Kai turned around to see her standing right in front of him. The flashlight which he held onto amid of darkness, now flashed over her body like a spotlight. She squinted her eyes away from the torch. But he couldn't remove his eyes from her. His eye wanted more than something to look away from the girl, but unfortunately, his body wouldn't listen to his commands. It was an unnatural feeling.

His eyes dragged over her body as if capturing it in his heart forever. This sense was unreal. It was so mythical that his mind was more confused by his reaction. The girl who stood displayed the efficient aura of beauty that he felt consistently mesmerized by her. Her femme fatale wasn't something which could be seen by everyone but she shone from the inside. Her face glowed under the light. She wore a simple tank top on the top with a harnessed pant giving out her toned body shape. Her hair put up in a highly complex braid made her small face show off even more. Sometimes he wondered how come strands of hair could turn this complicated. She dressed in black like usual, making her purple hair ends to stand out even more around her. Her aura seemed so hostile but people close to her would say otherwise. A hostile person would have given up on him ages ago. She was consistent with her wish to help him out throughout her life. He couldn't even figure out, however far he would run away she was always beside him during hardships. She might not be the protagonist. She would surely take the place of the silent helper.

"What are you doing here?" he inquired Katyusha.

"I got lost-" She admitted. She was so open about her mistakes.

"-and landed over here?" he wasn't ready to accept something like fate very easily. Few of the many things which both of them shared in common.

She raised her hand in defence, "I seriously didn't mean to come here. It sometimes feels like this place attracts my subconscious mind if it makes sense."

She tried hard explaining why she always ended up here once in a while. He didn't mind it though. It was a place where both of them shared bittersweet memories. Bitter mostly but that never stopped either of them from visiting it. It was the first place where he had realized his need for Beyblade. His will was vigorous than ever during those times when his grandfather would use the power of the sacred bit beats for an ill-fated reason. Not until recently did he find his unknown affection towards Beyblade. Not until recently did he realize that his love for Beyblade wasn't limited to his will for vengeance. His team taught him that. The team he kept on deceiving. This girl taught him that. And he couldn't have been more thankful about the same. His team had made him grow in the ways which were more methodical for him. Giving space and helping him go through the pain to rise was what made him himself. He couldn't even imagine the feeling they must have felt when he would move to the darker side. All the friendship, trust and reliability destroyed by one decision.

Katyusha had stopped midway and was now ogling at him like a lost child.

"What?" he asked, which eventually brought her back to life.

"How did you find me?" she still looked a bit suspicious.

"Just how you always seem to stalk me every time I want to stay away from you lot of kids." He stated. She rolled her eye.

"I was talking about the location. I highly doubt I let anyone ever my address. As for your kind information, half of the time one of us leaves you alone, you end up fall into trouble."

"I never fall into a problem which might interest your like's at least."

"That's not up to you to decide, Hiwatari. Let me take care of that."

"So you can't either question your team to come looking for you either."

She looked away. He had wanted to ask her the reason for a quite long time. There were times, more than usual, that she would completely lose the surrounding around her. She looked as if she was residing in a different parallel world. It highly seemed to disturb the other player around her. she had lost confidence in the blading. It didn't seem like her at all. Suddenly, she couldn't be found around Tyson's grandfather's place. She disappeared just like that. Without warning. Nothing left behind.

"I had unfinished work." That was all for an answer. He wasn't expecting much either. He knew that this girl wasn't she what she looked like. He had all along. And she knows that too.

"You aren't the runaway type, Katyusha. It wasn't like you." He practically snorted. He sounded even halfway concerned. How could he question Katyusha when he hadn't been feeling natural recently. It felt like the emotions were going out of his control.

"Nothing is like me right now." She still didn't meet his eyes. She didn't look up against him. The person who always stood head to head with him had her head bowed lowly today. What kind of mishappen might have made this kind of phenomenon happen? Something was off. He didn't push her furthermore. He had more concerning thoughts on his mind. His stomach had been growling for the whole day now. He hadn't dared to touch food made by Hilary the days before.

"Does your house have something to eat? Or are the guest going to starve?" he walked past her. Understanding her character, she would, without hesitation advance in front of him. And she did. Her eyes seem to catch the glow now.

"Damn. I forgot why I came out in first place. I had to get something for dinner." She complained while crossing over to the stairs.

"Eating has never been your priority, though." He reminded her.

She turned back in surprise. Kai had to take steps back due to the sudden turn. "Wow, Hiwatari. You have been memorizing things for my sake now."

It was now his turn to look away. Girls like her got on his nerves.

"People who don't remember themselves can't help but look pitiful." He rejected her instantly. He wasn't ready to deal with this mess already. She just walked off with a very smug smirk on her face. He genuinely wished that he could somehow pull that smirk off her face. So frustrating.

He followed behind her, her pace just quite. Katyusha could have been easily mistaken for shadow, with her very light stepping and stillness. It wasn't a standard kind of shadowing. It was abnormal at times. She seemingly floated across the floor, towards the doorway. Her hair swung like a pendulum. God, his observation skill has sharpened a lot these days. He sighed

Katyusha had already reached the door by now. The door swung open. He could see the stairs directly in front of him. Katyusha stood by the door, not even giving him a glance. Ignoring him. Things haven't always been comfortable between them for years. But since some years ago, at least they didn't avoid each other. Looks like they started it again, but this time it was the girl who aided him who has become confined.

Before he knew he had collided with the door at the entrance. He jerked back in agony, his eyes burning due to the collision. The door had hit him in his eyes. Katyusha was there in an instance, removing his hand from his eye. His mate held his hand steadily even after everything was normal. Her warmth could demolish the partial winter. Her hands warm against his cold covering made him realize just how freezing his body has been. Growing up in Russia had practically made him immune to freezing temperature. But after feeling her heat, he had to rethink about his immunity. Her hands remained intertwined with his long after the situation calmed down.

"I'm fine." He confirmed her. She didn't seem to listen to what he was saying. Her full focus was wrapped around his hand, which stood out in front of hers. Her small palm barely covered half of his hand. It was surprisingly adorable. He suppressed the surfacing smile. He tried pulling his hand. It only caused him to come closer. Now she looked up, alert. She broke herself away from him.

"Let's go before it's too late." She said, turning away from him. He fell into her pace easily. She had a fast pace. That didn't stop his long strands from catching up. The sky outside the mayor has turned crimson red, the sun giving out the last beam of light for the day. They strolled around the place, trying out any clue for the right direction. Even a single map would suffice. Katyusha didn't seem like she had prepared for a detour. The nightfall eventually took over the sky. Now we had entered the main market place. It seemed occupied by all ages and kinds of people. While some sellers rushed around the shops, some allured the passerby by displaying their best on rows placed. We stuck together in the crowded area, keeping to ourselves. Suddenly, Katyusha came to an abrupt stop right in front of him, making him practically fall over. Thankfully, his balance is much more stable than her mind.

"D YJI WANRY SIENTHUG?" she screamed at top voice but well it blurred with the surrounding resulting in much-muffled voice. She might have seen his confused face because she leaned in and spoke (or screamed) in his ears.

"DO YOU WANT SOMETHING?"

He gave her a stiff nod. Few crunches would not harm since he didn't have anything since last night due to all the commotion caused by his team to find Katyusha.

She started to scan the surrounding. The crowd got thicker and thick with time. Unexpectedly, a new wave of newcomers stalked into the market pushing him closer to Katyusha. He lost his balance before he knew what was happening. Her hands caught him before he fell over him, steadying him with ease. She grabbed him with such precision. Her hands positioned around the arm, keeping him straight even in the hustle surround. She surely knew well enough how to keep people stable. Her traits always surprise him but more than ever, he was more surprised with his balance. It looks like his balance wasn't much better than her unstable mind.

A/N: Hello, readers

Hope everyone is doing well. For all who want to question Kai's personality, I would like to give a brief thought behind it. He seems vulnerable in front of katyusha because of their past (which haven't been discussed yet in the story) and the bond they share. Hope this clears all the doubt in the change of personality.

Thank you for reading. Stay safe

Rowena