Welcome to the third installment! I apologize for the slight delay. Those who read over my livejournal know that this was meant to be up last night, but I ended up having some last minute cramming for an exam, as well as every season finale on tv just happened to be on. This chapter gets really weird and dark at the end, but please bear through it and maybe gain some more insight as to who Aspin and Kane are as people, and just what sort of relationship they do have.

The disclaimer is the usual. Amber belongs to Zadien, and I do not own any rights to Beyblade.

Fayeth

別の時間では、別の場所

Betsu no jikan de ha, betsu no basho

Two Years Ago

Aspin sighed as she shifted uncomfortably on the cafeteria bench. It was another typical day at school, if the fact that Aspin was dead tired and undeniably busy. Now she almost regretted trying to be so involved at the academy, but she kept reassuring herself that it would all pay off in the long run.

She let out a small smile as she crossed off yet another thing on her "To-Do" list, and decidedly inserted another. It was a technique that she had learned from a book she had to read and do a report on for English, Psychology and the True Human Mind. Albeit, at first she had been reluctant to have to read and report on a non-fiction book that was chosen from a predetermined list. It was truly her luck that she had been able to choose early on, and she chose the first thing that had caught her attention.

Kane, being the baka that he was, had made fun of her the entire way up to their dorms. He had chosen some lame book about aliens as she could recall. Like a typical male he had chosen the first book he saw that screamed possible science-fiction with its bold silver title and holographic jacket, a true baka indeed.

She had easily completed the first paragraph of the report, which was to consist of an explanation as to what about the book had caused her to choose it. She said that it was because she was considering choosing a career that had a more social focus and, that the best way to understand society was to understand the human mind first. It was the truth, but only a partial truth. The entire truth was that Kane had confused the heck out of her after that first day back at the academy.

"Kane!! BAKA!!"

Aspin's anguished cry could be heard all throughout the senior level dorm that morning.

A few grumbling occupants stumbled out into the hallways to figure out the source of such commotion.

Knowing that the door to his dorm would be unlocked, due to the fact that Enrique claimed to have troubles unlocking doors at night when he was in a hurry to use the washroom. The rest of the student population chose to believe that he left his door open so as not to shut out any girls who would potentially loose their way in the darkened halls and wander into his dorm.

The chances of that happening were slim to none.

She barged into his room, startling a bunch of its male occupants to say the least. Stunned half naked males stood in various positions throughout the spacious room, their eyes fixed on the fuming guest. Under normal circumstances, she might blush while secretly oogling the boys, because she was purely female, but today she stared at one particular boxer-clad male who in return gulped.

"Woah… hey Aspin," Enrique began, reaching out a timid hand to lay on her shoulder, only to have it slapped away.

"You," she ground out, pointing an accusing finger at Kane, who decided that perhaps backing up just a few feet would be best.

Her eyes sent pure daggers in his direction, rather than lust and pure adoration over the sheer amount of skin that he was displaying. Enrique on the other hand took to sulking beside Kai, who grumbled over being barged in on, and admiring what he would later dub in his photographic memory as "Aspin, in PJs. Cute ones at that!".

"Seikou no baka! Ka. Shi ta nani o kangae o mono ha nani demo yuusuru! Ka. Kiroku shi ta! Kangae tara watashi to no kiroku ha iumademonaku dare demo to shikashi I yori orokamono no aru sono anata no ooku o saisho ni kiroku shi te mo yoi! Enrique niyori yoi chansu ga aru!"

Aspin was fuming. Kane merely gaped as he desperately tried to decipher her rapid Japanese, and the other male occupants stared in awe, especially Enrique who upon hearing his name, perked up slightly.

"Enrique toka. seikou suru!" Kane shouted back at her in disbelief as he sent the boy a pointed glare.

"Don't try and change the subject!"

"The hell is your problem?!"

"Anata no mondai no baka! You scored?!"

Kane looked sheepish, "Yeah… about that."

"Don't you 'about that' me!" she screamed at him as she approached.

She seized him by the shoulders and proceeded to forcefully shake him, which was quite amusing since Kane was noticeably taller than her, as they continued with their little spat.

They didn't notice when the rest of the boys dressed into their uniforms and proceeded to breakfast, but later on Aspin realized that she was grateful that they did, and that nobody lingered around the living quarters to snicker at the fight.

Mere moments after they had all left, Kane swooped down and claimed her lips as his own.

Aspin gathered up her things and packed them neatly into her shoulder bag. She knew that she had a lot of work to be done, but she was tired of forcing herself through it only to later feel that she hadn't submitted her best effort. It was also due to the fact that she wanted to at least grab a small snack before she went off to meet Kane.

Why Kane? She still couldn't quite answer the question for herself. She had agreed to help him by reading over the final draft of his report, after nearly two weeks of him following her around like a dog and romancing her at every opportunity.

She had settled for the answer that it was because she wished to pursue a career in a social field. She knew that the best preparation that she could possibly get when it came to difficult situations with difficult people was to try and work with one of the most difficult people in her life currently.

She was just about to walk through the stone archway to get into the cafeteria when a blue blur appear promptly in front of her vision. She jumped back in response, eyes opening comically and let out a shrill yelp of surprise.

"What's with you?" Kane asked, fixing her with an owlish stare.

"N-nothing baka," she replied as she tried to regain her composure. She knew that her face must be beat red by now, and just to avoid looking at him, she bent over to fawn over her skirt.

"Yeah… ok," Kane drawled out, "Where do you think you were going anyways?"

"I was going to eat stupid, what else do you do in a cafeteria," she stood straight and proceeded to push past him, "I've still got ten minutes before I'm supposed to be meeting you, don't get your boxers in a knot."

Kane followed her, a seemingly thoughtful look plastered to his face. A look that was mentally disturbing but infinitely sexy Aspin decided. And I never want to see it again damnit! She walked over to a display of baked goods, trying her best to ignore the whispers and glares that she was receiving from various locations scattered in the spacious expanse.

Yet another reason why she didn't want to be seen with Kane right now, her little spat with him that while back had earned her a lot of unwanted attention. For the entire morning she was plagued by seniors groaning over the lack of sleep they had received, which was a load because they should have already been proceeding down for breakfast.

Of course, the junior members of the student body heard about all of this, and they came up to their own conclusions. For what seemed like ages there was gossip about her plaguing every hallway it seemed, for a day it was amusing, but as weeks drawled on, it was just plain annoying.

Eventually a consensus was decided. It was a lovers spat, and upon hearing that Aspin felt like fainting dead away.

Since then she noticed that whenever she was seen anywhere near Kane, the female population, as well as some males which bothered her, would send her the most evil faces they could think up, and she would hear some rather rude whispers to say the least. Following that, there were hate letters that would magically appear in her room. Amber and the other occupants were nice enough to dispose of the majority of them for her, but there were always times when they simply weren't fast enough.

"I thought I told you that we aren't to be seen together," she muttered in a low voice.

Kane perked up upon being spoken to, "I don't see what the problem is. Here, let me buy that."

He grabbed the muffin she had chosen and placed it in front of the cashier, who glared at Aspin and fixed Kane with a dreamy gaze. He fished about in his wallet.

"Sorera o hanasu koto o mo kii ta koto o watashi to, watashi shitte iru furi o shi te ha ike nai."

Kane tossed the muffin over his shoulder to her, ignoring the cashier who had just started opening her mouth as if to say something to him. He turned and began walking out of the cafeteria, unfortunately leaving Aspin with a fuming cashier who promptly dragged her finger across her throat. She quickly jogged to catch up with him; the female population was officially insane.

She was sitting on the floor, rather uncomfortably she should add. She would have accepted the invitation to join him on his bed, had Kane not had a lecherous grin plastered over his face while he said it. She sighed as she flipped through the pages of the report, staring at it blankly.

"And your opinion would be?"

She gave him a glare from the corner of her eye, watching him as he partially leaned over her shoulder to watch her as she read through his work.

"Its… perfect," she muttered, trying hard not to let the disbelief slide into her voice.

It had come as quite a shock to her. She had half expected his report to be only half complete when she finally agreed to his request. Never had she imagined that it would be a decent length, intelligent, well flowing, and free from any errors in grammar or spelling that she could pick out.

"You didn't get this off the internet did you?" She almost wished he would reply with a yes, just so that she could label him as the school idiot once again.

She heard him grunt from behind her, "It you want I'll write yours too."

"I like to do my own work thanks," she rolled her eyes at him. He seemed to be gloating over the fact that he was so – smart. Once again she prayed that he was in a dream.

"Maybe I'm the same way as you," she finally looked at him, emerald eyes conveying her confusion. "I like to do my own work. Why does that seem so unbelievable to you?"

Time seemed to slow for Aspin as she prepared herself for the oncoming onslaught of emotions and insults that were about to be thrown. This was just the way things were between them, and she was finally starting to see just how bad things really were between them.

It was natural for them to argue, or so she had once believed, they had been doing it since elementary school after all. Deep down she knew it was her own insecurities that allowed her to be this way. Kane never ceased to astonish her with his talents, and with his somewhat contagious personality. He was funny, he was loyal, he was active, and now she knew that he was hard working, albeit of course he could get to be a bit annoying. Everybody else seemed to have a decent relationship with him, so why couldn't she?

"It's unbelievable because it's never happened before, that's why," she answered, watching as his eyes reflected hurt before steeling themselves.

"Only you seem to have these problems," she could hear his voice lowering, hear the hurt and anger in his voice.

It thrilled her, made her chest swell in pride in knowing that his man had been brought down by nothing more than her words. She could practically visualize the insults and retaliations that were building up in her head. She would insult him, and he would retaliate, she would feign hurt, unleash her inner rage, and she would strike. She would strike until she could strike no more, and even then she would continue, continuing on until he would crumble beneath her words, and then she would leave.

And it was then that she finally realized. It dawned upon her, and it felt like a cold slap across a cheek. She was a sadist, she reveled in causing others pain, unleashing cruelty.

It had happened before, so why had she never known?

It had happened when she found out about her fathers cheating. She had accidentally let the accusation slide, revealing to both of her parents that she had been spying on him, had seen him in the act with her. Was she secretly trying to hurt them both?

She had lied about feeling ill, had spent endless hours crying over the loss of her family to her mother, never considering how her mother was feeling. When they had finally left for Tokyo, she began to stay out later, speaking rarely to her mother who so dearly needed her support right then. Was she punishing her?

And now, she was punishing Kane. Punishing him so that she could feel better about herself, so that she could bathe herself in the euphoria that always seemed to come after she shot him to the ground.

"Aspin?"

She barely registered the shaking that he was giving her, but she focused so clearly on his eyes, on they way they held her own. She could see her own reflection in the blue depths, noted how the shade of his eyes darkened towards the center. She saw concern masking his previous anger as he tried to search her out, and she felt her dark desires take over, clouding her very judgement.

"I'm a sadist," Kane heard her whisper.

It had been so quiet that it had nearly been blown away by their breaths as the mingled.

"A… sadist?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

She nodded and Kane suddenly felt the incredible urge to back away, to send her way from his room. She was getting closer, pink lips parting, green eyes staring. She made contact, soft lips' pressing firmly against his own was all he could feel.

Instinctively he tried to push her away, this wasn't what he had asked for, but he found himself unable to respond to his own will as he pulled her closer against him. He pressed harder into her, greedily devouring the offered mouth, plunging himself in and becoming lost in the intense heat. He finally pulled away, nipping lightly at her bottom lip before breaking all contact.

"I… I want to hurt you," her voice quivered, her green eyes looked almost fearful.

He was falling into her trap, this cruel trap that she had laid out for him. She wanted him to hurt for ruining the image she had made of him in her mind. She wanted him to hurt for the tensions she was feeling at school now. She wanted him to hurt for causing her so much confusion, for showing her such tenderness that she didn't want, for kissing her all those mornings ago.

Kane narrowed his eyes, he knew that she didn't want this. Aspin seemed to have lost her mind right then and there, but she had never really been herself since she had found her father. She had been bitter, angry, and overachiever seeking perfection from herself that she hadn't been able to find in her family. She was emotional and disturbed, to locked in the past.

She was approaching him again but he found he couldn't stop himself. He grabbed at her, inviting her, spilling them onto his bed. He pressed a knee between her legs as she whimpered beneath him, begging him to kiss her.

"I won't," he said sternly.

She hesitated then, regarding him as she considered what he had just said to her.

"Why not?"

"I want to help Spin… we can't do this."

"It's my decision."

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"I want to hurt you."

"There's something wrong."

"I know."

Tears pooled in her eyes, causing them to shimmer in the afternoon light. Kane sighed and moved off her, pulling her up to sit beside him.

"How long, have you been having these issues?"

"You know how long," she smirked sadly. Leave it to Kane to go psychiatrist on her.

"So why involve me?"

"Are you angry?" She waited for his response before continuing, "We have so much in common. Each day I see more similarities, and we've known each other so long."

"So you want to liberate yourself?"

She nodded solemnly. She knew what the problem was, and she knew that he knew as well. He was just too smart to not be able to tell that she wanted him gone because he was too close. Her father had been one of the closest people in her life, but his betrayal had shattered her. Kane had filled a void that had been created in her heart by being the next closest male in her life, but he was too close and it scared her. She wanted to hurt him before he could hurt her.

"Avoidance…" she heard him mutter beneath his breath, "if we avoid each other, will it be better?"

She bit her tongue, was this really what she wanted? She hated to admit it, but Kane was important to her, more important to her than anybody knew. She liked him, and she promised herself that she wouldn't ever say it, but she loved him, and she was firmly keeping herself in denial. She knew the feeling was mutual, they had made out in the airport right before she left after all.

"Do you think that we should?"

"If it helps you then yes," was his reply.

"Alright." She stood up and silently gathered her supplies.

She was careful to keep her back turned to him for fear that he would notice her tears. She didn't know why she was so emotional. Other than their single make out session right before she left for two years, they hadn't ever had any sort of romantic or sexual relationship. They had never dated, never really hung out, and up until this school year, never ever kissed on any other occasion. Here she was, crying like a little girl who had just lost her most precious doll.

She walked out into the hall, keeping a still posture all the while, and never once looking back. Not until he called her, "Aspin…"

She turned back to him, avoiding all eye contact.

"A…ashiteru," and she looked up and smiled, "Betsu no jikan de ha, betsu no basho, watashi tachi ha issho ni aru, watashi ha yakusoku, suru."

She nodded and quickly turned away, heading back to her respective dorm. For a moment she had felt lost, but now with his words ringing in her ears, she already felt better. He didn't hate her, he didn't resent her, he didn't label her as a freak. He maintained hope and strength when he knew that she couldn't, and helped to firm her resolve and give her what she needed to fight back against her own insecurites.

In another time, another place, we'll be together, I promise.

She couldn't help the giddy feeling that was settling in her stomach.

I love you too Kane.

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Review replies and translations are up on my livejournal.