair that was at the island counter. She was handed a glass filled with orange juice. "Thanks."

Tony and Kai chatted for a while, with Kai checking on her head after about half an hour.

"What do we do for the rest of the time I need to stay awake?" Tony asked, having finished her juice a long time ago.

"Do you have any preferred films you like to watch?"

"What do you have?"

"A wide collection."

"That's specific…" Tony rolled her eyes. "Action movies and comedies as long as they don't have that romantic crap."

"Good. We'll watch a couple movies to have you stay awake." Kai got up and led her to the entertainment room with a pretty big TV.

"Lord of the Rings keeps me awake, but so does Blade." Tony suggested.

After choosing the preferred couple of movies and settling down on a couch to watch, Kai clicked play.

The sunlight shone through the window and hit Tony on her face. Her consciousness was drawn out of sleep-mode and back in to reality. Her head felt quite groggy. She didn't know what time she fell asleep but it was after the third movie of the trilogy they watched.

Her current position found herself laying on the couch, with an arm wrapped around her stomach and a rhythmic beating at her back. She recalled the moments from last night then looked at where she was.

She was in the arms of the Kai Hiwatari, who was currently asleep at her back. She couldn't hide that blush that crept up on her face. Because of her height, she's never felt feminine but… Now, she did.

'Not like this is going to cause me to go polar opposite of myself and wear dresses.'

Oh how she hated dresses and skirts with a passion. Formal? Black pants. Good enough.

Kai had woken up a few moments after her and released her, apologizing for the awkward position. Once Tony was deemed fit to leave by Kai's standards, he drove Tony to her destination himself.

"Well, thanks, Kai. It was nice getting to know you. I still think the meeting would have been better if I wasn't nearly considered road kill though." Tony chuckled. "See you around at your next tournament competition?"

He nodded. Tony was about to open the door but Kai took her wrist. "Wait. Here." He shoved a slip of paper in to her hand. Tony looked at it in question. "My private number and email. I would like to talk to you again sometime."

"Sweet. I'd give you mine but I'm at a loss for pen and paper. I'll email it to you." Tony smiled at him.

Kai nodded and kissed her cheek, leaving her dumbfounded. "I look forward to it."

There were no goodbye's between them. Tony just got out of the car and watched Kai drive off as she entered the hotel she was staying at. A smile slowly crept to her face. Perhaps… Perhaps maybe this guy would be good for her to talk to about work…

"Hope you can accept the world of demons, Kai… cause you'd really kick ass in my profession."

Fin

Shadowess: There! What do you think? I hope you liked it. It's a very unique story on my part. I mixed in a little YYH there as you could tell. Again, Happy Belated Birthday!

PS: Hope you all caught the Hiei comment (coughdwarfcough)