Well finally here is another chapter for you to enjoy. Sorry that it took so long. Thanks for all the reviews. Enough of me already! Read!!!!

I don't own BeyBlade...

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Chapter 10: No Swimming Accident

A week has past since Celia's little incident with the flu. She has asked Kai not to tell anybody, especially her teammates, for fear of worrying them too much. Kai agreed but watched over her from afar just incase. Ever since both of them figured out the big picture, they acted a bit awkward toward each other. In front of the others they would act normal, but when alone, they felt somewhat uncomfortable around each other. The BladeBreakers and Sacred Stars thought something was wrong with their captains (except for Ray and Julie) since they had only practiced three times in the past week. They didn't complain though. It meant that they could have more time to themselves.

"Seriously guys! I think Celia and Kai came down with something," Tyson commented to the group. Max, Julie, Karen, Ray, Mariah, Kenny, and Sophie were out on their fourth free day. They were all wondering what could be the problem be. Julie and Ray hid knowing smiles and just kept a straight face.

"Maybe they are thinking of new strategies for us to use," Max suggested.

"Or maybe they're secretly together and re going out on dates and stuff. Then, when they're around us, they just act like they don't like each other and try to ignore each other as much as possible so that we won't figure it out," Tyson replied.

"I don't think so Tyson," Kenny said.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you think they're doing?" Tyson retaliated back. This caused a whole commotion between the group, excluding Ray and Julie. They never told the group what they discovered and respected their captains' privacy. Ray, getting tired of the arguing and assumptions, decided to end the bickering.

"Guys?" No response.

"Guys!" Again no response.

"GUYS!!!" Ray exclaimed, not liking being ignored. Everyone stopped abruptly and turned to him. All of them held surprised looks and it soon turned into questioning looks.

"What's up Ray?" Tyson questioned first, confused at his friend's outburst.

"Look, I don't think we should be making all these assumptions about Kai and Celia. It's their own business what they do on break days and we should respect their privacy," Ray explained, not wanting them to pry into the personal lives of the two captains.

"Oh come on Ray. Aren't you at the least bit curious?" Tyson asked, still curious of what the two captains were doing.

"Ray's right. We shouldn't try to pry into their private lives. We all know they like to keep to themselves," Julie reasoned with a finalized tone.

"All right, we won't assume anything about them until they want to tell us," Tyson stated in defeat. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now that that's settled, where to?" Ray asked with a smile.

***

*SPLASH*

"Haven't gone swimming in the longest time," Celia commented, relaxing in the indoor pool of the hotel. Many of the teams were out or sleeping the day in, so she had the whole pool to herself. She had left Kai a note saying where she was, since she had slept most the morning, so as not to worry him, which he has been doing lately. Ever since she had gotten sick, he had been watching her like a hawk and often cancelled practice if she didn't feel 100% well that day. However, she called practice off that day so that he could relax a bit, instead of worrying about her.

"He worries too much," Celia commented to herself, not noticing a shady character entering the pool room.

***

"LET IT RIP!!!!!"

A blue and green beyblade flew right through the woods, zooming and dodging all the tree branched. The beyblade rebounded off a large tree and returned to its master's hand. The chip glowed a soft red and the owner smirked with approval.

"Good job Dranzer," Kai surprisingly commented to the red phoenix.

Isn't that a first? When was the last time you complimented me? Dranzer responded sarcastically.

"Hmph! Fine then, don't accept it. It'll be the last one you'll ever get from me," Kai replied.

Fine, whatever. How about we head back to the room and see how Celia's doing? She seemed out of it this morning. Dranzer suggested, voice edged with concern.

"All right, I guess," Kai responded, sounding uncaring. He began to walk back to the hotel.

Aww come on Kai! You know you're worried about her. Why don't you just admit that you're concerned about her? Dranzer asked, slightly teasing his master. Kai didn't respond back knowing that the phoenix was closer to the truth than he wanted. Actually, it hit the bulls eye right dead center. He finally made it to his room only to find it unoccupied. Then he noticed a folded piece of paper on the table. His name was written on it in neat penmanship. He opened the note and read what was on it.

'Kai,

Thanks for letting me call the day off. As you probably already suspected, I wasn't feeling like myself this morning. I slept through most of the morning and then went swimming. I should be back around three. Just wanted to tell you so you don't have to worry about me. Have fun and relax yourself. See you later.

Celia'

Kai quickly scanned the note again and then looked at the time. His eyes widened a bit to see that it was nearly four. He began to worry more, wondering the endless possibilities that could have happened to her. Dranzer sensing the concern, tried to calm him down.

Kai, I'm sure it's nothing. She probably lost track of time. She's probably on her way back now. Dranzer said quickly in attempt to calm Kai down. Kai was still unsure and began to think rationally when suddenly Dranzer interrupted his thoughts. Kai! Dranzer exclaimed, panic etched into his voice.

"What?!" Kai exclaimed impatiently.

It's Celia! She's in trouble!

***

"That was relaxing," Celia commented to herself getting out of the pool. She headed toward her bag and took out her towel. She began to dry herself off when she had the feeling that she wasn't alone. Her narrowed eyes darted across the room, trying to find out if there was really someone there or it was just her imagination. She was about to shake it off when she suddenly felt someone behind her.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you," a husky voice said behind her. Celia stiffened a bit at hearing the voice and instantly knew who it was. She quickly spun around to face the arrogant assailant.

"What are you doing here Tala?" Celia questioned with a scowl on her face. Tala just smirked and began to advance toward her slowly. With every step he took, Celia took a step back.

"What? I can't come see my fair star maiden after such a long time? That hurts me deeply," Tala stated dramatically with mock innocence and hurt.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I wasn't anxious to see you," Celia venomously spat out, suddenly aware that she was about to hit the wall. She began to look around to find the quickest way out of the room. She looked back at him when she heard him chuckle.

"Don't even try to get away from me. I've secured all the exits," Tala said with an evil glint in his eyes. He kept on advancing toward her. His smirk grew wider when her back was against the wall.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?!" Celia angrily demanded looking at Tala. In the blink of an eye, he had her wrists locked in his left hand. She flinched when he began to stroke her cheek softly with his right hand.

"Simple. I want you, and I always get what I want," Tala said darkly, his face just inches from hers. He jerked his head back suddenly when she spat on his face. He wiped his face against his left sleeve and scowled darkly at her. She equaled his scowl with intense hatred fired in her eyes. Her expression suddenly changed from hatred to pain as she gasped for breath. She couldn't clutch her stomach because her hands were still locked against the by his own.

"You...bastard," she managed to wheeze out. She glared at him as he just smirked at her vulnerability. Her face showed even greater pain when he punch her again. She just let her head hang low as tears of fear and pain streamed down her face. Her head instantly jerked up when he wrapped his right hand around her neck. She kept up with her scowl but her eyes showed that she was in pain and was afraid.

"I don't appreciate people calling me names," Tala said darkly tightening his grip around her neck. She began to desperately gasp for air. He smile darkly at her futile attempt to breathe. Celia was at the brink of consciousness when there was a sudden bang. Tala quickly turned his head toward the door at the other end of the room and scowled darkly.

"Kai...." Celia meekly replied before blacking out. Kai saw her hanging limply in Tala's grasp. He scowled angrily at the red-head with hatred evident in his eyes.

"Let her go," Kai demanded angrily, positioning his blade. Fire glowed in his eyes as Tala just carelessly let Celia go, her body just slumping to the ground. He was tempted to let Dranzer take care of Tala right then and there and wipe the smirk that was on his face.

"Hmph! Kai, I didn't know you cared!" Tala mockingly said.

"Get the hell out of here before you get what's coming to you," Kai angrily spat out at him. Crimson red clashed with ice blue as they glared at each other with intense hatred unfelt before. Tala was the first to break away and turned toward the nearest door.

"Fine, but when I defeat you in battle, I shall claim my prize," Tala said walking toward the exit. "Until we meet again in the dish," he commented over his shoulder and disappeared out the door.

Kai pocketed his launcher and blade and quickly made his way toward Celia. He carefully sat her upright and was surprised to see a large bruise forming on her abdomen. His surprise quickly turned to anger and hate at the red-head. He grabbed her towel that was nearby and carefully wrapped it around her body to give her some decency. He slowly picked her up into his arms and made his way to the exit, grabbing her bag along the way. Quickly but carefully, he made his way toward their room, trying not to draw attention toward them.

Finally reaching their room, he went into the bathroom and gently placed her in the bathtub to clean her wound properly. He ran the warm water and quickly locked the door of their room. Going back into the bathroom, he grabbed the softest face towel available and put a dab of soap on it. After gathering a good bit of lather, he gently began cleaning her wound. Although normally he would have had a hard time doing this considering she was still in her two piece, he mainly concentrated on cleaning the wound. When he was done, he rinsed her off, even her hair to clean out the chlorine.

After draining out the water, he went to get some clothes. He debated on whether or not to go through her drawer to get clothes or to just let her borrow his. He decided on the latter and grabbed a pair of loose sweats and a t-shirt. He dried her off as best as he could and carefully bandaged her up and put on the articles of clothing. Lifting her up once again, he brought her over to her bed and pulled the cover over her body, tucking her in. He exhaled loudly and made himself comfortable on his bed, knowing that it would be a long night.

*****

"Hey, has anyone see Celia or Kai? It's almost time for dinner," Ray commented with worry evident on his face.

"Hey yeah! Where are they?" Tyson questioned in agreement with Ray.

"Maybe they already ate or lost track of time," Karen suggested.

"Maybe, but those two don't strike me as losing track of time," Mariah commented with a thoughtful look. The others nodded in agreement and began to worry even more about their team captains.

"Look, I don't think we need to worry about them. We all know that they are more than capable of handling themselves," Sophie reasoned with the group.

"Sophie's right. We shouldn't have to worry about Kai and Celia. I'm sure they're fine. Now, how about we get something to eat?" Max concluded to the group. Everyone agreed and headed toward the restaurant in the hotel, each trying not to worry about their missing captains.

*****

Kai was slightly startled by the sudden thrashing of the injured girl next to him. With concern written on his face, he got up and stood next to her. His eyes narrowed as he realized she was having a nightmare. She began mumbling and it soon became louder and clearer to what she was saying. Soon he saw tears stream down her face and full of sweat.

"Nooo!!!" Celia screamed out suddenly, jolting upright, fear evident on her face. Her breathing was rapid and she was scared out of her mind. She began looking around as if sensing the assailant in her nightmare was still around. When she realized that the assailant wasn't, she broke down in loud sobs, covering her face with her hands.

Kai watched the whole ordeal with surprise in his eyes not knowing what to do. He snapped out of his surprise and did the only thing he could think of. He sat down next to the sobbing girl and gently patted and rubbed her back. At the reassuring gesture, Celia clung onto him, desperate for assurance and safety. Surprised by her action, Kai didn't know what to do. He was never in these kinds of sentimental situations. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and held her closer. Celia welcomed the warmth and snuggled closer to him, still sobbing uncontrollably. They stayed that way for several minutes and eventually the sobbing went down to sniffles and small hiccups. Kai held her all the same, not really caring that his shirt was slightly wet but more concerned about the girl in his arms. He suddenly felt her shift a bit and noticed that she was looking for something under her pillow with her right hand. Finally, she found what she was looking for and pulled out a silver pendant that was shaped into a star. He gave a questioning look toward it but didn't expect an answer.

"My mother gave it to me when I was five. It's a music locket. We used to listen to it together every night before I went to sleep," Celia replied, answering Kai's silent question. She opened it up and a soft melody began to play. On the inside cover, Kai noticed an old photograph. It was a picture of a young woman around her mid-twenties and a young girl of about five. Kai figured it was her and her mother.

"Where is she now?" Kai asked quietly, instantly regretting it when he was a bit of sadness return in her eyes.

"She died when I was six in an accident. My father was devastated but nonetheless took great care of me and was overprotective of me sometimes but I knew the reason," Celia responded with a faraway look and a slight smile. "A few weeks later I met the girls and we've been friends ever since. We grew up and did everything together. Eventually we started to blade and even received our bit beasts around the same time," Celia said fondly, remembering locked up memories.

They sat in silence once again, only the music playing the soft melody making any kind of noise. Celia was still leaning against Kai in his arms, enjoying the warm feeling of protection. She was surprised that he still had his arms around her and she wasn't going to lie to herself and say that she wasn't enjoying the feeling of having his strong arms around her.

"What happened to you in the past?" Kai asked suddenly. Celia looked up to him with questioning eyes and he met her eyes. He could tell that she went through another ordeal other than with her mother and he was curious but wasn't about to force her if she didn't want to.

"You really want to know?" Celia asked quietly, breaking eye contact with him and looked down at her locket. She felt him nod slightly and exhaled loudly. "All right, Kai. I'll tell you what happened..."

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Well that's it for now. Sorry that I kinda made Tala a bad guy. I don't hate him.....I love him actually.....but he just seemed so right for the part. Well, you're gonna have to wait for the next chapter to find out happened to Celia in her past. Please review and I will see you next time.

later

lonelistar05