Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. I only own my OCs, and the plot line.
Summary:The threat of higher level competition in the tournaments to come makes Mr. Dickenson assign Riley Phillips to help train the G Revolutions. Tyson knows her. She was the one who taught him to really beyblade. But how much does he know about the time between back then and now? And why is she singling Kai out?
To Turn The Tides
Chapter Seven: Standard Disclaimers Apply
Distant Storm
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Kai stood, leaning against the car. February had become March and March had indeed come in like a lion and out like a lamb. April was here, with cool days of sun and clouds, and the rains that never seemed to end. He was waiting for Riley, as she had said something about meeting him at Mr. Dickenson's building, the B.B.A. headquarters.
His mind began to wander back to February, and the amazing kiss that had been his first. He had never met a girl who could kiss like that, then claim it as her first kiss, and then tell him that she wasn't embarrassed about it and he shouldn't be either. She had said that it was cool with her, she didn't mind, and that all that did matter was that Tala had been flabbergasted.
Kai smirked. He had been like a fish out of water.
"Hey, quit staring off into space, would ya? You're freaking me out!"
"Hi, Riley." He turned his attention to the brunette, who was clad in jeans and a warm hoodie. It was pretty cold today.
"Hola."
"What language don't you speak?"
"There's plenty of them."
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere where I can get coffee. I'm cold."
"You've got it."
He started the car and they jetted away, not even noticing the Chairman, who was standing just inside the doors watching, interested in the matters of the two teens. He hadn't been aware that Kai gave out rides in his car, especially this one, which was beyond expensive.
"So, guess what I got from Mr. Dickenson?"
He looked at her curiously. "What?"
"This." She held out a paper, and it had Mr. Dickenson's and the B.B.A. seal on top of it. It was a series of lists. Kai peered at it for a moment before realizing the topic of these lists. They were names.
"What is this?"
"Every competitor for the tournament registered."
"How many of them are infinites?"
"We'll count later, I haven't gone through the lists. That's why I'm going to need coffee. This will take a while."
"And you aren't going to tell the guys?"
"Oh, I will, but when Dickenson gives out the speech telling all of the the lo-down on the dates for the tournament. That'll be in a week or so." She reached for the dial to turn up the heat, but he slapped her hand away.
"When you have a car, you can control the settings."
"But I'm cooooold." He shrugged. "Now's the part where you tell me-"
"Deal with it."
She pulled her hands into the sleeves of her hoodie and pulled the hood over her head, so she looked almost like a red eyed penguin in the black hooded sweatshirt. He couldn't resist a smirk at her attire, she looked pretty much hysterical.
"Please?"
He shook his head, and turned at the light, pulling up in front of the most expensive coffee place in the city. "You're lucky I'm even taking you in this place. The paparazzi will be everywhere."
"You aren't Dickenson's sort-of-daughter, you have nothing to worry about."
"I'm here with a girl," He paused. "They'll think it's a date."
"And I'm your coach, so they can deal with it." She smirked. "It's not like we're repeating the V-Day incident."
He laughed almost nervously, one of his newest word associations, but quickly shut up as she opened the door to the café. "Welcome to- Oh, it's people who I already know. Good. I'll finally get some tips!"
"You wish, Nina."
"Hello to you too, Riley," The blonde said, rolling her eyes. "How can I poison- I mean serve you today?"
"Make sure that if you kill her, you don't kill me. I'm a victim."
Riley shoved Kai with her elbow. "He's all afraid that the place is going to get swarmed with the press and all, and they're going to accuse us of being on a date, since we're everywhere together."
"God," Nina said, grabbing two large cups from behind her back and bringing them out in front of her. "No one comes in here, don't worry about it. Do you want sugar, cream, what?"
"Two sugars, double cream," Kai responded, in a monotone.
Riley looked up at her friend. "Same as him, but I want a double shot of hazelnut cream instead."
"Good choice," Nina said, walking away to go get the drinks ready. The place was deserted, and they moved to a booth looking out at the dreary skies. It was starting to get dark despite how early it was, as the clocks had yet to be adjusted to accomodate they daylight hours.
The brunette drew out the papers and spread them around the table. She then pulled a highlighter out of her purse and began running it over certain teams, names, and organizations listed under the titles. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us," she said carefully. "It's going to be a tough year."
"We'll win," Kai affirmed. "Aren't you the firm believer in faith?"
She nodded. "Yeah, but more than half the competitors are infinites. She had slid in next to him, on the outside of the booth. "See this guy here?" She pointed to the name Hujika, Rafael. Kai nodded. "The last time I saw him, he was about six foot eight, and had a beyblade with such sharp edges, it could slice the average beyblade in half. That's why we use diamond alloys in our beyblades. Only diamond can cut diamond, but blades like ours," she paused as he drew out Dranzer's newly improved beyblade, which had been kept a secret, to everyone except for the two of them, "Are made out of this alloy that was newly discovered. The diamondback alloys are the hardest alloys in existance right now. Harder than pure diamond."
"You use them because of this guy?"
"He's one of the five original infinity members."
"Who are the others?"
Riley scanned the list. "Amanda, of course, she isn't entering, but she's sending minions, that's why some of these bladers are marked with an 'I' next to their names. It's just to distinguish blader gangs and ranks. Other than that, the others of the first five are Wesley Adrow, he's on the list somewhere, he's entering with the infinity members like Rafael, and then there's Rachel Cadlona. Razz, we called her. She was a punker chick, but being as brilliant as she was, she got involved with one of the rival gangs, ended up a heroin addict, and died of an overdose."
"Oh."
"Yeah." She flipped through the list. "I'll have to do some major briefing, and of course, they guys are going to need some hardcore updates like yours, though I don't trust them with the diamondback alloys just yet." She looked over at him. "Speaking of which, are you still using the Mag-core?"
"Yeah."
Riley took Dranzer from his hands. "I thought so." She wordlessly took the beyblade apart, scattering parts on top of the table until she reached the core of the beyblade.
"She's been a bit off center lately." Riley knew he was referring to Dranzer, and nodded as he said it.
"I'd figure as much. She needs a new core, nothing too big to worry about. This one will be much easier to control too." She pulled the completely clear core from her hoodie pocket. "See this baby?" He nodded. "It's pure diamondback alloy. Infinity members are the only ones who know about this core type. You're lucky I got this one."
"How much did it cost?"
"If you have to ask, you can't afford it."
"Dickenson paid for it, huh?"
"Yeah, I told him it was for me."
"Liar."
"They aren't illegal in battle, so don't ask questions and don't tell anyone just yet."
"Two coffees, coming up," Nina said, ducking under the counter and ending up on the other side, where the seating area was. "You know, you two sit any closer, and one would think you were on a date."
"Oh shut it," Riley said. "How'd you like it if I dumped this cup of coffee over your head?"
"You're too short to, sweetheart." Nina responded, with a smirk.
"She's got a point."
Riley huffed. "You know, I don't have to pay for this."
"Fine." Kai pulled out a twenty. "Keep the change."
Nina stared at the bill. "If you weren't so god damned rich, Whitney Boy, I'd so totally give you the change. But you are, so I'll take it. " She bowed. "Thank you, and don't hesitate to come again."
"You didn't have to do that," Riley said, once Nina had walked away. "Her ass is probably just as rich as you, you know."
"I blame you."
"Why?"
"Because Tala's right. You're making me human."
"Aww," Riley said, giving him a cute little face. "The human glacier is melting."
"By the way," Kai said, becoming thoughtful. "You wouldn't happen to be the fifth original Infinity member, now would you?"
She leaned over a bit, so that she was resting partially on his shoulder and the back of the booth. "Now where would you get an idea like that?"
"I've seen you battle."
"I'm the traitor of the group," She said, with a shrug.
"I prefer to see it as free spirited." He took the lists from her and began counting everything that had been highlighted. "How many infinites?"
"Seventy-six or so out of a hundred."
He counted personally, taking his time. "I count seventy five, Riley." After a moment, the obvious hit him. She was counting-
"You're selling yourself short again."
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"Shut up guys, it's coming on!"
The entire group was crowded into Tyson's living room, Max, Tyson, Hilary, and Daichi on the couch, Kenny sitting on one of its arms, and Ray and Hiro sitting beneath them on the floor. Riley stood in the doorway to the left side, while Kai was on the right, both leaning up against the door frame casually. Both knew generally what to expect, and from this point of view, no one could see them, should she decide to tell him something. The group knew by now that Kai and Riley pretty much got along, but no one needed to know that he regarded her as a f-word. Every swear in every language could be used previously, but the f-word(which is 6 letters long, in case you didn know) coming out of Kai's mouth would be beyond shocking.
"In other news, tonight was the night of the B.B.A. press conference with founder, Mr. Stanley A. Dickenson. Here is the broadcast live, on channel 11 news at nine."
The screen immediately went black, then flickered to show the press conference, live.
"To all competitors, this year's competition will begin in the third week of June, well after school ends for most of you. Tonight, I bear news about the championships location, and the types of competitors you may find. The semi finals will occur in Barcelona, Spain; then the semi finals will occur in Ottawa." The chairman cleared his throat. "The finals will be held, by popular demand, in Seattle, Washington."
Kai shot Riley a look and she smiled at him, though it appeared to turn into a smirk. Hiro took a second to look back at Riley. For someone who said there was nothing left for her in Seattle, why was she so happy about the finals being held there?
"Also," Dickenson began, clearing his throat. "I will continue with the standard disclaimers, which you should all have come to expect by now. This year's competition will surpass all others before it. We have opened our doors to the newest level of competitors, the Infinite Class-"
Tyson jumped up off the couch, narrowly avoiding Ray's hand. "What? He can't do that!"
"Why? Afraid you'll lose?" He turned around and stuck a tongue out at Riley, who shrugged and narrowed her eyes upon him.
"You aren't even fighting."
"Ahh well. How can you expect to beat them when you probably couldn't even beat Kai?"
"I can beat Kai with my eyes shut."
Riley looked over to Kai. "We'll prove your theory once this is done and over with. So shut up and pay attention." Tyson turned his attention back to the tv screen and Riley caught Kai's smirk. She wordlessly reached over and squeezed his hand. She couldn't hardly say anything, but that would be good enough. For now, at least.
About twenty minutes or so later, after Mr. Dickenson had explained just about everything that could possibly be explained, Riley disappeared to the back room of the Dojo, leaving her trainees with quite a bit of questions.
She reappeared, her hair pulled back as though she was about to start training. Kai smirked.
That was exactly what she intended to do.
"All of you, get your beyblades, and get your asses outside."
"Riley! It's cold, and it's a school night!"
"You're late whether or not you go to bed early or not." She sighed and Hilary dragged Tyson up off the couch. "Thanks, Hil. The rest of you, move. We've got some training to do, and I believe Kai and Tyson need to have a battle, correct?"
Tyson immediately perked up. "A night battle to kick Kai's ass? Alright, let's go."
Kai looked hesitantly to Riley, as if asking a question. She walked past him, not bothering to even answer.
The gang all piled into the back grounds, which were pretty wet with the early spring rain. There was a flood light turned on, just bright enough for Kai and Tyson to have their battle.
"Are we using bit beasts?"
"Whatever you feel you need to win. Just watch the Dojo. I don't need anyone killing me for this."
Tyson pulled out Dragoon and his launcher. "Well, don't freak out Kai, I'll lower myself a bit so I'm at your level."
Kai shrugged and drew out Dranzer and his typical, non-diamandback beyblade. Riley quirked an eyebrow. "Kai, come here for a second."
"What?" Kai stepped away from the dish, a scowl set on his face. "Yeah?" he asked, growing annoyed. The glimmer in his eyes stated he was acting, and Riley pulled out his newer version beyblade.
"You're in charge."
"What?"
"Stop asking questions and start training these boys." She took a deep breath and focused entirely on him. "You're the captain, and I'm not going to be here forever, so teach them a lesson or two." She noted his facade slip during the middle of the conversation, but ignored it. No one else had noticed.
"And just what are we going to do?" Daichi asked, unimpressed. Compared to Riley, Kai was a pushover in his oppinion.
Kai looked at Riley, then smirked at them all. "Tyson, go get the pop cans."
She laughed, and walked back into the Dojo, watching secretly out the window. After all, she thought, he had to start teaching them sometime.
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It was well past midnight when a knock came to Riley's door.The young woman had been laying in her bed with the stereo on low, streaming alternative music through the room. "It's open," she called, figuring by the rhythm it had been Kai.
She was right, as the teenage boy had sauntered into the darkened room, the only light provided by the hazy bluish moon. "Hey," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
"What's up?" she asked, still pretty much awake. She moved over so he had a place to sit on her bed, which he took up.
"Couldn't sleep," he responded patiently.
"I'm sure you have a reason, so spill."
"What did you mean before?" Riley immediately knew what he meant.
"Afraid you might lose me?"
"No."
She nodded knowingly. He had responded just a little too fast. "I can't stay here forever."
"Are we just another team to you?"
She looked at him again, surprised this time. He was being a bit demanding... well, almost. Though, she figured he had a reason. She had learned that one thing he hated was having to separate himself from people. He might be a free spirit, but he hated ending things or losing them. Finalities were never his strong point. She had also learned that it had been one of his few insecurities. Losing people. He'd lost too many already, and he'd never let anyone in if they were going to leave when all was supposedly said and done.
"Hell no." She looked at him with a sincere, yet sad smile. "I love coaching you guys. Seriously." She placed a hand over his and stroked it with her thumb.
"What about-"
"Kai, calm down. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. When I leave, you'll be ready." She leaned forward and hugged him tightly. Hesitantly, he returned the gesture. She traced the side of his face with her thumb and index finger. "I promise, okay?"
"Yeah." She leaned up higher and pressed an innocent kiss to his forehead. "Get some sleep, kay?"
He nodded, and got up to walk out the door. Placing a hand against the trimmed doorframe he turned around and faced her. "Thanks Ry."
She smiled. "Anytime."
With that, she watched as he left the room. Yeah, he was definitely melting something aweful if he was having late night insecurities. But was it her fault?
She shrugged it off. "Nah."
A moment later, another thought hit her.
"Since when does he call me 'Ry?'"
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Over the next few weeks, Riley had introduced the rest of the boys to the diamondback beyblades, and Kai's training had doubled in intensity to the point where she once had to drive his ass home for fear of him passing out while driving.(He hadn't like the part where she drove his car. It wasn't good.) She refused to give him any satisfaction, though he generally ran practice until it came time for beating the infinites part, where she'd fight like they would, and hope to God no one assumed her to be an infinite until after they'd become the champions.
However, on this especially warm day in early May, Riley had a specific place to be. Nina's house. The blonde was throwing a little party for all of the people who were in their final year of high school at Bakuten Central. It was a beautifully warm day, hot even, and everyone was just dying to get into the pool once the party began.
"Everything's all set up," Nina called to the brunette, who sat on a barstool in the kitchen. "And my rents are gone."
"Your rents are always gone, they're lawyers, dipshit."
"Shut up," Nina said, shoving the girl over. "When are people going to start showing up?"
"Soon, I told everyone that the party started at one, and it's twelve thirty now. We've got plenty of time to do anything else necessary." Nina nodded.
"You know what that means, don't you?" She looked at Riley with a deadly smile. "We have enough time to set up the speaker system."
"Good, I thought we'd be cursed with that damned karaoke machine again." Riley took a sip of the pop that was next to her. "You know, the last time I saw that thing, I thought your neighbor was going to come and kill us for using it."
Nina's eyes got a bit of a faraway appeal to them. "Nah, he's cool, actually, he goes to that prep school your boyfriend goes to."
"Kai isn't my boyfriend, Nina, for the upteenth time," She stated, growing annoyed.
"You say that now, but I doubt you believe it." Riley rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I should've invited him."
The brunette took another swing of the Dr. Pepper next to her as well as a deep breath. "Like Kai'd ever come to a party. Give me a break. He's just barely counting me as a friend, the last thing I need is something to screw it up."
"Do you not see the way he looks at you?"
"Do you not see that the conversation is closed?" Riley sighed. "We've been over this. There is no way in hell that he'd want anything other than a friendship with me, despite what I may or may not want as well."
"Aha! So you admit it!"
"Nina," Riley said blandly, looking at her rich friend, "He's the hottest world champ I've seen, I mean unless they have a hidden team mate I've never met."
"But you like his personality too. And you kissed him." Nina quirked an eyebrow suggestively.
"So? Do we really need to get into this now?"
"No, but some other time, we just might."
Shaking her head, the brunette walked away, cursing the fact that Nina knew her just a little too well. She had agreed, in her own perfectly sane and stable state of mind, that she just might feel a little something for the slate haired captain. That wasn't a crime, and he always came to her when he was unsure of himself or something else. It was just how their relationship had progressed. He pretty much beared his entire soul to her and she did the same. Sometimes it still amazed her that Kai had even given her the time of day, much less told her just about everything in her life. But the sense of awe was starting to fade, since this was her Kai, not anyone else's. No one else saw this side of him, occasionally Nina would catch a glimpse of it, but no one saw the real Kai Hiwatari that she was privy to. And she liked it that way. She liked being the one to see him without the facade.
"Hey!" Nina's voice pierced her thoughts, and she looked around, finding the girl back behind her, near the entrance to the house. "People are here, bitch, come on, you're part hostess of this event!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
"Quit daydreaming about Kai!"
"It would be great if I was because then I wouldn't have to listen to you!" She screamed back.
"Bitch."
"Whore."
"Tramp."
"I love you too."
"That's why I pick you up on the corner every night," Nina said, with a lively smile, as some of their friends walked into the mansion that Nina occupied, with her parents who were almost never there. They were cool, according to Riley, since they were always up for a good party, and the last time she spent some time with all three of them, she had gotten a bit of tolerance thanks to the shots that her father had dared her to do.
"Yeah, yeah." Riley shrugged and met up with her other friends, asking them about drinks and music preference.
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Kai flew into the mansion that Yukito shared with his family. "What the hell is so damn important, Yukito, that I had to risk a high speed chase with the cops?"
About three other boys, all clad in the green Whitney Prep School uniforms took the stairs leading down at a run, while Yukito childishly used the banister. "Dude," Yukito said, with a smirk, "There's a party next door. We're so spying."
"No offense, but it was senior skip day at Bakuten Central, I figured someone would have a party," Kai pointed out blandly.
"Yeah, but my neighbors are having a party, and it's in full swing. Thankfully they gave us a half day, otherwise I so would've skipped. They've got all the hot girls there, and I'm just waiting for one of them to strip into a bakini. Come on, my windows are the best place to spy, they're close to the other house, we'll get a good view of the proceedings."
"Why don't I make popcorn then?" Kai said, in annoyance. He thought the kid had been dying, with how rushed his phone call had been. Now he realized that Yukito was just a hormone induced eighteen year old. Yukito shrugged and the four boys now followed him up his staircase, and into his room.
As a teenage boy himself, Kai had to admit, the view was perfect. He could see everything going on in his neighbor's backyard, including the pool usage, the girls playing horseshoes, volleyball, basketball, Yukito's neighbor must have been rich. He noted the bar, and the whords of kids, both male and female sporting fruity and no doubt alchoholic beverages. After all, it was a party, and eighteen year olds had to have a bit of fun too.
"Yukito, open the window a crack so we can hear what's going on."
The boy nodded, wordlessly opening a window. Suddenly, music, voices, water spashing, and cheering poured in through the crack in the window. Not to mention the steamy unairconditioned air of May, which was both pleasing and annoying at the same time. It was going to be a hot summer.
Kai turned his attention back to the people at the party. There was a group of people dancing near the huge speaker system that had been set up, and he recognized one of them. Nina? His mind seemed to ask him. It had to be her, she was one of Riley's friends that he knew, and she was acting like he had learned her to be. Playful and entirely entertaining.
His mind then registered something else. Riley had said she'd be with Nina all day, since she was skipping with the rest of the senior class. "No way."
"What?"
"My coach is at that party."
Yukito's jaw dropped. "What?"
"She's got to be."
"How do you know?"
"Because, that blonde down there dancing with like half the guys there is her best friend."
"You mean Nina?" Yukito asked, surprised.
"Yeah, why?"
"She's my neighbor."
Kai's eyes widened a bit in surprise, but he turned his attention back to the party, searching for the young woman who typically coached him, and was his best friend. He found her, in the mass of people who had suddenly decided to dance. He could hear the song playing on full blast.
So far, no one had noticed they were there. That meant they were safe. For now at least.
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"Hey, Riley," Nina said, dancing her way through the crowd to reach her friend, "Is that your boyfriend up there with my neighbor?" She threw her head in the direction of the white house next door, as well as the figures that could be seen in the window.
"Is your neighbor Yukito?" Nina nodded. "Yeah, that would be my- Hey! He's not my boyfriend!"
"You wish."
"I'd have to be drunk before I'll admit anything."
"That can be arranged."
Riley rolled her eyes, and kept dancing. She spotted the captain of the football team, the typical jock who was just about the most attractive kid in school. He had come up behind her, placing his hands on her hips, and she had no protests, though she turned and grabbed a nother look at the group that was staring at her from the window of the house whom she learned belonged to Yukito.
She caught Kai's attention, or at least she thought she had, and began to mouth along with the words. It was an English song, one of her favorites, Jesse McCartney's "Right Where You Want Me."
"Baby, take me on a journey, I've been thinking lately, I could use a little time alone with you. Crazy, let's do something maybe, please don't take your time, you've got me right where you want me."
She noted his expression change to one of disbelief and almost amusement. She was always good with rhythm, tilting her hips in the right direction, dipping them and moving with fluidity, as if to seem like a whore who could dance. It was one of her specialties, as well as Nina's, which she was going all out tramp on some of those boys, but it was all for the sake of fun. She turned her attention back to the jock sandwhich she was now in and snuck another glance to Kai. Was that... jealousy on his face? There was only one thing she could think of: Now how cool was this? Two jocks and a world champion!
About a minute later, when the song had started into the bridge, she looked back up to Kai and motioned with her hand for them to come and join her. She saw Yukito stare at her, his mouth dropped. She figured that from their altitude the could probably either see the tiny bakini hidden under her black shirt, or Nina, who had stolen one of the guys from her.
They were conversing quickly, until finally she saw Kai give up, with a sigh and then Yukito flashed her a thumbs up.
The song had ended by this time, and she saw Nina talking to some of her friends. The girl was all over the place.
And apparently so was she, because both she and Nina had suddenly been uprooted from the ground by about five of their girlfriends and thrown into the pool.
"Bitch!" Nina yelled, pulling herself out. Riley surged up to the surface.
"Be grateful we were wearing out bathing suits."
"What is this, a wet t-shirt contest?"
"Very funny, Reed," Nina called sweetly. "Get your perverted thoughts away from me."
"They're all about you," He joked back.
Riley laughed, and Nina splashed her with her foot, which was haphazardly skimming the surface of the pool.
"Oh, by the way, you're about to have five boys or so at your door who were spying on you from next door."
"What?"
"Well I figured that if they were going to spy, they might as well be in on the action."
"That's the best thing you've done all day!" Nina squealed, in excitement. She then connected the lines of thought. "Is Kai-"
"I think so. He saw me, and I did my whole tramp thing, just for you."
"So that's what you were doing with the captain of the football team," Nina proposed.
Riley nodded. "Now come on, just in case they decided to go to the front door. They're gentlemen you know."
"Yeah, yeah." Nina rushed to the door with a quick burst of energy, grabbing a towel as she went, Riley, who wasn't so lucky stayed behind in the tiled kitchen to strip off her soaked clothes so she was in her bakini. Both had heard the doorbell as they entered through the back door of the kitchen. The blonde opened the large front door enthusiastically. "It's about time you guys showed up."
"Hey Nina," Yukito said, with a smirk. "How are you?"
"Good," She gave Kai a quick wink and turned her attention to the three other boys whom she didn't know. "Introduce me, but hold on one second." She turned around. "Riley, did you strip yet?"
"You make me sound like a hooker, and yes I did."
"Come here then."
"Yeah yeah." The boys had stepped into the foyer of the large mansion, waiting for the girl called Riley, whom Kai knew, and the others were interested in. The brunette stepped around Nina as she came up behind her. "Hey guys," she said, with a smile. Her crimson eyes were magnified by the black bakini, consisting of boyshorts and a halter tied around the bottom of her shoulderblades and behind her neck. She had a dangling crescent moon charm dangling from her pierced navel, something Kai had never known she had before. It gave her a dark aura, and the boys stared at her. She caught Kai giving her a once over and placed both hands on her hips. She looked at the taller of the group, besides Kai, and gave a smile. "You're Yukito, correct?"
He blinked. "Uh... me? Yeah."
"Who are the rest of you?"
"Rico, Monte, and Nicholli." The boys all pointed themselves out, following Nina into the kitchen.
"If you want to leave, you have thirty seconds," She said quietly.
He watched a bead of water as it trailed from her shoulder down her back, then blinked, realizing he had been spoken to. "I think I'll stay. Just to make sure you don't kill yourself."
"You say that now, and you'll be drunk before we leave."
"Really?"
"Yeah, beware the jello shots, they're murder."
"Then I just might have to have one." Riley rolled her eyes, taking a moment to strip the green overcoat of his uniform off of him. "If you go upstairs, Nina's big brother has clothes that will probably fit you. Second door on the left. You might want a pair of swim trunks, since people, if you haven't noticed, have been getting their asses thrown in the pool."
"Why am I doing this again?"
"Because it's fun, and you like seeing girls in hardly any clothing."
"How would you know that?"
"You haven't stopped staring." She winked at him and shoved him in the direction of the stairs.
"You're never embarrassed, are you?" He was halfway up the stairs when he said this.
"I try not to be. It's more fun when you're honest."
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Kai took another sip of the drink he had been given. 'Sex on the beach,' Riley had called it. It was good. He took another drink of the alcoholic beverage and set it down on the table next to him, the glass empty.
"Drunk yet?" Riley asked, coming up from behind him. He couldn't smell any booze on her breath, yet he was sure she could smell it on his own.
"Not quite," He replied, with a snotty smile. She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her own drink, which was only a glass of water. "What, are you too good for booze?" he asked, a bit more social.
"Oh no," she muttered. "You aren't drunk yet, you're only starting to become sociable." With a smirk, she continued. "And I've already had one before, and the prospect of being drunk out of my mind slightly wierds me out. Drink a glass of water before your next one or something, would you? The last thing we need here is a drunken champion."
"Yeah, yeah." He stole the glass of water from her hands, and downed it. "Happy?" A butler came by, and he picked up another one of the same beverages. It would be, surprisingly, his third. Typically, he didn't drink. His grandfather would make him sip at a glass of wine for his business dinners, but that was only a great once and a while, and it was a watered down wine that the servers always had prepared for him.
"Not quite."
"Why not? You told me to drink some water." Nina, who was in the general area, caught Kai's attention. Something was resting in her hands, and he was sure that Riley was going to kill her best friend.
She huffed. "Not mine, loser!" With that, she began to walk away, but Kai grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.
"Sorry," He said with a smirk.
"I'm not sure I like where this is going."
"Then don't."
"Kai, duck!"
The champion let go of Riley and backed away smoothly, as the crimson eyed girl before him got covered with the neon colored silly string, in red, blue, green, and yellow. Riley screamed as the sticky string hit her exposed back and pretty much covered her.
"You assholes! I'm going to kill you all!" The girl immediately grabbed the huge glob of string from her back and threw it at Kai, but more specifically, his head. The goo took hold in his snowy grey-blue locks and got good and stuck.
"Bitch!"
"Aww, is Kai worried about his hair?"
"It's not funny!" He roared at her. She edged back, not too thrilled.
"Nina!" The brunette turned around and growled ferociously. "You ruined my bakini!"
"It wasn't even the sexy one, chill out! And besides, it's starting to cool down anyway."
Riley rolled her eyes, and started toward the kitchen. "I'm going to go shower this shit off." She stopped halfway there, and turned around to look at Nina. "Good shot, bitch."
"You're welcome."
Kai rushed toward her. "I'm coming with you."
Nina whistled and Kai and Riley sent her the most malicious stares she'd probably ever receive in her lifetime. "Mkay," the brunette said, sliding open the door. "God forbid your hair might take on the color of the silly string."
He went completely pale. Most of the string in his hair was pink. That was the last thing he needed. Tyson would humiliate him. For the rest of his pathetic existance.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He exhaled a breath that he hadn't known he had been holding. She led him upstairs, first to the guest bedroom that she had used the night before. He waited outside while she grabbed a set of clothes to change into and then followed her to the bathroom.
It was completely oversized, with two huge sinks, and a large mirror. Then, around the corner, was a shower stall and oversized bath tub with jets, and a hot tub, which was up on a platform.
"Holy shit."
"Yeah, yeah." She went into the large closet next to the shower stall, and pulled out two bottles of shampoo. "Here," she said, throwing him one. It was a fresh clean scent, one obviously not flowery or fruity like a woman's shampoo. "Don't peek or I'll seriously kick your ass. I'm getting in the shower."
"What?" He started to realize that his cheeks were beginning to heat up. Now this had to be the work of the alcohol. He didn't blush. It simply wasn't him.
"You heard me," she said, sliding back the door to the shower stall and sliding in. "Not like you could even if you wanted to, since there's this great thing called a tinted door. But still. Don't get any ideas."
He nodded, though she obviously couldn't see it. She started up the shower as he went to town on the mass of sticky silly string in his hair.
About fifteen minutes later, Kai had gotten his hair fixed, and had it pulled back as he usually did. It was as good as new. "Aren't you done yet?"
"I'm a girl, remember? I take a while."
He shrugged, taking another sip of his drink. It tasted great, good and refreshing, and still pretty cold. "Why do they call these drinks 'Sex on the Beach?'"
"I don't know, ask Nina." The water seemed to splatter on the bottom of the stall, based on the sound it had just made. "And just how many of those have you drank? They've been serving drinks for about an hour now."
"This is my third."
"Your ass is definitely going to get drunk."
"I don't really care."
The water stopped and she slid open the door of the shower stall a crack, just enough to grab the fluffy white towel she had laid out for herself. She pulled it in and shut the door again, drying herself off. She then reopened the door and pulled her clothes into the stall, throwing the jeans over the top of her towel which was laying across the top of the stall door.
"I'm glad you came, you know."
"I couldn't hardly spy on you the whole time," he responded simply. "Besides, I'd never know what it'd be like to have sex on the beach."
"Asshole," she said, with a laugh. "That sounded wrong, you know."
"That's entirely the point." The jeans disappeared and suddenly the door opened the entire way, revealing Riley, with soaked hair, dressed in the lowest cut pair of jeans Kai had probably ever seen, and a brown halter top, that revealed a well toned midriff. The ring on her navel was still in tact, and he watched the way a stray bead of water reflected the light of the crystal moon on it.
"You're staring again," she said, quietly. He shrugged, not even bothering to deny it. She caught sight of the glass again, and it was practically empty. "You are drunk, aren't you?"
Kai looked as though he was thinking about it for a moment. "Possibly," he decided. She nodded, leaning down to pick up her bakini and sling it over the top of the shower door to dry out.
"That's what I thought." She picked up the rest of his glass and took as sip. "Have you been asking Nina to get you your drinks?"
He nodded. "Why?"
"She's been doubling up on booze lately. It's kind of her own little joke." She smirked and slipped past him, except this time he caught her at the shoulder. "What?"
"Thanks for inviting me."
"Okay, yeah, you're drunk. Let's go before you really start scaring me."
He shrugged again, and kept his hand on her shoulder, sliding it down to her waist. She seemed to tingle at the presence of his hand but kept her mouth shut about it. Maybe Nina was right. Maybe he did like like her.
Or maybe it was the alcohol talking.
Either way, she did like it.
She discarded this thought quickly as they ended up on the stairs and he let go of her. Nina was waiting for them, her face flushed from the drinks and the excitement. "Come on! It's time for dancing!"
Kai edged back a bit. It made Riley smile a bit that he was against the dancing. Nina gave Riley a dark look.
"Come on," Riley whispered, when the blonde turned her back to them. "You're mine tonight. No one else gets to dance with you."
"Are you flirting?"
She winked. "I am now." He slapped a hand to his forehead and rolled his eyes. "What? The almighty Kai Hiwatari doesn't like the masses throwing themselves at his feet?"
"Riley, quit it."
"Maybe I don't want to."
"Come on."
"Dance with me then."
He sighed. "Alright, fine."
She smiled. "Now that's what I'm talking about." Kai followed her, as she had taken his hand in hers and practically dragged him outside.
It had become dark, and the patio was illuminated by sets of lights strung around the top of the posts set up for the party. It looked beautiful, like a tropical paradise.
"Finally, what took you so long?" Nina smirked at her two friends, while Nicholli's hands were set on her shoulders. Riley wasted no time in starting to dance. She turned to see Kai standing there. She smiled gently and motioned for him to join her. Which he did, placing both hands over hers on her hips, and grinding right up against her. She was shocked, she was appaulled, she was amazed...
She was... loving it?
Oh yeah, that too.
A few dances later, she caught sight of her previous dance partner, Ryoku, the captain of the football team at school. He was heading straight for them. She felt a tingling sensation in her stomach. There were only a few ways this could end, and only one of them were good. "Come on Rya, let's dance."
She inhaled just enough that Kai could tell it was sharper than her previous breathing pattern. "Kai?" Her voice was soft, and anything but forcing. She was asking for his oppinion. What he wanted.
Nina watched the current situation with a bit of surprise etched on her features. This was the ultimate way to tell if he possibly had a teensy tiny bit of feeling for the girl.
"Your call," she whispered, her lips just inches away from his cheek.
His grip tightened. "She's with me," he said possessively, his head leaning downward on her shoulder. She nodded to Ryoku who gave Nina a look while shrugging and holding out his hands as if to tell her he had tried. She nodded and called him over to her. Meanwhile, she watched Riley and Kai with a smirk on her face.
"Got any reasons for that?"
He wrapped both arms around her middle, holding her into him. "Plenty."
She kissed his cheek and he felt his already flushed face heat up a little more at the contact. Damned alcohol. "Good."
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"Jello shots all around!"
Riley watched, smirking the entire while, as her group of friends took their sixth shot of the substance for the night. Kai had been welcomed into the group with open arms, as the alcohol slowly made him more sociable. He was handling his almost drunkenness pretty well.
Kai gave her a smile, and downed his shot as well. She took a casual sip of her water, having done the first two shots with them and graciously bowing out of the next ones, stating that someone had to drive them home since she had a practice to coach the morning following.
"Riley, I have a dare for you."
She slapped a hand to her forehead. "Here we go, huh?"
A somewhat drunken Nina nodded, not bothering to conceal her mischevious smile. She had a plan alright. "Who's going to do one off Riley?"
"What?" Kai looked surprised. What was the blonde talking about?
Riley rolled her eyes and got up. She caught Kai's incredulous glance. "She means a shot," One of Nina's friends, Leanne explained, with a gentle slur. The boy between Nina and Leanne, Yukito, had been privy to only one shot, since he was coming down from his completely trashed state before, without a flaw or headache. Deep down, the Seattle Native figured she was driving home tonight, and that he was definitely not going to want to practice in the morning.
"Yeah, we might be a kinky bunch of bastards," Nina slurred, "But we don't get that bad."
"Suuurrre," Riley said, with a smile. "There was that one time two weeks ago that you wanted to use that basketball pole as a stripper would."
Nina stuck a finger in Riley's face, still buzzed. "Yeah, but that was different," She protested.
Kai gave Riley a curious glance. "That's right," The American hummed. "You weren't drunk then."
"Shut up! You did it with me!"
"So?" Riley stretched and sat back down, backwards on the chair, tilting it foreward a bit. They were all sitting at a table on the porch, which was lit up with tikis and fire. The lights were still emitting a dull light in an array of neon colors, as well as the aquatic blueish color of the pool. It had a rather exotic aura coming off it, and the group doing shots was loud enough to supply for an entire party.
"So? Who's going to?" There were three others as well, and one of them, being the final male, Ryoku, spoke up. The other two girls were friends of Nina and Leanne's, who had come across Riley in passing occasionally. "Come on, there's only three guys here, someone has to step up."
Leanne and Nina both looked to Kai. He gulped a bit and Riley extended a hand to stop Nina from dragging him up. "Leave him alone, he's only fresh meat."
"You've done this to someone before?"
Riley's cheeks flushed. "No," she replied, without a bit of nervousness. "But I've never let anyone do one off of my stomach either."
"Come on. One of you has to be drunk enough to do it." Leanne looked accusingly at Kai, who shrugged.
Yukito entered the conversation. "I will." Nina elbowed him. "What? I can't help it if the girl is hot! She's even got fire in her eyes!"
"Alright," Nina said. "Come on, Riley."
"No."
"What?" All eyes turned to Kai who gave Riley a look more mischievious than Nina's previous one.
"I will."
Nina jumped up in excitement. "Alright."
Riley felt her cheeks tinge a little bit as Nina and Leanne prepared the shot that he was to do off her stomach. This was totally innopropriate. He was her trainee, for Pete's sake. He wasn't supposed to be catching her at her sleazy party moments with her friends. She stopped. Now was a great time to be embarrassed. Maybe she should've done those last few shots. They probably would've done her some good, since Kai was being sociable, with her group of friends.
"Okay, we're good to go."
"Let's get this overwith," She sighed. "This kind of tickles."
"Yeah, well deal with it. This is pure Key-West." She saw a shadow come over her, that was unmistakably the captain of the team she had been coaching for the past eight months or so.
"Are you okay with this?" She stared up at him, literally, gawking.
She shrugged as much as she possibly could, being laid out on the table before him. "You ask me this now? Right now, when I'm pretty much offered up as a human sacrifice?"
He smiled. She had hit a nerve somewhere, and he looked like he was about to laugh. He chuckled casually. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Drunken bastard."
"If I was that drunk, I would've been all over you already." She rolled her eyes, but an evil glimmer seemed to take hold in them. She wondered if he noticed. Oh yeah, she realized. He had.
"I'm sure that's something you could manage," Nina said, from behind. "Get on with it!"
"Yeah, yeah." Kai dipped down, and Riley resisted the sudden urge to moan in pleasure as his lips collided with the flesh of her stomach. He however, didn't resist that, and she gasped when she heard him make a sound she had never heard him make. Once he was finished with the alcohol, he planted a simple kiss tenderly above her navel, then stood up straight and extended a hand to pull her up. Nina smirked.
Oh yeah, he wanted nothing to do with her, Nina thought. He was only obsessed.
x x x
"Ugh, My head."
"Come on, Kai! PRACTICE STARTS NOW!" Tyson stormed down the hallway, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Riley padded quietly behind the navy haired champion. "Why don't you keep it down?" He turned and stared at her incredulously. "Did you not just hear him complaining about his head?"
"We tend not to listen to him." Riley shoved Tyson out of the way and held up a hand for him to wait in the doorway of the captain's room. She had figured this was going to happen.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice low.
"I feel like shit."
"Sick?"
"Yeah." His voice was dark and moody, still groggy with sleep. She turned to Tyson who was in the doorway and whispered for him to get some tylonol and water.
"Why are you whispering?" Tyson asked her, in a normal voice. Kai grabbed his head.
"He's sick, dipshit. Now do what I said." She sat at the side of Kai's bed, once the younger boy had left. "Hungover?"
He cracked open one eye, then shut it again because of the light in the room. "Mmm hmm."
She ran a hair through his silvery blue locks, and he shivered upon the contact. "I'll take care of Tyson."
"Thanks." She nodded, though his eyes were still shut, and his hands were still clasped up on his head. Tyson came back into the room.
"What's wrong with him?"
She looked up at the champ and smiled. "It's just a bug. He's got a bit of a fever, and he said his head hurt, so we're going to leave him alone for a while."
Tyson nodded. "How'd you know he had a fever without a thermometer?"
"His forehead felt hot, comprende?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Go train. I'm going to make sure nothing serious is wrong with Kai so we don't have to deal with anyone and hospitals or anything of the sort."
Tyson rolled his eyes and got up, to leave the room. He lingered in the doorway, as Kai took the first pill rather shakily, swearing in a language he didn't quite understand. Riley immediately took this language to calm him down, which he did, with much shock to Tyson. She allowed him to lean on her as he took the last pill, as obviously, he was pretty dizzy.
He didn't look sick, Tyson realized. He looked hungover.
The champ shook his head. Nah. Kai wouldn't do anything stupid like that and get drunk. It just wasn't him.
But still, his mind protested weakly, he was still a teenage boy, regardless of the fact that he was about the equivalent to a glacier in the emotional status.
And since when the hell did the two of them actually get along like friends? Kai wasn't weak, and right now, he was acting like a baby. It was weird. He shrugged. He'd have to go ask Hiro's oppinion. This was going to be rather interesting.
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Thanks goes to Midnightmare who reminded me of how much more i have to go on this fic! To believe I wrote this part last September blows my mind away. I'll update again soon, since I have up to chapter ten completed!
Thanks for reading, and please review!