Hey lovelies. I recently wrote an essay on why I like this couple so much, and why I like them as characters in general. I would've posted a link here but sadly, doesn't allow it, so if you want to check it out it's on my dreamswidth blog under the same username - skycold. Anyways, it got me wondering, what is the fic that got me into this ship? I very vaguely remember a fic called "Snow Bridge", but I don't know the name of the author, and I never managed to find it again. Idk, I just remember reading it so long ago, probably back when I was 13 or 14, so at this point, I doubt it ever existed. If anyone also remembers it or knows where to find it, please let me know, I'll appreciate it :')

Today's songs:

Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All

Avril Lavigne - I Can Do Better

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6 - Awake The Kyoya Within

20th June

After doing yet another uneventful night shift, Hikaru and Kyoya were silently strolling back to the hotel. As far as Hikaru was concerned, both of them resembled zombies with those crescent moons under their eyes, so she was infinitely glad she didn't have any acquaintances here to run into. Birds chirped as early sunshine seeped between the trees and branches, and she was savouring this rare moment of tranquillity that was approaching an unheard-of peaceful hour.

So Kyoya of course had to ruin it.

" The mission is supposed to be carried out on the twenty-eighth, right? "

Hikaru was puzzled as to what was going on in Kyoya's head, how the wheels inside were still working on the subject after this long night. But it was more surprising that after being as grumpy as always, Kyoya not only wanted to double-check on their plan but also did so in broad daylight. The oddity struck Hikaru like a truck, so she took more time to respond. " Yeah. "

" And there's no way to do it sooner? " a drowsy Kyoya pressed further, albeit a bit gentler than his usual grouchy state.

Oh, no. Even with the haze in her mind, Hikaru had a hunch about where this conversation was going. " I don't think so. We still have to improve our skills, the gadgets haven't arrived yet, and most importantly, we haven't found an opening in the security. "

" But if we train everyday, we'll be ready sooner, " he replied curtly, like the valid points she'd just made had flown over his head. Talk about selective hearing.

She squared her jaw and did her best to sound certain in her judgement. " That's unlikely, we need rest days. "

" What we need is to get this over with as quickly as possible. " And the grumpy and demanding Kyoya was back, stopping the walk just to emphasize how adamant he was about this. " 4 pm today at our spot. "

Hikaru blamed the sleep deprivation for the heat that blossomed on her cheeks at the 'our spot' part, because it was indeed their spot, and it was her mind that shouldn't have concerned itself with how it sounded like. She also weighed the benefits and drawbacks of commenting on Kyoya's customary direct orders, his no-nonsense attitude, and his lack of manners. Even so, she slammed into his hard-driven wall of reasoning — the act of simply getting on with it. Kyoya refused to waste time, and he didn't care whether that would leave Hikaru dead tired. " Are you trying to kill me? " She burst. " The day after tomorrow. "

Kyoya let out a large, totally unnecessary put-upon sigh, as if all the world's inconvenience had materialized itself in Hikaru's very particular needs of him at this very moment, and looked at her with an expression she had no idea how to interpret, but at least it didn't look murderous. " Tomorrow. "

" No! " Hikaru whined. " You can't just… " Then she remembered that this was Kyoya, and Kyoya didn't do regular expectations and standards, and he definitely didn't have patience. " You know what? Fine. " Inspired by she didn't know what, Hikaru walked over to Kyoya and poked him in the middle of the chest. " We'll do it tomorrow. "

For an instant, it looked like Kyoya was about to lash out at her, but then the corners of his mouth twitched in a smirk. " That's more like it. You better be in top shape, cause I'll be expecting results."

A harsh, derisive "Ha!" erupted from Hikaru's mouth, and she crossed her arms. " Bite me. "

" Keep the attitude and I just might. " Kyoya sneered back, and strode ahead at his own pace, not bothering to wait for her, as always. " For someone who acts so professional, you could use some anger management. "

You're the one to talk!

Hikaru rolled her eyes heavenward, not hesitating to talk back even for a second. " So says the pot to the kettle. "

It took a much-needed rest and a hot shower for Hikaru to feel quite herself again, but by the afternoon she had caught up on paperwork and done some more stretching for her fatigued muscles; if she and Kyoya were training again tomorrow, she better be in good condition to do so.

There had been one last task she had to do which was fetching their clothes back from the laundry room, as Kyoya'd been the one to turn them in. Hikaru'd slipped out of her room and headed downstairs, overhearing him talking on the phone with Yu, who was assigned to draw up the documents on Kyoya's resignation. Yu'd grown up to be quite the witty and lively teenager, so she knew he loathed handling the dull administrative work and was going to provoke the King of Beasts just for laughs.

But the slow build-up of Hikaru's frustration stopped being so slow when she took out her clothes from the washing machine and realized they were at least two sizes smaller than before. She held her favourite pair of shorts up to her front and clenched her teeth in irritation. A gnome had a better chance of fitting in them than her.

A stifled noise of frustration escaped Hikaru's throat as she took off for their apartment, moments of the previous days flashing in her mind, instances in which Kyoya'd been repeatedly getting on her nerves - his lack of manners, his bossy attitude, always setting his own walking pace, running into a door because of him, having to work extra hard because he was impatient, having to lie to her best friend because he was being secretive, and God, the fact that he'd used her as a shield from a splashing puddle was the last straw.

That's it. I've had it with him!

Within seconds, Hikaru was marching down the hall, a real hell on wheels, swearing as she fumbled for her key. She then burst through Kyoya's bedroom door, finding him sitting on his desk, still speaking with Yu.

Hikaru opened her mouth, obviously raring up for another blazing row, when she thought better of it. She could address this without losing her cool. Weakness in the face of the foe could not be accepted. Hikaru was going to spare him from the yelling, but from a nasty glare, she wasn't. " Have you ever used a washing machine before? "

" 'Course I have," he replied defensively, gladly returning the shitty-stare.

" Oh, so my clothes shrunk on their own, is that it? " she spat through gritted teeth, holding up a couple of apparel that could now be considered a kid's size as evidence.

Kyoya kept his infuriating poker face and rolled his eyes, like he couldn't believe she was making such a fuss over this. " It's just some duds. Get over it. "

Hikaru scoffed incredulously. Kyoya was playing jump rope with her last nerve, and he didn't even know it. No, that wasn't the case, it was more like he couldn't care less about all the discomfort he'd been causing her. " A limited number of 'duds', as you put it." Hikaru started out at full steam, " If someone didn't use me as cover from a splashing puddle, I would've had more! "

When a moment or two passed, and he didn't respond, Hikaru sighed irritably, shook her head and locked eyes with him expectedly. " Well? "

" What? "

" Aren't you going to apologize? " He owed her that much!

" For what? " Kyoya asked, a paragon of innocence. After all these years, it came as no surprise to Hikaru that Kyoya lacked the ability to acknowledge his mistakes and apologize, but that didn't mean she was about to let it slide.

" For being a complete jerk and shrinking my clothes! " she clamoured.

"... Big deal. You're overreacting, " he said, his tone nothing short of dismissive.

He can't be for real!

Hikaru's eye twitched, and she took a deep calming breath, straining every nerve not to fly off the handle. She shot him a pointy look, her voice rising as her fists trembled beneath the weight of her rage. " I'm not overreacting, Kyoya. I have every reason to be upset with you. Your behaviour has been unacceptable, and I can't tolerate it anymore! "

More the fool her, for thinking Kyoya would do anything except coming back punching even harder. With an annoyingly controlled nonchalance, Kyoya tilted his head, one eyebrow slightly raised, and put the final nail in his coffin. " Are you on your period or something? "

For a millisecond, Hikaru's brain went blank, rendering her speechless due to the absurdity of the situation, only to return twice as quickly and make her head superheat. An eerie silence descended over the room, foretelling the storm of the century. Hikaru imagined yanking Kyoya by that stupid ponytail of his and flinging him into oblivion through the window, then jumping through it herself and performing the elbow smash on him, like one of the WWE matches she'd watched once.

The whole altercation played out in front of Yu, who at first was highly entertained by watching the feud unfold and had gotten on the edge of his seat, but now clearly feared he might become a murder witness.

Hikaru's rational side reckoned it wasn't worth going to jail for this. Beating someone up wouldn't look good on her résumé and would definitely prevent her from entering the country's top university. Verbal assault, on the other hand, was a much more acceptable alternative.

" No, I'm not on my damn period! I'm just fed up with your bullshit! When will an insensitive asshole like you ever act considerably and learn to apologize!? " Hikaru finally blew her top, jerking a wide-eyed Kyoya close by the shirt and bearing her teeth. " And if you think I'll put up with your shit any longer, you've got another thing coming, Sunshine! Not. Gonna. Happen. "

Without casting so much as an additional glance at the said asshole again, because his stupid face would only infuriate her even more, Hikaru stormed out of his room, still seething. Before she retrieved to her own room, she managed to overhear Yu's cackle, which was followed by: " Ya know, Yo-yo, you should write a book: How To Offend a Woman in Seven Words or Less. "

21st June

For someone who prided herself on her professionalism and good manners, Hikaru found herself not regretting her earlier outburst even in the slightest. She'd let the inner beast out. She'd gotten Kyoya about it and reckoned it was a result of her prolonged Yoyo exposure. What's more shocking though is that she'd enjoyed it. It'd been like a welcomed breath of fresh air.

That being said, she did get a sense of déjà vu from her first tantrum, now that they were in their usual tree hide, and it was almost two a.m, the night's stillness only seemed to intensify the awkward vibes. But…this time there was no tension. At least on Hikaru's part, since she had finally spoken out, and she didn't strain herself mentally with unsaid words.

As for Kyoya, she couldn't quite tell. Given how he'd handled the situation last time, she expected him to get even once again. Except he didn't appear to want to do so, which considering his personality, was scarily odd. It seemed like the more Hikaru got to know him, the more she realized he was like a crossword puzzle - tricky, complicated, and you're never really sure whether you've got the right answer.

Hikaru's never been a social butterfly. She didn't feel the need to blabber constantly just because she couldn't stand silence. On the contrary, she enjoyed the silence, it helped her stress-racked mind relax. Then again, she never felt wholly comfortable sitting in awkward silences, especially now that her eyelids felt so heavy, and she wasn't supposed to fall asleep. Hikaru had no other option but to break the ice.

" Do you think they're training bladers inside? Like HD Academy? "

Kyoya also seemed to be struggling with staying awake, so that's probably why he responded. " I guess...What kinda testing would it be if the beys weren't really used? "

Hikaru gave a breathy mhm in agreement, looking out at the facilities. " But are they developing only one bey or several? Kinda like a group? "

" Doesn't matter, it's all the same. " was the blunt answer she heard from behind.

" It's not, " Hikaru mumbled, her brows furrowing in a knit-knot." If it's a group, we'll have a harder time since they'll be stronger together. "

Kyoya scoffed. " If they have to rely on each other's strength, they're not really strong. A blader shouldn't have to depend on others, they need to be able to stand on their own. "

Hikaru pursed her lips and shifted a bit in her cross-legged position. " That's partially true, but you can't accomplish everything on your own. Everyone, no matter how strong they are, needs a support system. "

She didn't see Kyoya's face, but she could easily picture him rolling his eyes when he replied cuttingly: " Bullshit. I don't need a group of flunkies to support me in my battles. "

A frown came to Hikaru's face automatically. She was well acquainted with his lone-wolf mindset, but she'd never thought it was this extreme. Normal people would refrain from opposing others with such strong opinions, but because Hikaru was Hikaru and not a normal person, she felt the need to stay true to her nature…especially since she'd been getting very Yoyo about things lately. " Just because you don't need it right now doesn't mean you won't need it at some point later in your life. "

" I won't need it, because I'm strong enough to hold my ground. I fight freely by myself and I don't need anyone." the King of Cats delivered in the cattiest way possible. After a pause, perhaps because he wanted to give more credibility to his statement, he added: " Plus, dependency is unhealthy. "

His remarks were hitting a little too close to home than Hikaru was willing to admit. Perhaps because she'd once had a similar way of thinking. She'd been a solitary person herself till coming to Metal Bey City and meeting Gingka's group. She'd never bothered with bonding with other bladers over the sport as she'd thought that it was unnecessary and a waste of time. Self-sufficiency was her lifestyle and almost until the very end, she'd convinced herself she didn't need anyone to look out for her. That was until Battle Bladers happened.

Hikaru winced at the memory. The whole ordeal had been an eye-opener for many things, but mostly to the fact that people need each other. Those months following the event were one of the darkest points of her life and Hikaru could never imagine getting through them without Madoka and Tsubasa. She could've never coped with the soul-crushing defeat and emptiness when she'd realized she could never beyblade like she used to, when she'd essentially lost her purpose in life if Madoka hadn't given her an ear to listen to and Tsubasa a shoulder to lean on. Because of Madoka's kind-heartedness, Hikaru was able to get back on her feet, and Tsubasa was someone who could relate, who understood what she'd gone through. Having someone to lift your spirit up when life's beating you down is one of the best things you can have.

Hikaru had a feeling what his train of thought was, but she still asked, just to be sure. " You mean in a sense it makes you weak? "

" Yeah. "

Just as I thought, the bluenette mused. More and more, Hikaru understood Kyoya as a person desperate not to get hurt. He might've been stubborn, but he wasn't stupid, and he undoubtedly knew the perks of having a team. But for him, the advantages were outweighed by the possibility of someone damaging him. That's why he was building walls around himself, so others wouldn't get close to him, and so he wouldn't get emotionally attached.

You have no idea what you're missing out.

If someone had told Hikaru one month ago that she'd find herself not only relating to Kyoya, but also trying to help him see the harmful sides of his approach to life, she'd outright laugh her ass off. Yet, that's exactly what she was doing now.

" You see relying on people as a weakness, but it's not. " Hikaru steamed through to the end of her point, " People don't become strong on their own, people who supported us, people who inspired us make us strong. We can show the true strength in ourselves, thanks to those people. " Hikaru turned over her shoulder, so she could see him. " This applies even to you. "

" Come again? " Kyoya bit, a flash of teeth from under his top lip as it lifted in contempt. " I already told you, I've never relied on anyone's support and I won't ever. I've reached this far through my work alone. All this success I owe to myself and nobody else. " Kyoya growled, but his snippy attitude came to a dead-end when Hikaru looked at him in the eyes with utter sincerity.

Hikaru's resolve didn't falter even for a second. " Tell me, Sunshine, who have you been trying to defeat all this time? Who's the one who inspired you to work this hard just to settle the score? "

At that, Kyoya was strangely not ticked off. In fact, Kyoya seemed to mull over the words in his head in a completely, deeply, can't-look-anywhere-else-except-at-Hikaru uncomfortable way, his lips slightly parted and his pointy canine tooth peeking out from under his top lip. Maybe her words did indeed resonate.

Encouraged, Hikaru pressed on: " I'm not saying you owe all these accomplishments to Gingka, but he did play a big part in inspiring you to become stronger. "

In return, Kyoya snapped out of his thoughts and returned to his typical disgruntled state, glaring off to the side, letting out a snide 'tch', as good an admission as Hikaru would ever get.

But for once, Hikaru was satisfied with the answer, because she'd expected it.

Of course, by rule of the universe, when one thing went right for Hikaru, another went wrong. Well, not exactly wrong. Just…a series of painfully strange, unexpected and inexplicable events.

The first particular shocker was when they'd been walking to their spot for training. Oddly enough, Kyoya hadn't gone there earlier, and went with her, not just at the same time, also at the same pace as her. Hikaru reasoned he'd just been tired and that's why he'd been keeping up with her.

The second curveball had come about half an hour into their training, during one of the rounds. Hikaru had tripped and fallen backwards. She had slowly risen to her elbows and was just about to get up, when she looked up to see him, Kyoya freaking Tategami, extending an arm to help her back up. Hikaru had spent a good few seconds gaping at him like an Easter Bunny that had materialized out of nowhere, racking her brain furiously for a rational explanation and coming up empty.

Currently, they were taking a break, sitting under the shade to protect themselves from the searing sun rays. While fanning herself, Hikaru cast a sidelong glance at Kyoya who was drinking water, seizing how to best handle him from now on. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down in a way Hikaru found hard to stop watching.

Hikaru didn't harbour any hopes that a magical lightning had struck Kyoya and caused him to become a kind-hearted, benevolent individual all of a sudden. But there was the tiniest sliver of suspicion coming from the part of her that had watched Kyoya admit he thought of her as someone strong, compromising on decisions important for him and just as recently, help her out.

Hikaru had begun to expect the totally unexpected from Kyoya, yet she was still astonished to find herself half-expecting something like that.

So when he declared, " We need to get serious, " for a second Hikaru wasn't sure what Kyoya thought he was talking about.

Hikaru blinked, breaking through her reverie and awkwardly drawling out " Serious… how? "

Kyoya certainly didn't miss Hikaru's uncomfortable energy – going by the judgemental creasing of his eyebrows – but that didn't mean he was going to acknowledge them.

" Preparing for the mission, obviously, " Kyoya's storm cloud face darkened and for a split second Hikaru's insides flash froze, deeming each outcome as fully valid. Then he told, " What else would I mean? "

" Nothing! " Hikaru wished she could for once think twice before saying something. " What do you have in mind? " she asked with genuine wonder, always open for new suggestions, except for the one that followed.

" Let's do some beyblade training. "

^ Imagine Hikaru with a surprised pikachu face :D