Redbird
Cherry Rain: Hi, folks! Aren't you happy I updated?
Chapter Thirteen: Relationships
Foxflame slipped his way into Marine's mind, making the other bitbeast link and take over with the girl's mind, calling up the girl called Xin instead. This girl was a vicious one. Once given instructions, she would follow- and take pleasure in it. Unlike her milder, gentler counterpart called Yu.
Foxflame had always found this particular dual nature of a human being very useful. Most would have a better side on the surface, but underneath, there was always that dark persona- the one he found easiest to manipulate.
He saw through her eyes as she picked up the simple knife bought just that day- it was just a plain kitchen knife, but it would serve perfectly fine. He curved his lips in a feral smile as the girl padded down the hallways, quiet in her bare feet.
***
Kai cracked an eye open just in time to see Ray slip out the door of their bedroom, fully dressed. He had to be seeing Mariah. There was no other explanation for it.
Five minutes later there was a slight noise outside his door and he opened it.
Lei Feng was there, and Redbird hovering protectively over her. "What's going on?"
"Yu again, but this time she was opening my door when Redbird woke me. And that's not the worst. She was holding a knife." Lei Feng dangled a gleaming six-inch blade a hairsbreadth from Kai's nose. There was something chilling about that small piece of ordinary metal. Probably had something to do with the fact that one stab and a person could die.
"I snatched it from her and gave chase. But obviously she ran. There is definitely something really wrong with that girl."
"Yeah." Kai made a suggestion. "Do you think she's crazy?"
"Possibly." Lei Feng shivered in the drafty hallway as she glared in the direction Yu had headed in. "Her behaviour is certainly nuts."
"Come in. You're cold. Why wear something so thin?" Lei Feng was wearing a light tank top and shorts.
"Well, I didn't expect to be out here chasing a schizophrenic girl, right? I was expecting to be under a warm blanket, Kai," she said sarcastically as she walked past him, ignoring the fact that Ray was not in the room.
"So what's going to be done about Yu? We can't just leave her walking around the place with a knife."
"I've got no idea, Lei Feng. We'll settle that later. Right now I suggest we get some sleep. I'll take the couch."
"The bed is big enough for two, only that I take it you didn't want to sleep with Ray."
Kai made a rather disgusted face, but slid into the bed next to her anyway. She snuggled up closer to him, seeking warmth for her numbed hands. "Speaking of Ray, Lei Feng. You do know he's seeing Mariah, right?"
"Yes," Lei Feng straightened a little. "What of it?" From the stance she took, back stiff and erect, and the glint in her eyes, Kai knew she was gearing up for a fight and knew whose side she would be taking.
"You don't get it," Kai said defensively. "You didn't see the Asian tournament where Ray battled her. They hadn't seen each other in ages but Ray was still distracted. Imagine what'll his reaction be if we meet them in this tournament. Ray's a great blader, but he's too emotional to be involved with a blader from an opposing team."
"I for one, think you have no right to interfere in what they do outside of the dish, Kai Hiwatari," Lei Feng said. Use of his full name. Sign that her temper was rising. "You may be our team captain, but you aren't his parent, so you don't have a say in his personal life. And anyway Mariah won't distract Ray on purpose. I did watch the Asian tournament, contrary to your belief, and I have the feeling Mariah will shake Ray out of it if he tries going easy. And trust me, I will too."
"I believe that if I can face you, Hiwatari, and still concentrate, I see no reason why Ray cannot do the same. At most, we can always avoid pitting Ray against Mariah. End of discussion. I will not let you obstruct their relationship, Kai. Or you can forget about ours."
She fixed Kai with a stare that promised to morph into a glare if he dared disagree or try to argue his point further. He gave up. for now. He still had niggling doubts. She had a point, but knowing Ray, it wouldn't be as simple as she said.
Lei Feng's case was different. She was focused in the dish, like him, she didn't give a damn who her enemy was, only that he had to be defeated.
Nodding, he kissed Lei Feng, crushing her body against his, hands caressing her lithe and slim figure. For her part, Lei Feng moaned involuntarily as Kai's lips moved from her mouth, down to her neck, the near-anger of a moment ago fading into utter oblivion.
Which was exactly what Kai had planned for.
His hands wandered to her abdomen as she brought her face down to his and kissed him again, fingers trailing around her waist as she giggled a little against her own will. So she was ticklish. Kai carefully stored that information away for later. For now, all he wanted to do was concentrate on the endless pools of jet that were her eyes.
The embraces ended, both of them face to face on the pillow, Lei Feng's dark black eyes glimmering with mischief and love for him, Kai's mahogany orbs showing such a strong emotion for the first time.
He nuzzled her lightly, touching his lips to hers. She tried to force a firmer embrace but Kai withdrew, leaving a very impatient and unsatisfied Lei Feng. "We have to sleep, Lei Feng."
She grudgingly admitted that he had a point. Relationships were important, but so was her beyblading career. And to be a good blader she needed rest. "Go to sleep, okay? We'll have time for this later."
Lei Feng nodded and curled up to him, going to sleep.
***
Ray smiled as he saw Mariah waiting at their bench. "Congrats on your win in the tournament, Ray. You were great."
"Thanks, Mariah. You are adorable, you know that?"
Mariah blushed and mock-scowled at him, but still sat down on his lap, leaning against his chest. "You're awful."
Ray chuckled. "I know, Mariah. I take it the White Tigers got into the quarterfinals too?"
"Yeah. Mostly thanks to that Yu. She's definitely a good blader, no matter what else is fishy about her. That eel of hers is good."
"Galux is good too."
"Galux doesn't have the same amount of strength. That eel may look slippery, but it's really strong."
"What do you know about Yu, anyway?"
"Nothing much. The village elders recommended her to us as a good blader. One test match with Lee and she's in. She doesn't even know where she's from- she told us she'd been on the move since she was a young girl."
"She's that good?" Ray knew Lee's standards were high.
"Yeah. But I wonder. if she's so good, how come no one's heard of her before? I never knew she existed until she just showed up one day. And you know I keep track of beybladers very closely. How come she stopped at our remote little mountain village and not a bigger place, with more chances? Why'd she stop in the first place, if she'd been traveling around? How come she insisted on joining us?"
"Shh. Don't worry about these things now. Relax." Ray's fingers made their way to her tense shoulders, finding and undoing knots of tension in the muscles. Mariah closed her eyes appreciatively and purred low in satisfaction.
"Thanks, Ray. I needed that." She turned around, pecking him on the lips.
He pressed her closer and she willingly complied, hugging him and pulling closer. "You know, Lee would kill the both of us were he here. So would Kai. I have the feeling that Lee knows of our little meetings, and knowing him, he won't be happy. Sooner or later we'll get into trouble."
"Maybe not Kai. Did you know Lei Feng is his girlfriend? But don't worry. Lee can't stop us."
"Kai has a girl? Impossible!" Mariah's feline eyes widened in shock, pupils slitting.
"Possible. Way possible."
Mariah leaned back again, laughing quietly. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Anyway, it seems to have loosened Kai up a little. I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm doing."
"Then we have to be very thankful to Lei Feng. She kept our little secret, remember? Hiwatari would probably have hunted the two of us down and murdered us."
"You think too badly of him."
"Well, it's the truth!"
"Point taken."
"So how did your match go?"
"Pretty okay, except Gary lost his match. But I won mine and so did Yu."
"Speaking of the tournament, we had better go. You need to sleep."
"I don't give a damn about having Lee on my case. I want to stay longer with you."
"But you have to keep your place on the White Tigers."
Mariah sighed in resignation. "Yes, Ray. Stop nagging."
Ray turned her to face him and kissed her forcefully, lips finally trailing to her neck. He breathed against her skin and licked it lightly, gratified to see her quiver in response. "Goodnight, Mariah."
Mariah pressed her lips to his in a short, sweet kiss. "Goodnight, Ray."
Cherry Rain: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I'm evil. Anyway, that was a sweet but meaningless chapter (except for the Yu bit) brought on by a caffeine and sugar overdose. I'll get back to the real plot next chappie.
Cherry Rain: Hi, folks! Aren't you happy I updated?
Chapter Thirteen: Relationships
Foxflame slipped his way into Marine's mind, making the other bitbeast link and take over with the girl's mind, calling up the girl called Xin instead. This girl was a vicious one. Once given instructions, she would follow- and take pleasure in it. Unlike her milder, gentler counterpart called Yu.
Foxflame had always found this particular dual nature of a human being very useful. Most would have a better side on the surface, but underneath, there was always that dark persona- the one he found easiest to manipulate.
He saw through her eyes as she picked up the simple knife bought just that day- it was just a plain kitchen knife, but it would serve perfectly fine. He curved his lips in a feral smile as the girl padded down the hallways, quiet in her bare feet.
***
Kai cracked an eye open just in time to see Ray slip out the door of their bedroom, fully dressed. He had to be seeing Mariah. There was no other explanation for it.
Five minutes later there was a slight noise outside his door and he opened it.
Lei Feng was there, and Redbird hovering protectively over her. "What's going on?"
"Yu again, but this time she was opening my door when Redbird woke me. And that's not the worst. She was holding a knife." Lei Feng dangled a gleaming six-inch blade a hairsbreadth from Kai's nose. There was something chilling about that small piece of ordinary metal. Probably had something to do with the fact that one stab and a person could die.
"I snatched it from her and gave chase. But obviously she ran. There is definitely something really wrong with that girl."
"Yeah." Kai made a suggestion. "Do you think she's crazy?"
"Possibly." Lei Feng shivered in the drafty hallway as she glared in the direction Yu had headed in. "Her behaviour is certainly nuts."
"Come in. You're cold. Why wear something so thin?" Lei Feng was wearing a light tank top and shorts.
"Well, I didn't expect to be out here chasing a schizophrenic girl, right? I was expecting to be under a warm blanket, Kai," she said sarcastically as she walked past him, ignoring the fact that Ray was not in the room.
"So what's going to be done about Yu? We can't just leave her walking around the place with a knife."
"I've got no idea, Lei Feng. We'll settle that later. Right now I suggest we get some sleep. I'll take the couch."
"The bed is big enough for two, only that I take it you didn't want to sleep with Ray."
Kai made a rather disgusted face, but slid into the bed next to her anyway. She snuggled up closer to him, seeking warmth for her numbed hands. "Speaking of Ray, Lei Feng. You do know he's seeing Mariah, right?"
"Yes," Lei Feng straightened a little. "What of it?" From the stance she took, back stiff and erect, and the glint in her eyes, Kai knew she was gearing up for a fight and knew whose side she would be taking.
"You don't get it," Kai said defensively. "You didn't see the Asian tournament where Ray battled her. They hadn't seen each other in ages but Ray was still distracted. Imagine what'll his reaction be if we meet them in this tournament. Ray's a great blader, but he's too emotional to be involved with a blader from an opposing team."
"I for one, think you have no right to interfere in what they do outside of the dish, Kai Hiwatari," Lei Feng said. Use of his full name. Sign that her temper was rising. "You may be our team captain, but you aren't his parent, so you don't have a say in his personal life. And anyway Mariah won't distract Ray on purpose. I did watch the Asian tournament, contrary to your belief, and I have the feeling Mariah will shake Ray out of it if he tries going easy. And trust me, I will too."
"I believe that if I can face you, Hiwatari, and still concentrate, I see no reason why Ray cannot do the same. At most, we can always avoid pitting Ray against Mariah. End of discussion. I will not let you obstruct their relationship, Kai. Or you can forget about ours."
She fixed Kai with a stare that promised to morph into a glare if he dared disagree or try to argue his point further. He gave up. for now. He still had niggling doubts. She had a point, but knowing Ray, it wouldn't be as simple as she said.
Lei Feng's case was different. She was focused in the dish, like him, she didn't give a damn who her enemy was, only that he had to be defeated.
Nodding, he kissed Lei Feng, crushing her body against his, hands caressing her lithe and slim figure. For her part, Lei Feng moaned involuntarily as Kai's lips moved from her mouth, down to her neck, the near-anger of a moment ago fading into utter oblivion.
Which was exactly what Kai had planned for.
His hands wandered to her abdomen as she brought her face down to his and kissed him again, fingers trailing around her waist as she giggled a little against her own will. So she was ticklish. Kai carefully stored that information away for later. For now, all he wanted to do was concentrate on the endless pools of jet that were her eyes.
The embraces ended, both of them face to face on the pillow, Lei Feng's dark black eyes glimmering with mischief and love for him, Kai's mahogany orbs showing such a strong emotion for the first time.
He nuzzled her lightly, touching his lips to hers. She tried to force a firmer embrace but Kai withdrew, leaving a very impatient and unsatisfied Lei Feng. "We have to sleep, Lei Feng."
She grudgingly admitted that he had a point. Relationships were important, but so was her beyblading career. And to be a good blader she needed rest. "Go to sleep, okay? We'll have time for this later."
Lei Feng nodded and curled up to him, going to sleep.
***
Ray smiled as he saw Mariah waiting at their bench. "Congrats on your win in the tournament, Ray. You were great."
"Thanks, Mariah. You are adorable, you know that?"
Mariah blushed and mock-scowled at him, but still sat down on his lap, leaning against his chest. "You're awful."
Ray chuckled. "I know, Mariah. I take it the White Tigers got into the quarterfinals too?"
"Yeah. Mostly thanks to that Yu. She's definitely a good blader, no matter what else is fishy about her. That eel of hers is good."
"Galux is good too."
"Galux doesn't have the same amount of strength. That eel may look slippery, but it's really strong."
"What do you know about Yu, anyway?"
"Nothing much. The village elders recommended her to us as a good blader. One test match with Lee and she's in. She doesn't even know where she's from- she told us she'd been on the move since she was a young girl."
"She's that good?" Ray knew Lee's standards were high.
"Yeah. But I wonder. if she's so good, how come no one's heard of her before? I never knew she existed until she just showed up one day. And you know I keep track of beybladers very closely. How come she stopped at our remote little mountain village and not a bigger place, with more chances? Why'd she stop in the first place, if she'd been traveling around? How come she insisted on joining us?"
"Shh. Don't worry about these things now. Relax." Ray's fingers made their way to her tense shoulders, finding and undoing knots of tension in the muscles. Mariah closed her eyes appreciatively and purred low in satisfaction.
"Thanks, Ray. I needed that." She turned around, pecking him on the lips.
He pressed her closer and she willingly complied, hugging him and pulling closer. "You know, Lee would kill the both of us were he here. So would Kai. I have the feeling that Lee knows of our little meetings, and knowing him, he won't be happy. Sooner or later we'll get into trouble."
"Maybe not Kai. Did you know Lei Feng is his girlfriend? But don't worry. Lee can't stop us."
"Kai has a girl? Impossible!" Mariah's feline eyes widened in shock, pupils slitting.
"Possible. Way possible."
Mariah leaned back again, laughing quietly. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Anyway, it seems to have loosened Kai up a little. I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm doing."
"Then we have to be very thankful to Lei Feng. She kept our little secret, remember? Hiwatari would probably have hunted the two of us down and murdered us."
"You think too badly of him."
"Well, it's the truth!"
"Point taken."
"So how did your match go?"
"Pretty okay, except Gary lost his match. But I won mine and so did Yu."
"Speaking of the tournament, we had better go. You need to sleep."
"I don't give a damn about having Lee on my case. I want to stay longer with you."
"But you have to keep your place on the White Tigers."
Mariah sighed in resignation. "Yes, Ray. Stop nagging."
Ray turned her to face him and kissed her forcefully, lips finally trailing to her neck. He breathed against her skin and licked it lightly, gratified to see her quiver in response. "Goodnight, Mariah."
Mariah pressed her lips to his in a short, sweet kiss. "Goodnight, Ray."
Cherry Rain: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I'm evil. Anyway, that was a sweet but meaningless chapter (except for the Yu bit) brought on by a caffeine and sugar overdose. I'll get back to the real plot next chappie.