Authors note: Here we go, first real chapter! Okay, I have a question for whoever is reading this; what do you think about doing a few chapters from Hillary´s POV? Like every second chapter or something? Please let me know;)
REVIEWS? ANYONE? PLEEEEEASE!
Nix: Here you go, another chapter;) Great that you are liking this so far and thanks for reviewing!
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Into the void
Chapter 1
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Kai´s POV
I exited the plane with badly contained relief. Halfway through the flight Tyson had gotten sick from eating a couple of ten-year old pretzels, and predictably enough he had puked on Max, who was still complaining about the incident. What a bunch of losers!
I strolled quickly through the wide, airy corridors of the airport, approaching the luggage pick up. The others were lumbering about somewhere behind me, Kenny and Tyson discussing strategies while Max was still pissed off and covered in Tyson´s stomach contents. Disgusting! I snapped out of my broodings moments later, as Hillary slid up beside me, quietly scanning the belt for our luggage.
When she was around the others she always seemed so loud, shouting and bossing around all the time. With me she was simply standing there, rarely opening her mouth. Perhaps she felt intimidated; the idea made me smirk. She shuffled uncomfortably beside me. And I glanced at her, noticing how the dark blue skinny jeans clung to her body like a second skin. No wonder Tyson always asked her to come over. She bit her lip and sent me a quick look, eyes unsure. They were so large, I absently observed, fascinated.
"Hey, Max! Look at her!" Tyson hissed from behind me, gesturing wildly at some girl on the other side of the conveyer belt.
"That is one fine piece of ass!"
I caught Rey´s embarrassed look as the two of them both stood staring and pointing, and chose to discreetly move a few steps further away. My hopes of avoid being associated with the brat-pack were unfortunately destroyed when Max called my name, waving his arms. The movement resembled that of a windmill.
"Hey Kai, over here!"
I sent the two of them a withering look, before turning back to the luggage, finally spotting my bag and grabbing it from the belt. Fuck my life!
"They are such pigs", Hillary mumbled from beside me, jaw set.
I gave her a look, observing my supposed teammates with increasing annoyance. They were now encouraging Kenny to go over and talk to the poor girl. She´d most likely run away screaming. The thing was that me and Rey probably weren´t any better, we just weren´t as obvious about it. Poor Hillary.
We were not actually in China, but Hong Kong. Our next plane would take us to China the following morning, which meant that we had one long day ahead of us. Or at least that is how I felt. After barking at the others to get moving our group exited the building in an unorganized mess. Kenny was leading the way with his computer, Hillary walking beside him with purposeful strides. Apparently she had everything planned out. Max, Rey and Tyson were messing around a couple of meters behind them, while I made up the rear, keeping one eye at the two idiots and the other on Hillary´s ass. Okay, fine, she was kind of hot.
Hillary and Kenny led the way to a BBA buss and about half an hour later we were checked into a fancy hotel. I dumped my bag in my room with what at to be the hundredth sigh in only a few hours. There was no way I was sharing my bed with one of the others, no way! As a result Hillary and I had one room each, while the others shared the remaining two rooms.
It was strange. Part of me was exhausted. I had never been forced to continuously be around so many people for a longer period of time. Needless to say my patience was wearing thin. Sure, so far I had been reasonable I suppose, even if the others didn´t necessarily agree. Then again I was team captain. What the fuck did they expect? That I would walk around grinning like a lunatic and offering chocolate?
A loud bang was heard from the common room, closely followed my Max´s laughter and I looked up. I could hear Tyson scrambling up from the floor, shouting at Max, and then the tapping of a keyboard followed by Kenny´s high, slightly wailing voice.
"Tyson look out, you almost stepped on Dizzi!"
"No worries chief, like you said, …..almost".
"Tyson!"
Max laughed again, and I heard Rey mumble something about acting your age. No kidding, I reflected drily, proceeding to rifle through my bag, looking for my favourite leather jacket. Sometimes I wondered why I was so different from them. Despite what I would like to think I was perfectly aware that my behaviour wasn´t normal, even if it was what came natural to me. Perhaps grandfather´s strict rules were to blame, I don't know.
Either way I sometimes found myself wishing I could laugh like they did, that I could find life simple and carefree at every turn. However I knew from experience that the world, my world, was not made that way, unfortunately. Grandfather had taught me that, and although most of my memories from before I turned 10 were hazy and unclear at best, something always told me that they were mostly unpleasant.
"Guys, shut up for Christ sake! Look at yourselves!"
Hillary´s voice was tinged with badly hidden exasperation, and my broodings were disturbed as I looked up yet again. Even when she was angry she somehow didn´t sound threatening at all, which might have been why they ignored her.
"Hey Max, why are you watching teen mum on MTV?" Rey wondered.
Max chuckled nervously while Tyson snickered.
"Guys, please!" Hillary tried again, clearly desperate.
"Jeez, Hillary, relax, have some fun, you are almost as bad as Kai", Tyson finally responded distractedly.
As bad as Kai, right. I suppose that was kind of deserving, but it still made my already frayed temper flare. Only minutes into our trip they had started calling me all kinds of things when they thought I didn´t hear, and sometimes even to my face. Sourpuss, sourpants, Mr. sourpants, grouch. It wasn´t particularly creative if you asked me, but then again you can only expect so much from a bunch of childish, lousy amateurs.
With that I decided that enough was enough, marching out into the living room, jaw clenched tightly. Tyson was bouncing up and down on the sofa while Max had turned the TV on, engrossed in some stupid MTV show. Rey was sitting beside him discussing said show with Kenny, while Hillary was reading a book, curled up in one of the large armchairs. How she could concentrate at all was beyond me. I paused in the hallway, wondering how it was possible to generate so much noise.
"Get a fucking grip", I sneered angrily, voice strained.
I couldn´t understand them. Did they not take anything of this seriously?
"Hey, it's the sourpuss", Tyson exclaimed, continuing his antics almost as if nothing had happened.
That was when I snapped.
"Do you honestly believe that you have a chance of winning anything?" I growled.
"You are acting like a fucking child Tyson, you all are. This team is a disaster".
A shocked silence ensued, in which Rey proceeded to turn off the television.
"I…..That is kind of harsh is it not?" Max wondered, eying me with something I couldn´t quite place.
"Harsh?" Tyson exploded
"Harsh?" He repeated for the second time, incredulous.
His face was red from anger, and he remained standing on the couch. It almost looked like he was trying to compensate for the fact that I was at least 20 centimetres taller than him. As if that would ever work! I smirked wolfishly at the thought.
"Why don´t you start acting like you are actually part of the team Kai?" He exclaimed, his hands balled into fists.
I could tell that I had made him angry, and inwardly I was pleased.
"Tyson", Rey hesitantly said.
"He might have point".
I turned on my heel, headed for the door. Good, at least now I had gotten them thinking. Sure thing, the tournament didn´t start before next week, but the moment we arrived in China I was prepared to start training. Better to warn them of the reality of things sooner rather than later.
"Hey, where do you think you are going?" Tyson shouted after me, incensed.
"Away from you", I said smartly.
The door slid shut behind me with a soft thud and I exhaled, suddenly feeling relieved. Dranzer was glowing warmly in my jeans pocket, and I shrugged into my leather jacked while I walked. Outside it was late afternoon, and I paused briefly to bask in the sun for a few much appreciated moments. Finally, I was outside, and I was on my own, no annoying….
"Kai!" Someone shouted, taking me by surprised.
It was Hillary.
She stopped beside me, panting, and I regarded her coolly, wondering why she had followed me. Sure, she had a nice ass and all but that didn´t mean I was even remotely interested in having her following me around.
"What?" I drawled, one unimpressed eyebrow quirking upwards.
To my amusement she blushed scarlet, and I smirked, taking one step closer. She looked up at me, suddenly aware of how much taller I was. Her petite little frame reminded me about one of those china dolls, small and delicate, like a flower. Part of me wondered why I felt the need to play with her, but then again she wasn´t the first, and she probably wouldn´t be the last. There was something about the way she acted around me that awoke my darker self, and with that came certain….desires.
"I…..were are you going?" She wondered, to my surprise standing her ground even though I was clearly making her uncomfortable. Interesting.
"Out", I said, resisting a pressing urge to roll my eyes at her.
"Of course, is it okay if I join you?"
I gave her another look, this time somewhat intrigued.
"Whatever".
With that I promptly turned, leaving her standing in front of the hotel, before she came sprinting after me. I ignored her as we strolled side by side down the street, and it struck me that this was the first time I had ever been alone with her. Sure, I had seen her with Tyson at the local tournament, and Mr. Dickinson had introduced us before the team departed for China, but we had never really talked. Not that I ever talked much anyway. She kept stealing glances at me, and I wondered why she decided to follow at all, seeing as she was clearly out of her comfort zone around me. Then again I had never been a people person, so I suppose my looks and cold persona was what drew the girls in, even if it made them uneasy.
"Did you mean what you said?" She wondered, voice oddly curious.
"About this team…being a disaster?"
The last word was spoken in a hushed tone which I found vaguely amusing, and she looked seriously at me.
If I meant it? Of course I did, otherwise I wouldn´t have said it now would I? I was tempted to say something rude to her, but for some reason I decided not to. I don´t know, I felt different about her. Perhaps because she was a girl…..Lame excuse Hiwatari…lame excuse.
"Yes", I simply said.
"Well, they are a little childish sometimes", she admitted.
I could tell that she was annoyed, and perhaps also a little hurt. She was constantly fiddling with the zipper of her purse, and every now and then she anxiously touched her hair, as if to check that it was still in place. I suppose I was only adding to her nervousness, being my usual grouchy self. Then again she was naive if she thought travelling with the Bladebreakers as the only girl would be a walk in the park.
"I get a little frustrated", she continued, briefly looking up at me.
"I mean, all they ever talk about is sex, alcohol and beyblade, it is immature".
Why was she telling me this? And furthermore, why was I listening?
"What makes you think I am any better?" I asked, smirking slightly.
She just shrugged.
"At least you don´t make a complete fool of yourself by running after everything that has got boobs".
That is right Hillary, they come running after me instead. The thought made my smirk widen, and she looked at me, confused. Her lips looked even fuller than usual, pink, pouty and delicious.
"You are a girl alone with five boys, what did you expect?"
She shrugged again, looking at the ground. It struck me that this was probably the longest conversation I had had with any of my teammates, even if she didn´t quite qualify for the description "team mate". How strange. When it came to girls I was usually interesting in other things than conversation, as cold as that my sound.
"You know Kai, you are not as bad as they say you are", she suddenly said, and I paused to look at her, coming to an abrupt halt.
What!? Where did that come from? Part of me was annoyed, not so much over her chosen words, but over the fact that she felt comfortable enough to speak to me. When had I allowed her this close? Then again her statement also caused a surprising amount of pleasure. I wasn´t sure if it was genuine or if it was just glee at Tyson´s expense. Then again the distinction shouldn´t matter to me. It shouldn´t.
We stared at each other, and my eyes narrowed in a glare, although it was nothing close to my infamous death glare. She opened her mouth to say something, but I broke her off.
"Whatever".….