Thirty-Five

"You just pissed off a crouching tiger," I warned him while getting into position. "I hope, for your sake, that you're prepared for when I pounce."

Kaoru grinned. "We'll see."

"Hmph!" What does he want from me? One minute he claims he wants to help me reach my full power and now he wants to fight? Oh well, he's asking for it and I won't back down until he's destroyed! I blinked when DJ Jazzman appeared as if out of nowhere, yelling into his microphone as usual. I brought my hands up to my ears to block out his screaming. It wasn't that he was that loud but my ears were pretty sensitive.

"Alright, this'll be a good, clean match," DJ Jazzman said to us. "Standard BBA rules apply. First one knocked out or the first one to stop spinning loses. Okay challengers, are you ready?"

"Ready," Kaoru replied.

"Mhm," I mumbled, getting my mind in the zone.

"Okay! Let's count it down!" DJ Jazzman said excitedly while lifting a hand into the air. "Three! Two! One!"

"Let it rip!" The guests around us called in unison.

I yanked on my ripcord as hard as possible but there was an obvious power difference compared to my usual launch. Kaoru's blade landed in the dish smoothly and took off at high speed around it. Dricen bounced a little on his landed but spun around the dish near the bottom.

"You should've listened to your friends," Kaoru taunted. "This battle is as good as mine."

"You haven't even attacked yet," I pointed out. "What's this all about? Why do you want to attack me and Dricen? What do you want him for? I want some answers this time!"

"To make you suffer!" Kaoru replied with a look of malice blazing in his eyes. "Go Hadenix!" In the blink of an eye Hadenix was coming towards Dricen. He was fast but not fast enough."

"C'mon Dricen! Evade, let's go!" I called out. I watched in satisfaction as Dricen moved out of the way with each attack that was thrown at him. That was our specialty, evading until the other blade got weaker and weaker so we could land a hit and win. But Hadenix didn't seem to be slowing down and, with a sinking feeling, I realized that Dricen would only be able to evade for so long before actually having to attack. "Keep it up!"

"How's she doing, Chief?" I heard Hilary asked from behind me. I clenched my hands into fists and gritted my teeth.

"Dricen's beginning to slow down," Kenny said in between keyboard clacks. "Evading is her specialty but at this rate Hadenix is going to tire her out before she can attack him. It's not looking good."

"You might as well give up!" Kaoru called across the dish. "I'm going to bring Dricen back where he belongs."

"He belongs with me and my family!" I snapped.

"Only because he was stolen from my ancestors!" Kaoru yelled back. I lost my concentration slightly at his outburst but it was enough for Hadenix to find an opening and bash into Dricen. Dricen was stolen? I shook my head. No! There was no way that's true!

I growled as my friend let out a roar of pain as he was hit again and again. Our defenses weren't great, it was something that I've always needed to work on and, unfortunately, Kaoru found that out. Once Dricen was backed into a corner and tripping over his paws he was finished and I couldn't let that happen!

I could feel sweat dripping down the side of my face. My heart was pumping at a high rate and adrenaline rushed through my veins. The roar of surging blood in my ears was so loud I couldn't hear much aside from my heartbeat and Dricen screaming in my head.

"Dricen…he belongs to me and my family in the White Tiger tribe!" I struggled to get out as I felt my energy slowly being zapped. Kaoru, if possible, had gotten much stronger than when I last saw him. This was going to be tougher than I thought. "He's been passed down for generations."

"But he didn't start out in your family," Kaoru replied. "The Ming family were thieves and stole Dricen from my ancestors many years ago. Dricen brought us everything we needed to survive and you made us suffer!"

"Don't listen to him, Crys!" Ray yelled. "He's only trying to get you to lose focus!"

No shit, Sherlock! And it's actually working too! What does he know about my family that I don't? I watched the beyblades to see if there was an opening for Dricen to take but Hadenix was everywhere. Dricen couldn't shake him. "Dricen is a pure soul! If my family were to have stolen him it was because yours didn't deserve him!" I hissed, baring my fangs. "Only those with pure hearts and intentions can have him and you're not one of them! I will take you down once and for all! C'mon Dricen, Tiger Claw!"

Dricen's speed amped up and he managed to get away from Hadenix to land blow after blow on the black beyblade. I glanced up briefly to see Kaoru's reaction and saw that he was laughing at me! "What's so funny?" I ventured to asked.

"You are," he replied simply. "Since you think you can beat me. Newsflash: you can't! Hadenix, Mutilating Darkness!"

My breath got caught in my throat as I was suddenly plunged into darkness. There was no sound around me at all save for my breathing and Dricen's screams of pain. I turned around on the spot to try and see something, anything, but the darkness was too thick. This was like his Raging Darkness attack. I waited for a memory to form in front of my face but nothing happened. Everything around me stayed dark.

"Oh man, not again," I whispered, my grip tightening on my launcher so much it started making a cracking sound. "Still using your cheap shots, eh Kaoru?" I called out. I didn't really expected Kaoru to answer me. If anything Dricen's screaming only got louder and filled with pain and anguish.

Suddenly I could see him. He was lying on his side, much like a cat lying in the sunlight but he was twitching as if he were being hurt by some invisible entity. I took a stumbling step towards him before finally finding my energy to run at him. I finally reached his side and looked over the large tiger whose breathing had slowed and was labored. I slowly reached out my hand to touch his flank, jerking it back when he let out another yowl of pain. Swallowing thickly I reached out my hand again, though it was shaking now, and finally pressed it against his warm side. I moved my hand around in a circle, feeling his fur move between my fingers.

"Drice', I'm here, its okay," I uttered between choked sobs. "I'm still here, buddy. I'm not giving up on you, okay? I'm…I'm still here fighting for you." I looked at Dricen's face and saw that his amber eyes were locked on me. "We can get through this. We've been in worse spots. Remember going against Garland? He was the toughest guy we've ever fought against and we beat him. We can beat Kaoru too. I believe in you, Dricen. We all do. Me, the guys, Dragoon, Draciel, Strata Dragoon, Dranzer, and Driger. They're all rooting for you."

Dricen lifted his head and rolled onto his stomach. I quickly scrambled out of the way and watched as he struggled to get to his feet. He shook every now and then from the force of being hit but he continue to try and get to his paws. His jaw clenched and his eyes squeezed shut. When he opened them his pupils had contracted until they looked like slits. His back arched and he spat and hissed into the darkness in front of him. I placed a hand on his flank once more and looked off to where he was looking.

Something started to step out of the shadows in front of us and I swear I felt my heart stop for a second. Standing in front of us looked to be a…a demon. A large creature with ruby red eyes and bat wings. His fangs gleamed despite the lack of light in the area and he towered over us. I swallowed and tired to steady my breathing but this was the biggest bitbeast I've ever seen in my life.

"We…we can do this, Dricen," I told him while rubbing his side. "We can beat him. Just remember everyone else. "We can take Hadenix and Kaoru down. What he doesn't realize is that it's not just the power that makes the beyblader. It's the heart, the soul, and the dedication put into doing everything you can into being the best you can be! Not relying on the power of the bitbeat and using them as a tool!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and when I opened them again everything came back: the ballroom, Kaoru, Hadenix attacking Dricen, and my friends cheering us on. I brought a hand up to my chest as it heaved with every gulp of air I tried to bring in. "And…and that's what you need to realize, Kaoru…" I wheezed. "You'll lose."

"What?" Kaoru hissed. "Take a look, Kitten, you're almost finished!"

I glanced down at my blades to see that Dricen was wobbling an awful lot and Hadenix was attacking him as if glued. I smirked and stood straight up. "That's what you think. Kaoru, you have nothing. You have no one to lean on for support and that'll be your downfall! Unlike you, I have friends backing me and they'll always be there for me and that makes me a stronger blader than you'll ever be!"

"Ha! We'll see about that! This battle, and Dricen, are mine!" Kaoru snapped. "Go Hadenix!" In a beam of gray light the demon bitbeast rose from his blade and towered over us. "

"Dricen! Let's finish this!"

Dricen rose from my beyblade with a mighty roar, his fangs and claws bared.

"Hadenix, Helm of Darkness!"

Dark energy surrounded Hadenix and the blade disappeared from the dish.

"No way!" Tyson gasped.

"It…it disappeared!" Max uttered.

Kaoru's laughing stopped when I started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You are," I taunted, repeating his words. "Dricen's a tiger. Essentially, he's a large cat. You've forgotten one important thing…" I felt power course through my veins and was sure that Dricen could feel it as well. "Cats are excellent at seeing in the dark. Dricen, Tiger Claw, full power!"

As Dricen surged forward he was enveloped in a bright blue-white light. He suddenly stopped, as if ramming against an invisible entity and the bright light filled the room. I brought my arms up to shield my face and felt wind whipping past me and ruffling the hem of my dress. I lowered my arms in time to see the beam of light fade from my blade before wobbling and then coming to a complete stop. Glancing up my eyebrows crinkled when I saw the look on Kaoru's face. He looked shocked, which was odd considering I just lost…right?

"…And the winner is Crystal!" DJ Jazzman announced.

What? I looked down at the dish and saw that Hadenix had broken to pieces and was scattered around Kaoru's feet. I let out a little laugh before falling to my knees. It's over. It's finally over and done with.

"Way to go Crys!" Max yelled in my ear while dropping to my side and giving me a hug.

"You really showed him, dude!" Tyson added while punching his fist into the air.

"You were amazing out there," Ray said while grasping my hand and helping me to my feet. "He never stood a chance against you. You were right, he may have the power but he doesn't have the faith to back him up."

"Heh heh, thanks guys," I laughed as I rubbed the back of my neck.

Hilary looped her arm with mine and made an excuse about having to freshen up. It was as if she could feel my discomfort with the attention. She's a life saver.

"How in the world did you manage to fit this in your purse?" I asked Hilary's reflection while slowly moving the mini flatiron down my hair. The fight didn't just take a lot of my energy but it also did a number on my hair as well.

"Hey, a girl's gotta be prepared," she replied with a little laugh. "Just like you're going to have to start getting used to being the face of the Bladebreakers."

I stuck my tongue out at her reflection. That's the last thing I want to deal with. I just want to blade and live my life, that's all. I don't want any of the sponsorships or the attention, but I knew I'd have to hold my tongue being the first, and so far only, girl to join a World Championship beyblading team. It was just a price to pay, I guess.

"Ready to go back to the festivities?" She asked as I pulled her mini flatiron from the wall and handed it back to her.

"Sure, but I don't think I want to beyblade for at least a day," I replied with a little laugh. "Kaoru took a lot out of me. I kinda wish he didn't take off."

"Hey, yeah, he said some stuff about Dricen."

"Yeah, stuff I hadn't heard before. I tried not to believe it but…it was very interesting to say the least. I just want to know a bit more but I guess I have to find that out on my own, unfortunately."

"Maybe some people in your village know," Hilary suggested as we left the bathroom and began to walk down the long hall to get back to the ballroom where the party seemed to be going in full swing once more.

"Maybe."

"Crys, can we talk?" Lee's voice came from my side. I shifted my eyes to look at him and noticed that he was standing by the door to the ballroom. I let out a huff and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Go ahead," I told Hilary when she hovered by the door. "I'll be there in a few." She nodded and cast one glance in Lee's direction before pumping the handle of the door. A blast of loud music and laughter came out of the room before it was cut off from the closing of the door. "What?" I asked when Lee didn't say anything.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. "I…I wanted to apologize." I made a scoffing sound. That alone was hard for me to believe. Lee doesn't apologize for anything, ever, not even when he's proven wrong about something. "I mean it, I shouldn't have said what I did."

"Oh, you mean when you implied that the only way anyone would be interested in me would just be to get under your skin?" I asked in a tight voice while glaring at him. "FYI, I haven't even spoken to Mystel all night."

"That's only 'cause that blonde haired freak has been following you around," Lee retorted.

I wanted to smile at his nickname for that Enrique kid but I didn't. I've heard of him and the Majestic team but this was the first time being in the same vicinity as them. Enrique's reputation was given to him for a reason and I had to threaten to smash his face into one of the many cakes that were provided to get him off my back.

"Hardly," I denied. "Kai scared him off." I shook my head. "You've been behaving ridiculously since I found out we were arranged and it needs to stop. You're only coming out looking like an idiot."

Now Lee scoffed. "Ray should've never told you."

"I deserved to know. It's my life."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't his place! But that's his plan all along, right? To make my life miserable." I crinkled my eyebrows together as he began to talk more to himself than to me. "He's always done that. He's always come out on top in everything we did. He's always been better than me in everything. He's always had everything I wanted. But not this time. I see through his plan. He tried to make my life miserable…but at your expense."

"What're you flapping your gums about, Wong?" I demanded.

He gave a mocking laugh. "Like you don't know. I'm not stupid. I see the way you look at him, the way you look at him with my sister. You want that to be you, right?"

I dropped my arms to my side. "I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled.

But my words fell on deaf ears. "He tried to mess things up again by getting you to despise me and the idea of getting married to me. He was close but it won't work 'cause I finally have something he doesn't."

"Ray has nothing to do with my opinion about you," I snapped at him. My tone finally seemed to get through his thick skull. "I'm not particularly fond of you because you have a short temper and you lash out at everyone instead of admitting your own faults. You let your emotions get in the way of blading and, let's face it, your jealousy is astounding and it'll always get in the way because you focus too much on what Ray has or did instead of yourself. You're bringing yourself down, Ray has nothing to do with it!"

"Quit defending him! He doesn't even care about you! Not like you want him to."

"Ray's just my friend. That's all."

"Right. He may be blind but I'm not."

"Whatever, Lee. I'm done talking about this. You can sulk all you want, I don't care. But let me tell you this, no matter how hard you try you'll never be like Ray."

I turned away from him and had my hand on the door handle.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you," Lee growled from behind me. "He steps on others to get what he wants. Don't come crying to me once you figure that out."

I tuned him out and walked back into the ballroom. More people were dancing to the music than blading now. Tyson and Max, however, were sitting at our table, plates stacked high with every dessert imaginable in front of them. Hilary sat nearby with a look on her face which was a cross between astonishment and annoyance. Daichi, Kenny, and Ray were nowhere to be found with a quick glance around the room. Kai was battling Dunga off in a corner. I was beginning to wonder if he'd 'blade again since he hadn't ever since the Justice Five tournament ended. I guess Dunga was a worthy opponent.

"Hey! Where've you been?" Tyson asked while pointing with his fork in the direction of the dessert table. "Get some dessert before it's all gone!"

"That'd be all thanks to you, I guess," I said while pointing at his plate. He shrugged and took another bite of his brownie. As I chuckled I felt the sensation of being stared at and looked around the room to see that Lee was glaring at me.

"What's up with him?" Hilary asked, following my gaze.

I shrugged. "Who knows?" I mumbled. "Hey, have any of you seen Ray? He owes me a dance." Tyson, Hilary, and Max stopped and looked at each other. "What?" I asked them, getting annoyed at the secret looks they were giving each other.

"He's, um, he's over there," Hilary replied, pointing towards a corner of the room.

I gave her a look before turning around in my seat and searched the room to spot him. I finally found him sitting by a plant that was in the corner, Mariah was right by his side. They were holding hands and Mariah was saying something to him with an anxious look on her face. I blinked and in that second she had leaned forward and kissed him.

My mouth fell open.

She kissed Ray! I couldn't even properly wrap my head around the very idea let alone believe what I just saw. It was no secret that Mariah's been chasing after Ray for ages, though she did her best to keep her crush to herself and try and put her friends first. Color me surprised when she actually kissed the guy. I turned back around and looked down at the table as the sick feeling came back full force, coupled with the sudden urge to bash Mariah's face into the wall.

"What?" I demanded when I noticed the others' looking at me. It came out more harsh than I intended. They didn't say anything but shook their heads. Rolling my eyes I crouched down and searched for my shoes.

"What're you doing?" Max asked, a slight shake to his voice as if I were going to yell at him.

"I want to go," I replied.

"Why?"

"I'm tired," I replied. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He rapidly shook his head. "No."

"Okay then."

"We'll go with you," Hilary offered.

I shook my head as a response. "I don't want to ruin your fun."

"I'm getting tired myself," Hilary said before looking at Tyson and widening her eyes in her idea of a subtle way to get him to agree with her. He looked down at his plate and then back up to Hilary and back down again. "Tyson, you can bring it with you."

"Okay," he sighed.

"I'll come too," Max said as he put down his fork. I was about to protest when he held up his hand to stop me from speaking. "I'm coming," he said firmly. "I'll tell Mariam and then I'll be right back."

"I don't want you to break your date."

"She won't mind. She has others to blade against and, besides, I think she's staying at a nearby hotel, if not this one. I'll be right back."

I let out a soft sigh. I just wanted to get away from everything. It didn't help that the music was starting to give me a headache. I leaned down and brought my heels up onto my lap. There was no way I was going to wear them anymore. Hilary, Tyson, and I stood as Max came back and was accompanied by Kai, his hand clutching onto Dranzer.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I want to go," I replied simply and gave a little yawn. "I'm tired and I have a headache."

He didn't say anything but grabbed his dress coat off the back of his chair and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go then."

We followed Kai out of the ballroom, through the hotel lobby, and into the cool night. We walked in silence for a little while, the only sound that filled the air were Hilary's heels clacking against the ground and random burps coming from Tyson as he continued to stuff his face with dessert.

"Where are we going anyway?" Max suddenly asked, causing us all to stop walking. "I don't know about you but I kinda don't want to go back to the dojo yet."

"How about the river?" I suggested. "I need to soak my feet, these heels almost did me in."

With a small chuckle the others agreed with me and we walked in the direction of the river. The cool ground felt like heaven against my feet. It wouldn't surprise me at all if I had blisters on them the next morning. But that'd be a small thin to worry about considering I, no doubt, would have to listen to Mariah go on and on about her night with Ray all day tomorrow. Hmm, maybe I can finally get that kendo lesson from Grandpa. One that lasts all day, hopefully.

Finally we reached the river. Hilary and I sat on the edge of the river and stuck out feet in the placid water, letting out little sighs of relief. The moon was large and full and cast a silvery light over us. No one said anything and the silence was starting to get to me but I guess it was better than them having stupid small talk. My mind was racing at a mile a minute, not focusing on one subject for too long. My mind mainly went back to what Lee had said to me. Was it possible that what he was saying was true? I didn't want to believe it but…I didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Tyson!"

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Hilary's high-pitched scream. I looked up and let out a strangled laugh when I saw that she was dripping water and glaring at Tyson with clenched teeth. Tyson was standing in the shallow part of the river, his pants legs rolled up to his knees and his shoes and socks abandoned on the shore. He was holding onto his stomach and laughing so hard that he had to wipe tears from his eyes. His hat was now perched ontop of his head and it made me wonder if he had carried it with him the entire time.

"I'm sorry Hilary but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up!" He chuckled.

"I'll show you a good opportunity!" She growled before jumping up herself and kicking her leg up through the water, successfully splashing the bottom part of his body. "Ha ha!"

"I'll get you for that!"

"We'll just see!"

And that quickly escalated into a water fight between the two that Max just had to join in on. I leaned back on my palms and looked up at the night sky, not letting my mind go anywhere except to the idea that Dricen and how he had been in my family was a bunch of lies. How could this be possible? The White Tiger Clan upheld its traditions that the bitbeasts were passed down through the families of certain tribes, save for Ray and Driger. How long have I had the wool pulled over my eyes?

Splash!

I coughed and spluttered when water suddenly hit me in the face. I brought my hands up and furiously wiped the water away, taking off my makeup along with it. I probably looked like a clown with melting face paint.

"Kai!" I cried out in astonishment as he stood up from where he was crouching in the water. He lifted an eyebrow and had a challenging look in his eyes. Tyson, Max, and Hilary stopped what they were doing temporarily and looked over at us. I spat a little river water out of my mouth and stood as well. "You're going to pay!" I declared before joining in on their water fight, kicking and splashing water at anyone that was close enough to me.

A/N: I hope you liked Crystal's battle. I've found that beybattles are a little hard to write so I watch the shows, mainly V Force, to give an idea on how to write them. One more chapter to go...

~C.M.