"Are you sure there's no other way to get back?" Hilary asked, anxiety tearing apart her insides.
"No faster way, Hilary! The Yamate tunnel is still under construction and it'll take weeks if we back!" Tyson explained. "I wanna get home asap and get some mochis my belly aches for, so quit whining and for once in a lifetime, trust me!"
Everybody sighed. Here they go again. It's the classic battle of the sexes where Tyson is trying to convince Hilary which way is better.
"Well! I ain't risking my life just so you can have some mochi!" Hilary seethed, stationing her hands on her waist.
"Ah come on Hilary, it's just a cave. We'll be out in no time flat." Kenny said.
"Yeah Hilary, no worries, everything will be fine." Ray added.
"No Way! I'm not going in there and you can't make me!" she huffed.
Five minutes Later…
"No! This is an assault!" she screamed. Her arms and legs were tightly wrapped around a large boulder stationed right outside of entrance while the boys were failing miserably at trying to pull her inside.
"Come on Hilary! We have to get going!" Max struggled to say, his mind too wrapped around prying her off the rock.
"I don't care!" she held on tighter.
"Let's just leave her here guys!" Tyson suggested, huffing as he crossed his arms, "She's just anchoring us down!"
"You take that back TYSON!" Hilary grumbled, aura flaring.
"I'll make you a deal. If you go through the cave, we'll let take you shopping." Ray coaxed.
"And we'll take a day off just to celebrate you, like a Hilary day!" Max added, hoping it would work.
"You will?" Hilary asked in shock, kinda sorta loosening her grip.
"We will!" nodded Ray and Max.
"Just play along." Kenny whispered to Kai nonchalantly.
"Sure Hilary, of course." The stoic beyblader planted a fake grin.
"I see not everyone's on the page!" Hilary sarcastically squinted at Tyson.
"Come on Tyson...we're almost there!" Kenny pleaded.
Conceding with a tired sigh, Tyson slumped his shoulder, "Guess I am in…"
"Well, okay I'll go." Hilary chirped, as she singsonged her way inside.
"Finally…" the boys exhaled.
In the cave…
Easier said than done. Once in the cave, Hilary's nerves were going crazy. She scared out of her mind. The caves was dark and wet and had this really odd smell and every now and then she could hear the sound of bats fluttering. It sent shivers down her spine because whatever sound was made was only amplified by the echo of the cave.
"I knew this was a bad idea. How did I ever let you guys talk me into this?" she whimpered, clasping her hands tightly in front of her chest.
"Don't sweat it Hilary, we're almost out of here." Ray pacified. He was trying but, again, failing miserably at calming her down. It didn't help that some rats scurried past their feet, making the anxious brunette jump and wail.
"Ah!" Hilary screamed, grabbing onto what she thought was Max's arm and clinging for dear life.
"Th-that was cl-close. Thanks for letting me hold on to your arm, Max." she sighed, letting out a much needed breath of relief.
"Um Hilary? I'm over here." Kenny informed her.
"Huh?" She looked to her left and saw the little boy. "If you're over there, then who is…" she looked to her right to see her arm linked with Tyson. They looked up at each other and blushed furiously.
"Ah! Sorry!" they both turned away with red faces.
"Let's keep moving people. I don't plan on staying in this cave tonight." Ray urged.
"You're not serious, are you?" Hilary asked, frightened by his statement.
"What are you so afraid of Hilary?" Kenny asked as they continued walking.
"I am not afraid!" she fired back defensively.
"Oh, yeah right! Just like you weren't afraid when those rats got by us, huh?" Kenny goaded, giving her a satisfied smirk.
"I was surprised is all. I'm not scared, this place just gives me the creeps." she shivered. "But there's nothing to be afraid of! No No! Nothing at all. In fact this is actually quite relaxing, Hehe!" she laughed nervously. Hilary rambled on for so long that after while the guys just stopped listening. While Hilary, who wasn't watching where she was going, separated herself from the group.
She sighed.
"Oh who am I kidding, I'm really scared. How much further until we're—guys? Guys? This isn't funny! Where are you? Kenny? Max? Kai? Tyson?" she whimpered. "Oh no…"
At the exit...
"Ah, fresh air! We finally made it!" Kenny exclaimed.
"See Hilary, that wasn't so bad, was it? Hilary? Hey, where'd she go?" Tyson asked.
"Oh no! We left Hilary in there?" Kenny gasped worried.
"Don't worry, I'll find her." Tyson declared, going back in the cave.
"Be careful Tyson." Ray warned.
"I will." he waved, as he dashed back inside the cave.
"Look at him," Max smirked, "I thought he would say something like 'Let's leave her in there, and no one would know…" but that was something else."
"He's a tough wall. Not very upfront with his feelings," Ray joked.
"The last time I saw that face of his was when we were kidnapped," Kenny squeaked.
"She's got to him," Max chuckled, "He doesn't know it, she doesn't know it. Let them spin for a while…"
Back in the cave...
"Oh my gosh! I knew this would happen! I'm lost, I'm scared, and I'm hungry! Could this get any worse? Umph!" she stumbled and fell on her face.
"Now I can't even walk on my own two feet." she whined sitting up. "How do I get out of here?" she cried. Hilary stood up slowly and dusted herself off. She proceeded to keep going, when something suddenly popped out at her.
"Ah!" she was startled.
It was a bat!
Her eye twitched in disbelief. She had this look of absolute disbelief as her brain tried to rewire itself in order to gain some inkling of understanding. It took her awhile to process what just happened. Then she did it what can only be expected of her in this situation.
She snapped.
"Hilary? Hilary? Where are you? Hilary?" he kept searching. He thought he heard shrill screaming in the distance.
"What's that noise?" he suspiciously whipped around in the direction it was coming from.
He kept walking further into the cave. He looked up ahead and saw a dark figure coming towards him and fast. As the figure got closer the screaming increased. He squinted his eyes to identify this figure but by the time he had found out who it was, it ran right into him sending them both tumbling to the ground.
He looked up to find that the figure was Hilary. She was on top of him with a dazed look on her face. She looked as pale as a ghost and she had swirls in her eyes. He sighed with a humored look on his face as he took in her appearance. He was right, she had snapped. So he sat up with limp form ending up splayed haphazardly across his lap. It was kind of funny seeing her all out of her wits since, on a good day, she was usually quirky and happy.
Outside the cave...
"Hilary?" Tyson whispered quietly as he gently shook her. "Hilary? Wake up. Come on Hilary." he continued.
"Mmm...mmm." she slowly opened her eyes and groggily scanned the area, noticing that they were in one the tents. She also noticed, after a few seconds, Tyson was directly in her line of sight, both scaring and surprising her.
"Ah!" she pushed him off.
"Ouch! What was that for!" he shoved back, also surprised at her thrust and a little angry.
"You scared me! Can a girl get some space!" she pushed again.
" I was just trying to wake you up! And stop pushing!" he pushed.
"No! You stop pushing!" Hilary pushed him again.
"No you!"
"No! YOU!" She pushed him so hard that they both went tumbling out of the tent and onto the grass. Their tumbling quickly turned into rolling on the ground fighting. She pulled at his cheeks and he pulled at hers. Eventually the noise reached Ray who was less than enthusiastic with their squabble.
"Hey you two! Knock it off!" he commanded, but it didn't sink through. Then Kenny came and he and Max pulled Hilary off of Tyson, while Ray grabbed the latter Tyson from the ground.
"What's with you two?" Ray asked.
"He scared me!" Hilary yelled trying to get away from Kenny and Max's grip.
"I didn't mean to! You're just overreacting!" Tyson defended. Ray just let him go seeing no use in holding him back.
"Let me go Kenny!" Hilary struggled. Kenny and Max had had enough so they let her go.
"Fine. Have a nice fall!" he laughed running off.
"Umph!" she landed with thud. "Thanks." she spat sarcastically while spitting out the excess dirt. She picked herself and sat with her legs crisscrossed while glaring daggers at Tyson.
And he just stood there and smirked at her, before he started laughing. This confused Hilary, and angered her too. She pouted and turned her head away from him with her arms crossed.
"I don't see the humor in this." she huffed.
"If only you knew how childish you were being right now." he laughed.
"I'm not the one who's childish." she said still not looking at him. She didn't notice him approaching her. "Please do tell us Tyson who got mad when I pushed him? Hmm? Or who's a sore loser? If you ask me, you're the one who's childish, Tyson Gran-mmph!" her lasts were interrupted by his lips meeting hers. Hands cupped her face and angled it upwards as the liplock continued. Her eyes widened in shock at Tyson's boldness and she was literally fighting with herself, trying to figure out just what in the world was going on. Eventually she closed her eyes and tried to enjoy the feeling.
When the kiss finally broke, Hilary sat there dumbfounded and confused. Tyson just looked at her and smiled.
"You know, something just told me to do that. I don't know why. But it did get you to stop talking." and he kept smiling. That last statement made her blush out of embarrassment. And of course, the kiss.
"Come on, let's go." he extended his hand out to her. She gladly accepted it, feeling bad about the way she treated him.
"Tyson, I-I'm sorry." she admitted quietly. He looked at her with a confused expression before smiling once more.
"Don't worry about it, it's your way of expressing your feelings. You just never thought I'd feel the same way." He gently squeezed her hand. A smile spread across Hilary's face as she smiled and squeezed his hand back.
'I guess it was a good idea to go through the cave. I'm closer to Tyson now more than ever!' she squealed in her head.