Chapter 2 is here at last! :D I dunno how long this took me to write.. I can only hope for about a weeks time.. xD I know this wasn't very action-filled or anything, but it was necessary for the next chapters, so NOW I can begin to explore the art of writing action – and trust me, the action starts already in the next little chappie, so look forward to it!
Also, please Review with comments, pointers, or questions. Im a very open person! ^_^
A/N at the bottom – Read on fellas! :D

Marina was walking near the park quietly, when she spotted something out of the corner of eye.

'Isn't that the guy I met yesterday bleyding down there?'

She turned her head to get a proper look on him.

'It IS that guy! How lucky of me to find him here!' "Hey, Nanji! What are you doing? Got a minute?"

Every single pair of eyes nearby looked at her. Including Nanji's. Once again she found herself drowning in those dark, assuring eyes. When she had snapped out of the trance-like state, she saw Nanji running up to her.

"What's up?" He asked.

She hastily looked down so she wouldn't get caught in his eyes again, and replied.

"Oh, not much… Just wondering if you could do me a favour… Remember what you said about how I need to learn to control my bitbeast?"

It was more of a rhetorical statement than a question, so the raven-haired boy let her continue without feeling the need to answer.

"I thought that maybe you could teach me how to control it? Since you already have one, and seem to be able to control it well, I thought it would be a good idea…"

Nanji's eyes wavered a little, and he found himself shuffling his feet.

'Dammit, why can't I just say no and reject her? Get it over with!' "I don't think it's such a good idea…"

"But why not? You're such a good blaider, and…" She was cut off before she had time to say anything else.

Nanji, with a slightly red face, hurriedly replied

"A no is a no! Stop bugging me and go home already! I don't want you, or anyone else, to ask me for help and advice!" With that he turned around and began to walk towards the outskirts of town.

Meanwhile, a war of thoughts and emotions raged inside Marina's head.

'Aww man, I blew it… Hey, I can't be discouraged now! I'll just have to get my point clear and keep trying! But what if he gets annoyed with me and refuses to ever see me then? Grr, what should I do? Okay, I'll just follow him quietly for now…'

And she did. Or, at least she tried. Maybe she wasn't such a good spy as she had hoped to be. But Nanji let her play her game, so even when he spotted her, he didn't say a thing.

Nanji sighed. 'She'll get over it in no time and stop bugging me. It's always like that. Still, why did I even hesitate? It's not like it's the first time that kinda thing happened…'

Nanji's head was a mess of thoughts, and he hardly even noticed that he had walked all the way home, nor did he notice the fact that the blue-haired girl was still following him. He went straight for the big, park-like back garden of his grandpa's house, jumped up in a tree, and shifted his position so he could sit there comfortably and get a little shut-eye.

Marina was still on to him, and she had begun to feel uneasy when she had trespassed the property, but she knew she had to gamble some if she wanted to convince him. Question was, which gambles should she take? She snuck into the garden where she had seen the raven-haired boy go, and sought for cover in a big, messy bush. After having taken a decent position, she realized that she had a pretty good viewpoint of the garden from there, and began to search for her target of stalking. She was pleased when she found him sound asleep in a tree not too far away from her bush, and she began to think about what she would do next. It didn't take long for her to get distracted though. She just couldn't keep her stare away from the boy, and as she sat there with plenty of time and in deep concentration, she noticed his somewhat bizarre choice of cloth. His outfit consisted of an orange T-shirt, half covered in a dark-gray shirt that went from his left shoulder to his right waist, so it kept his right arm and side free and unhindered.

'It kinda reminds me of those old, roman togas… Just shorter.' She stifled a giggle at the thought.

Moving her eyes further down to his pants, she realized, much to her disappointment, that they were awfully normal. Dark, semi-baggy pants that was tied to his waist, which also provided maximum maneuverability. His shoes were white with blue stripes down the sides.

A sound not too far away from her snapped her out of it, and she quickly duck a little deeper into the bush, as to not get found out. What she saw was an old man – 'probably in his sixties' she judged. He turned towards the tree in which Nanji was napping, and yelled with a strength in his voice Marina didn't think possible for one in his age.

"Are you out here napping again? How many times have I told you to let me know when you get home?" he barked. When he turned to go in, he cast a knowing eye towards the bush that a certain blunette was covering in.

'Shit, has he seen me? But there's no way he could… I haven't made a sound while he was here!' The seed of worry in her stomach that had been planted when she entered their property was growing, and she suddenly felt a little bad.

Turning her attention to the mystic blaider, she realized that she couldn't find him.

'Oh damn it all! Where has he gone now?' But before she could find out, a hand grabbed her collar and yanked her out of the bush.

"You're not very good at hiding, d'you know that?" A slightly amused voice said.

Marina could feel her face blush badly, and when she looked up to see who had caught her, aqua-marine eyes locked with a set of dark ones, and she felt a wave of shame come crashing upon her like a tidal wave.

The voice that had been amused before now turned surprisingly hard and cold as he continued.

"And just what are you up to in my garden? It's hardly a coincidence that I find you in a bush like this?"

Marina knew he had meant it to be rhetorical, but she couldn't help trying to defend herself, though before she even began he had already cut her off.

"If you think that I'm going to teach you, you better give up and save your time for something worthwhile. The chance of me taking you under my wing…" Before he got to finish his sentence, his grandpa, who had come out to check after him, cut him off.

"Oh, a guest, is it? Why didn't you tell me you had a friend visiting you? Please, come in and get a cup of tea." He gestured for them to follow him.

"…has just increased slightly…" The dark-eyed blaider finished. With a sigh, he made to follow his grandpa, but just before he went in he turned around and asked

"Are you coming or what?" With that, he went inside.

Marina needn't to be told twice, and she hurried to the door which was held open by Nanji.

The grandpa seated the two youngsters on one side of the table, and himself on the other side, so he could get a good look on both of them. That also meant that the table, which was meant as a two-man table, was slightly cramped on the blaiders' side. Marina wasn't entirely sure if this was a bad thing; this way she got to be that much closer to him, which she enjoyed. There was something about him that attracted her. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to be such a hard knock – but really soft on the insides. Or maybe it was his gentleman-ness that he tried to hide so much? She didn't really know, and she didn't really care. Her focus was moved to Nanji's grandpa when he began asking her questions.

"So, what do you do in your free time, young girl?" He was smiling warmly at Marina, who felt the welcome and happiness radiating from the old man.

"I beyblade a lot!" She said with a sheepish grin

"Oh, the game with the spinning tops that Nan-chan also plays all the time? Maybe the two of you can play together sometime. Your always welcome here if you feel like it." He was still smiling brightly at her, and she truly felt welcome. That was, until the boy next to her stood up suddenly.

'He looked pretty angry' she thought, wondering what could have made him so angry all of a sudden.

"Stop calling me that! I do NOT want to hear it, and especially not from you!" With that he turned and stormed out of the room.

"Oh my, it looks like I did it again. Please, go and calm him down. I think you'll do better than an old man like me…"

Seeing the worried features on the old man's face, the blue-haired blaider simply couldn't turn him down. Besides, if she wanted Nanji to teach her she would have to do something for him too, right? Right, that was why. At least, that's what she told herself.

She found him in the tree he had been snoozing in earlier that day. He had his eyes shut, but she somehow knew he wasn't sleeping, and she was sure he knew she was there.

"Ehm…" She started. But she realized there was nothing for her to say, so instead she just shut her mouth and sat at the trunk of the tree, with her head on her knees and muttered a "sorry".

They both sat like that, without uttering a word for a while. After some time though, Nanji decided to break the ice.

"It's not your fault anyway. He knows I hate that nickname. It makes me feel like a little child…" His voice wasn't raised, nor did it sound angry. He was simply stating the facts, as if he wasn't even talking to her in the first place. It took some of the weight she had felt upon her shoulders off of her, but she still wasn't quite satisfied yet.

"Am I a bother to you? I just want to learn to be a better blaider. And I'd also like to know you better. You seem nice…" Her voice was muffled by her arms that were hugging her own legs.

Again, the raven-haired boy took his time to think about it and answer.

"I just don't want to waste my time on some half-assed kid who doesn't stick around when she finds out it takes sweat and blood to master the bitbeast." He said indifferently.

"But I suppose since u have been chosen by a beast, you might not be like that… Guess only time will tell, won't it? But mark my words, I expect total obedience, and you to give it a 110%. If not, you don't have to come here anymore…" His voice didn't reveal any hint of emotion.

Marina, not fully understanding what he just had said, just sat there, not really bothering to figure out what he had said. Until it struck her.

"What? You're willing to help me?" Her eyes were wide and glazed with tears of joy. "I'll be here as soon as I get out of school then. Oh, and by the way… What is your beast called? It's a fox, right?"

"Yeah, it's a fox alright… And her name's Sinopa…"
'Sinopa! That was what he yelled in our last battle! It wasn't a girl he was calling for, it was his beast! How could I have been so stupid?' She felt a surge of hope flood through her. 'Yatta~' She was smiling widely now, and before Nanji could ask her what was up, she had stood up and made a ran for the street.

"See ya tomorrow" she yelled over her shoulder, just before turning around the corner and going out of the dark-eyed blaiders sight.

A certain spikey-haired blaider was lying in his bed, trying to get some sleep before dawn came. But just as much as he wanted to sleep, just as much couldn't he forget the girl he had spent the most of the day with. Her image was as printed to the inside of his eyelids, and he couldn't help but go it through, detail for detail.

'Something,' he thought, 'Something is different with this girl. She's not like the others…'

He wanted to know what made her so different. 'Her visuals? Naah… She's pretty, but not stunningly gorgeous… Her outfit? It seemed kinda normal…' Again, he visualized her image in his head.

'Light-blue T-shirt… Mostly-white jacket which had been left open… Dark-blue shorts that wasn't very baggy, yet not tight…' No matter how much he thought about it, he simply couldn't come up with a satisfying answer, so he left it, rolled over, and finally fell asleep.

A/N: So yeah, I promised you guys it would be longer… and I guess it is..at least a little.. xD I hope to be able to keep this improvement up, so in no time flat I'll have some nice, lengthy updates for your entertainment! :D
And hey, bear over with me, I got a few tests this week, so I should be occupied with those… _ Ehm.. right.. None of you said if u'd like to know some funny random facts about me, so I guess I'll save it for the next chappie.. :) Erhm… yeah.. How do you guys like the characters? Not enough info on them? Too much? Tell me what your oninion is, from the amount of details to the overall setting – it's very encouraging to get just the smallest comment on my work! ^_^

Right, I'll get myself a well-deserved rest… Got test tomorrow, and its close to midnight, so… yeah.. I dunno when the next one's oout, but I'd go ahead and dare say a week.. give and take a few days.. ;) See ya around folks! :D