Site of the Holy Beasts

Hilary sat with her hands in her lap, keeping her legs close together and attempting to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. No one had spoken in at least three hours and it had gone past the point of just unnerving her; by now she was quite annoyed with the situation. They were moving along at a fast pace in Hiro's Jeep, but if she had known how bad this journey was going to be she probably would have rather walked than have to endure the punishment of sitting with those two.

Looking to her left she watched Hiro staring straight out onto the road in front of him, with both hands on the steering wheel – the perfect driver. Meanwhile, Kai was sitting in the back, arms folded over his chest with both his eyes closed, so that he appeared to be asleep. Part of Hilary wondered if he was, but it was doubtful. Kai didn't trust Hiro that much.

It was just in that awkward silence that Hilary felt an uncomfortable tickle move up her throat like something was sucking out the moisture in it as soon as she swallowed. Wanting to clear her throat she coughed only to have both boys turn to stare straight through her, judging whether she was trying to get one of them to speak. Kai was the first to look away, seeming to think he had made some sort of point, and settled back into his former position.

Hiro on the other hand took this as an opportunity to speak, "So what have you two been up to since I last saw you?"

"Not much." Kai replied before Hilary could say anything.

"We've only just started travelling around since Kai's only just fully recovered recently." Hilary smiled.

"I see. Not much time to practice beyblade then?"

"I'm not beyblading anymore."

Hilary couldn't contain her look of disappointment at Kai's response. Although she had told Kai she didn't care if he stopped, part of her did just because that's when she got to see him smile. When he battled his friends or even someone like Brooklyn, Hilary was always pleasantly surprised how happy he was, even if there wasn't always a smile to show for it. It was in the fluidity and lightness of his movements that gave it away.

Hiro frowned at the answer, but nodded nonetheless.

As they got further from the city, the roads became slightly less congested, though they passed through many more towns the size of major cities before they finally found their way into the more rural parts of China. It wasn't until the next evening when they finally arrived at their destination. They had found a place to stay for a few hours and Kai had once again proven his talent with languages.

Hilary leaned out the window slightly to see people of varying ages working at different parts of the site. As they approached what looked like the main tent, a man with large, spiked navy blue hair stood in front waiting for them with a huge smile on his face, making Hilary almost forget about the long journey there.

"Well I'm glad you all made it here in once piece." He commented, grinning as they approached.

"Thank you for inviting us, Mr Granger." Kai stated, bowing in respect to show his gratitude.

Mr Granger laughed, "You don't need to be so formal with me, Kai. All of Tyson's friends are welcome any time and I am very glad you could make it."

The joy in his face turned into curiosity as he turned to look at Hilary, "And you must be the girl that my father keeps telling me about. He said that you've really got Tyson back on track at school."

Hilary blushed, she had never realised Tyson's grandpa had spoken about her to others. It was nice feeling that she was not always getting in everyone's way. "Thank you very much sir."

Mr Granger laughed, "Please, call me Bruce." He turned back to Kai, "And that goes for you as well, young man. No more of this formal stuff around me, alright? It makes me feel old."

Hilary watched Kai make some sort of affirming noise as he looked away. She had never seen Kai this uncomfortable around someone before. Usually he was unashamedly cocky or just indifferent. Though Hilary was thankful it didn't seem to be due to animosity towards the older man.

She would have dwelt on Kai's reaction some more except that his expression had once again changed to a look of indifference. It always seemed so strange to her that he could mask his emotions so effectively and chose to do so.

"So, how're you kids doing? Is Tyson keeping out of trouble?"

"Well he doesn't seem to be looking for any more fights after the BEGA tournament, which I think everyone's a bit thankful for." Hilary replied in a light tone.

"That's good to hear. Boris can be a nasty piece of work." Hilary did not miss the glance sent towards Kai. "I was proud when Hiro infiltrated BEGA, but it does worry a father when both his sons are mixed up in dangerous things."

Hilary looked over at Hiro, who had walked over to another part of the site. "Infiltrated?" She questioned with a whisper.

"Wow, I can't believe how many people are working on this one site." Hilary commented in awe as they walked towards something Tyson's father wanted to show them.

"The village where the White Tiger Team comes from is just up there." He commented, pointing up a hill. "The village is quite isolated and they prefer it that way, so we employ local workers in exchange for any goods they want. It keeps them up-to-date and gives people another career path if they're interested. The site is pretty huge and getting bigger by the month."

Suddenly a boy who only looked about her age ran up to Bruce in excitement. Hilary stared for a moment at his pale face and white hair that made him stand out compared to everyone else at the site. His clothes covered almost every part of him, except his face where there was a wide brimmed hat to shield him from the sun. This also distinguished him from the others, many of who had stripped down to shorts or light dresses. He tipped up the brim of his hat to look at Hilary and give her a polite smile. She returned it, but was surprised to see red eyes looking back at her that were surprisingly different to Kai's.

"Sorry Mr Granger, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"That's quite alright Ren." Bruce turned to Hilary and Kai, who was just behind them. "Ren this is Kai Hiwatari of Team BBA and Hilary, a friend of the team. Ren is one of my best students."

Ren blushed at the compliment, letting the hat he wore attempt to cover it. However politeness took over as he bowed to both of them and offered another smile.

"So you're on the team Ray went to when he left. I've heard you're very strong. I would love to see your power if you would be willing to have a beyblade battle." He suggested politely, producing his own beyblade.

Hilary looked to Kai nervously, who gave Ren a flat look in return. She looked back at Ren, who seemed to wilt under the stoic teen's gaze.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so bold."

"No it's not that!" Hilary quickly tried to reassure. "Kai's not beyblading at the moment, but maybe you can have one another time?"

Ren wearily glanced at Kai before smiling at Hilary. "I would like that. Thank you."

"Ren, did you find something?" Mr Granger asked, changing the conversation.

Ren looked as if he hadn't understood the question, but quickly recovered and turned towards the direction Bruce had been taking them, enthusiasm clear on his face.

"Yes. We've been able to uncover the rest of that room we discovered."

Bruce nodded in satisfaction, "That's great. I was just taking these two to see it after I showed them the twin one we found earlier. Would you like to come with us?"

Ren politely declined, "Thank you for the invitation, but I'd like to get back to work. Will you be over soon?"

"Yes. Try not to disturb too much before I get there if you can."

Ren nodded in confirmation and jogged away back to where he had come from.

"Alright, I'll just take us on a slight detour and then we'll go after him."

He led them to a part of the site that seemed less busy compared to other areas. It wasn't long before there was no one but them walking to an uncovered area. Hilary let out a gasp of surprise and even Kai could not contain his shock at the mural on the ground before them.

In the centre was a large taijitu symbol surrounded by an octagon. At the top, outside of the octagon, was a painted turtle chimera; across from it at the southern end was a type of bird; to the eastern side was the picture of a dragon and across from it on the western side was a tiger. All of this was then surrounded by a ring of ancient-looking writing, similar to what they had seen the stone the Saint Shields had sealed bit beasts in.

Hilary watched as Kai walked over to the bird carving – she figured it was a phoenix – and crouched down to touch the stone where its head had been painted. Bruce gave a sigh and Hilary looked up at him to see the man's concern for Kai showing plainly on his face.

"How is this here?" Hilary asked, genuinely curious.

Bruce smiled at her, "We believe that the four Holy Beasts, which we have also named the Sacred Four, originated from this site. If you look closely," he explained, pointing to four tiny slots below each animal, "we believe the bits were at some point placed here, where they were later taken and ended up in your friends' possessions."

"That's amazing!" Hilary exclaimed, jumping down to have a better look at them.

"Was there a point in showing us this?" Kai's harsh voice cut through their excitement.

Hilary looked over to him. Although his face looked completely blank, Hilary was pretty sure he was upset, not angry as his voice had first made her believe. It made sense, seeing his partner who he had lost must have been difficult. However, Kai continued to stare at the picture as if willing it to come to life and form a new bit for him.

Hilary turned back toward Bruce, who was still standing above them. "Does it have to do with the other thing you wanted to show us?"

Tyson's father nodded and turned to walk away. "If you two would follow me? The next site is one we've uncovered recently and is something I think you and the rest of Team BBA should know about."

Kai and Hilary shared a curious glance before following after him. Hilary made sure they were far enough back to be out of earshot, but not far enough that they would lose him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, not even looking at Kai.

"Not really." Kai replied flatly, increasing his pace to catch up with Mr Granger.

Hilary watched him get further away. "Well at least he gave me an actual answer this time." She sighed, quickening her pace to catch up.

Unlike the mural of the four Holy Beasts, the next site they went to was underground. As her eyes adjusted, Hilary saw Ren approach them no longer wearing his long jacket or hat. He smiled at Hilary and beckoned them over through another door.

At first, it was impossible to see anything since it was so dark, but Ren held up his lantern and Mr Granger followed with his own. Kai and Hilary both stared at the walls that depicted four animals on each of the four sides. Hilary looked first at the Turtle, which differed from the first image by having four arms rather than two and a long, whip-like tail. The Tiger stood proudly with long fangs, two tails and armour covering the front of its legs. The Dragon had a long blade angling out of each of his front paws, two sets of eyes next to each other and a more streamline-looking tail. Finally, the Phoenix's armour on its crown was more pronounced and had four wings spreading out instead of just two.

Hilary looked over to Kai, who seemed just as confused as she was. She looked under each image and noted each had the small hole for a bit to fit in. The Phoenix's, which was closest, seemed to have nothing in it, but Hilary caught a faint shimmer from the other three. She watched as Kai stepped over to the image of the Tiger and crouched down so that his eyes were level with the bit.

"Black Driger."

How he had been able to name the bit beast just by looking at it, Hilary had no idea, but Mr Granger's sobered expression seemed to confirm he believed Kai.

"We had hoped it wasn't true. However, it did explain why only the Phoenix's bit was missing."

Kai looked back towards them, suspicion evident. "You knew."

Bruce shook his head, "We suspected; but Hiro said you can sense the dark powers in the Black Bit Beasts. We also need to decide what to do with them."

Kai turned towards the picture of the Phoenix. "Seal this place again and make sure someone is guarding it at all times. No one can remove these."

Ren stepped forward, clearly annoyed. "We worked hard to excavate this site and you just want us to bury it again? All because you're afraid? Why should we listen to you?"

Kai looked directly at Ren and walked over, taking full advantage of the extra few centimetres he had on the other boy as he stared down. Fixing him with a full glare, Kai let Ren sweat for a moment before he turned to Bruce, disregarding Ren as a threat.

"I was lucky. I didn't have enough power to resist Black Dranzer, but I did have enough to survive. If the wrong person tries to take these bit beasts then someone could die."

"What are you saying?" Asked Bruce.

Hilary couldn't believe what she was hearing. Is the reason Black Dranzer was missing because Kai had used it? But then, how had he gotten a hold of it? The various questions swam around in her head, but she knew better than to ask them right now.

"All bit beasts rely on the 'blader's energy to power them. Most bit beasts care about their partners, so they regulate themselves such that the beyblader can build up his or her stamina in order to control the bit beast. However, Black Dranzer didn't care about that, only about getting as much energy as possible."

"Hence why you went after everyone's bit beasts."

"Part of that was due to my orders, but I wasn't ordered to take the Bladebreakers' bit beasts."

Bruce sighed, "Well it's a shame, but I'd rather we didn't have another experience like Black Dranzer."

"You can't be serious!"

All eyes turned to Ren, who looked like he was about to attack Kai. "We put in so much effort to dig this place up and now because of this snob we're going to bury it again?"

"Ren, these things happen and they can't be helped. The power in this room is dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

"You don't get it." Ren whispered, so that only Hilary and Kai could hear him.

"I did everything right and you're going to take this find away from me?" Ren shouted in both anger and hurt.

"Ren…"

Ren shook his head, looking at the floor. "No, you're just like all the rest of them!" He then looked up at Bruce, and finished with a deadly calm voice, "How could I ever think you were different?"

Hilary stepped out of the way as Ren passed her and ran out of the pit, taking his light with him. Hilary turned to look at Kai, the shadows playing across his face. His expression was difficult to read, but Hilary wondered if she was imagining the hint of worry as he watched Ren leave.

"Hilary, would you go after him?"

The way Kai asked her made it not seem like a question, but Hilary decided to follow without argument. Whether Kai wanted to talk to Bruce in private or he was genuinely concerned for Ren was unknown, but she ran after the young Chinese archaeologist anyway.

The tunnel was dark, but fortunately she reached the sunlight quickly. It was getting late and the sun was setting, causing the sky to look as if it was on fire. She barely caught Ren storming away and ran to catch up.

"Ren, wait!"

They were leaving the ruins and going into the forest. Hilary felt the sting of branches along her arms and bare legs as she continued to run. She silently cursed herself for wearing shorts instead of trousers. Just as she was starting to worry she had lost him, Hilary noticed a clearing up ahead. A waterfall was pounding water against the surface of a practically still pool.

Hiding behind a tree, she looked up to see Ren sitting on one of the higher rocks overlooking the water. She stepped out from the tree and cleared her throat, causing Ren to turn around in shock and almost fall off his rock.

Hilary started forward, "I'm sorry, are you ok?"

Ren glared at her, "Yeah, your friend just told my boss to seal up the first major discovery I've made. I'm ecstatic."

Hilary climbed up the rocks to sit with him, but slipped at one of the top stones. Her arms shot out to try to catch herself and grabbed something soft. Looking up she saw Ren holding her arm with a look concern.

"You alright?"

Hilary nodded dumbly as she pushed herself up. "Thanks to you."

A dusting of pink found its way onto Ren's cheeks and he looked away in embarrassment, mumbling excuses. Hilary couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She looked down at the water and her expression became more serious.

"I know Kai seems to be a jerk, but he's just bad with people. He's not trying to punish you, you know."

Ren glared at the water, "Well it wouldn't be anything new for me. He didn't seem to like me much."

"He's just been through a lot and is antisocial on the best of days. I think he was just surprised at what was in there." Hilary looked at Ren. "Despite his attitude he's normally right, which is I guess why he isn't very popular."

"But you like him?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"He talks tough, but he's saved my life." Hilary looked over at the setting sun. "He looks out for his friends in his own way and uses harsh words to cover his worry, but he's probably one of the best people to have on your side."

"He's lucky to have a good friend like you."

This time it was Hilary's turn to blush. "I'm way too opinionated and I think I get in the way more than I help."

"If that were the case I don't think he'd have let you come along."

"Maybe…" Suddenly Hilary thought of something. "Wait, Mr Granger said you were from White Tiger Hills. Does that mean you're friends with Ray and Lee?"

Ren shook his head, "I don't really have any friends. I'm not that great of a beyblader and I don't stand a chance against people with bit beasts, so I'm kinda forgotten about. It wasn't until Hiro and Mr Granger came that I really found a purpose."

"That must be lonely."

Ren shrugged, "I'm used to it, besides," he added with a smile, "I love working on the site and finding out about the past. Hiro sometimes beyblades with me and gives me tips, so I've tried to keep it up. But, it's a bit difficult sometimes when I can't battle anyone."

Hilary paused with her chin on her hand, "I'd offer to battle you, but I'm afraid I'm terrible." She paused for a bit longer before turning to look at Ren. "I'll tell you what, I'm going to persuade Kai to start beyblading again and when I do I'm sure he'll accept a battle with you."

"You really think so?" Ren asked hopefully.

Hilary nodded, standing up. "I can certainly try. Now why don't we go back and talk all this out?"

Ren shook his head, "I think your friend's pretty stubborn. I'm just going to sit here a while and sort out my thoughts if you don't mind."

Hilary's smile dropped, but she could understand if he wanted to be alone. "Ok then. Just don't stay out too long, alright?"

He gave her one more reassuring smile before turning back to look at the waterfall. Sighing Hilary walked back down the rocks and walked back into the forest. The problem was that the sun had gone down by now and it was so dark she couldn't see where she was going, so Hilary decided to follow the lights in the distance.

After stubbing her toe against another rock, Hilary let out a short scream of frustration. Forget Ren's feelings, she should have stayed with him and his lamp. She looked towards the lights and sat down on a rock for a moment to calm down, letting her head rest on her knees in frustration.

"Hilary!"

She looked up to see Kai walking towards her with a flashlight in his hand. He looked down at her quizzically.

"What are you doing?"

Hilary blushed in embarrassment as she stood up, "I forgot to bring a light with me and got lost."

Kai seemed to completely ignore her embarrassment and turned towards the excavation site. He glanced back to make sure she was following before walking away. Hilary smiled at his behaviour, jogging a bit so she could walk beside him.

Edited 07/07/11