Chapter 18------ Kai's Memory And Pink Phobia
KAI'S POV
"Happy Autumn Festival, Kai." … happy autumn festival… happy autumn festival…
Ano toki… Mai wa waratta… (at tht moment…she smiled…) but… why did I wish she was smiling for me?
Why…?
Do I like her? ………… I must be going crazy... yeah, that's right! It was just the spur of the moment; I didn't know what I was thinking. In the first place, why would I even like a girl who beats me up every time I try to help her?
'Sigh, why must you lie to yourself?'
I'm not lying to myself! Just…thinking... Why do I want to see her smile so much?
And even if…let's say I do like her, I've got my image to protect. Kai Hiwatari isn't some softie. And yet… I do want her to like me… but I don't wanna commit anything… Am I…afraid?
'Afraid of what? Commitment? Rejection? Or afraid that she'll break you?'
Perhaps…afraid of losing everything that I've built myself up to be. I like what I have now, I have no intention of losing it…but I can gain something more…at the risk of losing something that I already posses…
'Life's like that. You can't always keep gaining without having to sacrifice something'
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DON'T LIKE! I'M KAI HIWATARI FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! WHY SHOULD I ADJUST TO THE WORLD WHEN THE WORLD CAN ADJUST TO ME?
'Kai…'
Dranzer, I just… I just don't know… I can't bear to lose anything. I've already lost something precious before… I don't wanna lose something important again… I never want to have to go through what I experienced in Biovolt ever again…
-Flashback-
"AAAAARGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Screams of pain filled the room as Boris cracked another whip against her flesh.
"YAMETTE! ONEGAI! (STOP! PLEASE!)" a small blue-haired boy yelled.
"YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T LISTEN?" The merciless Russian whipped her again, causing her to scream even louder.
"BUT SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! SHE WAS ONLY BANDAGING MY LEG!"
-SLAP- "DID I SAY YOU COULD TALK BACK?" Boris shouted at the kid who fell to the floor. He cracked another go at the helpless girl chained to the wall.
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Tears were streaming down the little girl's face.
"THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO TALK BACK TO ME! NOW DO IT PROPERLY THIS TIME OR SHE GETS IT!"
The young boy picked himself up feebly, staggering a bit as he started running again with heavy iron cuffs clasped around his ankles and wrists. He had to push on no matter how much he felt like fainting, 'It's for Nala's sake…'
Kai ran past the man whom he despised from the bottom of his heart. He just stood there, watching. Was that all he could do? Watch from a distance? He had the power to stop Boris, to save Nala, yet he didn't do a thing; THE BASTARD DIDN'T DO A THING!
"FASTER!" Another scream emitted from Nala. Her voice was now hoarse from all the screaming.
Kai glanced at Nala, seeing her suffer like this was too much…She didn't deserve it … But what could he do? He was only a kid… What could a chibi (small guy) like him do…He couldn't even save her, the least he could do was keep on running…
Every time he slowed down, Boris would whip her. Her screams rang in his ears; it haunted him like a nightmare, a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.
"Aaaarrrrrggghh!" Nala couldn't scream anymore, she was losing her voice. If they kept this up…she'd cough up blood.
"That's enough Boris. I think my grandson has learnt his lesson…" The by-stander spoke.
Boris unchained her and she fell limp onto the floor. Her body and been beaten so badly, the fabric from her shirt had stuck to her wounds.
"NALA!" Kai ran to her but got held back by a vice grip around his arm. He watched as Nala got dragged away…
"Kai… it's not your fault …" She whispered and gave him a weak smile before she disappeared behind door…
"NNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAA!" Kai squirmed to get free and ran to the door.
But it was too late; it had slammed shut and wouldn't open. The little kid slammed his fists on the metal door "Nala! Nala! NAAAAAALLLLLLLLAAAAAA!" The small figure fell to his knees, tears rolled down his cheeks 'It was never your fault…it was mine… subete wa watashi no se da… (everything was my fault …)'
"No need to be sad Kai"
Kai stared at his grandfather as though he had gone mad.
"The girl was breaking you apart. She deserved it; she was stopping you from becoming the best."
His grandfather placed a hand on his head "Everything is for your future Kai…"
-End of flashback-
How long has it been… 12 years? I never saw her again…
'Give yourself time to heal. The scars of the past will eventually fade away, and your mind will fill the spaces with new memories… It's up to you to mend yourself…'
Dranzer… I—
"Earth to Kai? Heeelllloooo? –waves hand in front of Kai's face- KAI!"
-POP!- Kai's thoughts were broken.
"WHAT?" he snapped.
"WILL YA SIGN THE FREAKIN' APPLICATION FORM ALREADY?" Tyson yelled. He sounded irritated, probably because he'd been asking Kai the same question for the past 43 seconds…
Kai looked down at the slip of paper before him:
ASIAN BEYBLADING TOURNAMENT APPLICATION FORM
Name: ...
Date of Birth: ...
Country of residence: ...
Address: ...
Team Name: ...
Rules and Regulations:
1. All Beyblade battles must occur in Beystadium -- Beystadium cannot be on a table or other elevated surfaces
2. To begin official Beyblade battles, Beyblade tops must be launched after the signal of 3,2,1 LET IT RIP!
3. Only one launch per battle -- battle ends when there is only one top left spinning
4. Beybladers in a tournament must have a beyblade to use that ISNT broken, if a beyblade breaks during battle the player must either repair his or her beyblade or forfeit the match
5. Your beyblade must land INSIDE the beystadium when you launch, if it doesn't, your opponent wins
6. No re-launching, you only have one chance for every match
7. Your beyblade doesn't have to be an official store-bought beyblade (this also includes special customized beyblades) but it needs to be able to spin
I, hereby acknowledge the above rules and regulations and agree to claim responsibility or if necessary, forfeit the match if failure to do so should ever happen.
Dickinson
Head of BBA Your signature Date
(blu: ack... the application form's screwed...stupid editing programme of fanfiction!)
Kai quickly scribbled down his information and slid the form across the table to where Tyson sat.
Tyson gathered the forms and handed them over to Mr Dickinson.
"So it's settled then, Mai will be the reserve?" The rosy-cheeked man questioned.
"Uh, yeah. You don't mind right?" Tyson turned to face Mai.
Mai shook her head. She was awfully quiet today. 'I owe them anyway…'
"Well then, I guess this meeting is over." Mr Dickinson stood up from his chair. "If there any questions, please feel free to ask."
"Gotcha Mr D!" Tyson called as the group headed out of the room…
-Tokyo Square-
"Woah! This place is HUGE!" Mariah said as she exited the mini-van.
"Yup. Welcome to Tokyo's ultimate shopping district!" Hilary announced proudly.
Mai stepped out of the van. Although she didn't like shopping that much, she had to admit, the place was impressive.
"Hey, do you guys plan to stay in there forever?" Hilary tapped her foot impatiently.
"YES!" The guys all shouted in defiance.
"You expect US to go out looking like THIS?" Max pointed to his black hair (yes ppl! It's BLACK! WAHAAHHAHHA!).
"It's only a spray on, you can wash it off when we get home. 'Sides, you'll blend in better." Hilary said it like it was no big deal.
"And I suppose wearing THIS helps?" Tyson took off his beanie (its tht woollen hat thingy? blu: . I dun know what it's called….) and waved it in front of Hilary.
"What's worse? That or getting chased by a mob of crazy fan girls?"
'Fan girls…. 0.o!' The guys shuddered.
"Hah! I thought so." The brunette pointed an accusing finger at the guys.
"Come on Rei, we're gonna get you some new clothes." Mariah pulled at Rei's arm, dragging him out of the van.
Eventually, the guys emerged one by one. Mai stifled a laugh. They looked…they looked "AHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHA! You guys look stupid! Ahahahahaha!"
They shot Mai a death glare but she was too caught up in her laughter to notice. "Ahhh— Oh well, it's for your own good." Mai wiped a tear from her eye; she had laughed until she cried.
Max looked and dressed the same except that he now had black hair instead of the usual blonde. The rest of the guys had gotten it much worse:
Tyson had to tuck his hair under a beanie, wear a grey sleeveless shirt and a pair of three-quarter pants which were tattered at the ends. He had a long silver dog tag around his neck and wore flip-flops (sandals). "Why couldn't I just wear normal clothes? I look like a pimp wearing these!" he complained, but got hushed by Hilary.
Rei wore a red jersey, white shorts and a red sweat band on his right wrist. He also had to borrow Tyson's tennis racket to complete the image of some tennis player who had just finished training and decided to come down to Tokyo Square with his girlfriend— Mariah…
Kai looked like a high school drop-out. ( XD! AHAHAHAH!) He had on a short-sleeved white cotton shirt, dark blue pants and a dark blue tie which hung loosely around his collar. His shirt was partially tucked out; he wore glasses and his fringe was sprayed purple (Hilary's idea). 'This sucks…' he thought as he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder.
Lee, well all Lee had to do was cover up more so Mariah handed him a black shirt to replace his black vest. Other than that, he looked the same.
And Kenny, Hilary and Mariah made him ditch the geeky outfit and dressed him in some jeans and a dark brown T-shirt.
"Okay, we'll split into two groups so we can cover more ground. Team one; you'll be made up of Rei, Kai, Lee and Mai. Your commander will be— Mariah!"
"Wait! Why can't it be girls in one group and boys in one group?" Mai protested, receiving "Yeahs!" from the guys.
"Because, we know you guys can't be trusted when it comes to dressing so Mariah and I have decided that in order for you to pick out the right clothes, you need the judgement of someone who isn't a stranger to fashion— US! Hohohohohoho!"
'Oi, maji ka you? (c'mon seriously now?)' The guys all sweat-dropped…
"Ne Ne! Hilary sacho! (commander Hilary) Can I join group two?" Mai gave Hilary a puppy-face. 'MUST MUST join Hilary! Or Mariah will turn me into some stupid pink Barbie!'
"Why?" The leader raised an eyebrow.
Mai hated what she was going to say but she was DESPERATE!
"Datte… (Because…) Hilary ne-chan wa daisuki! ( I love Hilary-ne chan!)" Mai said in her cutest voice and reluctantly hugged her. 'It's just acting, yup…acting… no pink Barbie…no pink Barbie…no MARIAH!' She repeated the thought in her mind to counter how grossed out she was feeling right now.
'Eeekk!' Hilary wasn't expecting THAT to happen, she didn't know how to react, "Ahh…ok?"
"Yatta!" 'YES! Remind me to scrub my mouth later, okay Lev?'
'Hahaha, alright.'
The Zeelan was just about to join Hilary's group when someone grabbed her shirt and pulled her back. "Hey! What's the big idea?"
"You're not going anywhere. Did you forget that this high school drop-out has a SERVANT to carry his bag for him?" Kai smirked.
"Temme… (Why you…)"
Kai stuck out his hand, offering his bag to her. Mai snatched it, still glaring at Kai. 'Only two more days…just two more days and I'll be free …' She reminded herself.
"Ahem!"
Everyone's attention focused on Hilary.
"As I was saying, you guys are completely hopeless at fashion so the both of us have offered to pick the clothes for you."
'Phfft, what offer? No one accepted it…' Mai said in her head.
"Okay, so everyone knows what to do?" The troops nodded their head sadly… "We'll meet back here in 1600 hours! ALRIGHT MEN, MOVE OUT!"
-Fast forward-
"And this and this, ohh look! You can try this on too! It'll go nice with the pair of Levi jeans you bought just now. Oh this too!" Mariah kept piling clothes after clothes after clothes on Rei's arms as she went down the clothes rack.
"Uh..Mariah…it's getting heavy…" The poor neko-jin had his head buried under a pile of clothes.
"Oh, I'm soo sorry Rei. Here, I'll carry these and you can go try the rest on while I pick out some clothes for Kai." She took a pile of clothes off Rei's arms and placed them on Lee's lap. "Here, Lee. Take care of 'em. Thanks!" and she strode off to the other rack. "Hmm… the bad boy image huh…Let's see…"
Mai watched as she glided form one rack to another, to another, then to a corner, then to a shelf to pick out some accessories, next to a mirror to check her reflection, then to a counter to choose some shoes… 'Doesn't she EVER get tired?' she stared in amazement; Mariah was worse than a machine when it came to shopping.
"Is she always like this?"
"Yeah…" Lee replied.
"I pity you…" Mai patted Lee's shoulder.
-To Team 2!-
Max reluctantly emerged from behind the changing curtain…
He was wearing a red leather jacket and underneath, a white shirt that had 'BAD LUCK' written across it. He also wore dark blue jeans and a pair of black converse shoes. A silver chain dangled from his pocket.
"Pffht!" Tyson covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.
Hilary shot Tyson a look which immediately shut him up. "Don't pay attention to what Tyson thinks, you look great Maxie!"
"Uhh..ya think so? I don't really like the shirt…and the jeans…it's not really my style…"
"WHAT? But it totally suits you! The design! The colour! How can you not like it?"
Max looked scared… "But… I like shorts…could I just get some Bermudas or Board shorts instead?" he asked softly.
Hilary let out a sigh. "Fine. Let's go to Fearrow, they have a 20 percent discount on all items!" she dashed out of the store.
"Phew…"
"You got off lucky Max" Tyson elbowed the blonde.
"God is kind" The two of them nodded their heads in agreement.
-Back to Team 1!-
Kai stood there irritated as the rest just stared…
"OH MY GOD KA- -Mai jabbed Mariah- KA-KAGI!"
'KAGI?' Mai stifled a laugh.
"YOU LOOK HOT!" Mariah finished.
Rei gave her a hurt look. "Uh, but not as hot as Rei!" she quickly added, which made Rei feel better.
"You're not supposed to use his real name remember?" Mai hissed in her ear.
"Ehehe, sorry. I forgot…" the pinkette looked apologetic.
"Umm…I mean Raymond, yeah." Mariah looked at the raven-haired boy.
"So KAGI, like the clothes?" Mai stressed on the word 'kagi', which made the others laugh and Kai pissed.
Kai had a beige long-sleeved shirt with a v-neck line. Instead of the usual buttons, the neck-line was held together by black strings which criss-crossed from one end to the other. He also had a black leather strap around his wrist and wore faded jeans.
'Woah… he DOES look good…No wonder girls chase him…' Mai thought as she waited for his answer.
Kai studied himself in the mirror, pulling on the black strings here and there to see if it looked cooler in another arrangement.
"It's not bad…" he said arrogantly.
"Haha, am I good or what?" Mariah praised herself. "Saa, tsugi wa LEE! (So, its Lee's turn!)"
-Fast forward-
"Hurry up Mai!" Mariah called from up front.
"I would be if I didn't have so many BAGS to carry…" She made sure a certain blue-haired boy could hear her.
Mariah sighed and turned around to accidentally bump into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"Oh hey Mariah!" Hilary let Mariah help her up.
"Hey! So how's the shopping going?"
"Great! We've finished buying every ones' clothes. You?"
"Only Mai left."
The girls conversed as their troops sat by the fountain, hunched and exhausted.
"So… whatcha buy?" Tyson glumly asked Rei.
"Stuff... You?" Rei was also glum…
"Me too… Maxie got what he wanted."
"Oh…"
The two boys sighed…
"Don't look so bored guys! The best part has finally come!" Hilary announced.
"Huh? What best part? YOU MEAN THERE'S MORE?" the chief whined.
"OF COURSE! You guys get to see Mai model!"
o.0! Mai jerked. "NANI?" (WHAT?)
Tyson suddenly looked interested. The rest either sighed or were cool with it.
"Yup! Hehehe, Hilary and I are gonna dress you up! Two heads are better than one right?"
Mai got up and started running 'I'm gonna die! It'll be worse than pink Barbie!'
"Hey! She's getting away!" Tyson yelled.
Mai ran as fast as she could. She turned back to see if she had lost them… -CRASH!-
"Itaiii…" Mai rubbed her arm.
"Hey, are you alright?" A policeman stared down at her.
"Uh yeah… I think." She got up and dusted herself off.
"Don't go running about like that next time. It's dangerous."
"Yes sir, sorry." Suddenly! She felt two strong arms grab her shoulders.
"Gotcha!" Tyson and Max grinned.
"Help! Lemme go!" She looked at the officer pleadingly. "Tasukette! (Help me!)"
"Sorry, my friend's a foreigner. Sigh, just because people in her country run around like maniacs, she thinks she can do it in Japan. Please excuse her behaviour." Hilary bowed.
"MANIAC? Just wait Hilary! I'll get you for this!"
"Ohh, haha. That's ok, but please don't let her run about anymore."
"Oh, we won't Officer. We promise" Hilary turned and smiled devilishly at Mai.
"TASUKETTE! You're an Officer! DO YOUR JOB MAN! Help the weak and endangered! Dare mo TASUKETTE! (anyone! Pls help me!)" Mai shouted, arms flailing as the guys dragged her away, gaining stares form passers-by…
"ARE YOU CRAZY? Running away like that… here, try this too." Hilary lectured Mai as they went down the row of clothes.
"Because you were gonna dress me up in some pink crap! I HATE pink!" Mai defended.
"Well then, this is punishment." Hilary handed her a pink roxy top. "Now go change, your audience is waiting." She smiled and pushed the girl into one of the changing rooms…
"Are you done yet?" Mariah knocked on the changing room door.
"No! I look stupid…"
"C'mon let's see!"
-CLICK- Mai unwillingly opened the door and crept outside to face them.
"The top sucks…" she complained.
Hilary brought her to a mirror. "C'mon, you look good! Right guys?"
"YEAH!"
Mai wore a denim skirt with a pink long-sleeved shirt. Over the shirt was a maroon netting and on her feet were a pair of black converse shoes.
Mai groaned. Sensing Mai's disapproval, Hilary chose again. "Here, jeans this time and NO pink."
Mai came out wearing the pair of jeans and a brown t-shirt which had a nice imprint on the corner.
"She looks better in that." Max commented.
"Why can't I choose my own clothes? All of this stuff doesn't suit me…"
"Alright, fine…" Hilary shooed her away, she was getting tired of choosing outfits for this fussy girl.
-Few minutes later-
"Okay, how's this?"
Mai came out wearing an army green tank top, black ¾ cargo-pants, black converse shoes and a black hoody tied around her waist. (yup, Mai loves her black XD!)
"Looks cool!"
"Great…can we go now?" Kai muttered to himself.
"Wait!" Mairan over to a corner of the shop.
"Alright, NOW we can go"she waved a new pair of black gloves in the air…
-At home-
"Aaarrgghhh……I'm never going shopping again…" Mai trudged up to the door.
"Ugh……" The guys droned.
"I GOT FIRST DIBS ON THE BATHROOM!" Max yelled.
"Tadaima." Tyson called out.
"Hey! Welcome back lil' dudes!" Grampa Granger greeted them while brandishing his bokken.
"Oh by the way, someone's here to see ya Tyson."
"Huh? Who?"
"They're waitin' in the living room." Grampa granger pointed in the direction of the living room.
'I wonder who it could be…' Tyson thought as he turned a corner to see…
-PLOP- The shopping bag fell to the floor as Tyson froze at the sight before him.
"It's nice to see you again Tyson…"
WAHAHAAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! Ah, it's been so long since I did cliffhangers. It's a refreshing change, no? Oh, and thanks so much to all who gave ideas. I shall be using some of them in the next chapter! woo! oh yeah, you guys don't mind me chaging them a lil' bit right?
So, how'd you guys like the chapter? I think i 'm going over-board with the humour thing, I'm losing some of the characters personalities... for example Mai...but hey! She can be angsty at times. You'll see that coming up in later later waaayyy later chapters.
Thanks again for all yr support! PLS REVIEW!