By: Lady Sapphire
Author's Note: I'm sure you've waited long enough for this chapter! So I'll save my notes, apologies, goodbyes, etc. until the end. Go on and read the FINAL chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 16: Promises To Keep (Final)
The first thing that Mariah saw when her eyes flew open was a white ceiling. But what happened to the endless sea of green leaves that greeted her sight when she last opened her eyes? She had become accustomed to the overlaying green ceiling, that the white walls gave her a bit of a surprise. It took her a moment before she remembered that they had escaped the forest, but the events that occurred in subsequence were a blur to her. She found herself lying on her back on a soft, warm surface, under thick covers.
'Where am I?' Mariah wondered to herself. Slightly struggling, she pulled herself up to a sitting position, and that's when she realized that she had been asleep on a bed, complete with sheets and pillows, and not on some worn out log in the woods. Her body still ached, but she felt that it was better than before. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that her wounds had been properly treated and that her clothes had been changed, although she could not remember who had been responsible for that.
Glancing around the room, she took a mental photograph of her surroundings. It was a large room with large pieces of furniture surrounding the four walls. A computer desk with a computer, a study desk, a bookshelf with a large collection of books, a television set, closets, wardrobes, the bed itself – they were all exquisite and expensive-looking items. The room itself was incredibly neat and tidy, compared to her own messy room back home. On the wall were a few posters…some of expensive cars, a few rock band groups, a phoenix…
Mariah did a double take. A poster of a phoenix could only mean one thing. Her glance swept over the room again and the object she was looking for caught her eye. She slipped out of the bed and approached the glossy wooden cabinet with glass doors. Sure enough, it was Kai's trophy case, displaying all the Beyblading trophies he had previously won. On the back wall of the case, was a picture of the Bladebreakers from the time when they won the world championships for the very first time. And lying right there at the centre of it all, was the beyblade, Dranzer.
So this was Kai's room.
'Waaah! What am I doing in his room!' she panicked frantically. She jumped up from her crouched position, and in doing so, discovered that the clothes she was wearing were not her own. They were new and expensive clothing that she had never seen before in her life, let alone afford them. She let out a soft scream. 'Ahh! Who changed my clothes!' she asked, blushing madly. Her ignorance of the incidents was what bothered her the most. The last thing she could remember was hiking down that road with Kai, searching for some kind of help and then that's where a void blocked her memory. Concluding that she must have passed out along the way, she reasoned that Kai must have found help, or else she wouldn't be here. Had he carried her? She blushed, 'No, that wouldn't be likely. I bet I'm pretty heavy anyway,' she thought, becoming conscious of her own weight.
And then there was the issue of her clothes. Who had dressed her? She also noticed that her skin was no longer covered in dirt and mud and that she no longer smelled of sweat. She blushed an even deeper red, 'Oh my God, did he bathe me too? I'd die if he did…' she thought, closing her eyes. For some reason, an image popped in her head, causing her to scream out loud of embarrassment, "Kyaaaaa!"
Suddenly, an amused laugh filled the room, causing Mariah to whip her head around to face to the source. There stood Kai, leaning against the open door, arms crossed and laughing nonchalantly.
"Kai! You're okay!" she exclaimed, picking herself from the floor to approach him. She was surprised and glad to see him, but also a tiny bit annoyed. "And just what is so funny?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and throwing him an intimidating glare. She attempted to regain her composure by pretending that the preceding scene had not happened.
Kai covered his mouth with a hand, attempting to muffle his laughter, but to no success. "Just now, when you screamed…your face was hilarious!"
Mariah blushed. Just how much had he seen? How long had he been standing there watching her? Did he see the whole embarrassing scene? "S-Stop making fun of me!" she cried. "It's not funny!"
"You're right. I thought it was...cute," said Kai, who had stopped laughing to give her a charming smile.
Mariah's heart skipped a beat. It was then that she remembered that she had promised that they would become a couple once they escaped the forest. She smiled back shyly.
Nonchalantly, Kai bent over, picked Mariah up, and carried her back to the bed. "You shouldn't move around so much yet."
Again, this caused Mariah to blush deeply all over again. This confirmed her suspicion of whether he was able to carry her or not.
Noticing this, Kai smiled. It was easy to read her thoughts. "Yes, I did carry you, at least into the car and into the house." He decided to tease her a bit more, "And, don't worry, it was the maids who changed your clothes and bathed you."
Mariah's face flushed the deepest red possible. "What!…I didn't…You!…" she stammered. She couldn't find the words she wanted to express through her embarrassment. Instead, she threw him a few quick punches on the arm to vent her frustration. "Waaaaaaah!"
Kai smiled at the success of his plot and pulled his arm away gently. "That hurts, you know," he stated calmly.
Mariah scorned. With one last scream of frustration, she pulled the blankets over her head to indicate that she did not want to discuss this anymore as well as to hide her embarrassed, blushing cheeks.
Kai, who was now sitting at the edge of her bed, sighed. "But really, Mariah, I am so relieved that you are alive and safe. You scared me to death when you passed out like that, you know? Thank goodness you're back to your normal and unreasonably cranky self." He chuckled and paused, expecting for her explosive reaction to the comment, but she did not. She did not come up from under the covers, however her ears perked to his mild tone and she grew still and listened.
Continuing, he said, "I want to thank you for what you have done for me in this short time. It has really helped me sort out my thoughts and clear my mind. Because of you, I found a purpose to stand up to my grandfather and the strength I needed to talk with him." He smiled and amused kind of smile and rose from his seated position at her bed. His smile then faded for he knew he had to say what was next. In all actuality, he did not want to tell her what his grandfather had told him, but he knew he had an obligation to inform her of the change. He had, in fact, become accustomed to her presence and did not want her to leave.
"Do you know what he said to me?" he asked, arms crossed and leaning his back against the bedpost. In such a position, he faced the door, and not her face, for he did not want her to see the emotions displayed on his face, which showed reluctance and hesitation. He did not want to make her feel as if she had to stay with him because of the promise they had made. "He told me that he would not force marriage upon me. It will be my decision when I marry and with whom…" he trailed off, as if unsure of how had ended his sentence. "I also apologize to you, Mariah. I should not have forced my feelings onto you like I did in the forest. The promise we made in the forest, it was just out of pity, wasn't it? I am grateful that you wanted to help me out, but you have no obligation to stay with me, and I won't force you. You can decide to cancel the marriage and leave if you desire to and I shall let you go." He stopped and waited for her response. He wasn't sure how she was reacting to his words for she still buried herself under the covers. He waited for a fleeting moment before finally deciding that he had said what he needed to say and that it was enough. What happened next was for her to decide. "I'll go tell the maids to bring up some food," he said and began stepping towards the door.
The blankets flung open and a trembling voice shouted, "Wait a minute!"
Kai whipped around at the sound of her voice to see tears rolling down her cheeks. Her features were hard and her narrow eyes were slightly red. She was crying, but she wasn't sobbing. The tears that silently streamed out of the corner of her eyes were tears of anger. How could he say such heartless things to her? Wiping away the angry tears, she stepped out of bed and stood firmly on her two feet. "Kai Hiwatari!" she snapped furiously, her voice slightly quivering. "How dare you? How could you say that? After all that's said and done, is that all I am to you? Was I just a tool to you? To help you sort out your emotions?" The more she yelled at him, the more her tears spilled. She could not control them, even though she tried. She did not deny it to herself: she would be sad if she were not beside him. And it made her feel completely helpless to think about the words he had uttered to her.
For a moment, Kai stood dumbfounded as the words that bitterly flew from the girl's mouth sank into him. It came as a bit of a surprise for him, for he had never meant for it to sound the way as she had interpreted. It was a rare sight for him to see: the usually stubborn and headstrong girl, who never cried, not even when she was hurt or lost, was crying in front of him. He never knew that she would be this upset. As he stared at the pink-haired girl quietly rubbing her eyes, he couldn't help but feel relieved that she wanted to stay with him as much as he desired that she remain. He was guilty to admit that he was a little joyful that those tears that contained so much emotion were shed for his sake. It was because she cared for him, that's why she cried. And it was because he cared for her that he did not want to see her cry any longer because of his words. However, before he could open his mouth to clear the misunderstanding, she sniffed.
"What 'thank you'? What 'apology'? I don't want any of that. Can't you understand that I…" She could not finish what she was going to say because, the next thing she knew, strong arms had embraced her and she could feel herself being pressed against a warm chest with a masculine scent. Stunned, Mariah's tears stopped almost instantly. Her eyes were wide opened as her mind took in the scene and she suddenly became aware of the circumstances laid out before her. Soon, all she could was stand motionlessly in his arms and listen to the rhythm of his breathing.
Kai pressed her head against his chest and rested his head on top of hers, breathing in the smell of her hair. Sighing, he said, "Mariah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. When I asked you if you'd like to cancel the marriage, it was not because I did not care about you anymore or that I had simply used you like a tool. I just didn't want to make you feel as if you had stay with me, as if I were forcing you out of your free will. I needed to make sure it was really what you wanted, from the bottom of your heart."
Lifting her head, Mariah looked Kai in the eyes and said in a firm tone, "When I said that I loved you, it wasn't out of pity. I wouldn't say something like that in such a carefree way. I really meant it."
Kai smiled, "As did I. In all honesty, I did not want you to leave. So much, that I almost did not want to tell you that my grandfather had called off my marriage. Then you would be mine forever. But that would be unfair to you." He paused to observe her face, searching for signs that showed that she was understood what he was trying to say. The angry expression had dissolved. Reassured, he continued, "And I can not let you unknowingly make such a big decision like that. Now that my grandfather had cancelled the request, our promise no longer seemed valid. I would have felt as if I were lying to you if I did not tell you everything."
Silence befell them as soon as he had finished speaking. Mariah gazed at him intently. Her heart felt relieved that what she had originally thought was false, yet she felt embarrassed to have doubted him. She knew that probably deep down, there was a part of her that understood what he had meant from the beginning…she had simply chosen to believe otherwise. She did not know why she doubted him and she felt ashamed of the tears she had shed so bitterly in front of him. Perhaps it was a sign of how deeply she had truly fallen for him in this short time.
Now it was her turn to surprise him. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned forward and kissed him lightly. "The promise we made…I want to keep it…regardless of what your grandfather says. Please let me stay with you. This is my decision," she declared determinedly. There was no hint of wavering in her voice.
She had caught him off-guard, but her words brought a smile to his face. "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way," he said in a mild and pleasant tone. A thought occurred to him and he paused to think. "But, now that it is not an order by my grandfather, we can start over and take things slowly from the beginning."
Mariah smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."
"Then…um…" Kai stuttered. He suddenly seemed embarrassed about something. "…would you go on a date with me?" he muttered, quickly and almost incoherently
Seeing his cheeks just a tiny bit flushed made Mariah chuckle. "What was that, Kai?" she asked innocently, even though she had heard him perfectly fine the first time.
Kai frowned. He'd seen that sly smile on her face before and it usually meant she was up to no good. Nevertheless, he repeated his question, speaking just as quickly, but this time in a louder voice.
Mariah laughed heartily and stepped away from him. She examined him for head to toe as if she were trying to decide upon a tough decision. "Hmm…" she murmured mischievously, "I'll think about it!"
She laughed and dashed off to the doorway. Her gait was still a bit crooked, but she felt a lot better, due to her lifted spirits. As she was heading towards the doorway, something caught the corner of her eye. Smiling mischievously, she stopped at the doorway and turned to face Kai. "Okay," she replied simply. "But, just because we're going out, doesn't mean that I still can't…" she trailed off and in one quick motion, she had leaned over to the trophy case, flung the door open, and snatched the blue beyblade, "…steal Dranzer!" she exclaimed, sticking out her tongue. With that, she turned on her heel and headed out the door.
"Mariah! Give that back! I don't recall ever giving you permission to touch MY Dranzer!" yelled Kai, chasing after her. He was smiling at this nostalgic feeling.
She turned her head to look over her shoulder and respond to Kai, "Well, this WAS the reason why I promised to help you…all because you didn't want to lose your precious Dranzer. Now, I'm stuck in this mess because of this thing! Hmph, do you love Dranzer more than me?" she asked, sticking out her bottom of her lip to force a sad expression.
"No, duh, of course!" retorted Kai, rolling his eyes as if she had asked the question with the most obvious answer in the world.
It wasn't long before he caught her in his arms. Giggling, she playfully pounded his chest and demanded her release, to which he laughed and promptly denied, promising that never will he let go of her for he loved her. And though they were laughing it off now, the two of them would never forget the time they had spent together in that forest: from their unexpected encounter, to the dangers and circumstances they had faced. The unforeseen romance that neither one had thought would have ever been possible, was set by fate.
--Owari--
Final Notes: It's DONE! It's finally done! I can't believe it! It took me forever, I know TT I'm really, really sorry for making everyone wait for so long. To be completely honest, I've grown out of Beyblade...Sorry, but it just doesn't interest me anymore. But, I just had to finish this story, since I promised I would. I didn't want to leave my readers down. Hope you all enjoyed the ending!
My writing has changed...when I reread my old stuff, it seems so...not me (for lack of a better word) laughs Anyway, I want to thank everyone who've reviewed me. Your reviews are really very encouraging . Thanks to those who've stuck to this fic until the end (and sorry for putting up with my slowness XD bows) Lastly, thanks to all KaixMariah fans! I dedicate this fic to you!
Although I've pretty much given up on writing for Beyblade, it doesn't mean I will give up writing. I will still write, but I want to write original stories, with my own characters and plots. I shall post my stories under my account at so if you enjoy reading my works, please check them out when they are posted!
It's the end, but it's not over yet I've still got one more surprise for all of you, so stay tuned!
-Lady Sapphire
July 15, 2005