Chapter 4
Kai got back soon after, seeing that only Tori was sitting outside. "Hey, welcome back." She greeted, giving him one of her usual kind smiles as she stood up.
Kai ignored her smile and greeting and was just quick to ask, "Where are the others?"
"Take a guess." Tori said, sitting back down.
"Taking a break and eating?" Kai tried.
"Bingo!" Tori said quickly. "So are you feeling better?" she asked carefully.
"Nothing was wrong in the first place."
"You were gone a really long time though." Tori commented.
"So?"
"So you shouldn't have gone so far away, and with a history of getting kidnapped that this team has it isn't that safe for you. The others weren't worried 'cause I gave them a valid lie but I knew you weren't too well and started to worry when you took so long." Tori explained, her usual gentle voice sounding a little frustrated as she spoke.
"You don't need to worry about me." Kai told her monotonously. Getting tired of the constant arguing he walked past her and went inside.
Tori made a sudden gesture, one that was as though she was trying to strangle him. 'It's very obvious that you would like to strangle him Mistress but please don't.' Denzelle laughed.
'You're asking for the impossible again.' Tori informed the tiger.
'Perhaps but you must come to realize that it is his character and you must learn to deal with it.'
'Very much so but a reasonable answer once in a while would make my job a lot easier.'
'Well we both know he has suffered in his past.'
'So, what's that got to do with it now?' Tori asked, almost stupidly. 'It may affect him but it's in the past now.'
Denzelle laughed lightly before asking, 'You've never been into psychology, have you?'
'You've known me for the last twelve years. I think you can answer that by yourself.'
'Indeed, I can.' Denzelle agreed, 'Fact of the matter is that he is trying to protect himself, shielding himself from the world, to hide behind a strong façade to keep him safe from all the bad things life has thrown at him and the things that people may do to him.'
'But by doing that he's missing out on so many great things.'
Denzelle sighed, brown eyes saddening slightly at the thought, 'Yes and it probably makes him feel worse but he's not about to drop his defences for the few good things.'
"Oh, I think…I get it." Tori thought, not realizing she had said that just above a whisper, her eyes saddening too when she finally understood.
"Get what?" Kai asked, walking back outside.
"Ah, its nothing." Tori replied, shaking her head.
Kai said nothing, just sitting on the other end of the porch quietly as he leaned back against a wooden column. Tori drew in her legs to her chest, putting her arms on her knees and resting her head there, yawning exhaustedly, "You're tired." Kai pointed out.
"As are you." Tori retorted, resting her chin on her arm so that she could look at him.
"No, I'm not."
"Well to be honest you look exhausted." Tori stated, honestly.
"Well I'm not."
"Whatever you say." Tori whispered, lying back on her side, yawning again, "Yeah well I am so wake me up when the others decide they've had a good enough break and Tyson stops eating." She said, curling up and shutting her eyes.
Kai sat there, watching as the young girl dozed off and a serene look graced her features. He sat back, closing his own eyes for a few minutes, not in an attempt to sleep but just to relax.
Hours later Tori began to stir. Her brown eyes fluttering open she turned over onto her back, staring at the ceiling for a second before noticing the thin blanket over her thin body. She sat up as she looked around, her eyes settling on the team having a friendly beybattle. She looked around from her position, searching aimlessly for the team captain, who wasn't battling with the rest of the team.
He had just walked out of the Dojo and she was quick to ask with a stern voice, "Hadn't I asked you to wake me when they were done?"
Kai hurriedly looked down at the sudden sound of the cold voice that had interrupted his current thoughts, "Blame the others, they're the ones who claimed you had a tough day and didn't let me."
"And why did that stop you?" Tori asked, getting off the ground, pulling the blanket up with her. He still didn't answer her; he just walked past her and sat on the porch where he had before. Tori just rolled her eyes and walked over to the others to watch the beybattle.
---Next Day---
Tori sighed, walking into the bathroom, being sure to lock the door. Kai was being difficult and it was starting to take everything in her to bear with him for any longer. She was just trying so hard to understand him but it was already getting too hard and she was almost ready to give in.
An idea dawned to her suddenly and she smiled happily. She ran her hands under the running cold water before rinsing her face as she felt she was burning up. She dried off her hands and face, leaving the bathroom she went straight back outside where the others waited for her.
She looked up at them, watching as they stared at her worriedly. "What?" she asked really confusedly.
"Are you alright?" Ray asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Tori answered, confusion still written on her face. "But I need to go out now so training is in Kai's hands for the rest of the day." She said, looking at him as he nodded. Before they could say anything she picked up her backpack and left.
---A Few Hours Later---
Mr Dickinson walked into his office Tori turning in his chair in time to see him walk in. "Oh, Hey Mr Dickinson. Your secretary told me I could come in; she gave me the files I needed too." She said, holding up the files as she got out of his chair and stood in front of him.
"Yes. Did you find what you needed?" Mr Dickinson asked, walking past her and sitting in his chair.
"Yeah, everything I needed, thanks." Tori replied, smiling at the older man.
"Well no problem. So apart from the problems with Kai, how are things with the team going?" Mr Dickinson asked.
"Oh things are going great, they're really nice." Tori answered, sitting down on the chair opposite the desk.
"Quite a lively bunch aren't they?" Mr Dickinson smiled, seeing Tori happy with the new team.
"Yeah they are but things are fine with them, they actually listen to me when I give orders." Tori replied, giggling. "Oh, would you mind if I made copies of these?" she asked suddenly, holding up the files in her hand.
"Of course. I'll have someone copy them and send them to your apartment." Mr Dickinson said, nodding.
"Thanks Mr Dickinson, your help is greatly appreciated." Tori said, standing up and placing the files on his desk. "Well I'd better be going, I hope to go check on the team later." She placed her hand out in front of him for a hand shake, smiling kindly. He took her hand, shook it and she walked out of the office.
Tori walked happily along the cold streets, the gentle wind pushing back her auburn hair. Smiling she ran up the stairs to her apartment, things were going to get better, she guaranteed herself that. She entered the small apartment, lying down on the sofa. She took a deep breath and picked up the cordless phone off the table and called Tyson's place. Kai was the one that answered the phone, his tone of voice sounding the way it always did, monotonous. "Hey, how are things going over there?" Tori asked.
"You don't need to check up on us." Kai told her roughly.
"I admire you Kai and I have complete faith in your skills so if I could I really would just leave you to it but unfortunately it's my job to check in on things." Tori explained, a very faint smile never leaving her face.
"Well we're doing fine. Anything else?" Kai asked, and by the sound of things, he seemed very eager to get rid of the girl.
"Yeah. How are you?"
"Why do you keep asking me that?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because it gets annoying since I've already told you that I'm fine." Kai answered through gritted teeth.
"Wow so sue me for checking up on a team mate." Tori stated, rolling her eyes. "Anyway I have to go and I'll leave you to the team." She concluded, hanging up.
Tori quietly got off the sofa, pausing when the room began spinning and her vision was fading. She grabbed the armrest and held herself up, blinking rapidly to clear her eyesight. It cleared up just fine in a matter of seconds and she made her way to her small kitchen. She looked around for something she could make for dinner, slamming the freezer shut when she realized she ran out of food. Within seconds she was back out of the apartment, walking to the nearby grocer to buy something to eat. On her way back to the apartment she carried 3 bags of groceries when her vision faded again but this time the weight on her arms pulled her down and she instantly collapsed in the middle of the street.
People crowded around the fallen girl but only one dared walk straight up to her and kneel next to her. Ray turned her over, seeing her flushed cheeks and feeling her heated forehead.
---Hours Later---
Ray watched the sleeping girl from a chair by her bed. He had just gotten off the phone with the others, informing them of what had happened and got Kai to let them off training to come and see her. Tori still hadn't woken up yet and she just lay quietly under her silk white sheets. She had a cold cloth on her forehead, wetting the ends of her auburn fringe that hang over it.
Ray stood up to walk to the kitchen but heard a quiet groan from behind him as he left. He turned to Tori whose eyes had just fluttered open, allowing her to stare strangely at the ceiling. "Why am I here?" she whispered to herself.
"You fainted in the street and I got you here." Ray replied quietly, walking back to her and sitting in the chair next to her again.
"Oh." Tori whispered.
"You're fever is going down but stay in here a little longer ok? The others should be here soon." Ray told her.
"Why are they coming?" Tori asked, finally turning her head to look at him.
Ray looked at her disbelievingly, "Well they were worried when I told them so they want to check on you." He replied.
"Why should they worry though?"
"You're our trainer now and our friend so what kind of friends would we be if we didn't check up on you?"
"Alright, I get it." Tori said, laughing lightly as she turned back to staring at the ceiling.
"Ah and by the way, this came for you." Ray said, handing her a brown package.
Tori looked confusedly at the brown covering, wondering what it was. She took it from him and opened it, pulling the batch of papers up a bit. Her eyes widened, finally remembering what they were she put them back in and shoved the package under her bed. Telling Ray it was just some uninteresting papers that her parents had wanted her to read.
As the team had promised they did come to visit and they all enjoyed each others company. Most of them at least. Kai sat in a corner by himself, just overhearing all that was going on. Tori constantly glanced at him constantly, she couldn't help but worry about him. The information she had found only made her worry more about him but she had to learn to keep it under control.
Half way through a conversation exhaustion overtook her completely and she fell asleep. After staying just a few more minutes the others left to go back to the Dojo.
---Next Morning---
Tori opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling as she did every time she woke up. Her hand slid from under the covers, picking up the cool damp cloth from her forehead before staring at it. She smiled, placing it on her bedside table she sat up in her bed. She forced herself off the soft mattress and out from under her warm blankets, she picked up some clothes from her wardrobe and ran into the bathroom.
She undressed and stepped into the shower, running the water over her slender frame. She ran her fingers through her soaking hair as she thought about the team. 'Mistress…' the voice of her faithful bitbeast interrupted her thoughts after several minutes and she shook her head of all thoughts.
'Yes, Denzelle?' Toir signalled the bit beast to talk.
'You're going to be late for school if you keep going through your hair like that for any longer.' She informed kindly.
Tori's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat for a second, '"Oh no I completely forgot about school!" she exclaimed.
'Well you better get moving then.' Denzelle prodded.
Tori nodded, more to herself than to the tiger. She got out of the shower, being careful not to slip on her way out she wrapped a towel around herself and got back out into her bedroom looking for her seifuku. ('Seifuku' is a Japanese school uniform)
She quickly changed, picked up her black case and ran out the apartment door. She looked down at her class schedule, History then Maths. 'Something tells me this is going to be a long day.' She thought, running to her first class.
---Later---
Tori walked exhaustedly to the Dojo, the second she entered she sat on the porch. All the others crowded around her when she sat down, "What are you doing here?" Tyson asked.
"What do you mean?" Tori asked, looking up at them.
"We left a message on your phone telling you that it was best you stay home to rest." Kai answered for them.
"Oh well I had school this morning and I came here straight after." Tori said.
"Are you sure you're alright though?" Ray asked, moving his hand forward to touch her forehead again.
Tori grabbed his hand before he could touch her, her grip softened on contact with his skin and placed his hand back down by his side. "I assure you all that I'm fine now." She said, standing up, eyes cast on the ground.
"You trying to convince us or yourself?" Kai asked coldly.
"I told you that I'm fine now so do me a favour, don't treat me like I'm disabled or something of the sort." Tori almost lashed out of him, the voice of her scolding bit-beast the only thing keeping her from full out yelling at any of them, particularly Kai. "Continue training yourself for a while, I'll just watch, maybe then you'll all shut up." She said, sitting back down and watching as the others obeyed and continued with their training.
Tori kept a close eye on training and to be quite honest, most of the team was starting to be a little afraid of Tori. They knew she wasn't really mad at them and that she was just a little uptight but that didn't change the fact that they kept quiet and didn't dare question her on anything that she did or that went on during training.
That evening Tori allowed the team to go out for ice-cream, leaving her alone at the Dojo with Kai. She got off the porch, walking inside and to the bathroom. Kai walked in behind her, wondering what was wrong and what she was going to do, "Leave me alone, Kai." She ordered, walking into the bathroom and locking the door.
Kai sat outside on the porch, waiting for the girl to come back out. "You're acting really weird today." He informed her, when he heard her walk up behind him.
"Thanks for rubbing it in." Tori said, sitting on the other end of the porch. "You and I really need to stop arguing." She stated quietly, "The others are starting to worry about it." She added.
"Yeah I noticed." Kai informed, "Which sucks cause that means that you and I have to pretend we are actually alright with each other."
Tori shrugged, "It makes no difference to me. I think you're a great person and I've always stayed nice to you, despite the way you've treated me. I think that if we really try that maybe we can actually get along."
"Maybe."
"There's no harm in trying." Tori said, "Though it may take a slice of your pride which in my opinion is a good thing, your pride needs a little slicing." She smiled.
Kai looked at her blankly, "I thought we were going to try get along."
"We were. That doesn't mean I can't make a joke once in a while."
"Fair enough I guess."
"How long do you think the others are going to take?" Tori asked, feeling the pain in her stomach rising again.
"At Tyson's rate, a very long time." Kai replied, staring at the ground again.
"Great." Tori whispered sarcastically, lying down.
"You should really go home."
"They'll ask questions and then they'd get worried and stuff."
"They won't if I lie." Kai said, shaking his head and the girl.
"You'd do that?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at the older boy.
"Consider it as my first act of being 'nice.' Now go!" Kai ordered.
"Thanks, Kai." Tori whispered to him. She got off the porch, picking up her back and leaving quickly.
'That was…very nice of him.' Denzelle said, uttering a word for the first time ever since she left.
Tori lay back on her bed, pulling blankets around her body for some added warmth. 'Yeah it was. I don't think his kindness will last though.'
'What makes you think that?'
'Not sure. Just a thought.'
'Maybe you're right but a little hope may go a long way.'
"Yeah." Tori whispered before falling asleep.
---With The Others---
"Where's Tori, Kai?" Tyson asked, noticing the auburn-haired girl was missing.
"She had to go back home, she needed to do some homework." Kai replied from where he stood on the porch.
"That the truth?" Max asked, carefully.
"Think for a second. Why would I cover for her?" Kai asked them.
"I don't know, maybe you're finally getting along?" Ray tried.
"Even if we were I wouldn't resort to lying for her." Kai said.
The others just shrugged it off and believed Kai when he said that she had left to do homework. Kai continued being in charge of their training for a few more hours. When they started to get, what he had called, 'lazy' he left Tyson's place to go for a walk.
With no intentions of where he wanted to go Kai just let his mind wander while he walked through the streets. When he looked up and stopped walking he noticed he had walked to the beach. Sitting on a wall he stared out at the sea before pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialling Tori's home number. "Hey."
"Hey, Kai. I just called Tyson's, Ray said you weren't there so I was just about to call you."
"Why?" Kai asked, confusedly.
"I just wanted to see if you were ok and say…thanks for covering for me." Tori answered hesitantly.
"We're even."
"So…why are you out so late, I thought the others were just having dinner?" Tori asked, trying to strike a friendly conversation with the older teen.
"They are." Kai confirmed.
"And you aren't there having dinner…why?"
"Not hungry."
"Really? Cause I spoke to Ray earlier and even he said that you didn't have breakfast, nor lunch and not even a snack before dinner."
"Like I said, I'm not hungry."
"You're starving yourself, which usually happens when something is wrong."
"Do you really want me to hang up on you?" Kai asked her, frustrated that she was interfering again.
"Not really. But I haven't had dinner yet, if you like you could come over and have dinner with me." Tori suggested.
"No thanks. I should be getting back to the others anyway."
"Well alright. Call if you need anything. Bye for now." Tori said, Kai hanging up straight away instead of replying.
"I won't." Kai muttered. He got off the wall and turned to the way he came, exhaustedly making his way back to the Dojo before the others called to check up on him.
A/N: So that's chapter four, for ya! What did you think? So Kai and Tori are going to try getting along for the sake of the team, its fine so far but will it last? What do you think? Please tell me all that you thought in a review.