A little chat with the reviewer(s):

suzanne – …There is a sequel to this story, actually.

Eden – I agree with you. This story may take a while to complete. XD

Author's Note:

Well, I have mention something in my profile but I thought I should let you all readers know about that "something" here in this note. I have decided to make a sequel a few weeks ago for this story. Yep. For a little more information, go to my profile and the info is located at the end of my bio.

There's something I must know. I don't like mary sue. If you see one here, let me know! I tried not to but I keep making Ruby… look all tragic-like and stuff! I'm focusing on her too much. What can I do to change that…? Maybe I should kill her off. Or maybe I should make her go away for a few chapters or more so I can focus on the other characters. Oh wait I did decide that. Ok, never mind! But do tell me if I'm focusing on Ruby TOO much. It just comes naturally and I don't think when I write.

Oh… wait… am I making any sense at all here? Sorry, I'm ahead of my story and currently writing chapter 17 right now. Anyway, thank you for reading!

I Love Beyblade

Chapter 12 – Hajime and Viper

It has been a couple of days since Tyson and Kenny were found. Rin's mother still did not let them go outside, but she had informed to Grandpa about his grandson. Grandpa was really happy, but gave Tyson a lecture right after seeing him about do-you-know-how-much-I-have-been-suffering-when-you-were-not-here. Kai had told a long story, sort of short at the same time, to Rin and her mother about Ruby. Both women were sad to hear but glad to know Ruby is still alive somewhere. They know for sure that Ruby is Sachi and hoped that it is her. Kai did not ask them what happened in the past. He wanted to, but he did not want to be nosy about it.

So today, in the afternoon, Kai is doing his own thing. Alone again.

He is not in the dojo, but by the little river and sitting under the bridge. Kai took out his cell phone and looked at the only two names on the contact list. It only had Ruby's name on it and Eve's. He was about to press on Ruby's number, but then threw it into the river. He no longer has any use of it anymore and should have gotten rid of it in the beginning.

Footsteps were heard and he turned his head to his left. Rin's mother. She smiled, looking like she wanted to talk to him. "What?" he asked, looking away.

She walked towards him and sat on the ground, about a couple of feet next to him. He looked at her again and she smiled. She wanted to know more about Sachi so she had been looking for him. Holding her hand to him, she formed her hand to a letter.

Kai silently looked at it and back at her. "I don't understand," he said. Rin's mother made another letter and then another one. Kai notice the third letter and it's a C. When she continued, he notices some easier one. He could easily tell the other letters and they are D, J, L, O, V, W, Y, and Z. "You're trying to talk to me?" he asked.

Nodding, she went over the alphabet again. She did it over once more and Kai remembered them. She opened her mouth to laugh, but only air came out. She wanted to laugh because he was a quick learner. She started to sign a sentence, pausing a bit after each word. She quickly signed, "My name is Harumi."

"…Harumi," he nodded. "So, what is it that you want to talk about?" He's willing to do anything but think of Ruby anyway. Maybe talking to her will get his mind off of Ruby.

She signed, "I want to know how Sachi was like when you met her."

Kai groaned, not wanting to remember anything about Ruby. Harumi looked desperate when he made a face and he sighed. "She's…" he said, hesitating for a moment. "At first, I thought she was just a troublemaker who loves to steal and to get what she wants."

She nodded.

"But… within a only small amount of time, we seem to have come to trust each other…" he paused. Kai thinks back to the times they were together. He had enjoyed being around with her a little. Was she really a person like that or just some girl who was only working undercover to steal bit beast? He did not really have any clue.

Harumi smiled and signed, "Oh never mind. It seems like you are drifting off. I have to run an errand anyway. Thank you for your time. Let us talk another time with the others." She stood up and left before he said a word.

Kai waited until she was gone and stood up. He walked to the river and dived in.

Ruby moaned and slowly opened her eyes. She could not see anything in this dark and closed her eyes. Her body really heavy, tired, and realized her left arm seems to feel nothing at all. It's no longer bleeding… she thought to herself. What happened and where is she?

"I see that you're awake," a female voice said, which sounded pretty young.

Ruby did not know whose voice it was. "Who's there?" she asked, trying hard to get up. The growl of a tiger and a hissing snake were near her. "Are you that chimera?" she tried to look around in the dark.

The tiger's laying on ground by the bed, facing away from Ruby and the black snake is beside her on the bed. The snake's head touched Ruby's hand. "I'm the snake, the tail of the chimera," the snake said.

"Oh," Ruby felt the snake's skin. She moved her hand and smooths the snake's body. "…How come you can talk?"

The snake did not want to say anything about it but said, "We were just an experiment… I have the human's language… that's all."

"Sure, that explains it," Ruby shrugged. "Wonder how they did that…" She touched her missing left arm and definitely felt her skin along her side. "How did I heal so fast?"

"That is my ability," the snake explained. "I have healed our injuries."

Ruby smiled, "Oh! Then can I get my arm back too?"

"My healing ability will not have any effect," the snake said. "That is because I cannot reproduce cells. I can only fasten the rate for the human body to recover from an open wound."

"I see…" Ruby said, disappointed. "Why did you save me?"

The snake sighed, irritated. "The first thing you wake up is asking questions? I do not feel like answering them anymore."

The tiger glanced back them with an angry growl. Ruby heard it and asked, "Where are we?" The snake did not answer. Ruby then stood up on her two feet and wondered around the room. "Why is it so dark here?"

The chimera looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? It's board daylight," the snake told her.

Ruby stopped walking and had a sudden shock. "You're… you're joking, right?" she asked, turning her head. "Where are you?"

"Right behind you," the snake replied.

"…" Ruby waved her right arm around her, trying to sense the wall or something. She realized that her eyes seem to hurt a little bit and recalled back. Wait a minute… She remembered. The water… Leo's bit beast? I kept my eyes wide open when the water hit me… Could that be the cause? The water must have hit her so hard that her eyes must have gotten hit too. No, that can't be right. Feeling timid, she started to walk around faster and hit against the table. "Ow…" she rubbed the pain on her stomach.

The snake seem to know what Ruby is going through, remembering what had happened also, but then the bedroom door opened. It kept quiet as the woman with long blond hair, which it tied into a high ponytail, walked in. It was Eve.

"Ruby, are you alright?" Eve asked, carrying a tray that had food on it.

"That voice…" Ruby would never forget it. She turned around to find her. "Eve? Is that you?" she smiled, walking.

"I'm over here," Eve said, setting the tray on the table. She touched Ruby's shoulder and she turned to her. Ruby's eyes were looking around the room, acting strangely. "Ruby, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Ruby's tears fell down from her eyes. She hugged Eve and laughed. "Eve! You're alive!" she shouted. She's happy and sad. Happy that Eve is still okay and standing in front of her… and sad about that she could be blind. Even if she knows that she might be, all that it matter now that Eve is still here. Ruby started to sob as Eve comfort her.

"What's wrong?" Eve questioned, worried.

After a moment, Ruby calmed down. "So…" Ruby pulled away, smiling. "What happened to you? Were you really held captive by the Silver Company when we separated, Eve?"

Eve sighed, not wanting to recall the bad memory. "Here, let's have a seat first…" she told her. Ruby stumbled a bit and Eve aids her to the seat. Eve figured that she must have problems with her eyes. "Let me ask you first… can you see me?" Eve asked. Ruby's golden eyes wonder around at the corner of her eyes and then she shook her head no. "What happen?"

"Um…" Ruby gave a little shrug. "I… think it was cause due to the water. It was Leo's bit beast… my eyes were open…"

"I see," Eve nodded. "I'm not a doctor so I wouldn't really know what exactly happen. You should have closed your eyes because if you had, the water wouldn't have broke something behind your eyes. Does it hurt?"

"No, not really," she replied.

Eve took a good look at her eyes. "Why didn't you close your eyes? The impact must have hurt, at the very least."

"I was reaching out for Dranzer, because if I didn't I could have miss that chance of getting it and fall into that river," Ruby explained. She suddenly stood up. "Dranzer! God! Where is it?"

"Dranzer?" Eve also stood up. "Oh, yeah… Enrique took it, for safe keeping, he says." She rolled her eyes.

Ruby grabbed for Eve's arm, but Eve is more distant than she thought. "Enrique? Who's that? Oh, never mind, tell her to give it to me!"

"Her?" a male's voice came from out the hallway, offended. The Italian guy walked in with a pout on his face. "Enrique is a guy's name, you know?" he told her, walking up to the two ladies.

"So, you're Enrique?" Ruby asked, turning her head a little. She wanted to hear his voice clearly so she can remember it. She held out her hand. "Give me Dranzer."

Enrique smirked and reached out to her hand to touch it, but Eve slapped his hand away, leaving a red mark. "Hey!" Enrique lightly glared at her. He waved his hand to get rid of the pain. "What was that for, Eve?"

"You heard the lady," Eve shot him a light glare. "Give Dranzer back. She did held it tightly when we found her, you know?"

Enrique reached into his pocket and took the chip out. "Just so you know…" he looked at Eve. "I'm getting this out for this chick, not you, Eve. So don't start thinking that I'm listening to your orders." He smirked and put on Ruby's palm. "Here you go, Ruby!" he smirked.

Ruby smiled and warped her hand around Dranzer. "Thanks, Enrique. Um… Eve, how did you get here?" she asked.

Eve sighed, taking a seat. "You asked if I was capture, right? I did, only a few minutes after you and Kai left. The men from the company caught me right on the spot. I was sent to Japan and I was hoping to look for my sister, but then the leader of the Empty Hearts decided to just kill me off by pushing me into the river. Enrique helped me out when I came to the shore on his so-call vacation home. That's my story." She said with a sigh.

"Hey, you didn't mention about Spirit," Enrique elbowed her.

Eve ignored him and looked up at Ruby. "Just so you know, Enrique and I are long distance cousins… but I don't like him very much."

"Oh," Ruby nodded. "So then, you were sent to Japan too… who took you here? How did you get here? We should have seen one another at the very least because I was with Kai and his friends, flying and riding on bit beasts."

Enrique grinned. "Kai and his friends huh?" he chuckled. "Haven't heard from them for a while now."

"No clue," Eve told Ruby and shrugged. "I was blindfolded, but I'm sure I was on an airplane."

Enrique leaned side way to look pass Ruby. "So, that tiger mix animal belongs to you?" he asked.

Ruby was not sure about that. The chimera treated her like an enemy. "Well…" she nervously smiled. The tiger stood up and walked by Ruby's side. It silently rubbed its head against her hand at her side. Ruby's surprised the way it is acting now and kneeled down. She touched the tiger's head and smiled, "Hey, what's up with you?"

"So do you want to hang out with me sometime?" Enrique suddenly asked.

Eve stood up and pushed him away. "Ruby, so… what happened to your arm?" she asked, curious. "I just saw you days ago and it would have take time to have your arm healed… what happen?"

"Can… can you two leave us alone for a bit?" Ruby turned her head.

"But…" Enrique took a step.

Eve grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the room. "I'll talk to you later then, Ruby," she said, smiling. What ever is going on, she hoped Ruby is not feeling bad about anything. What ever had happened, she is sure Ruby can deal with it. After all… you went through more than I know. Eve thought, closing the bedroom door.

"But man, how did she end up having Kai's Dranzer with her?" Enrique wondered. He walked down the hallway with Eve. "Do you know why?"

Eve shrugged. "I don't know myself. A lot must have happen or something. We'll ask Ruby about it later, so for now she needs rest."

Enrique rubbed his chin, smirking. "Maybe I should ask her out while we're at it…" he said.

Eve sighed, walking ahead of him and down the stairs. "Just so you know, Ruby doesn't like guys like you. You didn't see it but she made a face a minute ago when you asked her about going out sometime."

"Really?" Enrique hurried after her. "Why? Girls like me."

"Heh, well, she isn't that kind of girl."

Enrique pouted. "Too bad."

Setting Dranzer on the table, Ruby sat on her ankles and hugged the tiger, feeling that it is shaking again. "How long have your body been like this?" she asked.

"More than three months?" the snake was not sure. "I don't really remember."

"…Do you two have names?" she smiled, wanting to know. They were silent and she waited for a moment. "Don't have one?"

"Just call us Chimera," the snake said.

Ruby shook her head. "No way," she said. "You two have a mind of your own, right?" Before the snake answer, Ruby has already thought names for the two of them. "Your name will be Hajime," she patted on the tiger. "Then you're Viper… if you two don't like it, I'll think of other names."

"That's quite alright," Viper said. "Ruby… may I ask a flavor?"

"Sure."

Viper crawled near her. "Without knowing it, you had made a pact with Hajime…" The tiger growled irritably at the snake. "Ruby named you that so I'm calling you that, whether you like it or not" Viper said. The tiger glared and looked away. Viper continued, "Will you keep your word and guide us?"

Ruby's eyes were closed and she planned on not opening them for a while. "…What do you mean, Viper? A pact? When?" Ruby recalls what Tala had said before about summoning bit beasts, but to do so they need to form a pact first. She does not remember about making any kind of pact with the chimera.

"You had said it when you would not let go no matter what," Viper said. "I accepted those words when you said them when we were in the river. Hajime has an anger management from time to time so I hope you will help calm this one down."

Ruby silently thought to herself. She remembered she had said about the tiger when it was hurting her. It would not calm down when she was with it in the water. "Oh yeah…" she nodded.

Hajime still glared, but laid its head on Ruby's lap, growling a little. Viper chuckled and said, "Hajime apologizing about your arm."

"Oh," Ruby smiled. She patted on Hajime's head, slightly laughing. "That's okay. It's not like I need it. I use my right arm more so don't worry about it." She waved her left arm back and forth. "Just don't over use your powers again, okay? You're pretty violent when you get angry." Hajime did not growl. Ruby felt that the tiger seem rather calm right now and felt like she should do her best to treat Hajime better.

Viper silently watched them, feeling the bond between them. "What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"What am I going to do to?" Ruby stopped smiling. She reached up to the table's height and searched for Dranzer. Feeling the chip, she grabbed it and clutched it. "I… I'm going to returned this to Kai," she said, just deciding now. "Dranzer… I'm sorry about taking you away from Kai like that…" she said. "I'll make sure you get back to him safe and sound." That would mean she would have to see Kai face-to-face but she does not know if she would be able to do that or not.

She thought about the way he glared at her back then and her heart ached a little. She could not help it but cry. Her tears fell on her hand, which she is holding Dranzer. She felt embarrasses about stealing Dranzer and shooting Hilary. She probably will not be able to face them at all. I'll see what I can do when I get to where they are… where ever they are. Ruby uneasily thought.

"Oh and…" Viper said. "What did you choose Hajime and Viper as our name?"

Ruby chuckled. "Well, you're Viper because you're a snake. And Hajime…"

"What does that word mean?" Viper inquired.

"…I really don't know, but," Ruby smiled, patting on the tiger's head. "I think means 'beginning'."