Mizu_Tenshi: OKAY! I Re-wrote this chapter six times before I thought it was worth anyone else reading
so I'd be extremely pissed if I get flamed now. The poem is mine AGAIN but I don't own Beyblade.

"…" Speech
'…' Thought
*…* Implied words

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

'It's the price of perfection. 'Cos no one gives a dam. I look my reflection and I ask who I really am.'

**********

Chapter 9: Watashi Rashiku

(Minako's POV)

I sit alone in my room. It's late afternoon and I haven't seen Kai or any of the others lately. Tyson, Max,
Kenny and Ray are probably eating out somewhere, Sam's still with Tori; she's been there for hours! And
Ami…I have no idea where the hell Ami is. It's strange, before I never ever wanted to be alone.

'Don't leave me alone!' my mind cries out to no one in particular. God, I used to hate being alone 'cos being
alone was like being unloved and forgotten. I wanted to surround myself amongst a tight group of friends,
have them shield me and protect me from hurt and all the painful things in life. I wasn't strong enough to be
on my own…I'm still not strong enough…not strong enough to fall in love.

I shake my head, if only the others could see me now; depressed and serious, they would probably wonder
where the good old Minako went. The Minako who would glomp people who beat her, the Minako who
would fall into crushes so easily, the cheerful yet slightly hyper Minako, the Minako they all knew and
loved

'I'm not a simple as that!' My mind cries as tears begin to fall. 'Why am I crying?' I ask myself. A few
simple words have never affected me so badly as to make me shed tears. Kai will never love me, not after
what he said, what he called me so why am I still in love with him?

Suddenly hear my mobile go off; I sit on my bed, contemplating whether it was worth answering or not. I
finally reach for my duffel bag and pull it out. Gathering all my strength to keep my voice steady I speak
tentatively into the phone.

"Hello? Oh, mum, Guten Täg" I clear my tear-choked throat, it's been a while since I've talked to my mum.
"Ja, I'll take a train and visit you as soon as possible, I've just been really busy. Ja, Ich bin fein," I lie, the
last thing I want is for her to worry about me, she's been depressed ever since my dad got a divorce. I know
it isn't *that* unusual, a lot of children and couples go under divorce but it's still heartbreaking for her
because my mum always loved my dad and she still does.

"Yes, mum, you'll be watching when I take home the English cup, won't you? Yeah, I'll dedicate the
victory to you. Auf Wiedersehen." I off my phone and sigh. The only thing I think I can do is to push all
these nagging thoughts at the back of my mind, the tournament is tomorrow and I can't be distracted.

~ Restaurant ~

(General POV)

Ray sat eating a late lunch in a fast food joint with the rest of his team-mates, minus Kai of course, and the
White Tigers. He still didn't know how he felt about Ami or Mariah but he decided to stay positive, no
matter what happens they'd all still be friends.

Tyson and Gary were having an eating competition,

'I don't know how we're gonna pay the bill with those two eating like it's the end of the world! We'll
probably end up scrubbing dishes or taking orders for the rest of our lives.' Ray mused slightly.

"Hey, Kenny, the tournament starts tomorrow, who are we playing?" Max asked.

"We're not playing anyone yet but we will the day after," Kenny informed them "I think they're called the
Element Guardians, they're supposed to be really tough."

"We'll beat them no problem!" Tyson cried with a mouthful of food.

"We'll be playing tomorrow," Mariah smiled at Ray, flashing her dazzling white fangs. "And so is those
two girls we met before…their team will be playing tomorrow too, not against us of course but I'd still like
to see how they battle…what were they called again?"

"The Terrabladers," Li answers, "Ami and Minako were their names."

"Yeah I knew that," Mariah laughs nervously. "Anyway, you will be watching us, right Ray?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it!"

"Thanks," Mariah gave another charming smile. "It's important to have support from people who care near
you during tough times and battles."

"Yeah, well I better get back and practice," Ray nodded, gulping down the last of his food he excused
himself from the table.

As he reached the hotel the need to practice slowly seeped from his body.

'Am I getting lazy?' Ray wondered. 'Well I do need a break before the start of the tournament tomorrow.'
He frowned slightly at his rather lame attempt to convince himself to take a break; he was never good at
lying even to himself.

He made his way one of the lounges, there were some other bladers hanging around the massive room of
soft chairs, tables and vending machines.

The radio was up full blast, some love song was on and there was a group of boys arguing with some girls
over the radio station. As Ray approached a seemingly empty table he heard a shuffling noise from
underneath it. Curiously, he looked under to see who or what was causing the noise.

//Look at me and you'll find
I'm hidden deep within your mind//
For every glance you gave away
A part of me will always stay//

"Hi Ami," he greeted her, suppressing a smile caused by seeing her in such an odd position. Quickly Ami
straitened up banging her head on the table.

"Ow!" she cried. Crawling backwards from under the table she finally managed to stand up straight rubbing
her head.

"What we're you doing under there?" Ray smiled.

"I wasn't hiding!" She cried so fast that it made him jump a little. "I mean I was…I was…looking for my
pen." She sat or rather dumped herself dejectedly on one of the chairs surrounding the table.

//We had to go our separate way
'Cos of all the things you couldn't say
Lost the chance, fell from grace
Just too tired to run the race//

"Did you find it?" Ray asked.

"…No," Ami sighed.

Ray couldn't help but feel a little guilty at her current state; he was the one who asked her to tell him what
was wrong.

'This is my fault so it's my responsibility to patch things up again.' He thought as he sat down and swivelled
his chair round so that he was sitting next to her.

"Ray?" She tensed a little, Ray felt a pang of sorrow, was that how she was going to treat him from now
on? Like a red-hot fire that could burn her at any time?

//Tell me what you're living for
'Cos I'm that girl you can't ignore
No matter where you may be
The image of me is all you'll see//

"C'mon," Ray smiled. "I don't feel like blading right now so let's go do something fun!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, we could hit the dance floor."

"Not now," Ami declined. She remembered the last time they were dancing. That time when *she* turned
up and all her hopes of ever getting Ray to notice her fully had been dashed to pieces. She wished she could
hate Mariah for that, she had every right to but she couldn't the girl was just too dam friendly and Ami
knew there was no use in hating anyone because of how they felt. It would not change anything. She would
still be ignored.

//Don't break it, don't break her heart
Just think of the love you two could start
Just think of me as a dream
'Cos not everything's as they seem//

"Then you choose," Ray offered. "If you keep going like this we'll end up with another Kai on our hands. I
miss the old Ami, c'mon; we had fun, didn't we? Let's just carry on from here on."

"And what?" Ami's eyes flashed with anger. "And pretend that everything's normal? And pretend that I
never said all those stupid things?!"

Ami took a deep shuddering breath. There was a pause of uncomfortable silence between the two.

'Don't cry,' Ami said to herself. 'Not now, not her, not in front of him.' He didn't have to say anything for
her to finally realise that he didn't love her. Maybe he didn't love any of them, maybe he wasn't prepared for
a relationship, she just knew that he didn't love her.

'Oh great, now you've done it,' Ray's brain said sarcastically. 'Do something before the poor girl breaks
down.' Ray heeded his brain's advice and did the first thing that popped into his mind.

//You made that poor girl think that you
Loved her as much as she did too
But for every loving word you said
I was always in your head//

Ray leaned towards her and Ami found herself magnetically drawn to Ray as well.

As Ray neared Ami something flashed across his mind.

***Flashback***

"Ray! Ray!" A young Mariah called as Ray approached her. "C'mon Ray, teach me more tricks! I've got the
blade you gave me right here."

"Okay, easy Mariah!" Ray laughed. He fitted the blade on the launcher and pulled the ripcord. The blade
flew off the launcher and hit a tree making cherry blossom rain down on Mariah's head.

"Pretty!" Mariah gasped but Ray wasn't done yet. The blade bounced off the tree and landed on the
pavement between the two.

"Drigger, go!" Ray yelled. The tiger emerged from the blade and danced around Mariah, purring with
pleasure.

"That's the…that's the White Tiger bitbeast!" Mariah gasped. "How did you…"

"Does it matter?" Ray smiled a the blade returned to his hand

"That was beautiful, Ray!" Mariah exclaimed with delight.

"It's just for show, it's not gonna win me any battles," Ray blushed modestly. "I 'm gonna be a professional
blader when I grow up."

"That sounds good and I'll always be cheering you on. I'll always be there for you, it's important to have
someone who cares for you around at all times."

***End of Flashback***

Ray suddenly pulled away, leaving a very confused and hurt Ami. Ray was in a daze. It was as if someone
had removed the clouds in his head and he was able to see the sun clearly again. He had finally grasped the
answer that had plagued his mind for so long.

"Sorry Ami, I gotta go!" Ray jumped out of his seat and ran.

~ Biovolt ~

Kai stood in a dimly lit stone chamber below Biovolt with the large metal door to his back. Torches along
the side of the walls bathed the room in a soft yet foreboding light. Four test tubes encircled the room, two
of which were empty and the other two held bitbeasts in them. Tala and Boris stood in the shadows; Boris
was leaning against the wall furthest from Kai with a slight smirk on his face.

"I new you'd be interested when you saw the pictures," Boris said. "It's been a while since you've been here,
hasn't it?"

Kai ignored Boris' self-satisfied comments because his eyes were firmly locked on the empty test tube in
front of him.

Images of what the tube's former resident flickered across his mind, what had happened to it?

"You've noticed that Tarae has gone," Boris growled.

'Well, duh,' Kai rolled his eyes sarcastically. "How can I not notice that a giant snake bitbeast has
disappeared?'

"*That* one escaped." Boris looked angry, as if the memory was mocking him. "It escaped while it was
still incomplete and we haven't been able to locate it. It doesn't matter, it's just one, we have plenty more as
you can see."

'But Tarae was better than the others,' Kai told himself as the memory of the event seeped back into his
mind. Tarae was better, stronger but most of all Tarae was supposed to be *his*

*** Flashback ***

A chibi version of Kai stood in the same room staring at the same test tube and ignoring everything else.
The large dormant snake floated limply, submerged in a queer looking yellow liquid.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Boris asked. "Project Inori, we've almost completed it!"

Kai kept silent, his eyes never leaving the snake.

"Not impressed?" Boris smirked. "Well then let me explain. These new beasts are called Origins, they will
help make you a perfect soldier but they're not meant to go in a beyblade, they're meant to live inside you
feeling what you feel and sensing what you sense. They have the ability to alter human consciousness and
eliminate all distractions during battle." Boris smirked a little. "Forever the human mind has been burdened
by worries and distractions which stop us from obtaining perfection but now we have found a way of
eliminating those distractions whether fighting or blading. They with give you power beyond your wildest
dreams, you fight as one…that is, if you can synchronise successfully with them."

"If you can't?" Kai asked laconically.

"If you can't they take possession of your body and use it to their own discretion. The Origins have
personalities and goals of their own, you have to over power them or they won't respect you. The higher
the synchronisation ratio the better chance you have of harnessing their power."

Boris moved in front of the test tube with the snake in it.

"I see you have an eye for power, this is Tarae and she will be the most powerful Origin of them all. Your
grandfather has decided that you will be her master once the project is complete."

Kai's crimson eyes flashed with the new power they were offering. His gaze turned to the other Origins in
their little tubes, they had no appeal to him; Tarae was all he wanted.

*** End Flashback ***

It had made sense, back then he was working for Biovolt but why did they want him here now? He wasn't
going to listen to his grandfather anymore.

"Now if you're wondering why you're here the explanation is simple," Boris unknowingly read Kai's mind.
"You may not have Tarae but I have another Origin that I think might interest you," Boris indicated the
third test tube. "That's Dryx the wolf, we're offering him to you along with the chance to achieve the power
and perfection you both desires."

"And what do you want in return?" Kai asked, he knew for a fact that Biovolt would never give anything
away for free.

Boris threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoed through the stone chamber. "Not much escapes
you, does it? The truth is that we have finally been able to locate Tarae and we want you to catch her and
bring her back to us."

Kai frowned suspiciously. Was Biovolt so incompetent that they couldn't even catch one incomplete
Origin? He turned to look at Dryx; there was something about that wolf that drew him rather like when he
was drawn towards Black Dranzer. An Origin for an Origin, it was a fair trade but Kai knew batter than to
believe that Biovolt played fair.

'I reckon my synchronisation rate with Dryx is around 70% but that still doesn't mean it won't be able to
take over,' Kai mused.

"Come now, it really isn't so bad, Tala has synchronised with Geara and, as you can see, he's fine."

Kai looked at Tala. So that was what had happened to the Origin in the second test tube. Tala did look
perfectly healthy, even Kai had to admit that, in fact, Tala looked more than healthy he looked stronger as
well.

"Fine," Kai agreed. He would play their way for a while but once he found Tarae he would be the one
keeping her.

"Tarae wasn't complete when it escaped so it wasn't strong enough to inhabit a human, instead it has
resided in a blade like any other bitbeast. Bring her to us and we'll complete the procedure," Boris
instructed. "The person with Tarae is competing in the tournament. You'll recognise it when you see it.
How you capture the Origin is up to you."

"I believe you promised me Dryx," Kai cut through impatiently.

"You want your payment in advance? That's fine by me, just remember, you have to over power it or it will
gain control of your body," Boris approached the test tube and pressed a couple of buttons. The test tube
opened and yellow liquid drained away, the wolf's amber eyes snapped open and it leaped out of the test
tube. It snarled as it lay its eyes on Kai. Baring its fangs menacingly as it approached him.

Kai stood impassive and determined to master the black wolf that stood in front of him. 'You can
synchronise with Dryx better than anyone.' He told himself. The wolf finally made its decision; it snarled
and leaped at Kai, as it reached Kai it leaped right into him.

Kai staggered, it was too queer to describe what he felt when Dryx entered his body, all he felt now was
unbearable pain and Dryx fought for control. It was like something was trying to rip through his skin from
the inside, like his insides were being submerged in acid. Panting for breath, Kai's eyes switched from
amber to crimson in a flicker, Kai clutched his head, groaning in agony.

Finally Kai stopped struggling, he rose his head still gasping after that brief fight. His eyes were the colour
of blood.

"I knew you could synchronise with it," Boris smirked. "Now, it is your turn to keep up your end of the
bargain."

Kai half smirked, half glared at Boris and then at Tala. He wouldn't give them Tarae if his life depended on
it but he kept silent and left.

"You don't really believe Kai will keep his end of the bargain, do you?" Tala asked.

"Of course not," Boris' eyes sparkled with malice. "I was the one who trained him to be cunning and
devious, I know how he thinks, he'll find Tarae but he won't give it to us. That's why I have ordered the
elite to keep him under constant surveillance so when he does find it they'll be ready to take back Tarae and
Dryx."

*************

Mizu_Tenshi: Confused? Well all will be explained in due time. I know it says Romance/Action/Adventure
but there's gonna be angst, comedy and fantasy but not a lot. May seem very far-fetched but it will be
explained.

heather - Well I guess you know how it will go. Sorry but so many people wanted R/M Pier pressure!
*hyperventilates* Oh well, I learned my lesson, never again will I do a love triangle

starwolf - Well, here's chapter nine. Hope you didn't think this was too far fetched. I RE-WROTE IT SIX
TIMES! *Hyperventilates again* Maybe I should sit down now.

anime4u2 - Whoohoo! 9th chapter! Maybe I will pair Ami with Kenny; he doesn't seem to get a lot of
action.

Galux Kitty - Hmm I'm trying to decide what would be worse. Barney, definitely Barney *shudders*
Thanks for the review I'm glad so many people like it.

Sakura88 - Ah…more death threats. Thank you for your review…I need a bodyguard.

Anime the Fallen Angel - Thanks for the idea, I think I'll be using it in later chapters but that depends on
how the rest of the story goes.

Fireglow - Yay! Finally someone who likes the pairing! I'm trying to stop Kai from going OOC.

Galux Phoenix - Well I'm sure you can guess the pairing. I'm glad you liked it too!