Four. New. Reviews! –gets all teary eyed- Thank you sooo much! I feel so loved! –dies from happiness- Okay! I'm alive again and ready to type! All my wonderful reviewers, this is for you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or anything/anyone in it – just Aeris.

Chapter 2

The corners of the girl's mouth turned up slightly as she heard her name.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's me," she replied, almost regretfully.

Kai stayed where he was. He still could barely believe that she was here, alive and right in front of him.

"Hey, uh. Do you two know each other?" Tyson asked, looking from his friend to their strange guest.

"Hn, you could say that," Kai muttered quietly and closed his eyes.

Now the blue-haired girl looked over at the other three boys. She walked towards them and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Aeris," she said. Though it was said cheerfully, her smile didn't reach her eyes. They stayed completely expressionless.

Tyson, oblivious, took her hand and shook it. "I'm Tyson and this is Max and Ray." He indicated the other two, who smiled and said "Nice to meet you." Aeris nodded in acknowledgement. (Me: Whoa! Big word!)

"So, how do you and Kai know each other?" Ray asked.

"Well," Aeris began, aware of Kai's crimson orbs following her every move, "you see, we sorta grew up together."

"Then why didn't we ever see you before?" Max asked.

"Because she left seven years ago with no explanation whatsoever," Kai said as he walked over from behind Aeris. Though his voice was devoid of any emotion, his eyes, as only Aeris could see, were filled with anger and…worry?

The girl hung her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered. He only grunted and walked into the dojo. Aeris stared after him sadly. There was silence for a minute or so, then Tyson said, "So, Aeris. Are you gonna stay for a while?"

She looked up at him and hesitated. Finally, she answered, "I-I guess I could stay. For a little while."

The four entered the dojo to find Kai sitting against a wall with his eyes closed. The three boys sat down somewhere on the other side of the room, where they talked about beyblades and strategies and other stuff. Aeris walked over and sat down against a wall next to the one Kai was leaning on.

She observed the boy for a few minutes before closing her eyes as well. He still looked like she remembered, but his personality was different. He was colder, harsher, more anti-social. She sighed. What had happened to the kind little boy she had known? Thinking of that, Aeris grinned mentally. She wasn't exactly the same either.

Kai heard someone sit down near him and sigh. He opened one eye slightly and saw that it was Aeris. She wasn't paying any attention to him, so he opened both eyes and took the chance to observe her.

She was wearing a no-sleeved, blue shirt and comfortably loose black jeans. She had black arm-sleeve-things (like Kai's from V-Force) that covered her arms from right above the elbow all the way to her fingers where they ended like fingerless gloves. Green stripes went around the wrist part of the arm-things and on her feet Aeris wore green and black sneakers.

The shoulder-length blue hair that Kai remembered now reached his old friend's waist and was tied back in a low, loose braid. That wasn't the only change though. The violet eyes that once shined with innocence and happiness were now colder, more emotionless. She had always been cheerful and full of energy, but now she appeared depressed and tired.

Kai then noticed how worn out she looked. Aeris looked like she had not rested for weeks. He began wondering what had been happening these past years. What was that creature that she had been running from? Why had she acted like her acidic wound was nothing out of the ordinary?

Aeris felt someone's eyes on her. As she lifted her head, her eyes locked with Kai's. The same thoughts were running through both teenagers' heads and they searched each other's eyes for answers. Neither found anything. Eventually, Aeris looked away.

Just then, Tyson, Ray and Max walked over to them.

"It's getting late," Ray said, nodding toward the window where a star-filled sky could be seen.

"Yeah, we should get to sleep," Max said, yawning.

Tyson got an extra futon for Aeris and all five set them out on the floor. The first three boys fell asleep fast enough, but Kai and Aeris lay awake. Dozens of questions were running though their minds, denying them rest.

Finally, both shut their eyes and fell into a fitful, memory-filled sleep.

End of Chapter 2

---My little sister watches that show "Liberty's Kids" every weekend. I'm really not crazy about the show, but I've almost memorized the theme song (another hobby of mine. You need a theme song/lyrics – call Rebecca!) and I think for the most part it fits Aeris' character, especially this part:

"Feeling the pain as innocence dies.

Looking at life through my own eyes.

I'm hoping and praying for a brighter day.

I listen to my heart and I obey.

How can I see it any other way?

I'm looking at life through my own eyes."

Yeeaaahhh, so R&R. Tell me what you think! I'll scour my brain for ideas and – hopefully – the chapters will keep coming!

Oh! BTW, guess what! My birthday's coming up – March 27! Happy birthday to me! Wait…I must contain my excitement for another (checks date) fourteen days. (rocks back and forth humming a random tune to try to make time go faster) Review please – for St. Patty's Day! (I'm not Irish XD) Hmm, I'm not Italian either. I'm not even Scottish! I'm the weird ones: Russian, German, Czechoslovakian, English (ooh! That one's normal!), Austrian, and Hungarian! Whoopee! I'm a mutt!

This annoyingly long author's note has now come to a close. Thank you for reading and have a nice day. This is a recording.