A Vivid Dream

A/N: Sorry! Sorry! There\'s not even a lime on this chapter but I promise that I\'ll try to make things up to you! I just needed it to get myself away from making Hilary a Mary Sue between Kai, Robert, and Garland, my fave characters. (I really don\'t care for Tyson- he\'s just there to add in stupidity and Enrique is just added in for fun because I loved his goofiness in Season One, plus we never even saw him in Season Three, except for a head shot.)

Anyway, I promise to make it more lemony later! Enjoy!


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Chapter 9: Good Morning?


The alarm went off, tooting its cheery tune, as a hand came up from under the blankets, flailing as the owner of it determinedly stayed under the covers. Finally, the hand slapped down on the alarm button, stopping the cheery tune. The hand then snaked back under the covers and silence reigned in the room.

Then the phone rang its incessant and metallic ring. *Brrring* *Brring*

Hilary threw back the covers and glared it before finally picking it. “What?”

“And good morning to you,” chirped the cheery faceless voice. “This is your morning wake-up call that you ordered. It is now six am. Please wake-up now.”

“I didn’t order a wake-up call,” Hilary groused as she glared at the telephone in her hand. “So who the hell is this?”

“Man, you sure are a grouch this morning, aren’t you, baby girl,” chuckled the voice over the phone. “Are you telling me that you don’t recognize the voice of your favorite cousin?”

“Dante, when I see you I am going to murder you,” Hilary glared as she looked at the clock. “It’s freaking six oh-one in the morning! Why the hell are you waking me up so soon?”

“It’s also Tuesday morning and you know what that means. Plus, it’s my turn to gather the forces for the weekly routine,” Dante chuckled. Hilary simply rolled her eyes as she stifled a yawn. “Did you have a late night party? Did you find someone you like? Was it fun? Did you finally use the birth control pills that Conrad prescribed?”

“Dante, behave! No, I have not! Why should I?” Hilary’s face grew red as she remembered what happened and was quite thankful that she was only talking to Dante over the phone. “And if I were to be having sex you would be the last one that I’d tell! And why the hell are you so interested in my not using those damn pills?”

“Au contraire, my baby cousin, I rather like to think that you would tell me first rather than Adam,” Dante answered huffily. “After all, I am older than you-”

“Only by four years,” Hilary snapped back.

“And wiser and thus more understanding than Adam who is nearly twice our age,” Dante continued without pausing. “And isn’t it kind of me to worry about you since you’re all alone with all those sweaty and testosterone driven males?”

Hilary looked at the phone suspiciously. “Let me guess, you either got another girlfriend and she wants you to marry her because you forgot to use a condom or you’re on the verge of flunking out from college. Either way, you want to use me as a distraction so that Adam won’t yell at you. Am I right?” Silence greeted her on the other end. “Well?”

“You’re wrong on a couple of accounts. I didn’t forget to use the condom and we don’t want to get married right now,” Dante sniffed.

Hilary sat up as she grinned. “Oh, really? Then what about the flunking?”

“I am proud to say that I am a borderline student,” Dante replied. “Stop snorting, Hilary, but I will admit that I do need to distract Adam from looking too closely at my measly grades.”

“Good luck, you won’t find anything from me,” Hilary replied loftily, refusing to even think about her night with Kai.

“Not even one idiot boy gave you a sweet kiss?”

Flashes of Kai and his amazing mouth went through Hilary’s mind. She forced herself to not remember the feel of him as she carefully controlled her voice and answered, “Nope. Not a one sweet kiss but you can tell Adam that I’m being nothing but a good girl. Anyway, I need to shower and get going; so which tape are we supposed to pop in? And can you can the happy pill? It’s unnatural for someone to be so happy so early in the morning.”

“Oh, fine. You want to get rid of me. Anyway, it’s a pity you would think that with all the guys there, you’d find one that was appealing. They must be stupid or blind. Granddad says to use Tape three, baby girl,” Dante answered cheerfully. “And I’m a natural happy simply because I get to wake everyone up this morning and get to pick which tape we’ll all be doing.”

“You’re one sick puppy, cousin,” Hilary muttered as she glared at the phone. “Can’t we just stop this tradition? Waking up every Tuesday at six in the morning to do long distance Tai Chi in a park or gym, it is not my idea of family bonding. How does he even know we’re doing it?”

“He has his ways. And besides, I’d like you to try and tell Granddad that you want to stop it,” Dante chuckled. “And don’t forget we’re meeting up in about a few weeks. Brandon is sending you a new kimono designed by Dirk, sweetie. Seems someone complained that we weren’t doing enough girly things so Granddad insisted that for brunch we all go to a traditional tea house and flower garden for his favorite granddaughter- or is that his only granddaughter? Either way she’s still a spoiled but cute brat.”

Hilary rolled her eyes. “Good-bye, Dante. Take some downers before you call Adam else he’s liable to kill you for being so perky.”

“Too late, he wants to murder me as soon as he sees me,” Dante laughed over the phone. “Talk to you later, baby girl.”

“Oh, God!” Hilary screamed as soon as she put the phone back into its cradle. She slumped over and buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe this! Can this morning be any worse? Please- I just cannot be pregnant! I just can’t!”

She lifted her head and stared at the ceiling. “You just had to give in to his touch- you just had to see what kissing him would be like. You just had to stay until Tala came! Hilary, you are so stupid! It just had to be the worst night ever!”

‘Was it really the worst night ever?’ whispered a voice in her head. ‘If there’s a baby, what are you going to do?’

Hilary bolted up from the bed and stripped off the black shirt she was in and headed towards the bathroom. “I am not going to think about this- I am going to take a shower- Oh, God! I can still smell him! And I am not going to think about this! I am not!”

She rushed towards the tub and winced as her lower muscles started protesting her movements. Gritting her teeth, she started to fill the tub with warm water. She turned to brush her teeth, but gasped when she saw her reflection in the mirror. “Oh my God, I look like I was playing Tackle-Keep Away!”

She lifted her arms and traced the multicolored patterns all over her body. She touched the small red welts, the raised black-and-blue spots that stood in contrast to her pale skin and she remembered the feel of Kai’s mouth each place she was marked. Then her eyes lowered and her hands traced some circular bruises at her hips. Puzzled, she didn’t remember Kai’s mouth being there but his hands were while his mouth… She closed her eyes and saw Tala’s look of surprise. “I am not seeing this! This is still a dream!”

Opening them again, Hilary looked back at her miserable face. “This is just not happening.” Violently shaking herself, she looked at herself sternly. “Stop that! That is just the last straw, Hilary Tatibana! You are not going to think about anything Kai-related today! So go out there and do Tai Chi in the park and then avoid the crap out of Kai!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was the beginnings of a real bad day, ever since Hilary had left his bed in fact. Minutes after she left, all hell literally broke loose. Room service came into the room with Robert coming right after the cart rolled in. As Robert demanded to know where Hilary was, Tyson came running into the room demanding the same thing while he practically attacked the food cart. Then Daichi came in and attacked Tyson for abandoning him with Hiro and eating without him. Tyson then grabbed the duck stuffed with wild rice and mushrooms and stuffed it into his mouth as Daichi chased him around the room while he stuffed the sautéed broccoli into his mouth. Tala was laughing like a loon as Robert started yelling at Tyson and Daichi saying that they were being pigs while Hilary was probably starving because no one was thoughtful enough to get her anything to eat. Infuriated at the implication, Kai was about to throw out the entire lot out of his room as Hiro came barging in, hollering at both of them to finish their punishments and the chaos started all over again.

Calm came into the room only after hotel security came in to give their warning. Robert then swiftly demanded assurances that Hilary was not in the room, raising his hackles at the thought of Robert having an interest in Hilary. It was only after Tala assured him that Hilary had left minutes before that the aristocratic snot backed off and left. Tyson and crew left about an hour later because Hiro demanded that they perform their punishments then and there. During this, Tala told him about the brawl that occurred at the press conference, the results of it and Kai felt a headache coming. Then the night got worse.

He couldn’t go back to sleep because she wasn’t there next to him. He twisted and turned all over the bed, unable to sleep because he could remember her with him. He swore that he could smell her on the sheets. Bleary eyed, Kai would have sworn that everything had been a dream had it not been for the red welts that marred his back and the small teeth marks on his neck and shoulders. He was grateful for the fact that he found Hilary’s pale blue lace panties on the floor, practically hidden by the blankets that pooled there. He closed his eyes as he imagined that Hilary had fled to her room, wearing his shirt, her skirt and no panties. It was an image that he couldn’t shake because it was too damn arousing.

And that was why he had been in the dining room since the crack of dawn, waiting for her to show up and have breakfast.

Sitting cross-armed at the table, Kai scowled as he looked under his lashes at the latest entry into the dining room. It was some group of bladers that he didn’t even know. He let out a low growl of frustration. She had to eat sometime, didn’t she?

“You know, you really need to work on your conversation skills, Kai,” commented a voice from behind him.

Without bothering to look up, Kai’s scowl deepened. “Fuck off, Tala.”

“My, such language around impressionable kids, Kai,” Bryan commented as he, Spencer and Tala sat across from Kai. Bryan looked at Kai and could just feel the waves of anger coming from the Iceman, an unusual occurrence for sure. “So what has your panties in a twist?”

“You can fuck off, too, Bryan,” Kai snarled as he kept his eyes on the door. “In fact, why don’t the two of you go away and fuck yourselves silly and stay away from me.”

“Now you know that’s just not nice, Kai,” Spencer grunted out as he looked at Kai with a frown. He nudged Tala who was watching the door along with Kai. “So what’s going on? What’s up with Kai and his shitty mood? And you?”

Ignoring Spencer, Tala looked at Kai. “What are you going to do? We still have to practice going against Garland and Crusher.”

Kai lifted his head to look at him. “I’ll practice later, now fuck off.” His eyes narrowed as Tala was about to protest. “Fuck off or else I’ll take your head off.”

Shaking his head, Tala finally stood. “Fine, but if we lose this because of your shit-”

“We won’t lose,” Kai interrupted as he glared at Tala. “And you had better fuck off now before I remember why I’m in such a shitty mood. Now.”

The two looked at each other fiercely, neither looking away. Bryan and Spencer looked at each other uneasily before clearing his throat. “Don’t you think that the two of you are too old for this staring contest?”

“Fine then. We’re leaving,” Tala said shortly. He gave a quick nod to Spencer and Bryan. “Let’s go practice.”

As they left the table, Spencer ventured to ask, “So you want to tell us what’s going on, Tala?”

“Fuck off,” Tala snarled as he stomped out of the dining room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Entering her room, Hilary sighed as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead. “Leave it to Granddad to make a hard workout.”

As she came into the room, she noticed the black tee that lay on her bed then quickly turned her head away. She was determined to not look at the black tee on her bed, reminding her of Kai. What she was determined to grab was a shower and then something to eat. As she started to strip off her sweat drenched clothes, she turned on the TV for some background noise.

“And in late breaking sports news: The world of Beyblade was shocked at the brawl that had broken out during the press conference yesterday that resulted in the hospitalization of several reporters and the destruction of property. Here’s Sam for some news. So is it true that Tyson and Daichi of the BBA Revolution attacked Rei and Lee of White Tiger X?”

Shocked, Hilary sat on her bed as she stared at the TV and the footage of Tyson and Daichi attacking Lee and Rei respectively. And then the all of the competing teams getting into to the brawl, either trying to stop it or went in swinging. “Oh my God.”

“Yes, it is true. However as to why the brawl had happened is still unknown. There is speculation that it was either because of some trash talk that Tyson and Daichi had taken offense to or because they were hungry because as you can see, Daichi had been trying to bite Rei of White Tiger X. We have received reports that Mr. Dickenson will be releasing a statement in just a couple of hours before any of the matches start. And let me tell you, things have been tense amongst the competing teams that were involved in the brawl. There has been speculations that either one of the teams or both will be disqualified for the brawl at the worst. We’ll be waiting here for the announcement. Now back to you, Sarah.”

“Disqualified?” Hilary screamed as she stared at the TV. Fury filled her as the weatherman cheerfully came on to report the air currents. “DISQUALIFIED?”

“Oh my heavens! Oh my God!” Hilary shouted as she ran into the bathroom. “I am so going to KILL Tyson and Daichi!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kai was furious as he stomped into the conference room. He had waited for her to show up in the dining room, but she never appeared. Concerned, he went to her room and pounded on the door, but there was no answer. Then he did something that he hadn’t done for sometime, he picked the lock. And found the room empty.

“She had better not be avoiding me,” Kai muttered furiously as he glared at some approaching reporters. He ignored them as he stood against the wall, near his team.

Hearing a noise, Tala lifted his head to give Kai a sharp nod. Bryan and Spencer looked at Kai and did the same. “Well, finally tired of the dining room?” At Kai’s narrowed eyes, Tala rolled his own. “I know, shut the fuck up.”

“Then do it,” Kai said mildly then pointedly looked away.

“Aw, is Kai in a bad mood?” asked a tittering a sing-song voice. Kai closed his eyes and wished that he was someplace else as Ming-Ming, Garland, Crusher and Monica approached. “Looks like Hilary didn’t take good care of you as people thought she would.”

“Not again,” Garland muttered as he looked at Ming-Ming. He exchanged glances with Crusher and determinedly tried to change the subject. “Feeling any better for our match, Kai?”

At the sound of Ming-Ming’s voice, Bryan rolled his eyes. “Oh, joy. Ming-Ming is here.”

Kai’s jaw clenched as he pointedly ignored her. “I’m fine for our match, Garland.”

Ming-Ming’s eyes narrowed as Kai ignored her, so she tried again. “I don’t think he is, Garland. In fact, he looks a little pale to me, but that’s no surprise. After all, who would want Hellfire Hilary as their nursemaid? She’s not exactly-”

“I know I wouldn’t mind Hilary as my nursemaid,” interrupted a voice from behind Ming-Ming. Everyone turned to see a boyishly handsome blonde-haired young man. He gave a winning smile as he looked at everyone.

Tala blinked as he saw the blonde. “Enrique! When did you get here?”

Kai clenched his teeth again, barely restraining the urge to deck the other boy. Not aware of the danger he was in, Enrique smiled a goofy smile as he imagined Hilary taking care of him. “Just now! Hilary as a nursemaid? She’d be great at it! She’d look real cute in a nursemaid’s uniform. Plus she has nice soft hands and she smells real nice-”

“Oh, don’t start fantasizing about Hilary again, Enrique. Robert will slap you and your blade into next week,” admonished Johnny as he came from behind him, followed by Robert and Oliver.

‘Not to mention what Kai would do to you’ thought Tala as he gave a side glance at Kai. “Since when did you guys get here?”

“Enrique and I came this morning,” Oliver said as he nodded to the other bladers. He gave a scathing look at Enrique. “We could have come by noon but Enrique wanted to make sure that Hilary was all right after hearing about the brawl and hearing that she was watching over Kai.”

“Which she wouldn’t have had to done alone, I might add if I were there with her,” Enrique declared as he looked at Kai. “I trust that you were at least civil to my Hilary. Ow!”

Enrique scowled as he glared up at Robert who was looking quite displeased. “Stop your idiocy at this moment before I do something violent. And while you’re at it, stop claiming Hilary as if she were a piece of property.”

Tala cleared his throat before Kai could go for the throat of the young blonde from Italy. “Any idea on what the old man will say about the fight?

“Not a clue as of yet,” Robert answered. He looked at Garland and Crusher. “What do you think Mr. Dickenson will say? Think there is any truth to the rumors of disqualification?”

Crusher shook his head. “Hope not. I really want to battle with Rei again- hey!”

“Hide me! Quick! Hide me!” Daichi panted as he darted behind Crusher. “Don’t let her know that I’m here!”

“Daichi! What’s wrong?” Monica asked as she looked at the younger boy in confusion.

Daichi dared to look up at Monica as he kept one eye on the door. “I heard from the kids outside that Hilary was on her way here! And I know that she’s going to get me to do things I don’t want to just because of yesterday!”

“Hilary’s on her way here?” Enrique asked enthusiastically as his eyes started to sparkle. He threaded his fingers through his hair. “How do I look?”

“Like a dork,” Kai sneered then blinked as Enrique gave him an even brighter smile.

“That means I look really good then,” Enrique said unfazed. He ignored the roll of Robert’s eyes as he looked around the room. “I wonder; where she is?”

Oliver shrugged as he scanned the room. “Well, if Daichi is here, then you know she’ll show up soon. And please restrain yourself when you see her, I have no desire to be your nursemaid again, especially after that last beating.”

“Hilary beat you up?” Daichi goggled as he looked at Enrique.

“Why am I not surprised?” Ming-Ming said sweetly. She gave Kai a side glance. “You sure that she didn’t knock you on the head either?”

“What did you do to Hilary?” Daichi demanded as he looked at Enrique suspiciously. “You must have done something really bad to have ticked her off like that.”

“Something that no gentleman should have done,” Johnny muttered as he scowled at Enrique.

Kai narrowed his eyes as he looked at Enrique. “That bad? So tell us- why did Hilary have to put you down?”

Sheepishly, Enrique rubbed his head. “Well, truth be told, it really wasn’t Hilary that put me down. She only slapped me. Robert was the one that beat the crap out of me.”

“You deserved it,” Robert said mildly as he looked down at Enrique. He lifted an imperious eyebrow at him. “Remember- those hands wander and you’ll be blading with one arm.”

“I get it! I get it!” Enrique grinned as he brought his hands up. “No wandering hands!”

Satisfied that his threat got through, Robert straightened as he saw Tyson and his brother. “Hello, Tyson, Hiro. Where-”

“Where’s Hilary?” Enrique demanded eagerly as he looked over Tyson’s shoulder. “She’s coming, right?”

“Down boy,” Hiro muttered as he looked at the younger boy. He put his hand on Tyson’s shoulder to retrain him. “Hilary’s coming in with Kenny and Grandpa. Daichi- your hiding behind Crusher isn’t going to protect you. You might as well take it like a man.”

Daichi came out and sulked. “But didn’t we take it like men last night?”

“From what I heard, you and Tyson both ran after twenty push-ups,” Robert said mildly. “Then you barged into Kai’s room and demolished Hilary’s dinner after you discovered Tyson eating it. Is that the actions of a man?”

“More like the actions of a baby monkey,” Spencer said as he shook his head.

“Well, we were hungry!” Tyson said as he defended himself. “Besides, no harm, no foul; she wasn’t there! And I couldn’t let good food like that go to waste!”

“Oh, boy this is sounding serious,” Tala said as he shook his head. He looked at Johnny. “We’d better stop this before it escalates.”

Enrique immediately scowled at Robert. “You were planning a romantic dinner with my Hilary and you ate her duck?”

Robert slapped Enrique upside his head. “Don’t be stupid. Why would I plan a romantic encounter with Hilary in Kai’s room?”

“And who would plan a romantic dinner with duck?” Oliver asked as he mused about it. “Ow!”

“Would please stop thinking about food and help me stop this brewing fight,” Johnny gritted out as he glared at Oliver.

“Why would you plan a romantic encounter with her at all?” Ming-Ming interjected sweetly as she looked at Robert.

Annoyed to no end at her little snide remarks about Hilary, Robert snapped. “Even a hot dog in the street with her is better than a five star meal in the finest restaurant with you.” He turned to face Tyson. “You know that duck wasn’t for you. It was specially made. And how do you know that she wasn’t hungry? Did you even ask her? Did you even save a wing for her? No you ate the entire thing!”

“Robert, I don’t think the duck matters now,” Johnny ventured to say, but Robert ignored him.

“And who says that she was hungry?” Tyson growled back as he glared at Robert. “Did YOU even ask her? Did you go to her room?”

“Down, Tyson, and you too Robert,” Hiro ordered as he put his hands on their shoulders. “This conversation is bordering on stupid.”

“You know, if there’s going to be another fight, I’m going to be leaving,” Max announced as he looked at Tyson and Robert glaring at each other. “I don’t need another black eye.”

“Can’t you stay out of trouble yet?” Rick demanded as crossed his arms. He shook his head. “And at another press conference again. Jeez, you sure have timing, Tyson.”

“This had better not be another fight,” announced a voice from behind Rick. Everyone turned to see Hilary walking towards them, followed by Grandpa and Kenny. Tyson winced as she was looking furiously at him. “Because if it is, there’s going to be some serious trouble.”

“Hilary!” Daichi screamed as he hid behind Crusher.

“Hilary, my love!” Enrique shouted delightfully as he ran towards her full speed and with open arms. “I’m back! Give me a hug! Let’s go out on a date!”

“Oh no,” muttered Johnny as he covered his eyes. “There he goes-”

Kai’s eyes narrowed and was about to stop the Italian would-be lover-boy when Hilary, without breaking her stride, gracefully pivoted away from his outstretched arms at the last second, allowing him to tackle Grandpa. He let out a snort of laughter at the sprawled figures of Grandpa and Enrique.

“And there he went,” Oliver finished as he shook his head. He looked at Robert. “Don’t you think that you should have a word with him? To make him less lovesick?”

“It didn’t work,” Robert scowled as he saw Enrique try to scramble to his feet. “He’s not afraid of me anymore. Hilary has a lot of patience.”

“Not bad,” Garland commented as he watched Hilary pivot away from Enrique. “She has form and speed. I wonder what else.”

“A strong one-two punch and kick,” Tala answered absently as he rubbed his side. Startled, Garland stared at him before studying Hilary more closely.

“Dude! I don’t want a hug from you!” Grandpa roared the moment he was helped up by Kenny, Max, Oliver and Johnny. The moment he was steady, Grandpa smacked Enrique’s head.

“Ow!” Enrique winced as he grabbed his head. He looked at Hilary with watery eyes. “Hilary, my love, that was mean!”

“Stop trying to tackle me! And for the umpteenth time, I am not your love!” Hilary shot back. She turned to look at Daichi and Tyson then at Hiro. “I haven’t seen White Tiger X yet, but I’m sure that they’ll be here shortly. I need to see Tyson and Daichi later but first I want to know what started this fiasco as soon as this press conference is over.”

“I saw Rei and the others come in through the other doors, they were having some trouble with the reporters like we did,” Hiro nodded. “We’ll have a team meeting as soon as this is over. Look Mr. D is getting at the podium now.”

Enrique immediately straightened and stood next to Hilary. At her puzzled look, he struck a pose then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and grinned, “I’ll be with you in your time of need, Hilary. You can lean on my shoulders should you need to cry.”

Hilary looked at his hand on her shoulder then she smiled sweetly at him as she grabbed a pinky and pulled it back until he was on his knees in pain. Then she calmly walked towards Grandpa and stood next to him.

Garland lifted an eyebrow at the short and effective defense tactic. Crusher smiled at her actions as Rick laughed outright. “Man, for a little thing, she is feisty.”

“And she can take care of herself,” Johnny said with a grudging admiration.

“This should be good,” Garland muttered as he crossed his arms. He stood next to Kai against the wall, where he had a good view of Hilary and Mr. Dickenson.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mr. Stanley Dickenson stood and looked at the eyes of the young bladers and cleared his throat. “Yesterday, the unfortunate incident between the bladers and the press has brought shame to the sport of beyblading. Since this has never happened before, we were quite unsure of what to do. And after much deliberation we have finally reached a decision. If there are any more instances of fights or brawls like there was last night, all members participating in the unseemly action will be automatically disqualified. It will not matter if the members are trying to stop the fight or not, the result will be automatic disqualification.”

A low murmur was heard through the room. Mr. Dickenson cleared his throat again. “Will the all the members of BBA Revolution and White Tiger X please come forth?”

As the members of both teams stood in front of him, he cleared his throat again. “After much deliberation, we have decided that you boys should be dealt with on a separate basis as well as a joint one. Both teams shall write a letters of apology to the people that were hurt because of your actions and will repay the damages with your earnings.”

“The team of White Tiger X, since you were the ones that were instigated upon and were only defending yourselves from the BBA Revolution, it was decided that only one winning game shall not count for the quarter-final rounds.”

Mariah gripped Rei’s hand as Rei winced as did the rapid calculation in his head. “Nuts.”

“Oh damn,” Lee muttered as he buried his face in his hand.

“Hey, Tyson, what does that mean? Tyson?” Daichi asked puzzled at the way Mr. Dickenson was speaking.

“Later, Daichi,” Hilary hissed as she looked worriedly at Hiro and Kenny who were both sweating bricks. “This is so not good.”

“The BBA Revolution, since you were clearly the instigators of the brawl, this was a hard decision to make. There are several members of the committee who felt that you should be disqualified for what you have done-”

“What? No way!” Tyson gasped as he looked at the committee members unsympathetic faces.

“Tyson! Be quiet!” Kenny shouted as he held back Tyson. “Don’t make this worse!”

“You can’t do that!” Daichi hollered as he glared at the stage.

“Daichi! Zip the lip!” Hilary ordered as she put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture that could be seen as either giving him her support or as a restraint from his attacking the people on stage. She squeezed his shoulder. Hard. “Mr. Dickenson’s not done yet.”

“Yes, we can, Daichi,” Mr. Dickenson said firmly as he looked sorrowfully at Daichi. “You boys have to understand the damage you have done. You have caused several reporters to go into the hospital and caused hundreds of dollars in damages because of your actions. Not to mention you caused several of your fellow bladers to be hurt. We can only be thankful that no one was very seriously hurt. But this has caused some concern since it was the first time an incident like this has ever occurred.”

“But as you said, no one was seriously hurt,” Hiro said as he stepped up. “And this was the first incident that has ever occurred.”

Mr. Dickenson nodded. “And that was the only thing that saved them. It was decided that the BBA Revolution would have two of their winnings not count for the quarter-final rounds. Therefore, the games will be set again for tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock. Both White Tiger X and the BBA Revolution must show up or forfeit their places. That will be all.”


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the press shouted at Mr. Dickenson, the beybladers made a quick escape to the side room before they could set their sights on the young players. As they took a seat at the communal table, gloom settled in as they thought about the announcements. Without anything to say, they all looked at each other and their eyes fell to the table.

“Well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Hilary ventured to say as she looked at Hiro who had a serious expression in his face.

Hiro nodded as he crossed his arms. “Yeah, we could have been disqualified.”

The door slammed open and in came rushing White Tiger X. Gary, Kevin, Mariah, Rei and Lee gasped as they leaned against the door.

“We made it!” Mariah gasped as she fell to the floor. She lifted her head and smiled weakly at them. She shakily got up and sat on a chair. “Hey guys! Fancy seeing you here!”

“What took you so long?” Hilary grinned as Hiro got off his seat and let Mariah have his seat next to her. “We were wondering what took you so long”.

“Yeah, were you guys out on a stroll?” Tyson gasped as he shot Rei a grin.

“Nah, we’re just wandering around,” Rei gasped as he grinned back. “You know, smelling the flowers, the air, and the usual stuff.”

“Not to mention the scent of hungry reporters,” Lee groused. The door slammed open again and soon some other bladers poured in.

“Man, what a mad house,” Rick groused as he shook out the kinks in his shoulders. He looked at max and nodded when the younger boy waved away his look of concern. “Those wolves make me sick.”

“Yeah, seems like they liked the smell of blood,” Spencer agreed as he worked his shoulders as well. He looked around, noted the bladers and frowned. He looked at Bryan and Tala. “Where’s Kai? I thought he was behind us.”

Startled, Tala looked around then shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’ll be walking in any minute now.”

Bryan snorted. “Yeah, the Iceman will come in walking through that door like there was nothing bothering him at all.” He puffed his chest out like Kai’s. “All because he is-”

“Kai,” Max and Tala in unison as they knelt by his feet like worshippers. “The all mighty Kai!”

“You should bow and scrape a little more,” drawled a cool voice. He lifted an eyebrow in amusement as he saw the red faces of Max and Tala. “You boys really don’t have to get up. You looked real good at worshipping me at my feet.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Tala muttered as he got up. He ignored Kai’s amused face until he spied a way to wipe the smirk off of Kai’s. “Oh, good. Entertainment.” He sneaked a look at Kai. “Enrique’s at it again.”

Kai narrowed his eyes as he saw the young blonde make his way towards Hilary at full speed.

“Why did *we* have to run?” Ming-Ming demanded as she looked at Garland. “I could have handled the press.”

“Because I’m the team leader and I said so,” Garland snapped as looked at her. He looked over at Crusher and Monica who was tucked under Oliver’s and Robert’s arms. “You two all right?”

“We’re good,” Monica nodded then she smiled shyly at Oliver. “Thank you for your help. I don’t know how I tripped.”

“My duty as a gentleman,” Oliver smiled back at her. “I’m glad that you’re all right.”

“My thanks for helping my sister,” Crusher said gruffly to the two that helped his sister. His heart nearly stopped when he realized she wasn’t behind them but on the ground. He was about to run back for her when he saw the Majestics right behind, and without breaking stride, Oliver and Robert picked her up.

“How is your ankle?” Robert asked as he looked over her, concerned. “Is it twisted?”

Monica experimentally tried to rotate her ankle. “I’m not sure- Ow!”

“Hilary, my love! Are you all right?” Enrique demanded as he grabbed her hands and brought them to his chest. “If you’re hurt allow me to-”

“Don’t even finish that,” Hilary said as she tried to pull her hands away. “Will you please let go of my hands?”

“Yo, dude! Why do you always glom yourself to Hilary, man?” Tyson scowled as he tried to pull Enrique away fro Hilary.

“Let her go!” Mariah started to try and peel Enrique’s fingers apart, but he had an amazingly strong grip on her friend’s hands. “What are you, an octopus?”

“What is with that guy?” Garland asked aloud as he stared at Enrique hitting on Hilary again. He looked at Johnny who was shaking his head in disgust.

“He simply adores Hilary because of some stupid reason,” Johnny snorted. “And then he acts stupid. He refuses to believe that she’s really not interested. Here now, Kai’s getting involved.”

“I want my hands back and if you don’t do it now, I’m going to flip you over my shoulder, Enrique,” Hilary glared as she started pulling her hands harder. She stopped and paled when she saw Kai coming towards her. “Kai!”

“Kai! Help me!” Tyson said as he managed to free one of Hilary’s hands from Enrique.

Kai reached over and started to lift Enrique off the floor by his collar. “Let her go, now.”

“Okay,” Enrique choked out as he let go of Hilary’s hands. “If you insist.”

“I do,” Kai said shortly. He looked down at Hilary who refused to look up at him and instead concentrated on rubbing her hands. He needed to talk to her. He needed to kiss her until she was senseless. He needed to get her alone. “Are you all right?”

“Thanks Kai! You are like a knight in shining armor!” Mariah smiled enthusiastically. She looked at her friend and saw her look at her hands studiously. “Isn’t that right, Hilary? You should thank him for coming to your rescue.”

“Yes, thank you, Kai,” Hilary said as she avoided looking at Kai. She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to. Not yet. “I-”

“Hilary! Can you take a look at Monica’s ankle?” Robert called out.

“Coming,” Hilary said as she hastily got up and grabbed the medicine kit and sped towards Robert, ignoring Mariah’s speculative look as she gave Kai a wide berth. She kneeled in front of Monica. “Here, let me see, okay?”

As Monica nodded, Hilary let out a small sigh of relief; for both Monica and the fact that she was given a chance to get away from Ka. She checked Monica’s ankle gingerly. “I think it’s just slightly sprained. We can wrap this up.”

“Ah! Quiet! I want to know something!” Daichi shouted. He looked at Hiro and Tyson and demanded, “Hey, what does that mean? Tyson? What does he mean by taking away two of our last winnings? And why the hell is everyone in the same room?”

“Because it was the closest room that we could find,” Lee said as he looked at Daichi.

“It means that we have two back-to-back matches to play if we want to keep our place in the quarter final rounds,” Kenny groaned as he shook his head. “That means we have to go against the Sanchero Brothers and Team Safari again.”

“But we won those matches,” Daichi shouted as he stared at Kenny. “Are you telling me that they don’t count?”

“For all intents and purposes, they don’t,” Kenny said unhappily. He looked at Hilary and frowned. “I guess we should start practicing now-”

“I’ll start making some calls after I start booking places for practice. And I can get the tapes of the previous matches that the teams were in,” Hilary nodded as she stood up. She had just finished wrapping Monica’s ankle. “Then I’ll do some shopping for the supplies we need. Should I assume we’re doing an all day practice?”

“You can assume that,” Hiro said with a nod. “So be sure to get some extra sandwiches, we’re practicing through lunch.”

“I’ll need some more parts, so I’ll give you a list,” Kenny said as he started jotting down notes.

“I guess that we should do the same,” Rei sighed as he looked at his hands. “Mariah, can you-”

“No problem, Rei,” Mariah said cheerfully. “Should we go together, Hilary?”

“Sure why not?” Hilary said as she shrugged. Then her stomach rumbled loudly. She blushed as everyone stared at her. “Sorry, I skipped breakfast and didn’t eat anything substantial last night.”

“My love, are you hungry?” Enrique gasped as he looked at her.

“No, my stomach usually growls because I stand up,” Hilary snapped. “Of course I’m hungry. I just said that I didn’t eat any breakfast.”

“You- you didn’t eat last night?” Robert asked delicately. He kept his face on her rather than Tyson’s. “Nothing? Why?”

‘I am so not about to say that it was because I was having sex with Kai’ thought Hilary as she shook her head and smiled sheepishly, “Well, it was- I mean, I was more tired than hungry so I really didn’t eat.”

“Tired from watching over a sick person?” Robert asked with a scowl as he glared at Kai who was looking at him blandly.

“She was tired from other things,” Kai said as he crossed his arms. He ignored Tala’s snorting cough and took a step towards Hilary. “Since she’s hungry, I’ll take her-”

“Guys, I’m fine. I’ll just grab a bite to eat while shopping,” Hilary said as she took a step away from Kai. “Really- I’m fine.”

“Not if you’re stomach’s growling that much,” Daichi said as he looked at her. “I have never heard your stomach growl like that- you must have eaten almost next to nothing yesterday!”

“It really was a busy day with the matches and was tired,” Hilary defended. Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at Tyson and Daichi who started to hide behind their friends. “So I went to bed early then I heard the newscast this morning about how a brawl broke out during a press conference and had to skip breakfast. Speaking of which-”

“Speaking of nothing, you will eat,” Robert scowled as he grabbed her hand and started to pull her out the door. He stopped to face Hiro. “I will take her to brunch and then-”

“Come Hilary!” Enrique said as he grabbed her hand from Robert’s and rushed her out the door. “For our date, I will feet you the most succulent strawberries and foodstuff that you have ever known for your breakfast. You do like strawberries, do you not?”

“I’ll stop him before she hurts him,” Johnny said with a sigh as he walked out the door.

Robert looked at Hiro and Kenny. “Hilary will be back within two hours and with your supplies. Oliver, come.”

“And on that note, I think we should get ready for our matches,” Max announced as he looked at Rick. “We should be up soon- See you guys later!”

“I think I’ll get something to drink and maybe a bite. Anyone else wanna come?” Lee asked as he looked at the remaining bladers. “Gary? Kevin? Rei?”

“If there’s food, I get some too!” Gary exclaimed as he rushed towards the door with Kevin in tow. Mariah giggled as she looked at Rei, sharing a mutual amusement.

“Wait for me! I’m coming if there’s food!” Daichi hollered as he ran out after them.

As Robert and Oliver left, Kai gritted his teeth. There was no doubt about it, Hilary was avoiding him. He looked at Tala as he whistled lowly. “What?”

“My, look at all the boys interested in her,” Tala commented. “So what are you going to do?”

Kai gave him a look that cold refreeze the polar cap. “I’m going to beat the crap out of you during practice.” He scowled as he looked at the door. ‘And then I’ll corner her.’

As he started to leave, he heard Kenny say. “And as for Robert- he’s got a seal of approval.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I think that I’ll go after her,” Tyson said as he started towards the door then let out a choked sound as his collar snagged on something. Looking up, he saw an annoyed look on Hiro’s face. “What? I was just-”

“Trying to escape from practicing for your matches? Or for making more trouble for Hilary?” Hiro asked mildly. “After the last time you were so concerned about her, I think you should stay away from her. Besides, Robert’s a perfect gentleman towards her. Plus, she’s a big girl and can take care of herself.”

“I still don’t get it,” said Garland as he shook his head the Majestics left with Hilary. He looked at Tyson confused. “Sure she’s pretty, but why the hell is Enrique so ga-ga over her and Robert so concerned about her?

Tyson gave Garland a surly look. “How the hell should I know? Maybe it’s because Robert has weird tastes-”

“Tyson, that was mean to say!” Mariah scowled as she glared at him. “You know that you’re turning out to be a real ass! You know perfectly well why Robert looks after Hilary and why Enrique is so crazy about her!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tyson groused as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Garland lifted his eyebrow and looked at Tyson and asked, “You did something? What did you do, Tyson?”

Grimacing, Rei shook his head. “Nothing too bad- just a while back, Michael, Tyson and Enrique got into an argument- who could get a date the fastest. And to make it fair, they had to pick the other’s date. Tyson picked Hilary as Enrique’s.”

“That wasn’t nice at all,” Monica declared with a scowl. “How could you do that to Hilary!”

“She wasn’t supposed to go out with him,” Tyson groused as he scratched his head. “I thought I had it all in the bag- she didn’t know him and she never dated.”

“I remember that bet- You’re just lucky that she had a sense of humor and that she didn’t take you apart,” Bryan snorted as he looked at Tyson. Spencer nodded his head in agreement.

“I still don’t know how she found out about it,” Tyson said as he shook his head.

“She heard about the bet from Emily complaining to Judy. She didn’t know which girl it was that you had bet upon or who Enrique was until Robert innocently pointed him out to her,” Mariah said as she looked at her nails. “And when Robert realized what you dummies were doing, he hit the roof. From what Hilary told me, he was about to tell Hilary about it, but she already knew. So she calmed him down and she was a good sport about it- Especially since it made the three of you have egg on your faces. Like you all so deserved!”

Garland shook his head. “But that doesn’t explain why Enrique is so ga-ga or Robert.”

“Who knows about Enrique?” Hiro shrugged. Then he looked over at Kenny who was making a list. “How is it going there, Kenny?”

“I think I need some more parts,” Kenny said as he looked over his list. “And as for Robert- he’s got a seal of approval.”

“What do you mean a ‘seal of approval’?” Kai asked as he looked at Kenny. He didn’t like the sound of this.

Not paying attention, Kenny wrote some more stuff down on his list. “Oh, it’s just that this past summer, when Hilary saw her grandmother, she saw Robert and his grandmother, seems that their grandmothers were friends back in the day. And Robert knows her cousins and they seem to think he’s a great guy, so they all kinda want him to date her.”

“Is that a fact? Well, that certainly clears up the air,” Ming-Ming shrugged. “Least we know why he was so willing to argue with Tyson over feeding Hilary. He’s taking the date to her instead of taking her out on a date. He probably does not want to be seen with her.”

“I doubt it, Ming-Ming,” Mariah said sweetly as she watched Kai from the corner of her eyes. He seemed to be a bit interested in the news that Robert apparently had a seal of approval. “Robert’s considerate of her- he knows what she likes and dislikes. And she dislikes photographers when she’s eating- so he either cooks for her or brings her things she’ll eat. He’s very sweet like that. Isn’t he, Rei?”

“He’s sweet all right, like a barracuda,” Rei said as he thought about it. “But then I have never seen Robert get so angry to take to Hilary as fast as he did- what do you think Kai?”

“I think that I have better things to do than gossip about Hilary’s love life,” Kai said flatly as he strode out the door. He looked at his team. “Let’s start practicing. Now.”

As Kai and the Blitzkreig Boys left, Garland shook his head. “I wonder what got his panties in a twist all of a sudden.”

Tyson shrugged. “You know Kai- if it’s not about beyblade or battles it’s not worth knowing. He hates nonsense of any kind.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Let go of my hand! I can get a sandwich while shopping for supplies!” Hilary growled as she dug her feet into the carpet. “This is not a date! And if you don’t let my hand go-”

“But it is brunch!” Enrique said happily as he pulled her. “And I will take the best of care of you, my sweet! Ow! Johnny!”

“If she doesn’t want to eat with you, she doesn’t want to eat with you,” Johnny scowled as he looked at Hilary. “You hungry? Then go get some food. Is it true that you beat Robert a couple of times in chess?”

“I was trying to get some food before he grabbed my hand.” Hilary snapped as she narrowed her eyes at him. “And yes, I beat Robert. What does that have to do with-”

“Absolutely nothing, he just can’t believe we play. Anyway, let us go and we will feed you,” Robert said as he came up from behind her, took her hand and tucked it under his arm and started walking. “And while doing that, perhaps you can teach Johnny how to play a decent game. By the way, when are Dante and the others coming?”

“We’ll all be meeting up later in the month,” Hilary said as she grasped his arm. “We’re not eating where’s there’s going to be reporters, are we?”

“I hope not,” Oliver said as he looked at her. “If I can’t have a peaceful quiche and croissant, then I swear that I will get violent. Who is Dante?”

“One of several cousins,” Hilary said as she smiled at him. She slid a glance at Johnny. “He’s the one that taught me to play chess.”

“Oliver, move over! You have no right to be so close to her like that,” Enrique said as he wedged himself between Hilary and Oliver. He smiled brightly at Hilary. “Now we can sit and eat together, Hilary.”

“Don’t you have other girls to chase?” Hilary asked exasperated. “Can’t you tell that I’m not interested, Enrique? Why don’t you go after that girl who was chasing you yesterday- Andromeda from Team Gladiator- she’s pretty cute.”

“I only have eyes for you,” Enrique said as he looked at her and drew closer to her. “And don’t worry, I will win you over, Hilary, my love.”

“Oh, be still my heart,” Hilary muttered as she rolled her eyes. ‘This is really starting out to be a great day. Go blank Hilary- just go blank. Don’t think about Kai. Don’t think that you might be pregnant. Don’t think of anything. Just don’t think.’

“My, it’s turning out to be lovely day,” Robert commented as they stepped outside. “Baring the fact that we were just threatened to behave by Mr. Dickenson, Tyson has a couple of extra games to play and you have a full schedule ahead of you, it really is a lovely day.”

‘And the fact that I might be pregnant and the fact that I’m avoiding Kai at the risk of my life and the fact that I might go nuts with worry of what he’ll do because I’m avoiding him, it really is a lovely day’ thought Hilary. She gave a small smile and only sighed, “If you say so, Robert. I just can’t wait to see how the rest of the day goes- it can’t get any worse.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

TBC…

A/N: And thank you everyone for those nice reviews! I\'m working on the next chapter right now!