The Dranon Heiress

Disclaimer: puh-leeze! We all know what they say

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! If you were looking for an explanation as to why you had to wait so long for this, it's because I wanted to finish 'Outcast' first (you see, it worked, because Outcast is finished! Hooray!). I promise I'll finish this fic in due time.

HEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WE GO!

---- Chapter Eight ----

It was the next morning and most of their group had gone to do their own thing. Tala was moping around and trying to demolish the trees around them; Oliver was sitting by the fire, which had burned to cinders after the previous night; Kai had disappeared; Robert was getting firewood. Michael was practicing his pitching by throwing his baseball at the tallest tree a couple of hundred times, hoping that he might break it.

"You idiot!" Tala yelled angrily. "I was practicing and your stupid ball got it in the way!"

"That's your problem," Michael snapped. "I was practicing my launch as well and your stupid BEYBLADE got in the way! So there!"

"Say that again, you -"

"Will the two of you please be QUIET?" Oliver demanded.

They were all uneasy - which didn't help, because of the team rivalry - after the training session they had witnessed last night. A bit-beast of both fire and ice elements could adapt to any given situation. They were all pretty competitive bladers and an opponent like that could not be left untried. The only problem was, they all didn't think they would be able to stand up to the power of Dranon, let alone defeat it.

"We'll have to build the fire all over again, if we're to eat," Oliver mused. "I hope Robert can find some good logs, otherwise we'll all have to live off the tinned food."

"That hawk-man?" Tala asked incredulously. "Yeah right. I bet he can't even tell the difference between a log and a twig! You can't rely on him."

"Don't underestimate European Beybladers," Oliver warned quietly.

"I'm world champion!" Tala sneered.

"Being world champion doesn't necessarily make you the better," a cold voice cut in. "I do not have your title, and yet I overcame you with ease. Should I not then be who you are?"

Everyone jumped. They had not noticed the arrival of Chika, who was standing on the bough of a large tree. She looked as though she had quietened down after releasing her anger on the bit-beast and her expression was cool and calculating. Tala recovered himself first and glared furiously at her.

"This isn't your business!" he yelled. "I wasn't talking to you!"

"But I was talking to YOU," she replied in the same cold tone. "Remember, Tala, that I defeated you in battle. There were thousands of witnesses present. Remember how you felt and under what circumstances that I won. Do you want to experience that again?"

The glare disappeared, leaving only a look of pure horror on the Russian's face. A metallic sound, like the clicking of many chains, was heard faintly. A near-invisible, red chain was seen to stretch from Tala's chest to the centre of her palm, where it was buried deeply.

"I can kill you," she whispered. "I can kill you right now."

"N-No!" he almost whimpered.

"I've never liked you, but I won't kill you now. However, if you irritate me again, I won't hesitate to do so. You know as well as I do that I'll show no mercy."

--------

"Come on, Giancarlo-san, you can do better than that!"

Enrique grimaced as Amphilyon missed her Beyblade again. She seemed to be an excellent evader. They had been battling for over ten minutes and he hadn't managed to touch her blade even once. She seemed to be enjoying it though. Her taunts and her laughter egged him on, encouraging him to try and attack her, but slipped right away when he was about to. It was no help when she kept calling him 'Giancarlo-san' in that sweet tone.

"Watch me!" he roared in reply. "Amphilyon, charge!"

His massive, two headed hydra (A/N: is it a Hydra or Dragon?) erupted from the core of his blade. While Kevin was impressed, Naoko was still smiling triumphantly. She stopped her Beyblade dead on the dirt, still spinning, while Amphilyon charged. At the last moment, a pale blue phoenix rose out from her grey Beyblade, flapping its four wings.

"All right, Uninix, let's finish him off!"

The bird - which was seen to have the horn of a unicorn - gave a loud shriek as Amphilyon open his jaws wide and roared. The blades drew closer and closer, made contact and then. . .

Amphilyon disappeared.

Uninix flew back into Naoko's outstretched hand and she pocketed it, beaming. Enrique knelt beside the small pile of coloured dust which had once been his Beyblade. On the top of the pile was Amphilyon's core, still intact and whole, which was a relief.

"I would have destroyed that too," Naoko told him. "But I guess that you'd need it to uphold your Europe's top four Beyblader position."

"Should I be thanking you?" Enrique asked sourly.

--------

Footsteps thundered through the hallways and, a second later, the door to the principal's office burst open and a dozen or so men swarmed inside. Mr Dickenson looked up from his papers, startled, as the tallest of the men strode forward.

"Can I help you?"

"You are Dickenson?" The man asked.

"I am." Mr Dickenson frowned. "What can I do for you?"

"Count Icarus Dranon," the other replied. He looked angry. "I demand to know my daughter's whereabouts. She hasn't been home for four months and I received a call telling me that you have been keeping her here."

"I was informed that Dranon-san was sent here," Mr Dickenson said angrily. "I am very sorry, Count Dranon, but I cannot tell you where she is."

In one swift motion, the count whipped out a thin, rapier-like weapon and was pointing it at Mr Dickenson's throat. His eyes were a pale, hard red. It was then the other man fought down another wave of anger and picked up the phone. Icarus Dranon's weapon never left the other's throat as he dialled numbers and took a deep breath - waiting.

"No tricks, old man."

"Certainly not, sir," Mr Dickenson replied hastily. He was relieved when the call was picked up. "Roger? This is Dickenson. Yes, yes, I'm fine. Listen, I want you to send out the helicopters and bring those children back. I know it's earlier than planned, but I really need them back here in an hour."

He hung up and the count lowered the blade.

"We'll wait here for them," he told Mr Dickenson. "Grateful for your cooperation."

--------

Rika made sure to put herself between Chika and Kai, no matter where they were. Her orders had been to keep them apart at whatever cost and that was exactly what she planned to do. No one knew why the camp had been called off suddenly and why they were being taken back to the college.

Not that anyone cared, anyhow. Most of them were just relieved, not having to spend so much time with the people they hated most. Rika looked over at the team. Chika looked subdued - tired almost - as if a burden had been dropped onto her. Naoko was engaged in a staring competition with Enrique. Miyuki was bubbly, as always, making a fruitless attempt at conversation with the ever-inactive Kai.

"Mr Dickenson?" The man called Roger asked, knocking on the principal's door.

"Roger? Come in!"

The door opened and Rika felt her captain stiffen and then start to tremble slightly, her eyes - which were a pale yellow - focused on the man by the window. Everyone from the camp crowded inside, but Chika didn't move. Miyuki and Naoko both spotted the man at the same time and ceased their chatter immediately. The noise died down to a tense silence.

"Where have your manners gone?"

It was a rule in the Dranon family that the head of the clan was to be paid reverence every time they walked into a room. The four girls dropped to their knees, heads down, in front of the count as he walked towards them, a glare registering on his face. Chika had his eyes, the same ones that changed colour according to emotions, and his pale complexion. The shape of her face she had inherited from her mother, because Count Dranon had angular, square features. He brought out a slim, black cane from his cloak.

"Have you been hiding here for these past four months, Chika?"

"No -" she winced as he tapped the cane imperiously. " - Father."

"Then where have you been?"

"Nowhere in particular, father."

Without warning, the cane swung upwards and was brought down to land heavily on her shoulder. The force was so great, she collided with the bookshelf and slumped down, clutching her left arm. Mao and Emily gasped and flinched, but the other three girls didn't move a muscle. Kai's eyes could have bulged out of their sockets as Chika picked herself up and got back onto her knees, head still down.

"Tell me the truth."

"I went to Russia, father," she said quietly. "To challenge the world champion, Tala."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, father."

Another blow, but the cane hit her chest, knocking the wind out of her. She lay on the floor, gasping for air, taking all the humiliation of the display onto her. Mr Dickenson moved forward finally, eyes blazing - quite unlike the usual chairman they knew.

"I must ask you to stop manhandling my students, Count Dranon."

Icarus Dranon paid him no attention and instead turned his attention to Rika.

"Where is he?"

The girl raised her head, emotionless, and pointed. Kai was surprised that the finger was directed at him and even more so when the count raised his cane.

"You are Hitawari Kai?"

"Yes - sir."

"What have you done to my daughter?"

"Nothing sir."

"Ketsueki Rika tells me my daughter has been influenced by you to disobey the rules I set down for them. Tell me -" the count's voice was conversational, but steely. " - Did you deliberately get closer to her for her power?"

Before Kai could reply, the cane flew up again. He braced himself for the hard impact, but it never came. In its place were a dull thud and his back hitting the floor. When he pulled himself together again, Takao's face loomed over him worriedly. He sat up and saw that Chika had used her right arm to block him, shattering the bones in the process.

"Why do you defend him? He will just use you. Isn't Marco good enough?"

"This has nothing to do with Marco, father, and you know it," she replied through her teeth, gritted together against the pain. "Kai is different from the others. He's got nothing to do with the reason I left. Leave him alone."

"You defy me, Chika," her father said in a dangerously quiet voice. "If you insist on protecting this boy . . . get up - and go outside."

---- End of Chapter Eight ----

A/N: o.0 go outside? Both her bloody arms are broken! What am I thinking?

This chapter is too weird. Way too weird. The camp was getting too boring for me, so I decided to change the scene a bit. Introducing Chika's father: Count Icarus Dranon, the bastard of the century. He physically abuses her with that horrid cane and yes, she's terrified of him. Who's Marco, you ask? Find out later! REVIEW!

Bittersweet Angel Chika