I don't own Beyblade, or any of its characters, please do not sue me.

Fate

Chapter 12

""Talking

''Thoughts

Flashback

"Ray, I don't think this looks nice on me." Celestia said and pulled at the tight dress that she has on.

They picked out a black and white dress that flows down to her knees; the dress fits her perfectly, elaborating her figure. The top is pretty normal with no sleeves, it's a very simple dress, but it's perfect for her style.

"Trust me, it looks great on you." Ray gave her an encouraging smile.

"Come on, tell me the truth!" Celestia pleaded while shifting around in the taxi.

Ray smiled but said nothing, his brain is at work again. "Let's play a game, each of us say 3 things about ourselves, and the other one has to guess which one is the real truth."

Celestia looked at him then glanced away, thinking of 3 things to say. "Okay... I... am not my parents' biological child. I used to hate art. And... I had a car crash before."

Ray frowned; the second one can't be true seeing she started drawing ever since she could pick up a pencil. "That last one." He said hesitantly.

Celestia smiled and shook her head slowly. "Your turn."

"Okay, I'm in love with my friend's girlfriend. I have a girlfriend from another school. I hate beyblade."

Celestia smiled and tilted her head. "You went easy on me, the second one?"

"Wrong?"

"What?" Celestia's eyes widened. "Then, what is the truth? It can't be the last one, I don't think..." She trailed off, it's possible. "Who is she?"

"You know her." Ray looked into her eyes.

"Jamice? Lianna?" Celestia asked hurriedly, Ray shook his head. "Then... is it Malarin?" Ray shook his head again, Celestia bit her bottom lip, after a moment, she smiled. "I think you should tell her. Even if she's in love with your friend, I think she'll still appreciate your feelings."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Celestia nodded her head firmly.

"We're here." The taxi driver cut in suddenly, both of them looked up and saw Kai waiting on the stairs.

Celestia turned to Ray with a sincere smile. "Thanks Ray." With that, she turned and got out of the car and closed the door behind her.

Ray watched as Kai walked towards her and she gave Kai a shy smile, such a pretty picture. Just then, his cell phone rang, looking down; he realized it's from Aeris. A smile lit his face; she really is his best friend.

Kai's House

Both of them stood in the living room waiting for Voltaire, Celestia kept on pulling at her dress, thinking it's too tight. Finally, the door opened and Voltaire walked out, Celestia felt as if her heart had suddenly stopped beating. Soon, he's already in front of them.

"Grandfather, this is Celestia." Kai said first, breaking the silence.

"Mr. Hiwatari, it's my pleasure to meet you." Celestia said timidly and bowed towards him respectfully.

Voltaire nodded and looked towards a table on their right. "Sit." A short word, but his voice is filled with power and command.

Celestia followed Kai and glanced at the table, everything tea related was there. She smiled and picked up the tea pot. "Allow me to do the honours." She then reached for a cup and poured the tea into it steadily.

Putting down the pot, she held up the cup toward Voltaire, her forearm finally meeting light. "Here you go, Mr. Hiwatari."

Suddenly, Voltaire's hand shot out and grasped her left wrist tightly; Celestia gasped and dropped the cup with a loud noise. Kai frowned and stood up quickly.

"Mr. Hiwatari!" Celestia froze on the spot, the look in Voltaire's eyes was drowning her.

"Grandfather!" Kai's warning voice rang out.

"This! Where did you get it?" Voltaire ignored them, looking at her forearm steadily.

"This?" Celestia glanced at her arm as well. "I had it ever since I was born."

Shock, surprise, confusion, fear appeared in Voltaire's eyes at the same time. His breathes came out rigid. He stood up and pushed Celestia back, she stumbled back unbalanced but was caught by a maid.

"Get out." Voltaire's voice came out as a whisper. "Get out!" This time, he hollered it out, getting his point across.

Celestia looked down and bowed towards him again. "Thank you for having me." She said quietly, then turned and ran out.

"Celestia!" Kai turned and followed after her.

"Stop him!" Voltaire ordered.

A row of men stood at the door way, blocking Kai's way. Kai gritted his teeth then turned and faced Voltaire. "What was that?"

"You! You're not allowed to see her again! Go to your room, I'll have 2 guards outside of your room at all times." With that, he turned and walked off as well, looking down, Voltaire clearly felt his hands shake... due to fear.

End of Flashback

Days Later

"Still not talking with Ray?" Tyson asked as he sat down next to Kai and nodded at Max, whom is sitting on the other side of Kai.

"Do you two have no where to go?" Kai asked icily and flipped through the channels.

The two of them gave a cheeky grin and both patted Kai's back. "You know we love hanging out with you."

Kai raised an eyebrow and pinned his famous death glare on both of them. Immediately, their hands were removed from his back. He then turned back to the TV again, hoping that they'd get the point and go home already.

"Kai, come on, talk to us."

"About what?"

"About your break up with Celle." Tyson said heatedly. He never thought Kai was the type to run away from a problem.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You know you do."

Max looked at his two friends and chuckled nervously. Even though they've known each other for almost 10 years, it still amazes him how much Tyson and Kai can get on each other's nerves.

"What the hell do you want to know?" Kai snapped his head around to stare at Tyson coldly.

"I thought she was totally in love with you! Why did she suddenly break up with you?" Tyson asked.

"And why aren't you and Ray talking?" Max added on while putting up his hand.

"I don't know. I don't know. And I don't know." Kai answered and went back to his TV again.

"Yeah, right!" Tyson bellowed and stood up. "Kai Hiwatari, you ass! Answer me now!" Tyson grabbed the remote control and turned off the TV forcefully.

The room was suddenly dead silent.

Max felt a cold sweat roll down the side of his cheek.

Kai starred in front of him for a while, before slowly turning his head towards Tyson and looked at him directly. "Celle was totally in love with me, but it's evident that her feelings changed. She broke up with me because I mistook her for Celestia during a horrible moment."

Tyson blinked and his face showed realization. Kai then slowly turned to Max and frowned slightly. "I don't think Ray would want to talk to me right now, because he knows everything that has happened, considering that Celle is living with him now."

Again, the room settled in silence.

Finally, Tyson sighed and dropped the remote control. He sat back down into the sofa and ran a hand through his semi-long blue hair tiredly. "Kai." He doesn't even know how to continue.

"What about Aeris?" Max finished Tyson's sentence for him. Tyson looked at him to let him know that he agree with his question.

This time, Kai clearly was confused. "What about Aeris?"

"Kai, are you blind? You know that Aeris likes Ray!" Tyson started up again.

"And the problem is?"

"The problem is that Ray is living with Celle, seeing her from the moment he awakes to the moment he goes to sleep. Ray liked Celestia before, I think Celle is a perfect substitute for Celestia. Then, what about Aeris? Where does she fit into the picture? What is she going to do now? Who's going to take care of her? Who's she going to marry? What's her future going to be like? Huh?" Tyson fired one question after another towards Kai.

Kai glanced down and ceased his eyebrows once more. "I think Ray will see through Celle. He likes Aeris more."

"First love is always hard to die. If you can't forget Celestia, what makes you think that Ray can?" Max stated calmly and looked down at his interlaced fingers.

Kai didn't say anything. He doesn't know what to say. The clock on the wall made a sound and all three of them looked up. It's 3 in the afternoon. Kai heaved a sighed and stood up. "I need to go into the casino; I haven't been there all day long." He turned around to walk towards his room, but paused at the door way. "As for Aeris, even if nothing happens with Ray... she still has us."

Hotel

"Oh my God! I love you!" Celle squealed happily. She nearly skipped down the stairs to near the dinning table. "Do you know how much I love brunches?"

Ray laughed and shook his head funnily. "You just love having a chef as a friend."

Celle looked at him but didn't make a sound. Ray pulled out a chair for her and sat down himself on a chair with his back facing her. Celle looked at him and looked down. Then, she picked up her head and walked towards Ray. She's standing right behind him.

That night flashed in her mind again. In her mind, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Kai tightly, whispering loving words. However, her dreams were shattered on that night.

She bit her lips to draw pain, so she can forget about that night. Now, in front of her, it is another similar scene. Should she take the chance or back away? Reaching out slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her chin onto his shoulder and breathed in his scent.

"Celle?" Ray touched her arm gently, and tried to look at her.

"I'd love it more if I had a chef as my boyfriend." She whispered and closed her eyes.

She couldn't look at him, she's too afraid of a rejection. Instead, she felt Ray turn in her arms and she let him and loosened her hold. Soon enough, Ray turned his entire body towards her and she felt herself being pulled down into his lap.

"So... I got promoted?" Ray teased gently and Celle opened her eyes to look at him.

"Ray... you don't mind?" She couldn't find the right words to say.

Ray smiled and caressed her hair softly. "Mind about what? Mind about you falling in love with some other guy before me? No, I'm not a dictator; I don't control your life. As long as you come back to me in the end, I'll be happy."

"Ray." Tears filled her eyes, and she let them roll out willingly.

"Such a cry-baby." Ray leaned forwards and his lips brushed her cheeks to dry away the tears.

"Ray. Who do you see?"

Ray drew back and looked at her face. "Do you want the truth?" Celle hesitated then nodded. Ray took her face in his hands and looked at her seriously. "I see both you and Celestia."

Celle's eyes dimmed and her heart dropped. She knew this would be the answer.

"But." Ray continued on; and Celle looked up again. "I promise I will try to erase Celestia's image from my mind. I promise I will try hard to only see you in front of me."

Celle nodded and moved into his embrace. She closed her eyes tightly and more tears fell out.

Good enough. This is good enough. After all, she can also see Kai's face during large number of time periods.

Company

"Well, it was a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Markus Quintella." Voltaire shook his hand firmly and the other man nodded.

The door opened and Malarin walked in, she nodded at Voltaire and he returned the gesture. Mr. Quintella stood up and turned to face Malarin. He's in his late 40s, and has a mature aura about him. Malarin smiled at him as he walked closer to her. He reached up and touched her cheek gently, and then with a final nod towards Voltaire, he walked out of the office.

After the door was closed, Malarin turned her attention back to Voltaire and the two of them looked at each other. Malarin smiled gracefully and began the topic. "I heard that you've already talked to Celle."

"Of course."

"Doesn't she look exactly like Celestia?"

"Almost an identical copy of each other." Voltaire agreed and stood up from his seat.

"You'd almost believe that there's a twin for everyone in this universe. It's a shame that Celestia might never get to meet her other half." Malarin said carelessly. She looked at Voltaire carefully, hoping to crack his cover.

"I heard she and Kai broke up." Voltaire commented.

"They did. She broke up with him in front of so many people." Even though er smile never left her face, her eyes showed regret.

"I guess my words really did guide her in the right direction."

"Your words?" Malarin chuckled softly.

"Something funny?"

"I don't think it was your words that made the decision for her."

"What do you mean by that?" Voltaire turned to her directly and inquired.

"Don't mind me; I'm just speaking out my mind. I think Kai and Celle had enough problems to deal with ever since day 1, it couldn't possibly be your words that broke them up." Malarin then shrugged and tilted her head. Her perfectly curled hair tussled to the right side of her body. "Then again, she's now going out with Ray, so everything's well."

"Ray." Voltaire drew out softly, as if tasting the word.

"Mr. Hiwatari, have you seen Kai yet?" Malarin changed the subject suddenly.

Voltaire looked at her then sighed and looked away. He paused for a moment longer before speaking. "No."

"Mr. Hiwatari, I believe it'd be good if you go see him now. He knows you're back, and with his character, he won't come to you. He's your only grandson; maybe you should show him affection here and there. After all, you need him to take after the Hiwatari name after you're gone." Malarin said calmly, but her eyes were glinting dangerously.

Voltaire was silent, he didn't say anything. Maybe he doesn't know what to say.

"He's probably in his office. If you leave now, you might be able to catch him." Malarin suggested, and watched as indecision appeared on Voltaire's face.

"You're right." At length, Voltaire choked up these words and began walking towards the door.

Malarin stepped aside and let him pass. She turned her body to see him touch the door handle and opening the door. "Mr. Hiwatari, I'm really glad that you're back."

Voltaire paused at the door and turned back to her. He regarded her closely and then nodded before turning and stepping out.

Malarin waited until he was gone before letting a triumphant smile take over her face. Perfect, all the players are here now.

Casino

Kai walked down the long hallway towards his office. He noticed that his secretary is not sitting at her desk. She's probably on her break right now. With that thought in mind, Kai walked towards his office directly, hoping that the quiet atmosphere can help clear his thoughts a bit.

Once he reached the door, he twisted the door knob and pushed it open.

"Kai."

Kai's eyes widened a bit in surprise and followed the voice. Upon examination, he found one of his problems sitting right in front of him.

"Aeris."

TBC...

Thanks for reading, please R&R.