A.N. Thank you everyone who reviewed and special thanks to Tari who ordered you all to read. *shakes finger at regular reviewers* Tsk, Tsk. Anyway here ya go: chapter two. First of all reviewers.
ice-queen66: I do hope you have fun with this fic, because I'm having fun reading it. You'll get to find out more about the old flame thing with Kai in this chapter. Hope you like.
Leina: Well as much as I'd love to make Kai able to dissolve into thin air, I can't. But seemingly ff.net can do that with part of my fic. What I'm trying to say is that Kai should have seen Amber in the first chapter, but ff.net screwed up. Soz.
Pissed-timistic: Love the name. Nope this hasn't anything to do with L/H.
AzN*PyRo*ArCaDa: One of my fave reviewers. It's nice coming home from college to get a review from you. Gives me a mile wide grin. I hope you've gotten over your sickness.
ChRiSTiZ: I don't think it's corny. I happen to think it's cool. I like reading about Ambers exploits in ChibiT's fic and Animerle's fic oh and Sae's fic. It's fun to see her from the point of a reader, she's not bad is she? And I like taking control of Miyami for a while as well. Hehehe! Kai was supposed to see Amber in the last chapter. Pity that ff.net screwed up.
Spitfire_Sae: WAI Spitty! Yeah yeah I know ff.net screwed up. Kai was supposed to see Amber in the last chapter, but oh well. I placed that part at the start of this chapter so that people don't have to go back and read it. But anyway review again, Sae.
DivaLicious89: Yeah I think Johnny and Miyami are a perfect couple. =P
hiwatari-gurl: I'm glad you like it after only the first chapter.
Hiwatari's woman: Kai's getting around a bit ain't he. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: No I'm not that far a head of myself. This plot was just dancing round in my head and I figured that I could weave a good story round it. I hope I will.
Krixel: I just thought that that song by Good Charlotte was really approriate, besides I'm a GC fan myself. But they were treated like shit at one of the festivals in England not so long ago. Bottles were thrown at them, but then they kept telling people to aim at will. They handled it really well.
chubbycheekz: I will continue to update L/H, I'll just be pacing myself through the updates. But I can't leave L/H, I love it too much.
Rayne_Neko_Punk: Glad you like it, hope this chapter goes down just as well.
***This should have been part of chapter one, but alas ff.net screwed up. So here we'll start.
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"So this is the great college you were telling me about?", Kai questioned sipping his coffee.
His red headed friend beside him nodded, tucking into his breakfast. "Yep, this is the B.U."
Kai made a face at the greasy fry up his friend was eating. What was it with American's and there fatty foods? Everything was fried, it made his stomach churn thinking off eating something that greasy so early in the morning. Though technically he was usually up earlier most mornings, but with sharing a flat with Miyami and staying up late with her to beat the shit out of her on the playstation 2, he was rising late. Damn girl wanted a rematch every single night. He longed for when Tala would finally move in with them, then Tala could take her on, while he got some sleep.
If Tala ate that every morning, he went back to his original thought, how did he manage to stay in shape? Tala, like himself, was tall, lean and well built with broad shoulders. Red hair was shaped like two wings on either side of his head with two bangs framing his pale but sharply aristocratic face. His eyes were crystal blue and piercing, full of a brazen intellect. He wore a black T-shirt today with black pants, over a pair of black boots, which covered his lean muscular frame.
"So what do you think of the place so far?", Tala's smooth voice cut through his thoughts.
"I'm just wondering where everyone's hurrying off to?"
Tala cursed in Russian under his breath. "I should be heading off too."
Kai looked at him. "Since when did you ever want to be early for a class?"
Tala smirked. "I have induction and I need to see a few people. But for the moment, it's great to see you, man. What do you think of America so far?"
The bluenette looked about him at the various groups of people. There was a social ladder here, something he hated. You had your jocks, your preps, your players, your geeks and nerds, and then there were the outcasts. They were in every school, in every generation, but he got bored of it. They should all have grown up at this stage, but they wouldn't yet. He had once been a player himself, but with Miyami as one of his best friends he was often found with the outcasts.
"It's like Japan. Except for the language."
"You know English, so you're fine.", Tala pointed out with his fork, then he trailed off with a grin as he watched a familiar silver headed girl wander blindly past them. "I think Miya's looking for you."
Kai looked up from staring at his coffee and grinned. "Well Silver will have a long time searching for me down that direction."
He followed her with his gaze and frowned as she talked to a red head. Damn another red head he'd have to protect her from. Though Miyami would hate to hear him say he was protecting her from anything, since she believed she could take care of anything, and generally she could, but he still liked to keep an eye on her. His gaze traveled to a dark haired girl not to far from his friend. She was petite and slim as a willow, but since she had her back to him, he couldn't be sure it was her. But she sure looked like her. Turning to Tala, he motioned to her.
"Who's the girl with the Chinese guy beside her?"
Tala jerked his head over to where his friend was looking, a fond smile gracing his mouth. "That's Benny."
Kai cast him a blank look. "Oh I mean, she's Amber Benson."
Tala was so busy staring at his friend, that he didn't see the flicker of recognition or the small smirk that lighted up his best friends face. If that indeed was the Amber Benson, he'd once known, then things here in America may turn out to be a lot more fun than imagined.
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Chapter two: Desires renewed.
By: Gems/Zadien
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the characters, but I do own Amber and the girls except Miyami belongs to ChibiTari, the bestest authoress in the world and Skip belongs to Sae.
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"Could she be any slower?", Amber groaned.
She was waiting for Tahnee to exit the bathroom. The girl had gone in there not ten minutes ago and she still hadn't emerged. God, what was taking her so long? They were supposed to be in the lecture theatre right now for their induction, instead she was standing in the now almost empty street. Nearly everyone was in induction which was exactly where she should be, right now. But Tahnee had to touch up her make-up because she was looking for a man this term. Like that was anything new.
Her gaze traveled to the notice board on the wall opposite her. There was a flyer advertising Fresher week, and mentioned that there would be live bands in the canteen every day from twelve to two. A bright grin lit up her face. Johnny would really like this. She frowned. Then again maybe not. Robert had quit, Enrique had sprained his wrist and Oliver said he didn't have time to practice anymore. So Johnny and Ruin were the only one left in the band, but she figured that Johnny would find someone soon, just not in time to play in Freshers week. Pity. It was great publicity.
Her gaze flicked to a group of guys staring at her. Disgust flooded her. Why on earth did they stare at her, continually. Usually it didn't bother her, but she was on her own in an empty corridor when usually she wasn't. She glanced back and watched as the door to her lecture theatre opened and then closed again as a gang of girls went into the room. Amber cast a look at the watch on her wrist. It was now fifteen minutes since she'd last seen Tahnee, and if she didn't hurry up, no doubt Ruin would send a search party after her.
"God damn her!", she cursed.
"Yeah goddamn her to hell.", another voice added.
Amber whirled round ready to tell the intruder to piss off, but then her face split into a large grin. "Skip!"
"Amber!", the other girl grinned.
Technically her name was Sonia Martini from California, but Ruin nicknamed her Skip because she couldn't stand still. People would look at Skip and Amber and say they were complete opposites. Skip was slightly taller, athletic, addicted to sports. Her hair was a mixture of reds and golds. Dark garnet hair spilled down her back to just above her shoulder blades when she tied it away from her face. The top of her hair was a slighty more dark strawberry blonde colour streaked with garnet and blonde, while the bangs were garnet with gold ends. All in all her hair was an interesting feature. Her sapphire blue eyes were framed by solid black frames. Her face was a typical california bronze, with a healthy flush along her cheeks. There were three small stylish silver hoops looped through her lower lobes. Even her clothes sense was totally different. She wore a pale blue polo-neck t-shirt, with a pair of sea blue tie-dye bottoms which ended just under the knee, and silvery blue sneakers, not scuffed like Ambers but brand new, a gift from her sponsors. Skip was on the track team and was captain of the girls soccer team as well as being an A-student, something Amber would definetly never be.
"So how were your state finals? I wanted to watch but I don't have Sky."
"Sky?", Skip frowned at the unfamiliar term.
"Oh satelite, cable."
The all American girl grinned. "Oh right, but it wasn't important enough to be on TV, Ams."
Amber merely shrugged. "So how did it go?"
"Oh we got bronze. Could've done better but our star runner was out with a cold."
"Ouch. That's kind of tough. So your back here to do another course of sports science?"
"Yep, and a piece of Pyscology.", at Amber's blank face, she added. "It's so I understand the psychology of the sport and also so I can understand the sports players themselves."
"Uh-huh. Sorry thatjust went, whoosh, way over my head."
Skip laughed softly. "I understand. So how was your hols?"
The Irish woman rolled her eyes. "Well there were some great concerts, like Slane and there was a metallica, Linkin Park and darkness concert I wanted to go to, but couldn't get tickets. But my friend went and bought me a souvenir. So I had to make do."
Her friend made a sympathetic face. "Too bad, that would majorly suck. So apart from that, your hols were as boring as mine then?"
"Not boring, just tiring. I was working for most of the summer in a pub in town. We got some rowdy crowds in on a Saturday evening, so by Sunday morning I was totally bushed. I couldn't be bothered to go out on the times I had off."
"I can understand."
"Hey you didn't happen to see Beth around did you?"
"Probably with Michael.", the blonde brushed it off.
Amber raised a black brow. "Really?"
"Oh right, you weren't there. I keep forgetting that. Michael and Beth hooked up over the summer. She was cheerleading for his baseball team and so they became closer over that. And he rescued her from some hormone crazed ass wipe one night after a game and things just progressed from there."
Amber smiled, but inside she was worried. Michael was a friend of hers, sure, but he happened to be a player and Beth was really the fragile one of the group. She was from California too and was the quiet member of the group. She was always ready to listen to people but she never liked to force people to listen to her opinion; if they wanted it, they would ask. She was also the logical member, she liked to think before she acted, so she balanced Ambers active side. Amber liked to think that the phrase 'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.', applied to the two of them. Beth was the angel, Amber was the fool.
As though she could read the Irish girls thoughts, Skip quickly added in her two pence worth. "They're really good together. Michael really watches out for her. You should see the two of them together. They're so sweet. Michael's so soft when it comes to her, he bends to her every wish."
"And if you don't get those stars out of your eyes, Skip, you're gonna run into a wall.", Amber sighed. "I know that Michaels your best friend and I'm sure he's really......well I'll be watching him."
Skip nodded. "Ok. Well I gotta go. Shouldn't you be heading into induction?"
Amber rolled her ochre eyes. "Yes, but someone won't hurry her skinny white ass up."
"Um, ok."
"Hello!", a chinese girl with bright pink hair and startling twany eyes jumped into the conversation."
"Hey Mari, long time no see."
"How was China?", Skip followed Ambers question up with one of her own.
Miriah Tanaka was Ray Kons girlfriend. She was chinese with showed in her features, but no one could quite figure out where she'd got her colouring from. Not many Chinese people had natural pink hair and tawny eyes. Well maybe the pink hair wasn't totally natural but it suited her and her bubbly attitude. Where as her gold cat like eyes were perfect for her wild cat anger. She had tons of energy but her anger could be easily risen if she or one of her friends were insulted. She was also a cheerleader but she didn't fit the stereotype. She wore a black silk chinese top with a gold embroidered design up the front right, and plain white skirt that fell below her knees. Her small feet were covered with a pair of plain black shoes. Very demure and not at all like Mari, obviously her room mate had something to do with her clothing choice, Amber decided.
Mari screwed her cute face up in disgust. "Oh it was great if you count being made to bring your annoying cousin back here with you. I don't mind Lee, honestly I don't. In fact it was nice to have Lee here to look out for me, but Kevin? Kevin is evil.", she fumed, though her eyes were warm with affection. "Though he is cute when he's defensive."
Skip and Amber exchanged anxious glances, then froze as she pinned the irish woman with her gaze. "You won't like him." It was a statement, plain and true.
Amber looked mildly offended. "Surely I'm not that bad."
"More like he's that bad. No doubt he'll take to annoying you."
Amber eyes widened, then narrowed. "Why?"
"He'll think your accents funny.", Mari said with a shrug, then in the next breath asked. "Hey is Ray in already? I've really missed him."
"Didn't you see him over the summer?", Skip wondered.
"Of course I did.", Mari replied in a tone that suggested that it was preposterous that she wouldn't see Ray. "I just haven't seen him today."
Skip smiled. "Oh that's so sweet."
Mari smiled while ignoring Ambers gagging noises. "And I'll tell you more sweet things while we head in to the lecture. Coming Am's?"
"Pssh, I wouldn't want to hear anything more to so with you and Ray. It's too early in the morning for me to lose my breakfast."
Mari stared at her. "Well if I promise not to mention my realationship will you come?"
"Nope."
"And why not?"
"She's gotta wait for someone.", Skip explained keeping the peace as her eyes searched the crowded canteen at the end of the corridor.
"Who?", Mari demanded eagerly. "Is it a boy?"
Amber rolled her eyes to heaven while shaking her head. "No, I'm not dating anyone Mari." How many times the previous year had she had that conversation with the boy mad chinese girl. It drove her insane. Especially as Mari had decided to don her cupid role and try to help her out by shoving her into the lap of every unsuspecting boy. Most of the year had been spent trying to apologize for her Mari's behaviour, cooling her flushed cheeks and bat away unwelcome groping hands.
"Ugh, still? Amber, I'm going to have to get-"
"Ok Mari, before Amber kills you, I'm going to escort you into the lecture and your going to tell me all about your summer with Ray.", Skip stepped in catching sight of Ambers dark expression of pending doom.
Reluctantly Mari allowed herself to be led away though why her help wasn't welcomed she didn't understand. Amber was about to search her bag for her life line, her disman, when a voice froze her.
"If looks could kill Mari'd be six feet under."
***
Kai watched the interaction with interest as Amber whirled round and launched herself into Tala's waiting arms. While he'd waited for Tala to finish his breakfast, he'd gotten Tala, subtly, to divulge information on his dark haired ex; all the while he'd kept an eye on her as she talked to various friends. Jelously had been his first reaction when he caught sight of the look on Tala's face as he talked about her, that was soon followed by relief as he realized they were only friends, disgust had rounded up the emotions. Disgust at his own emotions. It had been three years since he'd seen her. Since he'd broken up with her. Three long and very interesting years, and he'd gotten over her. Well so he thought he had. Sure he still thought of her from time to time. Miyami often reminded him off her, maybe that was why he enjoyed the silver girls company, well at the start anyway. Of course Miyami had a tendency to grow on people and he couldn't imagine life without her now. Amber on the other hand was a very different matter.
He had gone to Ireland when he'd been sixteen. It had been an exchange programme his grandfather had sent him on. He'd felt that Kai could learn a lot from such a small country that had such great links with America and Great Britain and of course Europe. So Kai had gone, but begrudingly. He'd be staying with the Bensons, and almost immediately he'd been at logger heads with the Bensons only child and daughter, Amber Marie. Part of his problem had been his initial attraction to her, and his annoyance at her vocal disgust of him. Everything had changed when he'd let his emotions rule him. He had kissed her, and he thought with a fleeting smile, she'd kissed him back. And for a girl who didn't like him, she'd kissed him with as much enthusiasm as Kai had. It had been easy to let his emotions rule in Ireland. He'd been so far from home and if anything went pearshaped then he could always escape. Problem was things hadn't gone pearshaped. They'd gone right. Too right.
Things between them had been very hot, very erotic. It had been as though he'd uncovered a volcanoe and it had errupted in his arms the minute he'd touched her. He'd never been matched so perfectly before, so perfectly that he'd never thought of straying from her. In fact he could see himself not leaving her, but staying in Ireland away from Russia and his Grandfather just to be with her. It had scared him. He was a player, he wasn't use to wanting someone so totally and completely. He'd gotten scared, especially when she'd talked to him about going to Russia sometime, so he'd hurt her. Pushed, not that wasn't the right word; forced, yeah, he'd forced her away. And he'd hurt her. He'd seen it in her eyes the day before he'd left and she hadn't come to say goodbye at the airport with everyone else. As much as he hadn't wanted to admit it, that in itself had hurt. But he'd forgotten her in Russia. It had been for the best.
For a moment he allowed himself to survey her while he remained out of sight. She'd changed. He knew she would have but he hadn't expected it to be so different and yet so appealing. Her black hair was no longer in a boyish crop around her face but now it cascaded down her mid back like black silk. It felt like it too, he remembered. Now the staright ends looked as though they'd be dipped in liquid gold. It was held back from her face by a thick head band, but still bangs fell over into her ochre eyes. There wasn't another person who had those eyes. He could remember how they suddenly looked when she was aware of his presence or how they'd seem larger and more liquid like when she was aroused, or how they'd narrow and darken when she was annoyed. He drank in her appearance realizing how much he'd missed looking at her.
Her skin was a dusky gold she'd inherited from her mother while the sharp arresting bone structure as well as the tint of rose along those sculpted cheekbones came from her Irish father. Her mouth which was in her familiar half smile was incredibly deceptive. It was small and soft with a ripe lower lip made for sucking on, but it hid a sharp and extremely witty tongue.
His gaze travelled along her neck, there was a spot on the base of her neck and just behind her ear which was incerdibly sensitive, often placing pressure on it would cause her to melt against him, he remembered. His eyes moved to the rest of her body. Amber had never been curvy. She was as slim as a willow with only subtle curves that she preferred to hide beneath baggy clothes. There were a couple of times where he would let his mind wander to uncovering her beneath those bulky sweaters. It was a fantasy he'd never quite fulfilled. Today she didn't disappoint. She was wearing a pair of black trousers which looked to be several sizes to big for her. A navy cap dangled from her hand. She wore a pair of scuffed sneakers, which made him frown. How long had she had those sneakers for?! And she wore a red and pink striped off the shoulder top. Along the front in big, vibrant, red, sparkling letters were the words: "Think what you like about me......as if I care!" Kai had to chuckle, the top suited her attitude, but he was unsure of the colours. Amber as a rule had never worn pink, but then again; he reminded himself; she had changed.
He listened to her as she conversed with Tala. Her voice still had that familiar soft Irish lilt around the ages while she still sounded as though she'd just woken up. It stirred something inside him as he listened. So he was glad when Tala spoke.
"Tahnee can find her own way in, Benny. Come on!"
Amber rolled her amber eyes. "I told her I'd wait."
Kai rose a slate brow. So Amber was still as loyal as ever. She'd always been so when she'd been in Ireland. It had never bothered him, because it had been to him that she'd been loyal. Towards the end he wished that she'd done something so that he could have used that as an excuse to ditch her and maybe feel less guilty about leaving her, but she hadn't.
"Well if your late for induction it won't be my fault."
"Yes Dad!", Amber stuck out her tongue at him. "Besides you're late too."
Tala raised his eyes to heaven. Why on earth did she have to notice everything? And he was winning that battle too. Damn Benny and her quick wittedness. She could think on her feet better than anyone else, which gave him the hint that she'd been involved in verbal wars from a young age. Heck she could hold her own against Oz and Kane, and they didn't take any prisoners when it came to insulting people. Fair enough she'd won their respect so they'd backed off her, Skip Martin on the other hand wasn't so lucky. It didn't matter what that girl did, it seemed that Oz was refusing to leave her alone.
"I had a reason for being late."
"Namely?", the irish girl prompted.
Kai took that as his cue and walked into her vision. He watched her eyes focus on him, then the blood rushed from her face leaving her looking deathly pale.
"Kai.....", she trailed off and shook her head.
She would not let him see her like this. She wouldn't be affected by him again, if it was him. She studied him with narrowed eyes. It looked like Kai Hiwatari; walked like Kai Hiwatari and acted like Kai Hiwatari; so by her deductions it must have been that pompous arrogant prick-hole, Kai Hiwatari. She shuddered as memories she'd locked so efficiently away, came flooding back.
She had been sixteen and totally in love with him, but he mustn't have felt the same way, because the day before he left, he broke her heart like no other; and she promised herself that no one else would ever hurt her like that again. And no one had. Sure Scott had hurt her, but he hadn't wounded her quite as bad as Kai had. He couldn't, because she hadn't loved him like Kai.
Tala was as oblivious to his female friends discomfort as any male friend could be as he began to introduce her ex.
"Amber Benson, this is Kai Hiwatari-"
"We've met.", Kai interrupted smoothly.
Amber's ochre eyes flared for an instant then died into cool disdain. "Have we?", she countered, voice as cold as ice.
The Russian blinked at the coldness in her voice and in her eyes. Never had Amber Benson seemed so cold and unattainable to him, even when she'd been in Ireland. It took him a brief second to recover but he did so.
"No, we mustn't have but it was worth shot.", he offered her a charming smile.
"Kai and I knew each other back in Russia, and now he's come here to study."
Amber nodded keeping a bland smile on her face, it wouldn't do her any good to show him how hurt she was, or how betrayed. She was over that now, had been for a long time. She'd grown up and moved on, and there was no way Kai could change that. So to prove that she was over him, she allowed herself to study him while Tala continued to tell him and her stories of their various pasts, while Kai added his two cents.
He'd changed little over the three years, she mused. His hair was still the same two toned blue, royal blue at the back with slate bangs which was styled into a sexy disarray. His face was still as strong as ever, with the same aristrocratic bone structure and the square jaw, that probably would hurt her fist when she smashed it into him. The skin was a pale soft porcelin, with two blue triangles decorating each side of the jaw. Tatoos he'd gotten at a young age to rebel against his grandfather, she remembered. She'd never seen him without the tats but she'd liked them. They'd made his skin seem somehow smoother and unblemished.
His eyes were deep and fathomless. A deep maghogany which mystified her. She'd once tried to replicate the colour once, but she'd never quite got the shade right. She supposed that was because the shades changed depending on his mood. When he was mellow, they were a chocolate brown, when angry they would become a redder version, while they darkened when he was....... well mostly when he was around her. But she didn't want to think about the reasons why, they'd all been phony anyway.
He had gotten fractionally taller so that he could tower over her easily. His shoulders had broadened and his chest was firm and built. His legs were long, lean and his hips narrow. He was perfectly proportioned, not stocky, yet not skinny. Growing up in had done him some good, she decided, and his clothes did his body justice. He wore a snug black T-shirt, that showed up his pale but strong forearms and biceps. His blue pants fitted him perfectly. It was typical Kai wear, but she refrained from thinking too much on the old Kai.
She snapped out of her survey as she realized that both Russians were staring at her. She glanced up at them, without a hint of shame.
"Something wrong, Benny?"
"Nothing, why do you ask?"
"You weren't listening to me.", he pointed out, while Kai watched her with a smirk.
"Che, since when did you become self centred.", she shot back.
Tala rolled his eyes, then glanced at his watch. "Well quit staring at him and come into induction. Tahnee's a big girl, she can find her own way in."
This time Amber rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Fine then, but if she starts bitching, I'm blaming you."
"You do that. Kai, if you have to register, head over to the receptionist desk beside the main entrance."
Kai nodded and walked off but not until he'd shot Amber a quick but direct look. One that said we're-gonna-talk-real-soon. She raised a brow and returned his look with a cool steady gaze. Tala watched the interaction with a furrowed brow. Something was definately wrong there, but he didn't dwell on it, if either of them wanted him to know; they'd come to him themselves. Instead he placed an arm round Amber and walked her into the leture theatre.
***
Ruin Mulryan kicked the chair in front of her violently, causing the babbling blond Italien to whip round and glare at her while the Scottish teen a seat away from her laughed at the way she brushed off the glare as though it was an annoying fly.
"Ruin what the hell?"
"Shut up Enrique. If I hear one more thing about you and Midge, I'll throttle you!", she threatened brushing her black/blue bangs out of her chocolate brown eyes.
Enrique Giancarlo scowled and turned away from her to talk to his French friend Oliver. Both boys had met on the plane ride to America in their first year and had been firm friends ever since. Enrique was blonde, blue eyed and a player; well he was until he was snagged by Midge Davis. He was always flirting with girls but he would never dream of straying from Midge, because he loved her. Everyone knew that, besides what other reason would a player like Enrique stay with a girl who was wheelchair bound. He had joined nursing as a way to meet cute girls, that plan obviously fell flat on it's face. He was also well known for his fashion sense. Today he wore a charcoal grey shirt and a pair of cream corduouy slacks, with good leather shoes.
Beside him Oliver Du Pont was listening while adding his own thoughts here and there. His animated face was alive with interest, while his violet eyes never strayed from his friends face. This was one of his reasons for becoming a nurse, he was a very good listener. His hair was lime green, thick but tamed under a blue beret so that it fell gently round his feminine face. He had amazing dress sense, he wore cream pants, a red tight top and a denim jacket. Oliver's reasons for a being a nurse was definitely different from Enrique for being a nurse. He wanted to help people better themselves, it was something he found himself trying to do everyday.
Ruin turned to Johnny, but angled her head even further to look behind her to see who was coming in the door. She sighed when two giggling brunettes walked in. Where the hell was Amber? The girl had been with Johnny and now she was gone. Probably with the Russian ass wipe, she thought sourly. That guy was a bad influence on Amber, heck the guy was a bad influence on everyone.
The door opened again and the lecturers walked in. Ruin groaned. Amber was off to a great start, but it was her own funeral. Everyone began to settle down, then their heads snapped round as the door opened again and too people strode in which was normal enough. What happened next wasn't.
Tala took in everyone looking at him, and rose a brow at Amber who merely shook her head. Then his gaze zeroed in on the one empty chair in the third row from the back between Johnny and Ruin. He cast a look at Amber, realizing that she was no longer there but was shuffling her way past the people sitting in the row towards the empty seat. Tala grinned. There was no way in hell he'd sit in the front row in the middle of the induction. So with that in mind, he stepped up onto the shelf in front of the row of chairs and half walking, half running along it as though it were a tight rope, he made his way effortlessly towards the empty chair.
"Mr Valkov please sit down!", a sharp order came from the director of students.
Tala ignored him and dived into the seat that Johnny held down for him, just as Amber let out a howl of defeat. Ruin snubbed him as he dropped into the chair, and Johnny offered Amber an apologetic smile.
"Miss Benson, there is an empty seat down here, if you would like to sit here."
Amber growled angrily, shooting Tala a dark look she headed down to the front row and threw herself into the seat with a heavy sigh. She caught Skips sympathetic glance but she decided to ignore it. Life sucked, sitting down in the front sucked and Kai Hiwatari was a fucked up bastard. How dare he come back here, especially when she wasjust getting settled down. He would have to come back and stir up old feelings. It was a typical Kai thing to do. She was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard a shuffle behind her, then a snort of laughter.
Tala nudged Johnny giving him a sharp look to shut up, while he nursed his bruised abdomen. Ruin had figured it would be nice to greet him with a jab to the stomach with her elbow, which Johnny found considerably funny. Tala glanced at his ex from the corner of his eye. Her black hair which had once been streaked with red and blue was now just tinted blue with pure royal blue bangs. Her brown eyes were outlined heavily with black liquid liner, and black eye shadow. Her mouth was shaded in with black lipstick while she had to small silver studs; one in her nose, the other below her sculptured eyebrow. She wore a short black skirt and thick chunky black leather boots, while her upper body was clad in a red top under a black leather jacket. It was typical Ruin attire and the sight of her long legs had his mouth watering. But fact was he wasn't able to get his hands on her for the moment, but he'd work round that problem. If he wanted to.
His eyes snapped up when he realized that Johnny was addressing the lecturerers.
"Well I would be playing, but I'm minus a drummer. And a keyboardist would be nice, but I've got neither."
"Well you have the rest of your band right?"
Johnny's gaze passed over Ruin, his moody bassist; his talented guitarist, Skip; and his backing vocals Amber. A slight smirk graced his features. His band was almost completely run over by females. It would be nice to have some more males in his band. But he worked with the best and he figured that if they happened to be girls then he'd deal with it.
"Yeah but I need a drummer, and at this short notice, where am I going to get one?", he raised his voice so that it carried over the murmurs of the crowd of teenage students.
"Actually I might have a drummer and an excellent keyboardist for you.", Tala spoke up drawing a few female glances including Ruins one of distaste.
Johnny shot him a glance. "Cool. But just out of curiousity, where are they coming from? Do you have a magick artist producing hats?"
Tala laughed and near the front of the room he could hear Amber chuckling as well. Seemingly she'd recovered from her annoyance at him. "Yeah I can provide you with them. Just let me talk them round."
"Cool. But they better be good."
"Believe me they're good and they'll fit in with the members well."
"Good, because we'll have to deal with them a lot and I don't want them annoying my current members."
"Well since that's sorted. We'll move on to more pressing business. Johnny I expect your band to be ready to play next week in the canteen at lunch.", Mr Amory stated then turned to introduce another person while the rest of the students groaned.
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Please review.
**Oh and listen up, my dear friend Sae has posted one chapter of her work and both Tari and I agree that it's worth reading. In other words it's really good. It's like a medival Lord of the Rings meets Starwars type fic with Beyblade characters. So in order to encourage you to read it, please read this snippet.
He felt like surrendering right there and then but still the tiny voice urged him on, warning him of what would happen if he turned himself in. He would be putting millions of lives at risk. He jogged slowly up the stairs taking two at a time and sagging as he couldn't get enough oxygen to his tired muscles. He couldn't go on anymore and finally he fell against the stone cold wall. He placed his back against the smooth expanse of the wall and began sliding himself up the stairs again. He stumbled and fell back but instead of his head slamming into the wall and knocking him out cold it fell into nothing.
He sat up and his head snapped round. There was no wall behind him. His shoulders slumped but he couldn't raise enough energy to examine the hole in the wall or even look up. His eyelids felt heavy and began to droop unceremoniously over his eyes, obstructing his view. He began to inch further down the wall to lie on the cold earthen floor, but he didn't care. He just wanted to sleep.
"Kai Hiwatari, wake up!", A crack resounded in the corridor.
A sharp sting spread through the left side of his cheek, jerking him out of his solitude. His eyes snapped open to find himself staring a something dull and black, but reflected a shine. He stared at it for what seemed like ages, then noticed it stir. He glanced up and followed the black thing, as it began to slim down and curve and suddenly form hands and a athame. He jerked his head back, smacking it on the wall. He let loose a volley of curses and looked up at the figure standing in front of him. More to the point, a figure clad in the dull black materiel, which he now realized was leather, and was a dress. It flowed out like a ball room gown near the bottom but the top clung to the figure's curves and the sleeves were of a thin black see through material which billowed out so that the hole for the hands were five times the size of her slender wrist and there was a train which was five times the length of the arm. The low neckline was trimmed with fur and showed of a nice amount of smooth porcelain skin unmarred by any blemish.
His gaze traveled up her skin to her face, and collided with startling brown eyes. Eyes like he'd never seen before, wide, heavily lashed and he was sure he could see the stars in them. They were watching him, so he shifted his gaze to take in her face. It was slender with a chipped chin and straight narrow nose and high forehead. Her lips were full and painted black, making the skin paler. Her face was framed by tendrils of long raven black hair. The rest of her hair was piled up high on her head, streaked with vibrant blue and red. She smiled gently. Leaning down she pressed her mouth to his and as soon as she did, Kai felt all the pain and exhaustion leave him, to be replaced by renewed strength and courage.
"Do not give up, you are so close.", she whispered in his ear.
He stared up at her. Her voice was gentle and feminine, not like the voice he had heard earlier. That voice had been cruel and had delighted in his pain. This woman was helping him. He could trust her.
"Come, you must hurry.", She glanced nervously down the corridor at the stairs. There were men just down there, but they weren't coming any closer.
"Why?", he asked.
"I've placed a seal around here, but hurry you must go. I will hold them off."
He struggled to his feet, inside he was struggling in an internal battle of whether to stay and help her or flee and live to fight another day with the resistance. Unfortunately he didn't get to see which side won, as seeing his inner turmoil, the woman smiled and spoke a simple word and suddenly she was gone. No she wasn't, he was. To an entire different part of the castle.
ice-queen66: I do hope you have fun with this fic, because I'm having fun reading it. You'll get to find out more about the old flame thing with Kai in this chapter. Hope you like.
Leina: Well as much as I'd love to make Kai able to dissolve into thin air, I can't. But seemingly ff.net can do that with part of my fic. What I'm trying to say is that Kai should have seen Amber in the first chapter, but ff.net screwed up. Soz.
Pissed-timistic: Love the name. Nope this hasn't anything to do with L/H.
AzN*PyRo*ArCaDa: One of my fave reviewers. It's nice coming home from college to get a review from you. Gives me a mile wide grin. I hope you've gotten over your sickness.
ChRiSTiZ: I don't think it's corny. I happen to think it's cool. I like reading about Ambers exploits in ChibiT's fic and Animerle's fic oh and Sae's fic. It's fun to see her from the point of a reader, she's not bad is she? And I like taking control of Miyami for a while as well. Hehehe! Kai was supposed to see Amber in the last chapter. Pity that ff.net screwed up.
Spitfire_Sae: WAI Spitty! Yeah yeah I know ff.net screwed up. Kai was supposed to see Amber in the last chapter, but oh well. I placed that part at the start of this chapter so that people don't have to go back and read it. But anyway review again, Sae.
DivaLicious89: Yeah I think Johnny and Miyami are a perfect couple. =P
hiwatari-gurl: I'm glad you like it after only the first chapter.
Hiwatari's woman: Kai's getting around a bit ain't he. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: No I'm not that far a head of myself. This plot was just dancing round in my head and I figured that I could weave a good story round it. I hope I will.
Krixel: I just thought that that song by Good Charlotte was really approriate, besides I'm a GC fan myself. But they were treated like shit at one of the festivals in England not so long ago. Bottles were thrown at them, but then they kept telling people to aim at will. They handled it really well.
chubbycheekz: I will continue to update L/H, I'll just be pacing myself through the updates. But I can't leave L/H, I love it too much.
Rayne_Neko_Punk: Glad you like it, hope this chapter goes down just as well.
***This should have been part of chapter one, but alas ff.net screwed up. So here we'll start.
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"So this is the great college you were telling me about?", Kai questioned sipping his coffee.
His red headed friend beside him nodded, tucking into his breakfast. "Yep, this is the B.U."
Kai made a face at the greasy fry up his friend was eating. What was it with American's and there fatty foods? Everything was fried, it made his stomach churn thinking off eating something that greasy so early in the morning. Though technically he was usually up earlier most mornings, but with sharing a flat with Miyami and staying up late with her to beat the shit out of her on the playstation 2, he was rising late. Damn girl wanted a rematch every single night. He longed for when Tala would finally move in with them, then Tala could take her on, while he got some sleep.
If Tala ate that every morning, he went back to his original thought, how did he manage to stay in shape? Tala, like himself, was tall, lean and well built with broad shoulders. Red hair was shaped like two wings on either side of his head with two bangs framing his pale but sharply aristocratic face. His eyes were crystal blue and piercing, full of a brazen intellect. He wore a black T-shirt today with black pants, over a pair of black boots, which covered his lean muscular frame.
"So what do you think of the place so far?", Tala's smooth voice cut through his thoughts.
"I'm just wondering where everyone's hurrying off to?"
Tala cursed in Russian under his breath. "I should be heading off too."
Kai looked at him. "Since when did you ever want to be early for a class?"
Tala smirked. "I have induction and I need to see a few people. But for the moment, it's great to see you, man. What do you think of America so far?"
The bluenette looked about him at the various groups of people. There was a social ladder here, something he hated. You had your jocks, your preps, your players, your geeks and nerds, and then there were the outcasts. They were in every school, in every generation, but he got bored of it. They should all have grown up at this stage, but they wouldn't yet. He had once been a player himself, but with Miyami as one of his best friends he was often found with the outcasts.
"It's like Japan. Except for the language."
"You know English, so you're fine.", Tala pointed out with his fork, then he trailed off with a grin as he watched a familiar silver headed girl wander blindly past them. "I think Miya's looking for you."
Kai looked up from staring at his coffee and grinned. "Well Silver will have a long time searching for me down that direction."
He followed her with his gaze and frowned as she talked to a red head. Damn another red head he'd have to protect her from. Though Miyami would hate to hear him say he was protecting her from anything, since she believed she could take care of anything, and generally she could, but he still liked to keep an eye on her. His gaze traveled to a dark haired girl not to far from his friend. She was petite and slim as a willow, but since she had her back to him, he couldn't be sure it was her. But she sure looked like her. Turning to Tala, he motioned to her.
"Who's the girl with the Chinese guy beside her?"
Tala jerked his head over to where his friend was looking, a fond smile gracing his mouth. "That's Benny."
Kai cast him a blank look. "Oh I mean, she's Amber Benson."
Tala was so busy staring at his friend, that he didn't see the flicker of recognition or the small smirk that lighted up his best friends face. If that indeed was the Amber Benson, he'd once known, then things here in America may turn out to be a lot more fun than imagined.
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Chapter two: Desires renewed.
By: Gems/Zadien
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or the characters, but I do own Amber and the girls except Miyami belongs to ChibiTari, the bestest authoress in the world and Skip belongs to Sae.
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"Could she be any slower?", Amber groaned.
She was waiting for Tahnee to exit the bathroom. The girl had gone in there not ten minutes ago and she still hadn't emerged. God, what was taking her so long? They were supposed to be in the lecture theatre right now for their induction, instead she was standing in the now almost empty street. Nearly everyone was in induction which was exactly where she should be, right now. But Tahnee had to touch up her make-up because she was looking for a man this term. Like that was anything new.
Her gaze traveled to the notice board on the wall opposite her. There was a flyer advertising Fresher week, and mentioned that there would be live bands in the canteen every day from twelve to two. A bright grin lit up her face. Johnny would really like this. She frowned. Then again maybe not. Robert had quit, Enrique had sprained his wrist and Oliver said he didn't have time to practice anymore. So Johnny and Ruin were the only one left in the band, but she figured that Johnny would find someone soon, just not in time to play in Freshers week. Pity. It was great publicity.
Her gaze flicked to a group of guys staring at her. Disgust flooded her. Why on earth did they stare at her, continually. Usually it didn't bother her, but she was on her own in an empty corridor when usually she wasn't. She glanced back and watched as the door to her lecture theatre opened and then closed again as a gang of girls went into the room. Amber cast a look at the watch on her wrist. It was now fifteen minutes since she'd last seen Tahnee, and if she didn't hurry up, no doubt Ruin would send a search party after her.
"God damn her!", she cursed.
"Yeah goddamn her to hell.", another voice added.
Amber whirled round ready to tell the intruder to piss off, but then her face split into a large grin. "Skip!"
"Amber!", the other girl grinned.
Technically her name was Sonia Martini from California, but Ruin nicknamed her Skip because she couldn't stand still. People would look at Skip and Amber and say they were complete opposites. Skip was slightly taller, athletic, addicted to sports. Her hair was a mixture of reds and golds. Dark garnet hair spilled down her back to just above her shoulder blades when she tied it away from her face. The top of her hair was a slighty more dark strawberry blonde colour streaked with garnet and blonde, while the bangs were garnet with gold ends. All in all her hair was an interesting feature. Her sapphire blue eyes were framed by solid black frames. Her face was a typical california bronze, with a healthy flush along her cheeks. There were three small stylish silver hoops looped through her lower lobes. Even her clothes sense was totally different. She wore a pale blue polo-neck t-shirt, with a pair of sea blue tie-dye bottoms which ended just under the knee, and silvery blue sneakers, not scuffed like Ambers but brand new, a gift from her sponsors. Skip was on the track team and was captain of the girls soccer team as well as being an A-student, something Amber would definetly never be.
"So how were your state finals? I wanted to watch but I don't have Sky."
"Sky?", Skip frowned at the unfamiliar term.
"Oh satelite, cable."
The all American girl grinned. "Oh right, but it wasn't important enough to be on TV, Ams."
Amber merely shrugged. "So how did it go?"
"Oh we got bronze. Could've done better but our star runner was out with a cold."
"Ouch. That's kind of tough. So your back here to do another course of sports science?"
"Yep, and a piece of Pyscology.", at Amber's blank face, she added. "It's so I understand the psychology of the sport and also so I can understand the sports players themselves."
"Uh-huh. Sorry thatjust went, whoosh, way over my head."
Skip laughed softly. "I understand. So how was your hols?"
The Irish woman rolled her eyes. "Well there were some great concerts, like Slane and there was a metallica, Linkin Park and darkness concert I wanted to go to, but couldn't get tickets. But my friend went and bought me a souvenir. So I had to make do."
Her friend made a sympathetic face. "Too bad, that would majorly suck. So apart from that, your hols were as boring as mine then?"
"Not boring, just tiring. I was working for most of the summer in a pub in town. We got some rowdy crowds in on a Saturday evening, so by Sunday morning I was totally bushed. I couldn't be bothered to go out on the times I had off."
"I can understand."
"Hey you didn't happen to see Beth around did you?"
"Probably with Michael.", the blonde brushed it off.
Amber raised a black brow. "Really?"
"Oh right, you weren't there. I keep forgetting that. Michael and Beth hooked up over the summer. She was cheerleading for his baseball team and so they became closer over that. And he rescued her from some hormone crazed ass wipe one night after a game and things just progressed from there."
Amber smiled, but inside she was worried. Michael was a friend of hers, sure, but he happened to be a player and Beth was really the fragile one of the group. She was from California too and was the quiet member of the group. She was always ready to listen to people but she never liked to force people to listen to her opinion; if they wanted it, they would ask. She was also the logical member, she liked to think before she acted, so she balanced Ambers active side. Amber liked to think that the phrase 'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.', applied to the two of them. Beth was the angel, Amber was the fool.
As though she could read the Irish girls thoughts, Skip quickly added in her two pence worth. "They're really good together. Michael really watches out for her. You should see the two of them together. They're so sweet. Michael's so soft when it comes to her, he bends to her every wish."
"And if you don't get those stars out of your eyes, Skip, you're gonna run into a wall.", Amber sighed. "I know that Michaels your best friend and I'm sure he's really......well I'll be watching him."
Skip nodded. "Ok. Well I gotta go. Shouldn't you be heading into induction?"
Amber rolled her ochre eyes. "Yes, but someone won't hurry her skinny white ass up."
"Um, ok."
"Hello!", a chinese girl with bright pink hair and startling twany eyes jumped into the conversation."
"Hey Mari, long time no see."
"How was China?", Skip followed Ambers question up with one of her own.
Miriah Tanaka was Ray Kons girlfriend. She was chinese with showed in her features, but no one could quite figure out where she'd got her colouring from. Not many Chinese people had natural pink hair and tawny eyes. Well maybe the pink hair wasn't totally natural but it suited her and her bubbly attitude. Where as her gold cat like eyes were perfect for her wild cat anger. She had tons of energy but her anger could be easily risen if she or one of her friends were insulted. She was also a cheerleader but she didn't fit the stereotype. She wore a black silk chinese top with a gold embroidered design up the front right, and plain white skirt that fell below her knees. Her small feet were covered with a pair of plain black shoes. Very demure and not at all like Mari, obviously her room mate had something to do with her clothing choice, Amber decided.
Mari screwed her cute face up in disgust. "Oh it was great if you count being made to bring your annoying cousin back here with you. I don't mind Lee, honestly I don't. In fact it was nice to have Lee here to look out for me, but Kevin? Kevin is evil.", she fumed, though her eyes were warm with affection. "Though he is cute when he's defensive."
Skip and Amber exchanged anxious glances, then froze as she pinned the irish woman with her gaze. "You won't like him." It was a statement, plain and true.
Amber looked mildly offended. "Surely I'm not that bad."
"More like he's that bad. No doubt he'll take to annoying you."
Amber eyes widened, then narrowed. "Why?"
"He'll think your accents funny.", Mari said with a shrug, then in the next breath asked. "Hey is Ray in already? I've really missed him."
"Didn't you see him over the summer?", Skip wondered.
"Of course I did.", Mari replied in a tone that suggested that it was preposterous that she wouldn't see Ray. "I just haven't seen him today."
Skip smiled. "Oh that's so sweet."
Mari smiled while ignoring Ambers gagging noises. "And I'll tell you more sweet things while we head in to the lecture. Coming Am's?"
"Pssh, I wouldn't want to hear anything more to so with you and Ray. It's too early in the morning for me to lose my breakfast."
Mari stared at her. "Well if I promise not to mention my realationship will you come?"
"Nope."
"And why not?"
"She's gotta wait for someone.", Skip explained keeping the peace as her eyes searched the crowded canteen at the end of the corridor.
"Who?", Mari demanded eagerly. "Is it a boy?"
Amber rolled her eyes to heaven while shaking her head. "No, I'm not dating anyone Mari." How many times the previous year had she had that conversation with the boy mad chinese girl. It drove her insane. Especially as Mari had decided to don her cupid role and try to help her out by shoving her into the lap of every unsuspecting boy. Most of the year had been spent trying to apologize for her Mari's behaviour, cooling her flushed cheeks and bat away unwelcome groping hands.
"Ugh, still? Amber, I'm going to have to get-"
"Ok Mari, before Amber kills you, I'm going to escort you into the lecture and your going to tell me all about your summer with Ray.", Skip stepped in catching sight of Ambers dark expression of pending doom.
Reluctantly Mari allowed herself to be led away though why her help wasn't welcomed she didn't understand. Amber was about to search her bag for her life line, her disman, when a voice froze her.
"If looks could kill Mari'd be six feet under."
***
Kai watched the interaction with interest as Amber whirled round and launched herself into Tala's waiting arms. While he'd waited for Tala to finish his breakfast, he'd gotten Tala, subtly, to divulge information on his dark haired ex; all the while he'd kept an eye on her as she talked to various friends. Jelously had been his first reaction when he caught sight of the look on Tala's face as he talked about her, that was soon followed by relief as he realized they were only friends, disgust had rounded up the emotions. Disgust at his own emotions. It had been three years since he'd seen her. Since he'd broken up with her. Three long and very interesting years, and he'd gotten over her. Well so he thought he had. Sure he still thought of her from time to time. Miyami often reminded him off her, maybe that was why he enjoyed the silver girls company, well at the start anyway. Of course Miyami had a tendency to grow on people and he couldn't imagine life without her now. Amber on the other hand was a very different matter.
He had gone to Ireland when he'd been sixteen. It had been an exchange programme his grandfather had sent him on. He'd felt that Kai could learn a lot from such a small country that had such great links with America and Great Britain and of course Europe. So Kai had gone, but begrudingly. He'd be staying with the Bensons, and almost immediately he'd been at logger heads with the Bensons only child and daughter, Amber Marie. Part of his problem had been his initial attraction to her, and his annoyance at her vocal disgust of him. Everything had changed when he'd let his emotions rule him. He had kissed her, and he thought with a fleeting smile, she'd kissed him back. And for a girl who didn't like him, she'd kissed him with as much enthusiasm as Kai had. It had been easy to let his emotions rule in Ireland. He'd been so far from home and if anything went pearshaped then he could always escape. Problem was things hadn't gone pearshaped. They'd gone right. Too right.
Things between them had been very hot, very erotic. It had been as though he'd uncovered a volcanoe and it had errupted in his arms the minute he'd touched her. He'd never been matched so perfectly before, so perfectly that he'd never thought of straying from her. In fact he could see himself not leaving her, but staying in Ireland away from Russia and his Grandfather just to be with her. It had scared him. He was a player, he wasn't use to wanting someone so totally and completely. He'd gotten scared, especially when she'd talked to him about going to Russia sometime, so he'd hurt her. Pushed, not that wasn't the right word; forced, yeah, he'd forced her away. And he'd hurt her. He'd seen it in her eyes the day before he'd left and she hadn't come to say goodbye at the airport with everyone else. As much as he hadn't wanted to admit it, that in itself had hurt. But he'd forgotten her in Russia. It had been for the best.
For a moment he allowed himself to survey her while he remained out of sight. She'd changed. He knew she would have but he hadn't expected it to be so different and yet so appealing. Her black hair was no longer in a boyish crop around her face but now it cascaded down her mid back like black silk. It felt like it too, he remembered. Now the staright ends looked as though they'd be dipped in liquid gold. It was held back from her face by a thick head band, but still bangs fell over into her ochre eyes. There wasn't another person who had those eyes. He could remember how they suddenly looked when she was aware of his presence or how they'd seem larger and more liquid like when she was aroused, or how they'd narrow and darken when she was annoyed. He drank in her appearance realizing how much he'd missed looking at her.
Her skin was a dusky gold she'd inherited from her mother while the sharp arresting bone structure as well as the tint of rose along those sculpted cheekbones came from her Irish father. Her mouth which was in her familiar half smile was incredibly deceptive. It was small and soft with a ripe lower lip made for sucking on, but it hid a sharp and extremely witty tongue.
His gaze travelled along her neck, there was a spot on the base of her neck and just behind her ear which was incerdibly sensitive, often placing pressure on it would cause her to melt against him, he remembered. His eyes moved to the rest of her body. Amber had never been curvy. She was as slim as a willow with only subtle curves that she preferred to hide beneath baggy clothes. There were a couple of times where he would let his mind wander to uncovering her beneath those bulky sweaters. It was a fantasy he'd never quite fulfilled. Today she didn't disappoint. She was wearing a pair of black trousers which looked to be several sizes to big for her. A navy cap dangled from her hand. She wore a pair of scuffed sneakers, which made him frown. How long had she had those sneakers for?! And she wore a red and pink striped off the shoulder top. Along the front in big, vibrant, red, sparkling letters were the words: "Think what you like about me......as if I care!" Kai had to chuckle, the top suited her attitude, but he was unsure of the colours. Amber as a rule had never worn pink, but then again; he reminded himself; she had changed.
He listened to her as she conversed with Tala. Her voice still had that familiar soft Irish lilt around the ages while she still sounded as though she'd just woken up. It stirred something inside him as he listened. So he was glad when Tala spoke.
"Tahnee can find her own way in, Benny. Come on!"
Amber rolled her amber eyes. "I told her I'd wait."
Kai rose a slate brow. So Amber was still as loyal as ever. She'd always been so when she'd been in Ireland. It had never bothered him, because it had been to him that she'd been loyal. Towards the end he wished that she'd done something so that he could have used that as an excuse to ditch her and maybe feel less guilty about leaving her, but she hadn't.
"Well if your late for induction it won't be my fault."
"Yes Dad!", Amber stuck out her tongue at him. "Besides you're late too."
Tala raised his eyes to heaven. Why on earth did she have to notice everything? And he was winning that battle too. Damn Benny and her quick wittedness. She could think on her feet better than anyone else, which gave him the hint that she'd been involved in verbal wars from a young age. Heck she could hold her own against Oz and Kane, and they didn't take any prisoners when it came to insulting people. Fair enough she'd won their respect so they'd backed off her, Skip Martin on the other hand wasn't so lucky. It didn't matter what that girl did, it seemed that Oz was refusing to leave her alone.
"I had a reason for being late."
"Namely?", the irish girl prompted.
Kai took that as his cue and walked into her vision. He watched her eyes focus on him, then the blood rushed from her face leaving her looking deathly pale.
"Kai.....", she trailed off and shook her head.
She would not let him see her like this. She wouldn't be affected by him again, if it was him. She studied him with narrowed eyes. It looked like Kai Hiwatari; walked like Kai Hiwatari and acted like Kai Hiwatari; so by her deductions it must have been that pompous arrogant prick-hole, Kai Hiwatari. She shuddered as memories she'd locked so efficiently away, came flooding back.
She had been sixteen and totally in love with him, but he mustn't have felt the same way, because the day before he left, he broke her heart like no other; and she promised herself that no one else would ever hurt her like that again. And no one had. Sure Scott had hurt her, but he hadn't wounded her quite as bad as Kai had. He couldn't, because she hadn't loved him like Kai.
Tala was as oblivious to his female friends discomfort as any male friend could be as he began to introduce her ex.
"Amber Benson, this is Kai Hiwatari-"
"We've met.", Kai interrupted smoothly.
Amber's ochre eyes flared for an instant then died into cool disdain. "Have we?", she countered, voice as cold as ice.
The Russian blinked at the coldness in her voice and in her eyes. Never had Amber Benson seemed so cold and unattainable to him, even when she'd been in Ireland. It took him a brief second to recover but he did so.
"No, we mustn't have but it was worth shot.", he offered her a charming smile.
"Kai and I knew each other back in Russia, and now he's come here to study."
Amber nodded keeping a bland smile on her face, it wouldn't do her any good to show him how hurt she was, or how betrayed. She was over that now, had been for a long time. She'd grown up and moved on, and there was no way Kai could change that. So to prove that she was over him, she allowed herself to study him while Tala continued to tell him and her stories of their various pasts, while Kai added his two cents.
He'd changed little over the three years, she mused. His hair was still the same two toned blue, royal blue at the back with slate bangs which was styled into a sexy disarray. His face was still as strong as ever, with the same aristrocratic bone structure and the square jaw, that probably would hurt her fist when she smashed it into him. The skin was a pale soft porcelin, with two blue triangles decorating each side of the jaw. Tatoos he'd gotten at a young age to rebel against his grandfather, she remembered. She'd never seen him without the tats but she'd liked them. They'd made his skin seem somehow smoother and unblemished.
His eyes were deep and fathomless. A deep maghogany which mystified her. She'd once tried to replicate the colour once, but she'd never quite got the shade right. She supposed that was because the shades changed depending on his mood. When he was mellow, they were a chocolate brown, when angry they would become a redder version, while they darkened when he was....... well mostly when he was around her. But she didn't want to think about the reasons why, they'd all been phony anyway.
He had gotten fractionally taller so that he could tower over her easily. His shoulders had broadened and his chest was firm and built. His legs were long, lean and his hips narrow. He was perfectly proportioned, not stocky, yet not skinny. Growing up in had done him some good, she decided, and his clothes did his body justice. He wore a snug black T-shirt, that showed up his pale but strong forearms and biceps. His blue pants fitted him perfectly. It was typical Kai wear, but she refrained from thinking too much on the old Kai.
She snapped out of her survey as she realized that both Russians were staring at her. She glanced up at them, without a hint of shame.
"Something wrong, Benny?"
"Nothing, why do you ask?"
"You weren't listening to me.", he pointed out, while Kai watched her with a smirk.
"Che, since when did you become self centred.", she shot back.
Tala rolled his eyes, then glanced at his watch. "Well quit staring at him and come into induction. Tahnee's a big girl, she can find her own way in."
This time Amber rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Fine then, but if she starts bitching, I'm blaming you."
"You do that. Kai, if you have to register, head over to the receptionist desk beside the main entrance."
Kai nodded and walked off but not until he'd shot Amber a quick but direct look. One that said we're-gonna-talk-real-soon. She raised a brow and returned his look with a cool steady gaze. Tala watched the interaction with a furrowed brow. Something was definately wrong there, but he didn't dwell on it, if either of them wanted him to know; they'd come to him themselves. Instead he placed an arm round Amber and walked her into the leture theatre.
***
Ruin Mulryan kicked the chair in front of her violently, causing the babbling blond Italien to whip round and glare at her while the Scottish teen a seat away from her laughed at the way she brushed off the glare as though it was an annoying fly.
"Ruin what the hell?"
"Shut up Enrique. If I hear one more thing about you and Midge, I'll throttle you!", she threatened brushing her black/blue bangs out of her chocolate brown eyes.
Enrique Giancarlo scowled and turned away from her to talk to his French friend Oliver. Both boys had met on the plane ride to America in their first year and had been firm friends ever since. Enrique was blonde, blue eyed and a player; well he was until he was snagged by Midge Davis. He was always flirting with girls but he would never dream of straying from Midge, because he loved her. Everyone knew that, besides what other reason would a player like Enrique stay with a girl who was wheelchair bound. He had joined nursing as a way to meet cute girls, that plan obviously fell flat on it's face. He was also well known for his fashion sense. Today he wore a charcoal grey shirt and a pair of cream corduouy slacks, with good leather shoes.
Beside him Oliver Du Pont was listening while adding his own thoughts here and there. His animated face was alive with interest, while his violet eyes never strayed from his friends face. This was one of his reasons for becoming a nurse, he was a very good listener. His hair was lime green, thick but tamed under a blue beret so that it fell gently round his feminine face. He had amazing dress sense, he wore cream pants, a red tight top and a denim jacket. Oliver's reasons for a being a nurse was definitely different from Enrique for being a nurse. He wanted to help people better themselves, it was something he found himself trying to do everyday.
Ruin turned to Johnny, but angled her head even further to look behind her to see who was coming in the door. She sighed when two giggling brunettes walked in. Where the hell was Amber? The girl had been with Johnny and now she was gone. Probably with the Russian ass wipe, she thought sourly. That guy was a bad influence on Amber, heck the guy was a bad influence on everyone.
The door opened again and the lecturers walked in. Ruin groaned. Amber was off to a great start, but it was her own funeral. Everyone began to settle down, then their heads snapped round as the door opened again and too people strode in which was normal enough. What happened next wasn't.
Tala took in everyone looking at him, and rose a brow at Amber who merely shook her head. Then his gaze zeroed in on the one empty chair in the third row from the back between Johnny and Ruin. He cast a look at Amber, realizing that she was no longer there but was shuffling her way past the people sitting in the row towards the empty seat. Tala grinned. There was no way in hell he'd sit in the front row in the middle of the induction. So with that in mind, he stepped up onto the shelf in front of the row of chairs and half walking, half running along it as though it were a tight rope, he made his way effortlessly towards the empty chair.
"Mr Valkov please sit down!", a sharp order came from the director of students.
Tala ignored him and dived into the seat that Johnny held down for him, just as Amber let out a howl of defeat. Ruin snubbed him as he dropped into the chair, and Johnny offered Amber an apologetic smile.
"Miss Benson, there is an empty seat down here, if you would like to sit here."
Amber growled angrily, shooting Tala a dark look she headed down to the front row and threw herself into the seat with a heavy sigh. She caught Skips sympathetic glance but she decided to ignore it. Life sucked, sitting down in the front sucked and Kai Hiwatari was a fucked up bastard. How dare he come back here, especially when she wasjust getting settled down. He would have to come back and stir up old feelings. It was a typical Kai thing to do. She was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard a shuffle behind her, then a snort of laughter.
Tala nudged Johnny giving him a sharp look to shut up, while he nursed his bruised abdomen. Ruin had figured it would be nice to greet him with a jab to the stomach with her elbow, which Johnny found considerably funny. Tala glanced at his ex from the corner of his eye. Her black hair which had once been streaked with red and blue was now just tinted blue with pure royal blue bangs. Her brown eyes were outlined heavily with black liquid liner, and black eye shadow. Her mouth was shaded in with black lipstick while she had to small silver studs; one in her nose, the other below her sculptured eyebrow. She wore a short black skirt and thick chunky black leather boots, while her upper body was clad in a red top under a black leather jacket. It was typical Ruin attire and the sight of her long legs had his mouth watering. But fact was he wasn't able to get his hands on her for the moment, but he'd work round that problem. If he wanted to.
His eyes snapped up when he realized that Johnny was addressing the lecturerers.
"Well I would be playing, but I'm minus a drummer. And a keyboardist would be nice, but I've got neither."
"Well you have the rest of your band right?"
Johnny's gaze passed over Ruin, his moody bassist; his talented guitarist, Skip; and his backing vocals Amber. A slight smirk graced his features. His band was almost completely run over by females. It would be nice to have some more males in his band. But he worked with the best and he figured that if they happened to be girls then he'd deal with it.
"Yeah but I need a drummer, and at this short notice, where am I going to get one?", he raised his voice so that it carried over the murmurs of the crowd of teenage students.
"Actually I might have a drummer and an excellent keyboardist for you.", Tala spoke up drawing a few female glances including Ruins one of distaste.
Johnny shot him a glance. "Cool. But just out of curiousity, where are they coming from? Do you have a magick artist producing hats?"
Tala laughed and near the front of the room he could hear Amber chuckling as well. Seemingly she'd recovered from her annoyance at him. "Yeah I can provide you with them. Just let me talk them round."
"Cool. But they better be good."
"Believe me they're good and they'll fit in with the members well."
"Good, because we'll have to deal with them a lot and I don't want them annoying my current members."
"Well since that's sorted. We'll move on to more pressing business. Johnny I expect your band to be ready to play next week in the canteen at lunch.", Mr Amory stated then turned to introduce another person while the rest of the students groaned.
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Please review.
**Oh and listen up, my dear friend Sae has posted one chapter of her work and both Tari and I agree that it's worth reading. In other words it's really good. It's like a medival Lord of the Rings meets Starwars type fic with Beyblade characters. So in order to encourage you to read it, please read this snippet.
He felt like surrendering right there and then but still the tiny voice urged him on, warning him of what would happen if he turned himself in. He would be putting millions of lives at risk. He jogged slowly up the stairs taking two at a time and sagging as he couldn't get enough oxygen to his tired muscles. He couldn't go on anymore and finally he fell against the stone cold wall. He placed his back against the smooth expanse of the wall and began sliding himself up the stairs again. He stumbled and fell back but instead of his head slamming into the wall and knocking him out cold it fell into nothing.
He sat up and his head snapped round. There was no wall behind him. His shoulders slumped but he couldn't raise enough energy to examine the hole in the wall or even look up. His eyelids felt heavy and began to droop unceremoniously over his eyes, obstructing his view. He began to inch further down the wall to lie on the cold earthen floor, but he didn't care. He just wanted to sleep.
"Kai Hiwatari, wake up!", A crack resounded in the corridor.
A sharp sting spread through the left side of his cheek, jerking him out of his solitude. His eyes snapped open to find himself staring a something dull and black, but reflected a shine. He stared at it for what seemed like ages, then noticed it stir. He glanced up and followed the black thing, as it began to slim down and curve and suddenly form hands and a athame. He jerked his head back, smacking it on the wall. He let loose a volley of curses and looked up at the figure standing in front of him. More to the point, a figure clad in the dull black materiel, which he now realized was leather, and was a dress. It flowed out like a ball room gown near the bottom but the top clung to the figure's curves and the sleeves were of a thin black see through material which billowed out so that the hole for the hands were five times the size of her slender wrist and there was a train which was five times the length of the arm. The low neckline was trimmed with fur and showed of a nice amount of smooth porcelain skin unmarred by any blemish.
His gaze traveled up her skin to her face, and collided with startling brown eyes. Eyes like he'd never seen before, wide, heavily lashed and he was sure he could see the stars in them. They were watching him, so he shifted his gaze to take in her face. It was slender with a chipped chin and straight narrow nose and high forehead. Her lips were full and painted black, making the skin paler. Her face was framed by tendrils of long raven black hair. The rest of her hair was piled up high on her head, streaked with vibrant blue and red. She smiled gently. Leaning down she pressed her mouth to his and as soon as she did, Kai felt all the pain and exhaustion leave him, to be replaced by renewed strength and courage.
"Do not give up, you are so close.", she whispered in his ear.
He stared up at her. Her voice was gentle and feminine, not like the voice he had heard earlier. That voice had been cruel and had delighted in his pain. This woman was helping him. He could trust her.
"Come, you must hurry.", She glanced nervously down the corridor at the stairs. There were men just down there, but they weren't coming any closer.
"Why?", he asked.
"I've placed a seal around here, but hurry you must go. I will hold them off."
He struggled to his feet, inside he was struggling in an internal battle of whether to stay and help her or flee and live to fight another day with the resistance. Unfortunately he didn't get to see which side won, as seeing his inner turmoil, the woman smiled and spoke a simple word and suddenly she was gone. No she wasn't, he was. To an entire different part of the castle.