By: Lady Sapphire
Author's Notes: It's about time I updated this story! Sorry for the long wait. I wanted to update on Christmas eve, so that all of you would have a nice surprise on Christmas, but I felt guilty that the chapter was finished, but was sitting around in my computer, while many reviewers have urged me to post it. So, seeing that school's out for the winter holidays (YAY!!!!!), and seeing that I'm in a good mood (I finished my Biology project!), I'll post up chapter six as an early Christmas present. Hope you enjoy it! Now, without further ado, I present to you:
Chapter 6: The Remedy
"K-Kai….?"
Mariah was surprised that she still had the ability to even speak! No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't look away from Kai's mysterious, dark red eyes. Their proximity sent a warm, yet odd feeling throughout her body. She could feel her heart pound harder inside her chest, as her pulse raced faster and faster. Her breathing quickened, as her brain tried to process what had just happened in the past few minutes. Was this real? Or was this a really bad nightmare?
Kai remained still, halted in the 45 degrees dip position in which he had caught her by. He had just returned from the woods, when he heard her scream. In a flash, he dropped everything and rushed to her side, catching her helpless body just before it touched the ground.
As he stood in the static position, something came over him. For the first time since they had met, he noticed just how beautiful she had become. Her body had filled out quite nicely, Kai noted, as a small tinge of red crawled through his cheeks. The clothes she wore were the same style of clothing that she always wore, but now, they were more form fitting. Her pink hair had grown longer, just above her waist, and still tied in a ponytail fashion by a light pink ribbon. Her eyes, a warm golden colour, were a pair of the most enchanting eyes he had ever seen. He could feel his own eyes slowly become trapped in her own, as he stared, transfixed.
Mariah couldn't avert her gaze. Her mind told her to move away, but her body felt as if it were made of stone. She could not gather the strength to push herself away from him. His eyes were so alluring, that she felt herself become engulfed in them. 'Move, girl, darn it! Just look away! Why can't I move?!?!' she screamed in her head.
'If only I could…' he thought helplessly, as his face started leaning in towards her. However, he quickly shook himself out of his trance, 'No, I can't! Snap out of it, Kai!' he commanded, kicking himself mentally. Using every ounce of will power he had, he tore his gaze from hers and looked away. Lecturing himself once again on the weakness of human emotions, he promised silently to never let that moment repeat itself again.
Then he swept down, picked her up off her feet, and carried her back to the log that she was supposed to be sitting on. Gently, he placed her down, being careful not to inflict pain on her foot. He then turned around and distanced himself from the girl. He attempted to regain his composure.
Mariah, who was now blushing at full force, just stared at the ground. She was speechless. Never in her wildest of dreams, would she have expected Kai to show up at that precise moment to catch her fall, and then carry her to safety. The more she thought about it, the more he cheeks burned, but what really made her blush, was the fact that she was starting to miss having his strong arms around her. 'What is wrong with me?! I've never felt like that for anyone one before, so why him?' she wondered.
Kai didn't know why he did it. He didn't have to carry her; he could have simply supported her back to the log. But, he didn't. 'Why?' was all he could ask himself, but no answer came to him. He hated not knowing the answers. He hated not knowing why he felt this way. He hated the fact that his cheeks were growing warmer with every passing second of silence, so he decided to speak. Unfortunately, he took out his embarrassment in the form of anger.
"I thought I told you to stay put! Were you trying to kill yourself? What do you think you were doing?" he scolded, a bit too harshly. He didn't mean to sound angry with her, but he couldn't help it. His rage just flooded out as if trying to cover his uneasiness.
Mariah looked up at him in surprise, and almost fear. She let out a small whimper at his tone of voice. Normally, she would never let her fear show, but he had caught her off-guard. "I…I just wanted to help out. I wanted to gather some wood for a fire. I didn't mean to worry you; I'm sorry…" she said softly, glancing away, not daring to meet his eyes.
Kai regretted his words, but said nothing. Looking at the fallen pieces of wood, he sauntered over to them and started gathering them one by one in the crook of his arm. Mariah was watching this curiously now, as he placed the pieces of wood in a pile a good distance away from the log.
"How do you suppose we light it?" asked Mariah to no one in particular, frowning as she thought of a way to set fire to the wood.
Kai, taking the question as if it was directed at him, simply smirked, "You forget the element of my bit beast," he hinted. Then, he pulled out Dranzer and prepared it for launch.
"Soar, Dranzer! Use fire arrow to light up this pile of wood!" Kai commanded and pulled the rip cord, sending the blue blade spinning. The graceful Phoenix spirit materialized from the blade and flew across the wood. Instantly, the wood erupted into a mountain of golden flames.
Mariah's eyes widened and she slapped her forehead. Of course! How could she forget the Dranzer had the ability of fire? She shot him a weak smile and held out her arms towards the heat in order to warm herself up.
Kai didn't reply, but simply stored his Beyblade away and walked over to where he had dropped the berries when he had heard her scream. He picked up the bundle and brought it over to the pink-haired girl. Opening up the coat, he revealed their dinner. "Eat some berries," he offered, placing the bundle on the ground before her.
Mariah cocked her head sideways to give him a funny look, but made no move for the food. For some reason, she suddenly felt shy around him. Maybe it was the fact that he was being so kind towards her. Or perhaps it was the quick change in the mood. Whatever it was, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
When Kai noticed her uncertainty, he mistakenly took it as mistrust. He sighed, grabbed a berry, and popped it into his own mouth to demonstrate that it wasn't poisonous. "I learned how to distinguish berries when I was young," he informed her.
Mariah nodded and timidly reached out for a berry to show that she did trust him. After everything he had done for her, how could she not trust him? Eating the fruit, she discovered that it was actually quite sweet. She let go of her uneasiness and reached out for more. After a while, she noticed that Kai wasn't eating. Instead he was pulling the leaves off a plant that was mixed in with the pile of berries. "Why aren't you eating? Aren't you hungry? What are those leaves for?" she inquired, curiously.
Kai didn't answer. He simply continued stripping the plant of its leaves until it was nearly bare. He then popped a few of the leaves into his mouth and began to chew.
Mariah watched him with interest. What in the world was he up to? She picked up one of the leaves to examine it more closely herself, but found nothing of interest with it. She decided to ask him again, "What are you doing? And what are these leaves for?"
After about a half a minute of chewing, he spat out the contents of his mouth onto his hand. They were now a dark green pile of mush that resembled something somewhat like vomit. It was rather sickening to look at.
Mariah grimaced at this. That was so gross! Didn't he learn not to play with his food? Not bearing the sight of it anymore, she turned the other direction to avoid it. She still didn't know what he was up to, and frankly now, she didn't want to.
Then, she then felt a tugging at her leg. Turning back around, she saw Kai undoing the scarf that was wrapped around her sprained foot. When it was untied and unravelled, he slopped the green mush right onto the bare skin of her foot!
Mariah turned green herself, at the sight. "Ugh, what the heck are you doing?!?! Why are you doing this? This stuff is disgusting!" she complained, trying to pull her leg away, but Kai had a firm grip on her and was evenly spreading out the remedy on her ankle.
Finally Kai spoke, "This is a herb with very unique medical properties. It has the power to help heal injuries. I thought it might help out your sprained ankle. The faster you heal, the faster we can get out of here."
A doubtful expression spread across her face. There was still something she did not understand. "But…but why did you have to chew it first?"
Kai stared at her as if she had just asked the most obvious question in the world. "That is the only way to get the medicinal properties out of the plant."
Mariah still looked unconvinced. How could a plant be that powerful? Plus it was making her sick just looking at that mush. Not to mention that it was mixed with saliva….yuck! She tried to protest, "Why couldn't you have told me sooner? Why didn't you answer me when I asked? Why couldn't you have let me done my own chewing?"
Kai stopped what he was doing and gave her a sceptical look. Then, using his clean hand, he picked up a leaf that hadn't been chewed and handed it to her. "Try chewing this," was all he said. There was a glint in his eyes.
Scowling, Mariah swiped the leaf out of his hands, took a bite out of it, and started chewing. She froze as soon as the taste of the contents in her mouth hit her. It was bitter! Very, very bitter. Instantly, she spat it out, spluttering every last piece of the bitter-tasting herb onto the ground. Shutting her eyes tightly, she stuck out her tongue and shook her head, making gagging noises in the process.
Kai smirked. He knew that she wouldn't be able to stand the bitterness. Handing over some berries to her, he said, "Now you know why."
Mariah glared at him while taking the berries and eating them, desperately trying to clear the bitter taste from her mouth. "You could have told me it was bitter!" she yelled, resentfully.
"Oh, but it was more interesting to see you find out the hard way. Now you'll learn not to question my intentions," he replied, slyly, with a slight tone of humour in his voice.
"Kai Hiwatari! That was not funny! One way or another, you will pay for that!" vowed Mariah irately. She crossed her arms and attempted to glare a hole through his head. Oh, how she hated him at this moment.
Kai rolled his eyes. She was of no threat to him. He finished off applying the remedy and retied his scarf around her foot. Then he got up to leave. "Whatever. I'm going to go wash my hands by the river. It's not far from here. Would you like some water?"
Mariah's angry expression melted. "Um…sure…" she replied, hesitantly.
Kai nodded and started heading towards the direction of the river, but he was interrupted by the sound of Mariah's voice.
"Oh, and Kai?" she said abruptly before she could stop herself.
He stopped and looked towards her direction. Surprised, he raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you…for saving me," she said after a pause. He nodded his acknowledgement and then resumed his path to the river.
Mariah sighed. She'll never understand him. One minute, he's cruel and arrogant, but the next, he's sincere and kind. Glancing down at the leg that Kai had bandaged, a small smile formed on her lips. Maybe the herb really was working, or perhaps it was only her mind playing tricks on her, but her leg didn't hurt as much anymore. 'These herbs might become useful in the future. I think I should keep some, just in case,' she thought to herself, pocketing a few of the dark green leaves.
The bitter taste of the leaf still remained at the tip of her tongue. She grimaced and muttered something about the injustice of the whole situation. Grabbing a few more berries to clear the taste in her mouth, she waited in silence for Kai's return, while enjoying the company of the welcoming radiance emitted from the flickering, glowing flames.
*~*~*
That's all for now! This chapter was kind of odd, I know, but there is a really significant reason for it...which I won't tell you! ^__^ You'll find out later in the story. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have reviewed this story and those who will review (^_~). Thanks, you don't know how much of an inspiration you've been. I'll try to get more writing done during this holiday! Have a safe and very joyful holiday everyone! Merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this storyline!