Disclaimer: mention of blood.

Her final decision on the condition was that her brain had finally given up on her. No way Kai Hiwatari was standing over her with all flesh and bones intact. Not at him appearing in a confined area that had next to no entries. And no way in the world would she miss him behind her if he had entered the room with her. She couldn't press enough on the fact that she wouldn't ever forget his presence even though she had forgotten about him numerous times throughout the day. She couldn't possible-even if she was the willing-the rise in heat overlapping under her skin. The wordless sensation of gaining power from someone else. She should be used to it by now. But even being around him countless times through the years, it was still new every time his body overlapped with her power.

But here he was, with his eyes enclosing around her, surprise reshaping into concern.

"Kai..", she said. Still, on the ground, she fetched her lightstick from under her. After a few tries, the light flickered on, casting a shadow over his face. She could already see him, even without any source of light. Every detail, every scratch spread across that face, the brushstrokes on his cheeks, his eyes sparkling due to the torchlight.

Oops.

"Get the torch away from my face, for God's sake," Kai said before she could direct it away from his face.

Fidgeting with the torch, she said, "Sorry. I was just surprised."

No reply. Katyusha turned the torchlight toward herself. With the lights, it was easier to move her leg from in between Kai's and get into a sitting position. She brought her hand over her shoulder to brush off the dust which might have accumulated due to the fall. When she brought her hand back, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Huh?" she said, confused. All the area, she covered in this building had been filled with enough dust to get her coughing before. Katyusha attempted to get up. With a question in mind, she barely registered Kai in front of her. It was the second time she had forgotten about him that day... Silently cursing herself had become a good part of her day today, she thought, before she tripped over her own leg, and fell right into Kai.

His head bumped her against her forehead, hard. That made her fall back impulsively. Arms snaked around her waist right on time, pulling her right into him. It would have given other members a good laugh to look at them, but all she could hear was her heart racing.

His arms pressed against the small of her back, making her shift right against his body. Due to the roughness of the condition, her hand had clenched itself around his shoulder. His breath synced in with her, the only difference was that she gasped. Breath remained a secondary concern, for she was getting concerned with all the desire spiralling within her.

With his body pressed closed, with the lights dimmed away, every sense in her body sparkled at the contact with him. The knowledge of his lips hovering some centimetres away from her nose didn't work well with her either. She could see Kai looking down at her, his eyes glistening with something she couldn't read. This wasn't the first time she hadn't been able to read Kai Hiwatari, but the problem stood in the hands-on her back, which had slid under her hair, bumping against the vulnerable side of her ears. The muscle under her hands moved as he leaned in further, the other hand going around her shoulders. He traced small patterns, massaging right beside her spine. She shivered under his touch. It felt so intimate and so comfortable. After a long day of running and hiding and being chased around, she felt safe in his arms, for the first time. She felt the power she needed restoring inside her. The dullness of the surrounding started to click back right into the place. Perhaps the only thing she needed right now was him, his energy, his warmth, the humane feeling of someone holding her strong, his strength which had given her the very first motive in her life. If she could just look up, she could be with him for once and for all-

She broke apart, throwing herself away from him. Even doing so made her physically weak. She could barely breathe. Turning around, she tried her best to focus her mind away from him. Away, from the fact that her emotions and magic were burning her inside out.

She had worked so hard throughout the years, knowing well enough that nothing could be formed between the two other than friendship. Anything else would only backfire on her. She had pushed her feelings under the well, keeping her space from the guy. Even after all the effort, she had repeatedly put into them being apart, just one misstep broke all holds over her heart. All the strings she had delicately stepped over, ripped away in an instant.

Throughout the years, it had been a blessing to be hated by Kai. It had been a lot easier when she didn't need to stay away from him physically, for he wouldn't stand being in the same room himself. It had been heart-clenching, but for the best. But with the days flowing by, she wasn't sure what was left between them. She wasn't sure if she could control herself, keep herself away from him if he looked back at her with those eyes. Those eyes bled with concern and such deep feelings that she wouldn't have the much-needed will to look away.

When Hilary had joined the Bladebreakers, her developing a crush over Kai had been so natural she had almost hoped for something to happen between them. Kai's own openness towards her had been quite instant, astonishing enough, compared to most of the other people around him. After years of being beside him, she had come to accept her role as a sidekick, despite his initial annoyance at her, appearing in front of him after the initial bey battle between Kai and Tyson. They had parted ways or had gotten separated from each other from their meeting in the Biovolt. Or so Kai was told.

Shaking her head, she regained her posture. Her hands clenched upon her sides. Looking at it, she could spot the blood spilling through moon-shaped scars tracing her palms. In the room filled with darkness, her blood shone with an unusual light of magic.

Katyusha winced at the sight of her abnormality. No human blood would ever come to shine with such lustre. She pulled on her outer jacket, rubbing the blood off her hands. When she turned around to face Kai again, she was ready to meet his gaze with her own sharpness. His face was painted into his neutral no-nonsense face. Not even a hint of emotions left behind. She knew internally that her face didn't display anything different from his, in fact even more coldness passed between the two of them than ever before.

Denial of the present was the only given option she could have chosen. Following her heart would very well be the death of him. She had sworn to protect him. She was going to keep her damn promise for once.

"How did you get in here, Kai?" She inquired.

He cocked his head to one side, "Through the door like every normal human?"

Her jaw fell open. Covering her surprise, she asked, "What do you mean by the door?"

Kai actually looked like he was considering smacking her across her face, or it could be his trademark 'done with her' look. He shook his head, his face falling into surrender. Gesturing her to follow him with one hand, he crossed the room and knocked open a truly existing door. Surprise, surprise.

The lobby which opened in front of the door looked exactly like the lobby which she had left behind. She stepped out from behind Kai, who looked at her in amusement. Catching his gaze, she asked, "What?"

"You just proved you are not human, unintentionally may it be." He smirked at her. His usual disgust towards her origin was gone.

She looked away, "Let it be that way." She walked away from the door, her hand trailing the wall. She knocked on the wall lightly. The hollowness of the wall was clear enough. With a sigh, she squatted in front of the wall. Locking her arms around her knees, she hunched over herself.

"I missed the wall I was supposed to check," she whined. Kai just walked away to the hall outside. After a while of wasting time, Katyusha got up, her face turned into a pout.

Dizziness gripped her. Her limbs fell beside her body, her legs crippling below her. She caught herself before she hit the ground. She slid against the wall, taking the wall as the stable support for her.

Kai was standing with his back to her. She sighed in relief. She couldn't let this show happen again in front of him.

"But what is this room anyway?" Katyusha asked, looking around the room once again, trying her best to distract herself. Which worked wonderfully.

The room was filled with display screens and monitors shut down. Due to the lack of electricity or lighting, she could barely make out the keys on the keypad. On closer inspection, she could see the wires and objects hanging out. Picking one in her hand, she started to fiddle with it.

Kai's voice broke her away from her inspection, "This is the main command room."

She turned back to face him. She had come to the right part of the building. Realization hit her. The reason she had discovered this passage was-

"The noise which had come from this side had been this?" The realization hit a bit late but when it did the whole condition fell back right into the spot. The banging came from the destruction of the items displayed in front of her. That also explained the power cut. It is the central command system, the destruction of the wires might have ended in no power sources. But what was the cause behind the disturbance?

Katyusha crossed the room to where Kai stood guard near the door. Noticing her coming towards him, Kai enclosed her with his gaze. The effect of what had happened still was running wild inside her. She hadn't forgotten, even for a moment how scary it could have been. But she wouldn't let her feelings or her power come into play when they have only one another to escape the situation with.

"What happened here? Who destroyed those?" she asked, moving into the small space between him and the door. That way she could keep an eye behind his back.

"I did," he said plainly. not that the statement came as a shock to her. This guy had a serious talent for making the most obnoxious situation sound like a game of cards.

"You broke the system," she said in an exasperated way. Kai just gave her a look. She shook her head in pure concern for the guy in front.

Looking away from her mate, she looked back into the alleyway in front of her. She was on alert from both sides, but she knew that even though Kai wasn't a trained soldier, he was capable enough of moving around alone with danger hanging over his head.

"By the way, are you okay?" Kai drew her back to him. Katyusha cocked her head.

"I am well enough, thanks for asking?"

He squinted his eyes as if he could see her better. She pulled back, resting her back against the wall, "Why does it look like you forgot that you were kidnapped?"

"It's called the power of denial," she said with jazz hands. Kai just ignored her and went back to his initial place. Satisfied with her quick mindedness, she exhaled heavily. This guy had been getting bolder day by day. Even hour by hour at this rate. She had tried blaming the situation of the day for all the things he had been doing. After all, she was the one getting into problems throughout the day.

As the realization hit her once again, her muscles ached, her body burned. The black dots crowding in her view gradually started to increase. It took her everything to not fall on the ground and stay still. Even standing felt painful. How nice it must be to just lie down and not worry-

"Look who we've got here. The worldwide known," a familiar voice spoke from behind the shadows, bringing Katyusha back to reality. She couldn't be a burden for the people who came to help her out. And this was probably the only time she could get the answers she had been trying to get. The hows and buts and ifs and whats couldn't be solved without her facing it. She had to stand. She had to fight.

"Wow. I am seriously fascinated by you two. What kind of magnetic poles are you two? How come she never gets trapped alone?" the voice smirked. She recognized him as the guy they got locked out with.

Called it, the fight ain't over this soon.