A\N: Hey guys, just like to remind you, just in case by some miracle there's anyone reading this who already started reading it some years ago when it was first published; this is actually the SECOND new chapter, as I've combined what used to be the first and second chapters into one chapter. So if you haven't already, and you thought that the two previous chapters are the same ones from years ago, let me repeat; chapter two is NEW, so please go back and read that one before this one :)

Moving on! I'd also like to say that while this chapter isn't quite as long as the previous one, I regret to admit that it may not be quite as eventful either, and for that I apologise. However, the next one will be much more eventful and will HOPEFULLY be out soon. (Originally it was supposed to be part of this one, but it would have made the chapter much too long and overwhelming, so regretfully, I had to split them up).

Well, I think that about does it, so without further adieu, on with the story, hope you like it! And although I don't expect anyone to really be following this series anymore (sadly :[ ), and admittedly I'm mostly just trying to finish it for my own peace of mind, it is still my pride and joy and any feedback would be so very muchly appreciated (Especially if it's good! :] ) lol

Disclaimer: Ya'll know I own next to nothing right? -_-;


Demetra looked around at her new quarters with her hands on her hips. It was a great deal smaller than her room back home, but she'd expected that. The room was perhaps roughly sixteen or seventeen feet by approximately twelve or thirteen; and despite what a certain redhead might say about her, she actually liked it. It was more than she needed and she knew she'd be quite comfortable there.

The bed was a comfortable double with a large trunk at the foot of it, and there were two large windows on the opposite wall it sat against, which happened to give a fine view of the surrounding mountains and a little peek at the charming village below. The windows were framed with large, thick navy curtains meant to block out the light when drawn - which the brunette appreciated immensely since she was an extremely light sleeper and found it easiest to sleep in complete darkness. There was also a large dark-stained oak dresser with a tall and heavy gilded mirror, a tall matching chest of drawers, and a beautiful old mahogany desk against one wall. Another wall had a large closet with double racks and multiple shelves, and there were a pair of end tables either side the bed to match the dressers. The room itself was a soothing and attractive shade of blue.

Other than these things, the room was bare; no doubt meant to accommodate the guest's desire to add their own furniture and things, but Demetra knew that other than some photographs and whatever came out of her limited luggage, she didn't expect to be adding much else to the spacious room - again, likely to the disbelief of a certain Russian pain-in-the-ass.

Once she'd thoroughly explored her new living arrangements, Demetra proceeded to unpack. In a short time she'd made use of the closet and dresser (though both still had considerable space to spare), and she'd set up her equipment and various other items around the room. After finding a stack of sheets and pillowcases in the trunk, she selected a set she liked, along with a thick and heavy duvet, and proceeded to dress the bed.

Last on her list, Demetra took the time to set up her electronics and other related items on the large antique looking desk. Having done so, she decided to kill some time checking emails, making notes, plugging in and sizing up new data and statistics, and tying up any loose ends left behind from her transition from Finland to Russia.

That done, she stood in the centre of the room with her arms crossed again and looked around as she considered what to do next. She knew she was going to be schooled by specially selected tutors, along with the Blitzkrieg boys, while she was staying in Russia, but classes weren't due to start for another week or so. Breal had instructed her to explore her new surroundings and rest up for the day, and that training would begin the following morning.

So with nothing else to do, Demetra uncrossed her arms and approached her dresser as an idea suddenly came to her. Extracting a swimsuit from a drawer, she fetched two of the towels she'd discovered in her closet earlier and tucked them under her arm before making for the door and leaving her room behind.

Demetra decided to do as her brother had said and explore the massive building for a while. While the whole thing looked rather cold and sterile from the outside; what with it's drab grey brick and metal roofing, it was actually quite comfortable inside.

"I know Kai said there was a pool in here somewhere..." She muttered to herself thoughtfully. "I wonder how hard it would be to find it on my own?"

The building had three levels and a basement. The two upper floors were full of a shocking number of rooms; enough to accommodate a small army she was sure; though it seemed that the only ones who would be staying there besides some staff were the Blitzkrieg Boys, Demetra, and her brother. The main floor apparently held a huge dining area complete with a long row of vending machines containing what seemed like every snack imaginable, a multitude of matching white tables of different sizes obviously meant for socialising, and a huge kitchen. There was also a massive recreational room decked out with virtually every form of entertainment one could imagine. A quick glance through the little window in the door showed Demetra it had two pool tables, Foosball tables, three massive television sets on the walls with large overstuffed couches surrounding them, a long well-stocked bar on one wall and even some slot machines off to the side. And this was only what she could see through the window, she knew she'd see more if she decided to go inside.

Shaking her head, the brunette stepped away from this room and continued on her way. Along with these places, the main floor also had a sizeable gym area; of course, decked out with all the equipment and trimmings one could want, a room that appeared to be an indoor track meant for running and perhaps for playing sports, and even a large nearly empty room she figured was meant for dancing and/or other multi-purpose uses. She knew there were a few other rooms on the main floor that she hadn't explored yet, as well as the basement which was apparently entirely dedicated to a training area, but she decided to explore those later because she'd finally found the place she was looking for.

After peering through the window of the large swinging doors, Demetra noted the empty pool and a small smile came to her face. Pushing the heavy doors open, she walked in and immediately took a deep breath. Normally pools were loaded with chlorine and stank as such, but she'd been pleased to find out that this particular pool was of the salt water variety. With the salt and the warmth of the air in the room, Demetra could already feel the bone-chill she'd acquired since arriving in Russia receding and her airways clearing. Relaxing now, the brunette made her way towards the back of the room and swiftly got changed.

In no time at all, Demetra had changed into her swim suit and exited the change area, depositing her clothes and towel on a nearby bench and moving to stand at the edge of the pool. As she lifted her arms to do some warm-up stretches, she looked around and couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the area. There were long underwater lights in the pool that made the water and the room itself glow; and they must have been dark blue lights because Demetra noted in awe that the water looked a surreal sapphire colour, making it look almost magical.

Her smile returning to her face again, Demetra lifted her arms over her head and arched her back before plunging into the water with a perfect dive. She swam as far as she could before coming up - though she was dismayed to find that it wasn't nearly as far as she was normally able to go, no thanks to the annoyance of her new injuries. She did a few playful twists before rolling over to rest on her back and stare up at the ceiling. As she floated blissfully, she was pleased to note that said ceiling had been decorated quite elaborately to look like the night sky.

Sighing deeply in content, Demetra simply floated on her back for a while as she felt her body relax and the tension in her muscles ease as they seemed to groan in satisfaction. Best of all; while at first they had stung like nothing else, the salt in the water seemed to be helping her multitude of cuts, scrapes and gruesome wounds, and she could practically feel her body sighing in relief at the healing sensation.

"Mmmm..." The brunette hummed blissfully, closing her eyes and letting herself enjoy the water.

"This is so good..." She thought in a state of bliss. "I really needed this. When was the last time I actually went for a swim?"

Too long, she figured. They had a pool at home as well; though not nearly as big as this one, and she loved to swim, but she'd been so busy and so wound up as of late that she hadn't really bothered to take a dip for some time. Now, as she floated around serenely on her own, she wondered why she had denied herself such a pleasure for so long.

The water was just the right temperature and the salt made her feel like a million bucks, and Demetra figured she could just lay there for the rest of her life and be completely content. However, after when felt like no time, she caught herself beginning to drift off to sleep and decided she'd better get out before she drowned. Debating on doing a few laps before she got out, she eventually decided against it; admitting that her still healing body probably couldn't handle it just yet; and instead made herself a promise to return when she was feeling more up to it.

Righting herself, Demetra swam to the pool stairs and reluctantly waded out. After wringing out her hair, she fetched her towel and leisurely dried herself off, flipped her head over to wrap her hair, then wrapped the second towel around herself and slipped into the slip-ons shed worn in. Grabbing her clothes she finally left the pool behind.

-;-

"It might have had a terrible start, but maybe my time here won't be quite so bad after all." Demetra thought in content as she walked the long journey back to her room. "It's a big building after all, and aside from school and some joint exercises, I'll be training on my own and doing my own thing, so there's really no reason that crimson cockroach and I have to cross each others paths much. All we have to do is stay out of each other's way and this could actually be enjoyable."

Another small smile coming to her face, Demetra lifted her chin confidently and casually rolled her shoulders.

"Yes... This'll be just fine."

Her spirits considerably higher than they had been for a while, the brunette occupied herself with pleasant thoughts as she walked. She'd nearly made it to the stairs that led to the floor her room was on, still in said good mood, when something happened that instantly put a damper on her positive vibe.

As she passed the rec room, the Blitzkrieg Boys were just exiting it, chatting amongst themselves. Demetra tensed for a moment but soon relaxed when she noted that the bane of her existence wasn't with them. She was ready to ignore them but upon noticing her, the boys stopped and gawked at her as she walked past. Demetra frowned as she looked at them out the corner of her eye.

"Wow, Demetra! I didn't expect you to be into cosplay!" Ian commented, sounding greatly impressed.

Demetra stopped in her tracks and turned to them, brows furrowing and an irritated frown coming to her face when she noted that the small teen was giving her an approving once-over.

"Excuse me?" She asked, no idea what he meant and unsure if she should be offended or not. Ian grinned as he spoke again.

"Are you dressed as that chick from those popular comics and movies...? Uh.. what's her name again..? Mystery, Mysterious... something like that."

Demetra was extremely confused. What the hell made him think a swimsuit and towel around her waist was cosplay? However, before she could respond, Spencer spoke up.

"I know which one you're talking about, Ian, she's really pretty... yea she does kinda look like her."

Alongside the two, Kai looked beside himself with amusement as he stared at her with crossed arms and a huge smirk.

"Or are you supposed to be a seductive visitor from another planet?" He joined in. "Let me guess; you want us to take you to our leader?"

This time Demetra was seriously offended.

"Did you just call me an alien?" She demanded; half angry, half admittedly stung. Seeing the mild hurt in her eyes Kai's expression softened slightly.

"I'm kidding. But seriously, what the hell happened to you?"

Once again, before she could reply, someone cut her off.

"Whatever happened, you'd make the sexiest alien ever!" Brian suddenly exclaimed with hearts in his eyes. "You can invade my world any day!"

Demetra gave the normally hard and brutal young man an incredulous look.

"I have no idea what you idiots are talking about." She told them finally. "I just came from the pool. And if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do then to stand here wasting time with you."

That said, she turned away from them and proceeded down the hall, ignoring the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boy's conversation as she left them behind. Her plan was to simply return to her room, dry her hair, grab a cup of coffee and spend the rest of her day relaxing as she prepared a training schedule for herself for the following day.

Soon enough, she reached her room and Demetra made her way to the en suite bathroom therein to fetch her hairdryer. Having done so, she grabbed her brush, uncoiled the towel from her head, and reached up to begin brushing her long locks as she made her way towards her mirror. Standing in front of it, she plugged in her hairdryer, then lifted her gaze to her reflection as she continued brushing her locks. However, her hand froze in it's movements and her eyes widened to resemble over-sized silver coins as she finally saw what the boys had been talking about. Staring back at her was a young woman who looked like she'd fallen into a vat of ink; from head to toe every visible inch of skin was a deep sapphire blue colour, even her hair had become a shade of blue.

The brush in her hand went clattering to the counter as Demetra stared at her reflection in shock. Slowly, her hand rose to brush her fingers against her cheek and her mouth fell agape when she realised the blue wasn't coming off. As she stared she could feel a scream of rage building in her throat, but she swallowed it in favour of her pride.

"How the living-?! What the-?! When-?!"

She was unable to formulate a tangible thought as she gawked at the stranger in the mirror.

Eventually, after rubbing and smudging her skin enough to make it sore with no avail, Demetra realised that her new hideous shade was not going anywhere anytime soon. Grinding her teeth in furry, the former brunette whirled on her heel and stormed out of her room. She'd only made it a few feet outside it however when a, by now familiar, voice from behind stopped her.

"That's not a bad look for you, princess. I mean, you always wanted to stand out, am I right?"

Demetra whirled around so fast her long locks wrapped completely around her before falling back down again.

"You!" She growled savagely. "You did this didn't you!? I have no idea how you did it but I know it was you!"

Tala was leaning against the wall beside her door with crossed arms and a devious smirk on his face.

"Don't be stupid." He replied, looking highly amused. "It's sweet of you to recognise my many talents, but you're barking up the wrong tree, mutt. How could I seriously have managed to do that? Although, I will admit, it is an improvement."

Demetra's teeth were grinding so hard she expected to see sparks.

"Like I said, I have no idea how you did it." She seethed. "And I don't care. Just as long as you understand something, Ivanov."

She stepped up to the redhead now until she was nose to nose with him, and looked up the few inches between them to level him with a vicious glare.

"You told me earlier today that making you my enemy would be a mistake, but you're the one who's made us enemies and you're the one who's going to regret it! You want a war, you bloody mongrel, you got one!"

That said, Demetra whirled away from the redhead and stalked back into her room, slamming the door behind her so hard the sound echoed all the way across the massive building.

Tala thought back to the brunette's fiery, violent expression and a small tremor that had nothing to do with fear ran down his spine.

"It really is too bad she's such a miserable wretch." He thought admiringly. "I might've actually been attracted to her otherwise."

He then thought back to her last words to him and snorted in amusement.

"Then let the war begin."

His smirk widening, Tala reached into his pocket and withdrew a large bottle of permanent blue ink. Pushing off the wall he began walking back down the hall. He tossed the bottle in the air one time before laughing to himself and replacing it into his pocket.


..:: Earlier that day ::..


He'd never been so glad to see a bed in his life.

The bags in Tala's hands dropped to the floor as soon as he walked through the threshold into the familiar room. He made to approach the bed, but a thought suddenly occurred to him and he first turned around to shut the door. As an after thought, he locked it for good measure. Now satisfied, Tala shuffled tiredly towards the one thing he'd been longing for all morning. He didn't bother to dress the bed or undress himself, he just fell onto it and closed his eyes.

A long, satisfied sigh echoed through the room as the redhead allowed his body to finally relax. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so tired. With a frown he remembered the many a sleep deprived nights he been forced to endure under Boris and Voltaire's cruel tyranny, and noted that there had been many a time when his body was so ragged and so weary it was a miracle he was able to remain standing, let alone function. Compared to those days and nights, his last twenty-four hours were a cake walk. Still, whether it made sense or not, Tala had to admit that the last few hours in question had taken its toll on him and he was undeniably and inexplicably bone-tired.

Normally it took him a long time to get to sleep and when he finally managed, it was usually light and restless; a side effect of having lived under the thumb of two psychotic villains for so long. However, this time as Tala forced - with great effort - his mind to quiet, he drifted off into a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep.

-;-

Hours after arriving at the Russian facility, Tala's bright blue eyes finally blinked open. It took a few moments, but once he'd finally woken up, the redhead sat himself up and stretched wide as he released a long sigh of satisfaction. For the first time in as long as he could remember - years to be sure - he'd slept like a log and admittedly he felt better then he had in as long. Looking to his right at the clock on his bedside table, the redhead was greatly surprised to see that it was already late afternoon, and could hardly believe he'd slept so soundly for so long - and completely undisturbed, to make the best of it. Certainly it was a blessing he hadn't had the pleasure of enjoying for quite some time.

"Funny how easy it is to relax when you don't have to worry about what the psychotics around you are up to." He grumbled wearily, multiple faces coming to mind at the thought.

Getting to his feet, Tala bent his neck from side to side as he looked around thoughtfully. He could unpack, but what was the rush? He was going to be there for a while, so it could definitely wait. Besides, there was no one around anymore to punish him for his procrastination.

"Well, nothing really happening until tomorrow." He thought absently. "Must be something around to occupy myself with until then."

Considering going to find one of the guys for a game of something in the rec room, Tala approached his door, unlocked it with a small smirk of amusement, and left his room behind.

-;-

Tala had just turned the corner that would lead him towards the stairs that in turn led to the main floor, but upon immediately spotting a now familiar brunette making her way towards him from the opposite hall, he ducked back behind the corner again.

The Blitzkrieg Boys and the Nakamura siblings all had rooms on the upper floors - the boys had rooms on one and, and the siblings on the other. The staff's rooms were among the many on the second floor, where the two were currently. There were no elevators or lifts in the building, only staircases; one at each end of each level that connected them to the ones above and/or below it, while one in the centre of the upper floors lead to the ones below. It was around this centre staircase of the second floor that Tala had run into the brunette and decided that if he were to follow her, the chance just might arise to pay her back for her trick that morning. As expected, the brunette was descending the staircase to go downstairs, and after waiting a few moments to make sure she'd gotten far enough ahead of him, the redhead ducked back around the corner again and stealthily followed after her.

Tala stayed at a distance from the Finnish blader and silently stalked her from the shadows as she explored the main floor. At the juncture of one of the many halls, she stopped and he stayed back and listened as she talked to herself, obviously completely oblivious to his presence.

"I know Kai said there was a pool in here somewhere..." She muttered to herself thoughtfully. "I wonder how hard it would be to find it on my own?"

At this point an idea struck Tala like lightning as a thought of the perfect revenge came to him and a wicked smirk came to his face. He wondered if he'd have time to pull it off and took a moment to consider, but figuring it wouldn't be a total loss if he didn't - he'd just come up with something else later - his smirk widened and he crept past the brunette while she was occupied to follow through with his mischievous deed.

-;-

It didn't take long for Tala to find what he was looking for in the building's storage room, and in no time at all he'd left the room behind and proceeded as fast as his legs could carry him towards the pool room. As he passed a certain hall, the redhead peered down it and caught sight of Demetra peering into the colossal gym. Considering the distance from the pool room, he hoped she'd continue to explore the remaining rooms between the two, and calculated that if she did, he should have enough time to carry out his plan.

So, darting past this hall, the redhead hurried towards the pool and blew the doors open as he flew inside. Darting towards the centre of the pool, the redhead reached into his pocket and pulled out a large bottle of deep blue-black liquid, then crouched down and looked into the clear water at the blast of bubbles created by one of the jet streams in the pool. Uncapping the bottle, his wicked grin returned, and a matching gleam appeared in his eye, as he upended the entire contents into the water directly over the streams. Lifting his gaze he watched the deep blue liquid spread, swirled and stirred up by the streams until the entire pool had become a deep blue colour.

Tala stood up and considered for a moment, wondering if maybe his efforts had been in vain; there was no way anyone would actually be dumb enough to fall for this would they? Clearly, one could tell that the water was considerably bluer than it should be.

Then again, with the lights in the pool and the ambience of the decorations, hopefully the brunette would just think it was supposed to be that way. Or, being the precious little sheltered fool she was, perhaps she wouldn't even notice.

As he debated thoughtfully, Tala was suddenly shaken from his thoughts as he heard the doors to the pool room swing open. Cursing under his breath, the redhead jumped up from his spot and shot towards two large containers that held the pool's huge lane dividers. Peering out around them, he watched Demetra pause a moment with a contented expression on her face before making her way towards the changing rooms. Apparently, she hadn't seen him and Tala heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well that was closer then I'd planned." The redhead thought wearily. "Good thing you can't see the sides of the pool from the doors."

As soon as the brunette had disappeared inside the changing rooms, Tala jumped up from his spot, intending to make a hasty exit, but unfortunately something held him back. Looking down, Tala cursed again as he noted that his foot had somehow become snarled in a portion of one of the lane dividers, which evidently was hanging out of its container.

"You gotta be kidding me!" He growled irritably under his breath.

Crouching down again, Tala began yanking and untangling as fast as he could. He'd just managed to free himself and angrily fling the offending objects back into the box when he heard Demetra exit the changing rooms.

"Damn it..." He muttered, ducking further behind his cover once more. He made a face as the brunette deposited her clothes on a bench and made her way to the edge of the pool.

"I'll just have to wait for another opportunity to escape." He thought with a frown.

With an annoyed sigh, he watched Demetra as she proceeded to do some stretches before arching her back and completing a perfect dive into the water. She swam just over half the length of the ridiculously long pool before finally surfacing, and when she did she completed a few playful torpedo twists before rolling over to float casually on her back and stare at the ceiling.

"Look at that, she's actually decent at something other than blading after all."

A sharp red brow rose high and Tala was unable to stop himself being impressed as he watched the brunette.

"Bet she was on the swim team in some elite prep school for rich brats." He thought moodily. "Hmph, she was probably Captain or something too. Probably really popular. With that body and face, I bet she had all the morons there wrapped tight around her little finger."

Admittedly, this thought bothered the redhead greatly, though for the life of him he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. In the end, he shook his head to clear out those thoughts and smirked as another one came to mind.

"Then again, who am I kidding?" He asked himself in amusement. "Doesn't matter how insanely hott she is, there's no way anyone would want to be friends with an irritating stick-up-the-ass like her. She definitely doesn't have a friend in the world, other than those stupid little brats she calls her team."

Satisfied with this thought, Tala's smirk widened as yet another one popped into his head.

"Heh. And with those nasty gashes and the salt, I bet little miss perfect's having a helluva harder time than she usually does."

Convinced he was spot on, Tala looked back to the brunette floating in the water. However the more he stared, the more he felt something unfamiliar stirring inside him.

"She really is one of the hottest girls I've ever seen, though..." He thought begrudgingly as his eyes trailed shamelessly over the ample amount of exposed skin.

Even with all the multiple cuts and bruises covering nearly the entirely of her body, and the huge bandages still adorning her abdomen and area, Tala couldn't deny that Demetra Nakamura was without a doubt strikingly beautiful - and it galled him to admit it, even if it was just to himself.

Tala growled lowly and forced himself to tear his gaze away from the tempting allure of the girl in the pool, choosing instead to close his eyes and wait for an opportunity to escape. However, this was apparently a mistake, because behind his closed lids, the images from the night before began to play out before him; vivid and surreal as if they were happening all over again. In his minds eye he could see Demetra standing before him with that heated and needy look on her stunning upturned face. He remembered the glazed eyes, the feel of her hands on him, the way she had seemed to practically beg him for more.

Having worked himself into an extremely foul state again, just like the night he was thinking about, Tala felt a rage beginning to burn inside him; a rage at himself for daring to allow this poisonous woman to have such a devastating effect on him.

"Damn it, why can't I get that stupid moment out of my head?!" He thought angrily.

Tala forced himself to turn away from the pool and instead moved against the container he was hiding behind. Sliding to the floor, he leaned against it and stretched one leg out, the other he lifted and rested his arm atop it as his head thumped lightly against the container and closed his eyes. He tried his damnedest to focus on something else - anything else - but it was useless; all he could think about was the previous night and what might have happened if he hadn't walked away from the brunette.

"Whatever..." He thought moodily. "Not like it matters anyway. So maybe she's attractive. It doesn't change anything. I still despise her and I'm pretty damn sure the feelings mutual - which suits me just fine."

Although he tried to convince himself of this, there was still something inside him that didn't quite sit right with the thought. However, this something was easier to ignore when the wounds on his back suddenly began to sting and he was reminded of how they'd gotten there in the first place.

He'd finally managed to calm the beast inside him and begin to focus on his extreme disdain for the brunette, when just then a light splashing sound disturbed his thoughts. Peering cautiously around the container, Tala's breath hitched and he felt his throat go dry as he noted the brunette in question finally emerging from the water.

Bright blue eyes rolled over the body such a short distance away and Tala felt something stir inside him again as he looked her over. Once again he couldn't tear his gaze away from her as she climbed the stairs out of the pool.

Demetra had perfect, mile-long legs and the most mouth-watering curves in all the right places. Not counting the foreign marks marring her skin, her beautiful flesh was positively flawless and every inch of her was so amazingly proportioned it almost seemed criminal. Even her hands were beautiful and Tala found it hard to force his mind not to wander thinking about how those hands had felt on him, and how they would have felt had he let her explore him like he had her. Being the first time he'd seen it down, Tala noted that her hair was even longer and fuller than he'd thought, nearly reaching her waist and looking like pure silk. To top it all off, the brunette's face was a work of art complete with high cheek bones, tantalisingly kissable lips, ridiculously long and thick lashes, and set with two stunning alluring silver eyes that looked like polished silver coins.

His ogling was only mildly interrupted as he noted that his little prank had worked brilliantly.

"Come on..." He thought, seriously annoyed at this point. "There's no way any girl could still look that damn good with blue skin!"

But good she indeed looked. Extremely.

Tala smirked in amusement suddenly.

"Oh well. Good-looking or not, she's gonna hit the ceiling when she sees herself." He thought, positively giddy with anticipation now. "You know what they say about payback, princess."

He watched as Demetra collected her clothes and finally made for the exit. He waited a few moments to be sure before getting up from his hiding place and leaving as well. If he was lucky, he could beat her to her room and hang out outside to hear the reaction from his brilliant scheme. His smirk widened as he hurried towards the stairs that would lead him to the top floor.

"Heh. This might just be the most excited I've ever been."


..:: Present ::..


Demetra chewed her cheek, debating, as she stared at the blank screen of her laptop.

It had been a few days since her arrival in Russia, and she was considering calling the girls to check up on them. She'd already had a quick chat with them the night she'd gotten to the facility, and even had a bit of an 'argument' - for lack of a better word - with Victoria. She felt a little guilty over her reaction to the other brunette's actions, but she knew most of her anger had to do with Tala's little prank more so then what her feisty teammate had done; after all, she was more than used to Victoria's antics. However, her 'blue' situation had been the reason she'd chosen to call the girls instead of video chatting with them.

Now, finally, the girls were bugging to see her and she knew she couldn't deny them much longer without raising suspicion. So, heaving a heavy sigh, Demetra finally booted up her computer and proceeded to invite her team to simultaneous chats.

She waited for a few minutes, a twinge of dread nagging at her, until it seemed like no one would answer. Sighing in slight relief, she was just about to cancel her invite when suddenly the screen split, revealing a very excited looking redhead.

"Demi!" Keisha exclaimed excitedly as soon as she was visible. "Ohmigosh, I miss-"

She instantly froze when she laid eyes on her Captain and before anything else could be said, the screen split twice more until there were four squares and a different face in each.

"Dem- Woah! What the-"

Demetra felt a vein throbbing in her forehead as her two teammates, plus Kage, all gawked at her in a stunned stupor, the two younger ones with hanging jaws. The silent blader had lifted a hand for greeting when she'd become visible, but she froze as well and gawked with slightly wide eyes as she stared in disbelief at the brunette.

"Uh... I knew it was cold in Russia..." Victoria teased. "But dang, you're so cold you've gone blue!"

"Hilarious." Demetra seethed through clenched teeth. "A hundred thousand comedians out of work and you're trying to be funny."

This made the two younger girls snort with laughter and even Kage cracked an amused smile.

"But seriously Dem!" Keisha said when she'd regained her composure. "What the heck happened?"

"Tala." The brunette replied with gritted teeth. When the girls all blinked at her, she sighed with extreme irritation before elaborating. "I don't know how he did it, but I went for a swim the other day and when I got out..."

She swept a hand over herself in gesture.

"How do you know it was him?" Kage asked curiously. Before she'd even lowered her hands Demetra growled.

"I just know!" She replied angrily. "And mark my words; he will pay for it! In fact, I already owe him one for-... something else."

She took a moment to gather her thoughts and backtrack, ignoring the girl's curious looks as she tried to compose herself. She didn't make it a habit to keep things from them; they weren't only her team, they were her sisters and her best friends. However, her little moment with the Russian redhead at the safe house wasn't something she intended to share with anyone - ever.

"I've already got something in mind for a sort of... retribution." She informed them simply. This seemed to intrigue the girls.

"Oooo!" Victoria said excitedly, leaning closer to the camera conspiratorially. "Do tell!"

Demetra sat back in her seat and crossed her arms with a confident smirk.

"Not just yet." She replied cryptically. "You know what they say; the walls have ears. Let's just say if all goes as planned, it should at least settle the score."

Kage and Keisha shook their heads, though both looked amused.

"You two scare me, ya know that?" The redhead said with a weary smile on her face. "Just try not to get too carried away, Dem. Okay?"

"I'll see what I can do." The brunette replied, only half jokingly.

With small laughs, the girls transitioned into a comfortable conversation as if they were all still sitting cozied up together at home and not miles apart from each other. They chatted about their new homes away from home, what they'd been up to so far, and anything else they could think of to stave off the fact that it was the first time they'd ever been so far apart and that they all missed each other terribly.

Eventually, Kage asked her Captain what it was about the redhead that bothered her so much.

"Everything about him bothers me." The brunette growled in annoyance.

What she didn't tell them - or even admit to herself - was the fact that every time she saw the redhead, her body seemed to betray her and she felt an unpleasant heat stirring inside her. It drove her mad to think about, but every time she saw him, heard him, ended up close enough to him to catch a whiff of his ridiculously delicious masculine scent, she was always reminded of their moment in the safe house, and overcome with a maddening desire to find out what would have happened if she'd pursued the redhead instead of letting him walk away from her.

Though she did her damnedest to resist, she couldn't deny that although the redhead's attitude and persona drove her absolutely mental with fury, there was a painfully obvious physical attraction there as well, and that also drove her insane with fury - fury with herself for daring to be attracted to the one person in the world she despised more than anyone else.

As if to force herself to remember why she disliked him so much, Demetra gave an indignant snort and spoke again.

"And most maddening of all, he insists on continuing to call me princess." She growled angrily.

"Princess?" Keisha cooed dreamily. "Awe, that's so sweet, Dem! Maybe he secretly has a thing for you!"

"Not a chance." She replied, the vein in her forehead throbbing again. "I'm positive beyond a shadow of a doubt that that idiot likes me about as much as I like him! And it's not sweet, it's an insult! He calls me that because he thinks I'm some sort of sheltered and inexperienced little girl; that I have no real-world experience and I'm just some silly little twit that is just trying to look tough and playing at being a real blader! He calls me that, because he thinks we grew up in the lap of luxury and had everything handed to us on a silver platter, that we were all silver-spoon fed, and that we're about as useless and self-sufficient as a worm in his shoe!"

The girls all sweatdropped once she'd finished her rant and it was so silent for several minutes Demetra could practically hear the crickets.

"Oh..." Keisha said bluntly.

There was another extended silence as the three girls watched their Captain struggle with her obvious internal battle and look like she was about to explode. Finally, after sometime, the redhead and younger brunette burst out laughing and Kage too chuckled silently. This finally made Demetra relax and smile slightly as she savoured the sound.

"Okay then!" Victoria said with a huge grin. "Moving on!"

"So, what about Kai then, huh?" Keisha asked, waggling her brows suggestively. "We saw you two at the party!"

"Oooo! Look at that blush!" Victoria teased, pointing out Demetra's suddenly pink-tinged cheeks. "Our dear Demi finally got a crush on someone?!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" The brunette replied, her face heating further.

This got giddy squeals from the two younger girls and at this point, even Kage joined in on the playful teasing.

Once more, the four settled into comfortable conversation, going back and forth and each teasing the others about certain love interests - even Demetra in her own way as she tried desperately to steer the conversation clear of herself and a certain blunette.

Eventually, it got very late on her end and Demetra reluctantly admitted it was time to say goodbye.

"Well, it's late here, and as much as it pains me to say it... it's time to go."

"Aweee... seems like we just started talking!" Keisha whined unhappily. Demetra smiled fondly.

"It's been four and a half hours." She said gently. "There's always next time. And besides, we all need to learn how to cope without each other."

"I know..." The redhead said softly, tears in her eyes. "It's just hard..."

"Agreed..." Victoria added, her own eyes watery as well. "I know it's only been a few days but... I miss you guys so much already! This is gonna be such a long year!"

"I miss you girls too." Kage added, a sad smile on her face as she spoke. "But we'll be okay... there's always these chats. And I'm sure if it gets to be too much... it wouldn't be such a bad thing to take a tiny break to see each other. Right Dem?"

"Yea!" Keisha cheered, looking into the camera eagerly with her best puppy dog eyes. "That would be okay, right Demi?!"

Demetra closed her eyes and another small smile came to her face.

"We'll see." She replied, amused. "We've only been separated for a few days so it's too early to talk about meeting up yet but... well, like I said, we'll see."

The younger girls cheered at this and Kage's smile widened, causing Demetra to shake her head.

"Anyway!" She said loudly. "It's time to go! Take care girls, and be careful. And don't forget to make time for training, that's what you're there for!"

"Yes ma'am!" Keisha and Victoria said in unison, and all three girls playfully saluted her.

"Clowns..." The brunette muttered affectionately, though there was an amused glint in her eyes. "Goodnight."

"Love you Dem!" The redhead said, blowing a kiss. "Love you, Tori! Love you, Kay! Miss you guys!"

"I love you too girls!" Victoria seconded, blowing her own double handed kiss. "Talk soon! Ciao!"

Kage smiled and placed two hands over her heart before extending them away from herself and towards the camera.

Feeling a pang in her own heart, Demetra resisted a sad sigh and lifted a hand for a single wave.

"Love you too." She said quietly. "Night girls."

After finishing their farewells, Demetra hesitated a moment before finally offering her girls a smile she hoped wasn't as sad as she felt, and finally disconnecting the call. Now staring at only her own image, Demetra sighed heavily and frowned deeply before closing her laptop and turning her back on it.


The day after his little prank on Demetra found Tala sitting in his usual stylist's chair; arms crossed, eyes closed and leaning back comfortably.

"So, just a little trim, Mr. Ivanov?" The tall young woman asked in her familiar, very thick accent.

"Yea." The redhead replied absently. "The usual."

"Okay. I will not be long, you know this."

Tala nodded in response and settled in. He liked this woman because aside from being extremely quick and efficient, she also understood that he came to her for her speed and skills, not for idle chit chat. He liked to sit quietly and relax when he got his hair cut, and it was for this reason that his usual stylist; who knew him so well at that point, always led him to a chair far off to the back of the salon where the hustle and bustle and irritating racket of salon life wasn't quite as prevalent.

She'd already washed his hair - which always made the redhead drowsy thanks to her excellent scalp massages - and she'd just combed his hair out and lifted a section when a voice behind them broke through Tala's sleepy nirvana.

"Sasha, there's someone here to see you." Another super thick accent said. "It is very important they said."

"Tell them I am with a client!" His stylist argued, deep irritation in her voice.

There was a series of exchanges in rapid, annoyed Russian - Tala didn't bother to follow their conversation, he really didn't care - and eventually Sasha sighed heavily.

"I am very sorry, Mr. Ivanov." She apologised to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It seems this cannot wait, would you mind excusing me for a moment?"

Tala didn't open his eyes, he merely lifted a hand from under the cape to absently wave her off.

"Yea, fine." He replied carelessly.

A moment later he heard the soft click of her heels as she swiftly walked away, grumbling with the woman who'd interrupted her as she went.

Tala listened as their voices faded away and soon enough there was only the somewhat distant sounds of the salon in the background. Settling in again, the redhead began to doze lazily in his chair, and had nearly fallen asleep when he heard the click of heels against the floor again. He thought he footsteps sounded somewhat different this time but he figured it was just his groggy mind playing tricks on him and ignored it.

After a few moments, he felt gentle hands on his head again as Sasha silently resumed what she was doing.

"That didn't take long." The redhead mumbled a little sleepily in Russian.

The hands on his head paused a few moments and Tala furrowed his brows, about to open his eyes to look at the woman, when she finally spoke before resuming what she was doing.

"Net." Sasha replied simply.

The corner of Tala's lips turned up ever-so-slightly. A woman of few words, another reason he liked her so much.

Settling in again, Tala got comfortable as he allowed the woman to do her job.

He didn't know how long she'd been working, seeing as he had actually managed to drift off to sleep, but before long Sasha was done.

Tala felt his chair being spun around and for a few moments there was no sound or movement. The redhead figured Sasha was just finishing up, probably fetching some hair gunk or something, so he remained still and kept his eyes closed as he waited. However, a few moments later, just when the redhead had began to doze again, a loud gasp snapped him out of his lazy euphoria, and two bright blue eyes blinked sleepily open.

Sasha was staring at him with wide eyes and a deeply horrified expression on her slightly pale face. Tala furrowed his brows as a frown creased his own.

"What's the matter?" He asked, confused and a little uneasy.

"I- I- Your hair!"

Tala's frown deepened.

"What about it?"

Sasha opened her mouth to reply but suddenly another stylist beside her, whom Tala hadn't noticed until then, abruptly cut her off.

"Looks fantastic!" She said loudly with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Okay..." The redhead drawled, confused by the whole thing. Eyeing the woman wearily he reached into his pocket. "Thanks, I guess... Same price as always, Sasha?"

The woman's expression paled further and she looked like she might faint.

"Net." She said a little shakily. "Is on the house today, Mr. Ivanov..."

A red brow lifted curiously.

"Okay." He said again, pulling a few bills from his wallet anyway; she always did a good job with his hair and she was the only one he trusted to touch it so he always left her a generous tip.

Standing up he approached the woman and held out the cash to her.

"Thanks again. See ya next time."

Sasha swallowed hard and reached out with a slightly shaky hand to take the bills, still staring at the redhead with slightly wide eyes.

"Da... Next time..."

Giving the woman another odd look, the redhead walked past them and left salon, ignoring the eyes he felt on him the entire way out.

-;-

By the time he arrived back at the training facility, it was nearly lunch time, so Tala immediately made his way towards the Dining area. As he pushed open the heavy door and entered, he noted that his team was already seated at a table there eating. Tala walked towards one of the large windows on the back wall where there were a couple chefs working, intending to order lunch and join his friends.

On his way past their table however, Spencer glanced up upon noticing the redhead and immediately his expression froze, and so did the fork half-way to his mouth as the food on it fell off and plopped back onto his plate. Noticing the blonde's reaction, the other three turned and looked towards the redhead as well. The drink Brian had just taken a large gulp of spewed from his nose as he all but burst with laughter, and beside him Ian was already doubled over, laughing himself to tears. Kai blinked at the redhead for a moment before a smirk of amusement split his face as well.

"What'd they cut your hair with, Tala, a bushwhacker?" The blunette asked teasingly.

Tala frowned again as he stopped and glared at his so-called friends.

"What?" He asked threateningly. "What are you talking about?"

"If someone gave me a haircut that stupid, I'd bury 'em!" Brian added, thumping his fist on the table as he laughed harder.

"It really is some haircut, Tala." Spencer teased, an amused smile on his face as well. Ian was unable to comment as he was still roaring with laughter.

"It's the same haircut I always get!" The redhead argued, feeling a sense of deep unease building in his guy now. That made his friends laugh even harder.

Kai, who'd only been looking over his shoulder at the redhead, turned partially around to face him now as he rested his elbow on the table with a seriously amused expression.

"Did you even look at yourself before you left?" He asked with a wide smirk.

Tala's eyes widened a little now as he darted to the side of the room and grabbed one of the shiny lunch trays. Lifting it to his face, he gawked in utter horror at his own reflection. The normally winged out sections of his hair were now jagged and sticking off awkwardly in all directions, some sections completely missing. The right side was completely uneven with the left side, and the left side looked like someone had hacked it off with a serrated knife. The only part of his hair that still looked normal were the two trade-mark pieces of his bangs that fell in front of his face.

His friends stared in silent anticipation as Tala stared wide-eyed and horrified at his reflection. The redhead felt a scream building in his gut and, as his observers expected, a few moments later the metal tray in his hands fell to the floor with a clatter as said scream tore from his throat at an ear-piercing level. His friends bit their lips to contain their laughter as they listened, admittedly a little scared to let it out at that point.

"I'M GONNA KILL HER!" The redhead roared savagely.

"Who?" Ian asked in confusion now.

With vicious fury in his eyes, Tala rounded on the people at the table with a look that reminded them of a savage animal.

"Who the hell do you think?!" He snapped viciously. "Who else would be stupid enough to do something like this?!"

"You mean Demetra?" Kai asked with a smirk, knowing better but just wanting to get another rise out of the redhead.

Grinding his teeth, Tala turned a glare on him.

"No, I mean your mother!" He snarled sarcastically, which made Kai actually laugh at him - more so for getting the rise he'd been going for rather than Tala's comment.

"How do you know it was her?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Cause I know!" Tala growled. "And as soon as I see her, she's dead!"

"Wow... she's more ruthless than I gave her credit for." Ian said thoughtfully.

"Yea." Spencer agreed. "Too bad you guys hate each other so much Tala, you guys would make a good match."

"No way." Brian countered, a dreamy look in his eyes. "Me and her would make a good match, she's my kinda woman!"

Ignoring the other three at the table, Kai looked at the redhead with a smirk.

"I duno, Tala, I think it's a good look for you."

The redhead turned a venomous glare on the blunette before whirling around and stalking towards the door.

"This isn't over!"5 He growled loudly as he nearly tore the door from its hinges on the way out.

As soon as he was gone, the four at the table inside burst into laughter which chased Tala all the way down the hall.


..:: Earlier that day ::..


Demetra skimmed through her cell as she finished off her cereal. After a long, hard morning of training and exercise she had decided to relax for a while with a coffee and breakfast, and was doing just that in the dining area when the Blitzkrieg Boys entered, chatting amongst themselves and appearing not to have spotted her.

Ignoring them, the brunette popped a grape into her mouth as she turned her attention back to her cell. For the most part, she was completely able to tune the boys out; that is until one of them loudly called out to her.

"Hey! Demetra!" Ian called loudly. "Come sit with us!"

The brunette looked up and over at the boys to see them all staring at her. She made note of the redhead sitting with them and forced herself not to scowl. Looking away from them she once again turned back to her cell and took the time to eat half her slice of toast before replying.

"No. Thank you." She said just loud enough to be heard.

"Awe, come on!" Spencer encouraged. "Tala can be nice for a few minutes, can't ya Tala?"

The redhead snorted.

"Can't make any promises." He replied with a smirk.

Demetra rolled her eyes and shoved her cell into her pants pocket. They'd probably think her a snob but she didn't care; truth be told, she liked some peace and quiet in the mornings when she enjoyed her coffee. Besides, she wasn't in the mood to let the redhead ruin her morning - and he was able to do that just by being in her presence.

Without another word, the brunette stood up, poked the corner of her toast in her mouth, grabbed her coffee and fruit bowl, and turned to leave.

"Come back!" Brian called after her teasingly. "I'll protect ya from the big bad wolf!"

This earned a chorus of laughs from the rest at the table and Demetra made a face of disgust. She ignored most of the rest of their conversation as she made her way towards the exit but something that was said pricked her ears. The brunette placed her things on a nearby table and stooped down, pretending to tie a loose shoelace as she eavesdropped on the conversation across the room.

"So Tala, how about that rematch?" Brian questioned the redhead. "I'm ready when you are, and this time I ain't gonna loose!"

"Heh. We'll see about that!" The redhead replied cockily. "I'll take you up on that, but it'll have to wait until after lunch; I've got an appointment with Sasha this morning."

Demetra furrowed her brows, wondering, and thankfully Kai voiced her question for her.

"Who's Sasha? Your therapist."

"Very funny." Tala grumbled as the others chuckled. "She's a hairdresser."

Demetra's face brightened as she got to her feet then and picked up her breakfast again, tuning out the rest of their conversation as her mind began to run wild. There was a huge, wicked smile on her face as she left the room, and it was all she could do not to actually laugh out loud.

-;-

Silver eyes danced mischievously as their owner approached a certain redhead in the chair. She couldn't believe her good fortune. Originally, she'd had a completely different plan of revenge for the redhead but she had to admit that this one was oh-so-much better.

It had been easy to follow the redhead to the salon, and it hadn't been overly difficult sneaking in and distracting the stylists. She knew it wouldn't take long for the woman in charge of Tala's cut to return, but then she didn't need much time. The hard part would be managing to do the deed without the redhead, or the stylists, catching her - at least until it was too late.

However, as it turned out, Tala was a ridiculously trusting client, and she quickly realised that it was going to be extremely easy to complete her goal. She smirked in giddy delight as she stopped behind him and immediately picked up the comb and scissors on the tray beside them. She made sure to be gentle as she reached out to part the hair before her and opened the blades to make the first cut. She'd only managed one snip when Tala spoke up, his eyes still closed, and lazily asked her something in flawless Russian.

Demetra froze and bit the side of her cheek as she ran the words through her head. She only knew a handful of Russian words and none of the ones the redhead had said sounded familiar. Her mind raced and struggled to come up with a response, and as she watched the redhead's reflection and saw his brows furrow, she knew she wouldn't have much time. So, hoping it was an appropriate response, she hurried to say one of the only words she knew.

"Net." She said, resuming the task of combing the red locks again.

She watched in relief as Tala's lips curled up ever-so-slightly and he seemed to relax again. This in turn made the brunette relax again as well. Focusing on her task again, she decided she'd better hurry and finish the job before she got caught.

However, as she combed the vibrant red locks, they passed fluidly over her fingers and the brunette couldn't help but hesitate. Palming the scissors and comb for a moment, she reached out and passed her fingers through the strands and was unable to resist the small smile that came to her face. Tala's hair was fine and smooth and soft as duckling down, and she had to admit that she was tempted to put the tools down and just bury her hands in his downy locks. The feeling of his surprisingly beautiful hair felt like expensive silk threading fluidly through her fingers and Demetra had to resist a sigh of satisfaction.

Admittedly, it was extremely difficult to re-position the scissors and comb again and continue what she'd planned, but she'd already made the first snip and she was determined to go through with it - after all, she deserved retribution!

So, biting the side of her lip, Demetra hurriedly made several quick snips before she could chicken out. The image she'd originally had in her mind was to just hack it all off beyond repair - it would be just what the redhead deserved! But as she stood before the him, him completely at her mercy, she found she was unable to go through with it; if for no other reason than because she'd taken such a liking to the beautiful locks and now thought it a shame to butcher them so cruelly.

Stopping and looking over her handiwork, Demetra smiled in satisfaction. She knew a truly experienced stylist would be able to somewhat fix what she'd done, but not without severely shortening the long red strands. She almost felt bad for her cruel act but quickly squashed the thought. It was just hair, it would grow back! And men's hair grew much quicker then women's. The redhead's trademark style would undoubtedly be back to normal in no time.

Hearing the voices of the stylists she'd sent away earlier, Demetra knew her time was up and hurriedly placed the scissors and comb on the tray again. However, she was unable to resist running her fingers through the soft, silky locks just one more time before she left. With an unintentionally tender smile, Demetra was barely able to resist a fond sigh, and suddenly found herself wishing things could have been different between them as she once more felt the strands slide fluidly through her fingers.

Biting her lip, she forced herself to pull away from the redhead, gave him one last look, and finally turned to slip away while she was still able.

-;-

Demetra laughed to herself and bit into a large, juicy green apple as she walked away from the dining area.

She'd wanted to stay and see Tala's reaction to his haircut but knew it would be too risky and decided she'd better escape while she could. She'd half expected him to return with a much shorter but 'fixed' cut, but was pleasantly surprised when she'd caught sight of him upon his return. Luckily enough, he hadn't noticed her so she'd followed him to the dining room, curious as to why the stylist hadn't fixed his cut, and wondering if he either hadn't let her or if, somehow, he hadn't seen it yet. So, peering through the window of the room, she watched the happenings inside anxiously.

It didn't take long for the fireworks and the brunette laughed out loud again as she recalled the redhead's furious scream, savouring the memory of it as well as the look on his face. Deep down, she knew that she'd only fuelled an already colossally dangerous bonfire, but hey; Tala had started it!

"An eye for a eye, as they say." She thought with an amused smirk, taking another bite of er apple. "Your move, big dog."


..:: A Few Days Later ::..


Faster. Longer. Stronger.

Demetra lifted her water bottle to her lips to take a long, greedy drink before lowering it and letting it plop back down into the cup holder. She reached then to up the speed and resistance on her running machine, and lifted her hand once she did to momentarily stare at it. Thankfully, said hand; as well as the rest of her body; was back to its original colour, but she could still see the awful blue shade in her minds eye - as well as feel the phantom irritation from days of harsh products and scrubbing her skin raw.

With an indignant snort, the brunette lowered her hand and this time reached to switch the song on her music player, turning it up a little more before focusing on her exercising again.

"I'm sure he thought he was terribly clever for his little trick." She thought wearily. "But looks like I had the best laugh; blue skin only lasts a few days, a bad hair cut can last for weeks!"

A satisfied smirk coming to her face now, Demetra lifted her chin as she picked up her pace, a second wind coming to her as she considered her new - probably unhealthy - competition with the resident redhead.

She'd been running for a while and nearly gone through her entire playlist when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Looking down to her right, she saw a familiar blunette standing beside her, staring up at her with a strange look in his eye an expression she couldn't quite decipher. Reaching up, he tapped his ear and Demetra in turn reached up to pluck one of her earbuds out.

"We're going down to the village." He informed her. "Come with us."

"Who's we?" The brunette inquired.

"All of us." Kai replied simply.

Demetra made a face and replaced the earbud.

"Not interested." She retorted bluntly.

Much to her annoyance, the blunette reached up to turn off her machine, causing her to turn a glare on him as she pulled the earbud out again.

"Excuse you." She said irritably. "Can't you take no for an answer?"

"No." Kai replied bluntly, a teasing smirk on his face now. "And it wasn't a request. Come on, it won't kill you to get out and get some fresh air and sunshine."

Demetra snorted indignantly.

"Look who's talking." She replied. Seeing as the blunette seemed completely unfazed, and perhaps even a little amused, she continued. "You're awfully demanding, Hiwatari. I'm sure you're used to getting your own way, and I admit I respect someone who knows what they want, but I told you; I'm not interested."

She reached to turn her machine back on but Kai's hand came to rest atop it, making her look back at him again.

"And I told you I'm not taking no for an answer." He said pointedly. "So get down and go get ready, we're going out."

Demetra stared at the blunette, a lot annoyed and a little impressed. No one had ever been brave enough to stand up to her in all her life, aside from her girls and brother, let alone so brazenly disregard her. Yet Kai seemed to be able to brush her off like she were no more intimidating than a butterfly.

"What is it about him that's so damn hard to say no to?" She wondered, admittedly more than a little drawn to him.

She stared at him with narrowed eyes and an intimidating expression that usually sent people running for the hills, but to his credit Kai simply matched her stare with a glint of amusement in his eye.

Eventually, Demetra sighed heavily and reached for the towel hanging on the bar in front of her. She took the time to run it over her face and wrap it around her neck before looking back at the blunette with an expression she tried her damnedest to look irritated.

"Fine." She said irritably. "Give me forty minutes or so and I'll meet you in the main lobby."

"You've got twenty, and we'll meet you out front."

Demetra gave the blunette an incredulous look and followed him with her eyes as he walked away. When he'd gone a few feet, he looked over his shoulder at her with an amused smirk.

"Don't be late. You don't want me to come looking for you."

Demetra noted the playful and slightly mischievous glint in his eye and continued to stare at him as he turned forward and left the gym. She stared after him for a few minutes once he'd left, completely stunned by the blunette. But eventually an amused smirk of her own came to her face and she turned to collect her things before climbing down from the machine.

"You're going to make this an interesting year, aren't you Kai?" She thought with a small smile, and to her surprise she felt a twinge of affection towards him tug at her. "Looks like I'm not the only one full of surprises."

-;-

Exactly thirty-five minutes later, Demetra exited the facility and was walking down the front steps outside. Admittedly, she probably could have been a little swifter and might have dragged her feet just a little, but there was no way she was going to let Kai dictate her schedule, no matter how much he intrigued her. After all, it was bad enough he was dragging her along on this little excursion to begin with.

"I thought I told you not to be late." The blunette said with that ever-present smirk of his as she approached the Blitzkrieg Boys.

"And I thought I told you I wasn't interested." The brunette countered as she stopped in front of them. "Be grateful I'm here."

To her secret delight, the blunette laughed at this.

"We're glad you came Demetra." Ian said with a grin. "You're gonna love the village!"

"Yea, and the people are really nice." Spencer added with a smile.

"Stick with me, and I'll show ya all the best spots!" Brian said with a grin, sidling up along side her.

"Down boy." Kai teased. "We can see your tail wagging."

Brian flushed scarlet and spat out an angry retort as the others laughed at his expense. However, Demetra wasn't paying attention as her gaze had fallen on a certain redhead. She smirked in amusement to see a thick black toque jammed down over his head with only his two trademark bang pieces peeking out form under it. Even as he glared at her with nothing short of an extreme hatred, the brunette had to admit that the hat suited him and he actually looked really cool. She tried her best, but she was unable to deny to herself that the redhead was still devastatingly handsome and the thought both disturbed and annoyed her immensely.

Glancing their way and catching both Tala's death glare towards Demetra and the way she was staring back at him with a mix of amusement and smugness, the blunette decided to defuse the inevitable battle before it got started.

"Tala has agreed to play nice today. Isn't that right, Tala?"

Tala snorted and turned away from them.

"I didn't agree to anything." He grumped in response. Kai rolled his eyes but didn't comment further as he turned and gestured behind him.

"Anyway, let's get going."

Demetra's gaze lingered on the redhead for another moment, and when he gave her a defiant glare, she smirked and turned to follow the rest of the group. Immediately, Ian and Brian flanked her sides and struck up an enthusiastic conversation with her. Unable to resist a small affectionate smile as she was suddenly reminded of her energetic younger teammates, Demetra willingly joined in on their debate about conventional launchers versus the ultra-cool Russian ones they used. In a matter of moments, Spencer and Kai and joined in the conversation as well and soon enough they were all arguing good-naturedly as they headed for the village and left the training facility behind.

Tala watched his teammates accept this irritating stranger into their fold like it was the most natural thing in the world. It irritated him to no end just how quickly and easily the Finnish blader had weaseled her way into their midst. He watched them until they'd gone a good distance before releasing a heavy sigh and grudgingly following after them.

-;-

"That's the beyblade shop over there. They might be the only one around for miles but they've got the all the newest and best stuff you can get!"

Demetra couldn't help but smile ever-so-slightly as Ian excitedly pointed out the many shops and buildings in the village. So far she'd seen a surprising array of different businesses, some of which included; a large clothing store, a hunting and fishing supply store, a grocery store, a meat and butcher shop, post office, a store for adventuring and all-things outdoor, and even a little hometown-style bar.

"Oh, and that weird looking place there is actually a trading post." Ian informed her. "They've got the coolest and most random stuff!"

Silver eyes scanned the area, taking in as much as she could. The village was small and quaint but it was surprisingly bigger and had more of a variety than she'd expected. She was already greatly impressed, and already ready to admit that the place seemed to have everything, when she noticed a massive old-style building near the end of the street they were walking down.

Demetra unintentionally tuned out her tour guides as her head craned back slightly to get a better look when they neared the building. As it turned out, the building was a huge ancient looking church and it was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

The church was tall with three high peaks. It was full of beautiful stained-glass windows, each one looking like a work of art, and a giant set of stairs led up to a pair of handsome heavy stained wooden doors. The sight of it made the brunette sigh in admiration.

"Don't get too close, that's holy ground; you might catch fire."

Demetra turned an unamused look on the redhead who'd broken through her trance as the other boys snorted and laughed around them.

"Funny." She replied sarcastically. "If we're talking about unworthy wretches, you'd better steer clear."

As the others laughed again, Kai sighed in irritation.

"Will you two give it a rest?" He growled wearily, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "There are five-year-olds with a higher maturity level."

The blunette sighed and looked around a moment before spotting a restaurant near by.

"Look, let's take a break and go have lunch."

Receiving a chorus of agreement all around, he turned and headed towards the building. The others followed close behind, including a certain brunette and redhead as they passed each other another harsh glare.

-;-

"Right... so what is this again?"

"They're called pelmeni. Those ones are stuffed with meat." Spencer said in response to Demetra's inquiry, pointing at the little objects on the plate in front of her. Then he pointed to the ones beside it, looking similar but obviously different. "And those are varenniki. They've got cheese in them, but you can get a bunch of different kinds."

"I see." The brunette said simply, spearing one of the objects that looked similar to ravioli.

The boys watched her as she immediately popped one into her mouth and took the time to chew and savour it thoughtfully. After a few moments, she nodded and reached for another one.

"Not bad." She said approvingly. "I like it."

This earned her cheers around the table as the guys urged her to try some of their dishes as well.

She'd wanted to try some authentic Russian food so - much to her surprise - the guys had ordered a little bit of seemingly everything on the menu and had convinced her to try it all. So far she'd had an appetiser of a soup called borscht and a salad called vinegrette. After that she'd tried Brian's odd looking pie dish called a pirog and Ian's dish called chicken Kiev, both of which she found she liked. Spencer had offered her some of his beef stroganoff, which she'd actually tasted before, and liked that as well. Lastly, she'd tried Kai's dish, which had been the little objects that reminded her of ravioli. The only one who hadn't offered her a taste of his food was Tala, but that was alright with her because she didn't think his dish looked all that appetising anyway.

"Hey, Tal, aren't ya gonna let her try yours?" Spencer questioned.

"I wasn't planning on it." The redhead replied bluntly, taking another sip of his soup.

Demetra rolled her eyes.

"It's fine." She told the blonde. "I'm pretty full anyway. Thank you all for sharing, I always enjoy tasting new foods."

"Awe come on Tala." Brian said, nudging the redhead in the ribs. "Don't be such a stick in the mud!"

"Yea!" Ian seconded. "You're the only one who didn't let her taste your food! Don't be stingy!"

The guys all began teasing and pestering the redhead then until a vein began throbbing in his forehead. Though it amused her to see the redhead getting picked on by his friends, Demetra shook her head and was about to speak up to stop them when Tala finally heaved a mighty aggravated sigh.

"Fine!" The redhead exclaimed, shoving his bowl towards the brunette. "Here!"

Demetra rolled her eyes again and reached out to pull the bowl a little closer to herself. She looked down to pick up her spoon but realised that the waitress had taken it away earlier when she'd come back to collect their empty appetiser dishes. She was just considering asking for another when a spoon was suddenly all but shoved into her face. Looking up she stared at the utensil the redhead was offering her.

"I'm not diseased." He grumbled irritably. "Just take it."

Something stirred inside her at that, a weird and unfamiliar warm fuzzy something that she wasn't sure she liked but wasn't entirely unpleasant either. Hesitating a moment, she reached out and accepted the offered silverware.

"Thank you..." She mumbled, reaching down to dip it into the bowl. Taking up a spoonful she lifted it and couldn't help making a face.

"It really does look terrible..." She said, giving the soup a look.

"Yea well, didn't your mother ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?" Tala replied moodily. Demetra made another face and debated angrily telling the redhead that she hadn't known her mother in order for her to tell her anything, but before she could get the chance the redhead continued. "Just taste the damn stuff, it's better than it looks!"

Giving the soup one last look, the brunette lifted it to her lips. However, feeling that it was cold, she made another face and pulled the spoon away.

"It's cold." She stated bluntly.

Tala threw up his hands in frustration and the others laughed.

"It's Okróshka! It's supposed to be cold!" He exclaimed in frustration. "Are you gonna try it or not!?"

"That's usually a summer soup." Ian informed her, still wearing a huge grin. "But this place serves it in the winter too cause it's so popular."

"I see." The brunette replied, staring at the soup again. After a few moments, she eventually sighed and lifted the spoon once more, this time finally opening her mouth and tasting it.

Demetra allowed the soup to sit in her mouth for a few moments to savour it and make sure she got a good taste, and as she did her companions eyed her expectantly. Eventually she swallowed, considered for a moment and sighed again. Although she hated to agree with the redhead on anything, she was forced to admit that the soup was actually tasty.

"You're right." She admitted reluctantly. "It's actually good."

Tala snorted in annoyance as she handed him back his spoon and slid the bowl back towards him.

"Told you." He said simply, accepting the spoon from her.

After another moment of hesitation, Demetra decided to try and be the bigger person.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

Tala's gaze lifted to her and there was a slightly surprised look in his eyes. After watching her for a moment, he closed his eyes and took the time to take another sip of his soup before replying.

"Don't mention it." He mumbled.

Kai watched the exchange with slightly narrowed eyes and after a moment he spoke up.

"So, once everyone's done, any suggestions on where to go next?"

"How about that cafe down the street?" Ian suggested. "I could really use a hot drink and they've got he best pryanik around!"

"Pryanik?" Demetra questioned curiously.

"It's a sweet desert." Kai informed her. "A kind of bread or cookie with different fillings, depends on the kind. Anyway, sounds good to me."

The others agreed and once they'd finished, Demetra snuck off to pay for the meals under the guise of a bathroom break; a thanks to them for sharing with her. This evidently endeared her to them - though it wasn't her intention - all except for the resident redhead who apparently, yet not surprisingly, seemed to take offence to the gesture. Instead he felt the need to comment on her 'rubbing her wealth in their faces'. Demetra however, having become somewhat used to his resentment towards her, found it easy to ignore him this time as she followed the others out of the restaurant and towards their next destination.

-;-

"So, is chess a popular pastime here?" Demetra asked as she sipped the drink Ian had talked her into ordering. Apparently it was called sbiten, and along with the treats the guys had told her about, she found that these too she liked.

"Is chess a popular pastime?!" Brian repeated with a wide grin, lifting an arm and placing his opposite hand on his bicep. "We'll have you know that Russians are master chess players!"

"Really?" The brunette asked with great interest.

"Yea, we are!" Ian seconded. "It's a national favourite!"

"Those old guys over there are really good." Spencer added, gesturing to a few elderly gentleman some tables away, seemingly absorbed in the game they were playing. "That man there in the grey hat, I've never seen him lose."

Demetra looked with interest at the thin yet gentle looking man the blonde was gesturing to. He was wearing a classy grey fedora and had a clean and well-trimmed beard. She watched him and his opponent for some time and before long, as if to prove Spencer right, he smiled modestly and reached out to shake his opponent's hand when he eventually earned check mate.

"Hm..." Demetra hummed thoughtfully. After a moment she lifted her mug to drain her drink and stood up. "Excuse me."

The guys blinked at her as she approached the gentleman and stopped in front of them.

"What? Is she planning to bully old men now too?" Tala grumbled. "I've never met anyone so disrespectful-"

He stopped when he watched the brunette bow politely and respectfully to the gentlemen, then gesture to herself and the game, then the winner.

The guys chuckled and Kai smirked in amusement with crossed arms.

"You were saying, Tala?"

The redhead grumbled under his breath but made no further comment.

The men all greeted her kindly and the gentleman who'd won offered her a kind smile, then nodded and gestured across from him. The Blitzkrieg Boys watched the gentleman who'd lost stand up from his seat and offer it to the brunette with a smile of his own. Giving him another polite bow of the head, she took the offered seat before looking across the table at her opponent. He gave her another smile before gesturing towards the board, offering her the first move.

"Woah! She's gonna play!" Ian replied excitedly. "Let's go watch!"

The boys all readily agreed - except Tala - and while Kai calmly stood up, the other three - once again, except Tala - all jumped up and moved to take seats close to the game now in progress. Left alone, Tala heaved a heavy sigh of annoyance and grudgingly stood up to follow his friends.

-;-

"Hm... Spencer was right, he's really good." Demetra considered as she sat staring at the board with crossed arms and a thoughtful finger to her chin. "He might even be better than Breal..."

She sized up the board carefully, picturing each and every possible move either of them could make in her head. So far they'd each captured all of their opponents pawns, and Demetra had managed to capture both of her opponent's rooks and a knight, while he'd captured both her rooks, a bishop and a knight. All she had left were her king and queen, and one bishop and knight each.

"If I move my knight to the left, he'll capture it with his bishop... and if I move my queen to either space, he'll capture it with his. Hm..."

She considered the entirety of the board again with narrowed eyes.

"No matter which move I make, either I lose another piece or he gets check mate... It looks like either way, I lose..."

Suddenly she saw something and her eyes widened again.

"Unless..."

Hesitating a moment, Demetra reached out and moved her remaining knight forward-left. As expected, her opponent immediately moved his bishop to capture it as if he'd foreseen the move. Her heart leaping hopefully, Demetra countered by moving her own bishop to capture his. As the brunette had hoped, this forced him to use his queen to take her bishop, and a smile came to Demetra's face. Reaching out, she moved her own queen to capture his, leaving his King wide open.

"Check." She said hopefully.

Her opponent blinked, looking a little surprised before a smile came to his face as well. With little else to do, he reached down and moved his king to the right. Demetra had to bite her cheek to keep from grinning as she moved to finally capture his king.

"Check mate." She said calmly, looking up now into the elder man's face.

The silence around them was deafening as her opponent stared at the board for a long time. Eventually he looked up at the brunette across from him, and after a moment he broke out into a jovial laugh before offering her his hand. This caused an eruption of cheers and applause to break out around them as Demetra smiled modestly and reached out to shake his hand.

The gentleman said something to her and Demetra looked towards Kai questioningly. The blunette was smiling as well as he sat with crossed arms and an impressed expression.

"He said you're very skilled and wants to know where you learned to play." The blunette translated.

Demetra looked back at her opponent and smiled again.

"I've been playing with my brother for years and only manged to beat him a handful of times." She told him politely. "He's really skilled as well; though, I must admit, he's not as skilled as you are, sir."

Kai translated her response and the man nodded with a wide smile as he spoke again. Once more Kai translated.

"He says understands, he enjoyed playing with you, thanks you, and that he wouldn't mind a rematch sometime."

Feeling touched and a smidgen of pride at that, Demetra turned a fond smile on the gentleman then and gave him a nod along with another polite bow.

"I'd be honoured." She said gently. "Thank you so much, sir."

Kai translated one last time and the gentleman got to his feet when she did and returned her bow, still smiling. Demetra offered him one last smile and nod of the head before turning with the Blitzkrieg Boys and leaving the cafe.

"Wow! You're pretty good at chess!" Spencer voiced once they'd made it outside.

"Yea, your brother must be awesome!" Ian added.

"Thank you." The brunette replied absently. "And he is. Like I said; I've rarely ever beaten him."

"Yea well, you barely beat that guy either." Tala jeered. Demetra had to resist the urge to roll her eyes again.

"Perhaps." She agreed. "He was the toughest opponent I've ever played, but I did beat him - even if it was just."

She gave the redhead a challenging look then.

"And I could beat you as well, much easier and in far less moves too, I'd wager."

Before Tala could respond, Brian snorted in amusement and spoke up.

"Well that doesn't say much!" He laughed. "Tala sucks at chess, I don't think he's ever won a game!"

"I have so." The redhead growled. "And you're one to talk, you can't even play!"

"So what?!" Brian countered angrily. "If I could I'd kick your ass!"

The two bickered for a few moments until Kai interrupted them.

"Knock it off!" He exclaimed angrily, a vein throbbing in his head again. "I'm starting to feel like a damn kindergarten teacher!"

He turned to Demetra then and she half expected him to yell at her but he instead surprised her with what he said next.

"You should consider yourself lucky." He informed her.

"Why is that?" She asked him suspiciously.

"Cause it's not that common for Russian men to shake hands with a woman, and even more uncommon for them to offer a hand. He must have really respected you; you should feel honoured."

This surprised the brunette slightly and she felt a pleasant sensation wash over her as a warm expression came to her face.

"I wasn't aware of that..." She said softly. "In that case... I suppose I am honoured."

Kai gave her an approving look and there was an affectionate glint in his eye.

After a few moments of silence, Ian once again broke it.

"Yea, yea, Demetra is awesome, we knew that!" He teased. "Let's continue the tour!"

They all turned as one to continue on and Kai fell into step beside Demetra.

"You know, you're not the only one who can play a decent game of chess." He told her with a suggestive smirk. Demetra laughed lightly and turned a confident look on him.

"Is that a challenge, Kai Hiwatari?" She said somewhat playfully. "Because if it is, I'm ready when you are. Only I fear for your pride; are you sure you can handle the staggering defeat? I mean, how will it look when you're so thoroughly owned by a foreign woman?"

Kai laughed now too and once more the strange and unrecognisable look returned to his face.

"I don't like making girls cry, but in this case, I might make an exception!"

A ways behind the two, Tala watched the exchange between them and this time it was his turn to frown as a strange expression adorned his face and something rare and unfamiliar flashed in his eyes.