DISCLAIMER: As much as I'd love to own Kai and the rest of the cast, I can't because they belong to Aoki Takao. I'd be rich otherwise.

A/N: If you hate Hiromi aka Hilary, you still have the chance to go back and not read this fic. Otherwise, proceed.

This fic is inspired by the famous Greek myth of Pandora's jar (or vase in some references; I prefer to use jar since it seems more credible). Actually, it's more popularly known as Pandora's box but after much researching I learned that there was a mistranslation by the sixteenth century monk Erasmus, so the jar ended up as box instead. Just to make things clear.

Hope you enjoy!

OPENING PANDORA'S JAR

ChApTeR 1

Midnight-blue sky. Full moon. Soft clouds slowly drifting. Glistening grass. The clear reflection of the big orb of light on the calm surface of the river. The soothing atmosphere would have granted anyone standing near it a tranquil mind.

But as for her, she had anything but that.

The surface of the river broke into small ripples as she raised her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, exhausted from the dinner she had just thrown up. Long locks of tangled brown hair strayed on her face. Her breath labored, she tried to take a deep soothing breath. Yes, she knew she was punishing herself but she couldn't find any other option. There was too much at stake.

:Is that the best you can do?:

"Shut up and just go away!" she tried to shout but the words came out slurred.

:It is a futile effort. Do you know your name? Do you know yourself?:

She screamed and moved to the grass, clutching her head as though to stop the voice inside her. Her hand dug into the pocket of her pants and threw the object away, not caring where it fell as long as it wasn't anywhere near her. The force of the action made her whirl, intensifying the dizziness and she fell on the ground.

:You cannot stop me. No one can. I am not going back there.:

"You won't win. I won't let you!" Again the words were indistinct to her ears. A few blades of grass were stuck on her sweater. It took her forever before she managed to crawl on fours just to leave her spot. Standing up was just too much. What is this place?

:I want to see you try. You do not even know where you are. You do not even know who you are.:

She hauled herself until she reached the wall of the bridge, never feeling as drowsy as she was feeling right now. The sleeping pills she took earlier must be working already by now. I want to get this over with… She forced her eyes to take in everything she could—the river, the bridge, the houses which seemed so far away—everything while there was still time. Her mind tried to memorize even the most trivial of her surroundings but she couldn't see, not when everything was a blur. I can't let it take everything away from me… I must keep on remembering something…

:How long are you going to keep on doing this? Clearly you are the loser here, Pandora.:

She had never felt so drained in her entire life. But she had to fight. For the last time of the night, she clumsily unrolled the piece of paper from her pocket and tried to read it. Somewhere at the back of her mind it was as though she had done this a hundred times before. I C—I CAN'T ALLO—TAKE…

It was hopeless. Her eyes gave up already. Leaning against the wall, she desperately hugged her knees and rested her head on them. Come on… I want it to end… Hurry up…

The bright cheerful sun the next day was starting to lose its effect. The sky now was nothing more than a very broad scroll of white and gray of various shades.

Just the perfect way to match Hiromi's mood.

Oblivious to the strange looks people cast on her, the brunette just kept on marching, a bag on her back. She wasn't sure where exactly she was going but it sure would be a whole lot better to go there, anywhere away from the dojo she had just gone to. Before she knew it, she was already sliding her way down to reach the side of the river while bottling up her silent annoyance.

I can't believe him! Hiromi just chose a random spot on the grass to sit on. The thanks I get for trying to be of help! The thanks she got for trying to be a good friend to a beyblading champion who obviously couldn't care less about his slipping grades in school. As if that was the only issue putting her in a foul mood. She should still be smiling now but noooooooo, Takao the omniscient beyblader had to go and ruin her good mood.

"Doesn't he care about anything else? Does he have to make fun of me?" She hadn't realized she had yelled the words out so loud. Looking around to see if anyone had witnessed the start of a tirade, she felt a wave of embarrassment when she noticed a girl leaning against the support of the bridge. With her head touching her knees while in a folded form, she seemed to be asleep.

Not wanting to wake her up, the brown-haired girl stood up and settled down on a spot a few feet away. Just what's his damage anyway? But she knew deep down what the answer was.

There was just too much passion inside Takao when it came to beyblades, shooters, winders, holy beasts or anything related to its sport. Hiromi had understood this passion; after everything she had seen, after witnessing every threat of beybladers to take away his team's holy beasts, she couldn't fault someone who was trying to defend one of the things he valued most.

But that was already many weeks ago. Now all of them were living a normal and undisturbed life. Rei had a few more months to spend in Japan before going back to China to resume teaching the kids in his hometown about beyblading while Kai was due to go back to studying in a few weeks' time. In the meantime, both beybladers were staying at the Kinomiya dojo. Even Max had gone to school already, and Takao, Kyouju and Hiromi had gone back to attending school on a regular basis.

But unlike Kyouju and her, Takao couldn't balance academics and beyblading properly. Yesterday was the seventh time he had discovered his shooter instead of his books inside his bag. Not to mention sleeping in, being always the last to come to class without even being on time—the list could go on forever. The problem with him is that he pays too much attention to beyblading even if nothing peculiar is going on. He has to be concerned about the matters outside it. Just like how Kyouju would tell me: the power of the offense and defense of a beyblade should have balance with its endurance.

Oh, now she was talking to herself about beyblade concepts. Funny, months ago she couldn't care less about some stupid spinning top enjoyed by immature boys wasting their time. She couldn't see what the big fuss was all about, why so many young people dedicate their lives to it. So how on earth did she, of all people, get hooked to the very thing she degraded the most? For crying out loud, it was just a toy.

At least, that was what she would have said a long time ago.

It's all because of Takao. If Hiromi hadn't watched Takao's rematch with Ozuma, if she hadn't been kidnapped along with Kyouju by two strange guys in black, she wouldn't be wondering now. But at that time she was involved without knowing why and how. She had to take some action to answer her own questions; there was no way she would just sit and do nothing about the matter. And that was the beginning of her entering Takao's world. And from that point on, nothing was the same again.

It was also because of Takao that she had met different people. Scientists, evil masterminds, beybladers with different kinds of passion for beyblading. And among those beybladers were Takao and Kyouju's three closest friends, members of the famous BBA Team. Hiromi sighed inwardly. It was rather ironic. Hiromi, class president, the girl known for her punctuality and discipline, was hanging out more often than not with the same guy who was practically the complete opposite of her. Hiromi, the person who didn't know much about beyblading and had been annoyed with it, the girl who didn't even blade, now practically the manager of the world's most powerful beyblading champions.

:Miss…:

Auburn eyes blinked, scanning the surroundings but saw no one else besides the sleeping girl. Was it her or did she just hear someone speak?

:Help me…:

There it was again. That whispering voice full of pleas. Hiromi quickly got up on her feet, her ears straining to find the source. "Is someone calling me?"

:By the river… Please help me…:

Slowly Hiromi's feet led her to the edge of the riverside. The voice stopped when she knelt to pick up something sticking out of the tuft of grass. "A beyblade?" She examined the amethyst beyblade in her hands, trying to make sure if the voice really did come from it. Weird. Must be my imagination. A frown crossed her features, and she placed the beyblade back on the grass. Maybe some kid practiced with his beyblade here and lost it.

But just when she was about to get up, a wave of temptation swept over her and she looked back, her eyes lingering on the beyblade that wasn't even hers. She felt compelled to reach out and take it. She didn't know why. It was as though there was this unseen force driving her to just do it. So she picked it up again, this time looking for what made it so special. Nothing. But then the previous events this morning came rushing back.

"Shut up, Hiromi! Did you come all the way here just to bug me about school? It's bad enough I had to put up with your orders during classes, now you nag about my grades too?"

"Get a clue about yourself, Takao! Your grades in Math and Science are slipping and you still care more about beyblading than pulling them up. I just want to remind you because there is something else important following this." Hiromi had held up the book to Takao. "This is something which can help you balance studying with beyblading."

Takao's eyes had scanned the title. "A Math problem-solving book?" A scowl had followed. "Thanks but I don't need this. Who does?"

"Takao!" This guy had started to get on Hiromi's nerves already.

"Don't yap on me about grades because you're not my grandfather. You have nothing to do with this," the tenacious beyblader had retorted.

"Well, for your information, Takao, I'm managing the BBA Team or have you forgotten that? Naturally I'd be concerned about the welfare of its members and supervise—"

"No, you forgot, Hiromi. You're only acting manager here. You know, up to now I've been wondering why you of all people are taking care of us considering that you don't know the first thing about beyblading."

The brown-haired girl had felt a nerve twitching already. "I do so! I've been hanging out with you guys long enough to know something about it!"

"Oh yeah?" he had challenged, a smirk on his face. "Then tell me the parts of a beyblade. Unless…"

"Of course I know. The bit chip, attack ring, weight disc, the…" Her mind had gone blank and she had searched her brain to complete her answer. "Uh…"

"Well, the blade base and the spin gear don't sound so important."

Annoyance had started to fill Hiromi's body. "You talk like you didn't start out as an amateur before. You weren't exactly born with a silver beyblade in your hand, Takao."

"Yes, I was. I've been beyblading my entire life. Of course, how could a girl who can't even blade possibly understand?"

"Can't? I can be a beyblader if I choose to be and a good one at that. Who knows—" she had paused, "—maybe one day I'll have my own holy beast too."

For a few moments, silence had passed. Then Takao had burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" she had demanded.

Takao had doubled over, clutching his stomach and all. "Nothing, just the idea of you becoming a beyblader, let alone owning a holy beast—" He had dissolved again into hilarious laughter, rolling on the ground as he did so. "Oh, man!"

Hiromi's hand clutched the beyblade tightly. I'll show you, Takao. Even if I don't get to have any holy beast, I'm going to become a beyblader. I'll start with that. Then let's see if you can still make fun of me. Giving the beyblade a final glance, she shoved it into the bag. There was no point in transferring her negative emotions to an innocent object to its breaking point anyway.

The truth was, Hiromi was curious about playing with a beyblade herself. It had crossed her mind a dozen times before but she never really paid attention to these thoughts. Managing people and organizing stuff were more of her style, and they had kept her busy enough to not entertain such ideas. But now that she wasn't doing anything for the BBA Team after the last battle with ZO, she was starting to grow fascinated just by watching any of the guys practice with each other. What were they experiencing during a beybattle? She could deny it forever if she wanted to but deep down she really wanted to know. Maybe she really had the potential to be like them. Maybe she just needed a little encouragement.

Too bad Takao had to burst her bubble.

He can be such a jerk sometimes. Hiromi could feel herself getting worked up all over again as she pulled out the Math book from her bag, staring at it as though imploring for answers for Takao's insensitivity. He didn't have to laugh at me! Well, if he's going to continue being like that, I'd have to—

Her thoughts were cut by the rustling of footsteps against the grass behind her. In the midst of annoyance and without thinking, she spun around and hurled the book right at the unfortunate soul who had decided to approach her at the wrong time. But it was too late for her to realize that she had flung the book at a familiar guy with blue prints of triangle on his face. Oh no!

Kai expertly caught the book with his right hand a few millimeters away from his face before it could leave a heavy mark on it. "I hope throwing thick books at people is not a habit of yours."

Hiromi covered her mouth with her hand, quite horrified. She quickly bowed before him several times in apology. "Oh, Kai, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't realize it was you! It's just…" Now how was she going to explain this?

Kai's gray eyes examined the front cover and he flipped through the first few pages before looking at her. "Just don't do that again," he said finally, handing her the book.

"I won't," she promised. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"I'm on my way to the dojo. You?"

She let out a sigh. "Oh, there. I just left."

Kai's gaze was studying her face closely. "Kinomiya."

She blinked in surprise. "How did you—" Was it that obvious from the look on her face? "Well, yeah, he's the cause. Again." She hesitated, wondering if it would be appropriate to ask Kai the question. "Kai, have you and Takao ever disagreed on something before?"

"Plenty." Kai shifted his gaze to the river behind the girl. "It's not a surprise."

Hiromi placed the book back into the bag. On the way she saw a folded piece of paper—the reason why she had gone to the Kinomiya dojo in the first place. She was supposed to announce it since Kyouju would be late but she had been annoyed with Takao before she even managed to tell the rest of the team. Besides, Kai wasn't there anyway; she wanted to tell it when everyone was present.

Just then something wet her cheek. She held her palm as another drop came from the sky. The start of the rain. "Okay, I'll go with you, Kai. Just give me a sec, okay?" She ran to the wall of the bridge where the girl was leaning on. "Miss, wake up. You can't sleep here," she said, tapping her lightly on the shoulder with her finger.

The girl didn't move.

"Miss, it's starting to rain," the brown-haired girl tried again, tapping her harder.

Nothing.

I hope she's not as hard to wake up as Takao. Then I'd get drenched. "Wake up, we have to get out of here." When the girl made no move, she shook her arm—and found it oddly very stiff. As Hiromi watched, the girl fell on her side. Frowning, the former took a closer look… only to see as though the body had hardened, the skin unusually white, and the lips…

Hiromi's heart skipped a beat and she involuntarily took a step back. Suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe but she could feel her body starting to shake. What if…

Kai must have noticed her reaction for he immediately went to her side. Hiromi tried to feel for the pulse on the girl's wrist. Nothing. Her heart beat even faster and she automatically clutched Kai's covered arm for support in dread.

Kai knelt down and checked the girl's carotid artery with his fingers. Hiromi's grip on his arm grew tighter as he took a pause. Then she felt Kai stiffen and her lips went dry even before he could say the next two words.

"She's dead."

That's all for Chapter 1. I just couldn't resist Kai-Hiromi interaction whatever it looks like. It's my first time to write a fic with Hiromi in it, so I hope this will turn out just fine.

You know, reviews can work miracles on the author… *wink wink* *nudge nudge* Reviews especially constructive ones make me happy. ^_^

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