Hello! Squeezing in this update really quick before the weekend gets busy. About halfway through this chapter is where I picked up writing this year-this is where I left off when I last worked on this years ago so everything after this is new and hopefully my writing has improved since then.

Thank you SailorCandy and Exotic girl26 for reviewing! SailorCandy, it might not be for a few more chapters, but I promise there will be more of your favorite shipping!

I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.

Hikaru opened the diary. With Madoka, Mei Mei, and Sophie out, the house was eerily quiet. She wished at least one of them had stuck around; she didn't know what was going to be in the diary, but having someone else around could have made it a little less nerve-wracking.

She couldn't figure out why they all suddenly had places to go either. For the past few days, with the exception of Madoka, who had an obvious reason to leave, everyone had been staying relatively close to the house when they weren't all out doing things together. They were worn out from the constant chaos that kept plaguing their vacation. So what had suddenly changed? What was going on around here?

She sighed. It was just her and the diary at this point.

True, she had told Sophie she didn't mind if she left, but Hikaru didn't want to keep her friend from leaving just so she didn't feel so nervous.

She opened the diary, a thrill of anticipation running through her.

The first few entries were simple enough, talking about day-to-day tasks, not anything that would raise any alarms. A few of them mentioned her engagement to Charles Melcher, and her excitement towards the upcoming wedding. So far, it just seemed like a normal diary.

As the months stretched out, the entries became fewer and fewer. More than once Elise raised questions about if she was really doing the right thing by going through with the arranged marriage. But by the time the wedding was at hand, the entries had increased once more. Some of the writing was almost frantic, as if she'd been in a rush to get them down before she lost them.

June 6

I don't know what I'm doing anymore. When I first agreed to go through with this, I thought everything would turn out wonderful, and that nothing could go wrong. Admittedly, I barely knew Charles, but I felt I could at least grow to love him. Now I'm not so sure, and the wedding is less than two weeks away.

June 10

Something terrible has just happened. I caught Charles with another woman. I don't know whether he knows that I saw him, but I know enough to say he is only going through with the wedding because he has to. I don't know what this means for our marriage, but it cannot be good. I don't know what to do.

June 13

Charles has changed suddenly. We were putting in some final preparations, when he turned harsh, yelling at me- for no reason! This is not good. If anything, there is distance between us.

June 15

I have made a big mistake. I confronted Charles about the other woman in a fit of rage today. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. I'm beginning to become fearful. There was something so… wrong about him.

June 16

I cannot stay. The wedding is tomorrow, but Charles showed up at my house under some silly pretense, then proceeded to attack me! I managed to get away, but I'm not safe. I already tried to run off once today, but I was caught within minutes. Fortunately, I was able to play it off as just wanting to go to the beach for some fresh air, but if I try to get away again, I may not be so lucky.

June 17

Today is the wedding. We will be married and I have no hope as to what is to come. I have to go; it is time for me to put on my dress.

Hikaru shut the diary, having finished the final entry. Three short sentences, then nothing more. Something had happened to Elise right after that. Hikaru was positive her fiancé had something to do with it, but she wasn't sure what. Had Elise gotten away, at some point between putting on her dress and getting to the altar, leaving the island for good? Did she continue to live out her life somewhere else?

And if her fiancé had done something, how would she ever prove it? If the police couldn't find any damning evidence after years of searching, what were the chances she would be able to find anything after all this time? Elise was the island's ultimate cold case.

The sun was setting. She pushed the diary aside, then looked at the note she'd left on the counter. The one from Ryuga.

She'd avoided him as much as possible, and she definitely didn't want to meet with him; she didn't care what he had to say. She couldn't forget the stupid note, though, no matter how hard she tried.

Resolved, Hikaru threw it in the trash. Dwelling on it further was pointless.

Hikaru nearly screamed when she looked out the window again. Elise was there, out by the waves, looking directly into the condo.

Hikaru scribbled a hasty note to her friends, then dashed outside. To her dismay, Ryuga was on the deck, but before he could say anything, she squeezed past him and went running down the water's edge.

Elise was still there, but she had already started to move, gliding across the sand. Scraps of her torn wedding dress followed behind her. Hikaru jogged to keep up. There was no way she was going to lose the ghost this time.

Elise was moving away the beach, towards the thick jungle part of the island. Instinct was telling her not to follow, but Hikaru knew she had to. Elise was obviously leading her somewhere. Several times, she almost lost sight of the pale apparition, but after a quick glance, she found the ghost nearby in some shrubbery.

Hikaru had never been into this part of the jungle before; it was easily the thickest, and most dense area. There was no sign anyone- or anything, for that matter- had been in the area in years. She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to get back, but Hikaru let that matter slide for the time being. She was on a mission.

The sun dipped further beneath the horizon behind her, making it more and more difficult to force her way through the jungle. Elise vanished suddenly, one moment visible in a small opening in foliage, then gone. Hikaru walked to the exact spot where she had last seen the girl, frowning.

Why had Elise brought her here? There was nothing unusual about it, just a small clearing barely big enough to be noticed. The shrubbery had faded away slightly with only a little grass peeking out around her feet, and the dirt seemed to be overturned for some reason. There was nothing special about the place.

Hikaru turned away and was about to head back, resigned, when she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked back at the dirt.

She'd followed Elise through the jungle, with no path in sight, no sign that anyone had been there in a long, long time…

Feeling slightly sick, she knelt on the ground around the disturbance and began digging, uncertain as to what she would find.

She dug deep into the ground, getting right up close to the hole she was making, getting thoroughly coated in dirt in the process.

Her hand struck something hard. She couldn't tell what it was, so she shifted the earth around it, and pulled it out of the ground.

The object was strangely shaped, and had a thick layer of mud around it. Hikaru brushed it aside, taking care not to damage it in any way. The color started to come through.

It was white. Bone white.

Hikaru screamed and jumped up, throwing the bone in the air. For a short moment, she swore she saw Elise.

She'd never imagined she'd find… It was impossible…

Hikaru leaned up against a tree, trying to steady herself, heaving.

She'd found much more than she'd bargained for. It never crossed her mind that Elise would lead her here.

After more than fifty years, Elise Warsaw had finally been found.

Ryuga paced back and forth across the kitchen on the male side of the condo.

Kyoya scowled. "Would you quit that already? It's driving me crazy."

Ryuga complied, instead banging his hand against the wall. If that was bothering Kyoya, then there was no way he would've been able to make it through the turmoil constantly churning in Ryuga's mind these days.

Kyoya vaulted over the back of the couch, landing neatly on the cushions. "If it's bothering you that much, just go talk to her."

"I'd really rather not." He hit the wall again.

"She's made it clear she's not coming over to you at this point. Just swallow your pride and go do it."

Ryuga scoffed. "Yeah, that's easy for you to say. But I know you wouldn't do it if it was you."

Kyoya shrugged. "No, probably not. But I wouldn't make it everyone else's problem, sulking around the house the way you are."

"I'm not-"

Kyoya raised his hand. "Doesn't matter. I've said my piece. You do whatever you want." He flipped on the tv, making it clear the conversation was over.

Ryuga walked over to the door, his hand hovering over the knob. Kyoya had a point. He just wished Hikaru had made it easier on both of them and agreed to meet up after she received the note.

He was positive she had gotten it, too. There was no way she could have missed it. She'd been going out of her way to avoid him; for whatever reason, Hikaru was hell-bent on not talking to him.

Ryuga had been a jerk and he knew it, but he was at least trying to make amends. That had to count for something, or so he thought.

Except for the fact that Hikaru wasn't even willing to give him a chance.

He almost had an opportunity earlier, but she'd completely caught him off guard as she ran out of the condo. That had been a while ago; she'd probably returned by this point. The sun was slowly beginning to set.

He groaned. He wasn't entirely sure what he was even going to say to Hikaru, but at this point, he'd settle for one of their endless arguments. The silence between them was getting to be too much. He just needed to talk to her. Ryuga definitely regretted some of the things he'd said, not that he was one hundred percent willing to admit it out loud, but the bad blood between them needed to go away. It wasn't healthy for any of them. The least they could do was attempt to have a civil conversation.

Something more was going on, though. All of the girls had been acting strangely the past few days. Ryuga was more than a little curious. Ever since that night at the club, the girls had been on edge. None of them had fully elaborated on what had happened.

Which, he realized, gave him the perfect excuse to go ask now.

Seconds later, he was outside the girls' door.

Sophie opened the door. She seemed surprised to see him, but covered it up quickly. Ryuga noticed Wales standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Did you need something?"

Ryuga tried to look inside. "Is Hikaru here?"

"No, she's not," Sophie shook her head.

"Look," Ryuga sighed. "I know she's been avoiding me. I just want to talk. Can you just let me see her?"

"She's really not here," Sophie said vehemently. She left the door open, walking over to the kitchen counter. She picked something up, then brought it back to Ryuga. "This is a note she left. When we got back, she was already gone. I'm not even sure when she left."

Ryuga took the note from her, studying it. It looked like it had been written quickly, like Hikaru was in a rush to get out for some reason. She left no mention of where she was going, or why she had left.

There was only a single line written on a strangely old looking piece of paper. The page was ripped, likely torn from a notebook.

Be back soon.

Ryuga handed it back. "Thanks… I guess. If you see her, let her know I'm looking for her." He walked back to the other half of the condo. Behind him, Sophie's facial expression changed from confusion to worry as she closed the door.

Where could she have gone? Something about the note made Ryuga uneasy. If only he had gone over there earlier, or been able to stop her when she left. Between the note and the intensity of her departure, something wasn't right. He had a feeling Sophie might know more than she was letting on, but there was no point in pushing the matter further.

If Hikaru wasn't back soon, though, there was a chance he wouldn't have a choice.

Raindrops began falling down from the sky. He stared upwards. The sky was a dark gray, filled with ominous clouds.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Ryuga turned to get a better look.

A lone person was walking on the beach. They kept glancing around, as though trying to make sure they weren't being followed. Then, they walked straight into the jungle, disappearing from view.

Hikaru held tight to the tree, still gasping. She stared at the bone, unwilling to believe what she had found, knowing deep down she wasn't wrong. There was no way those bones belonged to anybody but the Wraith Bride herself.

Hikaru didn't know why Elise had chosen her of all people to find her final resting place, but at that moment, the reason didn't matter. What mattered was what Hikaru did next.

Finally having calmed down, she stepped forward, back toward the shallow grave. She frowned. Something definitely wasn't right.

Elise had died nearly fifty years ago. Yet the spot she was buried in still showed evidence of a fairly recent disturbance. After half a century, it should have been covered back up by vegetation, or at the very least the ground should have flattened out. The ground should not have looked fresh, as though it had been recently overturned.

As impossible as it seemed, could Elise have somehow orchestrated this? It was like the key they had discovered in their condo, that just so happened to open a chest in an empty house. It didn't add up. For some reason she couldn't explain, Hikaru got the feeling that the answer was much more sinister than she realized.

Her body had obviously long decayed, but the bones had been caked with mud. Damp mud, too. It had crumbled easily when she pushed it away, not the dry and hardened mud she would've expected after all this time.

Come to think of it, it had been raining quite a bit lately…

She stood at the open grave, not daring to touch anything, not daring to move. Fear seized her. She should go to the police. That much was obvious. She knew in her heart it was Elise, but even if it wasn't, the person deserved a proper burial. They didn't deserve to be out here in the dense jungle, hidden away from the rest of the world, a dark end to a dark story.

She hated to leave the grave exposed, but she wasn't about to cover it up. Nor was she going to dig up the rest of the bones. That was a job best left to someone else. She was going to escape the jungle, then inform the proper authorities. Hikaru didn't know how she was going to explain how she'd found the bones in the first place, but exploring the island seemed like a good excuse.

She did a quick 360-degree turn, trying to find the narrow path she'd followed here earlier. Once she located it, she barely started walking before she heard a crunch that stopped her blood cold, freezing her in her tracks.

"Well now, what do we have here?"

She barely had time to scream. The next thing she saw was a shovel swinging at her face.