Whew, I was able to update this fic at least... but that was because I had the majority of it done already. Haha, crud, need to work on my other fics. Sadly, school comes first and so, for now, readers will have to be patient. I hope you guys like this chapter.

I hope readers will enjoy this fanfic and spread the KaixHiromi love around!

I don't own Beyblade and I don't own Callie! She is the fanfiction writer, Blackbelt's, character.

Other explanations will be at the bottom of the page.

I haven't exactly watched all of V-Force or G-Revolution, so if there are some mistakes... oh well. XD Also, since I don't have time to re-read and edit stuff, please forgive grammer and spelling mistakes!

Chapter 2

Hiromi sat on her bed, staring listlessly at the wall before her. The wallpaper was slowly peeling off, revealing the rotting wood that had been carefully covered. She had always known that the Program she had entered to get into Switzerland had been cheap, but she hadn't known that the hostel they would have purchased would be this bad.

Callie and Tsuki were sprawled on the ground, both fast asleep. They had sat beside Hiromi's bed all morning, waiting for her to wake up, but when the sun began to rise, the two couldn't take it anymore and had fallen asleep.

Rising out of the bed, Hiromi threw her blanket on top of the two and began to head off towards the bathroom. Once she came upon the mirror, she lifted her shirt up and narrowed her eyes when she saw the dark bruises all over her.

So last night hadn't been a dream.

The last thing she remembered before blacking out were the screams of the Reynard guy and when she had woken up, she was back in the hotel. She touched the large bruise on the side of her stomach and hissed in pain. Those bruises, especially this one, were going to take some time to heal. The bruises, Hiromi knew, would heal, but she was starting to wonder if the memory of last night would ever fade.

Woman.

'And here is the return of the annoying voice', Hiromi thought, forgetting for a brief moment that the 'annoying voice' could also hear her. The voice hissed in displeasure and she winced, a sharp pool of heat hitting her in the stomach. What was that for?

Impudent woman, do not think you can treat me with such disrespect!

'Disrespect? You should be happy that I'm even speaking to you!' Hiromi snapped back, glaring at her own reflection though feeling a bit silly for doing so. Since she had no physical being to get angry at –expression wise-, the only thing she could do was pretend she was that the one she was angry at was her reflection.

If it was not for me, you wouldn't even be here. The voice said coldly. Now that Hiromi listened to it carefully, it was hard to tell if the voice was a man or a woman. It felt muffled, as though there was a problem with the connection between them, but making assumptions by attitude alone, Hiromi decided to deem it male for now.

She snorted. 'If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place! What the hell are you anyways?'

Foolish woman,-

'Stop calling me woman! Do you know how vulgar you sound? This is the twenty-first century, not the Stone Age!'

What am I expected to call you if I do not even know your name?

The voice had her there. Hiromi winced and then sighed, leaning against the marble sink. 'You're right, I'm sorry about that. My name is Tachibana Hiromi, but just call me Hiromi. The last thing I need is for the voice in my head to call me with an honorific.'

As if I would call you with such an honorific, the voice snidely replied, causing Hiromi to grit her teeth. It was starting to become very difficult to not punch the wall out of frustration. Okay, she got it, the bodiless voice obviously still didn't like her or trust her, but the feeling was mutual. Hiromi didn't trust the voice, not after when she had listened to it she had ended up falling unconscious while hearing people screaming.

'So what are you anyways?' She was about to ask.

"Hiromi?" she heard Callie call out while yawning. She turned around and saw Callie peeking through the blanket, rubbing her eyes. Tsuki was stirring beside her, mumbling incoherent things while she kicked the blanket off. "You're awake!"

Hiromi smiled weakly at her. "Yeah, I'm awake. Sore, but awake. Mind telling me what happened last night? I don't remember anything."

"Y-You don't remember anything?" Callie squeaked.

Tsuki rolled her eyes, obviously not a morning person. "That's what she said, doofus."

"Shut up." Callie countered before dumping the blanket on top of Tsuki's face. There was a muffled shout as she began to fight the blanket, only causing it to further tangle around her. With a sigh, Callie rose from the floor and turned towards Hiromi. "Anyways, where does it hurt? Tsuki brought a first-aid-kit just in case, but we didn't want to move you anymore in case we hurt you by accident."

"I'm fine, I don't need anything." Hiromi said, spreading her arms so that Callie could see the marks. "It's just a bunch of bruises. I'll heal. Now tell me what happened last night."

"It. Was. So. Awesome!" Tsuki yelled, throwing the blanket off of her. Callie winced. She hadn't thought it was awesome, but trust Tsuki to think something so frightening would be cool. "One minute, I thought you were going to get killed by that guy's bitbeast-."

"Bit-what?" Hiromi's eyebrows knitted.

"It's a-." Callie began, but Tsuki was on a roll.

"-but when you yelled out that name... what was it? It was... blade? Blake? Ugh, I need my morning coffee," Tsuki mumbled before rubbing her forehead. Callie sighed and pointed at the coffee maker at the table. Normally their situation would be switched, but during the morning, Tsuki was always a bit out of it.

"Anyways, this is kind of hard to explain since I don't really understand it myself, but bitbeasts are spirits that lives inside beyblades. They're summoned during beybattles and fight against the enemy beyblades. Uh, Tsuki knows more about it than me," Callie said with a sheepish smile while the two settled down on Hiromi's bed. "Just wait for the coffee and she'll be back to normal."

"What about you?" Hiromi quirked an eyebrow and smirked at Callie, whose face flushed. "Tsuki needs coffee while you need yogurt. If you don't eat yogurt, your personality does a 360 and you suddenly become this mature, sophisticated person."

Callie rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "Hiromi, don't say it like that. You're making it seem as though I'm an idiot!"

"I'll never understand you two weirdoes," Hiromi said with a smile. "Well, while we wait for Tsuki," Hiromi and Callie watched with a wry smile when they saw Tsuki crouching in front of the coffee machine like a depraved zombie, "tell me what happened last night."

"It was..." Callie hesitated. "Okay, I don't care what Tsuki says, what happened last night wasn't awesome. It was downright scary."

"What happened?" Hiromi gently pressed.

Callie bit her lip. "I don't know what exactly happened since there was this black light that shot out of your beyblade, but if I have to guess, I think you summoned a bitbeast."

"What?" Hiromi gasped. "I can't have a bit-thing! I didn't even know about them until today! Hell, if it wasn't for last night, I wouldn't have even believed they existed!"

"It was... It was nothing I've ever seen. I couldn't really see it clearly because of the light," Callie continued, wringing her hands on her shirt. The memory was frightening enough, but Hiromi deserved to know. "But your bitbeast came out and literally destroyed Reynard's beyblade. According to Tsuki, there are times when bitbeasts, especially powerful ones, are connected to their masters or bladers, if you'd like. The stronger the bitbeast, the stronger the bond. Or that's what Tsuki believes. Anyways, apparently Reynard had a strong enough connection with his bitbeast and so, when his beyblade was shattered..."

Hiromi grabbed Callie's shoulders, her eyes demanding answers. "What happened Callie? What happened to Reynard?"

"H-He's fine!" Callie attempted to reassure, grabbing Hiromi's wrists. "He was unconscious when I last saw him."

"Wh-What about his friends? And the old lady?" Hiromi asked, refusing to release her grip on Callie. "Are they alright? I haven't... I haven't..."

"No!" Callie yelled when she saw tears misting Hiromi's eyes. "You didn't do anything! They're fine! Reynard's friends tried to help him and though you destroyed their beyblades, everything's fine. I don't think they had a bitbeast, so the damage was minimal. The old lady is fine as well! Tsuki checked on her before we left the bank."

Hiromi was still for a brief moment before her grip on Callie loosened. She almost collapsed on top of Callie, resting her head on Callie's shoulder. Everyone was okay. She hadn't hurt anyone. They were all alive and breathing. Hiromi attempted to calm herself with these words, but continued to feel the dread clutching her chest.

"How did we get back to the hotel?" Hiromi asked quietly, unmoving.

"Tsuki and I took turns carrying you. Since there wasn't any traffic, we got back to the hotel before the sun even came up," Callie answered, reaching up to wrap her arms around Hiromi. "Don't worry, we snuck back in without anyone noticing. Are you alright, Hiromi?"

"What a question," Hiromi commented with a chuckle, though it was humorless. "I guess I'll be alright. I'm kind of used to adapting by now. You know, with the whole abruptly changing schools, moving to a new city, blah, blah, blah. "

Callie smiled softly. "That's right. Remember when we first met? We kind of rubbed each other the wrong way and ended up trying to make each other's lives miserable. You and Tsuki even had a fist-fight together with me refereeing and making sure that the teachers didn't catch us."

Hiromi laughed at the memory, lifting her head up. "I remember that day! I accidentally broke Tsuki's nose and in the end, we were caught by the teacher."

"Good thing that the teacher was a nice one or else we probably would have been expelled." Callie smiled. "I remember hating you a lot after that."

Hiromi's eyes widened. This was her first time hearing this. "Really?"

"Yeah, well, you hurt my friend. I couldn't help it." Callie said, her smile dimming slightly. "It wasn't until that incident with those gang members that I started to change my mind about you."

"Let's not get into any more stupid topics," Callie squeaked when she felt something land on her head. Glancing upward, she saw a case of yogurt balanced on there. With a happy gasp, she immediately began to indulge herself with it. Tsuki stood behind her with a large mug of coffee. "Now, back to our original topic."

"Good to have you back Tsuki," Hiromi said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah," Tsuki waved at her, wanting to forget how 'out-of-character' she had been. "Where'd you guys stop at?"

"Callie basically told me everything," Hiromi said, gently pushing Callie off when the brunette rubbed her shoulders against Hiromi excitedly while she moaned happily at the taste of the yogurt. "But I still have questions about the bit... er... what was it called again?"

Pathetic.

Shut it! Hiromi hissed back.

"Bitbeast," Tsuki said patiently. "They are sentinel beings that have existed within this world for centuries. Normally, they were wielded by great warriors who either used them for good or evil. Now, the majority of them dwell within the beyblades used by children all over the world. Their powers are still mysterious and there's more to be found, but-."

"Tsuki, I wanted a brief introduction. Not a freaking presentation," Hiromi said with her arms crossed. Tsuki sighed.

"Fine, I'll give you the stupid version of it."

"Hey," Callie said, pointing her spoon threateningly at Tsuki. "Stop calling us stupid, you nerd!"

"I am not a nerd," Tsuki twitched. "Besides, if I'm a nerd, you're an otaku! You've got to be the only person in the world who'd actually carve out a human-size statue of your favorite anime character!"

"And just what did you prove by saying that, Tsuki?" Hiromi asked, feeling exasperated by the two. Honestly, whenever she was with them, she felt as though she was a mother. They really needed to start acting their age. "Anyways, call it what you want, I just want you to be brief. I don't think we have a lot of time on our hands."

"Oh shoot," Callie tossed the empty yogurt container, cheering when it landed right in the wastebasket. "I forgot. What time are we supposed to meet at the lobby with the other program members?"

Tsuki glanced at her wristwatch. "We have at least half an hour."

"Can you shove all the information you need to tell me in that much?" Hiromi asked hopefully.

"Nope," Tsuki said bluntly and Hiromi sighed. "But I can try."

"I'll help!" Callie said cheerfully.

"You'll probably make it take longer than necessary," Tsuki commented and was hit in the head by Hiromi. "Ow!"

"You're the one who's making it take longer than necessary," Hiromi scolded. "Now hurry up and give me the laymen's version of it already."

"It's called the Stupid Version," Tsuki said stubbornly, but conceded quickly when she saw fire starting to erupt in Hiromi's ruby-red eyes. "R-Right."

"Hehe, Tsuki's afraid of Hiromi," Callie began to chant, but instantly stopped when Hiromi's glare went her way. "Sh-Shutting up now!"

Tsuki smirked, but did not comment this time. One glare was enough to freeze her and if memory served her correctly, the last time she heard that someone was at the end of Hiromi's anger when her eyes were glowing angrily like that, they had never been seen again.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"Let's start with why there's a voice in my head that's constantly badgering me about how stupid I am?" Hiromi growled loudly, hoping she didn't always need to say things mentally to get her message across. The voice must have heard her since she felt another painful slam of pain on her stomach. "Ow, will you stop that already!"

"S-Stop what?" Callie asked cautiously, still afraid that Hiromi's anger might suddenly be directed towards her. "I didn't touch you! I didn't touch you!"

"Shut up Callie," Tsuki said. "She wasn't talking to you."

"Then who was she talking to?"

"Her bitbeast."

"What? But she doesn't have her beyblade!" Callie exclaimed. She cried out in surprise when she felt hands latch onto her shoulders again. "H-Huh?"

"Where is it? Where's my bey-thingy?" Hiromi demanded frantically when Tsuki peeled her off of Callie. "Tsuki?"

"It's in your hoister," Tsuki explained calmly. "We put your launcher, the beyparts, and your beyblade in your suitcase just in case someone came in. Make sure you put them on when we leave. Always keep your beyblade with you at all times."

"Why?" Hiromi asked, confused.

"Because," Callie said this time. "You never know when you're going to be forced into a beybattle. You're not famous like a pro, so you probably won't be challenged every second, but still, it's better safe than sorry. In the beyblade world, beybladers are somehow attracted to each other and always meet up with one another."

"That's right," Tsuki said with a frown. "We'll think of something to explain to everyone if they ask, but for now, remember to always have your beyblade and your gear with you."

Callie glanced to catch Tsuki's eyes, a silent question flowing through them. Unfortunately, Hiromi noticed and grabbed them both by the ears. The two girls yelped and began to whimper in pain.

"Okay, what are you two trying to hide from me?" Hiromi asked in a low threatening voice. "And if you say it's for my own safety, you better be sure you have good life insurance or else I-."

"I'm sorry Hiromi, I'll talk, I'll talk!" Callie squealed.

"What the hell Callie?" Tsuki yelled only to cry out louder when Hiromi twisted her ear. "Oh my god, you have no idea how much this hurts Hiromi! Let go!"

"Punishment for trying to keep this a secret," Hiromi said simply while releasing Callie by the ear. She ran her hand through Callie's hair gently and gave her the most serene smile a person could give. Callie gulped and gave Hiromi a weak smile. "Now Callie, tell me what you tried to keep a secret."

Callie winced when she heard Tsuki's painful cries and felt fear stab her insides. "W-Well, i-it's just that."

The grip on her hair tightened and Callie whimpered. "On with it," Hiromi snarled.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Callie forfeited immediately. If they had been animals in the wild, Callie the prey would have already had her belly facing the mighty, dangerous predator Hiromi without a second thought. "I just asked Tsuki if we should tell you about how when we tried to touch your beyblade, we got burned! Now please let go of Tsuki! Listening to her cry out in pain like that is really scaring me!"

"What?" Hiromi abruptly released Tsuki and she fell forward, clutching her ear while hissing in pain. "You guys were burned?"

Hiromi observed the two carefully and saw that the two girls were both wearing bandages around their hands. It had been so obvious, but Hiromi had been so consumed in her problems to have even noticed that. Guilt began to well up in her when Tsuki moaned.

"Damn it, what is with you and being so violent?" Tsuki looked up and immediately stopped griping when she saw how Hiromi had frozen up. "It's not your fault. It's the stupid beyblade's fault. Stop blaming yourself for everything."

"If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be caught in this situation. You two wouldn't be hurt." Hiromi mumbled.

"Oh for crying out loud, enough with the pity parties!" Tsuki said in frustration. "Callie!"

"I'm already on it," Callie said and smacked her hand on Hiromi's head who yelped, loudly. "Sorry, but you deserved that one."

"Yeah, I guess," Hiromi said reluctantly, rubbing her head. "Okay, fine, it wasn't my fault, but this whole mess is my fault. Ah, no, I'm not going to listen to your arguments," Tsuki and Callie reluctantly closed their mouths, "now on with it, we're wasting valuable time."

"And whose fault is it?" Tsuki grumbled under her breath and smiled nervously at Hiromi when she saw the glare. "R-Right, as I was saying... keep your gear with you. We'll find a way to teach you how to beyblade. Callie and I know the basics, but we're not really good so we need to find you a teacher. Now, about beyblade tournaments-."

"I don't need to know about-OW!" Hiromi yelped and yelled at the ceiling angrily. "Why do you keep hurting me?"

Listen to the brat.

'Why should I? I'm not going to enter any tournaments!'

Listen to her now!

Hiromi hissed in pain when she felt another blow. Great, she got an abusive bitbeasty. Wasn't this thing supposed to be her 'guardian'? Why was it continuously hurting her like this?

"Hiromi?" Callie asked gently.

"I'm fine, continue about the tournaments please." Hiromi said pleasantly, thought there was a dark scowl on her face.

'Why does it look like she's angry at me?' Tsuki thought a bit fearfully, but knew she should listen or else. "Actually, Callie, you explain it to her. I know the statistics about tournaments and the regulations, but maybe it'll be better if you explain it since you're so passionate about it."

"M-Me?" Callie squeaked.

"For goodness sake, just someone explain it to me already!" Hiromi yelled angrily.

"R-Right!" Callie yelped. "W-Well, in the past beyblade tournaments, all types of people just normally beybattled each other. But after the incident last year and people noticing the growing difference between beybladers with bitbeasts and beybladers without bitbeasts, the parents of the children participating tried to shut down the tournament. They thought it was too dangerous for their kids to continue playing if they're lives were on the line, especially if their kids didn't have a bitbeast and they ended up beybattling someone with a bitbeast." (1)

"Yeah, I think I remember hearing on the news about the parents protesting about something." Hiromi said with a frown, remembering the large amounts of picket signs filling the streets. She had never bothered to actually pay attention to them since her nose was buried in her text book. "But it makes sense. If Reynard was able to make me bruise this bad when he grazed me..."

The three didn't need words to imagine what would have happened.

"R-Right, so from now on, there are two divisions," Callie explained and lifted a finger. "The first division is for people without bitbeasts. They handle the tournament in the usual fashion, with a beydish in the middle. But," she lifted another finger, "the second division is different. They're for beybladers with bitbeasts and they have no beydish."

"What, they just fight each other in a flat ground?" Tsuki poked Hiromi on the shoulder.

"Hey, this isn't some kind of brawl. It's a sophisticated fight that demands intelligence and strategy," Tsuki said in defense of her favorite sport. Hiromi grabbed Tsuki's finger and bent it backwards. With a loud yelp of pain, Tsuki fell backwards, clutching her finger.

"Continue please, Callie."

The brown haired girl eyed the twitching Tsuki and nodded. "R-Right. You have to be tested before you can enter the division for beybladers with bitbeasts. The arenas you fight in are also different, but that's only because the range of the beybladers attacks are greater. Beydishes break easily whenever beybladers with bitbeasts battle so now they just fight in a completely different floor. Not to mention, there are beybladers who attack each other physically since the moment the beyblader is too tired to attack, their beyblades also weaken since bitbeasts and beybladers are connected to each other."

"...this is starting to turn out into some freaky version of a martial arts tournament," Hiromi pressed her palm against her forehead, vainly trying to force the impending migrate to leave. When she accepted at her attempts were for nothing, she ran her hand through her hair. "Okay, enough about the tournaments. What else do you have to tell me about this stupid sport?"

In what can only be described as an equally bold and stupid movement, Callie reached out and pulled Hiromi's cheek. "Don't call it stupid! It's a really awesome sport once you get the gist of it!"

There was a pregnant pause before Hiromi gave Callie a sweet, sweet smile. "If you don't want to lose that hand, remove it."

Callie's arms leaped backwards, held behind her back so that they wouldn't be forcibly removed from her shoulders. Tsuki snickered only to yelp in pain again when Callie placed a well-aimed kick on her stomach.

"Oof! What the hell, you-."

"Did I not just tell you guys to stop wasting time?" Hiromi all but demanded, but her threats now fell to deaf years as Callie and Tsuki were at it again. They rolled around the floor and Hiromi had to lunge on top of her bed so that they wouldn't topple her onto the ground "You two idiots! Ugh, we'll just continue this conversation later! JUST GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

With a loud huff, Hiromi leaned against the door of her room. She didn't think they'd ever get out, but eventually, she had literally kicked them out.

Well, now that I have an idea of what you are, why don't we get down to business? Hiromi narrowed her eyes and walked towards the nearby mirror on the wall provided by the hostel. It was better to look at something rather than nothing and if she was going to argue with something existing within her mind, she might as well look at her own reflection.

Remembering how she had done this in the bathroom just a few moments ago, she just hoped this wasn't going to be a usual thing or else she was going to be labeled as insane before the end of this week.

I'm impressed that such an unworthy creature such as yourself remembered our promise?

Call it whatever you want, but it was more like blackmail than promise. It was either agree to this... this thing's demands or watch her friends get skewered. And I know when I'm being insulted, beast. Do that again and I'm chucking you out of this room faster than you can say that bey-something-thing.

If Hiromi could see the bitbeast's eyes, she would have seen it rolling its eyes.

You humans never fail to astound me.

Thank you very much, I always try hard to impress bodiless entities, Hiromi said sarcastically.

The bitbeast ignored Hiromi's words and instead sent a sharp pool of heat warningly into her stomach. And do not dare attempt to throw me away. I will simply return and kill your friends.

The threat made Hiromi bristle. What makes you think you can return? Last I checked, you're a spirit that's stuck inside a toy. You'll be lucky to roll your way out of the trashcan I'm really tempted to throw you into!

You and I cannot be separated. The level disgruntlement of the bitbeast's voice rivaled the shocked and angered face of Hiromi's. And no matter what you believe, you should still keep in mind that I have the power to kill your puny friends. Just as easily as I recued your pathetic life and theirs.

Don't you dare bring my friends into this, you fucker. All niceness –yes, what she had been displaying moments ago with the sarcasm and insults was her being nice– disappeared and was replaced by an angered lion. If you do, I won't hesitate to smash this stupid toy with the next hammer I see!

At this, Hiromi was lifted off the ground and sent colliding into a nearby wall. Despite her shock of being thrown off the ground, she managed to twist her body so that her back would get the brunt of the throw. Falling to the ground, Hiromi groaned and began to push herself off the ground.

Do not think you can get away with threatening me again.

Fear, that was the emotion she should have felt, but after all the shit she had gone through in the years, it was the last thing she felt. Instead, Hiromi smirked. What's wrong? You suddenly feeling afraid because you know I have the power to destroy you?

Destroy me. Destroy ME? The bitbeast sounded incredulous before a loud guffaw exploded in Hiromi, temporarily making her deaf and just as abruptly as it had appeared, the laugher disappeared and was replaced by a dark sinister tone that sent shivers down her spine. Bitch, you have no idea who you're threatening. I have gone through many gruesome trials that can send a grown man running for the hills. You are nothing compared to me. You know nothing.

In a display of stupid courage, Hiromi crossed her arms. Try me.

You wish to see my world?

No, I want nothing to do with your world. She replied coolly. But I think you're stupid for thinking that your pain is nothing compared to my pain. Everyone hurts, the level of it doesn't matter. You're not more special just because you hurt more.

Is that so? The bitbeast appeared amused. A broken arm is the same as a small cut on the finger? A child abused for a few weeks is the same as a child abused for years? Get your mind straight, woman. Life isn't as easy to label as your making it seem.

I'm not here for a philosophical debate. Hiromi said sharply. Tell me what you want from me.

What I want? The bitbeast chuckled. What I want is very simple.

If it's so simple, then pray tell. This time, the bravery Hiromi displayed was forced. What the bitbeast was telling her was making her wearier than before and she just wanted to hear what it wanted so she could get it over with.

Sadly, she would never know-.

I want you to kill Hiwatari Kai.

-just how much she would regret asking the damned bitbeast what it wanted from her.

::tsuzuku::

AUTHOR'S NOTE

(1) I always found it strange that those with bitbeast fought against those without bitbeasts. That was kind of unfair, especially since those without bitbeast kind of had an unfair disadvantage. Maybe it's possible for those without bitbeasts to defeat those with bitbeasts, but in this story, it's impossible since in my point of view, the sheer power of the bitbeast should be enough to defeat a regular beyblade. Also, I noticed that the level of violence went up with each passing Season so I thought making there be two division of beybladers to be sensible.

Anyways, sorry readers, if you were expecting Kai to appear. Apparently it isn't his time, but he'll come soon. I can feel it! Hopefully in the next chapter.

Until then...

Review Please~!!!!!!