AnimeKiwi369: Hello, again, everyone. Welcome to my third Beyblade fanfiction. This is the sequel to "The Girl in Apartment 286" and the second installment of this set of one-shots. As of yet, I'm not sure what I should be calling the set of one-shots. I don't have much more to say other than I hope you enjoy. I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters, however I do own my OCs and the storyline. And I apologize of Kai is out of character at all. And please excuse the image on the cover; I don't have one for the story, so for some reason, my profile picture is being used. I don't know how to fix it. ^^'
Phoenix Punishment
Kai let out a tired sigh as he shut his textbook. He had studied for the Physics final exam since he had gotten home at five that evening. It was now eleven. He had only take a break when his upstairs neighbor and friend, Adeline, had invited him up to her apartment to study for a little while over dinner. He had been a little apprehensive because it seemed like the elements for a date. But when he got up there, her apartment didn't have any signs of a date-like atmosphere.
His friend had been in casual clothing, and they had eaten in her small living room. Nothing fancy. During the hour he'd been up there, they had quizzed each other on the topics that they were going to be tested on. They had also looked over each other's notes and made suggestions to the other on what they could add to them to study off them. Overall it had been a pretty quiet study session. It had definitely been more productive than his previous study sessions back at the dojo. Even his neighbor had said it had been a more fun study session she'd had in a long time.
Since the three months he'd been living in his apartment and met his upstairs neighbor, the dual-toned-haired beyblader felt like his demeanor had changed ever so slightly. It wasn't as cold. Over the past few months, he'd gotten to know the girl in the apartment above his pretty well. Well enough to consider her a friend. He'd even sat next to her at a couple of the lectures they had at the local university. Plus the two of them walked to the university nearly every day together. Even if they didn't have Physics that day, the majors each was taking were close in time to each other.
Adeline was generally in a good mood each morning. He'd only seen her cross if she'd spoken to her parents the night before. Or if she didn't get her hot drink in the morning. He'd started learning some of her quirks, likes and dislikes, talents, and some secrets. Like the fact that she'd gotten her navel pierced when she was sixteen at her friend's seventeenth birthday—and still hadn't told her parents. Or that she got a small, temporary airbrush tattoo of her bit beast on the back of her left shoulder every couple months. Or that she couldn't go more than four or five days without a baked or pastry good. Not to mention that she could speak four languages fluently. Or that she tried to volunteer at the hospital at least a few times a month.
His brunette neighbor was pretty interesting. And she wanted to get to know him as friend, not a fangirl. She wanted to know him for him, not him because he was a famous beyblader. That pleased him, and he felt like he could talk to her about subjects he wasn't comfortable talking about in front of the rest of his team. Such as complaining about the arguing that his teammates did. The Russian beyblader also found it easy to talk to the green-eyed girl. Especially when it came to private conversations he didn't want anyone around to hear or just felt like speaking it, he'd speak in Russian. Since that was one of the four languages she spoke fluently, she could easily respond in Russian.
Kai moved from his study area in the living room to his bedroom. He felt he was going to do well on the exam. His friend was probably feeling the same way after their study session. He had never really been close to any members of the opposite sex. Even if he had known Hilary for a few years, he really didn't know her that well. However, he felt he had come to know the brunette that was above his apartment more than the ruby-eyed girl. And he'd known her for a shorter amount of time.
The violet-eyed beyblader lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before falling asleep.
The Next Afternoon
The dual-haired teen waited by the front gate of the university for the green-eyed brunette. The exam had been a little difficult, but thanks to the studying, he felt he'd done well. He and his neighbor hadn't sat anywhere near each other in the lecture hall after walking in together. The Dranzer holder looked back towards the classroom. His friend was leaning against the wall of the building. A man a few inches taller with dark, shaggy hair was leaning against the wall to the left of her, conversing. He looked a couple years older. The Russian scowled slightly as he saw his neighbor laugh shortly and nod as she blushed lightly. The medical science student waved goodbye to whoever she was speaking to and jogged over to where the violet-eyed beyblader was.
"Sorry about that, Kai," she apologized as she started to walk with him back towards the apartment.
"What was that about then?" he asked somewhat coldly. As usual, it didn't bother the girl he was walking with.
"That was Rukio," she explained. She looked down a little, still blushing a little as she pushed back a piece of her hair behind her ear, "He asked me for Friday night. Tomorrow."
"By that look on your face, I'm assuming you said 'yes'," he replied, scowling again.
She furrowed her brow, "What's the matter with that?"
He looked straight ahead, "Nothing, but don't you have work tomorrow?"
"Yeah," she replied, "but I get off at six tomorrow, and he said he'd pick me up at seven-thirty. To be honest, I am a little nervous about it. He's almost twenty-two. I'm barely nineteen and a half."
"Then why did you agree?" he inquired, not looking at her.
Adie sighed, "He's been asking me out for weeks after my Chem lectures. I was tired of it, I guess. So I said I'd go out with him. One date won't kill me, right?"
The Russian beyblader kept his eyes forward as they kept walking.
The Next Evening
The violet-eyed college student kept a cross expression as he waited for his upstairs neighbor to open her door. She had called a couple minutes ago a little frantic and needing his help with something. And she had added that one of his smaller business textbooks had been left at her apartment and had just noticed it. When he went to look at his books, all had been there; she probably using him to get her nervousness out. To say the least, he wasn't very pleased she was going out with someone. He wasn't sure why though. She was just a friend; he couldn't have been jealous. It was probably because he had become close to her, and he wasn't accustomed to her dating anyone.
He shook it off as the door opened. His brunette-haired friend was in a somewhat modest maid uniform. It was black with white trim and had white laces forming a crisscross pattern on her abdomen in a sort of corset style. It ended about her mid thigh and slightly low cut with small sleeves on her shoulder. She pulled him inside by his collar and quickly shut the door. Her face was immensely flushed in what he thought was embarrassment, and her head was tilted slightly in pain. She turned around, revealing her hair caught in the zipper of her outfit.
"Laugh if you want," she ordered indignantly, "just get me unstuck."
The holder of Dranzer rolled his eyes at her tone and began fiddling with the girl's tangled hair. Her hair was tangled pretty badly in the small zipper. After a few minutes and a few small, pained squeals from the girl, he was able to untangle her brunette locks from the outfit.
"Would you also mind unzipping this thing?" she asked, using a tone akin to innocence.
Again, he rolled his eyes and obeyed, "Why are you wearing this anyway?"
"This is my work uniform at the restaurant. Please, Kai, don't ask," she begged slightly as she went towards her bedroom.
"Are you still nervous, Adeline?" he asked as he heard her starting to change clothes.
"Yeah," she admitted through the door, "I'm really unsure of what to say and do. I haven't been on a date since last summer. And I haven't been in a long-term relationship since before I broke my hip. And even that one wasn't that long."
"So you've dated a lot?" he inquired.
"Not as much as you might think," she responded. "Since I was fifteen, I've only dated seven guys, not including tonight. And the longest one only lasted about five months. I'm not that good with many men, actually. It's always because of my interests and IQ. And my family."
She's nervous, the Russian thought again.
The brunette came back out of her room. She was in the dark blue long sleeve shirt he had first met her in. She was in white-colored jean Capri shorts and sandals. It was a modest outfit for her. He was actually taken a little by surprised by her modesty. Her brunette hair was held back by a turquoise headband, and she only had in two sets of earrings and her cartilage piercing.
"I never wear anything revealing on a first date," she informed, seeing the look on his face. "If I don't wear anything racy or revealing on the first few dates, I can find out a guys' intentions. If he doesn't look at my face during most of the date, I know to break it off before a relationship starts. Well, unless he's nervous and avoiding my eyes."
"And yet it's not the same for friends," he commented, thinking back to the first day they walked to class together.
"I only showed you that scar because it was a part of my explanation," she reminded. "Besides, I'm not embarrassed to show my scar. You know that."
"Whatever," he replied, turning to leave. "Have fun on your date."
"Thanks, Kai," she responded, "I'll try to."
A Couple Hours Later
The Bladebreaker dozed on the couch as he tried reading the next chapter in his business textbook. It was late, and it was very difficult. He was reading to get his mind off of his neighbor. He wasn't sure he trusted the person she was going out with. She had said he'd been making advances on her for a while, and she was only going out with him to get him to stop. Plus, there was a bit of an age difference. Hopefully his friend wouldn't be put in a bad situation.
He stared up at the ceiling, stretching out on the furniture as he set his text book on his chest. He couldn't figure out why he was so uncomfortable with the brunette dating. He kept trying to convince himself he wasn't jealous or in love with his neighbor. He'd hardly known her. He didn't even know what it was like to be in love from all those years as a loner and growing up in the abbey. He barely knew what the word meant. The Russian wasn't even interested in dating yet, but he could only think of his friend on her date.
Sighing, he closed his eyes; he'd rest his eyes for a couple minutes then finish the section he was reading before going to bed. As he started to doze off again, there was a sound of footsteps above his apartment. Up in Adie's apartment. She was home. He could finally stop harping on the subject. He listened to the footsteps to see where she was going go. He heard heavy footsteps in addition to the brunette's light ones. Had she taken her date home with her?
He scowled as he began to hear voices in the apartment. He couldn't hear them too well though, and he couldn't make out what was being said. But by the way the voices were starting to escalate, an argument was taking place. The Dranzer holder sat up, trying to listen to what was going on. A loud crash came from above, causing him to stand. That did not sound good. What was going on up there? Another crash sounded from the apartment above along with a small, yet noticeable yelp, making the Bladebreaker sprint from his apartment.
She was in trouble. That's all he could think. Those crashes didn't sound like certain romantic actions going too far. Those crashes said the brunette was in danger. The Russian knew he hadn't liked that guy his friend had gone out with for a reason. He knew it wasn't completely jealousy! And that scream was more than enough to convince him the green-eyed student was in trouble.
Kai ran up the stairs to the second floor to his friend's apartment. The door was ajar slightly. He rushed into the flat and looked around for the brunette. He found her on the ground against the wall opposite the doorway. He carefully went over to her and crouched down next to her. She slowly looked up at him, revealing a small split in her lip and a red mark on her cheek. A relieved look came to her face as she realized it was him, but she was visibly shaking.
"What are you doing here, Kai?" she asked.
"What happened?" he inquired in reply. The brunette sighed.
"Rukio wanted to walk me back up before heading back to his place," she began, her voice shaking slightly. "I said goodnight, but before I could close the door, he came in. He wanted more than to just see what my apartment looked like, considering he didn't look at my face half the time. When I refused, he slapped me, causing me to become a little off balance. I reached for something to not fall and knocked over an empty glass I forgot to put in the sink." She pointed to a small pile of glass shards. She sighed again, "He pressed on again. Again I said no. He hit me again, much, much harder. I fell back against the wall, hitting my hip again harder than I should have. He left after hitting my cheek again." The green-eyed girl winced slightly as she lightly touched her hip.
"How did you split your lip, then?" he inquired.
"My braces caught my lip," she explained. She closed her eyes, her lips quivering. A few tears were starting to drip from the corners of her eyes, "Kai, I was…I was scared. I wished I hadn't gone out with him. I thought he wasn't going…going to stop. That he was going to do more than just hit me…"
Adeline opened her eyes, which were now full of tears, and looked at him again. Out of pure impulse, she threw her arms around him. She didn't care if he put his arms around her or not. The brunette just needed someone right now. Even if it was the least emotional member of the Bladebreakers. He was her friend; he should understand. He was a source of comfort at that moment. She just needed someone she could trust, and she trusted him.
The Dranzer holder remained still as the green-eyed girl cried into his shoulder, clutching his shirt. He felt awkward and didn't know how he should respond. This was the first time he was seeing his friend in a vulnerable state. He hadn't associated the brunette with this kind of emotion; she was always so upbeat with a smile on her face. And quite frankly, he didn't like seeing her like this. The Russian felt his blood start to boil as his thoughts went to Rukio.
Kai wanted to make him pay for what he did to his friend. He might not have been the friendliest person, but he was loyal and stood up for his friends. And no one messed with his friends without messing with him as well. He was going to make that man pay.
She had cried into him for almost half an hour, but then merely stayed close to him for about fifteen minutes. She had talked quietly as she described how she had never really felt so helpless before. She had told him several times that she was glad he had been so concerned about her. The brunette wondered why the Russian had been so concerned about her, but had kept silent on that question. If she could have had anyone come to her 'rescue' as it was, she was glad it was her downstairs neighbor. Since she'd been getting to know him, she'd started to have some feelings for him. But she was sure they weren't fully romantic; besides, she hardly knew him. He was still being kind to her though just by not pulling away from her.
Adie took another deep break before detaching herself from Kai. She sat back a little and wiped her dry eyes with her fingers.
"I really needed that after what happened." The brunette said, smiling lightly and leaned forward again. She placed a light kiss on the Bladebreaker's cheek, "That's my way of saying 'thanks'. I'm glad to know I have a friend that's here for me. A friend like you."
The violet-eyed man shrugged it off and stood up, "It was nothing."
The green-eyed girl slowly stood up, "I really mean it, Kai." She told him, touching his arm. His eyes met with hers briefly before looking at the door, "You should probably get going. I've taken up enough of your time."
The brunette walked with him to the door and gave him a small smile as she watched him leave her apartment. As she closed her door, she fell back against it with a sigh. She wished he could have stayed longer; she was still shaky. She took a few deep breaths before pushing herself off the door and heading to her bedroom.
With Kai
The violet-eyed man had lingered at his friend's door for a few moments, wondering if the green-eyed girl would be all right for the rest of the night. After waiting for a minute or so, he headed back downstairs. He reentered his apartment and headed straight for the bedroom. He looked around briefly for what he was looking for and spotted it. He went over to the bedside table and grabbed his launcher and ripcord. His hand closed around Dranzer, and he could feel his anger surge through his veins. His bit beast seemed to feel his anger, and he could feel the phoenix's reassurance. Dranzer wanted revenge too.
After slipping out of his apartment, he started to wander around the city, looking for jerk who hit the brunette. Wherever the guy was, the Bladebreaker would find him. Even though it was late, he would find him tonight. He let his mind work through the possible places the man could have gone besides his own residence. He didn't think there were many besides a bar, since Rukio was nearly twenty-two. And unfortunately, the Russian was only nineteen and a half.
As he thought of other places the older student could be, he passed by the park he and the other Bladebreakers normally practiced when they weren't at the Granger Dojo. The beystadiums scattered around were nearly all empty. He kept walking, vaguely aware of where he was going. He kept his thoughts one where older man could be and what he was going to do to him. He stopped as his blood boiled again. He clenched his fist; just aimlessly wandering around was not getting him anywhere.
Maybe it would just be best to go back and get the jerk after a lecture. It would certainly be easier to find him. But Kai wanted to teach the idiot a lesson. Now. It wouldn't be as effective if the Russian taught him that lesson two days after the incident.
As he shut out the idea of waiting, he could hear the faint sound of a beyblade spinning. He looked to the sound of the spinning. It was coming from the cliff side area he used to practice at. It was the same place where that wind-manipulating bit beast had first made itself known a few years ago. A beybattle with whoever was there could calm his blood and/or clear his head. He silently went over to his old practice area. The violet-eyed beyblader set his eyes on the person that was spinning. It looked like the beyblader was angry and was using his beyblade to blow off steam. His eyes widened slightly as he saw Rukio's form in the moonlight.
Perfect.
He would be able to get his revenge. The dual-toned beyblader gripped his beyblade tightly in his hand. He readied his launcher and let his beyblade fly towards the other one as he stayed hidden slightly. The two beyblade clashed briefly, startling the older opponent ever so slightly before he narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of the Bladebreaker. The 'blades circled each other a few times, like they were analyzing the other's movements. The two beyblades clashed against each other again before they separated and returned to their owners' hands.
"Who's there?" the dark-haired student's somewhat deep voice asked suspiciously. The Russian stepped out into the moonlight with a cross expression. The older man gave him a skeptical look, and there was no recognition in his eyes as to who was standing in front of him. After a few more seconds, a slight identification came to his eyes, "You were that guy walking with Adie from the campus yesterday." Rukio's eyes narrowed, "What do you want?"
Kai glared dangerously at the other man, who didn't flinch, but glared back, "I'm here to challenge you. To a beybattle."
"Why?" Was the response from the other man as he rolled his eyes.
The Dranzer holder narrowed his eyes ever so slightly more, "Let's just say I'm not exactly fond of how you treated Adeline this evening."
It was the dark-haired beyblader's turn to narrow his eyes, "She had that coming after refusing to be with me."
"When someone says 'no', they usually mean it," he replied slightly sarcastic.
"You can't tell me you haven't looked at her that way since you met her."
The violet-eyed man stayed silent, his eyes shadowed as he looked down. Well, he had looked when the brunette had told him to look at her scar. Even then he hadn't felt comfortable about it. And then, earlier that evening he had seen a little bit of the back of her bra when she'd asked him to undo the zipper on her uniform. That was a brief, accidental glance. He certainly hadn't looked at her that way at any other time. At least not purposely. Unless he was looking at what she was wearing before looking at her face.
The Russian was not interested in his friend for her body, but rather for what she had to say. Or not say. Not to mention, she put up with him and didn't find him as intimidating as someone else might have. Even if he wasn't interested in her romantically (yet), she was his friend and had his respect. And she deserved to be respected for many other things besides the fact she was his friend. So the dual-toned beyblader gave her his respect. He tried to give respect to most, except for those select few, like Boris and his grandfather. Though he didn't show it, he respected his friends and competitors.
"Thought so," the jerk of a student said when the Bladebreaker remained silent.
"Shut up," Kai finally responded, looking up at the man before him, glaring more dangerous than ever. He readied his beyblade and launcher again. "Just battle."
Rukio rolled his eyes, but got into a ready position as well, "Fine, but I should warn you, I haven't lost since I was about twelve."
"Hn." He replied indifferently. The only people he'd lost too that really mattered were Tyson and Brooklyn.
"Three," the other man started, "two. One!"
"Let it rip!" both of them cried out at the same time.
The two beyblade flew from the launchers towards each other. The harsh sound of metal on metal reverberated through the night air. The beyblades rebounded off of each other and circled one another again. They continued to ram and rebound off of each other for several more seconds. Dranzer charged head-on towards the other beyblade, pushing it backwards slowly. This was too easy. The older student didn't have much skill, or brains for that matter if he didn't realize who he was facing.
The Russian's beyblade broke contact with the opponent's 'blade briefly before starting a barrage of sharp, fast attacks, hitting the opposition over and over. He smirked briefly, seeing the other beyblade begin to wobble. He looked up at his opponent seriously. The other man looked like he was in shock and confusion. Rukio didn't understand what was going on. He never lost. He should have beaten the violet-eyed student after the first few moves. He looked up at the holder of Dranzer and saw the determination in his eyes. And the anger that was directed towards him.
"It's time I finished this," Kai said as Dranzer retreated slightly to prepare for the final attack. "Dranzer!"
His beyblade burned brightly with the phoenix's fire and charged forward again, knocking the other one at its owner's feet. He held out his hand and the beyblade returned. He glared at the other man again. He turned his back to him, but looked back over his shoulder.
"Don't mess with Adeline again," he warned, "because I don't take too lightly when someone hurts my friends."
He looked down at his beyblade as he began walking back to his apartment, Well done, Dranzer.
The Following Morning—Apt. 286
Adeline rolled onto her stomach and put her pillow over her head. She cracked an eye open to look at her alarm clock. Nine-thirty. She sighed. She should be up even if she didn't want to be. The brunette grudgingly pulled herself up and got out of bed. She made her way to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face to wake up a little more. She grabbed her hairbrush, running it through her unruly hair. The med student grimaced when she saw the purple bruise on her cheekbone, just below the corner of her left eye. She rubbed her eyes, wincing when she hit the bruise, as she made her way into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on.
She leaned forward with her arms on the counter, eyes closed again. A single, brief knock came, forcing her to open her eyes again. The green-eyed girl pushed herself off the counter and went around the corner to the door, hoping her eyes weren't still red from crying. She'd probably be more of a morning person that morning if she hadn't spent a decent amount of time crying the previous night. If it was anyone other than her downstairs neighbor, though, she was going to have some explaining to do. Especially if it was any of her siblings.
The brunette opened the door, not in the mood to look in the peephole. She looked at her visitor to find it was her downstairs neighbor. He was dressed in a dark purple button-up with the sleeves rolled up and first two buttons undone, his signature gloves, and dark colored jeans. He wasn't wearing face paint either, though she was used to it by now. At least there would be no explaining to do to him. Adie was still grateful to him for what he did for her the night before. She was surprised to see him. He had only been up to her apartment a couple of times. She didn't think he'd come just for a visit. No. He probably had something else he was up here for.
"Morning, Kai," she told him. She made a motion for him to come in, which he obeyed, going into her apartment, "Want anything?"
"No," he responded bluntly.
She closed the door and turned towards him, "Okay, so, why are you here? Don't you normally go practice with the Bladebreakers on Saturday mornings? Or was it you have to spend Saturday mornings trying to get Tyson to practice?" She chuckled a little.
"I came to check up on you," the violet-eyed man told her, ignoring the comment.
"Oh, really?" she asked, pulling her shirt sleeve over her shoulder, "That's so sweet."
"People don't generally say that about me," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Sorry," Adeline apologized, "but it is. I'm doing fine. I'm a lot better because you showed up last night. I don't how I'd be doing if you hadn't come up here worried about me. I'd probably still be a wreck." She smiled lightly at him.
The Russian shrugged off the compliment and looked seriously at the brunette, "I went out looking Rukio last night."
The girl's smiled faded, "Why?" was her only question.
He looked away slightly, "He needed to be taught a lesson."
The green-eyed girl scowled slightly, "I didn't ask you to do that, Kai."
"I know," he replied shortly. "I did it for myself."
The brunette furrowed her brow in slight confusion, "Explain."
Kai leaned back against the island counter in the kitchen, "He needed to learn that no one gets away with hurting one of my friends."
"'Friends'?" Adie repeated, surprised. That was the first time the Bladebreaker had said the two were friends. It had been more of an implicit statement.
He closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, "Adeline, I might not show it, but I do care about my friends."
"There's that word again," the brunette laughed.
"What?" He inquired, opening his eyes, slightly irritated.
"You just called us friends," the girl smiled. "I've called you a friend, but you haven't said that about our relationship explicitly until today."
"You knew we were though, didn't you?" The Russian asked slyly.
She laughed again, "Of course I knew." She turned serious again, "You really went after Rukio because he hurt me?" Her neighbor nodded again. She closed her eyes briefly, suppressing a blush and smiled again at the violet-eyed student. The brunette went over to him and placed her arms around his neck, making him tense up a little, "That was very sweet of you, Kai."
The dual-haired beyblader managed the stifle the slight heat in his face from the proximity between the two of them. Like the previous night, he felt awkward with the green-eyed girl's arms around him. But as he stood there, he admitted to himself that he was beginning to be interested in his friend in a more-than-friend way. And that jealousy was probably the main reason for his dislike of her going out with Rukio. She deserved someone who would respect her. He would wait a little while longer though before he said anything to make sure the feelings were true.
However, Kai sighed slightly, giving into the gesture, and put his arms around Adeline.
AnimeKiwi369: Okay, I'll admit it, I had trouble with the ending and the description of the battle. So I apologize for that. But overall, I think this turned out pretty well. The feelings are beginning to develop. I couldn't help putting that in there because it will play a role in the next installment. I don't know when that will be up, but hopefully soon. I appreciate those of you who read my works and review them and/or put them on your favorites list. So please be kind and please review! I'll see you in the next one-shot! ^.~