Well only two days late. That's not too bad:P

Thanks for all the reviews and to Sophie who I couldn't thank via PM.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Chapter 12

A month had passed. No. It had been longer than a month. Kai looked at his calender and saw how much time had gone by since Mariah had convinced Hilary to hold a ball. Six weeks. Six long and tiresome weeks. Six weeks they had spent in their hideout. It was no longer their headquarters because there was no longer a Resistance. What it now was was a place for them to stay hidden, to cower in fear of being found and arrested. It made Kai's blood boil by how much they had fallen. They had once been a mighty force to be reckoned with but in a single attack they had been all but wiped out completely. Even their support had been destroyed. They no longer received anonymous donations meaning that once again they had to return to the way they had been originally: pickpocketing, living on leftovers until they were about to rot, stealing from shops where once they had been able to buy freely. All money that they received went into weaponry and accessories needed for training and not without resentment either. As had been pointed out, they were living like poverty ridden peasants when they had enough money to at least provide a decent meal every night instead of making one last for three, sometimes four. Kai didn't care for that though. As far as he was concerned those were material things. The important things were the things that were going to free them from living in obscurity; living like they didn't even exist. The important things were those which were going to finish Brooklyn Kingston off once and for all.

Every weekday had been spent with a vigorous training regime. Most days they fell into bed a step away from complete fatigue and that was exactly the way Kai wanted them. A solid nine hours sleep and they were ready to do it all over again. The difference in them all was phenomenal. Their agility, speed, strength, stamina and endurance had all increased to levels none of them had ever imagined before. Their bodies were toned, sculpted and fit. Even Garnet who, never being one for rigorous exercise and had always maintained a curvaceous figure, had shed every inch of fat from her body and transformed it into muscle. She would never have the appearance to be a body builder, thank goodness, but she could certainly give them a run for their money on fitness levels. Even Ray – who had recovered fully- had begun to join in on their training though his lack of a right hand made somethings difficult for him. Kai realised that he would never be able to join them again in an attack. He would too much of a liability. His left hand – though strong – was unable to hold and fire a gun anywhere near its target and without that basic protection Kai had his doubts whether Ray would even be able to protect himself in man to man combat. They had sparred a few times and Kai (for the first time in his life) was able to get the upper hand over the former martial arts specialist. All this Ray knew, however. Kai had never came outright and said it but he could see from Ray's eyes that he knew. Still, his cheery disposition never lowered and Kai was certain that this was one of the factors that made everyone able to carry on and he was grateful. The raw determination for life to go on was the best motivation for them while they were training.

His place had been taken by Kenny and this was no easy task. Kenny was no fighter and he'd be the first one to say so. It was an uphill struggle but Kai thought that they were about to reach the top. From being unable to run more than half a mile (Kenny's forte had always been electronics and computers) he could now run the same distances as them, though keeping up was a different matter. That same struggle could be likened to Ray who was now attempting to learn the ins and outs of computing. However his prominent handicap made this a battle that he was slowly starting to win. Losing the dexterity of his right hand to a prosthetic – the only luxury Kai had been happy to donate money from their funds to – made trying to work a keyboard difficult but Kai could see the improvements.

The only time Kai allowed them off were weekends. Even he knew that constantly training and working would get them nowhere and he allowed them and himself two days of the week to relax in whatever way they wanted. Of course, being for the most part confined in their hideout made any form of relaxation hard. Especially for Kai. They went out at nights when they were less likely to be recognised and they would go to a bar or a club but for Kai, spending time with girls was a previous enjoyment that had lost the key part of the word. Joy. When he went home with a girl – never back to his for obvious reasons – the time he spent with her never seemed to match up. He didn't like to leave to many broken hearts behind or pretend not to see the hurt when he would see the previous girl at a bar and swap the most pleasant of pleasantries without any follow up. He was hurting too only they couldn't see it. No one could. It hurt that after six weeks he was still spending the time he had to himself thinking of Hilary. Once or twice he had cried her name out in the heat of passion and after that the passion quickly ended. He didn't blame any girl for that. How could he hold a grudge over such a crime? A small one albeit but one he had no real excuse for.

Six weeks...

How long did it take some one to get over some one else? Every night when he lay awake thinking over their last words to each other he chastised himself for it. He doubted very much that she was doing the same. He doubted very much that he ever crossed her mind from time to time. Maybe in passing conversation with Mariah but if it was anything more than he would be surprised. If she knew how much emotional turmoil he was over he he bet she would just laugh. He was sure that she was now happy with Kingston. He could give her everything. What real future did they have together? One where they were on the run constantly, one where she could never show her face in the street without danger lurking. He didn't blame her for it and he hoped she was happy. However, it also gave him all the more reason to hate Kingston even more. The one thing he wanted more than anything, more than killing Kingston himself, even, he had. And it stung more than any bee, wasp or jellyfish could.

He wondered if she was the same person around Kingston as she was around him. Did they laugh the way they'd laugh? Did they talk about the things they'd talked about? Could they just be silent and enjoy the other's company? Worst of all, he wondered if she felt for Kingston what she had felt for him. He feared she did. If their paths were to cross would she look at him with the same love they had felt before? For him absence had made the heart grow fonder but had it made hers forgetful?

Sometimes, when he was in the depths of his despair, he made plans to go to the palace and find a way to sneak into her window just to see her face. He knew they were only in his mind but doing it helped him sleep a little bit better. He hated himself for it. He hated how people would laugh. The great, strong Kai Hiwatari was losing sleep over some girl he'd had a brief fling with like it had been more, could have been more than that to her. At the time maybe it had been. Now it couldn't be.

And it broke his heart.

As much as he hated to admit it, the cool, collected leader of the once Resistance had a breaking heart. Well, perhaps it wasn't broken but it certainly was injured.

Thankfully no one else had noticed. He put all his emotions into his training just so that they never showed on his face. What his friends now needed was a leader who let nothing phase him. They didn't need another problem like this to put them back any further. A strong leader wouldn't let that happen and if there was something Kai Hiwatari had that was strength. He could push this from his mind around them. It was when they weren't around that he went insane with it. Well a little insanity never hurt anyone. It made his mind all the more active.

Pushing that aside, as a group they were getting itchy waiting to know when the ball would be. Mariah could give them updates on every detail down to what horde d'oeuvre they'd be serving but a the date on when the event would take place? That was still unconfirmed. The news of it had been announced and initial invitations sent to to guests telling them the event would be taking place and details of dress code had been released. That was as far as they were. It was the social event of the year, next to the actual wedding itself. No one with any sense would miss it. Only a fool. Therefore it didn't matter how soon or how late the date was announced. Everyone would attend. Them included. Until then all they could do was prepare their attack, even if it meant they were preparing for another six weeks.

"Kai?" A voice said at his bedroom door.

He was lying on his bed just staring at the ceiling. He had been reading a book but in his present mood he couldn't make sense of the words and it was lying on his chest like it was a part of his clothes. He had been too lost in his thoughts to put a name to his voice and it was only when he sat up that he saw it was Mariah. Of course. It was Sunday. He turned over and looked at his calender again. It had actually been six weeks and a day.

"Kai," she repeated and entered his room, shutting his door behind her. "How long have you been like this?"

He lay back down and stared up at the ceiling, feigning indifference. "Six weeks and one day."

"How does no one know?"

"I'm the master of disguising emotions, remember?"

She sat down on the edge of his bed and picked up the book from his chest. "Well anyone who would have seen you might have guessed something was up. You have to get a grip of yourself. This is getting too far. I knew it would happen. I practically saw it the minute you two set eyes on each other. I'm going to say this and I hope to God you hear it. She's going to be married to Brooklyn Kingston, not Kai Hiwatari. I don't know if you two planned to elope or whatever or maybe you still think it might happen but at this point in time no such thing will. She's resigned herself to that fact. You should too." She sighed. "You know there are plenty of girls who would kill to be with you. You could have your pick of so many."

"You're forgetting the complication of being a wanted criminal." Mariah had no reply for that and he sat up again, swinging his legs to the side so that he was sitting on the other side of the bed to Mariah. "Besides, I've been with all those girls. It's never the same. I don't want no one else. I feel pathetic for feeling like this. I know it's stupid and that I'm stupid."

"It's not stupid," Mariah said gently.

"If it's not stupid then tell me how she feels? Is it love with Kingston right enough?"

"We don't talk about it."

"Why not?" Kai demanded, feeling angry.

"Because it's taboo."

Kai stood from the bed and punched the wall. "Why is it taboo?!"

"Because I don't want to know!" Mariah cried. "I don't want to know if she loves you or not because I don't want it to affect my judgment. Kai we have a mission and a promise to keep. We promised to free this country from the evil that rules it and I'm not going to let my want of your happiness change that. At a time like this we have to be selfless. I've been selfless until now. Even though I want to put a bullet through Kingston's head, I bow to him when he walks past me because that's what's expected and needed of me for this to work. You need to forget about Hilary because that's what's expected and needed of you for this to work. If all goes well and you manage to kill him then maybe you and Hilary can make something together."

Kai looked at the wall. There was a crack in it. He looked at his knuckles. The skin had cracked and they were bloody. "It's not that simple. Could you push Ray from your head?"

Mariah was silent again. Eventually she replied, "I don't know."

Taking a towel from his drawer, Kai wrapped his knuckled in it. "Well until you do know don't judge me. You have no idea what I'm feeling right now Mariah. Jesus, you don't want to know how I'm feeling right now."

Not knowing what else to do, Mariah pulled Kai close to her and hugged him. He didn't return it but seemed to relax slightly in her embrace. He had never been one to give or receive hugs but this time he let her. When she pulled away she stood up to leave but lingered at the door and looked back at him. She sighed.

"She mopes. Not as much as you do but when she thinks no one's looking I can see sadness in her eyes. I don't know what it means but there is. Maybe that helps, maybe it doesn't but its all I can offer."

Kai watched her leave and closed the door behind her. It did help. It helped him a lot. He picked up his book again and began reading.

Hilary put down the book she had been reading and looked out to the gardens. The sun was beaming down on her as she sat on the seat at the balcony but it did nothing to lift her spirits. This simple, small pleasure which normally at least cast her mind away from her present situations did nothing for her. Nothing at all.

Sighing, she retreated inside and left her room. Walking the halls did nothing for her either except give her more time to lull over the same thoughts that had been haunting her ever since she's last saw him. Kai, that was. It hurt having to pretend that she wasn't. There was no one for her to talk to about it. Mariah refused to comment or even listen. Not that she blamed her but she was slightly resentful. Hilary was entirely alone in this. She had no one. No one. There was nobody to talk to, no way to vent her feelings and no way for her to push it from her mind. To make matters all the more worse she was constantly in the company of Brooklyn while constantly thinking of his sworn enemy. What could be a bigger insult?

Now she also felt guilty for it. She couldn't deny that she no longer hated Brooklyn. She actually almost liked him. His treatment of her now was nothing short of a gentleman and (although it wasn't something she cared to admit out loud) she knew that if this had been the Brooklyn she'd known when they'd first met Kai probably wouldn't be in her mind. It was funny how fate played its game. Hilariously funny.

She hoped her feelings would never amount to anything more prominent. Thankfully she was certain she would never love Brooklyn. She could feign it but never feel it. Strangely, she was sure that she cared about him. More so now than ever. He was truly pulling out all the stops to make this ball special for her. He had even delayed it again and again because there were things she wasn't happy with. Trials of the music, for example which was now, after much deliberation, settled on a string quintet with grand piano They'd tried so many things. Semi-gothic, showgirl, black and white. Now she and Mariah had settled their mind on traditional New Victorian. This meant all the elegance of Victorian dress with a modern twist. She had her dress already, as did Mariah. The initial invitations – designed by Maraih herself – had gone away. As far as she was aware Brooklyn had his suit prepared. Their masques as well were boxed and safely stored Everything was ready apart from the date. Once again, Brooklyn was being very patient with her. Although he had many engagements with all the Ministries he had managed to keep every weekend of the month free in the evenings. He was just waiting on Hilary to announce the dates.

Nobody was sure why there were still delays. Everything was prepared for. Except Hilary's frame of mind. Some how it seemed that there was something lurking around the corner. It was as if the end was marked by this ball. Call it woman's intuition but she just knew that something big was going to happen and it wasn't going to be anything good. It unsettled her. It could just her being silly but in every bit of mind she knew it wasn't. There was no doubting that somehow the Resistance would try and make an appearance and that caused this sense of impeding danger. Not just for them but for everyone, herself included. Whatever the outcome, it would all be over after the ball. She wanted to know what the Resistance was planning but she was scared that if she did she would try to stop it. They were out to kill Brooklyn and she cared about him. He could be a good person again, like Mystel said he had been before all the madness. Now she was even more certain of it. Her theory had worked, too. Showing him what he wanted to feel had reminded him of who he used to be and who she thought he wanted to be now. Ruling with an iron fist didn't work. All the greatest monarchs had ruled with firm kindness and Brooklyn realised that now.

The more she thought about it, the more it stuck her as funny. Here she was moping about how much she wanted to be with Kai and yet she was delaying the one time when she would possibly see him again. She highly doubted that she would. Brooklyn had ensured that the event was very exclusive: strictly invitation only. As far as she was aware there were guards at the only entrance to the palace and no other attempt at getting in would be feasible so unless they managed to get an invitation somehow and then get in without being recognised she could say goodbye to that idea.

Somehow she still wasn't convinced. This was Kai after all. The guy had been known to perform miracles before. Maybe he would do it again. Maybe he really wanted to see her that badly. Or more likely he was going to take a shot at Brooklyn which was an outcome she wasn't too sure she wanted. Her heart did but her head didn't. Not just now when things were turning around, when things could actually work. Surely they could see the disaster waiting to happen if Brooklyn was killed and she was left to rule? She had no experience of running a country and still had no idea of how to do it. Some one like Kai would be more appropriate. The people already loved him enough and he was in charge of the Resistance so was clearly more than able to do it.

There was, of course, one small complication in that little plan. He would have to marry a royal and she being the only royal would mean that he would have to marry her. That was all very well for the two of them but for the rest of the country she imagined it wouldn't settle too well. After all it would be highly suspect. The question on everyone's minds would be how the two of them met and when. Two and two would be put together and four would certainly be their conclusion. Sadly, that was the only way they could be together. Unless they waited...

She mentally scolded herself. She was building her hopes up to nothing. They would just be dashed and that was something she had resigned herself to. For the sake of everyone else around her she was going to be who Brooklyn wanted her to be, not who she wanted her to be. That was her sacrifice and that was her burden. She loved Kai but there were more important things at stake. So that left the minor complication of the ball. Reviewing everything she wondered if the ball should go ahead as planned or not. After all the outcome could be far more dangerous if the Resistance were to appear. It could all go pear shaped and Kai could be arrested or even killed. Or – and this was just as haunting – Brooklyn could be killed. Did she want that burden on her mind knowing that she could have done something about it? If she wanted it so she was certain Brooklyn would call it off but not without questions.

What was she being so stupid about? It was Kai involved but also Brooklyn. They were like the same person only different. Brooklyn would have thought of everything as he had during the execution. It hadn't been about killing those people it had been about luring Kai out. Even when he was faced with two members of the Resistance Brooklyn had managed to not only get away but also the disfigure one. If he could do that then there was no doubt that he could also prevent anything from happening at the ball, more so because it would endanger her in his mind thought realistically she would never be safer. And if Kai was to appear she would convince him to not take any action. His sense would win overall once she explained the situation. She was sure of it.

Brooklyn had been with Mystel and Garland. Hilary assumed that given the short period of time she had last seen him he would still be with them. Knowing this she went in search of him.

Mystel was unusually quiet as Garland and Brooklyn talked over the security plans for the ball. He was quiet for two reasons. One: his opinion was never asked for. Two: he wasn't chapping at the bit to give any input. It seemed that they had everything covered anyway. Or almost everything. There had to be something left out, something that none of them had planned ahead for. No matter how much he thought about it he couldn't come up with anything. Brooklyn may not have realised it yet but for Mystel it was far too much of a coincidence that Kai always seemed to be one step ahead of them and he had come to a conclusion. There was a mole. He had no idea who but he knew there must be. How else would they have known that papers were needed to attend the execution? The questions were who the infiltrator could be, how to track them down and what he would do once he found them.

As he thought of this, Hilary appeared at the door, timid in case she should be interrupting something. That was another thing troubling him. This change in both Brooklyn and Hilary in their attitudes towards each other. He had nothing against the girl. In actual fact he quite liked her. That still didn't change the fact that she had quite openly admitted to him that she hated Brooklyn. Now she was acting like the sun shone from where his trousers covered up. That was the perfect word actually. Act. That was what Mystel thought was going on. Hilary's pretense of loving Brooklyn would no doubt have something in it for her but Mystel knew that Hilary wasn't a malicious person. It couldn't be anything bad so perhaps it was all good? If it was what could be the harm in it. Brooklyn was certainly much happier and Mystel had to admit that, although he still had evil tendencies, parts of his old self were being regained. Maybe it was this adoration without fear that was changing his attitude. If so, he could only give Hilary his kudos.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," she said, smiling apologetically.

Brooklyn looked up and smiled back. "Not at all. We're just going over our security plans for the ball."

"That's what I'm here about. Every thing's ready. I've checked and we're good to go. Mariah's taken care of practically everything for us. Why don't we fix our date?"

"To when?"

"As soon as possible." She paused. "How's this Friday?"

Brooklyn seemed taken aback. "That is pretty soon." He looked to Garland. "What do we have this Friday?"

Garland shook his head. "Nothing but a Ministry of Defense meeting in the morning which should be done by noon."

"Would you say its feasible then?"

Garland looked at Hilary with distrustful eyes and Hilary felt unnerved. It had always been clear to her that Garland wasn't very fond of her. For whatever reason he never seemed to think she rung true. Hilary couldn't think why this was. She had never done anything to deserve such a low opinion from him although she thought it had something to do with Brooklyn's improved relationship with her. Perhaps it was a form of jealously but whatever it was she feared it could be dangerous if she wasn't careful.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I would guess so."

"Then its settled," Brooklyn said brightly. "Friday it is."

Hilary bowed slightly. "I'll have Mariah make the announcement."

"Mystel," Brooklyn said suddenly after she was gone. "Would you go say to the security staff about the date of the ball? They may have some input to our plans about that."

Grinning widely, he replied, "sure," and left, promising he'd be back in a few minutes.

When he was sure that he was alone with Garland, Brooklyn handed him a brown envelope. Inside, Garland found a document with the amended security plans from the ones of the table. He looked to Brooklyn. "Are these the final copy?"

"They are. Be sure to keep them safe where no one can see them. Above all Mystel. Some one is being treacherous here and I'm praying to God that I can rule Mystel out from our suspects."

Garland grunted. "There's a minor flaw in this little plan. The securities so tight that there's not way Hiwatari could even hope to get in, if he even attempts it. He could just miss it out and send his underlings again. What does it matter? Without an invitation he'd got no chance of getting inside the palace."

"Not with the revised security. With the plans Mystel has there's room for error which he'll see when reviews them if he does."

His eyes widened in realisation and he smirked. "I get it. Those points are actually covered but if anyone tries to get in you'll catch them and know that Mystel's behind all the leaks in information." He nodded. "That's a good plan. One which will work. However, if he's not how do you plan on finding them out?"

Brooklyn frowned. "Now that's the question."

Mariah received the phonecall with delight. Friday. She would have her revenge on Friday. She was so excited she burst into Kai's room where she found him reading. The book was instantly put down in alarm but she bounced onto her bed.

"Guess what?"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You better get your gladrags ready because the date of the ball has been announced for this Friday!"

"This soon?" Kai wondered. "I would have thought a little bit more notice would have been given..."

She shrugged. "I don't know. Hilary just phoned to tell me."

At the mention of her name Kai found his breath unsteadying but Mariah didn't notice. "Great. We'll be ready anyway."

"I have just one question so I know who to make the invitations and identification papers out to. Who is it that's going?"

Kai paused. "Hiro and I for definite. We'll need a backup too. I'd say...Max. Myself, Hiro and Max will be going. As well as you we should be fine, don't you think? We can't afford to have too many unknown faces there or people will start to ask questions."

"Good thinking. I think Max is a good choice. He'll be good at mingling with the other guests and at the same time keeping an eye on Kingston's constant whereabouts, just like I can do. Plus I can tell you when there's security around and where they are too."

"In short, we're good to go."

She nodded. "Will you be ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

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