A/N: All right...time to post part 2 of the much anticipated (I think), romance scenes! This chapter is a little iffy in my books, cause I found it quite hard to write cute scenes while keeping Kai in character. Well, I suppose I'll let you guys be the judge on how well it turned out.
Chapter 29: A Moment Like This- Pt.2
The sand shifted restlessly across the vast beach, while the odd waves washed gently up upon the shore. It was now completely black, except for the dim illumination that the full moon gave off, it's light rays dancing across the surface of the sand. Surprisingly though the drifting air came off as being quite warm, while humidity still clung to the mass of bodies at the festival. Jade sighed lightly, feeling her heart racing with both anticipation and nervousness. She was still following obediently behind Kai, her fingers still tightly interwoven within his. Taking a quick glance over her shoulder she noticed that they were now a good five or so minutes from the rest of civilization, and her head began pounding with millions of questions. Kai remained silent however, still dragging her forward across the smooth sand, his eyes scanning across the black ocean as if he was looking for something.
"Um, Kai..." Jade began, before being shut down with a quick hushing noise from Kai. As much as she enjoyed the thought of going on a private escapade with Kai, she still felt slightly uneasy, still unsure of what to think of these sudden gestures. This was definitely not like the Kai that she remembered, especially the part of the two of them holding hands. Jade could easily remember the first time they met, and how much they appeared to hate each other. Kai had distinctly said something about girls being weak and unable to blade, and Jade being the girl she was, instantly had her problems with him. But things obviously changed, as he was the one who saved her from Voltaire...and now this. Bringing her attention back to the situation at hand, she realized that they were now making their way towards a dock.
"Here," Kai stated simply, absolutely no emotion present in his voice. Jade blinked a couple times in confusion as she let her eyes wander across the shabby, wooden ramp. Quickly releasing his hold on Jade, Kai stepped up onto the wooden surface, taking in a deep breath as he did so. "Are you coming?" He questioned, noticing the strange look passing over Jade's face.
"Am I coming where...in case you haven't noticed Kai, this is an old boat ramp." Jade commented, shaking her head at how bad the scenario looked. "It looks as though it could fall apart any minute now."
"It's not going to fall apart. I think I have a little more sense than to stand on a dock that's about to collapse." He retorted, jerking a hand out towards the puzzled red haired girl. "Now come on." Jade shrugged, allowing her hand to rest within Kai's palm once more as he pulled her up. The dock creaked slightly with the new weight addition, causing Jade to glance down at it with suspicion. Walking to the very end of the platform, she found herself staring down at the crystal water, while small insects skimmed across the surface of it.
'So this is what Kai wanted me to see...the ocean.' Jade thought to herself, rolling her eyes a little. What exactly was he thinking? This wasn't exactly what Jade would call a fun night, standing on a broken dock, staring into the shadowy depths of the water. "You wanted to show me this?" Jade questioned, her eyes wandering across the horizon as they focused upon the aura of the moon.
A faint smile drew across Kai's lips, listening to the sound of irritation and sarcasm that was present in Jade's voice. "Partly, but I think you'll find it a little more interesting once you take a look at this." Kai indicated, withdrawing his hand from his pocket as he held it before Jade. Immediately Jade's eyes drew apart, shock crossing over her face as she reached her hand towards the small token. It was the black choker, the very same one at the market. The purple gem in the middle suddenly began to glow as Jade shook her head at the sudden phenomena. The faint picture of the wolf head could be seen in the middle, while the moon at which it was howling at, glowed brilliantly in the background.
"I-It's almost as if it's reacting to the moon." Jade whispered, watching as the light reflected off the gem and shifted across her face. Kai nodded, taking a gentle hold of Jade's hand as he placed the choker within her palm.
"That's not the strangest part about it," he continued, nodding his head as an indication for her to look down. "Take a look at it now." Jade shifted her crystal eyes upon her palm, as the entire jewel suddenly began to glow in a strange purple aura. "It's reacting to you as well."
"But...what...how..."
"I saw it glow faintly when we were in the market that day." Kai described, shoving his hands into his pockets as he shrugged. "I thought it was strange, so I bought it."
"Kai, I-I don't know what to say." Jade could feel her cheeks flush at the token, while her heart beat rapidly against her chest. She couldn't believe how beautiful it was, even more so than we she first laid eyes upon it at the market. "Thank you." She whispered, her mind still unable to process any other words besides the obvious.
"It was nothing," Kai insisted, shaking his head as an attempt to blow off the present. He now felt himself regretting the fact that he gave it to her, but he knew he had to. There was something special about that gem, something that he could've sworn he encountered before.
"Well I appreciate it none the less." Jade replied, before reaching her hands up behind her neck. Wrapping the choker around her neck she found herself struggling to clip it, noticing her fingers slipping every time she came close.
"Let me guess, you need help." Kai declared, watching Jade's every move as she smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Leave it to girls." Kai mumbled, shaking his head at how pathetically helpless she looked trying to fasten it. Taking a small step towards her he took a hold of the two ends, his muscular arms resting upon either of Jade's shoulders. Leaning in closer he felt his cheek brush against Jade's as he fumbled slightly with the small clip. Small strands of her hair drifted gently across the side of his face as he slowly pulled back, only far enough so that the two of them were face to face. Jade's cheeks were completely red by now, and she could practically feel herself dying from embarrassment. Kai's arms were still resting around her neck and he stared directly at her, his face completely bare of any expression or emotion. A small breeze blew across the two teens, causing Kai's slate bangs to rustle roughly across his forehead- shielding his eyes slightly in shadow. Jade couldn't help but stare up at him, his soft face glowing faintly within the light of the moon. Kai noticed the same thing upon Jade, her crystal eyes shimmering with millions of emotions. Moving his hands slowly across Jade's body he could feel her shiver beneath, as he finally settled them gently upon her waist.
"Kai, I think it's getting late...maybe we should...ummm...go find th..." Jade paused, noticing the repetitive shaking motion of Kai's head. His eyes were still shielded from his bangs as she could feel his body lean in closer to her.
"Do you always stutter this bad?" He questioned, noticing the sudden change pass over the red haired girl.
"Only when I'm...nervous." She answered, kicking herself in the head for telling him that. "When I'm nervous...I, well...I seem to talk with non important words. And people find it hard to shut...me...up." Jade's voice trailed off as she felt Kai's lips press up against her own, quite rough actually. She felt like smiling at the abrupt kiss, realizing that Kai was just as nervous as she was. Closing her eyes slowly she felt herself calming down, as Kai caressed her lips more smoothly now. Just as the initial shock grew off, the kiss was over and Kai pulled back rather quickly, his head clueing in to what just happened. He didn't however move his arms away, and they only drew tighter and tighter around Jade's waist- pulling her closer into his embrace. Jade could feel Kai's heavy breathing as she relaxed her head against his chest, her eyes still tightly fastened...as if she was in the middle of a dream.
"Where do you suppose they are?" Rei questioned, his golden eyes surveying the Fiesta grounds as people continued to brush past them. He had his right arm wrapped loosely around Mariah's waist, as he held her quite tightly against his side.
"Don't worry so much Rei, I'm sure they're fine." Mariah smiled, winking at the black haired boy as her mind began to drift off in imagination. She didn't know why but she just knew that Jade was off somewhere with Kai. Her heart leapt at the mere thought of it, knowing that she would be the first to hear about all the juicy details when they arrived back at the hotel. Besides, she had her own stories to tell Jade. Taking a seat on one of the wooden benches she rested her head against Rei's shoulder, sighing deeply as she listened to the entertaining music.
"You want to dance?" Rei asked, running a hand across Mariah's soft cheek. She quickly shook her head in response, before nuzzling further against Rei's body. What they were doing now was absolutely perfect, just so long as she was within Rei's arms.
"Looks like Max is enjoying the Fiesta." Mariah giggled, pointing at the blonde boy who was now in the middle of the dance floor, taking part in the ever famous Limbo, as people began clapping and shouting 'How low can you go!!' Rei laughed at the sight of his teammate, watching as he easily made his way under the pole. The rest of his teammates as well as the White Tigers were all just hanging around, though they were all in close proximity. Lee, Bruce, and Kenny were sitting off to one table, presumably talking to Dizzi about the upcoming matches tomorrow. Tyson was still hopping from one food stand to the next, desperately trying to stuff himself with as much food as he could. Gary was no longer with him however, and he was now tagging along with Kevin- who brought him as a bodyguard in order to intimidate the two kids who had bit him earlier. The only people who were still missing were Kai and Jade, and Rei was still curious as to where the two teenagers ran off too. He was used to Kai going off on his own, but going off with Jade somewhere? That was just not like him. He smiled at the thought of Kai being with a girl, he knew that guy wasn't as tough as he portrayed himself to be. Rei's thoughts were soon interrupted as he felt someone collapse next to him, moaning as he did so.
"Tyson?" Rei questioned, glancing down at the navy haired boy as Mariah sat up. "What's wrong with you?"
"Let me guess, the food patrons kicked you out of the grounds." Mariah suggested, shaking her head at how pathetic the boy looked. The only reply they got was another loud moan as he placed both of his hands against his rounded stomach.
"Guys...I don't think all this spicy food is agreeing with me!" Rei rolled his eyes at Tyson's comment while Mariah simply laughed, enjoying the fact the idea that Tyson was sick due to food.
"Serves you right!" She replied, earning herself an un-intimidating glare. Mariah stuck her tongue back out at him, her golden eyes laughing at his pain.
"Tyson, you know your stomach can't handle spicy food." Rei announced, sighing at the sight of his pathetic looking teammate. "So why did you still insist on stuffing yourself full of it?"
"I was hungry!" Tyson yelled back, letting another giant moan escape from his lips.
"Forget it Rei, talking to him is like talking to a brick wall!" All three teens shot their gaze upwards at the sudden voice, noticing Kai standing firmly behind them- arms crossed over his chest in the usual manner.
"Can it Kai...I'd much prefer if I didn't hear your voice right now." Tyson mumbled back, before keeling over onto the dirty ground. "Somebody...call 911, I think I got food poisoning!" Kai rolled his maroon eyes in annoyance, before taking a firm grip on Tyson's arm and pulling him to his feet. Rei immediately helped Kai out, allowing Tyson to lean himself up against him.
"As much as I hate to help him, I suppose we should get him to a hospital." Kai indicated, shaking his head.
"Or at least get him some Pepto-Bismol!" Rei declared, laughing at Tyson's face as it slowly began changing into a funny shade of green. "Mariah...you coming?" Mariah shook her head, before turning to Kai, a huge smile lighting up her face.
"I think I'll find Jade. If Kai would be so kind as to tell me where she is." She winked, noticing a faint shade of red beginning to take form upon Kai's cheeks. He closed his eyes slowly and gave a casual shrug.
"Last time I saw her, she was heading back to the hotel."
"Right." Mariah smiled, winking at Kai once again as he blushed even more. "Ok then, I'll see you guys later!" With that she quickly spun around on her heel, before taking off down the busy street.
A/N: Well another chapter bites the dust! I realize that this chappy was pretty short as well...at least compared to the last one it is! ^-^ Oh well, it's still 5 pages which isn't too bad. I honestly think that I'm almost done this ficcy, I'm guessing around 3 or 4 chapters left, depending on how long I make them. It's all planned out in my head, so I hope to finish it by the end of March...at the latest!
AnimeFan: Your idea with Kevin getting Gary to tag along with him was so cute...you have a mind full of awesome ideas dude! I didn't exactly elaborate on it, but I added a little sentence about it in there...cause it was too cute! Thanks for that! ^-^
And thanks again to all my faithful reviewers...you guys rock!!!
