Sapphire Vixen
--By SunFireVixen--
Aquamarine: Hello!
Vixen says hi and goodnight. She misses every single one of you, and she thanks everyone who reviewed for the previous chapter.
Emerald: Bite me.
Aquamarine: -sigh- Anyways, on with the story.
---
Chapter 32: Pain
Kai immediately stood up, backing away from Ruby.
Her eyes lowered, becoming sad. She knew this would happen-
"You don't trust me." Kai murmured. He glared down at Ruby.
She looked down and fumbled with the hem of her dress. "I can't say I don't."
Kai sighed and scowled.
"But please, Hiwatari-san, Sapphire and I have been through a lot. I can't say that I regret marrying Konnosuke-kun, because I still love him, even though…he did hurt me."
Kai turned his stare towards the ground.
"And Sapphire, I believe she has gotten over Night-san, because she knows that he just used her for his own purposes. He did not love her- well, at one point, he did- but he decided to ignore it, and instead, had more desire in her power than her. Do you understand what I am trying to say?"
Kai did not understand at all what she had just told him fit into the point that she did not trust him. Ruby sighed.
"What Sapphire feels for you is much more than what she felt with Night-san. However, he felt nothing. However, she still feels sadness that Night-san did not love her at all. That's why the scar still remains on her back."
Kai's eyes widened. He could still remember the deep scar and the pink around the wound on her pale, porcelain-like skin. He closed her eyes and bit his lower lip.
"She thinks that the scar remains because Night-san was her master and he does not wish it gone yet. That is not true." Ruby stopped for a moment before going on. "If indeed she does love you, the only way to know is to see the wound."
"Why?"
"If the wound slowly starts to disappear, then she does love you. It means that she trusts you with all of her heart.
"And…If it's not?"
"Then she is either faking her feelings and she doesn't really trust you."
Kai nodded. "How can I see the wound?"
Ruby smiled. "It's up to you. I cannot stand in your way any longer... Meaning- I can't give you anymore advice or visit you in your dreams anymore."
Ruby smiled up at him. "Goodbye, Kai. Take…good care of my daughter…"
He smiled and nodded.
---
As Sapphire stepped into the bath her maids had prepared before she awoke, she yawned. After a while, Sapphire stepped out, and covering herself with one of the white towels nearby, she went back into her bedroom.
She turned her attention to the door, and after making sure it was locked, she changed into her usual black skirt and black blouse. As she pulled her black stocking on one of her legs, she heard a knock on the door.
She recognized the footsteps as Kai's and immediately stood up, with only one sock on, and opened the door. He smiled at her amusing appearance.
"Have your ankles healed?" Kai asked, taking her small and soft hand in his. She nodded.
Her long hair down and wet, stuck to her body and so did the black skirt and the blouse. The long sock on her leg was pulled half way up. She smiled back.
She closed the door, and then led him to her chair near her dresser and mirror. She sat and pulled her sock up to mid-thigh, and did the same with the other one. She brushed her hair, and Kai stared back at her in the mirror.
He smiled. She noticed, and smiled back. She turned to him.
"Why are you so happy?" she questioned, quickly tying her hair with a black lace. She left strands of her silver-gold hair untied, and they moved to the sides of her face.
Kai shook his head. He was thinking of how to see her scar without telling her. The idea of offering to her to take a bath with him was amusing; he could not hold it in.
"It's just that you look much more beautiful than before." Kai said, the image in his head of Sapphire throwing him one of her black shoes at his face vanishing.
Sapphire turned back to her mirror, and started to brush her ponytail.
Kai stepped closer, and stopped her from brushing her hair. He untied her hair, pushed her hair away, and bent down to kiss her neck. Her eyes widened for a moment, and then she smiled.
He then stopped, and took the brush from her hand. Sapphire stared up at him for a moment, and then turned her stare at the mirror. He slowly started to brush at her hair.
She smiled when he finished, and then she gave him lace for him to use to tie her hair. He frowned at the lace she gave him.
He liked her hair down better than her hair tied. Kai took the ribbon hesitantly, but tied her soft silver-gold hair in a ponytail once again. She stood to put on her black shoes, but he gently pushed her back down. She stared up at him surprised.
Kai bent down and took the shoes and she slipped her small feet in. He put his hands on the armrests, cornering her in the chair she sat. He bent down for a kiss, but she had sunk in the chair, and she giggled.
He frowned, and pulled her to her feet. He kissed her gently, and when he started to bite her lower lip, they heard a knock on the door. They pulled away from the kiss, and stared at the door.
Kai fixed himself, and Sapphire allowed the visitor to come in. A maid with short dark black hair opened the door, and bowed to Sapphire and Kai.
"Mistress Sapphire and Master Kai," said the maid, standing up straight. Kai's eyebrow rose.
"A friend of yours was waiting at the door. He goes by the name of-" she stopped, and looked at the card she held in her hand. "-Kenny. He told me to tell you that- 'the rest are waiting at the park.'"
"Is he still there?" Sapphire asked, and the maid shook her head.
"No, Mistress. He seemed to be in a hurry, so he left me only that message to give you."
"Alright… Thank you. You are excused." Sapphire said, tightening the ribbon tying her hair. The maid bowed to both Sapphire and Kai, left, closing the door.
She turned to Kai, smiling. "Let's go."
Kai nodded and opened the door for Sapphire. After they went down the stairs, they met Emerald and Aquamarine at the bottom. They looked up, Emerald's arms crossed and glaring at Sapphire.
"Kai and I are going to the park," Sapphire said, "You want to come?" She turned to Aquamarine too.
Emerald shook her head and smirked. "I don't want to ruin your date with your stupid boyfriend."
Translation: "I don't want people to see me. Even if we said we were triplets, you idiot."
Sapphire glared at her, but nodded. Kai crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Emerald. She stuck her tongue out at them.
Aquamarine rolled her eyes. "We'll be staying here. I have no desire to be out there."
Translation: "I don't want to be seen as a clone in front of a bunch of people, Sapphire. Try to be a little more thoughtful."
Sapphire stared sadly at them. "Okay."
Then they stepped outside, and started walking towards the park.
On the way, Sapphire asked, "Kai, how old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"I'm fourteen! I'll be fifteen this September, though."
Kai stared down at Sapphire's smiling face. "When?"
"September 15th. When's your birthday?"
"…"
"Come on, Kai! Tell me!"
"I... don't have one."
Sapphire pouted. "Tell me!"
Kai stared down at her cute face; irritated eyes, cute frown-
"Kai! Please! Tell me..." she tugged at his scarf.
"There's... Tyson... We're... here..." Kai said in between shakes Sapphire was doing to him, by pulling at his scarf ends. She stopped and turned to them, who stared back, puzzled. She smiled, and ran over to them.
"Hi everybody," Sapphire said happily, waving. Kai appeared at her side. They all smiled and waved back. "So, what are we doing here?"
"Tyson made this small training school here. He's right over there, being challenged by a bunch of little kids," Hilary said happily.
Kenny fixed his glasses and looked over at Tyson and the children. "And by the looks of it, being... oh- my..."
"TYSON!" Max yelled, and ran over. The little kids had fought over who should battle him first, and in the process, had started to crawl over him.
The fighting children muffled Tyson's yells for help. Max quickly helped him up, and panting heavily, clothes torn, hat tilted to the side, they ran over to the rest.
Hilary and Sapphire leaned against each other, laughing. Tyson glared at them fixing his hat.
"It's not funny being beaten up." Tyson muttered, fixing his hat.
"It is when the bullies are small children!" both giggling girls said. Kai smirked.
"That's low Tyson... even for you," Kai muttered, his arms crossed across his chest.
Tyson turned to glare at him too. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kai simply smirked and walked away, ignoring the immature navy-blue haired boy behind him. Tyson, his face beet-red, angrily sat on the bench the girls sat. Hilary patted his back and smiled. Tyson ignored her, fuming.
"Maybe we should try opening your training school later... in a while," Sapphire suggested.
"Yeah, when the kids settle down," Hilary added, and stared at the children walking away. Sapphire stared at the beyblade bowl, then at the sign above it.
The sign said 'Sekai ichi no Beyblader Granger Tyson-sensei no Beyblade Kyouiku'.
Sapphire laughed. "Number one Beyblader in the World... Teacher Tyson Granger's Beyblade training…?"
Hilary glared at the boy that sat next to her, who gave a toothy grin. She rolled her eyes. "What an ego..." Hilary muttered, her head in her hands, elbows resting on her knees. She stared bored, at the floor.
Then she looked up at Sapphire. Sapphire smiled at her. "How... I thought... Sapphire, I thought you did not know how to speak Japanese. How can you read it?"
"I've been taking lessons from a tutor Riza assigned me a few days ago. She says that I need to learn the language if I'm going to keep living here," Sapphire replied. Then she smiled with amusement. "And anyways, Tyson... he did get pummeled by toddlers, so serves him right," Sapphire added, patting Hilary's shoulder. Hilary smirked.
Tyson gave her a glare that Sapphire, too happy, did not notice.
---
The wind blew softly against the blade of grass that stuck out of Kai's mouth. His eyes closed, he enjoyed the soft caress of the cool air that blew at his forehead. His dark slate-blue hair was ruffled.
His head rested under the bundle of his white scarf. He opened his eyes halfway, and stared at the light blue sky above him. He spotted the barely visible half-moon.
The clouds moved slowly, pushed roughly by the weak wind. Kai glanced at his team and at Sapphire, smiling cutely. Tyson muttered something, and Sapphire stopped smiling and bonked him on the head. Tyson whined and rubbed his head, putting his hat back on. Kenny, Max, and Hilary laughed at this.
He gazed down at Sapphire's mad face. Her big, irritated, sapphire-blue eyes and cute frown… She said something to Tyson, froze, and then glared at Sapphire. She crossed her arms, and closed her eyes. She stuck her tongue out at him for a second, and turned around, her back facing him.
Tyson shoulders slumped, and he gave a long sigh. Sapphire placed her head in her hands, and her elbows on her knees. She gazed at the trees sadly. He sat up, and he could clearly see that she was on the edge of bursting into tears.
For some strange reason, he had an urge to punch Tyson with all his strength.
Max then said something, and she quickly turned around. She smiled cutely at him. Max ran off, Sapphire close behind him.
Tyson then muttered something to Hilary, and she smiled at him, nodding. Tyson then ran off also.
The blade of grass still in his mouth, Kai stood up. He took it out, and stared down the hill he was, and then towards the direction they had ran off.
The ice cream truck.
He sat back down, and slowly put the blade of grass back into his mouth. After a while, Sapphire and the rest came back. Tyson came back with two cones. Sapphire came back with three. She smiled happily as she walked back to them.
She looked up at Kai, who now had laid back into the grass. She climbed up to the place he laid, and licked at one of the vanilla-flavored cones.
"Here Kai!" Sapphire offered to Kai. Kai opened one of his eyes, and switched from the cone to her happy face.
He remembered clearly the last time she had offered him something sweet…
-and it didn't end as he wanted. He hesitated at first, but accepted it, and took out the blade of grass out of his mouth. Sapphire's blue eyes widened.
'Didn't think he would actually accept it... I would have shoved it down his throat anyway,' she thought happily, as she licked on one of her cones.
Tyson, below, gave the other cone he carried to Hilary. She smiled at him, and congratulated him on walking ten feet without eating her ice cream. Tyson frowned. Sapphire smiled at their bickering. Max happily licked his own beside them in ignorance.
Kai munched on the cone. Sapphire ate one of her cones, and started on the other. She held the cone in her small hands, and licked happily.
Max and Tyson finished, and had begun a battle. The clashes of two blades grinding against each other were heard. Kenny recorded the battle, and analyzed. Hilary was licking her ice cream, which seemed to be melting slowly.
Max smiled cutely as Dragoon slowly stopped spinning and toppled.
---
The rest of the week dragged itself to the weekend, and continued on to the next. They spent most of the time at the park, talking and simply enjoying the breeze.
The heat had started to cool down as the next season introduced itself slowly. Leaves were piled up around trees, and the birds were barely seen during the week.
Sapphire was having difficulties with her Japanese lessons when she came up to speaking the language. Hilary, Tyson and Kenny laughed at her odd accent. Sapphire simply smiled and shrugged.
Kai became more solitary, and he always wished to be alone. It seemed that he was going to drift away into the sea loneliness. Sapphire was the usual one who could snap him back into reality. However, Tyson began to bicker with Hilary more often. Though they still seemed to be together at times.
Kenny started to work on new blades for the team. He spent more time with Dizzi, and modified blades all day, and sometimes stayed up until morning.
Sapphire sighed as she held the thin brush in her small hand.
"Come on, Kinmoyo. I know you can do it," Sapphire's tutor said, taking her hand in hers and making an elegant black line on the paper.
"I can speak and read it already. I don't need to write!" Sapphire pointed out in Japanese, making another stroke.
"Kanji is important also, Kinmoyo. There will be a time when you encounter a person who cannot hear. Now continue."
"Alright…" Sapphire said, making another stroke.
When Sapphire finished, her tutor, Memamoto-sensei, a thin woman with light brown hair and thin glasses took the sheet. She smiled and nodded approvingly.
"You are doing better, Kinmoyo. I shall see you next week."
Sapphire stood up and bowed. "Hai, sensei…"
Riza then entered the room. She bowed to both the teacher and Sapphire, and led the tutor to the door. Sapphire sighed, and sat back in her chair and slumped.
She had been assigned extra hours of Japanese lessons. Sapphire felt exhausted.
In a week, she would be turning back into a firefox, and every morning she felt like she was in a very bad hangover. Her body is alcohol- and drug-free, by the way.
Sapphire slumped back to her room. She was not paying much attention, and crashed into the bedroom door. The pain added to what she already had.
She smiled when her eyes darted to her bed.
'A nap would be nice…'
She immediately collapsed into her bed when she made contact. She felt so much pain throughout her small and fragile body. Her eyelids became heavy, and she closed them without hesitation. Her eyes refused to open, but no sleep claimed her. She felt paralyzed, unable to move, and the light through the window was annoying through her thin eyelids.
She remained there for a while, only seeing a bright orange-red. She felt dizzy when she was able to sit up. Her eyes halfway open; she looked at the door across her bed. It seemed so far away, and her eyes would zoom in and out. She squinted, and saw a figure open the door.
She could barely make out the person, and then more figures appeared behind the first. She could see a blurry bright yellow. Her eyes almost closed, and her head tilted to the side, she put one of her hands on her forehead.
Unbearable pain... and she bit her tongue...
"Sapphire- Are you okay?" Hilary asked, leaning towards the silver-gold haired girl. The rest surrounded her, but Sapphire said nothing, and she buried her face into her hands. They stared at each other nervously.
Kai took her hands away from her face, and Sapphire slowly opened her eyes halfway. Her mouth was partly open, and they could see very small fangs and drops of blood.
They gasped as she fell back. She moaned, and clutched one of the white pillows next to her head. Hilary sat on the bed, and put a hand on Sapphire's forehead.
"She's burning up!" Hilary exclaimed, as Sapphire made hole in the pillow she held. Her fingernails started to grow sharp, and they slowly faded and turned black.
"Riza... get... Ri...sah..." Sapphire said, her face flushed and panting heavily, and her eyes started to change color to amber. Hilary quickly ran out of the room, Tyson at her heels.
Sapphire's claw-like fingernails pulled apart the pillow, and the white feathers inside fell out. Her eye-color changed to black, then slowly back at silver, and finally stopped at her normal sapphire-blue.
A few minutes later of pillow shredding, Riza ran into the room, with a glass of water. She sat next to Sapphire, she sat her up, and she opened her eyes to reveal a forest-green color. Sapphire drank the water with a pill Riza gave her, and her fangs started disappear.
Her eyes still green, she leaned back to the pillows, and fell asleep once she made contact with the pillow, a thick blush on her pale face.
Riza stood up, and gave a relieved sigh. "She'll be asleep for a few hours."
Hilary stared worriedly at Sapphire, sleeping calmly. "What happened? Why-"
"Her time to turn back will be soon. Since she is only half, she suffers pain and unusual transformations before she turns back. She will have to be in bed until she turns. Now, she needs to rest. You may come tomorrow to visit her if you like."
Even Riza looked exhausted. There were shadows under her eyes, and her face seemed a little older than before.
She followed them to the door, and closed the door as they stepped outside. Riza dragged herself to her own room.