Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. This chapter is in Tyson's P.O.V., and to me seems kind of rushed through, but I hope you still like it.
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A Walk in the Morning
Wow. Now I know what they mean by being love-struck. I'm lying awake in my bed at 9 a.m., wondering why I'm not asleep. Especially considering how late Hilary and I came back last night (A/N: they didn't go over the limit).I turn to my side and shut my eyes, hoping that somehow sleep would overcome me. But the sunlight's too strong; I can see the redness inside my eyelids. I give up.
There's a knock on the door. "Who's there?" I ask.
"It's me," Hilary's muffled voice replies from the other side of the door.
As soon as I hear her voice, I sit upright, all thought of sleep vanished. Smiling to myself, I reply, "its open!"
There's a click, and in comes Hilary, holding a breakfast tray. Closing the door with her leg, she says, "Never knew you'd wake up so early. I thought I'd have to put sugar under your nose to get you up."
"I didn't think I would either," I laugh, as Hilary seats herself at the edge of my bed. I smell something good. Looking at the tray, I ask, "What you got there?"
"Pancakes," she says with a smile. "I made them myself, just for you!"
"How generous," I grin, reaching for one. But she snaps the tray from my reach.
"Wash up first," she orders me.
"But--"
"Go, now!"
"Fine…," I say, rolling my eyes as I get up reluctantly. Even if we're dating now, that won't stop Hilary's control over me. Grabbing my clothes from a chair, I walk myself to the bathroom. Once I finish and return to the bedroom, I find Hilary gazing out the window, breakfast tray left forgotten on the bed. She quirks her head my way as I come in.
"Okay, all done. Now can I have one? I'm starving," I ask, sitting beside her.
She looks at me suspiciously. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Aw, come on Hil, why would I lie to you?"
Crossing her arms testily, she says, "Prove it."
"Fine," I say, taking her face in my hands and giving her a kiss. I feel her astonishment at first, but then she relaxes. After a moment I break away, leaving her to judge my evidence.
"Well? Do you believe me now?" I question her triumphantly.
She quirks an eyebrow. "Minty fresh."
I take that as a yes, and start eating. "These are good," I comment.
She laughs. "That's what you say about everything you eat."
"But this is extra special," I say.
She smiles. "Thanks Tyson."
I grin, and continue eating. After a minute or so I notice Hilary watching me quietly.
"What?" I ask.
"They'll be here soon…," she says mysteriously.
"Who?" I ask, puzzled.
"Them," she says, stressing the word with silent meaning. Now I get it.
"Oh, them…so?" I ask, going back to eating. Hilary places a firm hand on mine, stopping me. I look at her, startled.
"I didn't tell them yet," she whispers shamefully.
That makes me jump. "What?!"
"Shh!!!"
"Uh, right…what? Why didn't you? Damn it, we're gonna get bombarded, Hil!"
"Not if they don't find out…," she suggests.
"They will sooner or later…even now, they could be wondering why its taking you so long to deliver breakfast to me…even worse, they might be wondering why you're delivering breakfast to me…," I say nervously.
"You're right. Then…I think I should go…," she says, standing up.
"Okay, but what will you say?" I ask.
"Umm…I'll say I couldn't get you to wake up fast enough…"
"Okay," I say, giving her the tray. But she pushes it back to me.
"You take it!" she says. "You know I'm no maid…even to you!"
I begin to protest, but her glare deepens and I give in. "Fine," I say. "You go. I'll catch up in a bit."
She nods, turning towards the door. She then pauses, and turns back to me, giving me a peck on the cheek before striding back to the door and dashing off. I can't help but grin as I flop back down on the bed, stretching my arms and legs as far as they can go. Despite the fact that we both could be in some trouble right now, I still have to say: am I one lucky guy or what?
XxX
There's murmuring coming from downstairs. So, they're all here. As quietly as I can, I place one foot on the first stair. Successful. Second foot on second stair…victory. Okay, I think it's safe. I take a few more careful steps down, making sure not to drop the tray I'm holding, until I can see the living room.
From what I can tell, Mariah, Rei, Max, Kenny and Kai are all facing the front of an armchair, while Gary is sitting on another chair, along with Rika, Yumi, Jade, and a healthy looking Mako, all standing firm. The main armchair has its back facing me, so I can't see who's sitting there, but I have an inkling that it's…
Alright, let's not think like that. But then…if it's not Hilary, who else can it be? I gulp as the silence is broken by Kai's stern voice.
"Where were you yesterday at twenty-two hundred?" he asks the person in the armchair, with narrowed eyes.
"Why can't you just say ten o' clock?" a voice barks back at him from the armchair. It's Hilary. And she's angry. Not a good sign.
"I'll ask the questions here!" Kai barks back at her. "Speaking of which, you're avoiding mine!"
After a pause, Hilary says, "none of your business."
"Hilary, it is our business, we want to know," Mariah says, more kindly than Kai.
"Well maybe I don't want you to know!"
"You don't have much choice, it seems," states Rei.
"Answer, or there will be severe consequences!" Kai snaps. Why I oughtta…
"Fine, whatever!" Hilary exclaims. "After I came back with Mariah from the market, we went to see Mako--"
"Is that true?" Max shoots the question at Mako.
"Uh, yes…," she says, slightly taken aback by the unexpected question.
"Oh, so now you think I'm lying?" cries Hilary, infuriated.
"Anything's possible," says Kenny. "Continue."
Hilary growls before continuing. "After seeing Mako, I went to go look for Tyson in the forest--"
"And what gave you that idea?" asks Kai.
"That would be my doing," says Rika, lifting an arm in the air lazily. "But I only told her Tyson wasn't with the rest of us. I didn't know where he had gone."
Kai nods, rather sweetly, (which is very freaky once you think about it) then turns back to Hilary. "How did you know he'd be in the forest?"
"A hunch, I guess."
Kai keeps his glare, making Hilary exasperated. "I just knew, okay! Now can I please continue and get this over with?"
"Fine."
"Yeah, so…I went to look for him, and found him in this clearing. We did a little talking, and in the end, decided to sit there for a while."
"With Tyson?" asks Kenny, perplexed.
"Did he hurt you?" asks Rei.
"Did he make you feel uncomfortable?" asks Max.
I'm enraged! These guys have such little faith in me!
"Of course not!!" Hilary cries. "He did no such thing!"
"What time did you get back?" asks Kai.
"I don't know! I didn't have a watch with me."
"You're hiding something, Hilary…," says Mariah, looking hurt. "And you don't even want to tell me?"
"It's not like that, Mariah!" Hilary cries.
"So why don't you wanna tell us?" Kenny asks.
"If you mean you, Max, Rei and Kai, that's because it's not my job."
"Then who's is it?" asks Max.
"Its mine," I say, and in doing so bringing all eyes on me. I think I've had enough drama for one morning. I jump down the remaining steps, and stride towards the group.
"I'll tell you right here and now, Hilary Tatibana is my girlfriend. I love her, she loves me. Its nothing abstract, it's normal. Sure, we took a long time to figure it out, but we definitely don't need this. So if you don't mind," I grab Hilary's wrist and march her to the door, "we'll be leaving."
Everyone is silent. I take this opportunity to give Hilary a quick hug. "Sorry I took so long."
"No problem," she says, smiling.
As I open the door, applause breaks out. "Tyson," Kai says, "you have finally proven to me that you're…as much as I hate to say it…a man."
I'm speechless for a second, before finding my voice. "Uh, thanks Kai…I think…"
"Don't think I'm gonna forgive you all that easily, though!" says Hilary to all of them, including Kai. Especially Kai, probably. She then turns to me, beaming. "Let's get going, Romeo."
I grin down at her. "After you, Juliet."
As I shut the door behind us, I remember I still have the tray in my hand. Hilary sees it, and says, "Here, I'll take it."
Opening the door again, she throws the tray inside with force. It results in a loud thud. I think it hit someone…
"I hope it hit Kai," Hilary grins mischievously, closing the door again. I sweat-drop.
"So," I say, as we begin to walk, "where to?"
She shrugs. "I dunno, where do you wanna go?"
"I don't know this place all too well. It's all up to you."
She thinks for a while, and then says, "How about we just go for a walk? If it's okay with you."
I take her hand and grin down at her. "As long as it's what you want, I'm happy."
She blushes a little, but then says, "Then…let's go!"
XxX
We walk in some silence. I guess it still is pretty awkward for the both of us, I mean the whole relationship thing. It happened sooner than I had expected, and, what if I mess up? I've never been in a friendship-to-love kinda thing before.
Hilary's hand squeezes mine, breaking me from my thoughts. "What's up?" she asks, looking up at me questioningly. I look at her, and my worries seem to lift themselves from my mind, but only a little. And yet, she wants this, and she's happy for it. And if I do mess up, she'll tell me. Knowing her, she's not the type to shy away from her feelings. So then, why am I still so worried?
"Its nothing," I try to assure her, but I should know better. She's not convinced.
"You're lying," she states, narrowing her eyes at me.
I sweat-drop. "Don't say it like that!"
"So then?"
I sigh, exasperated. Hilary does the same, and I look at her, surprised. But I see her grinning, laughter at the tip of her tongue, which means she had been mocking me. And we both burst out laughing.
But all too soon, Hilary's expression becomes serious again. "So, what exactly is on your mind?"
"Well," I try to think of how to put this, "See how we're together now…is it really what you want?"
"Of course, Tyson…why?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I dunno…," I shrug, "I just feel like I'm gonna screw things up for us…for you…"
"Don't even think about it," she says, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. "Everything will be fine, and I trust you with all my heart and soul. And, even if something does go wrong, we'll get it sorted out. But right now, why don't we just enjoy the time we have together?"
Her words moved me, but I'm still a bit discontent. Despite the strength in her that I know she has, she's still…delicate through my eyes. I don't want to do anything that would hurt her in anyway. As I think on this, the image of Hilary crying on the floor of that clearing appears in my mind, and I shudder at the thought. I hated seeing her hurt like that, and last night, I didn't even think my words would have hit her so hard, but they did. And things like that, I'm gonna have to watch out for.
"Arek!" Hilary suddenly cries, and I notice that we're approaching a nearby herb stand. Hilary waves happily at the guy manning it, who I'm assuming is Arek.
"Oh, hey Hilary!" he says, waving us over. "Good to see you again."
"Same here," she smiles at him. So they've met before? "Arek, this is Tyson. Tyson, this is Arek, I met him that day I came out here with Mariah."
"Oh," I say, eyeing him suspiciously.
Arek looks at me in awe. "Whoa, I can't believe I'm seeing this. Tyson, the World Champion beyblader!"
"Well…uh…hehe…"
He offers his hand for me to shake. "Nice to meet you!"
"Yeah," I say, taking it with slight reluctance. "Same to you."
"So," he says, turning to Hilary. "How are things?"
"Oh, everything's fine," Hilary replies casually. "You?"
"Same. So, did everything go well with…you know…?"
Huh? "Oh, about that," Hilary says, "it was Tyson…the one I told you about. And…we're together."
Arek's features show him to be surprised, but he grins. "Oh, that's great! I'm glad it worked out for you!"
"Thanks…"
He turns to me. "You're a lucky guy, Tyson, to have someone like Hilary."
"Yeah, I know," I say, throwing an arm around Hilary's shoulder and bringing her towards me in a cuddle. She hugs me back, and I'm glad to feel her warmth against me. Arek watches us with a smile. Then a girl walks up to us.
"Sorry I'm late," she says to Arek as she goes to his side of the stand. "Mum held me back to do the laundry."
Arek frowns at her. "Again?"
"Yup."
She looks to be about a year or two younger than us, with long, waist-length dark hair and bright hazel eyes, identical to Arek's, which makes me assume that they're siblings. She notices Hilary and me standing here, and then turns to her brother. "Customers?" she asks him.
"Nah, they're friends of mine, met them through Mariah," he tells her. Turning back to us, he says, "This is my sister, Airi. But be careful, her self-centeredness is highly contagious."
Airi gives her brother a light punch on his arm, before turning back to us. She looks at me, then Hilary, and does a double-take. Trust me; I've seen this before…
"Oh, my gosh!" she cries, eyes wide. "Oh my…are you Tyson…thee Tyson Granger?!"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am," I say, giving her a smile which she seems to melt at. I give her my hand to shake, and she stares at it in disbelief. I sigh inwardly. Sure, at first I thought it was great that people (or more specifically, girls) loved me so much, but it can get real annoying after a while. I've yet to see a fan of mine who can just see me and shake my hand with a simple 'hey, how's it going?'
Slowly, Airi takes a hold of my hand and shakes it. About time, too, because my arm was beginning to get sore. "I…I can't believe…I'm actually…m-meeting you…," she stutters before letting go.
Arek rolls his eyes. "If you haven't noticed already, Airi's madly in love with you, Tyson."
Airi blushes, and softly tells Arek to shut up.
"So," says Hilary. I think she's getting annoyed. But we're even now, right?
"Um…who might you be?" Airi asks, as if she had just noticed Hilary standing there.
"Hilary Tatibana," she replies, "assistant coach of the Bladebreakers."
Airi is surprised, though I can see envy glowing in her eyes. "Really? Funny, I've never seen you on TV before."
Hilary's eyebrow twitches, and I know she's just been ticked off. "Well, now you know," she says, putting on a smile while wrapping her arm around mine, "and now you also know that I'm thee Tyson Granger's girlfriend."
I must say, nice comeback. But did it have to include me? Airi is silent, glaring at Hilary, eyes suddenly filled with hatred. Arek tries to snap her out of it. "Uh…Airi?"
But Airi ignores him, and puts a sly smile on her lips. "You know," she begins, making sure her eyes never left Hilary's, "I was going to offer my hand for you to shake, but like Arek said, my self-centeredness is highly contagious—and I wouldn't want you to get more egotistical than you already are."
Uh-oh. Big mistake.
"YOU'D BETTER DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT SMART MOUTH OF YOURS, JACKASS," Hilary yells, lunging towards a dumbfounded Airi, and I quickly pull her back, as she tries to free herself from my firm grip. "OR I'M GONNA HAVE TO—AHHH!!"
A man running by us shoves Hilary hard into the wooden stand, and without looking back, keeps going. "Hey!" Hilary begins to run after him, and I follow.
"Later!" I hear Arek call to us, but I ignore him. I've gotta stop Hilary before she goes insane. "Hil! Hey, Hilary!! What are you doing?!" I ask as I catch up to her.
"I'm gonna show these people that THEY DON'T KNOW WHO THEY'RE MESSING WITH!"
"Do you have to? The guy bumped into you by accident!"
"He could've at least apologized!"
"Maybe he was in a hurry--"
"There he is!"
We approach a large crowd in front of some store. The man that had bumped into Hilary is standing on the outside of the circle, and Hilary runs up to him. Lucky for her he's short and chubby, because she takes a hold of the front of his shirt. "Who do you think you are, pushing me like that and not even turning back to apologize? Do you have any shame?! Are you inhuman?!"
I wouldn't be surprised if the guy thought Hilary to be inhuman. Frightened, he stutters, "Please—I w-was on my way here w-when I heard that my f-friend w-was robbed—I'm s-sorry if I h-hurt you…p-please…"
"Uh, Hil, I think you should let go," I suggest, and she eases off the guy's shirt, her face suddenly changed to sympathy.
I'm…so sorry," she says, suddenly embarrassed, "I don't know what came over me…"
"It's alright…," he replies, massaging his neck.
"You said your friend was robbed?" I ask the man, and he nods.
"Yes, he's the owner of this beyblading shop. He was robbed last night, he says. I came over to see him."
"A beyblading shop?" Hilary asks, and we exchange curious looks.
"Aye, the best in the village," the man replies. He then leads us to the centre of the queue, where a man is kneeling on the ground and sobbing.
"Haru! Are you alright?" says the guy that had bumped into Hilary.
"No!" the man on the floor says, who's probably the owner of the shop that got robbed. "They took it—they took my prized possession!" he cries, but our guy still looks confused, so Haru says "they took the Golden Blade!"
Our guy looks stunned. "But how? I thought you locked it up in a safe?"
"I don't know," Haru says, "all they left was a scratch that looked done by a claw, right on the door of the safe."
"But how's that possible? Bringing an animal along to a robbery?" I ask. Hilary rolls her eyes.
"It doesn't have to have been an animal, Tyson," she says. "It could've been something else—something that could leave a mark identical to a claw's."
This is too weird. "I'm gonna go in and see."
Hilary, astonished, says, "What? No, it could be dangerous!"
"Come on, Hil, how could something like this be dangerous?"
"Well--"
"You don't have to come if you're scared."
"I didn't say anything about being scared!"
"Okay then, let's go."
"No!"
"Fine," I say, shrugging my shoulders. I take a step inside, and, just as I expected, Hilary follows.
"I won't let you go alone," she says. I don't argue, because the inside of the shop is way too intriguing to be thinking of anything else. Glass doors are smashed; cabinet doors open here and there, cash register on the floor. Even the small chandelier light is in pieces on the floor.
"It's so dark," Hilary whispers behind me.
"Hold my hand and stay close," I tell her.
"Wow, I feel safe," she replies sarcastically, but takes my hand anyway.
Carefully stepping over the broken glass scattered on the floor, we make our way to the back. And, just as Haru had said, the safe was there, with a large claw mark on the front.
"Its open," I say, walking towards it. Opening the safe wider, I see that there's nothing inside. Then I remember what Haru had said: 'they took my prized possession'…
"I wonder what the Golden Blade is?" I say out loud. Hilary points at a sign beside the desk. It read:
Golden Blade
An ancient blade passed on through generations of beybladers
Power unknown
Can be sold at a high price
"Well that's not much information," I say, disappointed. "Whoever stole it must've wanted it for money."
Just then, I hear a hissing sound coming from the ceiling. "Did you hear that?"
Hilary doesn't say anything, though I feel her trembling behind me. The sound is almost like a voice, threatening us, ordering us to get out…
Hilary's grip tightens on my hand. "Tyson…can we leave? This place is giving me the creeps…"
I turn to look at her, and she does look a bit frightened. "Yeah, okay," I tell her, and she follows me outside.
Haru and his friend are sitting on a nearby bench. When they see us, Haru stands up and looks at us questioningly. "Anything we should know of?" he asks.
"No," I say, "Not if there's something wrong with your air-conditioning system…" the man looks at me oddly.
"What are you trying to say?" Haru asks.
"Do you usually hear a hissing sound coming from the back?" I ask him.
"Hissing?" Haru asks. "No…why?"
"Well, we heard something like that just now, so…"
Haru shivers. "This is bad…what if my store is haunted?!"
"Don't think like that, I'm sure its nothing," our guy tells him. He then turns to us. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, Haru, could you tell us how you got the Golden Blade thingy in the first place?"
"My grandfather had given it to me when I was a child," Haru says. "But he passed away years ago, so if you're thinking of questioning him, there won't be any chance for that…Sorry."
"Oh," is all I say.
On our way back to the guest house, I'm lost in thought with the situation we had encountered just now. Sure, maybe someone had just wanted to sell the blade off somewhere, but then there could be another reason… and what about that hissing? What if it actually was a voice? And if it were, then where did it come from...? Ugghhh…too much thinking for me is not good. I should just let it all go.
Something hard and warm presses against my back. Its Hilary's head. "Hil? What's wrong?"
Lifting her head up, she says, "Nothing…," but her face looks ill and tired.
I turn to face her. "No," I say, while pressing a hand on her forehead. "You're burning up…are you okay?"
"I'm fine…my forehead is warm to you because your hands are cold," I'm still looking concerned, so she says, "that place just freaked me out, okay? I dunno why, I just…knew I had to get out of there…"
For some reason, I'm suddenly racked with guilt, thinking it's my fault. And I want more than anything right now to see her smile. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask.
"Hug," she says, spreading her arms out. I smile, and pull her to me while she wraps her arms around my neck, and we share a kiss that seems to express every emotion we're both feeling right now, allowing us to feel the pleasant light-headedness we'd been waiting for all morning. Then Hilary rests her head on my chest, and closes her eyes.
"Feeling better?" I ask her softly, running a hand through her hair.
"Much," she replies, smiling to herself. "Thanks."
"Sorry we couldn't do much together this morning," I apologize.
"That's okay," she says quietly. "This is all I need to love you more..."
I grin. "Anything for my Hilary…"
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This was my longest chapter yet! I hope it was good enough.
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