Chapter Seven

"No! Leave me alone! Leave him alone!" A small girl shouted as she was forced down onto a table. Two men held her arms down as her bitbeast's roars of agony filled her head. She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut at the pain that was wracking her body. She chocked out sobs as evil laughter filled the room.

She would never forget that laugh…

"No!" I gasped as I shot forward, my hand clutching the sheets that were in front of me. My breath came out in gasps as sweat rolled down my face. It took me a couple of seconds to remember where I was but I relaxed a little bit once I saw that I was in my bed at the hotel. More like stuck.

I worked with the team as I promised but I guess I went a little overboard with my sparring and ended up with a sprained wrist. A few days before the tournament too. Now I wasn't allowed to blade for a few weeks and it was killing me. Dricen must be really bored as well. And to top it all off Kevin blabbed about the guy and now Ray was watching me even more like a hawk, if that were possible. Might as well revert my age to five.

I groaned knowing that I wouldn't be able to see the first match of the tournament that was starting today. Well, there was the TV but I didn't want to see it on a screen. I had to be there in person! Glancing to my right I saw a letter lying on the dresser next to my bed. It was written in Chinese characters but I could read it easily.

Crystal,

Went to the tournament. Lee's extremely nervous but that's not new. We didn't have the heart to wake you and Ray said you needed your rest anyway. If you get hungry there's some food in the refrigerator. See you later, we'll tell you about the battle.

~Mariah and Kevin

I smirked, knowing that Kevin had nothing to do with writing the letter but he didn't want to be left out. Everyday Kevin acted more and more like a little brother to me. I missed that little kid. This new development with Mariah was still a bit weird to me. But what else were two girls supposed to do when they weren't able to blade but end up talking about how it wasn't fair?

We did understand that Ray and Lee were the best but we wanted to have a chance to blade as well, especially with how reckless Lee could be. But Ray stood firm and we had to respect his decision. Somehow from that we ended up...bonding, I guess. That's the only word I could use. She wasn't exactly my friend but I didn't exactly hate her either. She was just...there. And she was good to talk to...when she wasn't obsessing over Lee and Ray that is.

I shrugged as I scrunched the paper in my hand, making up my mind. As if I were actually going to stay here! I inhaled sharply when I felt a small twinge of pain around the bandages that were wrapped around my wrist. Once it faded I stood and slipped on my shoes, making sure to grab Dricen before I left the hotel room.

There was no way I was going to miss this battle.

I walked down the street and admired the beautiful day. I stopped at some shops and ate a couple of things as I continued my way towards the Tournament building. I stopped to beybattle a couple of kids (not bringing Dricen out because it wouldn't be fair, obviously) and gave them a couple of tips on how to blade better. I loved helping little kids blade; they were so innocent and cute, especially when they got something right.

"The tournament, Crystal," I muttered to myself as I ran down the street. I entered the building and quickly ran to where the beybattles were being held, to receive a shock. "No!" I gasped once I saw the line-up.

'Tyson vs. Ray? No way, this can't be happening!' I thought as I shook my head. 'It's too early for Ray to have to go against Tyson. Way too early.' I watched in shock as Tyson called Ray out. 'Bad move.' I saw Ray clench his hands into fists while Lee looked helpless. 'Argh, if only I could battle!

Despite the feeling of anxiousness that rose in me, I left the stadium. I clenched my hands into fists as I walked away from the stadium and the cheers died away. I stopped by the grocery store once more and was walking back to the hotel when I heard a soft meow. I looked down and saw a kitten lying on hid side. His face was white along with his paws, the fur that surrounded the white part was black, along with his ears and the tip of his tail, and the rest of the cat was orange.

"Hey kitty," I said as I knelt down and gently rubbed the kitten's side. He meowed softly as he opened his gold eyes and peered at me. "You alright?" I scratched under his chin and he purred softly. I took the carton of milk that was in the bag out and poured it into the bowl I bought. The kitten lifted his head as I pushed the bowl towards him and waited for him to lap it up. I gently petted his side as he drank the milk, purring in satisfaction. "There you go, kitty. I'll see you later," I said as I stood and picked up my bag. I started walking down the street again when I heard another meow behind me. I glanced down and saw the kitten padding next to me.

"Alone once again, I see."

I tensed at the voice and turned around. A boy was standing behind me, his body was covered in a cloak. The only thing that was visible was his smirk. He jumped down from the building he was standing on.

"What do you want from me?" I demanded as I tossed the bag away.

"Your bitbeast," he responded as he pointed his launcher at me.

"You're not getting Dricen!" I growled.

"We'll just see about that," he responded as he launched his beyblade.

"Let it rip!" I shouted as I launched my own. Dricen immediately went on the attack as I looked at the boy's face. There was nothing on his face except a confident smirk. I growled in frustration as Dricen continued attacking his beyblade. I gasped once he was slammed back by a powerful attack. "Dricen!" I called out. He flipped over a couple of times but landed back on the base. "Let's take care of this. Dricen, Mecca Claw now!" I commanded.

"Yes," I heard him hiss as light started to come out of my blade and Dricen came out with a roar. "Yes. Finally, I can see the last Sacred Spirit."

'What's he mean by that?' I looked down and cried out once I saw that his beyblade had multiplied. "ARRGH!" I screamed as I gripped my arm as pain shot up it. His beyblade slammed into Dricen from all different sides as pain hit me, one blow after another. I dropped to my knees and grabbed my head as my breath came out in ragged gasps. 'I can do this…I can do this…Focus, Crystal, focus!' But it was hard for me to focus with the pain increasing and Dricen's screams echoing in my head, along with the evil laughter.

That laughter…

"Stop iiiiiit!" I shouted as I held my head tighter. The pain was just too much, I felt as if I was going to pass out. I tried to get back to my feet but everything started to sway…

"Let it rip!" Three different voices called out as I placed a hand on the ground to keep myself up.

"Hey, are you all right?" Tyson asked as he knelt by my side.

"Yeah," I responded weakly as I blinked, trying to clear my head. "Tyson, he said something about the Sacred Spirits."

"Talk about that later, guys," Ray said as he faced the other boy.

"Yeah, we have a beybattle to finish," a blond boy agreed as he also faced the other boy. I recognized Max easily. (Thought I lived under a rock, huh?). "Draciel! Gravity Control!"

"Driger! Gatling Claw!"

"Dragoon! Galaxy Storm!"

I squeezed my eyes shut at the bright light that came from the beyblades once they hit each other. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Draciel, Dragoon, and Driger were still spinning and the other blade had stopped. Dricen was spinning, and wobbling occasionally, by Dragoon. I sighed with relief and held out my hand to catch my blade as the other boy angrily picked his up.

"Those Sacred Spirits will be mine!" he vowed before he disappeared.

"No one will touch Dricen," I growled as I staggered to my feet, Tyson stayed by my side to make sure I didn't fall over. "Not while I'm still alive."

"What're you doing out here?" Ray asked as Driger returned to his hand. "I thought I told you to stay in bed. You need your rest. I knew this would happen."

"What do you mean Ray?" Max asked as he looked over at his golden-eyed friend.

"Someone is definitely after her," Ray responded. "It would explain why she's been attacked in the past four days." He turned to me and added, "I don't want you out by yourself anymore."

"I'm not a kid, Ray!" I spat as I glared at him. "I can take care of myself!"

"So then why is it that I always have to come and save you?" He shot back as he also glared.

"I never asked for your help! You just gave it!"

"Heyyyy!" Mariah called as she and the rest of the White Tigers ran up. "What's going on out here? Ray, we were looking all over for you." She looked over at me and gasped.

"Crystal? What happened, are you ok?" Kevin asked as he lightly touched a bruise that was forming on my arm.

"It's all good, Kevin," I responded as I forced a smile. "Just a small bruise. I'll live."

"Not if you keep going against that guy in beybattles," Ray insisted as I turned my glare back to him. "Did you even notice what he did to you?"

"Whoa? Did his Bitbeast do that to you?" Max asked as he looked at the scratches that littered my arms and face. "Was it his beyblade? Or the air? Because that happened to Ray once. Brian from the Blitzkrieg Boys used the air as a weapon and it sent Ray to the hospital."

"No, his blade or Bitbeast didn't touch me," I responded as I gripped Dricen tighter. I looked around before spotting the kitten. He was huddled near an alley way in fear. I picked him up and gently petted his head as he trembled slightly. "Are you done interrogating me? Because I have things to do."

"Want company?" Mariah asked as I walked by her. I really wanted to say no, but then I thought twice and figured it would be better to have someone to talk to.

"Yeah," I mumbled as I angrily walked down the street, Mariah falling into step with me.

"Since when did they become…friends?" I heard Tyson ask. Their voices faded quickly as my legs took me, on autopilot, to the river. The breeze made the trees sway gently and lightly blue my bangs across my face. I settled down near the river edge and took off my shoes before slipping my feet into the water.

"Where'd you find the kitty?' Mariah asked as the kitten jumped from my arms and walked over to her.

"He found me, actually," I responded as I leaned back on my elbows and let the current of the river gently push my feet. "I was bored at the hotel so I decided to go for another grocery run. He was lying in an alley way and I gave him milk and then he started following me when that guy attacked."

"What does he want?" Mariah questioned as she sat down next to me.

"The Sacred Spirits apparently. What I don't understand is why they want Dricen and what he has anything to do with the Sacred Spirits." I shook my head and clenched my hands into fists.

"I guess we'll have to wait," Mariah said with a shrug as she scratched the kitten under his chin.

"Hey Mariah, are you arranged to be married?" I asked suddenly as I focused on the water.

"Yeah," she responded. "You should be too."

"Who's your fiancée so to speak?" I asked as I watched a log float down the river. I quickly pulled out my beyblade and launched it at the log. My blade ran all the way up the log before returning to my hand. I smiled triumphantly once the log split in half and continued floating down the river.

"A boy named Ryu," she said as she launched her own beyblade and watched Galux jump on the stepping stones. "He wasn't at the village when you got there because he was on a journey looking at ancient ruins."

"How do you stand being arranged to be married?" I questioned as I launched Dricen once more and he followed Galux back and forth on the stepping stones.

"I met him and he's really nice. You see, our parents set us up with people who they think will help us through life."

"So…am I arranged to be married too?" I asked as I watched Dricen spin dangerously close to the water but he moved out of the way. "Well, that makes my day a hell of a lot better. First Ray's an uptight jerk and now I know that it's definite that I all ready have a husband…so to speak."

"Ray's just worried about you," Mariah said as she shook her head. "We all are."

"Would you call it worried when he follows you around everywhere, or call it stalking?" I asked as I looked at her. She laughed a little as Galux stopped in the middle of a stepping stone and slammed into Dricen. He bounced back onto another stepping stone before charging forward and hitting Galux back.

"He does that to the rest of us on occasion. He's making sure that the team is in tip top shape so we can take anyone on. He always puts the team before himself, always has always will." She paused and added, "But enough about that. Battle me, right here, right now."

"Umm, why?" I questioned as I watched out beyblades battle.

"For two reasons. 1) We won't be able to blade at all during the Tag Team Tournament so we should keep our skills up. And 2) Just in case that guy comes and attacks you again. We need to make sure you're ready."

"Bring it on Wong, just don't hold back," I responded with a smirk as Dricen pushed Galux back.

"As long as you don't hold back, I won't hold back, Ming," she responded with a confident smile.

A/N: Please R&R, I want to know what you think about this story. Constructive criticism is accepted.