The next morning Kiti's phone rang precisely at 11.01. She fumbled for it and answered with her eyes still closed.

Tsubasa's anxious voice worked into her misty brain.

"Is everything alright?", he asked.

"No. You woke me up."

"That's good. It means you're still alive. I'll be there in half an hour, we must take the bey to the headquarters. Be ready."

"Heyy, what..."

"See you!"

He shut the phone to prevent her asking for more time. Every minute she and Bluewolf were alone made him more and more nervous. Less than ten hours ago they had arrived to Metal City and took the first taxi to take them home. After leaving Kyoya to his front door, Tsubasa had overwhelmed his embarrassment and insisted to come and check Kiti's apartment before heading home.

"I'm not afraid of monsters under my bed or bad guys in my wardrobe!", the girl had protested. The only things she had wanted were to get a shower and go to sleep. Most preferably at the same time, but without a bodyguard to bother about!

"I know you aren't. But I am afraid for Bluewolf.", he had answered, looking into the hiding places she had mentioned.

"Then why don't you take care of it yourself?", she had muttered crossly.

Tsubasa hadn't answered. He had his reasons not to separate Kiti and the bey, but he wanted to talk with Ryo before disclosing the matter to anybody else. To tell the truth, he would have preferred to stay the night at her and watch over them, but for certain reasons that was out of question.

Routinely he had gone through the whole place, not knowing exactly what he expected to find, and relieved he didn't find it.

"Promise me you won't open this door to anybody before I call you tomorrow morning!", he had demanded when finally leaving. "Keep the blinds shut and try to keep as quiet as possible."

Kiti had wanted to laugh hysterically. The whole situation seemed just absurd to her. Surely nobody could be so interested in an old bey to find out where they all lived and then to wait there and rob them! How could anybody even know which one of them had the bey, for instance?

"I promise you anything you want if you promise not to call before eleven o'clock", she had muttered and pushed the Eagle out of the door.

They met Kyoya at the entrance hall of WBBA building and headed straight to Ryo's office. Tsubasa had sent a message to his boss in the morning to make sure he was in the house, and to ask Madoka to be there too. The mechanic arrived with Gingka when Tsubasa was finishing his brief report about their adventure.

"But why didn't you call you were in trouble? We could have sent help.", Ryo asked. He had been very relieved when receiving the message, but his worries arose again after hearing their story.

"For two reasons", the Eagle explained calmly. "When up on the mountain, there was no network for the mobile. And when coming down after the second attack, there was no place safe enough to wait for your help. It was better to disappear completely. We couldn't take the risk to be traced by the call, so we kept the phone switched off."

Ryo nodded.

"You're right, as always. Excellent work, Tsubasa. You have once again proved what you're worth."

The Eagle blushed slightly.

"We couldn't have made it without everyone's effort."

The director waved his hands impatiently.

"Yes, yes, of course. But where is the bey now?",

"Here." Kiti had squeezed Bluewolf in her pocket all the way to WBBA. She handed it to Ryo, relieved to get finally rid of it.

"Let me see it too!" Gingka rushed forward to look but stopped disappointed when seeing the blue-and-gray bey in Ryo's palm. "It doesn't look so very handsome. I mean, the picture we saw was blurry enough, but I still expected it would have looked more like... you know?"

Ryo turned Bluewolf gently in his hands, smiling.

"The humble looks match with the facts we already know about it", he said, lifting the bey into the light. "It has never tried to boast with its looks or powers, but there are several interesting circumstances it has been connected with. I'm looking forward the results of your examination.", he said and handed the bey carefully to Madoka.

"I'll report as soon as I can", she answered and vanished to her workroom. Gingka was about to follow her, but lingered a bit at the door.

"But who's going to blade with it, dad? Every strong blader we know already has a good bey."

The question made the Immortal Phoenix look a bit confused.

"Well... in fact, I haven't thought of that yet", he finally admitted. "You see, the most important thing this far was to get it safe before Dark Wolf's gang. And it seems we got it just in the nick of time."

Gingka looked at him incredulously.

"Don't you mean we'll just put in the strongbox and keep it there? C'mon, Pegasos has waited so much to have a nice little battle with a new opponent!"

"But you just said there isn't anybody to use it. At least I can't think of anybody who would..."

"Let Kiti try it."

Tsubasa's sudden words astonished them all, Kiti herself more than the others. Ryo was the first to find his voice again.

"Why... What do you mean?"

"She has a connection with it already", the Eagle explained. "Let her try it."

Kyoya clenched his fists. He had never happened to think this possibility. Had the Eagle gone insane? He had just been about to ask the bey for himself, to test it together with Leone, but that darned birder had managed to make it first.

Ryo stared them with his mouth open.

"A connection...? How do you know?"

"She was the only one of us who was able to sever it form the ice. Kyoya and I couldn't even touch it at first. Besides, she has heard its voice."

They all turned to look at the girl who had been sitting on the desk.

"Hey, it was a real wolf I heard up there!", she protested. "Wasn't it, right?"

Nobody answered. Ryo started to walk back and forth on the floor, his hands behind his back.

"Listen, Tsubasa, I can believe you have thought this throughoutly, but still... Bluewolf is a strong beast, maybe stronger we can foresee. And Kiti... despite her potential, she isn't but a beginner yet. It may be dangerous for her if she isn't strong enough to manage it."

Tsubasa nodded, a bit pale but resolute. He had thought about it, a lot, in fact. But after his silent meditations with Aquila he felt more and more sure of what he was doing.

"Of course she mustn't test it alone. But if we three together are ther too, we should be able to stop it if something goes wrong." He glanced towards Gingka and Kyoya and startled. Kyoya's facial expression had never been too friendly, but this time the anger glowing in his eyes was something more he had expected. With a sudden movement the Lion stepped in front of him, his teeth gritted.

"Listen, birdie: If you think you'd get me and Leone to protect that precious pupil of yours, you're wrong! I didn't climb on that mountain to fetch a toy to a pampered princess! That bey is one of the strongest, and it belongs to somebody who is able to handle it! Not to a sissy chick who can't even..."

"Kyoya, listen..."

"I won't listen such rubbish anymore! !"

He was about to storm out of the room, but Kiti jumped on his way.

"Just one more thing", she hissed, pale of rage. Never, ever, had anybody insulted her this badly! A sissy princess, holy... ! Quickly as a flash she stretched to whisper into his ear, covered by her hands.

In the next second the Lion seemed to pale and blush violently at the same time. The others stared stupified when Kiti rushed out, slamming the door behind her. The bang made the lights rattle.

Kyoya stood still, his ears flaming red, unable to move. Too many feelings were rampaging in his mind. But not because of her words, because in the very end, she hadn't said anything at all. No, the only thing he had heard had been a trembling sigh, while something wet and warm had quickly run along the edge of his ear.

The sensation it had caused had totally paralyzed him.

He cursed violently in his mind when thinking how much the others might have seen. That little witch! She had known exactly what she was doing! If he leaved the room now, it would look like he was running after her. But staying where he was like this made him look just... stupid! And he hated to look stupid, hated it almost more than any other thing!

With a groan of despair he rushed out.

"Well!" Ryo sighed and wiped his forehead. "Looks like we have more than one hot-headed wildcat in the house nowadays!"

Tsubasa grimaced.

"You haven't seen but the beginning yet", he said dryly. "Will you let her try the bey or not?"

The director lifted his hands.

"Go ahead, try it!", he said. "And after that let the others try it too, if they want to. Do whatever you like, as long as you won't argue about it!"