Smells like Team Spirit

by Zadien

Beyblade Ice Hockey AU. The Sharks have always won the league, each and every year, but this year will be different. Kai Hiwatari, the ex-captain of the Sharks, now captains the Tigers, the talented yet dysfunctional contenders for the trophy with all their emotional baggage, prank pulling and bitter resentment of change.

25. Anxiety Problems

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Chapter Twenty Four: Anxiety Problems

Amber stepped off the bus into the Bakuten station, heaving a bag over her shoulder and offering a brief smile to the driver. The weather was calming down, no longer raining or snowing but water dripped in big fat drops from the roof edges as she stepped out of the bus station and looked around the town she grew up in. People were strolling along the pavement, enjoying the brief glimmer of the sunshine as it tried to push its way through the thick velvet clouds. She recognized a few people but she pulled her hood over her head in an effort to cover her face. No one would be expecting her home so if anyone did glimpse her, they would think they had mistaken someone else for her.

Clutching her coat tighter, she stepped out onto the main road. Sparks of water spattered from her feet as she walked along the wet surface; listening to the soft rush as cars rolled past her. She stepped onto the pavement and strode through the square where the a gazebo was glistening in the weak sunshine, abandoned due to the foul weather though usually some sort of musical band played each weekend. A small food cart had been rolled into the picnic area where a vendor tried to sell his food to the hungry strollers but she passed by him, briskly striding towards the edge of the park.

A few figures caught her attention as walked out of the square. Two were easily recognizable as Foxy and King, both boys were soaked through and carrying surf boards close to their sides. The other she vaguely recognized; probably someone she went to school with but never really saw. The waves would be good today, she decided, casting a curious glance down between two buildings where she could see the roiling grey ocean that was echoing the tumultuous clouds above it. Rushes shivered in the breeze that was kicking up, sprinkling her tongue with salt.

God, she missed home, so much. She hated being away so much. She loved the way everything was so cozy and comfortable. It was nice to walk into a shop and have people know you and say hello in a friendly manner.

A lump gathered in her throat and she swallowed it, fighting against the hitching breath that was clogging against her throat. She was trying so desperately not to break down but the tears were threatening to flood her if she wasn't careful. Which was why she had been carefully keeping her mind blank ever since she had strode out of Mr. Hiwatari's office just over an hour ago.

She hadn't even said goodbye to her friends, it didn't matter anyway. She was an adult and she was only going home. She'd head back tomorrow but right now, she couldn't be at that school. So she had gathered a few essentials, her pj's and Joe; threw them into her sports bag -not that she'd need it anymore- and had grabbed the bus to Bakuten.

Idly a part of her wondered how Kai…

"Goddamn it!" she snapped to herself. Did she honestly have to be so feminine?

Shutting down her mind, she pulled out her CD player from her bag and plugging the earphones into her ears, she blasted the music loud enough to block out her thoughts.

She moved down a stairway to where the sea met the bank. A small pathway was built for pedestrians to get around the strand quickly; a railing was lined along the wall in order to keep people from falling in. Despite the fact that the rolling waves splashed their spray on her, she preferred to walk along this path. It was tranquil and on days like today, not many people liked to walk along it for fear of being washed out to sea or getting wet.

It didn't take her long to follow the path, occasionally her gaze would turn out onto the ocean to pick out the figures that were bobbing on the waves while she noted the dogs on the beach and the old couples strolling along the dunes. It was a sweet scene, something that would be seen on a postcard but seeing the couples pierced Amber's heart. She had once been part of a couple.

She winced. She had to stop thinking about this. She just wanted to go home. It was getting hard to breathe. Why was she dropped from the team? She wasn't sick. It was just a protective measure in case she came down with a stomach ulcer. She didn't have one. The doctor said she didn't have one and yet Nicolai had dropped her and replaced her with his niece. Well screw him. Screw his team.

She had better things to do with her time. She had loads of things that she had to put off because of practice and because she had a boyfriend. Now she'd be free to pursue them.

She turned up a steep stone stairway. The wind whipped at her hair and she blew a strand out of her mouth. Why had Nicolai dropped her? She wasn't missing practices. She was playing just as well as she always did. There was nothing to show him that she wasn't living up to his expectations. It would be different if her playing was suffering but it wasn't. There was nothing wrong so why had Nicolai suspended her? Why hadn't he just coached her if he didn't think she was doing as well as she could be? Wasn't that what he was paid to do?

A strange sensation buzzed through her thigh and she jolted before reaching down and plucking her phone from her pocket. A glance at the caller ID told her who the caller was.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you? I just came up to the dorm, and Joe's gone."

Amber blew out a breath and shifted so that she was resting on the metal rail that lined the stair well. "I've gone home. I needed some time alone."

"Well that's pretty pointless, Ams. You're going to have to come back tomorrow anyways. Why did you go home?" Miyami demanded.

"Just, it doesn't matter-"

"Well it does if you've gone home. Does Kai know?"

"No!" Amber snapped.

"Oh, did you two fight? Look, all couples fight, it's no big deal. I know it seems like it's the end of the world but once you get your first big fight out of the way, things become easier. Don't just quit at the first hurdle Ams. If I did that, Johnny and I wouldn't even be together." Miyami waited a breath for Amber's reply but it didn't come. She sighed heavily. "Look, Amber come back to school. Sort things out. You know the saying; don't go to bed on an argument."

Amber sniffled miserably. Miyami made it sound all so easy. She just went home, told Kai she was sorry and everything worked out but it didn't. Miyami didn't know how it felt to be replaced. Miyami wasn't second best to anyone. Miyami may have been the youngest but sometimes it seemed as though she was the centre of the world. She had a charm that endeared her to people. People wanted to know her, to be around her. Amber just wasn't like that. She was just the person who tried to lighten the atmosphere with sarcastic quips so that no one felt bad or scared. She was a good hockey player but she wasn't the star.

She just existed; there was no real reasoning for it. She wasn't going to do anything amazing with her life. She was just going to live and watch everyone else make a life for themselves. Miyami would become a famous designer or actress or model. Shahero could become an Olympic karate champion (if there was one). Sonia would no doubt become a track star. Kai and Tala would rock the hockey scene with no trouble. Arista wanted to design computer games which Amber had no doubt she could do. Aspin and Kane would no doubt grow old together and with her looks, she could become a model or with her smarts she could just about do anything. Russia had this amazing voice, if she was heard by a talent scout she'd be on tour in a heartbeat. And Ruin, she just didn't really care. It didn't matter what she did in her life because she had the money to do whatever she wanted.

"I just need some time alone, Mimi."

"Why? Do you think you're the only one who's ever fought with their boyfriend?"

"Miyami, you don't understand." Amber snapped, running a hand through her hair. "It's not just Kai, alright. There's other stuff."

"Like?"

"Look, Mimi, I have to go. I'll call you later, ok?" She didn't bother to wait for a reply, she simply hung up and, putting her phone away, she dragged her feet up the stairs.

It wasn't just Kai. It was everything. She was about to finish school and what was she supposed to do after? She didn't have a life plan the way Sonia did and she didn't really know what sort of work she'd be suited for. Going to college, well she was just going because everyone else was. But what college would be best for her? She had good enough grades so she could just about get in anywhere and maybe that was a problem too. Too much diversity, so many choices but what would be the best? She didn't have a talent with art like Miyami or Ruin so she wouldn't be going to a college that catered for art. She didn't have smarts like Sonia and Ozuma so she couldn't go to a really good college. She wasn't going to be scouted for a hockey team and she didn't want to work with computers so what did that leave her? Her friends knew what they wanted from being a sales advertiser to being a teacher and that was great for them. But the end of school was fast approaching and she was going to be cut loose.

Everyone else had their lives to live and she was just baggage. Her mother would soon have a new baby to take care off and Amber would be forced to look after herself. Shahero had Hitoshi and she wouldn't want Amber being a third wheel. And now her father had his own family to look after too. He would have a baby and be a good father to it and he would forget he even had a daughter. People would be moving on and she would be left behind. As per usual.

Everything was just falling apart. She had broken up with Kai and why? Because he was seeing Mariam behind her back? Of course not. She'd broken up with him because she had been in a bad mood and like always, she had lashed out at the nearest person. It was always smarter to lash out at someone who wasn't a teacher.

"Oh shit." She moaned pitifully.

Why did she open her goddamn mouth? Why did she never think first and act later? Now she had broken up with the one guy she really cared about in a purely physical way. He wouldn't want her back; that was for sure. Who would want a girlfriend who broke up with you whenever something bad happened to her? She certainly wouldn't want a boyfriend like that. Though fair enough, Kai had been a pretty shitty boyfriend for the past week but he was allowed to have a bad week. She had one every month and he put up with it.

Why hadn't he chased after her? They always did it in the movies and yet, she probably would have slapped him for doing it. Kai wasn't one to chase after anything anyways. He had his own way of dealing with things. He wasn't her. She always had to remind herself that not everyone acted and reacted the way she did. Kai didn't have tantrums and he didn't lose his temper.

God, if only she had read that letter when she wasn't in such an anxious mood. It only heightened her emotions. If Kai had just stayed away for an hour or so, she could have totally calmed down and had a few rational thoughts. Or she could have phoned her mum and talked to her but no, Kai came up at the worst possible moment and had to stop and talk to Mariam! Mariam of all people! Didn't he get that she didn't like that bitch. Ever since Valentines Day she had started bringing extra pairs of underwear to the locker room with her. Well she supposed she wouldn't have to worry about that anymore either.

It was almost as though the whole world had been stacked against her, pushing her to break up with Kai. Maybe-

She plucked her vibrating phone from her pocket as she crossed the main road at the top of the steps and began to shuffle along the cracked pavement. "What?"

"Miyami says you left." Ruin told her in as little words possible.

Well, duh! "Well if I'm not at the school, then she's obviously right." Amber rolled her eyes and walked up the small paved path between the Cartwright home and the Burtons.

"Where the hell are you, Runt?"

"Look, I just went home, alright. I needed to get away from that school. Now please, just leave me alone. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What happened? You sound like crap."

"Nothing happened; I just want to be-"

"BULLSHIT!"

Amber raised a brow and rubbed her ears. "Goodbye Ruin."

She hung up and then switched off her phone. She didn't care if they were worried about her. She was a big girl and she wanted some time alone. If they had questions then they could go annoy Kai for the answers because he'd at least be able to explain why his father dropped her from the team and maybe he could come up with a reason as to why he had been avoiding her.

He wasn't cheating on her with Mariam. She knew that much. Kai wasn't like that and she never really got any vibes from him. He had just been avoiding her for his own reasons. Besides Tala said they weren't. She trusted Tala. He would know what Kai was up to. If Kai was doing anything that would hurt her, Tala would kill him, just like he tried to do at her house at Christmas. There were certain things that could be hidden from a boyfriend/girlfriend but there was nothing that could be hidden from a best friend.

Kai was probably just trying to sort things out in his head but she felt horrible for just lashing out at him.

Shoving her hands into her pockets began the walk up the hill towards her house. It loomed over them at the top of the hill, stuck between the Kinomiya's and the… Oh, the Hiwatari's. She kept forgetting that little aspect. Of course when she thought of Jean, she knew that she had moved next door but it was hard to think of them being her neighbors when she was constantly at school. To her, Kai lived in the dorm with Tala and Bryan. Well this was awkward. She'd come home to get away from the Hiwatari's. Why hadn't she been thinking straight?

"Hello Miss Amber?"

She sniffled and looked across the street to see a young man in his late twenties shuffling down the street with his shoulders hunched. He raised his hand in greeting and she waved back, a smile curving her lips involuntarily.

"Hey Albert."

The man blushed before shuffling down the path into his house. She watched him go then continued up the hill. It didn't take her long to reach her house but still, when she finally walked up her drive, the back of her legs screamed with each movement. For some reason she always seemed to strain her leg muscles when walking up that slope, it was too steep. She had to learn how to drive, that way her legs wouldn't suffer so much.

She slowly made her way around the back of the house to the backdoor, her eyes shifting warily to the house next door but it didn't look as though anyone was around. Fishing out her keys, she slipped the house key into the lock and bumped the door open with her hip. The door shuddered open and the wind chimes situated above it tinkled merrily.

Everything inside the house was quiet. The clock ticked, the fridge buzzed mutely but other than that, there seemed to be no life in the house. A door upstairs banged and she jumped. Her eyes turning to the stairwell nestled between the walls.

"Hello? Mom, is that you?"

The stairs creaked and feet began to appear as a figure slowly descended. Suddenly her mother dipped and her head appeared beneath the ceiling to stare at her daughter. "Amber? What are you doing here?"

She shrugged awkwardly. "Well, um, I just wanted to come home."

Treasa frowned, her mother's instinct kicking in and telling her that something wasn't right with her little girl. She waddled down the stairs, minding the kicking of the baby against the wall of her swollen stomach. It was almost as though the baby was picking up on the distress of his/her older sister as he/she began to move restlessly within the womb.

"Amber, what's wrong?" She asked softly as her daughter dropped her duffle bag

"Mom." Was all the young girl moaned before she stepped into her mother's embrace and clung for dear life.

---

"Ok… that's fine. Thanks… Goodbye." Nicolai put down the phone and turned to his son who sat lounged out on the armchair before him, eyes unfocused and expression carefully blank.

"That was Treasa; she says Amber's just shown up."

Life snapped back into Kai's features as his gaze locked upon his father's and his brows narrowed. "How is she?"

"Treasa wouldn't say. All she told me was that Amber will be staying there tonight."

Kai digested that with a slow nod. It wouldn't take him but an hour to drive back home… He shook away the rogue thought. Amber obviously wanted some time alone, so he'd give her that. Besides, he wasn't going to run after her like some lovesick pup. Amber had to learn that her actions had consequences. That she couldn't just lash out at him and expect him to always be there to put right her mistakes. She'd hurt him with her cruel and careless words.

"Do you know why she reacted so violently?" Nicolai finally asked; placing the folder he had been studying before Treasa had phoned and Kai had arrived, into a drawer.

"You dropped her from the team." Kai growled, eyes flashing.

"I didn't drop her. I merely suspended her."

"Yeah and replaced her before you even told her."

Nicolai rolled his eyes at his sons' accusations. Despite Amber dumping him, it seemed obvious that Kai was going to continue to stand up for her. "I did not replace her. Amber is very important to the team. She can't be replaced. Russia understands this is only on a temporary basis and if it were to have been more, she would have rejected the idea."

"Why are you suspending her?" Kai demanded.

Nicolai shifted in his seat and leaned over the table. "You don't know? But you gave me the medicine."

"Yeah but what's it for?" The younger man asked, his tone laced with weariness as he raked a hand through his short spiky hair and turned his gaze towards the grumbling clouds out the window.

"It's to neutralize stomach acid. Amber contacted her doctor with stomach pains. He ran a few tests and discovered that due to her eating habits or lack of, she had a high content of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. He gave her the pills to take care of that problem while he did tests to make sure that she wasn't developing a stomach ulcer. Which she's not."

Far from being relieved, Kai was more confused. "Isn't there such thing as a Hippocratic oath? You know doctor-patient confidentiality?"

Nicolai nodded. "Yes and most of the time I would observe that but this is serious. This affects the health of my student and more so, she's refusing to take care of herself and, as her coach that is part of my obligation."

"So you bullied the doctor into telling you what was wrong with her?"

"I had a right to know, she's my goddaughter." Nicolai pointed out reasonably. He didn't like being accused of bulling. He hadn't bullied the man, just persuaded him. "Besides, she was ordered to take time off from the team. She didn't tell me that and in doing so, she put herself at risk."

"So, she's got high stomach acid. What does that mean? Will it hurt her?"

Nicolai drew in a breath. "She'll be fine Kai if she eats right and often. You've said yourself that she has gone days where she's only had one main meal a day and survived on snacks here and there. That's not good for her and her body is giving her a wake up call. If she continues like she is, she'll end up in the hospital being fed through a tube. That's why I wanted her to take a break." He added.

"If she takes a break, how will that help? She lives for the team."

"And she puts off food for the team. She gets so wrapped up in practices and games that she'll forget to eat."

"Still doesn't explain why she dumped me." He growled bitterly.

Nicolai waved it off. "She needed someone to lash out at. She was hurt so she decided to hurt you too. It's a natural human reaction." He got to his feet and moved to the coffee pot. "Do you want some?"

Kai shook his head. "No thanks. So she's recuperating at home?"

"Probably licking her wounds as we speak. She'll be back tomorrow. You can talk to her then, when she's calmed down… If you want to, that is. You haven't really said how you feel about her breaking up with you."

Kai shrugged. "I don't feel much. Like you said, she'll have calmed down by tomorrow. I'll let her come to me then."

"You don't think she was being serious?"

His son paused and massaged his forehead. "About quitting, yeah, she's too hardheaded to come crawling back to you and you won't take her back until she's back on her feet. But, about breaking up?" He shook his head. "No I don't think she meant that."

"You seem awfully sure about that." Nicolai noted, sipping his coffee and studying his son.

"I'm not sure, it's just a feeling. She was just, as you said, lashing out. Once she's cooled off, she'll come back and try to justify her actions."

"And will you take her back?"

Kai smirked, lazily leaning back in his chair and crossing his feet at his ankles. He eyes were mirthful underneath the dark lashes. An image flashed into his mind of the last time she had apologized for hurting him, the night after they had arrived back from Clonmel. She had been very apologetic that night. He'd have to make sure that when she apologized this time, that they didn't spend too much time alone. He had no plans of taking her virginity after a particularly large fight. There was a time and a place for everything. "What do you think?"

Nicolai chuckled softly. "I think you will."

Kai nodded. "Yeah probably. She may be a pain in the ass but what happened today wasn't her fault. I'm as much to blame as well as the third party." Besides, she was very persuasive. However there would be things that would need to be talked through. But they'd get through it.

"Third party? You?" Nicolai queried, setting his mug down.

Outside the heavens had reopened and students were running helter-skelter towards the shelter of the school. The window panes took the brunt of the beating from the large fat drops that the wind blew at the building. The lighting dimmed causing the fluorescent light on the ceiling to brighten the room further and made the small office seem cozier and more private. The sheet of rain that was falling was obscuring the outside world so that it was harder to see the main building.

"James wrote her a letter. Priscilla's pregnant."

Nicolai closed his eyes and absorbed the jolt of shock. He didn't know whether to be happy for his sister and old friend, worried for his friend for what he was getting himself into or upset for Amber. Obviously she hadn't taken the news well. And to hear it by letter without being afforded the chance to respond to her father's news, well that wouldn't have gone down well either. Not with a young girl who liked to have a say in things.

"How did she take that?"

"Well, I don't know for sure. But I do know that shortly after, she came out of her dorm and shouted at Mariam-"

"Why?" Nicolai wasn't sure he wanted to know why but he wanted a clear view of things for when Jean phoned as she naturally would to find out what her men had done to her goddaughter.

"Mariam was asking me for tutoring in French." At his father's direct look, Kai flinched. "Not that kind of French, I hope. But then she implied that Amber was cheating on me. Amber didn't take that too well and threatened to rip Mariam's "poisonous tongue" from her mouth."

Nicolai cringed at the vision that inflicted on his brain; then his mind flickered to something Kai had said. "Cheating on you? With whom, may I ask?"

Kai blew out a breath and raked a hand through his hair. "Mystel Devine."

"The Shark?"

"Yeah." He confirmed grimly, not liking where this was going to inevitably lead.

"How did she meet him?" Nicolai wondered. Amber had never encountered the new scorer for the Shark team. The only time the boy had been at their school had been for the Open Day and Amber hadn't spoken to him. Even if she had, Nicolai doubted that she would see much of him to make people think she was cheating on Kai. If Mariam was going to insinuate someone, wouldn't a student or an old friend have made for a more believable anecdote?

There it was, Kai thought with a grimace. His father had a tendency to latch onto the most acute of phrases. It was annoying because it meant that no matter what Kai lied about or how well he did lie; the truth would always come out eventually. His father should have been in the police force. See some prick try to pull the wool over his fathers' eyes in interrogations.

"We went to a game." Kai muttered under his breath, keeping his eyes averted and his head down to muffle the words further. "She met him there and…"

Nicolai paused and stared at his son. "You went to a game, after I strictly forbid you to go anywhere near that school?"

Kai flinched. "Look, it wasn't my idea. I was all set to agree with you. It was her!"

"And if she told you to stick your hand in the fire, would you do it? Come on Kai, it'll be fun. Your skin will turn black and blister and peel off! It'll be oodles of fun!"

Kai snorted and tried to smother the bubble of laughter at his father's words but the fun thing was that there was a little Amber figure dancing about in his head saying those words now with a great big roaring fire in front of her. She kind of resembled those African dancers who did sacrifices to ancient gods.

"Oh I'm glad you find it funny." Nicolai bit out. "This is serious. Can I not trust you at all? I expect you to keep a leash on that team while I'm not around. You're the captain Kai, show some self control."

Kai sobered at that and his eyes whipped up to lance through his fathers. Had he been able to shoot daggers with his eyes, his father would be blind in both of his. "I do my job and part of it is to strategize against certain teams. With the new players, I needed to see how the Sharks played together."

"But to bring Amber with you, what sort of date was that? You know the type of people that go to that school. They treat everything as though they own it."

"She didn't sit with me," Kai growled; then he could have laughed as his father almost exploded, quickly he added. "She sat with the warrior captain. He had an ankle injury, couldn't play so he was there watching. If anyone saw her, they'd think she was a warrior. Not my girlfriend. Look, I can look after her."

Nicolai rubbed his brow and sighed. "So she met this Mystel person there?"

"Yeah and without telling anyone, she began to meet up with him outside school. You know how she is, she's always befriending people."

"And you're ok with that?"

Of course, he wasn't. But Kai wouldn't show that to anyone. That was his own private pain. That he wasn't enough for her. However it had been his own fault for ignoring her. Usually Saturdays were spent together, going to the local town to hunt for CD's or playing one-on-one hockey, going for drives to watch the waves or watching movies. They were days that were spent together but he had been the one who wanted to be on his own. And all because he had been too afraid of his feelings.

"You know this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't ignored her this week." Nicolai pointed out, gesturing with his mug before taking a sip.

Kai's eyes blazed. "Don't you think I don't know that?" He demanded, shifting in his chair.

"Maybe this is your chance," Nicolai continued as though he hadn't heard. "You were worried about Amber messing up your chances of playing pro; then maybe you should just let her bre-"

"Don't finish that sentence, father."

The words were delivered in a low, dark tone that threatened violence with their intensity and the word 'father' made a shiver shoot down Nicolais' spine. He shifted his shoulder and grimaced. He hated the way Kai did that. It was so cold.

"Then sort out what you want from the relationship before she gets back. If you get back with her only to decide later on that you're just going to break up with her, then you'll only end up hurting each other. And she's not in the right frame of mind at the moment. Anything could be a set back for her recovery." He warned; then sighed. "At least if you break up with her, you won't be hurting the team dynamics and when she gets back, you'll probably be able to be in the same room."

Kai simply glared at his father before getting to his feet and walking to the door. "Look Dad, thanks for the advice but I can handle this."

"Yes, and I'll stick with working out my team."

His son nodded abruptly before opening the door and leaving.

Outside the door, Kai blew out a breath and walked down the street. Why the hell had she ran? Didn't she know that the longer they left things, the more they would fester? He needed to talk to her, explain things to her.

He rested his forehead against the wall and slumped. He felt run down and there was a headache brewing at his temples. Back at Clonmel he never had to deal with these sort problems. All he had to do was ignore his teammates unless he was on the ice and if he remained aloof and detached from them, he never really felt very many emotions. And now a barrage of them was battering his already bruised heart. He couldn't deal with all of this. These cursed emotions that pushed at him, telling him to react, to do something.

He turned to the wall and slammed his fist into it. Pain exploded, fiery red causing him to suck in a quick sharp breath. "Damn you to hell, Ember."

Nursing his bruised knuckles by closing his other hand over them, he headed out of the sports centre before his father could come out and catch him with bloody, raw knuckles. He had to remain positive or blank out the thoughts that maybe Amber had really meant what she said. He needed to believe that she'd just been indulging in that Benson melodrama.

The best way to con yourself into believing that everything was a-ok was to just continue doing things as normal and that was what he intended to do. First he would go up to his dorm, sleep everything off and then he would wake up as though none of it had happened. If Amber wanted him, she would come for him because he was damned if he'd go to her. She was the one that had cut him loose, making everything they had together seem so meaningless with her cruel and careless words.

All that time he had spent trying to make her understand how he felt about her, how he saw her. He had thought that she understood that this relationship meant something to him, possibly everything to him. She wasn't just his girlfriend, she was his friend and he didn't have many of them. Not like her.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and scuffed his shoes off the ground as he slowly made his way out into the cold evening. The rain had died down but he could see the dark clouds gathering overhead causing the horizon to turn a sickening yellow, the color of bile. The street lamps which had been placed strategically along the tarmaced path were beginning to glow orange. The school was lit up, squares of light amongst the brick work. In some he could see shadows of figures moving while others were blacked out due to curtains.

The whole school was getting on with their normal Saturday business. They were doing their usual things, coming back from town, lounging in the common rooms watching TV, playing games, doing homework. The same old, same old. And yet everything was different. No matter how he tried to pretend it wasn't. Amber wasn't there. Didn't they notice? Didn't they question it? How couldn't they fail to realize she was missing? Was it that she hadn't made such a big impact in their lives as she had in his?

A row of lights drew his attention and he slowly approached them, carelessly wondering who would be in the art room today of all days. The question was soon answered when he saw the figure sitting on a stool with her back to the windows, her shoulders hunched as she furiously scribbled over the page. The bright fluorescent lights gleamed of her hair, causing it to look coarse and harsh in its glare but she didn't seem to notice, so wrapped up in the music from the stereo and the way her hand was moving over the white page with the charcoal squeezed between her fingers.

Part of him didn't want to interrupt her flow but another part of him didn't want to face his dorm at the moment. Not with who all lived in it.

Walking to the fire exit, he rapped on the glass pane. The figure startled and narrowed eyes glared at him before the fog of concentration cleared and she blew a strand of hair out of her face, wiping the back of her hand over her forehead. Leaving her charcoal down, she slid off the stool and approached the door. She gave the fire exit door a good yank, before leaning out as it swung open and allowing him inside before she shut it behind him.

The air hit him, sweltering hot compared to the lukewarm office and frigid night. Immediately his skin prickled uncomfortably and his sweater felt heavy and awkward. Blowing out a breath, feeling the need to pant in an effort to cool his body temperature, he cracked open and window and felt relieved by the cool air.

"Aren't you warm in here?"

Miyami looked at him blankly before sliding onto the stood again, shoving up the sleeves of her loose poet shirt that was spattered with paint and designs she'd carefully imprinted on it to personalize it.

"What are you doing, Silver?" He questioned as he walked over to the stereo and turned the volume down a few notches.

His eyes roamed to the charcoal sketch and he tried to make sense of the shapes and emotions that poured from each sweeping line. He recognized the distress easily. Weeks of hanging out with her around the art room told him all he needed to know. Miyami was dealing with some pent up emotions the only way she felt she could, by drawing them out of her system.

Miyami inched her bra strap back up over her shoulder and lay down the small black stub. "I tried calling her. She said she wanted to be alone and now her phone's switched off." Silver eyes swung up to his and glimmered red. "What did you do to her?"

Kai averted his gaze and sighed. "You think I did something?" He asked, easing a hip onto the corner of the walnut art table, scored with names and hearts with arrows piercing their cores. "Is that what she said?"

She frowned and shook her head, unable to look at him. Leaning back, she ran a hand through her hair then tsked at the weight of it. She felt so… blah! "She didn't say much. She said it wasn't just down to you but…" She trailed off. She just had a hunch that something had happened between the pair. Something big that had made her friend flee.

"She broke up with me." Kai blurted out, his stormy gaze centered on the navy twilight setting in.

Miyami stared at him. "She…" A hand moved to rake through her hair before she caught it and covered her mouth instead. "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" Kai demanded bitterly before flinching at how pathetic he sounded.

"I mean, why did she break up, Kai? Amber… She likes you too much to just break up with you for no reason." Then she studied him shrewdly. "You haven't been cheating on her, have you?"

"With who?" He demanded in a tone that almost implied that there was no one for him to cheat on Amber with.

"Mariam?" Miyami tossed in. It seemed like a logical assumption.

"No." He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "Mariam and I are through. There's never going to be a 'Mariam and I' again."

At the solid conviction in his tone, she stared at him. "You really believe that. Is that because you're not attracted to her anymore or because of Amber…" She trailed off, not quite comfortable on how to put it. Kai had never really said how he felt about Amber but you could see it in the way he treated her, the tender way he looked at her no matter how neurotic she was being.

"Both." He confirmed quietly. Blowing out a breath, he dragged up the futon that someone had brought in and dropped down onto it suddenly feeling as though he'd entered a psychologists' office. "I found out something today, about Amber and Mystel."

Miyami suddenly turned fully to him with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, I heard about that and you're way off base. Amber and him, she barely knows the guy and she doesn't like blonds. Nor does she like guys with blue eyes. Do you pay any attention to her wild notions?"

"You can't help who you fall in love with Miyami. It doesn't matter what they look like, it's about how you feel about them. She sure as hell isn't my type." He muttered, sweeping a hand over his hair before moving to fiddle with the watch on his wrist.

"So you think she's cheating on you?"

His eyes fell to the floor. "A part of me did. I thought if she was then… I've been ignoring her all week, why shouldn't see go somewhere else?"

"Because it's Amber and she's not a hoe?" Miyami offered sarcastically. "Just because you barely say two words to her all week doesn't mean that she's going to jump the next guy she sees. She's not a sex addict. I'd see through it if you were with Kennedie or Clover but Amber, Kai. She's just not like that. Honestly, she was pissed with you but hey, she just blamed it on your man period."

Kai snorted and his lips quirked before the dead look reappeared in his eyes again. "Still, I wanted it to be true so I wouldn't feel like such a fucking prick."

"You are a prick, but everyone is at some stage."

"I went to the café to catch them together-"

"And did you?" She wondered; inching off the stool and moving to sit beside him, stretching out her legs and leaning back her head, idly inhaling the scent of Hugo Boss that his mother had bought him for Christmas.

"No, but she must have seen me." He rubbed a hand over his face and groaned. "I was an idiot. I was furious with her so I went to give her a piece of my mind and got side tracked by Mariam looking for a tutor."

"Yeah, she asked me about that too. Can't figure where she got the idea that I would help her. I might have before the Valentine thing but after that, sorry but the girl can go take a run and jump."

Kai wisely held his tongue. It would do no good to tell Miyami that he had been the one to implant the idea in Mariam's head. He already had one pissed off Octopussy on his ass, he didn't need another. "Amber must have heard us; she came out of the dorm screaming all sorts of things. I've never seen her like that, she surprised me."

"More like she frightened you." Miyami sympathized. "What did she say?"

"She threatened to cut Mariam's tongue from her mouth. I don't know what got into her but I wasn't going to let her spew anymore venom so I pretty much shoved her into her dorm."

"Ouch." Miyami cringed. "She would have hated you for that, taking Mariam's side over her… Bad idea Kai."

"Yeah and Mariam could have reported her to the faculty for abusive attitude or a student could have overheard and told someone. Besides, I didn't want Amber to say something she'd later regret." He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "So she lets loose on me and I know something's bothering her apart from the accusations. It's just her reaction's too OTT for it to have been brought on by me thinking she had been cheating on me. She wasn't just angry, she was distraught. I've never seen her like that."

"So she broke up with you?"

He shook his head and plucked at a loose thread on his jeans while Miyami shifted so that she was now curled up beside him, with her cheek on her palm, elbow on the back of the futon by his head. "No, Spencer showed up and told her that Dad wanted to see her, so she left and I saw the letter."

He paused and wondered if he really had a right to tell Miyami all of this but he needed to talk to someone because he needed to know what to do. When he was on the ice, he knew the decisions to make; he knew what he had to do. Hockey was clean cut to him but social etiquette and relationships were a whole new game to him. He didn't know the rules, the strategies or the play. All he knew was that he had a team of people and he had to work out what roles they fitted into in his life. Amber was, so far, the most important role and if didn't use her talents properly then she might just walk out. For good. And in any situation, he had always had a coach and a vice captain to help him out on the really tough decisions. Right now, Miyami was his vice.

"What letter?" Miyami coaxed, shrugging out of her shirt and sighing in relief when her heated skin was caressed by the cooler air.

"From her Dad." Kai muttered. "His girlfriends pregnant and he didn't bother to talk to Amber about it first hand. No one ever seems to ask her what she thinks. They just expect her to go along with their decisions because naturally if she's happy for her mother, she'll just be as happy for her father."

Miyami raised a brow. It was strange hearing Kai talk like this but she supposed it shouldn't really. He had spent enough time with Amber to know how she felt about things, even if she didn't say anything. "So that was what had pissed her off?"

"Yeah, I think that's what got to her. You know her, Miyami. You're her best friend; she comes to you when she's upset. But before she could even talk to you, I've busted in and Mariam… It had to get on top of her, right?"

Miyami nodded. "Usually if she talks about it, she can be rational but if it's bottled up and shaken, it spews out like soda and splashes all over the sidewalk."

"That's how it felt to me. Like she was just pushing for a fight to relieve the pressure."

"That sounds like our beloved Amber." She winced as a cramp formed in her lower limb and she slid down onto her ass. "So she didn't dump you then, when did she?"

"After Dad talked to her. I went down to… I don't know why I went down but when I opened the door, she was in a fine snit and she, very dramatically quit the team and me."

"She quit?" The silver haired Japanese girl demanded, jumping to her feet and shoving her multicolored bangs out of her eyes. Fed up with her hair at the moment, she began to wrap the cascade of silver strands tightly around her hands. Looking around, she found two paintbrushes and strategically shoved them into her hair, carefully releasing her hands and dropping back down onto the futon. "Why did she quit?"

Kai blinked out of his stupor that he'd sunken into when she began to fix her hair. He had a strange fetish for how girls tamed their hair. Amber always seemed to get fed up with hers and when she wasn't threatening to chop it all off; she was finding unique and rather resourceful ways to keep it out of her eyes. And it had to admit, every time she gathered it into a messy disarray to contain it, he found her more attractive than when she had carefully brushed it back and tied it with the proper implements.

"Oh, dad suspended her."

"He what!" Miyami didn't notice Kai's wince as her voice whipped out sharply like a bark, slashing at his ears. "Why did he suspend her? What did she do?"

"Nothing… Dad thinks Amber may be anorexic again."

Miyami rolled her eyes. "Amber isn't anorexic. What is with everyone thinking that?"

"She doesn't eat, Miyami. Not properly and she's got an eating disorder, you can't deny that." He challenged, angry that Amber's friends could be so bloody blind towards her problems. If they really cared, they'd want her to get better.

"That doesn't mean she's anorexic. God, you're all so simple." The girl snapped jumping to her feet and beginning to pace. "For you, an eating disorder comes in two ways. One bulimia but Amber's not throwing up so it must be door number two, anorexia. But it's neither. And you've even made her think that she's anorexic. She doesn't eat so that she'll be thinner, or because she doesn't have any self esteem. She has an anxiety problem and it shows itself through an eating disorder. When she's particularly worried about things, she looses all appetite and that's why when we're approaching matches, she eats less. It's not anorexia. It can't be labeled because if you label it, you don't really treat it. You have to find out what's worrying her and treat that. You don't force her to eat or make her quit something she loves so that she'll miraculously get better."

Kai simply stared at her as she wore a crease into the floor, all the while the words moved through his head. Amber wasn't anorexic, she had anxiety issues. "How do you know this?"

Miyami sighed. "I saw it on a talk show one week and it suddenly made sense. Some days Amber eats like a horse. Place some Mediterranean dish in front of her and she'll gobble it up and she doesn't care if she's thin or fat or any of that. She only cares when someone blatantly points it out but she doesn't do diets. She just forgets about meals or puts them off because she's doing something else because she doesn't have an appetite the way I or Tyson do. And this has been going on so long that, her stomach is so small now. But if this continues, she'll be down to one meal a day maybe less. And I don't want to see that."

Kai's face sank into his hands. "How did I not notice?"

"Because you weren't looking." She soothed. "Tala never noticed either and Bryan… well Bryan isn't sure what to do. This isn't something simple to solve. We just have to make sure that Amber doesn't let the stress get to her and keep her eating. But threats only make it worse."

He squeezed his eyes shut and blew out an anguished breath. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to make things better? "I-I could talk to Dad, explain things. Maybe get her back on the team."

Miyami shook her head. "Amber's too stubborn to just come back like that. Besides, I think she already knows she has to eat more; this'll be like a wake up call for her. Leave the suspension as it is, it'll be less stress for her. She worries about playing badly more than we do because she doesn't think she's that good."

"She is good."

"Compared to you and Tala? Or Shahero, who can play so many spots that she's almost indispensable?" Miyami shook her head. "Amber and I, we're just average good players. We're better than most, but we're not the type that'll rock the world with our skills. We're no Martin St. Louis."

Kai raised a brow derisively. "Martin St. Louis isn't that great."

"Don't let Amber hear you say that; she'll hit you, hard."

Kai rubbed his shoulder feeling the phantom throb of his girlfriend's fist from the time that he had accidentally badmouthed the Tampa Bay/Canadian player.

"What about me? How do I get her back?"

Miyami laughed and Kai felt affronted until she smiled at him. "Amber won't give you up, you mean too much to her."

"So much she dumped me?" He drawled mockingly but it was laced with something more.

Miyami gave a soft sigh and rubbed her neck. "I can't speak for Amber, but I know that she cares so much about you. She was just hurt and she reacted the only way she knew how, to push you away. But when her head clears, she's going to realize that she's a moron and will probably give you a really sheepish apology tomorrow. She can give up the team because deep down, she knows it's the right thing to do but to give up what she has with you, that's something she can't do. She can't let go of her father no matter how much he lets her down, she can't let go of Tala even though he left her and you haven't done anything but be there for her, she won't let you go either." Because I think she's in love with you, Miyami added silently but still, she hoped she got her message across.

"But, still, it's a pity Nicolai had to put his foot down like that. She'd just been told her father's having another child and then to find out that Nicolai, who's been like a second father to her, is suspending her from the team. That's got to be harsh."

"If she had been in any other state of mind, Dad would have been able to discuss things rationally with her but she went into that office in a crappy mood. She was still spoiling for a fight."

"It was just bad timing all round." Miyami murmured, rubbing her arms to heat them with friction. "Look, I have to get going. Do you mind if I tell the others? I think they'll want to know and Amber would prefer it if she didn't have to explain everything several times over. I know she likes being centre of attention but with this sort of thing, she'd rather it all be out in the open so things can get back to normal." Or so Amber had told her when they'd had that discussion on tragedies shortly after Aspin's grandfather had died.

"If you want to tell them, go ahead. I'd rather not have everyone coming up and asking me what happened."

Kai rose with her shirt and helped her into it just as the door burst open and Johnny strode in. The three figures froze in their positions before Miyami continued to struggle with her shirt as Johnny flicked a glance from the futon, to his girlfriends' mussed appearance and to his bedraggled captain. He opened his mouth to say something, then simply strode forward and seized Miyami up into his strong arms, resting his cheek on her hair and pressing a kiss to the silver strands.

"I thought you had done an Amber." He muttered, leaning back to give her space to breathe.

She looked up at him with startled metallic eyes. "Sorry, I just needed to get some stuff out of my system."

Johnny's gaze lifted to his captain and he frowned. "You don't look so hot."

"I'll live." Kai replied curtly, turning off the inspiration music Miyami had been listening too. "I'm heading up to the dorm to catch some shut eye; I'll see you two later."

Miyami watched him go with a sigh before turning into Johnny and nuzzling his throat causing the Scot to grumble his approval. "Thank you." She murmured, pressing a kiss to the spot behind his ear that had him trembling.

His grip tightened on her. "What for?"

"For not flying off the handle." She replied, knowing how much her boyfriend had a tendency to read the worst in situations so it always gave her a nice feeling when he didn't because it showed he trusted her. Though recently the hot head had been surprisingly good whenever he found her cuddling with a friend. She knew he had nothing to worry about; she loved him wholly and passionately. He was the only one who made her toes curl in that delightful way and made her heart beat violently but he was very possessive about her despite claiming to be an easy going fellow -his words not hers.

"He looks to be in pretty bad shape, what happened with him and Amber?" He wondered; eyes narrowed beneath the black bandana that had the arduous task of keeping his hair from his face. His broad frame was decked out in a black t-shirt -despite the cold weather- worn jeans, a black wrist band and a chunky black watch. He looked every bit the callous rebel.

"I'll tell you on the way up to the dining hall."

"Maybe someone should bring him something to eat." Johnny murmured quietly.

"Who are you?" Miyami demanded as she gathered up her supplies and took them to the art cupboard.

"What? Ah, shit, you think just because I make a vaguely nice comment that I've suddenly turned gay or some shit?"

"I'd like to point out that you're the one who brought up the gay thing." Miyami replied, slamming a door shut before beginning to wash her hands, only for a thrill to go down her spine when Johnny's arms slid around her and he laid his lips softly against the nape of her neck.

"He's your friend." Johnny replied simply. "Plus, he's not that bad."

"Yes, but you don't usually care about others." She pointed out as she turned to face him, tapping his nose lightly. He had such a cute face, despite the fact that it was more ruggedly handsome than boyishly cute.

"I care about you." He responded easily enough, kissing her on the lips before drawing away. "And because I do, I'll refrain from distracting you because you're going to be very hungry in about five minutes."

Miyami raised a brow and was about to make a comment about him insinuating she was fat when she felt an emptiness in the pit of her stomach and she sighed. "You're right, I'm starving. Come on, let's go or there'll be no food because Tyson'll have taken it all."

"No need to worry about Tyson," Johnny said. "Jim and Goki tied him to the second floor banisters for some reason. Last time I checked, he was bellowing 'Please release me' at the top of his lungs."

Miyami faltered and stared at him. "Seriously? Hell, quick let's go before some releases him."

Johnny chuckled and watched his girlfriend hurry out of the art room almost forgetting to the switch off the lights. But at least now her mind was on food, it wouldn't be dwelling on Amber and Kai and that had to be a good thing for her sanity. "Gotta love a one track mind on a woman."

---

Kirby stood in the line behind her cousins as they waited to get food. All around them the sound of cutlery hitting the plate and the bubble of conversation could be heard as the soundtrack to the dining hall. Pushing her tray along, she glanced around the hall for a place to sit. She could see Miguel sitting with Tala and Shahero, so she would probably sit there since there were plenty of seats. Her eyes fell on Aspin and Kane, moving towards the table, Kane's arm loosely wrapped around Aspins' waist as he guided her through the cluster of people and tables.

A light towards the back was flickering casting strange shadows over the couple of girls and a boy sitting there. There was a crash and she looked over to see a group of freshmen staring at their friend who had just dropped their plate of dessert. Immediately the women who worked in the kitchen area moved out from behind the food to clean up the mess before any student slipped on it.

A figure brushed up against her and she looked round startled to see Hillary with Mariam at her side.

"Did you hear?" Mariam was saying. "About Kai and Amber?"

Hillary shook her head as she picked out a plate with a slice of cheesecake on it. She caught Kirby's eye and offered a smile while nudging Mariam to shut up. However, Mariam didn't seem to take the hint or she didn't care.

"They broke up today."

Kirby blew out a breath and tuned out Mariam's words as she moved closer to Daichi, taking his hand in her own. He shot her a surprised look but his eyes moved over the line and because he understood, he squeezed her hand to comfort her.

"Mariam, I don't want to hear about it." Hillary muttered looking around for an escape route. She caught sight of the two Benson cousins and wished she had someone, a cousin, family that she could turn to but she was here on her own. Most of her cousins were in Japan and she had family in Maryland but none that went to school with her. And she yearned for that sort of companionship.

A body bumped into hers and she turned to give the person a telling off when she found herself in close proximity to Tyson Kinomiya who was leaning over her, his body heat pressing against hers. She gulped audibly.

"What are you doing?" She squeaked.

His eyes dipped to hers and something flickered before he offered her a wolfish grin. "Need more ketchup!"

"Oh." She whispered faintly, turning back to the food that was sitting on the shelves before her.

"Hey, Tyson, is it true that Amber and Kai broke up?" Mariam wondered curiously.

Tyson glowered at her and shrugged. "How would I know?"

Mariam rolled her eyes and picked up a slice of apple pie before carefully placing it on her tray. "I heard they did. I heard Amber dumped him and then went home."

The navy haired boy just gave a disturbed expression at her line of questioning and plucking a few sachets from the counter, he turned to leave. A hand grabbed his arm and he turned to find Hillary staring at him with imploring brandy eyes. "Something wrong?" he wondered. She wasn't going to slap him again was she? A quick glance at her fingers assured him that she wasn't wearing a ring but still, it had stung. How did Hitoshi cope with it?

"Can I please sit with you guys, please?" She whispered frantically.

He blinked a few times before nodding uncertainly but seeing the way she kept shooting glances back at Mariam, he figured he could understand what was bothering her. Mariam was becoming irritating to everyone.

"Yeah, sure."

Her smile became awkward but no less genuine. "Thanks."

She spun back to her tray, flustered but no more baffled than Tyson who merely scratched his head, shot Kirby and Daichi a bewildered look and headed back to his table.

Kirby stifled a chuckle with the folds of Daichi's shirt before she lifted her tray and moved towards the cashier to pay for it. After handing over the money, she headed to the kiosk that held the cutlery and grabbed what she needed as well as a couple of napkins.

"So why did she dump him?"

Kirby bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything as she grabbed another set of cutlery for Daichi while he kept a seat for her.

"Kirbs?"

"Mariam, I'm saying this once and once only. Stay out of my face."

"Oh come off it, Kirby, why are you being like this?"

Kirby exhaled loudly and turned, eyes blazing crimson to face the royal blue haired girl. "Why? Because I love Amber like a sister and you're purposely taking pleasure out of her pain."

"She broke up with him, if anyone's in pain, it'll be him."

"Maybe, but how would he feel if he heard you were going around making his business public?" Kirby demanded with a winged brow.

Mariam braced herself, drawing herself to her full impressive height and met Kirby's look coolly. "Well, he won't find out, will he?"

Kirby simply sneered before she walked off to join the seniors who seemed to have multiplied since she had been in line as Miyami and Johnny had now joined them.

Mariam watched her go and rolled her eyes. She wasn't taking pleasure in Amber and Kai breaking up but she did want to know if it was true, and if it was, how it had happened. Was it because Amber had been cheating on him? Or had she been jealous that Kai and she had been talking? Besides, how was she supposed to find anything out if she didn't ask questions? Teachers were always telling them that if they didn't know something or didn't understand it, they were to just ask.

She turned around with a smug smile and almost walked into the boy standing behind her. Sweeping her gaze up, the smile froze on her face.

"Bryan." She greeted pleasantly despite the chills racing down her spine. This boy just unnerved her and she doubted it was all to do with just his height and broad shoulders.

"I don't like you messing with my cousins heads. If I find out you've been winding up any of them, and I mean any of them, I'll make you pay." He growled.

Her eyes rose defiantly to his, glimmering with emerald fire. "There's nothing you can do to me, Bryan, you don't scare me."

He leaned close so that his breath wafted against her ear and she tensed. "You forget who I bunk with, who I train with. One slip of the tongue and everything you've been doing comes to the attention of one, Kai Hiwatari. Now you wouldn't want that, would you?"

She swallowed hard, refusing to be intimidated. "He wouldn't believe you."

"Now I know you're not that naïve, Mariam." He purred before straightening and walking off.

Mariam blew out a trembling breath and found herself staring up into the grinning eyes of Daichi Benson who was standing before her with a handful of salt. "Hey, don't you think Ozuma and Sonia make such a good couple?"

She snarled at him, before taking her tray and stomping off to find a table to sit down.

---

Bryan slid onto the bench beside Johnny and plucked a salt sachet from Daichi as he threw them onto the centre of the table. Tearing it open, he sprinkled the sodium substance over his potatoes and gravy while tuning out the buzz of conversation continuing all around him. He noticed that Kai wasn't any where to be seen and he pondered that before dismissing it. He had vaguely gleaned that Amber and Kai had broken up, it was making the rounds of the schools rumor mill and there were many theories on how it had happened and whether they would get back together. Most of the opinions on the latter were quite positive which he didn't know how he should feel about.

It was true that while Amber and Kai were together, that she had paid little attention to him. She'd talk to him and they'd sit together but they didn't have their usual alone time and he missed her coming to him for a cuddle -though he'd never admit it. But he had also acknowledged that while she was with Kai, she was a happier person. She would fuss and fight with everyone as per usual but when Kai walked into a room, she lit up. It was painful to watch his cousin being stolen away but it was obvious that she had Hiwatari wrapped around her little finger. He cared about her and that was what mattered.

Bryan could admit that all through his life, he had worked hard to keep certain types of boys away from his cousin. Ones who would hurt her, take advantage of her nature and use her to inflate their own egos. He protected her as an older brother would. It was important to him that she was happy because she had made his life better than it could ever have possibly been. She had given him life and before he could make a life for himself, he had to make sure that she was taken care of. She would never be happy to be looked after by Bryan, no child wanted to live with their parents for the rest of their lives and that was sometimes how Bryan saw himself, as Amber's guardian. She would want someone for herself just as he wanted someone for him.

He knew they'd always have each other no matter what happened, but he wanted her happy before he moved on. Kai made her happy. And now that plan was floating in the water. If Amber came back, he was sure that the plan could be given a little CPR to get it back on track but the longer it lay, the less of a chance it had.

So he wanted Kai and Amber to get back together and he wanted Mariam to just give up and move on. Where was the girl he remembered? The sexy, funny girl whose throaty laugh filled a room when she was flirting with a group of boys. She had been able to stand up for herself and her friends. She would give a saucy smile and then twist your balls before you had a clue what was happening. He had seen her do it, had heard Amber's delighted cheer when she did. They had been friends and now they were enemies and all because of a boy. It was pathetic. Life was short and Mariam was doing herself no favors.

A giggle caught his attention and he frowned at Sonia who was sitting opposite him. "You ok?"

She blushed furiously and nodded, turning back to her meal which she was pushing around with her fork. Her blue eyes peeked up through her bangs to the person sitting opposite her.

Bryan looked at his cousin then a brow winged up as something brushed his leg. A sock clad foot was trying to… "Sonia, move your foot."

Her eyes widened and beside him Ozuma snorted into his meal. With a sigh Bryan swatted his cousin. "Play footsie later." He ordered while Sonia buried her face and Ozuma chuckled. "When did you two…?" He wondered.

"Who?" Miyami asked as she presented a tray to Johnny having just come down from the food line.

"No one." Bryan muttered.

Ozuma and Sonia gave soft relieved sighs and the older cousin rolled his eyes. Amber would love this, he could be sure of it. Leaning over, he pitched his voice just loud enough for his cousin to hear but not loud enough for anyone else. "If you don't want anyone to find out, I suggest you keep your feet to yourself."

Ozuma choked on his food before swallowing with a brief nod. He picked up his OJ and began to gulp it down as Sonia, still flushed with color, sipped on her carton of juice. Their eyes met and they shared a secret smile to which Bryan just raised his eyes to heaven.

"…Isn't that right Bryan?"

"What?" He inquired, noticing a select amount of gazes from around the table settling on him and Daichi.

"That you said that you'll make Mariam pay if you find out she's been messing with your families' heads?" Daichi shot a grin around the table. "She was quaking but hey, that's the kind of cousin I want. He's never stood up for me before."

Kirby, Ozuma and Bryan stared at the loudmouthed red head with open mouths before they all glowered.

"What are you blathering about?" Kirby demanded, with a tiny line between her brows.

"Bryan's stood up for you loads of times." Ozuma snapped. "What about Martin Mulcachy?"

Daichi frowned then his expression cleared. "Oh that jock from the beach? The one who's ball I punctured?" When the trio nodded, he grinned widely. "Oh yeah, and then came the infamous line from Bryan that if he came near me again, Bryan would puncture his balls." Throwing his head back, the boy laughed like a loon while Tyson snickered. "I've never heard a man squeak before."

Bryan suppressed a chuckle remembering the bug-eyed look on the man's face, as his hands automatically moved down to defend himself, then he shook it away and continued to eat.

A tray landed with a bang on the table as Mariah thumped into a vacant seat with a disgruntled expression on her face. "Mariam is becoming unbearable." She declared as a reason for her sitting with them.

"I'm going to kill Amber." Kirby suddenly declared. "I mean, if they've really broken up like you said Miyami, then… Ugh, what is she thinking? He's the best thing that's ever happened to her. They were so solid!"

Miguel sighed and ran a hand over her hair, looping an arm around her waist to keep her pressed to his side as though that would comfort her. When she turned into him, he simply pressed a kiss to her hair and rested his chin on her head. Ignoring his food in order to hold her in his arms.

"So they're really broken up?" Mariah asked with startled eyes.

Miyami sighed but Aspin jumped in. "We'll explain everything later."

"So why quit the team? Did she not want to play with Kai?"

"No she was being suspended by Nicolai for a while."

"Why?" The pink haired Chinese girl gasped.

Tala growled and dropped his cutlery. "Because she's anorexic and she never told me."

Miyami tsked in disgust and shoved away from the table leaving the group to watch her go with some interest at her reaction.

"What's her problem?" Hillary wondered.

She'd been careful to remain quiet so that no one would notice her and order her to leave them alone at what was obviously a private moment. They had spoken about things she didn't know anything about and when she did voice her opinion, some would give her bizarre looks as if to wonder what she knew about it while others would agree. It was strange to say the least but it was also nice to feel like she belonged even though these weren't her friends. These were Tyson's friends and Kirby and Daichi's family. She'd never have something like this though she had longed for it, whenever she had dreamt of high school she had dreamt of having loads of friends who would listen to her talk and laugh at her jokes. Instead she was just the annoying tagalong who was tolerated.

"Miyami doesn't think Amber's anorexic; she thinks it's something else." Aspin explained in a tone that said she didn't quite believe it.

"Well she doesn't act anorexic. She eats and she never watches her weight or complains about her size. Usually she's upset that she's so thin." Hillary murmured. Maybe Miyami was on to something.

"Then why is she eating so little? She's always skipping out on meals and Coach says she's not to get back onto the team until she's an acceptable healthy weight and eating properly." Aspin pointed out.

"Still…" Hillary sighed softly. "You're right; I don't really know Amber anyway. But I have to go; thanks for letting me sit here."

"Anytime." Kirby replied watching the brunette leave to clear her dish; then she turned to Tyson. "She's really not that bad, you could do so much worse."

The navy haired teen groaned. "I don't like her like that."

"That's not what Hitoshi says." Shahero taunted in a sing-song tone.

"I'm surprised Hitoshi even says anything whenever you're around." Tyson retorted; making a face and leaving the table before any more implications could be made.

---

The tension in the dorm was thick and heavy when Arista finally walked in. Russia was lying on her bed, her eyes on the ceiling as she listened to something loud and obnoxious, completely ignoring everyone around her. Her blood red hair was in disarray but there was some color in her cheeks and she looked healthier than she had in a long time, to Arista's eyes.

On the floor, Shahero was going through her photo collection for a school project. The shiny squares were scattered around her, with the girl in the middle running a hand through her hair and chewing on her lower lip.

Miyami was opening her drawers and slamming them shut as she put away her laundry while Sonia was leafing through a thick text book. Ruin was missing as was Amber and Aspin was lying on her side, reading a book.

"Hey, guys."

Miyami flicked a glance at her and immediately Arista went on edge. There was no cheerful smile of greeting or a teasing demand for where she had been; instead her cousin looked dull and angry.

"Hey." Shahero replied, offering her a brief smile before turning back to her photos.

Sonia waved but there was nothing from Russia or Aspin. Both were lost in their own little worlds.

"No Amber, tonight? Or is she out with lover boy?"

"Which lova boy?" Russia wondered caustically as she removed her earphones and began to wind them around her MP3 player.

Miyami threw her an acidic look. "No, Amber's gone home for the night."

Arista frowned moving to her side of the room to pull open her drawer to find a pair of PJ's. She wasn't ready to come down from her high the date she had been on had put her in. It had been fun. She and Brooklyn had gone to an amusement park and had pretty much exhausted all the rides. And despite it being a cliché, it was fun to kiss on the top of the Ferris wheel and snuggle up to someone even if the ghost ride was completely lame. Of course, it had been just as much fun to get out of the cart to poke the "creepy creatures" and take photos' of each other on Brooklyn's camera phone. They'd received a telling off for that one but they'd just run from the security guard whose diet probably consisted of doughnuts as it hadn't taken long to loose him in the crowds. And it was just as much fun to get scolded by an old prude for necking in a quiet corner near an ice-cream stand.

She sighed softly and plucked up a shirt, holding it close to her chest as she relived the memories from that day.

"I take it you had a good day." Miyami accused. She didn't know why she was so angry with her cousin, Arista hadn't done anything but she was just so fed up! Why did it fall on her to clear up people's messes? Why did everyone come to her with their problems? Why did no one burden Arista or Shahero? Why was it always her?

Arista flinched as she turned to regard her silver haired cousin. "Yes, I did actually. Have you got a problem with that?"

Aspin rolled over and sat up, groaning with sheer emotional exhaustion. "Look, ignore her. Amber and Kai broke up and she's pissed off."

A punch wouldn't have stunned Arista as much. "Kai and Amber broke up? But why?"

"Oh, who knows." Russia muttered. "Some shit 'bout Da's who're preggers an', och aye, Ams was cheatin' on 'im, or so 'e tought."

"Amber? Cheating on Kai? Well he's so wrong on that." Arista growled. Amber wouldn't have. She had plenty of opportunity with Mystel and she was always making it a point to make it clear to the blonde that she was taken and happily so.

"Well supposedly Mariam saw her out with the blond shark; you know the one that came with that dickass Adams. So Kai went searching for her and she saw him. So she comes back to the school, all fired up to give him a telling off and gets a letter from that wanker James saying she's going to be a father and she finds Kai talking to Mariam and all hell kicked off. She quit the team and broke up with Kai."

Arista's legs turned to jelly, and pale, she fell down onto her bed. "Say that again?"

So Miyami explained everything she knew with Aspin injecting her point of view on how Kai should have trusted her and other things that showed she was definitely supporting her friend and not the boyfriend.

With each word, Arista could feel hers collapsing as her heart pounded audibly and the room began to spin. It was her fault. Oh god, she was the reason Kai and Amber broke up. If she hadn't been dating Brooklyn, then Amber and Mystel wouldn't have hung out and no one would have accused Amber of cheating. Oh god, oh god, oh god. This was all her fault.

"It's my entire fault." She blurted out in the middle of another argument that was brewing between Aspin and Miyami.

"What?" Aspin demanded.

"Oh don't be fucking melodramatic; I'm not in the mood." Miyami grumbled rubbing her throbbing head.

"What do you mean?" Shahero wondered, crawling over to her friend, placing a hand on each knee. There was something in Arista's tone that told her that she wasn't being melodramatic, that she knew something.

"I… I…" Oh how did she tell them that she was dating the enemy? How did she explain how she felt about him? How important he was to her? How important it was that she'd have his support and attention when she felt so suffocated amongst the team. She wanted to have something to herself, instead of having to share everything with the girls and the team. She had been losing her identity and Brooklyn helped her find it again.

"Look, it's not your fault Arista. It's just bad timing and bad choices on Amber's behalf. I still don't see how she could have met him."

"Me." Arista blurted out.

"You?" Shahero questioned confused. Now Sonia and Russia were beginning to pay particular attention to the navy eyed girl at the other end of the room.

"I introduced them." She said and then everything spewed out. How she and Brooklyn had run into each other a couple of times and how they met in Russia. How they had become friends and met up outside of the school. How they had become more and eventually, how they had brought Amber and Mystel to act as alibis.

Miyami shook her head dumbly, unable to come up with words to describe how let down and betrayed she felt. God how stupid could Arista be?

"How did Amber find out?" Shahero managed to stutter out through the blank canvas in her mind.

"At the Shark game we went to. She saw me and Brooklyn together and I made her promise not to tell anyone. I'm so sorry." She sobbed seeing the absolute disgust in Miyami's eyes as she stepped away from her.

"Sorry? You stupid little fool!" Miyami seethed. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You were with the enemy, Arista. The enemy!"

"I care about him!"

"Who fucking cares what you feel? He certainly doesn't. You're a tool for him Arista. A way for him to get to the Tigers. He's a Shark, they're there to manipulate. It's what they do. God, they're violent and emotionless. Have you forgotten how he sprained Amber's wrist? He's just using you to get info on the Tigers."

Arista shook her head, her vision obscured with fat shiny tears, that had been prompted by Miyami's vicious and callous words. "We don't talk about the Tigers. He likes me for me!"

"Sure he does." The silver haired Japanese woman drawled bitterly. "And he didn't use you for an excuse to come to the open day, did he? He didn't even go see you, did he?"

Arista squeezed her eyes shut and the tears fell to slide down her once glowing cheeks. Each word stabbed at her heart, a separate slash each. "He did. He said he wanted to see me."

"See? He's using you! God, how could you be so blind? You're just like Hitoshi!"

Shahero jumped to her feet, her stupor immediately broken by that one name. "DON'T!" The order was expelled from her mouth with enough force to have Miyami stumble back. "You don't know everything so back off!"

Aspin and Russia exchanged looks before the purple haired girl moved to put an arm around the now trembling Arista to comfort her while Miyami let out a scream of frustration before whirling round to continue her tirade.

"Do you have any idea what you've done Arista?" She squeezed her eyes shut and shoved her hair out her face while a small part of her screamed at her to stop attacking her cousin. But she squashed it, this needed to be said. "He'll only hurt you, just like he's done to Amber! You bring Amber along and he brings Mystel and you think nothing's going to happen?"

"Leave her alone Miyami, she made a mistake but everyone does." Aspin implored, pulling Arista into her as though to shield her from the brunt of the Asian woman's temper.

"NO, she has to hear this. You didn't see Kai!"

"They'll be back together before Monday, god sake it's not the end of the world. Besides, Kai was just as much in the wrong for not trusting her. Big deal, so they're hanging out with the enemy. You heard her; she doesn't talk about the Tigers. Leave her alone!"

"Amber was lying to Kai every time she went out, she was lying to us. Do you know how much stress that probably put on her, hiding everything?"

"Oh not dis anxiety ting again!" Russia groaned.

"She made Amber sick with her stupid little schemes!" Miyami screamed, tears falling down her face and her breath hitching in her throat.

"Amber's sick?" Arista questioned frailly.

"It's not your fault." Aspin soothed. "It's just Miyami being melodramatic."

"Fuck you." She growled, low and dark before she stomped over to the bed and crawled into it, drawing the curtain around her.

Aspin shook her head before doing the same thing, violently yanking her curtain along the rail. Arista hurled herself onto her bed, tears streaming down her face and the bed creaked as Sonia climbed onto it behind her, murmuring soothing words as she stroked her hair.

---

The school was quiet as Maye did her rounds before she retired. The white light from the wall of television screens lit up her face as she casually sipped her coffee and scanned the various screens. Everything seemed tranquil but she knew there was an undertone of distress in the school. The pupils were restless and that led to boisterousness that was unacceptable to her. This kind of activity led to the students becoming loud and disrespectful and with the upcoming exams, it could not be allowed.

At least her shift was coming to an end and she could curl up in her bed and sleep. She was just so tired that her eyes were beginning to burn with the effort of keeping them open. Or this was the excuse she used to explain why she hadn't noticed the student wandering the floors immediately. But she noticed her now; a young girl was wandering down the staff corridor in a long white t-shirt. The monochrome lens told her nothing apart from the fact that the student had black hair and since it was pointing at the girls back, it would see nothing unless she turned to face it.

She watched as the student stopped at a door and knocked. Counting the doors, Maye identified the room as Hitoshi Kinomiya's and with a startled smirk, she watched the student enter. Putting down her mug, the vice principal quickly hurried out of the room intent of catching the student.

She was well aware of the girls' infatuations with the young coach. It was natural that during their teenage years, they'd invent all sorts of fantasies involving him and them but this was taking it a bit far and Maye was sure that he would appreciate her help.

Her plimsoles slapped against the lino as she hurried down the corridor and yanked open the door into the next hall. She hurried down the steps, her heart beating a mile a minute with triumph swimming through her veins. She had always suspected this sort of thing happened when she had been at the school herself but of course, she had never partook in it, nor did she have any sort of evidence but now she did. Whoever the student was, they were in for a big surprise.

She counted the doors as she passed by and noted the light on beneath the assistant coach's door. Was he aware of the student? Was he detaining her until help arrived? Or was he… No, she dared not think that he would be involved with a student. That would be against all rules and would surely get him thrown out. He wouldn't risk that, nor would he humiliate his family in such a way.

She rapped sharply against the door and waited, listening quietly the shuffles and the weak cough that came before it opened. Hitoshi stood in opening, sleepy eyed, ruffled and in a red t-shirt and tartan boxers. He muffled a yawn as he reached under his top to scratch his chest before he blinked blearily down at her.

"Maye?" His brow crinkled in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Where is she?" She asked sharply to disguise the frantic flutter of her pulse at the appearance of him in all his rugged masculinity.

"Who?"

"The student I saw come in here, surely you must have noticed her."

"What student?"

"The student." She hissed, and pointed to the small blinking light of the camera above the hall entrance. "I saw her on the camera."

He gave the camera a disturbed look before sighing. "Look there's no one in here, I was asleep."

"Then why was your light on?"

"I heard something at the window, but come in and check if you don't believe me." He muttered, stepping away from the door and allowing her inside. He crossed to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, burying his face in his hands in a weary movement.

Carefully she entered, sweeping the room with her gaze pinpointing places a student could hide. She checked behind the door; the wardrobe; the curtains and under the bed but found no one. She scowled and turned to Hitoshi.

"Well?" He questioned tiredly.

"I did see someone."

"Yes well, if someone was here, they're gone now. Maybe they went out the window."

She glowered at him. She didn't like to be made a fool of. Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the door and Hitoshi got up to watch her through his peephole. When she was finally out of sight, he walked over to his duffle bag and tugged down the zipper. A flushed head popped out and blew out a breath before a body followed, struggling to unfold itself from the confines of the bag.

Pushing her hair out of her face, Shahero turned to regard him. "I forgot about the cameras."

"Yeah you might want to be more aware of them." He muttered, reaching out a hand to help her to her feet.

She stepped out of the bag and sighed, suddenly feeling awkward and unsure what to do with herself.

He watched the lost expression play over her cute Asian features and he was in front of her a heartbeat, his arms around her, his cheek on her hair. "What's bothering you, Hero?"

"I'm fed up with them fighting." She said finally, pulling away so that she could look up into his heartbreakingly handsome face. "We use to have so much fun and play stupid pranks and now everything's crumbling. Miyami just snapped at Arista. Just completely blew her top."

"Why?"

Shahero froze and then shook her head stepping away. "I can't tell you, I'm sorry. And I know you out of everyone might understand but I can't." She babbled nervously, pacing away from him. Finally she turned back to him. "So I just need a place to crash without… I just need to be away from them all. They're bringing me down with them."

She scowled and turned to him, eyes blazing with fury. "It's not fair. This is Amber and Kai's stupid problem, why is everyone letting it affect them? I didn't expect anyone to fight my battles when you and I broke up!"

"You couldn't afford to let anyone know." He pointed out sagely, sitting down and pulling her between his legs.

She sighed heavily and then a brow winged up in interest. "You know, I agree massages are great stress relievers but they're generally not performed on people's butts."

He offered her a wolfish grin before nudging her back so that he could stand up. His eyes flickered to the clock and then back to his girlfriend. "Come on, let's get you to sleep."

"Maybe I should head back," She murmured, her eyes traveling nervously to the door. "What if Maye comes back…?"

"I'll lock the door." He reassured, propelling her towards the bed before he turned back to the door so he could flick the lock.

Heading back to the bed, he shed his t-shirt and lifted the quilt to slide underneath, shifting so that he was intimately pressed to Shahero's back. He heard her groan of protest, but he soothed her with a chaste kiss to her neck. "Just go to sleep Hero."

She sighed softly into the darkness, pulling his arms firmly around her and sinking into his embrace. She could understand Arista's desire for companionship. She felt it every time she was away from Hitoshi for any length of time and she also knew that being with Hitoshi was against the law never mind rules of the school. He was technically a teacher but not one and she couldn't help the way she felt about him, had always felt. The difference was that she had two years away from him to access how she felt. Arista was just feeding off the danger and adrenaline of a secret boyfriend, everyone fantasized about it at some stage but it wasn't always a relationship that could go very far. It was either unacceptable to friends or family which put a strain on the relationship when it came out or it lost the spark when it was no longer a secret. She just hoped that Arista knew what she was doing because Brooklyn was crafty.

Turning in Hitoshi's arms, she studied his face. "Hey, you knew Kai before coming here, didn't you?"

Hitoshi's eyes glimmered in the darkness. "Yeah, I used to help out at the school while I was doing a short course at the local community college. Why?"

"Then you know Adams pretty well?"

He shook his head. "It's hard to know Adams. His parents are psychologists and he tends to pick up a few tricks to keep himself aloof from the rest of the team. Kai was always quiet and unsociable but Brooklyn knew how to manipulate people to do what he wanted but he always stayed emotionally detached. He freaked me out a little. I wanted to reach him but it wasn't possible because he didn't want to be reached."

Shahero swallowed hard. 'Oh Arista, I hope you know what you're messed up with.'

---

Well... I know this wasn't really that long but I didn't want to just overload everyone with all those emotions. We'll be back with Amber next chapter and what exactly will Arista do? All reviews are appreciated, if you have any questions feel free to ask. I should have my review replies posted on bebo soon. I love replying to these ones. Oh and you know the disclaimer, I don't own Beybladeand check back for who owns the octopussy's.