Another quick update! I did promise I'd try not to update slow :) I'm glad people seem to be enjoying the story, I'm pretty excited to continue! Please do review at the end and let me know your thoughts and questions if you have any :D I'll update faster then! I think it gets even better from this chapter and onwards so enjoy chapter five, it's longer too! Thanks to those who have reviewed! It really does mean a lot to me. :)

(Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of it's characters, I just own my plot and my OC's!)

Chapter Five

I was in midst checking the medical records of the entire trainee's and noticed that neither Bryan's, Spencer's, Ian's nor Tala's records were there. That was strange. Could Boris possibly be holding them? Or perhaps there's something they were being given that I was not to know of? Who knows? What bugged my mind was the inevitable and somehow, poking my nose into their business didn't seem like such a brilliant plan right now, which reminds me, I knew this would be a mistake but Tala really needed to take some pain killers. That gash was going to be there for at least 2 weeks before the pain would begin to abscond. I'll give a final attempt or just ask Bryan to persuade him. I didn't want him to lose out on impressing Boris. That was what he was after. I only worried what reaction I would get out of him when- no, if I approached him. I hadn't decided yet if I wanted to confront him, not after last night's reaction though he seemed to be controlling his anger better, I wasn't shoved against the wall again after all.

Sighing, I picked up a packet of painkillers and headed across the labs and empty rooms and storage to reach Balkov HQ for the bladers. I knew the Demolition Boys had a common room somewhere and hopefully Tala would be there and someone else considering he doesn't seem to believe me at the moment.
After what seemed like an hour I wondered if I was lost. Obviously I was. Good god, what was I supposed to do?

'Artemis!'

'Yes Juliette what troubles you?'

'I think I'm lost. I need to find the boys common room. Can you help?'

'I'll look through my chakras.'

I waited, knowing I'd know my way soon. Artemis was good at using her spiritual energy to pin point locations and co-ordinates. This is why she would make a good weapon if she fell into the wrong hands. I did not want such a life for Artemis. She was like any human, free to do as she wished but right now she promised to stay with me as long as she could. I agreed. Plus, I was rather content to have a true friend by my side whenever I was in trouble or just needed to talk.

'Follow this corridor, take a right turn and you will find a solid door.'

I thanked her mentally and trudged through the dark corridors, following her directions. Like she said, I came across said wooden solid door; it seemed 5 inches thick or so. I swallowed, knocking lightly and waited for a reply.

There was none.

Was it empty? It's time's like this that I hated being wrong.
The door suddenly opened to reveal a pair of silver orbs gazing back at me. They narrowed vaguely almost as if he was judging me.

"What are you doing here?"

"O-Oh Bryan... is Tala there?" I asked, slightly frowning that I was losing confidence already.

At first I thought I saw hesitation in his eyes, hiding away a secret because they seemed to curtain away from my gaze. When he looked at my hands his eyes widened slightly then narrowed yet again in suspicion.

"Why?" He coldly replied.

I gripped the packet tightly.

"It's just, he's hurt bad. I know his arm must be paining him and it wouldn't be good to continue as he is. It may even result with Boris lashing out. I was hoping he would take these painkillers as a last resort" I tailed off noticing Bryan's eyes turning harsh. I didn't seem to have made things any better.

"Why are you eager to give him medicine?"

I knew he was suspicious. It was like when Juan asked if the food I gave him was poisoned. I was determined to make him realise I was not the villain. Just then a voice sounded from behind Bryan, stealing both our attentions.

"Bryan, why are you taking so long? Who are you ta-" the voice stopped as Tala made an appearance through the gap in the doorway. Of course, at once his eyes narrowed and turned cold. You could just feel the temperature dropping rapidly in the room; no doubt he didn't seem too happy with my presence. I felt the shivers on my neck once more and grasped the packet in my hand.

"You. What are you doing here?" He callously insisted.

I glanced at Bryan, I could really use his help but he didn't seem to trust me much at the moment either. I had to do this alone.

"Onegai, Tala, I don't want Boris to end up punishing you even more if your strength is not at its fullest. Your arm won't work as good if you're in pain. Take these" I offered out a shaky hand of the packet as I blankly looked down at my hand. It would have been great if he suddenly accepted the offer without a word, I wouldn't have even minded if he snatched it off my hand, of course things were not that simple. A hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me inside quite harshly. The grip released and the door slammed shut. I completely wiped out the current situation, being entirely sidetracked by the design of the vicinity. The room was very grand, completely different to the rest of the abbey. You wouldn't even believe it was here. There was a fireplace on one wall, a long leather sofa facing it. The room was filled with rich paintings in golden frames, the curtains covering the huge windows were royal red with golden ropes to hold them back, and the floor was wooden with a red patterned carpet. The entire room consisted of several bookshelves, desks, a radiowhich seemed rare, flower vases and statues. Above me was a chandelier for lighting. If I was to be home, the front room was exactly like this. I noticed 4 separate hazelnut wooden doors which must have been their designated bedrooms, rich like this room.

I was snapped back into reality from the sound of Tala's cold snarl.

"I told you to leave me alone. Why are you trying to poison me wench?!" He snapped.

I felt a sting at his words but kept calm and narrowed my eyes. I held up the packet.

"You choose to believe I am poisoning you. Dakara, I'm going prove to you I am not." I replied with confidence.

His eyes glowered. I noticed Bryan standing arms crossed on the wall, merely spectating the entire scene in silence .

"How do you propose you do that?" Tala questioned with a slight flicker of a raised eyebrow.

I slipped out one tablet from the packet. It was just a painkiller. Having one wouldn't affect me at all; just perhaps make me a little drowsy. If this was the only way to prove my innocence then so be it.

His eyes changed from its narrow state to suspicion. His lips slightly parted as if he wasn't going to believe my actions. I held up the pill and popped it into my mouth, swallowing it dry. I had been able to do so since I was 13, when our water supply had been turned off for fixing and I desperately needed to take my medication.

I looked upon the expression on his cold face. It hadn't changed. Perhaps a slight bit of surprise but other than that he kept his posture up well. I don't know why but I felt slightly disappointed. In fact, I'd been hoping he would at least have stopped me in taking a tablet for absolutely no reason. Never mind. I proved my point. I walked to the nearest table noticing a jug of water and a few glasses there and poured a glass and left the packet by the side. Without a word, I left the common room noticing Bryan had stood up straight from his position and watched me with wary eyes.

After my usual evening routine, things slowed down around 9pm. Training sessions were ending and I hadn't seen any of the Demolition Boys since the common room incident. All was quiet in the infirmary when I decided to pack up and head for bed. Possibly take a shower too.

The corridors were dark and quiet and I noticed a shadow move across the opposite hallway. Who would be here now? Following my instincts I found my way to the storage rooms when I noticed the shadow slip through a door of one. Was this even a good idea? Last time I went exploring I ended up getting rammed against a hard wall. Twice.
I swallowed, risking it and took a step forward. My instincts told me to stay away when my head urged me to move forward. I followed my head and reached for the handle entering the lit up room.

Inside was a very large training room with battle dishes where mini games were being held by the bladers of the abbey. All but the top 4 were here. Perhaps it was a scheduled event except all eyes were on me as I entered and silence pierced the skies.
In the spotlight again I hesitated, watching the pairs of eyes, most giving dark and deathly glares back at me in response. What do I do?Then I spotted the familiar amber orbs.

"Relax everyone. Its Juliette" a calm voice called out softly from the crowds. It wasn't Juan- he smiled but stayed silent and away from the big crowds.

There were murmurs and a few nudges and gasps. I heard someone whisper something about calling me by my first name and getting into trouble. One of the willing bladers who had come to my infirmary stepped forward, greeting me with a nod. His dark black hair curtained his face and his eyes were the same amber as Juan's and detained its posture.
I saw a few swallow, some back away and flinch. Others sent dirts with hatred radiating from all corners. I was herded.
The door closed behind me as the black haired boy shut the door and stepped beside me confidently.

"I'm Cole. Juan's older brother."

Ah, so this was Juan's older brother? I recognised his eye colour. He seemed older, around my age.

"It's good to meet you again. How is your graze?" I asked him.

He patted his shoulder. "It's fine, your cream thing helped a lot" he assured with a confident expression.

I smiled weakly, nodding in contentment. He gave a small one back before turning to others.

"Juliette isn't like Riku or Keira or Shizuka or Lynn. I believe she is genuine and I have faith in her. You should all feel the same."

I felt my heart pulse. Was he assuring everyone I was innocent? That I wasn't the evil villain trying to kill them? If so, my job here at the abbey would be so much better. I might even enjoy it. However things were not that easy.

"No, she is not to be trusted!"

My heart sank a little but I stared blankly at the protesting boys.

"She's as low and filthy as the rest of them. All she is doing now is putting on an act to gain everyone's trust. She will give us the same fate that Rocky received!" another snapped.

I walked towards him, he took a step back flinching, hissing like a snake.

"What do you all mean like the rest of them? I do not understand" I inquired.

I felt two rough hands grip my shoulders and shove me back against the stone wall. This action was repeated too many times. I was sure to get concussion if I continued to hit my head like this. I winced, noticing Juan flinch, wanting to come and help. I shook my head softly before looking up.

"Don't act like you don't know witch" a violet haired boy reacted, baring his teeth.

"Stop hurting her, she's not who you all belie-" Cole began.

"Shut up Cole! How can you trust her so easily? You're a fool to fall for her traps! She's working with Boris. We will all be destined to be in our graves young if you trust her" a blue head spoke up.

I cringed. These boys had no idea what they were saying! I was forced to come here, to work, to gain trust. I knew nothing of these 'others' they keep mentioning. I knew if I spoke I'd get ignored. But I had to try.

"Please, listen to me, I'm not what you think, I'm only trying to help" I pleaded eagerly.

The purple haired boy, tall but had a young face stepped forward, grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back. I cried out in pain, gasping.

"How does it feel witch?" He hissed into my ear.

"Stop it! Let her go!" Cole growled, he was being held back by 3 other bladers who were also seemingly against me. I watched Juan from the corner of my eye, his face broken and defeated. Why wasn't he speaking up? I was thrown once more and my hands hit a stool with glasses on them. In seconds, I was on the floor with glass shards buried in my cheek and hands and blood already starting to drip. Oh no. I had to leave. I winced, hissing at the pain that seared through my hands. I brushed at them, picking out the glass shards as a painful throb caught my head. I heard laughter and snickers. Why was this happening to me? What have I done wrong?

'Juliette, please stand up. You must leave. They won't accept you right now and I don't know the reasons. Please for your own safety, go back to your room'Artemis pleaded inside my head.

She was right. There was no way I'd win this today. I plucked out the remaining glass and stood up shakily. I was being watched as I headed for the door when it flew open and the familiar ruby eyes were seen.

I could sense everyone was startled, probably because they weren't supposed to be here after training. My mind was dizzy and jumbled but I managed to keep up my strong outer appearance. Boris stood in the doorway, disgust and rage on his face as he glanced round the room catching all faces.
He then fell across to me and caught the blood.

"Miss Juliette, what happened to you? Who did this?" His threatening voice was sending shivers in the atmosphere.

He caught the look on everyone's silent faces and it ticked.

"What are you all doing here? Its afterhours! YOU WILL ALL BE SENT TO THE DUNGEONS AND PUNISHED FOR THE WHOLE DAY!"

I sucked in a gasp. No, they cannot suffer for my misdoing. I stood forward.

"Boris-sama, please, do not punish them. I had called them here to ask about their health. It seemed easier to gather them all this way than to disrupt them during their training. These cuts were just from when I tripped on a misplaced tile whilst holding a glass and fell. Gomen Boris-sama, this is my fault" I softly stated, looking down at the ground forlornly.

I caught Cole and Juan along with the 3 boys near Cole that had let go of him, now stare at me in awe. I kept my gaze down and held my hands together in front of me. Boris seemed to lose his angry mood and furrowed his eyebrows together.

"Very well. You should inform me if you are to have a gathering next time is that understood?" He quietly ordered.

"Hai" I agreed, giving one nod.

"And do take caution. I do not think your father will appreciate knowing his daughter has been hurt during her stay here at the abbey" he alleged.

I was surprised. So otou-san really did worry for my being here. Just dormant. I nodded again.

"All of you, to your dorms this instant. Training at 6" Boris returned to his treacherous tone.

"Yes sir" they all replied robotically before simultaneously leaving the room in silence.

Boris gave me one last glance before turning around and left the room, soon I followed back to the infirmary.

The healing cream did wonders. When I woke up the small dots of cuts were healed over leaving my fluorescent pale skin to return to its usual glow. My hands also. Remembering last night I wondered what would become of today. If Boris really had bought my lie, I feared he had sent them all to be punished. That was out of the question when I walked past the training session at 7. I wonder if Tala took the medicine after my scene. I hoped so, his arm was nowhere near healed to have any extreme workouts or practices, if he was to play his best he would need the strength.

At the infirmary, I was paid a visit by another surprise visitor. There was a knock and the door opened just as I turned around in my office chair to catch a glimpse of violet.

"Can I come in?"

I stood up nodding as the boy strode over looking nervous and culpable as he came closer. He stopped with just a foot distance between us. He took a deep breath, avoiding my gaze before looking up in hesitation.

"I'm...sorry, about...you know... yesterday. I shouldn't have hurt you and we all misjudged you. What you did for us...w-we're really grateful for it. Nearly all of us accept you as different now but we're being brought up to fight without emotions so you understand our situation if one of us gets...harsh" he tailed off.

I was taken aback. I didn't expect this. I understood the whole emotionless concept and was thankful he even took the liberty to apologise and show a little emotion knowing he may get in trouble if caught. I smiled weakly and gazed into the rich indigo orbs of the violet haired boy.

"Don't worry, it's understandable. But may I ask one question?" I risked it.

He raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"When you all spoke of 'the others' what did you mean?"

He looked surprised. "You really don't know?"

I shook my head in discontent. He let out an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes as his face fell forward.

"Previous doctors who worked here in the abbey, they were specially hired by Boris, for a good reason too. They weren't your average nice doctors who tend to you if you have a slight fever, no. Not at all. These doctors were specifically trained to adjust to life here in Balkov Abbey. They were dire and cold hearted and only enjoyed seeing suffering. Sure they would give real help on a rare occasion but usually they gave us medicines and injections that made us suffer for a while before treating us properly. Sometimes we weren't treated at all and a few would..." His voice broke and went silent.

I winced, feeling a stab in my heart. I can't believe how disgusting this all sounded. How could someone do that as a job to these kids who are already suffering?

"Demo, that wasn't the worst. They would feed us foods spiked with drugs or spike our drinks, give the wrong medication or simply worsen our wounds when needed cleaning." He took a deep breath before continuing and I listened silently.

"There was this one guy, Rocky. His full name was Robert Hill but he was known as Rocky here. Boris was close to assigning him to the Demolition Boys, or so we thought. Rocky had a disease, something to do with his gland. It was imperative for him to take his usual medicine everyday but Riku had different ideas."

I narrowed my eyes. Not moving an inch nor breathing a word. Riku, she was the doctor here before me.
He clutched the edge of his jacket. "That monster fed him the wrong tablets. She hid away his real medication and because of that, he suffered and one night, his pain got so bad he just...just..." He struggled to say the end but I knew the outcome.

I heaved out a sympathetic sigh, looking down at the floor. I could hear the soft whimpers and heavy breathing from the boy in front of me.

"Why hadn't Boris done anything to prevent this?" I asked solemnly.

"For the old doctors he did nothing, he hoped we would adapt to the suffering and it would make us stronger if we were able to hold out on our own without medication."

"That's inhuman!" I jumped up, shocked.

He nodded and looked up directly into my eyes. "As for Riku, she was fired. This was heavily due to her killing Boris's highest trainee which pissed him off."

I softened my expression, in deep thought.
That's why everyone here seemed to have hated me. That's why Juan was so nervous when I was tending to him, why Ian asked that question, why Tala held such deep hatred and accused me of ill intentions. It all made sense.

"Sakurai-san?"

I broke out of my trance and glanced up.

"Please, call me Juliette" I corrected.

His face softened. "You really are genuine aren't you?"

I remained silent, oblivious to his question or statement.

"I best go, again, I'm sorry" he apologised before turning.

"Matte."

He froze and turned back round perplexed. I stood up and walked over, resting a hand on his shoulder. Although, he was taller than me. "I understand everything now. I don't want to leave any misinterpretation of my intentions so I want to say I promise you all I'm not like the previous doctors. My stay here is only for the well being of each blader at this abbey and only their solid well being."

His eyebrows arched and I could sense he wanted to smile but couldn't.

"Thanks" he nodded turning around again.

I watched him leave but before he was completely out of sight he glanced over his shoulder.

"By the way, the name's Keiji."

So we finally discover the mystery behind everyone's hatred for Juliette! Well...not everyone. ;) She still seems to be failing to gain Tala's trust.

I want to know what people think of Keiji and whether I should have him as one of the main roles, I have written him in to some future chapter's but let me know what you think. :)

There will be a slight change of Point of View's in the next chapter so you will get an insight on Tala's thoughts too! Please review? Thanks all!

Adios!