I had for a while there lost all hope that anyone would be interested in this story. But I'm glad I was proved wrong. Homework has bothered me a lot. Thank goodness for the exams. I don't have to stay up all night, doing my homework. But you didn't come here to read about my lousy life, so I'll get to the point.

Chapter 7: Forever you & me

Early morning in Kai's room:

Anya woke up. She didn't open her eyes. Could it be true? She felt warm and fuzzy. She opened her eyes. It was almost too good to be true. Kai was sleeping silently next to her, only a few inches away. He looked so calm and innocent. She was tempted to touch him, but she also wanted to let him sleep. For a while she just stared at his wild, blue hair, which was pointing out to every possible direction you could imagine. He had a sweet smile. What was he dreaming about? Anya teared her eyes of him and got out of the bed. She gave him a look, telling she would be back. She did a quick check to see, if anyone else was awake. Nobody was. After all, it was 6.30 am and still dim.

She went to the kitchen, to have some breakfast. She didn't turn on any lights. She knew the house like her own pockets. A little sunlight was already casting in from the window. She took some bread and butter and sat down, looking out. The horizon had a small shade of red. The view was absolutely astonishing. Anya snapped out of the trance, when she heard a question.

"Up so early?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, I don't sleep long. Old habits are hard to get rid of," she stated.

"Well, you wouldn't mind me joining you?" replied Kai.

"Of course not. What kind of question was that?" she responded.

"Figure it out," Kai said.

"Right. Figure it out," she replied. "What do you mean by that?"

"Like I said, figure it out," he teased.

"You are playing games with me. You owe me an apology, Mr. Hiwatari," she said, coming closer to him and pushing him against the fridge.

At first he resisted, but it wasn't long before he was pulled into the kiss, forgetting the whole world. He grabbed Anya from the waist, turning around and putting her against the fridge. He held her tightly as he tried to get even closer to her. Anya put her hand at his neck, pressing him against her, to deepen the kiss. They couldn't get enough of each other. Suddenly someone spoke.

"At it again?" said the voice.

Kai stopped immediately and backed away from Anya.

"Are you spying on us?" he accused.

"No it's just that this is a public place," said Hilary, defending herself.

"What do you mean by 'again'?" asked Anya.

"Oh please! Like I wouldn't know what you did after you disappeared last night," responded Hilary, smirking.

"Okay, I get the point. Let's talk about something else, then my private life," Anya said.

"I have an idea. Why don't we stop talking and start making breakfast instead," said Kai, cutting in.

"Agreed," replied Anya.

"Sure," said Hilary.

Anya grabbed the frying pan and some eggs and bacon. Hilary started making the fruit salad and Kai of course disappeared when he had the chance.

"So, what's up with you and Kai?" Hilary asked.

"With or without details?" replied Anya.

"With, of course not all details," said Hilary.

"Well, we've kissed... a lot," Anya said.

"Describe," demanded Hilary.

"Deep and passionate, sometimes lustful," answered Anya, blushing.

"So, have you gone any further?" asked Hilary, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

"No, what are you thinking?" snapped Anya, as her face turned completely red.

"You seem to get along very well," Hilary explained.

"Okay, enough of me and Kai," said Anya.

"What are we going to talk about?" asked Hilary curiously.

"You and Max," Anya stated, looking directly into Hilary's eyes.

"What!" responded Hilary.

"Yeah, you and Max," repeated Anya. "Have you talked to him?"

"Not on 'the subject', I haven't got a chance," Hilary said sadly.

"What do you mean?" asked Anya.

"Whenever I go to talk to him someone always interrupts," said Hilary.

"Why not stop wasting time?" Anya asked.

"Okay, now I'm confused," replied Hilary.

"The next time you see him alone, just kiss him," stated Anya.

"You have lost it, haven't you?" said Hilary.

"What? Just do it," Anya said.

"You are out of your mind! What if he doesn't like it?" responded Hilary.

"He knows you like him and knowing Max he can't be that upset," exclaimed Anya.

"How is it that you know Max so well?" asked Hilary.

"I'm afraid that's classified information," replied Anya, smirking.

"Yeah right. Are you sure he won't be too upset?" asked Hilary.

"Absolutely," Anya assured.

"Okay, I'll try it. Although I must be crazy," Hilary said.

"Oh look," said Anya, pointing to something.

Max was to the kitchen ALONE. Hilary stared at him.

"Go for it," urged Anya.

"What? Now?" Hilary replied.

"No, tomorrow. Of course now!" Anya snapped.

Max noticed Hilary staring at him.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

Hilary took a quick step and kissed Max.

It was a careful, shy kiss. Hilary was afraid, that Max would push her away, but he didn't. Actually he responded to the kiss. Anya left the kitchen and closed the door as Rei was coming.

"You shouldn't go in there," Anya said.

"Why?" asked Rei curiously.

"You just shouldn't," she replied and left.

Rei stood still for a moment, trying to figure, what to do. He was curious, why Anya told him not to go in, but then again... You shouldn't do, what someone has told you not to. With this conclusion he walked away from the kitchen to find Anya. He would ask her, what it was all about.

Rei found Anya practicing with her blade. He walked quietly into the room.

"You don't have to worry," Anya stated.

"About what?" Rei asked.

"I'm not trying out any special moves, just the usual stuff," she replied.

"Oh, right." replied Rei.

"You're wondering, why I didn't want you to go into the kitchen," she said.

"Yeah. Why didn't you want me to go in there?" he asked.

"Let's just say, that it's something about Max and Hilary," she teased.

"I'm getting a little suspicious," he replied. "Would it be something, that involves them being close to each other and a word, beginning with the letter K?" he asked, trying terribly hard to keep a straight face.

"You got it," stated Anya, grinning wildly.

"You are kidding, right," asked Rei, not believing his ears.

"No. You see, because Hilary and Max are sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," she whispered, trying hard not to laugh.

"Okay, but shouldn't we go and make breakfast? I'm starving you know," he responded.

"I think Hilary and Max are taking care of that," she replied.

Anya was right. Hilary had grabbed the frying pan and continued with the eggs and bacon, while Max was making the fruit salad. They were talking, although both of them avoided the subject of 'us'. Finally Hilary dared to face the consequences.

"Max," she said.

Max raised his head and looked Hilary into the eyes. He looks so sweet, Hilary thought.

"What?" he asked.

"Could you make some pancakes, when your done with the salad," she said.

Her courage had deserted her at the last moment.

"Oh, sure," replied Max, as if he was expecting something else. "You sounded like you had something else to say."

"I did, I still do," Hilary replied. "I love you."

There, I said it, I actually had the guts to say it, she thought. She looked deep into Max's eyes trying to figure, what he was thinking. Oh no. Did I say something wrong? Why is he so quiet?

"Max?" she asked. "Please say something."

"I love you too," he whispered. Hilary barely heard it, but she understood every word.

"Oh Max! I'm so relieved," she said, hugging him. "You don't know, what that means to me."

Max was a little stunned, but hugged her..

Just then they heard the door open...

"What are you guys doing?" asked Tyson. (He just interrupts everything, doesn't he?)

Hilary faced Tyson, as Max looked at floor, his face totally red.

"What do you want Tyson?" snapped Hilary.

"Not you two?" Tyson stated.

"Oh yes - us," Hilary replied, annoyed by Tyson's tone.

"Max, what's going on?" Tyson asked his teammate.

Max was wordless. He looked up to Tyson's face, but he couldn't find the words.

"Is she telling the truth, Max?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah," replied Max.

"You and her?" Tyson stated, sounding in some weird way, disgusted about the fact.

"Yes, us," confirmed Max.

"I don't believe this," Tyson said.

"Well, believe what you want," snapped Hilary, who was losing control over herself.

"Hilary, calm down," said Max, afraid he would have to go between the two.

"Tyson, if you don't have anything else to say, you should leave," Hilary stated.

"Fine, you crazy people," he said and left.

Hilary locked the door. "Now, where were we?"

Outside the kitchen:

Tyson stormed past Rei at a corridor.

"Hey Tyson! What's the rush?" he shouted, although he was quite sure, what had happened. He ran after Tyson.

At the same time Kai was talking to Anya.

"I have a hunch you know, what's going on with Tyson," Kai said.

"Well, what happened?" Anya asked.

"I think he has lost it," Kai stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, it is something like that. He has sort of lost his best friend," Anya stated.

"I have a feeling, what you're about to say, but say it anyway," responded Kai.

"Max and Hilary kissed this morning," Anya revealed.

"I thought it was something like that," said Kai. "How did they end up doing that anyway?"

"Well, I urged Hilary to just go for it. She couldn't get a chance to talk to him, so I told her to just go for the kill," Anya replied.

"That's so typical for you," Kai teased.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm thinking of doing something right now," she stated and wrapped her arms around Kai and kissed him.

Kai responded to the kiss immediately, as if and electrical current had gone through him. Anya had the same feeling, she was getting addicted to it. It felt so good, that she didn't ever want to stop. His warm arms around her, sliding slowly up and down her back, giving her the vibes. But like everything nice, this had to stop sometime too.

"We should go. I'm smelling breakfast," stated Anya.

The atmosphere at the breakfast was very tight. There wasn't much talking. Anya was relieved, when she could leave the table and collect the dishes. She was worried she would lose her temper with Tyson. Hilary and Max had obviously a hard time dealing with the pressure. Tyson wasn't helping the situation one bit with his attitude. She put the dishes into the dishwasher and was leaving when Hilary caught her.

"I need to talk to you," Hilary said.

"Sure, anything," Anya responded.

"A girl to girl talk," stated Hilary.

"Let's go to my room," Anya replied.

Later they all went outside, since the sun was shining and the weather good.

"Okay, let's take a vote on who wants some serious snow fight and who wants to practice blading," said Hilary.

"All those in favor for a snow fight, raise their hands," she ordered.

Surprisingly everyone, even Kai, had their hand up.

"Okay, this seems clear then. Snow fight it is," she stated.

"Let's make teams," suggested Max.

"Why not, it would be more interesting," replied Hilary.

"Anya, with or against Kai?" asked Hilary.

"A tough one, but I would say against," she answered, smiling evilly.

Many questions were asked, before the two teams were ready.

The outcome was Kai, Rei and Hilary against Anya, Max and Tyson.

"Let the war begin!" declared Hilary.

She got immediately hit by a snowball, thrown by Anya. A wild chase began, as Anya was running away from Hilary, who was out for a hit. Knowing the area, Anya lost Hilary easily and returned to the others, only to be hit right in the stomach with an exceptionally hard snowball. She looked furiously around to spot the thrower. Since she didn't notice anything she made a snowball, throwing it at the nearest target, which happened to be Kai. She missed by an inch, as Kai noticed it at the last moment. She made a new try and managed to get a hit, although she too got hit in the process.

She made a new snowball, this time throwing it at Rei. There was a loud smack heard, as the ball hit Rei right on the back of his head. Anya made a new ball, but had to switch targets, as Kai threw a snowball at her. She threw the ball at Kai, but missed. Rei made an attempt to hit her, but missed, as Anya dashed towards Kai and dragged him along with herself into a huge snowdrift. Kai fell on his back, as Anya fell right on top of him.

Soon there was a complete chaos, as everyone else noticed the situation and went after them. A regular snow fight! It didn't take long, before everyone's shoes were full of cold and wet snow. Some of them even had snow under their hats. They decided that it was time to go inside, before anyone of caught a cold.

They sat around the kitchen table, drinking hot chocolate and eating blueberry muffins, which Anya had taken out of the freezer and thawed in the microwave. There was a friendly chit-chat going on, but Tyson seemed to be annoyed by the fact that Hilary was leaning against Max and that he had an arm around her, like with Anya and Kai. Anya was very relaxed. Feeling Kai's warm body against her she almost fell asleep. She thought that everything was perfect right there, right now. Rei made a suggestion about practicing a little, since had lacked on that section quite a lot. They agreed, that it was time for them to practice a bit.

Inside, at the dish:

"3...2...1 Let It Rip!" yelled Hilary like always.

"Go Dranzer!" shouted Kai.

"Go Driger!" shouted Rei.

The two blades were on the move. Kai made the first move, but Rei was ready and it missed. Rei took advantage and attacked right away. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly, what Kai was waiting for. Kai's blade evaded quickly and attacked Rei from behind. Rei managed dodge Kai's attack partly, but it was enough to push him to edge an over. Kai won. Next were Max and Anya.

"3...2...1 Let It Rip!" yelled Hilary.

"Go Draciel!" shouted Max.

"Go Dremix!" Anya yelled.

Anya didn't waste any time and went straight to the point. Her attack missed Max. She waited for Max to attack, but he didn't make a move she tried again and missed.

"What are you doing?" Anya asked, obviously very irritated.

"Playing games," answered Max, grinning.

"Stop it!" yelled Anya, starting to lose it.

"Sure. Now Draciel!" he ordered.

Max's blade made a move towards Anya's and made a small impact. Anya's blade started to wobble. Anya reacted to this quickly.

"Dremix, Fading Lost!" she ordered.

"Don't let her disappear Draciel!" shouted Max.

Max's blade went after Anya's, which was disappearing. It was a mistake. Anya's blade disappeared and Max had almost zero possibility to know, where she was coming from. Anya made a quick move and Max was out. The match had ended.

Anya walked to Kai and leaned against the wall next to him.

"You almost panicked," said Kai.

"No, I didn't!" Anya replied. "What makes you think that?"

"Just what I saw. You were about to lose your grip, when Max caught you," he stated.

"Okay. Almost, but didn't," she stated. "I'm going to get something to drink."

She kissed Kai quickly and left.

She was coming back from the kitchen, when she decided to check her E-mail. She turned on the computer and looked at her inbox. One mail, she opened it and her eyes widened in shock as she read it. She read it once more, to be sure of what she had just read. She turned off the computer and took many deep breaths before she went back to the others. How could she tell them? There was no way they would let her go if they knew. She couldn't tell them. Nobody noticed anything different and the evening passed, until they were going to bed.

Anya packed a small bag, with the most important things she had and sat down to write a letter, a goodbye letter. She couldn't tell them now, but they deserved to know, so she decided to leave them a letter, where she would explain, what happened.

Kai

When you find this letter in the morning I'm far away and you can't come after me.

You must be hurt to see I'm gone, but there was no other choice.

If I had stayed with you, I would have put you in danger and I can't do that.

You mean too much to me. Your grandfather is after me and my bitbeast.

You know what will happen, if he gets it. I have to prevent that from ever happening.

I'm going to show myself at a train station and hope he won't come there,

but you shouldn't take the risk of him finding you there.

I'm going to disappear, so neither you or him are able to find me.

My heart aches, my body longs to feel your touch every minute and

I want to hear your voice, but this is the way it has to be now.

You didn't have time to prepare yourself for this, so I'm leaving you

one of the rare pictures of me and a cassette, where you can hear me sing.

Tears are falling from my eyes as I write this, but it isn't going to be like this forever.

We will meet again, someday, somehow. I will find you when it's safe.

It will be forever you & me, us.

Always and forever loving you: Anya

She left the letter on the desk in Kai's room, knowing he would notice it. She gazed at him, making a picture of him into her mind. She was tempted to touch him, but she resisted it. After taking a one final look, she left the room and the house. Once she had turned her back on the house, she didn't look at it anymore, because she knew, that if she had she couldn't tear herself away. She was scared. Not for herself, but for Kai. But somewhere, deep down in her heart, she knew that she would see him again.

This is it. I'm cutting it of here. I can't bare to write anymore. My eyes are like waterfalls. Hope you like it. R&R.