A/N: Sooooo sorry this took so long guys! I`ve been so busy and stuff, and on top of that, lately I`ve been really sick :( . Anyway, enough excuses lol. Here`s the next one, gonna try to get ch 5 out asap so keep an eye out for me... I mean it!
Disclaimer: Do not own BB or any of the character.... `cept Villikosto!
Keisha looked around the main lobby as she exited the stadium, her eyes scanning the area for her team. It didn't take her long to spot them and she sighed as she noted the fact that Victoria and Demetra seemed to be arguing. Kage was attempting to calm them both down, but it wasn't working very well.
"-totally un-necessary!" Keisha heard Victoria say angrily as she approached the group. "You destroyed that poor boy's blade with absolutely no remorse whatsoever!"
Victoria sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.
"You can't keep doing this Demetra." The blonde-streaked brunette said softly. "People are going to think we're nothing but bullies! We can get through this without leaving a path of destruction behind us. Please, Demi, do it for us."
Demetra starred at Victoria with an emotionless expression and it was at that moment that Keisha decided to cut the two off before things got ugly.
"So, what do you guys wanna do for supper!" The redhead said a little louder then necessary.
Keisha's three teammates turned to her and Kage gave the redhead a grateful smile. Demetra, as usual, he;d an emotionless expression while Victoria looked thoughtful.
"Hmmm..." The aqua-marine eyed blader began. "I was actually thinking-"
"Hey, Keisha!"
All four members of Villikosto turned towards the new voice to see a yellow ball of fluff making it's way towards them. When it had finally pushed it's way through the crowd, the girls could see that the ball of fluff was in fact the unruly blonde locks of the All Star's own, Max Tate.
"Hey, Max!" Keisha greeted cheerfully. Max smiled at her teammates, receiving one from Victoria and Kage, before turning back to the redhead.
"What you did back there was really cool." He told her admiringly. "Shows a lot of character."
Keisha smiled modestly while her teammates all looked a little confused.
"What'd you do?" Victoria asked curiously.
"I'll tell you later." The redhead said absently over her shoulder. She then turned her attention back to Max. "Thanks, but, I didn't do it to make myself look good."
Max smiled.
"Yeah, I know. That's what makes it so great. You should be proud of yourself, Keisha."
Well, since he put it that way....
Keisha grinned, feeling a warm sensation building somewhere inside her. Now that he mentioned it; she did feel proud. Damn proud!
But was it because she should or because Max had told her to?
Shaking her thoughts aside, Keisha's grin faded to a small smile.
"Thanks." She said again. "And I do."
Max smiled again, then shoved his hands in his coat pockets before looking around a little awkwardly. When he looked back at the redhead, he rocked back and forth on his feet a little as he spoke again.
"So..." He began slowly. "I um... I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch with me? If your not busy."
Keisha grinned wide, feeling a strange bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She opened her mouth to reply but a voice behind her cut her off.
"She is busy." Demetra said tonelessly.
Keisha frowned and turned to stare at Demetra.
"No I'm not." She argued. Demetra narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Aren't you?" She asked briskly. "You don't have anything to do today?"
Keisha rolled her eyes and turned back to Max.
"I've got some team thing later tonight, but I've got lots of time before that."
The redhead smiled brightly at the blonde.
"I'd love to have lunch with you, Max."
Behind the redhead, Demetra's jaw clenched and her eyes shifted from Keisha to Max and narrowed threateningly. Instead of commenting however, she simply turned on her heel and headed for the exit of the building.
Kage starred at Max for a moment, seemingly studying him, before finally turning to Keisha and lifting her hands in the air. Keisha smiled warmly at the older girl and nodded.
"I'll be careful." She promised. "See you later."
Kage turned her attention to Max, looked him over again, then gave him a nod and a whisper of a smile before turning to leave as well.
Victoria grinned at the pair and gave them a playful wink.
"Have fun kiddies!" She teased, turning her attention to Keisha. "I want all the juicy details when you get back!"
Keisha blushed lightly as Victoria blew her a kiss before turning and jogging after her two older teammates.
Clearing her throat, Keisha turned her attention back to the now grinning Max and willed her blush away.
"Anyway.." She said conversationally. "Shall we?"
Max laughed and nodded, then stepped up beside the redhead and lead her towards the exit.
"So." The blonde said, giving Keisha a cheeky grin. "Aside from your Captain, ya think I passed the whole 'meet the best friends' thing?"
Keisha laughed heartily as the two pushed open the huge front doors and exited the building.
"With flying colors." She replied playfully.
"So, tell me about yourself."
Keisha laughed as she munched on another long fench fry. When it had disappeared, she shrugged.
"What d'ya wanna know?"
Max was thoughtful for a moment but the question he was obviously thinking about seemed to be eating him alive and finally he couldn't contain his curiosity any longer.
"Was AJ Topper right about your team name?" He blurted at once. Keisha jumped and blinked at him for a moment before finally laughing and nodding.
"Yea, he was. Demi and her brother, Breal -- you met him, remember -- picked it out when we first formed. I thought it sounded pretty cool so I agreed. Kage liked it too so, being outnumbered, Victoria reluctantly agreed."
Keisha laughed again as she picked up another fry and ate it before speaking again.
"She never did like the name."
Max frowned and shivered.
"No wonder." He replied, making Keisha grin. "It's so.... cold."
"It's just a name." The redhead said indifferently. "Not a title. We could be called the Sunshine Daisies for all the difference it makes. It still doesn't define who we are."
Max snorted at this and grinned.
"That's true." He said with a laugh, making a disappearing act with a handful of his own fries as well. "So how do you guys know each other then?"
"We all grew up in the same orphanage together."
At this, Max nearly choked on the drink he'd been sipping and had to resort to a fit of coughing until his air passage was clear again.
Oblivious to the fact that Max had nearly just choked, Keisha continued as if nothing had happened.
"We were all left behind when we were babies, most of us only days old. We started blading when we were about four or five, not really knowing what we were doing of course but having fun all the same.
When we were about eight or nine, some blunette guy shows up at the orphanage and says he's Demetra's brother and wants to take her home. When she met with him and he told her he was taking her home, she refused to go. Obviously, we were all a little skeptical about him, they look nothing alike. But he produced proof -- birth certificates and legal documents. That proved it. So, Demi agreed to go with him -- On one condition."
Keisha smiled fondly and starred at the table in a daze as she absently swirled her straw around in her glass.
"She told him she'd only go with him if the rest of us could come too. So, Breal willingly adopted us too."
"And thus started the legacy of Villikosto!" Max teased playfully. Keisha grinned and nodded.
"Basically, yeah." She said with a laugh. Suddenly she frowned.
"I don't know why I was left behind but...."
The redhead reached into her pocket and pulled out her blade, lovingly fingering the bit on top as she starred at it.
"But I know my parents must have loved me.... they must have had a reason to give me up, because... they left me Totori. So I guess they wanted to protect me, or didn't want me to be alone, right?"
Although he knew it was meant to be a rhetorical question, Max reached across the table and curled his fingers around Keisha's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I'm sure that's exactly right." He said softly, giving the emerald-eyed blader a warm smile when she looked up at him. "A bitbeast is special. They wouldn't have left it with you of they didn't really love you."
Keisha stared into Max's ocean-blue eyes for a few moments before finally smiling and nodding. She gave the hand wrapped around hers a gentle squeeze in return.
"Thanks Max." She said gratefully. The blonde smiled and gave her hand one more light squeeze before pulling it away.
"Hey, it's no problem." He said kindly.
Looking down at his food, the blonde thought about the truth he'd just learned about his new friend and suddenly lost his appetite. Glancing up at the redhead across from him, he could tell that Keisha was no longer hungry either; if the way she was picking at her food was any indication.
Taking a deep breath, Max produced his biggest, most winning smile and sat up straight.
"So! How about I show you around a bit?" He asked enthusiastically. Keisha looked up at him and grinned before nodding once.
"Yea, sounds great!"
"Alrighty then! Let's go."
The two stood up and walked to the front of the restaurant, and after much arguing, Max managed to convince Keisha to let him pay. But not, however, before she insisted that she would pay next time.
"You're kidding! He actually said that?!"
Max laughed and nodded as he watched Keisha laugh in amusement. Seeing how much of a kick she was getting out of the shared memory he playfully mocked his ex-Captain again.
"Today, eat, drink and be merry. For tomorrow... You train!"
Keisha stopped walking and doubled over in kinks, holding her stomach as she nearly laughed herself to tears.
"Oh man!" She managed through her laughter. "How melo-dramatic can you get?"
The redhead straightened up and Max grinned, happy she was finding so much amusement in his playful antics.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Keisha grinned again.
"You know what?" She asked, her grin widening to stretch from ear to ear. Max gave her an odd look, but was still grinning nonetheless.
"What?"
"I bet Demetra and Kai would be a perfect couple!"
Max snorted with laughter as he imagined this.
"I duno." He replied teasingly. "I think it would be a pretty cold and depressing relationship."
The blonde pulled himself up to his full height and crossed his arms. He then lifted his chin and looked down his nose at Keisha as his face took on a very serious, very Kai-like expression.
"Good battle. Obviously all our time together has paid off. Now we can cut our training down to six and a half days instead of seven. That gives us a whole few hours to rest."
Keisha had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing. Instead she straightened up and mimicked Max's pose, looking up at him with a mirror image of Demetra's stotic, concentrated look.
"Of course, we could do that. But then we wouldn't spend as much time together. You know how much I love making you sweat."
This time it was Max's turn to double over with laughter, having thoroughly lost his Kai-like resolve.
"She... wouldn't.... really say... that..... would she?"
Keisha grinned as she watched the blonde laugh himself to tears just like she had earlier.
"Not in a thousand lifetimes!" The redhead replied with a wide grin.
Max straightened up and took a deep breath.
"Ahhhh!" He sighed happily. "I can't remember ever laughing so hard in my life.. and that's saying something!"
Keisha laughed again and finally the two continued on their way, both laughing and teasing about the two Captains, neither of them meaning any harm.
After each acquiring an ice cream, the two finally ended up at the beach and decided to sit and watch the sunset.
"I like you." Max said suddenly, a wide grin on his face as he starred out over the water. "You're different."
Keisha laughed and placed her free hand behind her to prop herself up in the sand.
"I try."
Max smiled and turned to look at the redhead.
"I'm glad I met you Keisha." He said truthfully. Smiling, she turned towards the blonde and nodded.
"Ditto." She said softly.
Max turned back towards the horizon and gave his ice cream a few licks before speaking again.
"Hey, no matter what happens during this tournament I think we should decide to stay friends."
Keisha bit her lip and turned back to look over the horizon. Unnoticed by her, her ice cream began to melt as she sifted through her thoughts. It wasn't until Max laughed and spoke that she realized her once-frozen treat was becoming a huge mess.
"You might wanna eat that before it becomes a milkshake.'
Emerald eyed looked down at her hand and gave it a lopsided smile. She licked the sticky treat from her hand and licked at the ice cream as Max had while she thought for a bit.
She wanted nothing more then to remain friends with Max, no matter what, but she knew what both her and her team were like when they were in front of the dish; nothing stood in their way and no one got any breaks or mercy. Even as the most fun and spirited member of Villikosto, Keisha was no push-over....
If they were to face each other in the dish, who's to say the blonde would want to be friends with her after wards?
Finally the redhead took a deep breath and looked back over at the blonde, forcing a warm smile when she saw he was looking at her.
"I'd like nothing more then that, Max..." She replied softly.
Max smiled happily.
"Good." He said simply, turning then back to his ice cream just as the sun sank below the horizon.
Keisha laughed as she stepped off the elevator with Max. The two had talked about anything and everything and in just a few hours had managed to kindle a sort of kinship between them. Like kindered spirits meant to compliment each other, they were sorely reluctant to leave each others company.
"So, what time does your flight go out on Sunday?" Max asked curiously. Keisha looked up thoughtfully until a number came to her and she looked back at the blonde.
"One-thirty pm I think. You?"
Max grinned.
"Sweet! Mine too! I guess that means we're on the same flight! You wanna sit by me? I'm sure Rick wouldn't mind switching."
Keisha grinned back and nodded.
"I'm supposed to be sitting by Victoria but, Kage's just across the isle, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind either."
"I'm beginning to rethink this whole American tournament."
Keisha's head snapped up and both her and Max stopped walking as they starred at the tall girl leaning against the wall ahead of them.
"Demi?" Keisha asked in surprised.
Demetra was leaning against the wall outside of Villikosto's hotel room, her arms crossed and eyes closed with the usual serious look and frown on her face.
Ignoring Keisha as if she hadn`t spoken, the silver-eyed blader spoke again.
"Seem's like this God-forsaken country is making you forget all your values."
The Captain opened her eyes and lifted her head to look up at the redhead with a cold glare.
"Like your teammate's opinions and feelings. Consideration. Honesty.... and Punctuation."
Keisha furrowed her brows as she starred at her Captain.
"Wha-?"
Max looked over at Keisha as she gasped, and frowned in confusion.
"What? What's wrong?"
Her hands over her mouth and eyes a little wide, Keisha replied.
"The meeting!" She gasped breathlessly. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her cellphone and cringed when she realized she was two full hours late for their team meeting.
"Demi, I am so sorry!" She said guiltily.
Demetra said nothing but her frown deepened. Keisha continued.
"I'll be ready in two minutes flat! I swear!"
"So much for not being distracted, Keisha." Demetra said coldly. Keisha frowned.
"I said I was sorry, Demetra." She replied coldly, returning her Captain's glare. "I'm not distracted and it won't happen again."
Without another word, Keisha stalked past Demetra and into the room.
Demetra's eyes didn't follow the redhead, instead they stayed locked on the blonde before her and waited until the door beside her had closed again before narrowing ever-so-slightly.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, Max shifted back and forth between his feet. He remembered his and Keisha's mocking session and felt worse as he now starred into Demetra's dark face. Lifting a hand up to rub his arm, Max looked away from the taller girl.
"Hey, uh... I'm sorry Demetra. I didn't mean to keep Keisha out so late. It's not her fault, it's mine. I forgot about your meeting and I wasn't watching the time."
Max looked back up at the girl and smiled kindly.
"You see, I was showing her around and-"
"You're right." Demetra interrupted. "It is your fault. And excuse my ignorance, but I fail to see the point in 'showing her around' when we'll be leaving in two days anyway."
Max frowned again. Boy, cold didn't describe this girl! This girl was frigid!
Taking a deep breath, Max decided to be the bigger man -- figuratively speaking -- and smiled again.
"I know. Again, I'm sorry."
Demetra starred at the blonde for another few moments, seemingly staring right through his soul, and this time Max forced himself not to look away -- though it was very hard. Finally she snorted humorlessly and turned away again before closing her eyes once more.
"Not as sorry as you will be if you decide to trust her."
Caught off guard by this comment, Max blinked at the Captain.
"Wh-.... what do you mean?"
Without moving a muscle or opening her eyes, Demetra spoke again.
"If you're naive enough to think that your petty little offerings of friendship will save you if you two are matched together; then you really will be sorry."
Now Demetra looked up at Max and starred intently into his eyes again.
"Keisha was born to beybattle. It's her life. For your sake, you'd better not hope she'll take it easy on you just because you've had a few cutesy little moments together."
Max pulled himself up to his full height now, a strange courage overcoming him.
"You may be right about her not going easy on me." He said defiantly. "And I don't want or expect her to. But you're wrong about her. We've agreed to be friends no matter what happens!"
Demetra snorted with amusement this time and closed her eyes with a smirk.
"Friends?" She mocked. "You'll be her friend only as long as you're not in her way."
Now the silver eyes opened and locked with blue again, and this time they held a look more intense then Max had ever seen in any pair of eyes before.
"Real friendship isn't forged over a few days. It's something that takes years, experience and shared memories and hardships. You can't have that kind of bond just from 'going to lunch together'. If it comes down to you or us, who do you honestly think she'll pick?"
Max blinked at Demetra, utterly stunned.
"That's... not true..." He replied softly, not really sure he believed his own words but not wanting to believe Demetra's either.
Demetra smirked and pushed away from the wall as if she were done waiting.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." She said simply.
Max opened his mouth to reply but stopped as the door to the hotel room opened. He blinked at Demetra again as she uncrossed her arms and began to walk towards the elevator.
"She... knew Keisha was coming..." Max thought in awe. "She couldn't have heard her inside the room could she? These things are supposed to be soundproof... So.. it's like she knew exactly when Keisha would be finished or... like she could sense her coming.."
Noting the look on the blonde's face, Demetra smirked.
"It's sinking in isn't it?" She subtly whispered in his ear as she walked past him. "You know I'm right. You could never have the bond we share. You'll never take our place."
Max swallowed hard, not looking at the tall blader as she walked past him and onto the elevator.
Keisha locked the hotel room door and stuffed her key into her pocket before running for the elevator as well. When she was on, she smiled wide and waved after the blonde.
"Sorry I gotta leave so quickly, Max!" She called through the closing door. "Thank you! I had fun! See you Sunday!"
Max waved to her, forcing a wide smile.
"Bye, Keisha! Thanks for hanging with me!"
Finally the doors closed and Max watched the numbers light up on the elevator as he thought.
"It's sinking in isn't it?..... You could never have the bond we share. You'll never take our place."
Max shook his head to rid himself of Demetra's words. She was wrong! He just knew it! He didn't want to take hers or her team's place! But who's to say Keisha didn't have room in her heart for him as well as them? He was her friend too damn it! And he was going to keep being her friend!
Drawing himself up confidently, Max walked to the elevator and pushed the down button.
"Keisha is my friend too!" He insisted in his head. "You're wrong, Demetra! I'll show you!"
When the doors finally opened Max climbed in without a second thought towards Demetra or her warning.