"You sure this is the place?" asked Tala suspiciously.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Dickinson got the address for me and the guy just said this is the Nikol residence, what do you think?"

"It just doesn't look like it's the right place," Tala indicated the gates to the vast property dubiously. "There's a pavilion the size of Tyson's dojo outside."

"It's probably for the memorial service."

"But it looks like they're throwing a party!"

"They're rich people," the gate opened automatically and Kai sped inside without a glance back at the guard, who was looking at them oddly. "You sure you can handle this?"

Tala snorted. "Pretend like I'm some rich piece of shit with an attitude problem?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Easy, Kai. I'll just act like you."

Ignoring him, Kai parked behind a silver Bentley that looked like it belonged in a showroom rather than in a driveway, and nodded to a man in a butler's uniform who approached them. Fortunately, he didn't have to talk. They had agreed he wouldn't do any of the talking, and Tala and he were a well-oiled machine by now when it came to public interaction.

"We're here to pay our respects," said Tala briskly, without waiting for the butler's greeting. Kai hung back. "Who is at home?"

The butler was giving them the same, odd look the guard had been throwing their way. "And you are, sir?"

"Ivanov, Hiwatari," Tala jerked his head towards Kai briefly. "As I said, we're here to pay our respects. Who is at home?"

The Russian names seemed to do the trick, as Kai had known they would. The butler immediately ushered them towards the front door and through a vast hallway, decorated tastefully with paintings and marble-topped tables cluttered with ornaments. "Miss Natasha, the late Mr. Nikol's sister, is here, and I assume Miss Anya will join us closer to dinner-time. The other relatives have gone to the graveyard," the butler led them towards what they assumed was a sitting-room. "Will you be staying with us?"

"We will have to decide that," said Tala dismissively. He pretended to look around disinterestedly. "Did you say Anya? You mean Anastasia?"

"Yes," the butler seemed confused by his use of her full name. "Miss Anya said she was going out, but her car is here so she may be in the grounds," they reached a sitting-room with the door open, where a red-headed woman was sitting, papers scattered around on the coffee-table as she read through something on a small laptop. The butler cleared his throat, and she looked up immediately. "Miss Natasha, Mr. Hiwatari and Mr. Ivanov."

"Oh," Natasha blinked, and stood up, holding out a hand in obvious confusion. "Hello, you are…?"

"We're friends of Anastasia's," said Tala smoothly, taking the offered hand and shaking it briefly. "Sorry for your loss, ma'am."

"Oh, yes, thank you," she still seemed confused. "I'm sorry, did you say you were Anna's friends? She didn't mention anyone would be arriving."

"She doesn't know we're here," explained Tala. Natasha raised her eyebrows, but nevertheless indicated for them both to sit. "We're just worried she may be going through some things," continued Tala easily. Kai merely nodded in agreement. "She's been staying in Japan under the care of our team manager, actually. Mr. Dickinson? Perhaps you know him?"

"Oh, you're the beybladers," Natasha's shoulders seemed to relax slightly. "What were your names again?"

"Kai Hiwatari, Tala Ivanov, ma'am."

"Ah," Natasha smiled. "Of course. She's mentioned you both a few times. The few times I've actually managed to get her to talk, of course," tiredly, she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm. "If you know anything about Anna, you know how stubborn she is."

"It's why we're here," charming smile at the ready, Tala leaned forward. "Is she here? We'd love to see her."

"She's here, somewhere," Natasha gestured around helplessly. "I'm sorry, I can't be more helpful than that. She comes and goes as she pleases, and the only way I know she's even been home is because she does all the work that's piling up. I wish she'd talk to me."

"Your butler mentioned she might be in the grounds," Kai spoke for the first time, and mentally glared at Tala when he smirked at his comment. "Would she be there?"

"If her car is at home, then yes, she probably is," Natasha ran a hand through her hair. "I could send Martin outside with you so you can find her, if you like?"

"I think that might be a good idea," said Tala. "And when's the memorial service? Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow morning," nodded Natasha. "I don't know if you boys have a hotel lined up? You're more than welcome to stay here, and I'm sure Anna would appreciate the support. We have plenty of room."

"That would be nice actually," said Tala, before Kai could speak and absolutely refuse. "Our bags are in the car. We landed and came straight here."

Natasha smiled. "Oh, you're both so sweet. I'm glad Anna has friends looking out for her. I know nobody else came, from where she works. Though that's probably because I doubt she told them," she frowned again.

Tala spouted off some social niceties that Kai didn't hear and excused them both hurriedly. As if he had a telepathic communication with his employer, Martin the butler was waiting outside the door, a much less hostile expression on his face as he gestured for them to follow him upstairs.

"Miss Anya is in the gardens, as I suspected," he told them as they ascended the marble staircase. "You can see her, actually, from here," he indicated the window on the landing, which overlooked a perfectly manicured lawn with a fountain at one end and a cluster of trees at the other. Kai raised an eyebrow at the obvious extravagance and Tala whistled lowly.

They spotted Anastasia at the same time. From the height, she was merely a speck of black against the bright green grass. She was sitting near the fountain, her dark hair tied up in a messy bun as she rocked back and forth slowly.

Tala cleared his throat. "Martin, why don't you show me our rooms? Kai can get a head start on talking to… er, Anya."

Kai didn't argue, and though Martin looked like he wanted to object, he didn't. He merely pointed out the door which would take Kai out into the garden and began to climb the stairs again. Tala gave Kai a pointed look, but it didn't annoy him. He knew what the redhead meant.

Finding Anastasia was easy. Other than the fact that she was the only person in the garden, the area was so wide and empty that she stood out immediately, in her black dress and with her inky black hair. Kai closed the distance between them slowly. He wasn't at a loss for words, and he wasn't awkward. He was hesitant, because he wasn't sure how she would react to his presence.

He was only a few feet away from her when she heard his shoes crunching the grass and leaves under them. She glanced back absently, probably expecting Martin or her aunt, and she did a double-take when she didn't immediately realize who he was. Her eyes widened when they caught his, and the expression of utter bewilderment stayed on her face as Kai lowered himself onto the ground next to her. It only took a brief glance for him to notice she had been crying – her eyes were red and puffy.

He didn't speak. He knew she would. And she did. "W-what are you doing here?"

He didn't answer her directly. "Tala's in the house," he said. "He got your aunt to invite us to stay."

"Tala?" she sounded even more confused now. "What? You're both staying here?"

Kai shrugged. "Looks like it."

"But why…" she trailed off. "I don't understand."

"Memorial's tomorrow."

"Oh," her tone became slightly flat. "It was Tala's idea? He brought you here for the memorial?"

There was a beat of silence. Anastasia hadn't looked away from his face while they'd been talking, but Kai had yet to look at her again. Giving in, he finally turned to face her. He wasn't sure what she had seen in his expression – it was neutral as always – but suddenly she smiled softly. "No. It was you."

"Don't start crying," he warned. "I don't do tears. You can cry when you see Tala."

Anastasia sniffed. "I don't do tears either. I have allergies."

"Hn."

"Ah, I've missed your chattiness."

"What's the deal with you and the redhead inside?" asked Kai.

Anastasia blinked, and then looked away. Her expression was blank. "Oh, me and Tala? Didn't he tell you? We're madly in love and eloping to Amsterdam soon. I told him to trick you into getting here so you could be my bridesmaid at the wedding next week."

Kai snorted. "You're not funny, Anna."

Her tense shoulders slumped. "You're the first person to call me that since I got here."

Kai frowned. "They call you Anya here."

"I hate it," she spoke with more venom than he had expected. As if realizing what she had just said, Anastasia cleared her throat. "Also, who has a butler in this century? Martin's like a dinosaur that never dies, I swear he's been around since my grandparents were kids."

She was rambling, and she was getting more and more upset with every word she spoke. Inwardly, Kai sighed, even as he nudged her with his shoulder slightly to indicate that she could lean against him. It was the only way he knew he could offer her comfort that she'd understand. Immediately, Anastasia rested her head against his shoulder, sighing quietly. Kai didn't stop her. Instead, he shifted so he could rest his cheek against the top of her head. It wasn't weird, or awkward, or even overly intimate to sit like that with her. It could be, and he almost wanted it to be, but it wasn't, and he liked that.

"Butlers are stupid," he agreed quietly. "We had one too, when Voltaire lived in Japan."

"Stupid rich Russian families, turning us into brats and messing us up all in one go."

"Tell me about it," snorted Kai. "You talking from experience?"

"Of course," he felt her shift as her fingers began to play with a loose thread in the sleeve of his jacket. "Your granddaddy was a psychopath. My parents didn't care whether I lived or died, as long as I didn't ask them for money. And now, I just inherited all of it, so tomorrow, when people talk about how amazing they were and all that crap, I have to sit and smile and pretend I agree with them," she huffed. "I really don't want to do that."

She was talking exactly as he'd expected. "I know," he agreed. "But you'll regret it if you don't."

Anastasia pulled away to look at his face, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you regret going to Voltaire's service?"

Kai met her gaze head-on. "I regret going alone."

And suddenly she seemed to realize why exactly he'd flown halfway across the world to her. Because they were friends and he cared about her, sure, and because Tala had been right he definitely wanted to be more than friends. But most importantly, Anastasia finally saw that he was trying to make sure she didn't have the same regrets he had, almost two years after the incident. Because he knew how it felt to feel guilty and miserable, but most importantly alone.

"Oh, wow," she whispered. Her eyes were slightly wet, but she wasn't crying, and Kai was grateful for that. "Umm, I should warn you about something."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm about to give you a hug," her eyes were twinkling now. "If you don't want me to, you should probably run away now."

Kai sighed, and reluctantly held open his arms. "One hug," he said warningly, and Anastasia squealed. "And if you even – oof."

She had practically tackled him to the ground, laughing softly as she threw her arms around his neck. Kai told himself he had grabbed her waist to make sure he didn't end up flat on the grass with her on top of him, but he knew it wasn't true. He hadn't been this close to her since the first day he had realized he probably liked her, when he had swiped her phone and she had noticed him smiling at her. She was warm and her waist was still tiny, just like he remembered. Her cheek was resting at the base of his throat, forcing him to get a whiff of her fruity shampoo, which was slightly dizzying because he was sure he would never smell berries the same way again.

"You missed me, didn't you?" her voice was teasing, slightly muffled because she had buried her face into the front of his jacket. And he had let her, of course. Her dark mass of hair was in his face, fluttering slightly in the light breeze of the day. Her waves definitely weren't natural. How long did she spend getting ready every morning?

Kai grunted. "You're choking me."

"I am not," she said, but her grip around his neck did loosen slightly. She still didn't let go. "Don't change the subject. You totally missed me."

"About as much as I miss Voltaire."

Anastasia snorted. "Sheesh, break a girl's heart in one sentence, why don't you?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "I thought we'd already decided I can't live without you?" slowly, curiosity overwhelming, he grabbed a soft curl and rubbed it between his fingers. Her hair was ridiculously soft, and those curls were real, he had been wrong. Since when did he like curly hair on girls anyway? "Making me say it won't make it any truer."

"It'd be so satisfying though."

"Not funny, Anna."

"You missed my humour, admit it."

"No, I really didn't miss that."

"Right," she sounded like she was smiling. "Hey, Kai?"

"What?"

"Are you playing with my hair?"

He dropped the curl immediately. "No."

"Just like you didn't miss my jokes, huh?"

"Get off now," said Kai finally, pinching her waist and causing her to yelp as she jumped away from him. Free from her hold, Kai stood up and jerked his head towards the house. "Let's go and see what damage Tala's done."

Anastasia looked up at him, eyes still twinkling. She was grinning. "Can't get out of here fast enough, can you, hotshot?"

Kai kept his eyes on the house. "Are you coming?"

"Now you don't even want to go into the house without me?" she was laughing at him. "I knew you missed me."

Without looking, Kai aimed a kick at her shin. He smirked when Anastasia swore. "Don't push it."

She groaned. "I hate you."

"Don't you forget it."