StarShimmeredDragon: Wow, guys thank you for waiting so long for this! I'm really sorry I took so long, i mean, first my computer breaks down, then i lent my book with all my story notes to a friend, then-
Aura: They all understand, did you not read the reviews?
SSD: Opps, sorry. Could you please do a disclaimer, Aura?
A: She does not own this, because if she did, the program would stink. And she agrees.
SSD: Thanks. By the way, Aura is my new Muse. My old one, if you can tell from my Bio, has gone, but Aura's pretty cool. For those who've seen the anime, .hacktwlight, my Aura looks similar to the Aura from that.
A: You forgot the revierers...
SSD: Ok, here it goes...
Reis1gurl: Thanks for the support, and yes, you are loved, unlike me... (Aura: Well, your boyfriend loves you, your dad loves you, your brother loves you, but it would be like pulling teeth out to get him to admit it) Ok, i get it.
Viper-Vegeta: Yes, it's weird seeing my own stuff printed. Oh, I got Joe onto this site too!
Plushie Ray: Thanks for your high opinion, and i hope you like this chapter too!
Samsam11: I know, Kai is really cute at times. I'm placing him as the 'not-bad-but-misunderstood-guy' cause i like him.
Akkiko: Wow, you reviewed, like, all the chapters at once! That's cool, but you seem to have some odd friends. The review for chapters 4 and 5. Whoa, cool. But anyway, thanks for reading this!
SSD: Onto the story!
Chapter 6 – Hidden Pain
"Go, Dragoon!"
"Driger, Attack!"
Lunchtime. Shiri and Kai are in the kitchen, preparing lunch and catching up. The others were training and discussing their 'new arrival'.
"We haven't seen her blade yet," Tyson said, picking up his blade, "so how do we know that she's good? Nice match, by the way, Ray.
"Thanks, Tyson!" Ray grinned, showing his Neko canines. "As for Shiri, she's good. All she needs is a launcher made just for her. In the meantime, can you do it, Chief?"
Kenny looked up, stunned, "Sure I can do it. I'll just need to analyse her data."
"You want me to do what?"
The boys (Hilary was being forced to visit her grandmother today, so she left early) turned to see Shiri place a plate of food on the decking, followed by Kai and a tray of drinks. Shiri raised her eyebrow.
"What do you want me to do?" She asked, suspicious. Tyson shrank back in fear. 'She's more like Kai than is good for her, and that's scary!' He thought.
"We want you to join our team, and that means testing your skills!" Tyson said, getting over the 'She's totally scary' thing fast. Max turned to Kenny.
"Talk about getting straight to the point," Max whispered. Shiri ignored them.
"You want me to try out?" She repeated. "Sure, I'll have to borrow-"
"Done," Ray passed over his old launcher, the same as the night before. As their hands touched, Ray and Shiri blushed faintly. But it passed quickly, and Shiri got into position, turning to the boys.
"So, who am I fighting?"
"I'll fight," Ray stepped forward. Max rushed up to play judge.
"Ready? 3…2…1…Let it Rip!" Max shouted. At the count, Shiri and Ray launched their blades.
"Attack, Driger!"
"Skylark, show them what you've got!"
Both blades kept crashing together in a parade of sparks. After some time of dodging, attacking and defending, Ray summoned his bitbeast.
"Driger, Hyper Tiger Claw!"
In a blaze of green light, out came the White Tiger, looking ferocious. Shiri grinned, showing hints of elongated (AN: Means longer) canines.
"Just what I was waiting for!" Shiri's long aqua gown fluttered as Shiri shouted, "Arise, Skylark, and attack!"
All of a sudden, a great golden tiger with dragon wings came out of her blade and with a frightening roar, sent Driger flying from the ring. Max raised his hand.
"Shiri wins!"
A few minutes later, and Kenny approached Shiri. She politely finished her mouthful and looked amazed when Kenny handed her a brand new, gold and red launcher.
"This is calibrated to your skill level, which is at the same level as the boys." Kenny said. Shiri stood up.
"Wow, thank you, Kenny. How much do I owe you? I don't have all that much, but…" Shiri looked confused when Kenny shook his head.
"I could never take anything for this. It's just a pleasure to do this for you," Kenny said. Shiri sat down, shocked.
"Goodness, thanks. I…I…I…I don't know how to thank you. I guess, thanks Kenny," Shiri placed her hand on her cheek, damp with tears.
"You're very welcome, Shiri," Kenny said. "Like I said, it was a pleasure!"
"Now, Shiri," Tyson said, "we have something to-"
"Oh, fancy little group you've got here, slave."
The group looked up onto the wall, where the two suited guys from before were perched.
"Didn't think you could get away from us, did you, slave!" The shorter one said. Shiri got up, and stood in front of the Bladebreakers.
"They didn't do anything wrong, so keep them out of this!" she shouted, raising her arms as if to protect them. The suited guys laughed.
"Look at that, LM. The slave thinks they're her friends!" The tall guy said.
"If you want Shiri, you'll have to go through me first!" Ray stood beside Shiri, and quickly grasped her arm.
"Oh, we can fix that, if you'd like," The men brought out their blades, and sent them flying at Ray. Shiri stepped around to be in front.
"Move!" Ray flung her out of the way, letting the impact throw him into the wall.
"That'll teach you a lesson, brat," LM said. "Don't forget it, or else." They laughed, turned and vanished into the darkness. Shiri ran to Ray's side.
"Why me, why now!" Shiri sobbed, the tears falling freely onto Ray's unconscious form. "Not another one. Not another one!" Shiri screamed, ignoring the comfort the boys offered.
-That night-
"Wow, Shiri hasn't left that room since!" Tyson said, looking annoyed. "Why is she like that?"
"Well, Tyson," Hilary said (she came back not long after Ray had been moved into the house), "Shiri is upset because someone got seriously injured while trying to protect her. Considering on how much she acts like Kai, she doesn't like that, and it rips her up to know that."
Tyson chose to ignore her as shouts irrupted from the room where Ray lay resting.
"I can't tell them, Kai! What's stopping those guys from coming back to hurt you too?" Shiri's shouts came through the door.
"If they know the truth, then they can all prepare for the worse," Kai's shouts soon followed.
"Prepare for what, death? Those BIA could have KILLED Ray because of me. If it weren't for me being here, you would never have had this problem in the first place!"
"If it weren't for you, I'd be a horrible guy! I may have turned out like Grandfather! As for the guys, they already suspect something! Even Tyson, who can be intelligent when he wants to!"
"Well, you can tell Tyson and the others to go shove it, because I'm leaving in the morning! If they know I'm here, I'll go hide out elsewhere! I've heard Central Australia is a nice place this time of year, despite the heat and the sand!"
"And then what, you'll continue running for the rest of your life? Do you know what a big mistake that is?"
"Do you know the mistake you're making by forcing me to stay here? At least I'm not leaving this very second!"
"Why don't you calm yourself down before someone gets hurt!"
"Fine!"
Kai stormed into the main room, to come face-to-face with a very curious, but disturbed team. Kai sighed.
"Guess I'd better explain some things to you…"
Shiri's POV
I walked to the door, and closed it properly. Why do cousins have to be like that? It's not like he's my brother…Well, he is, sort of. The closest thing I've ever had to a family. I sat down on the bed next to Ray and took a look at the bandana. Embroidered into the center of the red strip was the Ying-Yang symbol.
"For balance," I whispered, crying silently. Tying the bandana around my arm, I lay down next to Ray and slowly dozed off, paying little attention to the commotion in the living room. I thought I heard someone call out Ray's name, but I don't know. All of a sudden, a bright light streamed into the room (all the lights are out), and the shadowed figure shouted out one word.
"RAY!!!"
SSD: Oh, I bet everyone would know who that creepy voice belongs to!
A: Yeah, we all know it's-
SSD: Don't go spoiling it! Makes it less fun! Anyway, a hug from Me or Aura or Ray or any other person you want if you correctly guess who it is! Tune in next time!
A: You sound like a raidio show host. And personally? I hope they get it. Shibi's hugs hurt! (throws a ball at Chibi's head) So Stop It!