Disclaimer: I do not own BeyBlade or any of the characters, except Layla and Lilith.
Chapter 2: Meeting His Gaze
The mansion was filled to the brim with people from all over the world. Some of the faces Lilith recognized, but for the most part, they were all strangers, which not only made her feel uncomfortable, but incredibly self conscious. Without thinking, she gently pulled her dress up a bit in the front, a sorry attempt to hide the large chest she'd been bestowed with by genes. Layla looked at her as she shifted uncomfortably, almost all the eyes in the room focused on them. "Ladies, this way, I've already spotted them." Dickenson announced as he lead them through the large crowd, which was easy since people moved out of the way for the two girls. 'How can you find anybody in this mess?' Lilith thought, reaching down and grabbing Layla's hand to calm her anxiety from the crowd. Layla gripped her hand in a sense of calm, telling her everything would be fine. As they got closer to the far wall, the two women noticed the group that seemed to stand out more than every one else, yet they hid very well amidst the shadows. Running her eyes over the mismatched group, she wanted to laugh, since they looked as though none of them truly belonged at the party.
"Those are your boys?" Lilith asked, her voice stale from her suppressed emotions. Mr. Dickenson looked back at her and smiled. Once they reached the group, he turned to the side and motioned from the two to the guys.
"Lilith, Layla, meet the BladeBreakers." Lilith watched as he pointed to each one, taking in their names and appearances at the time. "This is Max," He started by pointing to a young blond with large blue eyes. He hadn't truly dressed up for the occasion, daring to wear a simple green button up shirt and some slacks, though she noticed the bright green tennis shoes that somehow seemed to tie in with the outfit. "Tyson," By far the dumbest looking, he'd shown up in nothing but everyday street clothes, making Lilith feel incredibly over dressed. His shaggy blue hair didn't help with his slightly baggy blue jeans and randomly thrown on white T-shirt. She noted that his red jacket matched his tennis shoes in an awful way, and could already tell that she wouldn't like his personality by his huge, overly happy grin. "Kenny," Finally someone who'd actually tried to dress up, though the tux looked a bit too big for his smaller stature. His large, thick glasses hid his eyes from her, as did his long, shaggy brown hair, which made her feel even more uncomfortable than she'd already been. "Ray," Lilith actually didn't feel like punching him like the other three, because he looked decent enough. His Chinese Pien Fu was almost a match for the dress Layla had picked out, which peeked Lilith's interest. He was a good looking young man with golden eyes and long black hair, which he'd tied back behind him almost like a tail. Lilith almost wanted to smile at the fact that he seemed aware of how well red and white suited him, but she resisted and remained as stoic as she always acted in public. "And finally, Kai, the one throwing this little party." He ended and her eyes roved the young man at the end.
His dual toned hair caught her eye, as it seemed to be the most interesting to her brain, a sort of silver on the top and midnight blue underneath. His face remained uninterested and he only spared her a passing glance of his royal purple eyes, a motion she wasn't used to. He, unlike those he stood with, wore the proper attire for the party, a tux and tie with the right shoes, and the jacket in plain black and white. "Little party? I think you re blind Mr. Dickenson, cause this party isn't anywhere close to little." The voice, which seemed to thoroughly annoy her already, reached her ears and almost made her jump. She found the source to be the one named Tyson, the one she'd disliked from the second she'd seen him.
"Well, you know what I meant." Mr. Dickenson said, slightly defensively. Lilith couldn't help but feel like turning away and hopping on the next flight back to France. She took a deep breath and cast her ice cold gaze to Mr. Dickenson. The old man shivered quickly and looked back at her, clearing his throat when he realized her thoughts. "Anyways, I wanted the seven of you to meet so that you each can see different sides of life, and maybe share some fun experiences. It will help both sides greatly, in the long run." He announced and smiled at Lilith, who simply stared at him.
"This is a complete waist of time. These two have nothing to teach us, except maybe how to shop." The voice came from the young man at the end, the one actually hosting the party itself. "I mean, look at them. They're both probably as stupid as Tyson is, and to make matters worse, I can look at them and tell that they've never bladed against true talent in their lives, if they've bladed at all." At that statement, Mr. Dickenson's eyes grew wide and he stared in Lilith's direction. Kai pointed to Layla. "Besides, I don t think this Russian bimbo could find her way out of a cardboard box, she'd probably just pay to have someone take her out of it. I m out of here." He turned on his heels and walked out towards the balcony, leaving the BladeBreakers plus Layla and Mr. Dickenson open mouthed and speechless. Lilith's eyes were glued to his direction as she brewed in her anger for a few moments. She fumed as she ran after him, her dress flowing behind her gracefully. The door closed behind Kai as he left the building into the cool night air. Moments later the door burst open as the busty blond leaned out.
"Wait!" She yelled, her voice dripping with poison. "You can trash talk me, but where do you get off saying anything about Layla!" She stormed over to him in a rage and he swore the temperature around them dropped. "Who are you to talk about us? Have you looked around yourself lately? You're not exactly understated yourself, rich boy!" He backed up as she got closer and closer with every word until he was against the rail and they were nose to nose. "You may have as much money as we do," She said, her voice softening slightly since their close proximity made it an easier intimidation for her. "But we have something you don't, and no bank account can show that to you. We have love, and it's obvious you wouldn't know what to do with love if you got it, but I guess since that will never happen," She backed up a bit and smiled smugly before finishing, putting a hand on her hip. "You have nothing to worry about." Her ice blue eyes met his royal purple and held them for moments on end until she finally had fumed her anger away and quickly turned around. "You were right about one thing, though. This was an enormous waste of time." She hissed before stomping back inside. Kai leaned back against the railing, a small smile touching the corner of his lips.
As Lilith approached the group, she looked around at the boys and frowned deeply. "Where s Layla? I Want to go home now, Mr. Dickenson, if you don t mind. I do have to say that this has been, by far, the worst little field trip I've ever been dragged on. This escapade ends as soon as I can get tickets home." She looked around the room and found Layla stacking a plate full of food, her friends greatest weakness. Sucking in a deep breath, she walked with her head high across the room, not noticing the young man she'd just been with walk back into the room and over to his friends, a smile on his lips. When she reached the other woman, she waited for a moment until the other noticed her. Layla looked up at her, a finger sandwich sticking out of her mouth.
"Hi Lilith." She said slowly through the mouth full of food. Lilith simply raised an eyebrow. Putting the plate down, she took the sandwich out of her mouth and swallowed. "You don t look happy. You want to go home as soon as possible, right?" Lilith nodded and Layla sighed. "Can we stay for another...um...day or two?" She asked, glancing back towards the boys quickly then staring at the floor. "I want to...um," She paused as she very obviously looked for an excuse. "Sight see! I want to go out and sight see." She said, nodding quickly like an idiot. Lilith watched her and sighed, relaxing a bit.
"Fine, we'll stay for one week, but no more than that. Once that week is over, Layla, I'm going back to France, whether you're with me or not." She said sternly, turning in the direction of the door. "In the mean time, I'm going to have the driver take me back to the temporary house. Are you coming?" Layla raced to her side and grabbed her sleeve childishly.
"Yes." She said quickly. Lilith spared one last glance at the boys, finding Kai in the group and staring at him for a few moments. Across the room and through the crowd, their eyes met and for a moment her heart skipped a beat. Pushing aside the quirky feelings that had begun to well up inside her, she gracefully left the mansion as a flurry of snow fell outside.
Lilith sat in a chair near the window, a cup of vanilla tea held by both hands, watching the snow fall outside. Her white, floor length sweater dress helped warm her, as did the heater on full power and the blanket that had been wrapped around her shoulders. Layla walked into the room slowly, dressed in sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt, holding a cup of her own tea. The look of depression on her face gave away the earlier chat between the two about going out, Layla wanted to, Lilith didn't. "It's cold today." Lilith said softly, making Layla jump.
"I guess." She mumbled in return, flopping down on the couch and almost spilling her tea down her front. Lilith didn't pull her eyes away from the falling snow as the silence made Layla's ears ring. 'I miss it more than I thought I would, that lighted tower, the glitter of the city...of my city.' Lilith thought, taking in as much detail outside the window that she could. Their temporary home was the top suite of a high rise building in down town Bay City. The apartment was a little bigger than her own in Paris and the view was very different. It'd been furnished with, what appeared to be, the most modern of decor, which Lilith felt had been done to make her feel more comfortable, since it was how she'd decorated her apartment. The window had begun to frost over, making the strange view slightly hazy. 'When will she be done flirting with-' Lilith's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. She stood up and grabbed her cell phone off of the table, getting ready to make a call when the doorbell rang through out the house. Layla jumped to her feet and raced towards the door with Lilith, putting her tea on the coffee table before doing so. Swinging the door open, they both leaned out slightly and stared at the older man who had backed up into the wall behind him in shock. Next to him on the floor were three of the four BladeBreakers they'd met the day before, the fourth standing off to the side looking just a little surprised.
"Hi Mr. Dickenson!" Layla called cheerily, bounding out the door and spinning around with glee. "Hey, Mr. Dickenson, tell Lilith to let me go out and play? Please, please, please?" The redhead begged before she was violently pushed away by the very determined blond.
"Dickenson! Tell me they have one here in Japan!" She demanded, getting right in his face and making standing an impossible task. So flustered and confused, the old man stammered on a few words before finally clearing his throat.
"Lilith...may I ask what exactly this "one" would be?" His voice wavered a bit as he tried to enjoy how excited she was. She took a deep breath and stepped back a bit, making the boys stare intently at her. She relaxed herself in the hopes that if she asked more nicely he'd say yes.
"Mr. Dickenson" She started, putting her arms in front of her, pushing her breasts together, tilting her head and bit and making a slight pouting face. The older mans eyes widened and he blushed intensely. "Is there, maybe, possibly, a Japanese battle arena around here?" She asked in a sweet voice, fidgeting slightly to add the sweet and innocent effect. Laylas eyes sparkled as she heard the words and she raced to Liliths side with the same huge eyes and innocent fidgeting. The boys all looked at each other and smiled. Tyson took a step forward and spoke up.
"Of course there is, it's down by the shore. Man, I haven't been there in a long while." He said thinking back on the old days. Lilith stood taller, perking up at the sound and smiling. Mr. Dickenson held both hands up and smiled wryly, looking at the girls.
"Now, now, what he's thinking of isn't what you two want." He said and Lilith's eyes went straight to him, the icy glare enough to kill. "But there is a battle arena here in Bay City for what you're thinking of!" He added quickly, her eyes instantly sparkling with excitement. "Would you like to go?" He asked slowly as the two girls clasped hands and jumped up and down, almost giving all the guys near them nose bleeds.
"Lets do it!" Layla called, racing back into the house so fast she tripped and fell on her face. "Ouch, my nose!" She called as Lilith ran past her and turned on her heel, her dress flying up just enough to expose her lower legs. The blond laughed and all the men stiffened. Laylas shirt had slipped up and now showed off her large breasts, which were trapped in an adorably lacy white bra with red bows lining the cleavage line and one larger one in between.
"You're last, you battle last!" Lilith said as she turned back around and ran for the room. Layla's eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet and racing for the back bed room. The boys simply blinked, restraining themselves, but going over the scene several times in their heads. Mr. Dickenson sighed and shook his head back and forth. "It's still the only thing that makes her happy." He murmured, drawing Kai's attention. The dual haired young man stared at the other male, his royal purple eyes analyzing the concerned look on his face. In a matter of moments, the two girls came running from the room again, Lilith still in the lead having already slid her feet into a pair of very stylish fur trimmed heels, slipping her arms into a military jacket that fell to her knees. As Layla slid to the floor and put her shoes on, the blond buttoned the jacket and threw on a matching knit beret. The ensemble was all white, which went well, some how, with Layla's black sweats and "Foamy the Squirrel" T-shirt. Kai couldn t help but be curious about what could make Lilith so excited, not after the night before. He watched carefully as Layla jumped to her feet and the beautiful blond grabbed her purse. The two girls ran a head of them, racing to the car that waited for them in front of the building.
"I don t get it. Mr. Dickenson, there's only one Bey Arena in Bay city, so why did you tell them I was wrong?" Tyson whined, crossing his arms and pouting like always.
"Tyson, they didn't ask for a Bey Arena." The old man began cautiously. They all thought on the statement for a moment, thinking back to the scene.
"Right, she said "Battle" Arena not "Bey" Arena." Ray pointed out, looking towards Mr. Dickenson. "But I thought that was a...I don t know...something from where ever she's from." He said slowly, rubbing the back of his head and laughing awkwardly. All their eyes widened when Mr. Dickenson crossed his arms and shook his head, searching for the right words to use to explain it.
"They don't Blade like you do, boys. In fact, they way that these girls blade is much older than how you've always bladed. Don't under estimate them in the slightest because they're pretty." Kai looked at Mr. Dickenson in confusion as Max started, aghast at the statement.
"Are you saying that they're better than us, Mr. D?" He asked, looking just the slightest bit hurt at the mere thought of being "second best".
"I never said that!" The older man defended as they approached the car. "I m just saying that these two, despite how pretty or fashionable they are, may surprise you. There are secrets about people you don't know, and you're about to learn a lot of them about numerous people." He said before they got in. Hesitating, he swallowed hard and murmured. "Including myself."
The drive, which had started in the city, was now moving quickly outside the city limits, building the excitement and anticipation inside the two girls. Layla was glued to the window, staring out at the scenery as it flashed by, bouncing idly up and down. Lilith, however, was staring down at her hands, playing with her perfectly French manicured nails. 'What is it going to be like? Am I ready for that rush right now? So far from home, will it feel the same?' Her thoughts rolled over her Battle statistics for the last year, which had her as the undefeated champion of Paris, and all of France. 'The Demon Daughters have the most Honor in the system, even though there's only two of us in the team right now. I wonder if Syren and Rasputin will be able to handle it.' She felt Layla grab her arm and shake her, the action forcing her out of her thoughts. She cast an ice cold glare at her best friend, who simply smiled and pointed towards the window.
"We're almost there!" She cheered, bouncing in her seat some more as she rattled off about how excited she was. Lilith forced back a smile, already feeling terrible about breaking the night before at the party and earlier that day in the apartment. "I wonder what it's gonna be like! I haven't battled in ages!" Layla said with a smile, relaxing a bit. Lilith began to feel the oh-so familiar feeling of their two person team readying themselves. Layla was getting into her state of mind, a beast of a state that nobody could dominate save herself. Closing her eyes, Lilith took a deep, slow breath, letting her mind roll over scenes from her last few battles, the blood, the screams, and her ever present musical choice. She stopped herself when she remembered what her bit had looked like the last time. She let herself break again to flash a small smile at the image before she opened her eyes as they pulled to a stop. She looked towards Layla, who was sitting properly in her seat. The two girls met gazes and the boys could feel the partnership between them. Layla got out of the car, more serious than the four of them had ever seen her, and she waited next to the open door while Lilith calmly slid her legs around and slipped out of the car. They stepped aside to let the boys out and Lilith breathed in the crisp air. They were at the entrance to a building that had been built into the side of a mountain, the door sliding misted glass.
"It's going to be worth this trip to take over Japan, Layla." Lilith said in a soft, almost sweet voice. Layla smiled and looked at Lilith. The blond drew her eyes to meet her friends. "We'll demolish these weaklings one by one. When we're done here, Japan will be added to the list, and who knows, maybe I'll feel so good about the win, I'll take you around the world to do the same in other places." Layla smiled and ran her hands through her long auburn hair. Without another word, the two girls entered the mountain side facility. Mr. Dickenson couldn't keep the look of apprehension from showing up on his face and the dual hair young man caught it before following the girls inside.
