To those who reviewed:
SweetKatie97: Yr story is similar to mine? haha, we have a lot in common then! Y don't you post it up? I wanna read it! Oh, and thx for reviewing!
EvilTwinKae: Thx so much for reviewing! And you update your stories really fast! -is amazed- haha, can't wait for chpt 9!
TomTwins13: I'm glad you like it. I didn't think my story was full of suspense, but thx to you, I see a new light! LOL thx again for reviewing, hope you'll enjoy this chpt!
Chapter 9-----Blank memories
Dream-
"Mai, c'mere." A lady waved her hand, urging her little girl to come.
A young Mai ran up and stood beside her mother. "Nani, (what) oka-san?" she cocked her head curiously.
"See there? –points to the wall of reeds in the lake-" she whispered.
"Hmm? There's nothing…what're we looking at?" Mai turned to face her mother, a confused look on her face.
"Haha." Her mother let out a small laugh when she saw her daughter's face. "Shhh, you have to be quiet" She put a finger to her lips and pointed to the cattails by the lake. "Look harder."
Mai's eyes followed the direction of her mother's finger. She crouched low and stared hard. Just then, a faint twinkle of light flickered among the reeds. Mai's eyes widened as more and more lights started to appear and disappear.
"Ahh-" she let out a gasp of fascination. The small lights were dancing about the cattails, flickering in and out.
"They're fireflies" her mother smiled. "Want me to get one for you?
"Mmmm!" the little girl nodded enthusiastically.
Her mother slowly went down to the edge of the lake, a glass bottle in her hand. 'Oka-san looks so pretty …'Mai thought; and indeed she was, Serena looked magical among the shimmering lights as she smiled warmly at her daughter.
Suddenly, something caught Mai's eye, it was a small wavering of orange light. The light grew bigger and it dawned on Mai what it was: the reeds were on fire!
"Oka-san! Be careful!" Mai shouted as she ran towards her mother.
Suddenly the orange light burst into flames, creating a wall of fire between Mai and her mother.
"Ka-san!" Mai screamed as she watched everything go up in flames, the wild laughter of a man echoed through the air.
She spun around to see her grandfather, his eyes were cynical…he just stood there… laughing madly as the fire consumed everything….
"KA-SAN!" her voiced pierced through the night sky…
End of dream-
"Ka-san!" Mai's eyes shot open, she was drenched in cold sweat.
She found herself lying on a hospital bed; tubes stuck to her arm. 'Sou…yume ka? (it was only a dream…)' She sighed and propped herself up. She looked around…she was the only one in the room. 'Hospital again huh…' She tugged at the tubes on her arm, ruffled the bed sheets and got out of bed.
She walked towards the window and pulled open the curtains, allowing the morning light to seep in. The sunrise had painted the sky a beautiful mix of pinks, oranges and yellows. Just then! She remembered something 'Guys!'
She rushed out of the room, racing down the hallway, slipping past nurses and doctors who yelled "Hey! No running in the halls!" after her. She halted at the counter and slammed on the bell which just made a 'chug' sound instead of a 'ching'.
"Coming, coming" A nurse came out of the room, tucking her blonde hair in place. She was just about to ask the girl what she wanted when—
"Have you seen a bunch of kids admitted in here recently?" the girl blurted out, her chest heaving as if she had been running.
The nurse looked as if she had been set to 'pause' mode but quickly regained her senses. "Umm… -flips through some files- Why yes…a big group just came in yester—" but she was interrupted…again.
"What wards are they in?" the girl demanded.
'Impatient girl…'the nurse thought as a vein twitched in her temple. "Wards 65 and 66" she replied quickly, wanting to get rid of her fast so that she could attend to a couple who looked less demanding than this terror…
Mai raced down the corridors, her eyes keeping a lookout for the ward numbers 65 and 66. She found them and stopped in front of ward 65. She slowly opened the door and entered the room.
The room was spacious, with three beds, a full-length sofa and a coffee table. Three figures lay sleeping on the beds. Mai walked up to them and saw that it was Rei, Kai and Max; they were all bandaged up, sleeping soundly.
'Guys……This is all my fault…if I hadn't dragged all of you into this mess, you guys wouldn't be hurt…' Mai felt guilty as she stood by Rei's bed side. She turned to leave but felt a hand tug at her clothes.
"Rei! You're awake!"
"And I see you're alive" Rei replied. 'Yokatta…(thank goodness)' he thought; seeing Mai alive really comforted him.
"How's your arm?" Mai spoke softly…feeling responsible for Rei getting slashed.
"Haha, its fine now." Rei looked up to see Mai's facial expression change from relief to sadness. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing…it's just that…it's my fault you guys got hurt…" Mai replied bitterly as she stared at the floor.
'Her fault huh…' Kai thought as he listened to the conversation. His eyes were closed; he didn't want them to know he was awake…especially not after what happened with Mai. What if she remembered? Would she question him about it?
"It's not your fault… We just got careless that's all, so don't take it all out on yourself ok? You should be thankful that all of us are still alive, especially you."
"Me? But I didn't do anything." Mai said. 'Did I do anything?' she wondered.
"You used up a lot of energy fighting off those guys that you fainted."
"Huh? I don't remember fighting off anyone, just stomping on this one guy's neck." Mai answered. She cocked an eyebrow which told Rei that she had no idea what he was talking about.
"You don't remember? You changed into this… this thing and shot fire at the men." Rei was trying his best to trigger her memory of the incident.
"I shot fire? Since when am I able to do that? You sure you're ok Rei?" she looked at him suspiciously.
'She doesn't remember?' Kai was hopeful that she would forget the kiss……but couldn't help feeling disappointed that she would… (Hmmm…wonder why? –smirks-)
"You really dun remember? Your voice changing? Kai kissing you?"
Kai cringed at the sound of the 'k' word…
"KAI DID WHAT?" Mai thought her ears were deceiving her but she couldn't help blushing.
"Hey…what's with all the noise…?" Max lazily opened his eyes.
'Phew…Remind me to be nice to Max today, Dranzer.' Kai rejoiced in his mind, happy that he didn't have to listen to Rei retell the unfortunate accident.
"Hey, Max" Rei gave a small wave.
"O-haiyou (good morning)" Mai nodded at Max, not daring to look him in the eye.
"Aaaarghhhh" Max yawned. "So what's all the chatter about?" he asked while rubbing his eyes.
"Errr...nothing. ehehe…" Mai forced a weak smile. "I'll go check on the others." With that she zipped out of the room.
"Hmmm? What's with her?" Max pointed to Mai's already-gone figure. Rei just shrugged in response…
'Kai kissed me? ….NO NO NONONONONONONO WAY IN HELL WOULD HE EVER DO THAT!' Mai repeated the thought in her mind as she opened the door of ward 66.
Loud snoring filled the room. 'Tyson…' Mai rolled her eyes. She wasn't surprised to see Hilary and Kenny awake. I mean, who could sleep through all that snoring?
"You guys okay?" She peeked through the curtains separating the three beds, as if seeking permission to enter.
"Yeah…you?" Hilary looked like she didn't get enough sleep; the reason was obvious…
"Ok…" Mai nodded her head in a so-so kinda manner as she slipped past the curtains. "How's your umm…neck" Mai hesitated…wondering if she should bring up such a terrifying memory.
"Only a bruise" Hilary touched the red mark on her neck. "Thanks…for saving me…" her hands fumbled with the sheets.
"Huh? Oh…no prob…" Mai decided to play along even though she didn't have any memory of having done so; denying it would only lead to more questions. "Watcha doin' Kenny?" Mai noticed that he had been typing on his laptop for quite some time now.
"I'm replaying the footage of you yesterday" he said without looking up, too engrossed in his computer.
"Lemme see that" Mai took the laptop from him and stood between Kenny and Hilary so that both of them could watch.
She pressed the play button and the image of her filled the screen…Well not exactly her…this girl was slightly different. Mai saw that she had an aura around her and her eyes had changed colour. The girl attacked the men using some technique; probably wind since the leaves rustled in the background, which ripped their clothes and weapons. 'That was me?' Mai couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then the screen went all blurry and the video stopped playing.
Dizzi: Chief, I've analyzed the power levels around Mai and boy are they high. They're practically off the charts! Even stronger than any bit-beast that I've recorded so far.
"Hmm, I wonder…" Kenny rubbed his chin. He was about to say something when a knock was heard and a nurse entered the room pushing a cart. She dished out three trays of food and placed them on the tables. (ya know, the ones that allow you to have your meal while you lay in bed?) "Enjoy your meal" the lady gave a smile and exited the room.
Tyson immediately woke up to the smell of food. "Alright! Breakfast!" He was chowing down on a sandwich when he noticed Mai; the three of them looked at him with narrowed eyes. (like this : -.- )
"Oh hey Mai! You're not eating?" Tyson looked at her with a strange look.
"I'd better go…we'll talk after breakfast…meet in ward 65 at 10 ok?" Mai finished and left the room…
Ward 65, 10a.m-
The door clicked open and three figures walked in, completely oblivious to the four pairs of eyes watching them.
"Tyson! What're you guys doing here?" Max was back to his usual cheery self and was glad to have company around.
"Dunno…" he shrugged. "Mai told us to come." He took a seat next to Mai while the others made themselves comfortable. Everyone looked at Mai, expecting an explanation.
"Well…I figured we had some things to talk about…like what happened yesterday…? You guys keep telling me stuff I don't remember happening…" Mai felt uneasy as she spoke...
Flashback-
"You changed into this… this thing and shot fire at the men."
… she had an aura around her and her eyes had changed colour. The girl attacked the men using some technique; probably wind since the leaves rustled in the background, which ripped their clothes and weapons….
End of flashback-
What were they telling her? She just felt so messed up…
Everyone was silent…they didn't know how to put it…or they just didn't wanna remember the incident…
"So you really dun remember a thing? Rei broke the silence.
Mai shook her head. "I only remember Hilary in danger and a burning feeling in my throat…then everything sorta went blank…"
"But you getting possessed like that isn't normal…your voice changed…you called us humans…" Rei looked deep in thought.
"Maybe it has somethin' to do with Eden's soul? Maybe it awakened." Hilary pointed out.
"I agree with Hilary, there is a possibility that Eden's soul could've taken over your body …if that's the case…then that makes you able to exercise Eden's power." Chief looked at Mai with astonishment written all over his face. 'This girl…she looks so ordinary…yet she holds this amazing power within her…who knows what she could do with it…'he thought.
Mai listened to all of this very intently; she didn't know what really happened but everything they said was starting to make sense. She felt special that such a power was entrusted upon her, but at the same time felt unsure of what to do with it…Could she really handle the power? What if she couldn't control it?
Then, a thought struck her! 'What if people know about this? What if grandfather knew! Is this why he wanted me? To obtain this power?' This scared her and she immediately erased the thought from her mind…even though she knew that it could be true.
"Man, being able to control Eden's power sure is awesome" Max's face lit up.
"Yeah…" Mai lied. She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry upon hearing this remark; he didn't even know half what she was going through…
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Tyson ran to open it, revealing a plump man dressed in a brown suit wearing a bowler hat.
"Mr Dickinson! What brings you here?" Tyson was shocked to see the familiar face standing at the door.
'Mr Dickinson?' Mai cocked her head to see who this stranger was.
"I came as soon as I heard the news that you boys had been badly hurt" Mr Dickinson rushed into the room. "Are you all alright?" he turned to face everyone in the room.
"We're fine Mr Dickinson" Rei gave a cheery smile to convince him, and it did.
"Oh thank goodness" He took off his hat and was about to place it on the coffee table when a hand rushed to remove her glass of water. He looked up to see that a girl had done it. "Well now, who is this?"
'Well now, who is this?' Mai repeated the words in a mocking tone in her head, she felt as though she was being treated like a child…
"Her name's Mai, she's the one who saved us" Hilary informed.
'Damn you Hilary! Why'd cha have to tell him that?' Mai shot a glare at Hilary.
"Oh, then I should thank you for saving them" Mr Dickinson held out hand, his face had a friendly smile on it. Mai gave a small nod and returned the handshake out of respect.
She expected a wave of questions to be thrown at her after that but to her surprise, it never came.
"Hey umm Mr Dickinson… would it be ok if Mai joined the team?" Tyson questioned, earning a surprised look form Mai.
"I'm not so sure about that, Tyson. Five members is quite a large number…Usually the BBA only allows a maximum of four members on a team." Mr Dickinson replied.
"Please Mr Dickinson? She doesn't have anywhere to go 'coz her parents died…and she's a really good blader!" Hilary persuaded.
'You guys…what're you trying to do…' but Mai knew exactly what they were doing, she was touched but was trying to deny it.
"Well…it's up to Kai. He's the captain." The jolly man answered. Everyone turned to look at Kai.
"It depends…how good is she?" Kai replied coldly.
"Kai!" Hilary objected.
"I won't accept losers on my team" he said.
'Loser? Why you….' Mai glared at Kai.
"I'll battle her" Max offered as he got out of bed. "You agreed remember? He turned to face Mai.
"Uh yeah, whatever you want." She said.
Kai opened his mouth to object when...
Dranzer: Kai, remember you're suppose to be nice to Max today...
Kai: Fine...
'Max has a defensive bit-beast and a huge amount of will power, he could beat her' he thought.
"So, where will we hold the match?" Max was so excited you could see him bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"At the Sheng-Li (means victory in Chinese) Beystadium in three days time…you need time to recover, it wouldn't be fair if we battle now." Mai said.
"Then it's settled then." Mr Dickinson clapped his hands together. "Max and Mai will battle at 3pm at the Sheng-Li Beystadium on Friday."
'Uh…since when did we settle the time?' Mai had a weak smile on her face, but seeing that Max had no problem with it, she decided to let it pass.
"Well, I better get going. I'll leave you kids to your business. See you on Friday." With that, he headed out the door.
Mai was just about to follow him when she heard Max "Hey Mai, train hard 'coz I'm not gonna go easy on ya!" He said playfully.
Mai stopped; she had her back turned so the rest couldn't see the smirk that played on her lips. "Who said I didn't want you to?" was the answer she gave before she walked out of the room…
See? As promised, the more ppl review, the more blu's chapters get longer. Hope you guys liked this one, I know its a bit mundane...reflections and memories and all but the next one will be better, coz its battle time! PLS REVIEW! THX!
blu: sigh..what to write for battle scene...
Kai: hmph...i hope you lose...
blu: Who asked you! You pervert!
Kai: Hey, Tyson pushed you, t'was an accident!
blu: PERVERT! -runs after Kai throwing a volley of daggers at him-