Thanks for coming back to continue this story! You guys are Soooo amazing!

What's written in italics are flashbacks. Just a heads up, in case you can't tell.

If you reviewed, I will respond to you at the bottom of the chapter.

Other than that, I've got nothing to say. So enjoy Chapter Four.

Chapter Four: All those memories…

Faint light shone through the barred up window on the metal cell door. Hikaru's eyes had adjusted pretty well to the dim light, though the way the sound of breathing echoed off the walls was just impossible to get used to.

Alice sat back down in the corner, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. "So why are you here, Hikaru Hasama?" she asked in a quiet, nervous voice, meeting Hikaru's gaze curiously.

Surely I can trust her? Hikaru thought as she knelt down in front of her. She looked into Alice's soft blue eyes. They shared a moment of silence, as if a million words passed between them, though neither had said a thing. It was a silent bond of friendship that would never be broken.

This girl, Hikaru realized, would be an excellent friend. A shy smile formed on Alice's lips as if she were thinking the same thing about Hikaru.

Hikaru answered her question softly. "One of my friends…er, he tricked me. And now, I'm stuck here." Her eyes flickered from the haunting memory. She had never expected to see Kyoya change so much. For a short amount of time, he hadn't even seemed like himself, like he had a second, darker half that took over. She would never forget that insane look in his eyes, the maniacal laughter, the satisfied smile on his face when Ginga was whisked into the air and thrown into Wolf Canyon...

Alice's friendly voice snapped her out of those chilling memories. "This friend…does he have a name?"

"Kyoya Tategami." Such a cute name.

The dark haired girl leaned closer for a few moments, squinting, before leaning back with a big, toothy grin on her face. "Are you blushing?"

"What?!" Hikaru was suddenly aware of the heat that had been rising to her cheeks. Her heart was racing. Busted.

"I take it Kyoya is more than a friend," Alice teased. She already seemed a lot less shy than she had been a few minutes before.

"Was more than a friend," Hikaru whispered, avoiding Alice's gaze.

"Why? What happened?"

"It's a long story," Hikaru mumbled with a sigh. She knew Alice probably didn't care about what happened in the past with Hikaru and Kyoya. And she didn't want to burden the girl with all the information of her failed relationship.

After all, Hikaru had only just met her.

But Alice seemed more excited than ever. Maybe it was simply that she was enjoying the company. "Well, we've got time!" she exclaimed, amusement lighting her eyes.

"If you really want to know…" Even though she was grateful for someone to talk to, she found it difficult. But it wasn't long before she was spilling stories of all the fond memories she'd had with Kyoya. Like when she first fell for him.

With a little clink, Aquario landed at Hikaru's feet. Her eyes widened, and she took a step back in surprise, mouth agape. It took her a moment to find her voice. "I – I lost?" She met the other blader's sky blue gaze.

"Humph." He snorted. "Battling with you was…actually enjoyable. You were somewhat of a challenge." The corner of his lip curved up in a smirk as he retrieved his bey in an outstretched hand.

"R – really?" Hikaru asked in disbelief, bending over to pick up Aquario. His slight praise made her belly flutter. Despite her losing the big survival battle, she felt all jittery and excited around him.

"Yea." He took a few steps to close the gap between them. Startled by his advance on her, she took a step backward, stumbling over roots into a tree. He put his hands against the trunk on either side of her head so she couldn't escape. "You really are quite the determined blader," he murmured, his eyes soft as he leaned closer. His nose brushed against her skin as his lips moved against her neck, gently.

"Kyoya…?" Hikaru's hands shook as she pushed him away. "What the hell are you doing?"

He smiled at her. "You're cute when you're angry."

She felt her face heat up. Since when did he just toss out compliments like that?

"So…" Kyoya sounded awkward, as if he weren't sure how to say the next words. "Is there, er, anything between you and Hyoma?"

Hikaru blushed even more. "Where are you going with this?"

Kyoya shrugged carelessly. "I just thought maybe you could give me a chance."

"Well, I –"

"Please…"He pressed his lips against hers for only a moment before she pushed him away again.

"There are cameras here, stupid," she snapped, suddenly remembering that they were still at the Survival battle, where hidden cameras were in every tree to be sure no bladers were cheating. Hikaru pushed past him, butting his shoulder with hers. "Maybe I will, though." She glanced back at him with a quick wink before vanishing into the trees.

"And that's how it all began," Hikaru told Alice, her heart fluttering when she thought back to such an amazing time, the event that changed her life forever.

"That's so sweet!" Alice squealed. "So you gave him a chance? How'd that go?"

Hikaru smiled. She was surprised that Alice was so interested. And even though Alice had a small voice, even though she had that shy air about her, Alice definitely seemed intrigued in Hikaru's life. Hikaru felt more like she was at a sleepover rather than in a cold, dark cell.

"It went fine. Uh, we actually met up at the B-Pit after that, and…" Hikaru's voice trailed off when she noticed Alice's puzzled expression. "The B-Pit is where we go to have our beys repaired by Madoka. She's an ah-mazing beyblade mechanic. You'll have to visit her sometime."

Alice lowered her gaze, shaking her head.

Hikaru knew what Alice was thinking. There was no telling how long that shy, dark-haired girl had been in that cell, and Alice clearly didn't think they would get out anytime soon.

"Don't worry," Hikaru said, putting a hand on Alice's shoulder.

"Ah, it's okay," Alice assured her, sensing the apology in Hikaru's voice. "Just, um…my first, er, cellmate – if you will – was taken a few days ago. I'm still a little shaken."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I'll tell you my story after you tell me yours."

"Right." Hikaru smiled, partially upset with herself for remembering her boyfriend – ex-boyfriend, now – even after all he did. "Well, we met at the B-Pit not long after the survival battle."

"Hey, Madoka?" Hikaru called out, heading straight for the brown haired girl enthusiastically watching Kenta battle Osamu.

She turned to meet Hikaru's violet gaze. "Hi, Hikaru!" Madoka grinning, then glanced at the bey in Hikaru's hand. "You need me to repair Aquario?"

"Yes, please." Hikaru handed her beyblade to Madoka. "I have a competition tonight, and I need it back by then."

"I'll get to work on it right away, then!" Madoka replied.

Hikaru nodded, murmured, "Thanks," and turned to head back toward the door. She would've stayed longer, but she wanted to get a little rest before the battles. Lost in thought, thinking about how she would definitely win and get more recognition as a blader, she didn't realize that she was at the door. Even worse, instead of walking into the door, she walked right into the person opening it.

And as weird as it was, the first thing she noticed what the attractive scent that she'd caught a whiff of only once before.

When he approached her at the survival battle.

When he asked her to give him a chance.

"Hikaru!" His voice made her heart soar.

She couldn't look into his eyes. She was only grateful that no one else seemed to notice her walking into Kyoya. It would've been embarrassing.

"Wait for me?" he asked, taking a step back.

Hikaru kept her head angled toward the ground, fighting the urge to look up into his captivating blue eyes.

"Just…wait outside, okay?" His voice was hopeful. "I'll only be a minute. Please?"

Big mistake. Please? When she heard the word, her head snapped up and she met his gaze with wide, shocked eyes. Please? Since when did he say that, unless he meant it sarcastically?

"Umm….err…yea," Hikaru said, shuffling past him and out the door. She walked to the edge of the store and leaned up against the wall, crossing her arms. Why did she feel so awkward around him now? She didn't have any time to think about it because he came out of the B-Pit in that moment and headed over to her, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Thanks for waiting. I was afraid you wouldn't." He stopped in front of her. "Have you thought about it? Will you give me a chance?"

Hikaru stared into his eyes, unable to speak. She may have just found her weak spot.

Kyoya leaned closer, so….much…closer. "Is that a yes?" he murmured against her lips.

She couldn't control herself any longer. Hikaru leaned forward – what, like a millimeter? – before her lips met his. And the rest…

"….well, it was obvious I'd give him a chance," Hikaru said. "We certainly made a good couple. But we had our arguments. And I'd rather not talk about that."

"Hmm…." Alice paused, taking in everything Hikaru had told her. "So what happened that made him betray you?"

Hikaru took in a deep breath and launched into the story. How Kyoya vanished without even telling her, how he had seen her briefly kissing his opponent, and how he had shown up that day and kidnapped her. Hikaru told Alice about that night with Kyoya, the day they traveled to Wolf Canyon, and how his personality unexpectedly changed.

"And in all the wind, Ginga – that's his opponent's name – fell over into Wolf Canyon," Hikaru finished, her voice cracking with pain. "He's surely dead."

"Ginga!?" Alice half-wailed, half gasped his name. "Ginga Hagane?"

"Yes." Hikaru tilted her head to one side. "You knew him?"

Alice had tears streaming down her face, and Hikaru pulled her into a comforting hug. "He was my childhood friend!" Alice sobbed.

"Why don't you tell me about how you know him?" Hikaru asked desperately, feeling terrible that she'd made Alice cry. "Were you close to him?"

"Yes; he and Hyoma were good friends of mine back in Koma Village. We grew up together." Alice pulled away and wiped away her tears. "Are you sure?"

Hikaru gave her a puzzled look.

"That he's…" Alice choked on the next word, barely getting it out in a whisper. "…dead?"

"I…I don't know," Hikaru admitted. Her gaze drifted to the ground. "He fell into Wolf Canyon. He probably is."

Alice whimpered. "He was the strongest blader I knew!" Another waterfall of tears cascaded from her red, puffy eyes.

Hikaru nodded. "He was quite the strong blader, but Kyoya…he just never got over the fact that Ginga was the first to beat him after becoming leader of the Face-Hunters."

Alice blinked slowly, looking away.

"So what about you?" Hikaru asked, desperate to change the subject. "Why are you in here?"

"I'm not even sure." Alice sighed. "I was in one of those big competitions, and I made it to the final round…"

Credits

Alice Hara belongs to Destened-Star-Girl (GONE FOR EVA, is the new username, I believe.)

Okay, Alice's story will be in the next chapter, so it will be a fairly short chapter. There's a lot of awesome stuff coming up, so keep reading!

Also, I didn't proofread; I just did a quick once-over with Spellcheck, so if there are any errors, don't hesitate to point them out so I can fix them!

..::Review Replies::..

MaziMe: Thanks for the input. I just found out how to do it, and will be typing up as many chapters as I can so I can post a little bit during the week. And yes, that's exactly how Alice is!

Phantom-san: Thank you, and I'm really not surprised. I was gone for so long, I'm actually amazed some of you guys are coming back! (:

Manakete-girl: Ah, yea. Tablets and similar devices can be irritating. My iPod drives me crazy. XD I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you'll like the way I used Holyn!

FreakyPokeGirl1: And thank you very much for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much!

Zineb1996: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like it, and I hope you're pleased with this chapter as well!

A.B.D.Y.Z.: Thanks to you, too, for reviewing! I'm glad I can write again too! It's so enjoyable! (: I will continue writing, and I hope that you'll continue to enjoy it.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

(:Mizune