Chapter 4 - The Rotten Apple And The Shiny Cherry.

At the dinner table as the evening had now drawn in there was total silence, as Maia simply poked and picked at her food, looking generally uninterested in it. "Are you going to play with that all night?" the gruff voice of her grandfather scolded, she looked up. "I'm not particularly hungry..." her purple eyes glared over at Kai, who looked back at her and then continued to eat his food. "You won't be able to train, unless you eat Maia, so do so". She sighed, "I don't want to". "Don't answer me back, you're lucky i even bother housing you and your failure of a brother" he spat back. Maia glared back at him. "I am not eating the food...give it to Kai, he seems to like taking things from me lately" she shrugged and stood up, wandering off to her bedroom upstairs. The stairs seemed to take forever to climb as she turned the corner at the top, and slid open her door, wandering and closing it behind her.

Maia made no move to turn on the lights, she just stared at the back door that was opened onto the balcony, the lace curtains flailing through gently, with the calming night breeze. She smiled a moment, when she was 'grounded' this was the ideal place to clear her head, because from here you could just about see the lagoon that she loved so much. Where she had met Brooklyn. Why did Kai have to be her brother?...the very person that despised Brooklyn and well, Brooklyn didn't particularly like Kai. Brooklyn didn't know that Maia was Kai's brother she shrugged as she wandered out over to the balcony. Not that it mattered now, she wasn't going to have to tell him the bad news now, because she wasn't to see him anymore. Blood was thicker than water, that's what she'd always been taught anyway, family first. Or more importantly, dreams and expectations first. Maia wanted to be a beyblader a really famous and professional beyblader, and to do that she needed her brother Kai.

"Ah...damned complications" she mumbled, leaning her elbows on the railings. She was looking out over the back yard as she sighed and glanced up at the sky with a light smile. "I can't decide which is more important to me..." she said quietly. She shrugged, "How girlie". "So, you're Kai's sister are you?". Maia froze as she heard the voice and slowly turned her head to see Brooklyn standing behind her on the balcony. "I told you i can't-". He waved a hand at her to silence her. "See me or talk to me anymore, i know i know, you made that quite clear...on the way to school this morning". He stepped closer to her, the usual calmness that was in his eyes for some reason didn't seem to be there, he seemed to be quite erratic and wound up about something. "I don't care about that, what I'd like to know is why?...since when do you bow down to that fool?" he asked, leaning a hand on the railings as he stared down at her giving her a merciless grin. Maia frowned at him. "That fool, is my brother Brooklyn, i don't recall giving you permission to insult him behind his back". Brooklyn sighed, holding his head, as he stepped even closer. "I don't think I'm quite getting this point across, you're way too talented and intelligent to let Kai have a collar around your neck Maia, you can't let him control you" an eerie smile came to his lips, "and i thought you were a free spirit, like me". He outstretched a cold hand and ran two fingers down her lips softly, a smile still playing on his own lips.

She swallowed uncomfortably and backed away slightly. "He's training me Brooklyn, so i can follow my ambitions, I'm grateful to Kai". Brooklyn shrugged, "i could train you...I'm talented, wouldn't you agree?" he smirked fiendishly and she sighed again. "I don't know Brooklyn, i never saw the Bega tournament, i wasn't really into beyblading then". Brooklyn shrugged uncaringly, stepping closer to her once more this time his arms encircled her and he managed to stop her from struggling away. "Then you'll just have to take my word for it, won't you Miss Hiwatari?". Maia stared at him, totally cocooned against the reality of what was happening, it was those eyes, they were hypnotising she'd forgotten all about her promise to Kai, all about her beyblading obligations and all about where she was as he stared at her. "I'd like to get closer now..." he said quietly, and she didn't reply, or resist for that matter as he moved closer to her. His warm breath caressing her skin as he cupped her face in his one hand, gently stroking her chin with his thumb as he softly and soothingly pressed his mouth against hers for a moment that seemed to be forever and she closed her eyes, giving in to him. "See?...that wasn't so bad was it...?...and brotherly boy Kai never found out about it, did he?" he said as his lips left her, his smile capturing her still. "N-no..." was all she could stutter as a response.

"I really like you Maia, that's why i couldn't just end it after you ran away from me this morning, it hurt you know, it felt like losing" Brooklyn said softly, running his hands down her shoulders and arms to meet her hands and grasp them gently. "You should have explained that Kai was your brother". Maia rolled her eyes, "it's not an easy task, you say Kai Hiwatari is your brother, and people tend to run off screaming" she paused, "or run at you screaming 'is he single?'..." she added. Brooklyn chuckled softly. "Well, will you come with me to the lagoon?" he asked softly, still stroking her face. Maia looked up at the sky, the moonlight had since been blocked out by angry dark clouds that had blended in with the night sky. "I don't know, i think it's going to monsoon any minute now". "Pfft, pish posh..." Brooklyn countered, "where's your sense of adventure Hiwatari...hmmm?" he smirked. A soft smile broke out onto her face which for the Hiwatari family was like an infection. She simply nodded, and blinked, "how did you get up here without grandfather and Kai seeing you anyway?". Brooklyn pointed behind himself, "you have a convenient drainpipe by your bedroom window, oh, and a hole in your garden fence..." he smirked, "that's the lengths i was willing to go to, to come and see you".

He took her hand, "now, let's go back the way i came and go spend some time at the lagoon...ok?". Maia glanced back at her room a moment, still forgetting all that she was leaving behind if she went off with Brooklyn, but she shrugged and followed him anyway. They disappeared through the hole in the fence, two shadows running across the field towards the lagoon, as the shadowy figure of Kai watched from his own bedroom window, purple eyes narrowing in anger and disappointment. "Big mistake Maia..." he growled to himself. Kai had seen and heard all of that conversation.

Author's Notes:

What do you think of that chapter folks?...i tried to be more descriptive and write more for that one. Poor Maia lol, brother is always there watching her. I actually feel sorry for Brooklyn, he's gonna' get it lol. As always please comment.