Chapter Three
"Let it rip!"
The words repeated religiously through the park as Amber quietly wandered along the heavily shaded path, dodging clouds of midges and fast paced bugs. Music blasted in her ears at a mind numbing volume that threatened to leave her deaf in a few years, — her only defence against the voice in her head. Fifteen years old and heading towards dementia, how lovely.
Her lips twisted to mouth the lyrics, focusing on them to block out any observations that might have crossed her mind. She was going to have a quiet stroll and enjoy some time to herself. Today was going to be a beyblade free day and as such, she had every intention of just not paying attention to the idiotic girls and boys with their idiotic toys.
She just wanted a break.
It was selfish. She knew it. She was a teenager, though, and she figured she was allowed to have the odd selfish thought. After all, who the hell deemed teenagers to be the perfect creatures to save the world anyway? Was it Marvel or DC? She was pretty sure that until the appearance of children in tights and capes, no one would have dared to leave the fate of the world to a teenager. Teenagers didn't care, right? They had more important things to do, like ditch school and score a date for the prom. That's what those reality TV shows preached, but the powers that be didn't seem to care for that.
Her attention landed on a figure across from her and she came to an abrupt stop, almost unseating a cyclist. She frowned at the scene. The Bladebreakers. So much for her break. Amber sighed loudly and checking the path, she backed up against a tree and continued to watch them. They looked so bloody carefree, so completely ignorant of what their appearance in Ireland meant. Of course, how could they possibly know? They'd never had any trouble in other countries so why should Ireland be different?
Except it was.
She tapped the fingers of her right hand lazily against her upper left arm. To look at them, they didn't seem remotely dangerous. Two of them stood over a beydish while the other three looked on and one of the boys sat with a laptop beside Hilary. She was curious as to what he intended to do with the computer while his friends were obviously about to start a match. Hadn't Hilary said he was their mechanic of sorts?
She should probably do more research, Amber mused. She didn't know a thing about the sport and for the most part, she didn't want to know. She preferred sports that involved physical contact, a goal and some action. For her, Beyblade had none of that and yet this craze was sweeping the world at an alarming rate drawing in teenagers from all sorts of backgrounds. It probably wouldn't be as popular as football or basketball globally, but it was popular enough to earn a world championship and a level of media attention. Already she could spy a woman from the UTV News talking into the camera while a group of boys clustered around her, waving and sticking out their tongues.
She glanced back at the Bladebreakers. They were gaining an audience. Some of the young boys must have realised that they were in the presence of the World Champ and wanted to bask in his glory. What did that kind of worship do to a teenager? With Hollywood, that kind of attention led to drugs and crazy actions but with Beyblade not being as big a deal, she was certain the pressure wasn't so bad, but it certainly had given Tyson a healthy ego, she mused, remembering his attitude at the airport. Not unfriendly, just aware of his place in the Beyblading society. It had been so satisfying to feign ignorance when they'd first met.
Mr. Ego was bracing himself in front of the dish, arms outstretched in front of him and opposite him was the guy she had privately dubbed Mr Arrogance: Tyson Granger versus Kai Hiwatari. From what she knew, both boys were BFD's in the blading world. Of course, the stats on the sites meant nothing to her. Basic common sense told her that they were high on the rankings table. Number one and two respectively. She supposed it was something like F1 or Tennis; the ideal for everyone was to reach the top but few made it. And it seemed that it was possible to be number one and your team to be lower in the table.
She watched their mouths move, forming the three most annoying words in the damn sport and then two blurs spun out at an alarming speed, hovering in the air for a moment before descending with a grind of sparks as they clashed. Then they simply stood there. This was the part of the game she just didn't get. Why did they stand there doing nothing? What on earth could they find remotely stimulating about that? Beyblade made no sense to her.
She pulled out her ear-buds and shook her head as immediately the voice chimed in with another one of her 'helpful' suggestions.
Talk to them.
"No thanks," she muttered. She didn't want to talk to them, especially with Mr. Arrogance there. Not to be confused with Mr. Ego who she had decided was completely harmless, Mr. Arrogance was rude, obnoxious and there was just something about him that bothered her. She couldn't even put her finger on it. It could have been his attitude but she knew plenty of people who were caustic and they didn't even register with her. She blanked them out, but Mr. Arrogance, on the other hand, was something else completely and she did not like it.
You said you would, the voice quietly added.
"I say a lot of things; you should know that by now." Besides, today was her day off.
You promised. It's your duty.
Amber squeezed her eyes shut, fisted her hands and prayed for patience. "I'm not good at just going up to people and talking. It feels unnatural."
You did it before.
"Under duress, remember?" She had spent a good ten minutes standing in a shop doorway being persuaded that talking to them was for the good of Ireland and all that jazz. In the end up, the voice had promised her a day of silence and since she hadn't had any silence in what felt like years, Amber had jumped at the opportunity. Even if it did mean she had to go over to a bunch of tourists and make a fool out of herself.
You have to make contact with them.
"I know." She did know. The fate of Ireland rested on her shoulders, yada, yada, yada. It didn't mean she had to like it. "Maybe I can just catch up with Hilary some other time."
She's not a blader.
"She knows bladers. If I befriend her..." She trailed off as she caught sight of two snickering boys pointing at her. "Oh what are you looking at? Go buzz off, the pair of ye."
Go over!
Amber rolled her eyes. Fine. She'd go. In a minute.
"There she is again."
Hilary cast a surreptitious glance around the park for Amber but couldn't see her. But if Kai said she was there, she was out in the park somewhere.
"Again? Has she been here before?"
Tyson caught his blade as it flashed out of the dish in a blur of colour. "Not here, but I've seen her the past couple of days. I figured she might have been a fan or wanted an autograph but every time I go to approach her she runs off."
"Oh." Hilary frowned. Well, that was strange. She wouldn't have thought of Amber as shy. During their previous encounters Amber always approached them.
"Yeah, but you weren't with us, so maybe she was waiting for you," Max suggested, his blue eyes were inconspicuously scanning the many faces gathered in the middle of the city park.
The cloudless sky and hot rays of sunshine had drawn out nearly the majority of the Beyblading community and more, so picking out a face was almost an impossible task.
"Even when she saw you weren't with us, she remained," Kai pointed out.
Hilary bit back the urge to roll her eyes. Kai really seemed to think there was something suspicious about Amber and while Hilary agreed that the girl was obviously hiding a secret, she didn't think that Amber was a bad person. She just didn't give off that evil aura that previous enemies had exuded. Even Brooklyn with his air of calmness had radiated evil vibes mixed with crazy. And Garland? Well, nothing spelt evil like a massive chest hidden under a very tight tank top. Granted, he had proven himself to be a man of honour in the end but he still put Tala in hospital.
"Maybe she thought Hilary would show up later."
Kai sent Max a look that clearly said: 'you don't know what you're talking about'. Honestly, Hilary admired his ability to speak through looks. If she could do that, her vocal chords would thank her and so would Tyson's ears. It wasn't as if she enjoyed shouting at him; he brought it on himself.
"She might be," Max muttered but balked at another look from Kai.
Rei simply shook his head and rested a reassuring hand on Max's shoulders. "Max is right, maybe she's just looking for a friendly face. You gotta admit Kai, you're not exactly the friendliest of people."
"And Amber did say she found you rude and..." Hilary trailed off. That probably wasn't going to endear Amber to Kai at all. Oops.
Kai grunted and this of course, caused Tyson to grumble loudly. "Are we blading or not? Or do you all want to gossip like girls?"
Immediately Kai shoved his blade into his launcher and pulled the rip chord. "Go Dranzer!"
"Yeah that's more like it, go Dragoon!"
Hilary turned her attention away from the clash of metal and shooting sparks. "Where is she?"
"Behind you, a little to your left by the pedestrian-"
"Don't be so obvious." Kai's tone was so curt, he all but bit out the words.
"I want to say hello to her," Hilary replied, eyeing Kai as he continued to battle against Tyson, beyblades furiously clashing in the beydish. "Maybe we should invite her over."
"Sure," Tyson enthused. "She seemed pretty nice and she annoyed Kai."
"Do you ever listen to anything I say?"
"No."
"Don't look now, but she's approaching," Kenny informed them, warily watching the girl over the screen of his laptop.
"Relax. She's really is nice... from what I've seen," Hilary added, biting her lower lip. What if she was wrong though? What if Amber was a spy sent to watch them? Her mission could be to befriend them and then take all their stats to use against them. Well, if that was her plan, the Bladebreakers would still win. They never lost when it truly counted. "By the way, do you guys have something formal to wear for tonight?"
"Tonight? OH! The welcome ball," Tyson groaned loudly then muttered a curse as Dragoon got slapped out of the dish by Dranzer.
Kai sent him a dark look. "Would you concentrate? You're not going to be World Champ much longer if you're always thinking about something else. Keep your mind focused, Tyson."
"It's just a practice game Kai, no need to get your 'knickers in a twist' to coin an Irish phrase." He smiled proudly at his use of local 'slang'.
"I think it's English, actually," Kenny volunteered just as Amber joined them.
"English, Irish, it's all the same."
Hilary flinched at Tyson's utterly stupid comment, but Amber grinned broadly.
"Don't let the natives hear you say that. It's likely to get you killed. It's sort of like saying Japan and China are the same."
"But they're nothing alike."
"England invaded Ireland centuries ago and people here are still twitchy about it," Amber confided, hand covering her mouth as if she was sharing a secret. "Just a friendly warning."
"Are we blading or not?" Kai's sharp words were directed at no one in particular as he glared fiercely at the dish in front of him, slotting Dranzer into the launcher.
The warm friendly tone of the group faded away as Kai launched his blade with unerring accuracy into the middle of the dish, with Tyson launching just a few seconds later. The other boys just exchanged glances, obviously noticing the sudden tension in the air and Hilary wanted to hit Kai for being so blatant about his dislike. Couldn't he at least pretend that he didn't think there was anything suspicious about their companion?
Hilary shook off her annoyance and tried to make her smile seem welcoming. "Hello again, Amber, it's nice to see you."
Amber shifted nervously as she looked around their little group. "Well, you did say to come along and see what all this Beyblading fuss was about. I thought I'd take you up on your offer. Have you seen that little ass- uh, that boy since?"
Hilary sucked in a breath with a wince as her boys rounded on her. Tyson immediately called Dragoon back and rounded on her. "What boy?"
"Oh... sh–sugar." Amber muttered, shoving her hands into the pockets of her shorts.
Hilary grimaced. She didn't want to do this right now. "It's nothing Tyson."
"A boy was rude to her in the park," Kai stated. "She handled him. Now come on, do you want to practice or what?"
"What did he say to you Hilary?"
"Nothing. He didn't say anything worth repeating." She refuted, her eyes flicking frantically to Kai needing him to distract Tyson. Sometimes Tyson could be like a dog with a bone, intensely focused on getting what he wanted. But those times were rare and in between and she had never been the focal point before. It was unnerving.
"Fine, I'll go find someone else to battle. You're obviously too busy gossiping like a girl."
"Oh I hate that description," Amber grumbled under her breath, angling her head to glare at Kai's stony countenance.
Tyson sensing Kai's deadly aura tore his dark gaze from Hilary and quickly stepped in front of Amber. "Oh, don't mind Kai, he's just a sour puss. It's Amber, right? I'm Tyson. We met at the airport."
"Right, yeah, nice to meet you again."
"Do you follow Beyblading much?" Max asked, peeking out from behind Tyson. "I'm Max, by the way."
"I haven't introduced everyone." Hilary flushed. She had been so intent on watching Amber she'd forgotten her manners. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's grand. I'll probably take a while to remember everyone's names anyway. There are a lot of you," Amber drawled, looking wryly around at the many bladers in the park.
Tyson didn't seem to sense the sarcasm. "Yeah our team is pretty big in comparison to some of the others. That's because Chief and Hilary tag along too. Me, Daichi, Max and Rei are the actual team though," Tyson told her, pointing to each boy as he named them. In turn the boys nodded their greetings, except for Daichi who, Hilary noticed, was too busy rooting through Kenny's bag of parts with an ice-pop wedged in his mouth, hence his silence. "Kenny, or the Chief, is our mechanic and –"
"General dogsbody," Kenny piped up, petulantly, shoving at Daichi's head. "Stop taking things, Daichi."
Daichi reluctantly pulled his lolly out of his mouth to glare spitefully up at him. "I need an attack ring, mine is worn."
"There's nothing wrong with your beyblade. I checked it before we came and it was checked last night too. I only have a certain amount of replacement parts, so yours will just have to suffice until we get it registered for the tournament." Kenny spoke with logic and reasoning colouring his tone but his nostrils were beginning to flare, a sure sign of his growing annoyance.
Tyson scratched his neck sheepishly while Rei wandered in to mediate again. "Yeah, that's Kenny; he's usually really mild tempered."
Kai lifted Dranzer from the dish. "If you're not going to practice, then I'm just going to go find someone else."
"No wait! Dude, we haven't even finished our match. Just- aw Kai come back!"
Hilary watched as Kai strode across the green lawn through the various children launching and battling against each other. She sighed wearily before turning to Amber. "Don't mind Kai, he's..."
"Not making a good impression," Amber muttered with a shrug of her shoulders. "Oh well, at least I'll remember his name. So those are your beyblades, huh? They don't seem so dangerous."
"You've really never heard of Beyblading?" Rei queried, pulling out his beyblade and holding it out for her to look at it.
Hilary watched as Amber took the small round object into the palm of her hand and studied it with due care and attention, running a finger down the image of Driger.
"That's the bitchip," Rei explained. "The bitbeast, a spirit that helps us battle, is contained within that but it's not a cage for it. The Spirit chooses to enter the bitchip to help its chosen blader."
"Is this a tiger? Do you have a name for it?"
"That's Driger. He's... everything." Rei smiled softly, a tinge of sentimentality colouring his words.
"Does he look like this? I mean, have you ever seen him?"
"When they battle they emerge," Max chimed in, holding Draciel out so she could have a look and putting it back in his pocket when she was finished.
"Does everyone have one then?" Amber blurted out, suddenly looking younger than her years, with a bewildered frown pursing her lips. She handed Driger back to Rei and looked to Hilary for some answers.
"Nah, not everyone. Only the really good ones," Daichi boasted. "I got my Strata Dragoon really young."
Tyson snorted. "No you didn't. You got it around the same age as most do." He glanced at Amber. "But he's right, not everyone has one but you'll notice the top bladers will. It's kind of pointless to enter without one these days. Some still do, but they really need to work hard to get anywhere when up against a bitbeast powered blade."
"Oh. So you guys are really passionate and connected with your bitbeasts, right?"
"Yeah, if anyone ever touched my Dragoon, I'd pulverise them."
"Of course," Amber agreed. "That makes sense. But why Ireland? I mean, why are you all Beyblading here?"
"Each year a continent holds the battle," Rei answered, rubbing his thumb over Driger's attack ring. "This year it's Europe's turn and so Ireland must have applied for it to be held here."
"Yeah, I think I remember something like that. So when the bitbeasts come out, they're energy right?"
Hilary frowned, sitting down on the bench beside Kenny. Why on earth was she asking so many questions? Hilary didn't remember being so curious when she first found out about bitbeasts but then she'd understood the concept of beyblading even if the rest was a mystery.
Max grabbed his water bottle and took a sip. "They're spirits... so they're made up of whatever spirits are made up of. I guess it's a kind of energy. Strange, I never thought to ask mom what they were made of."
"Your mum?"
"My mom's Judy Tate. She's a researcher and coach of the North American team."
"America's got a team too?"
"This year every continent is represented by a team. We took part in preliminary battles at home to see who was good enough to play for the team that will represent our continent. Though in our case, because we're the reigning champions, they initially said we qualified by default but Tyson," Max nudged him with a chuckle, "didn't like the idea of that. So we all battled for our place again."
"Oh... then what was that Irish guy talking about?" Amber demanded rounding on Hilary. "Unless he's in the European team."
Tyson frowned, looking to Rei. "I thought Miguel's team was representing Europe."
Max made a face. "I think Aaron bailed out to concentrate on his studying."
"I think the whole team was disillusioned." Rei commented. "Claude wasn't too thrilled about blading again."
Hilary nodded. She'd heard about that too and she could understand. They had been sorely let down by their Barthez's and their own actions. "I talked to Mathilda on Facebook and she said she was thinking about giving up blading too. I've heard nothing of Miguel and I haven't seen any of the Europeans around the hotel."
"Maybe that guy you mentioned was added to make up the numbers."
Hilary shook her head. "Unless Europe is in deep trouble, then there has to be others who are better bladers than him. Some of the Majestics or the Fernandez twins. He broke the rules in a simple match against a ten year old. It was horrible."
Amber nodded but before she could ask any other questions, she pulled out her phone. "Crap, is that the time? I gotta go. Dad wants to meet me for lunch, so I'll maybe see you guys tomorrow."
"We're having a welcome ball tonight. You should come."
'Tyson,' Hilary sighed. He was always so ready to make new friends that he never truly thought about the consequences. While Amber might seem nice, they didn't know anything about her. She could be a spy out to steal their bitbeasts or worse.
"I'm not a blader. There would be no point to be me being there." Something rippled over her face even as she smiled faintly.
"That won't matter and with so many people there, no one will know. It'll give you a chance to see how cool the sport is and how many people are involved. You should definitely come. You can be my plus one."
'Tyson…' Hilary shook her head then rolled her eyes at Rei when he flashed a grin.
"Um... well I guess I could. What do I have to wear?"
"Clothes would be a good idea." Daichi leered and earned a nice bonk to the skull from a disapproving Rei.
"Don't be rude Daichi."
"It's not overly formal, Amber. Just dress smartly and that should be fine. I mean these guys barely dress up at all," Hilary sneered, jerking a thumb at her boys who all bleated out a disgruntled 'hey' at her words. She grinned. "You should come though."
'And maybe that way Kai can figure out if you're good or not.'
"Okay, then, I'll come and see what all the fuss is about."
What was she up to now? Ian wondered as he peeked out at her from over the newspaper he'd acquired from a nearby shop. He had followed the girl from the park – he had been lucky to find her talking with the bladebreakers when he'd been out for a stroll – to the small crowded cafe where he'd inconspicuously chosen a seat that looked directly at her table. So far no one had joined her and with the way she was contemplatively sipping her coffee and listening to her music, she didn't seem to be expecting anyone.
So far though, she hadn't spoken to herself, which was, to his mind, a letdown. If he was going to follow a crazy person, she should act crazy. How was he supposed to get footage for his blog if she refused to co-operate. So far she was being boringly normal.
He was curious though. How did she know the Bladebreakers? She wasn't a blader, or not one that he'd ever met before but maybe she had been at the tournament last year. Except Tala didn't recognise her, and Tala knew all the bladers.
He sighed and the pages fluttered helplessly. Today was going to be a bust, he decided. She wasn't going to talk to herself alone in such a public venue and with her ear-buds in and her eyes glued to the novel in front of her; she was completely lost to the world. Damn.
Kai threw himself onto a lounge seat when he arrived back at the hotel and gained a few raised eye brows from the hotel guests awaiting their buses or taxis. A movement to his left had him lifting his gaze and he sighed wearily when the Blitzkrieg boys joined him.
"So you deigned to return," Tala sneered, dropping into a seat while Bryan and Spencer moved to flank him.
Kai would have laughed at the utter ridiculousness of the situation but he just couldn't be bothered. Tala was determined to dislike him and though he had believed they'd come to an understanding during the previous tournament, it seemed to have washed away somewhere during Kai's decision to fly to the Ireland with the Bladebreakers. It was petty, which summed up Tala nicely. Usually in this situation, he would just do as he pleased and too bad for the person he pissed off, but the Blitzkrieg boys were his team. It just wasn't tactically smart to be at odds with them.
"I needed to get some air."
"Yeah?"
"Tala," Spencer warned quietly.
Tala shrugged him off but his expression cooled slightly. "Look, would it kill you to try practicing with us? You do want to win this tournament, don't you? How is aiding the Bladebreakers helping us?"
Kai sat up and leaned forward, meeting Tala's gaze. "Tyson's the strongest blader in the world. If I practice with him, I'm sharpening my skills."
"And what about our skills? This tournament requests we work as a team. You've spent every day since we arrived with them. You even sleep with China Boy. Is he your girlfriend or something?"
"Tala." Spencer sighed, while Bryan smirked.
Kai's fingers clenched reflexively around the arms of his chair. Everything inside him screamed to walk away or hit him, instead he sat rigidly in his seat glaring at his teammate. "Don't talk about Rei like that," he warned in a low growl. "And instead of acting like a jealous wife, start practicing your skills. You don't necessarily need me there to hold your hand, do you?"
"Kai..."
"No, leave it Spence. He made his bed, he can lie in it. We don't need him. We have Ian. Kai can be relegated to the bench."
Kai ground his teeth. "If that's the way you wan-"
"No." Spencer's word was quiet and firm. "Kai is our captain. He's been registered as a player. Ian has not. We need Kai's skill. Ian isn't strong enough."
"I'd like to see him play a rematch with Blondie. He threw that last battle."
"Max would still kick Ian's ass."
Bryan snarled something rough under his breath, lilac eyes flashing. "Don't demean Ian. Just because he's short doesn't mean he can't blade. He struggled under the same training we did."
The doors behind them opened and the boy in question stomped in. He cast them a swift look before groaning. "You're fighting again? You're like girls. Stupid."
"What's your problem?" Bryan demanded.
Ian growled under his breath, falling back into a vacant seat and lifting up a beer coaster, shredding it with quick, rough jerks. "That girl."
Tala rolled his eyes. "What about her?"
"Ian, tell me you weren't stalking her."
"I wasn't stalking her, Spence. I was just... doing some investigation."
"What girl?" Kai found himself asking.
"The one that talks to herself. She's crazy and — hey you know her. The one from the park today."
"Hilary's friend?"
"Oh, she's a friend of the Bladebreakers, why am I not surprised," Tala drawled, leaning back in his seat with a smirk.
"Shut. Up." Kai waited while Spencer laid a warning hand on Tala's shoulder. "Now tell me about her."
Ian wrinkled his nose and looked to Tala, only opening his mouth when Tala signalled it was okay. "I was walking back to hotel on first day here and I was going through alley because it was shortcut that no one uses because —"
"Get on with it."
"I am. Just let me speak. So, I saw this girl. She was just standing there-"
"What did she look like?"
"A girl. Hair, eyes, body." At Kai's pointed look, he sighed loudly. "I told you; you saw her. That pretty one your friends were talking to."
"Amber," Kai muttered. So, there was something strange about her. It certainly couldn't be a coincidence that Hilary had met her or that they'd become tentative acquaintances. No, there was something very odd about that girl.
"Don't care what name is. She was talking to self and peering around corner every so often. So I thought she was talking on one of those phone devices that sit in your ear, only when she finally turned to me, there was nothing in ear." Ian paused dramatically before leaning forward to confide in them, "She was talking to herself the whole time. I caught it on camera."
"Let me see it," Kai ordered.
"Oi, stop bossing him around. That's our job. You know, his actual teammates."
"Show me the film."
Spencer rubbed the furrow between his brows. "Just show him, Ian."
"I don't get it," Bryan said, flipping a coaster. "So the girl talks to herself. People did that back in the Abbey. You were considered weird if you didn't."
"Nah this girl really strange," Ian muttered, fishing inside his pocket for his palm camera. Opening it up, he found the file and passed it to Kai. "Press play."
Immediately a soft hush began to seep out of the speakers punctuated by clicks and snatches of other background noises. Kai watched as the camera focused on the female standing against the wall. From the back it was hard to tell who she was. But the grey hoody and jean ensemble was familiar. Still plenty of girls in Ireland probably wore the same. Then she began to speak:
"Oh, go cry me a river, won't you. I found out where they're staying, didn't I?" Sigh. "They just don't seem so bad," the girl continued to muse, tapping her finger against her lower lip. "Maybe... well except for Rude Boy. Seriously when they were handing out manners he must have been having a whizz." She propped a hand on her hip and gazed up at the rooftop of the nearby building. "There's no other explanation for his sheer... ugh!"
It sounded like her, only a little more crass, he mused. But he wouldn't be certain until she turned to face the camera.
"I don't like him... no I'm not being a melodramatic human teenager. Oh, piss off you auld biddy, you feckin' need me remember? Look," she snarled, "you stick to your damn job and I'll do my bit, got that? I know what's at stake and I'm not going to mess up okay?"
What job? Who was she talking to?
Out of the camera's frame, Ian spoke up. "Who are you talking to?"
She whirled, sucking in a breath and gaped at him. "Where did you appear from?"
It was Amber alright. What did this girl want with Hilary?
"What about you? The local mental asylum?"
Hearing himself say this, Ian cracked up earning dark looks from his teammates.
Her expression darkened venomously. "Ha, says midget boy wonder."
"It's hard to be insulted by someone who talks to self. I thought I had some weirdoes on my team but you take cake. Next to you, they like pillars of community."
Ian suddenly stiffened and the other three smirked, zeroing in on him. He shifted uneasily but Kai held up a hand. The video wasn't finished yet.
"Oh bite me, bite size."
"Are you talking to me or one of your invisible friends?"
"Are you one of them too? Ugh, typical. You're all a bunch of freaks. No wonder Ireland's going to hell in a hand basket." With a 'tsk' of disgust, she shoved her hands into her jean pockets and stalked off.
Kai closed the camera and handed it back to Ian as he thought on what the girl had said. One of them too? One of who? A Bladebreaker? A beyblader? Why did she call them a bunch of freaks and then try to befriend them? And why did she say that Ireland was going to hell? Was that just a phase? Was she simply angry that her country was being overrun by foreigners or was it something more than that? Kai frowned. Something was definitely different about that girl and he wanted to know what it was.
"Why is she here?"
Hilary squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together before slowly turning to regard Kai with a bland smile. "Hey."
He didn't repeat his question. He didn't need to. The raised brow and pointed expression said it clearly. Her smile wilted and her shoulders slumped. "Be nice," she admonished. "Tyson invited her today in the park."
Kai subtly cursed the loudmouth under his breath. Hilary sighed, tapping her glass with her lacquered nails. They were black like her dress though she didn't know why she'd bothered to dress up, even in a hotel, none of the bladers were acting particularly civilised. "Look, at least this way you can keep an eye on her."
He closed his eyes, leaning back against the pillar and despite the action, she didn't get the feeling she had been dismissed. Instead she felt as though he was simply thinking on what to say next. There was that air of anticipation that she had come to recognise as a sign that he wasn't finished speaking yet. So she remained where she was standing, watching the gathering crowds of people. Tyson was at the buffet table quickly restocking his plate, while Max sat with Rick talking rapidly making the bulkier boy laugh in a way that nobody else could ever achieve. Rei was conversing with Eddy, but the big surprise to Hilary's mind was that Kenny was the holding court to two females. Both Emily and Amber were sitting at the table with him, having a very enthusiastic debate about roleplaying games.
Despite only being told about the welcome dinner dance just hours before, Amber had managed to find herself an ankle length skirt and top with a nice jacket over it. It probably could have just come from things in her wardrobe, Hilary supposed, but somehow she didn't think Amber would have clothes like that. She scowled at herself. Now that was just being bitchy. Maybe she shouldn't talk to Kai so much.
"You make it sound like I'm obsessed," he finally said, titling his head back showing off the pale skin of his throat decorated by a chain of linked silver. It shone against the open collar of his crisp black shirt that matched the black slacks he also wore. It too was a casually smart outfit but one that seemed to make Kai seem more elegant and refined but the untidy mess of hair and the glint in those dark brown eyes kept him from looking tame. She could see why girls fell at his feet. He really was handsome.
The words processed in her brain and startled a laugh out of her. "With a girl? Hardly."
The look he levelled at her could have killed a lesser mortal, she mused with a grin. She quickly took another sip of her non-alcoholic drink to disguise it. "Sorry, Kai."
Whatever Kai might have said was abruptly cut off as Ian appeared before them. "Hey, you're friends with that weird girl, aren't you?"
"Ian," Kai warned.
Hilary glanced at Ian. She hadn't encountered the shortest member of the Blitzkrieg Boys up close before. She hadn't been with the Bladebreakers the first time round and he hadn't been in the tournament last year, which made her wonder why he had come this time. Still, despite never having a proper introduction, she knew who he was from the mutterings of her teammates. From their talk, she had gathered that he was annoying, outspoken and obnoxious.
"You are, aren't you? Friends with that weird girl?"
For some reason she found it ironic that he had the nerve to call Amber weird when he was the one that looked like an overgrown garden gnome. His garnet eyes were flashing with over eager interest in a way that rubbed her wrong. He reminded her of Daichi, but Daichi had youth to explain his irksome attitude. Ian just seemed to thrive on getting under people's skin. So when he all but shoved his little camera in her face, she felt ready to hit him.
"Get that thing out of my face or I'll break it," she snarled.
"Testy," the boy crowed, holding his camera out of the way but keeping it trained on her face. "So who is she and what's her problem?"
"Problem?" Hilary turned to Kai. His accent was a little thick but she was certain she had understood his words. Still, she looked to Kai for translation because she didn't understand what he meant by 'problem'.
"She talks to herself," Kai answered. "He's got a video of it."
"What? Are you sure?"
"I have video of it."
"But could she have been talking on the telephone or...?" She trailed off helplessly, her eyes seeking out the dark haired girl who was laughing out loud at something Kenny had said.
"She didn't have a phone or anything in her ear," Ian took great delight in telling her.
Kai shifted, taking a glass from the table beside him and sipping from it. "She seemed to be conversing with herself."
"Maybe she was talking to her bitbeast?"
"Does she have one?" Suddenly interested, Kai put down his glass and straightened.
"I don't know. She hasn't mentioned one and she's claiming to know nothing about Beyblading. We were telling her about bitbeasts today but... No, I really don't think she does."
"Then who was she talking to?" Ian demanded, turning to pick her out in the crowd. "I'm going to ask."
"You won't," Kai growled, grabbing the boy's shoulder, then dropping his hand when he was sure that Ian wasn't going anywhere.
"But – "
"Look, if she talks to herself, that's her... what's the word I'm looking for?" She said it in Japanese to Kai and he smirked as he translated. "Yes, prerogative."
Ian made a face. "Well, there has to be reason and why does she talk to you?"
Hilary frowned. How did he know that Amber talked to her?
"Ian's stalking her."
"I'm not stalking her. I'm watching her. She obviously crazy and you invite... hey where did she go?"
Hilary looked to Kenny's table and groaned because Ian was right, she wasn't there.
Kai cursed first in Russian then in Japanese, as he made a move towards the table where Kenny and Emily were still talking. To his left, the rest of the Blitzkrieg boys sat in the corner, as unsociable as ever. Tala was lounging back sipping something amber in a small glass, while Bryan had dropped his head onto his folded arms and Spencer was watching everything in that calm, observing manner.
"Kenny, where did that girl go?"
Kenny's smile faded as he blinked up at him. "Amber? She went to the um..."
"Ladies room," Emily filled in. "How's it going Kai?"
Kai flicked a dark look at her before stalking off towards the bathrooms with Hilary in tow. He never really understood what Emily's interest in him was. There was something so eerie about her almost knowing gaze; he tended to avoid her at all costs. Smart girls were dangerous.
"What are you going to do?" Hilary demanded.
"You are going to go in and see if she's there. If I'm right, she won't be."
"What are you thinking?"
"At the moment I don't know what to think but she obviously has a hidden agenda." And every time he thought about their previous enemies and what had happened: his battle against Brooklyn, losing Dranzer, Tala's trip to the hospital, and Rei's bandaged figure, he remembered just why he didn't want to be taken off guard again by another enemy. If Amber wasn't to be trusted, he wanted to know before they entered the tournament. He did not want to visit another team-mate in hospital, nor did he want to risk losing Dranzer again.
"Hey Kai, have you tried this salmon-"
"Not now, Tyson."
Hilary pursed her lips. "That guy needs to stop thinking with his stomach; he hasn't even realised his 'plus one' has disappeared."
Kai grunted. He understood Tyson well enough not to be too annoyed when he focused on his stomach, as long as when it came down to it, he gave his all in their match.
"So if she isn't in the bathroom..." Hilary trailed off, eyeing the looming mahogany doors both hosting different symbols for male and female genders.
"Pray that she is." The last thing they needed was another suspicious competitor with delusions of taking over the world.
Hilary pressed her lips together before venturing into the bathroom and Kai knew as soon as she crossed the threshold that Amber wasn't there. The doors hung open, empty of all occupants while the cisterns trickled with a quiet melody. He waited as she stepped back out of the bathroom and met his grim look. Busted. With a brief nod, he pushed away from the wall and stalked back into the ballroom leaving Hilary to follow behind him.
TBC
Edited: 06/05/2014
