Dear Readers,

Sorry for the delay in the update. I have ONCE again started to procrastinate. Blame me.

Anyways, have a nice read and a nice day ahead.

Rowena

The silence slowly spread between the two friends. They walked in relative peace over the voice calls of various shopkeepers who wasn't knowing anything about the responsibility taken by such young artists.

Katyusha was still dazed enough not to initiate any small talks between them. She felt disillusioned with herself more than everyone around. Alas, she had disappointed herself just once again. Her eyes wandered off in different directions. Looking over the large sakura trees enveloping the highland of her district. The evening has dissolved into a starry night. The moon shimmered over the others.

Unknowingly, she had always felt some kind of resemblance towards the moon. She always felt at peace, glancing at the scintillating light given out by the moon. Moon has always been a symbol of brightness in the hollowed moments of life. But to her, it showed that even the brightest objects have distorted figures and have gone through various recollecting to be what they are now. Everything happens for a reason.

Throughout several years, she had always stood up for the same reason, but now she was mistracked. Her feelings and her growing anxiety towards the same had made her even more vulnerable. She could not figure out the reason behind these feelings. She felt betrayed by her sense of reasoning.

Out of sudden, someone pulled her away from her thoughts. She looked startled over at Kai. he left her hand in bare seconds, but she couldn't suppress the sudden tensing which seized her body. She looked up to see a light pole right in front of her previous path. Looked like her insomnia has started to take over her body day by day.

Kai continued his path without any inquiry. She felt all of a sudden guilty about her own overthinking.

"Sorry. I just don't feel like myself these days", she apologized.

He gave her the sheer shrug before heading ahead of her. That resulted in her getting even more annoyed than before. Her head voice screamed at her.

What did you think? He would say something? You seem to not know anyone around you anymore!

Right in the middle of her sputtering out random words to calm her nerves, Kai's voice flooded into her ears.

"Something not thinking about things helps live a better life", he said sternly. His head turned towards her. She was startled at the sincerity shown in his eyes. His eyes seem to have nearly dissolved into her eyes before he broke the contact by turning away. She smiled at herself.

She caught up with him. She gave out a long sigh before catching his wrist. That seems to have taken him by surprise. He looked at her with a start as she launched into a half run- half jog across the route they were following. As expected, he pulled her into a halt.

"What are you thinking, eh?", he asked her, looking terrifically annoyed. But not even his annoyance could spoil her mood at the moment. She felt...good. After so many days of hitting her head with anxiousness, she felt free. She felt light-hearted all of a sudden. There are times when your minimum words or actions can virtually change your life. She had felt that once before, the time when she had seen Tyson fight against Kai for the first time. And now she had seen it again. A hope that things can go well between them once again. An expectation that she could perform her duties well without fear of unknown feelings.

She pulled on an effortless smile. "Let's get home before I feel dead from the inside once again", she said, cheerfully.

"I should have let you hit the pole that time", he said. It wasn't hard to see his slight smirk before him going back to his stoic self. Kai seemed to always have much more emotions that he had adorned. However, his mask had started to fade away with time. Surely, his personality is just as had as ever before, but something has changed in his attitude. He had changed. With such thoughts occupying her mind, she didn't know how she had come so far without actually falling for this guy. A person who she had always respected and appreciated more than anyone else in the world. Who had been her only motivation for beyblading, who she had looked up for so many years. Her mind buzzed with various thoughts which didn't seem to go away. She understood one thing. There is no point in avoiding the truth. She always has, after all this time, fallen for Kai Hiwatari.

XxX

Katyusha has gone for hours. The chatter in the room has now turned towards Katyusha's twin brother who seems to enjoy the lively chatter.

The resemblance between the twins was very uncanny. It can be the literal definition of 'two sides of the coin' proverb. The mystical chocolate brown eyes, the even set of jaws and the perfectly proportioned cheekbones is a relatable trait in both the twins but something strange too. Perhaps, it was the way they proceeded with unknown information which differed. Katyusha has always given Hilary an impression of a guarded fox with her keen-eye and warrior-like posture. While on the other hand, her brother gave out an easy-going, free-spirited aura. They stood apart in the ways they held themselves.

She sighed. Kenny didn't seem like his questions will cease anytime sooner. Max and Ray have now started to drowse off in the corner of the room. Honestly, she did not blame them. After such a tiresome journey, even her body had started to feel tired. The only person who seemed highly charged was Kenny. Kenny had gone insanely, questioning about everything, even their existence. Tyson has midway gone silent and has skirted towards the corner, gaze fixed at Jake and Kenny in the centre of the room.

She silently crawled over to Tyson's side, trying her best to cross without interrupting the two. Sensing her approaching, Tyson opened her arms. She quietly leaned in, letting his hand envelop around her body. The comfort left her speechless. His warmth soothing her body. The feeling of protection can only come in the arms of a lover.

After the G-Revolution ended, She had confessed her feeling towards him. Her annoyance hasn't disappeared, but it didn't seem to affect her feelings towards Tyson that increased every day. She felt his breath from her position. Her heartbeat started to coordinate with his, two bodies breathing together eventually. They weren't very vocal around the team. But the escaping moments or the stealing glances towards each other filled the happiness.

"What are you wonderin', Tyson?" she asked

He caught her eyes, "Nothing new, Hil. Just the usual."

"Crappy thoughts, I assume", she smirked at his grunt.

Kenny's questions started to soothe her.

"Where did you guys get your bit beats? Did it come naturally or you received it from somewhere?" The question caught everyone's attention out of sudden because it was one of the many question Katyusha never really addressed or was asked regarding.

Jake took his time before answering, "We acquired it. Yeah, it was not much before we got scouted for Voltaire's camp."

"What power does your bit beast show?" Max inquired.

"Katyusha's Drowena* has something out of strange compared to the sacred bit beats owned by us."

Jake nodded, "Drowena has the power to mimic the opponent's strength and shift according to that. That is one of the reasons why it is torturous for an amateur blader to win against her. Even though her dominant power lies under ice, the bit beast seems to show adaptiveness or one can say 'imitation' in certain situations."

"True. Even my mom's researchers couldn't get the result behind this behaviour." Max stated

" Max isn't kidding about that."Kenny declared

"I don't fool around!" Max snapped right back.

Tyson's body vibrated due to his laughter. "We got the joker for today."

"Look at yourself before talking, Tyson!"

Tyson playfully lunged at each other, avoiding each other's attacks. Ray stepped in the middle, doing the same work as the white cloth in a WWE fight. They both stopped obediently. What could we do without Ray when Kai is not here to maintain sanity.

Thinking about Kai, she had not seen him since the group entered the town. He left before anyone could even notice him. Wonder what was going on? There could be many reasons for him going since this is his hometown or was once.

The door flung open with a FLOONK! Katyusha stepped in, letting her companion in after her before closing the door.

"Think of the devil, and the devil is here", she muttered to herself. Tyson was by her side under a split second. He has always felt protective of her whenever the other boy was present. Maybe due to her crush on Kai AGES AGO.

Katyusha appeared to bring back the joy the room had been lacking for a while since she had left. Or maybe the food in her hand was much more appealing.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, HUH?", Jake exclaimed.

Katyusha gave an apologetic glance to each other the members. "I got lost in middle", she said with a remorseful look. To Hilary, she just looked adorable.

Even though Katyusha had always seen as an epitome of strong looks on the outside, but she was a unique person inside that outer shield.

"Why did I leave this trouble alone?",Jake slapped his head. He shook his head, "At least she found someone useful on the way."

His hand outstretched towards Kai, who has just entered the room. He looked around, analysing the situation. Max and Ray, who were standing with their back to the door looked back at their peer and sighed in relief. Kai seems to have the best timing.

"I will bring the cookies and the snacks in a serving dish. That will be more appropriate to eat from."

Hilary called out before she could leave the room, "Kat, let me help you."

Katyusha smiled at her, "You should rest."

She waved off her friend's concern and started to follow her to the kitchen.

"I had enough rest for a while." It wasn't true but she could use some space to breathe after sitting there for hours.

The kitchen was located at the other end of the hallway. Katyusha opened the door, welcoming Hilary before she followed behind.

The kitchen looked spotless cleaned. Light bulb shone brightly in the middle of the room, illuminating diverse shadows. On either edge of the room stood big cabinets with filled up decor. It was filled with photo frames of differing events. She recognized some of the photos of the Bladebreakers included in there. Hilary trailed behind Katyusha who removed all the required plates for the serving.

" Where did you find Kai?" Hilary inquired. She had been curious since the two had entered.

Katyusha shrugged, "My intentions were not to find Kai. I found him around the old district of the town. I ended up wandering there rather than in the right place."

Hilary understood. Katyusha has always been bad at the direction. Her tendency to wander off on her path was well known between the team members. Therefore, she always stood in the middle of the group while travelling, to avoid her missing out.

But Hilary was more curious about something again.

"Katyusha", she called, seeking the other girl's attention. As expected Katyusha diverted her attention away from the dishes to her.

"What happened?" she asked, looking fairly concerned. Hilary waved away her friend's concern.

"It's nothing special. Just something I have been dwelling over for a while."

Her posture relaxed a bit but the concern was still there on her face. "Ask."

"Remember when I had a small crush on Kai?" Now Katyusha seemed much more attentive.

"No crush is small", she stated with a certain smirk. Hilary couldn't even stop herself from rolling eyes.

" I remember being jealous of yours and Kai's relation. I mean, you always knew what he was up to before anyone could even figure out the situation", she said with a smile.

This seems to have caught her attention.

"What made you think so? Honestly, it felt like Kai and you had a better bond rather than us two. You were always there and comforting him when he used to run away. You were there more for this team than I could have ever been. It not easy to see the group fall out but you still supported Tyson throughout the time." She paused. "As for Kai, he remains a mystery he was so many years ago. Nothing changed. Neither did the competitive nature between us nor openness."

" You mean, you both have always been close?"

She looked thoughtfully, "As close as it seems now, I suppose."

Her curiosity grew as time passed. Hilary had never got to get the time to know about the other girl in the group. The silent girl talked in-depth with her knowledge and understanding. She had always seen like a close-off person as if she saw the happenings that others couldn't see. They didn't even know how long it took until Tyson came storming inside the kitchen, breaking the silence. Hilary tried her level best to stop them before they destroyed just another precious belonging. Katyusha was no use whatsoever. She just stood in the corner, laughing at the nuisance we were making. After having all the fun, she stepped in obstructing Hilary's verbal attack.

"Tyson, I have something planned out for you all!" She spoke cheerfully.

"You have my undivided attention", he said, cunning ignoring Hilary's protest.

"Jake might haven't shown you the place since I don't usually let someone enter the room, but since it's you guys, I can make an exception."

"What exactly it this room you are talking about?"

"It's a blading station", she said merely before Tyson erupted into alien language, with consisted mostly of screaming random words in random order which only seem to be used by him and Max when they are in an excited state of mind. He dashed out of the kitchen at the same speed they have entered.

"They can grow up as much as they could, but they will forever remain young at heart." Katyusha looked after them fondly.

"Very true", Hilary agreed along with her.

"By the way, are you still jealous of me?" she asked facing Hilary.

"Don't worry about that." she smiled and followed the boys out of the kitchen. It wasn't before she heard the other girl's almost heartbroken whisper.

"Not like it will end up the way I would like it."