Chapter 11

[Chapter 11 SPECIAL: Dreams To Reality Part 3]

"Okay, so you're telling me all of this but you weren't there to see it," Seita questioned. The house was silent except for the occasional sounds that managed to come in through the closed windows, the world outside slowly stopping its pace as night came closer. "How do you know it was exactly what happened?"

With a smile, Kenny replied, "I'm getting there, don't worry."

When she felt someone sitting beside her, Hilary lifted her head and looked at the person who had taken a seat. Through the leftover tears in her eyes their face was blurry, but when she wiped them softly she could make out a known face which lessened her worries: Kai. He was silent as he gave a tiny smile and put one leg on top of the other, one hand holding onto his ankle.

"You came back," she said halfheartedly, returning the smile despite it only coming like a soft movement on the corners of her mouth. "How was Russia this time?"

"Nothing new really," he muttered as he fixed his jacket. "It's the same as always, with just a little bit more of intolerance each year sprinkled around. The usual – which is definitely not to what I'm used to here. Whenever I come back there's some kind of big news, and I see this year wasn't going to be different. You're out here all alone when you're supposed to be with your friends having a good time." He paused and carefully looked at her, nothing but sadness reflected in her eyes. "You know that being a lone wolf is my shtick, don't steal it from me."

His little joke seemed to work on her as a little chuckle escaped her lips, but nothing more came from her as she put her feet back on the floor, staring attentively at the snow piling around them. She put her ideas back in place before saying, "I wish things were different though, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"With Tyson," she explained, her voice seemingly threatening to break at any moment. "I would just like him to be more… open with me, if anything. But of course not, I have to be the last one to find out about anything that goes on in his life." The sudden outburst of emotion took Kai by surprise, but he wanted her to just get everything out of her system before letting it simmer and bottle up. "I'm just tired, tired of running after him and begging for attention like a needy child – it's a bit degrading at times. I shouldn't have to do that; I don't want it." She closed her eyes for a moment and bit her lower lip. "If he wishes to stick to beyblading, that's completely fine by me. But he can disappear and take those damn things as far as possible from me."

Her hands were placed on her thighs and he could see them slightly shaking in their mittens, and for a moment the idea of holding her hands for comfort crossed his mind. He didn't exactly know what to say or what to do at that moment, so he just waited.

"I'm never going to be above beyblades for him, I just know it."

And that sentence was what finally prompted him to break his silence. "He's a very lucky guy," he started. "Not many people would stick with someone like him; it's sad he doesn't notice how lucky he is for having you." Her gaze fixed on his, she could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks when he never even blinked as he spoke. "I mean, at least I know I would be thankful."

There was a shimmer in her eyes and even a little hope in her heart, hope that she wasn't the one wrong in that situation. "Do you really mean that?"

Kai cleared his throat and nodded before saying, "I never really gave it much thought, but under other circumstances I would've definitely given you a second look. The vibes between you two had always been an obstacle, though there was always the fact that beyblading was even a thing – I did choose to focus on fighting Tyson on the first place." A smile on his lips, he scooted just a bit closer to her, gray eyes locked on brown ones. "You did the good thing by leaving him, and I'm saying this even with him being one of my best friends. I guess he has to learn one way or the other that he should've cared more about you and your relationship. You shouldn't feel this much pain when he's just going to leave soon; you've been the support of the team all along, it's just unfair that you're alone now."

Hilary noticed how he seemed to be leaning forward but at that point she couldn't truly think straight, her anger and disappointment taking control of her heart as his words sunk in.

"Wait," Seita interrupted Kenny once more with one eyebrow raised. "Did he… did he talk his way with her? Was he just telling her what she needed to hear in that specific moment?"

With a nervous laugh, Kenny answered, "Why yes, that's, uh, pretty much what happened. You could say he acted a bit like a Casanova or a 'Mr. Steal Your Girl', as some of you would call it."

At first, the boy had thought that Kai could've been so much better to Hilary than Tyson, but hearing all about how he had started to manipulate her left a bad taste in his mouth. Quietly, he took another sip of water as the man continued with the flashback.

"You've been nothing but supportive to him," Kai continued without a hint of hesitation in his voice. "You've given him all you could, but he never learned how to appreciate you. Maybe it's finally the right time for you to put your own well-being first and do what's best. Seeing you all alone… it's like the finest wine going to waste." To those words she froze in place, unable to tell where the conversation would go next. Under his stare, she felt somewhat small. "You know, I don't always show my emotions but when I do, it goes a little something like this…"

The gray-haired teen then inched even closer to her, not looking away from her eyes not even for a second. "Uh, Kai?" she asked with a whisper, unsure if that was the direction she wanted things to go in. Hilary stood up and he followed, and before she knew it he reached out his hand to cup her cheek. The edge of his thumbnail was pressed against the soft skin of her cheek, though to her it felt like a bad omen.

"I just hope this helps you a bit, if at least just to get you through tonight," and with that his right arm wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer until their lips met in a hard kiss. Shocked and unable to close her eyes thanks to the shock, all she could do was put her hands on his chest, trying to pull back as he opened his way into her mouth. Stop, she wanted to say – to scream, but the way he held onto her face was tight enough to keep her in place.

He didn't taste bad, she thought, maybe even good; but he wasn't the one she wanted. She managed to let out a weak "Stop" against the kiss, into Kai's mouth but it went by completely ignored, and Tyson's image crossed her mind briefly. She could hear him calling out to her, calling out to Kai…

Calling out to Kai?

Hilary finally managed to gather enough strength to at least pull away from the kiss, and as she turned to the side she could see her boyfriend's angry expression as he walked up to them.

"Kai…" he started saying; she noted the way his gaze was fixed on her waist and how their friend was grabbing her, and soon anger dissipated only for absolute rage to take over. "Kai!" This time the name came out as a shout that startled both teens, and soon Tyson charged forward to the one he'd seen as a best friend until most likely just a minute prior. With no time to avoid the hit, Kai only managed to push Hilary away from him.

Tyson swung a fist to his face, the knuckles colliding straight with his right eye and making him lose balance. She could only look at them in horror, taking a few steps back while wondering what she should do. A few people who were nearby brought out their phones to record the fight that'd later circulate. Both guys fell backwards, with Tyson on top. "Tyson, stop!" Hilary screamed, taking a step forward to grab his arm and stop him from doing anything he could regret in the morning.

But then, in a fit of blind anger, he jerked his arm away from her with such force it caused her to stumble back as he brought another fist down at Kai, this time hitting him square on the jaw. She watched as the two fought, Kai's right eye half-closed as his face hit the snow below him; he was struggling to be able to hit Tyson back yet he tried his best to land a kick on his back to no avail, the sheer force the black-haired young man was putting on him more than enough to keep him stuck beneath him.

He soon could free one of his hands which he used to land a weak punch to Tyson's shoulder, but as he covered his face to avoid another punch his friend only punched him harder on the stomach. A dry cough left his lips as he spit saliva all over the ground, the taste of blood already more prominent than before as he bit down on the inside of his cheeks. "T-Ty…" he tried to call out to him through his teeth but it only seemed to anger the other teen even more, who only let out a loud groan.

However, something seemed to shift in the volatile mind of the Granger teen. The fighting ceased, but the tension remained as Tyson's hands went to Kai's shirt's collar, grabbing it and bringing him up a bit. "What was that!?" he exclaimed, "What was that all about? Explain yourself!"

Unbeknownst to the couple, Kai's motives for his actions were nothing that would make them think better of him – lingering feelings that filled his heart and the constant sensation of loneliness she radiated that night. He wanted to see if his crush was truly that or just a fleeting moment. "Don't," she whispered again, but none of them heard her. As Kai didn't respond, Tyson punched him on the face again, his nose already bleeding and a bit crooked. "Stop! Don't hit him anymore!" she cried out, tears running down her face as desperation took hold of her. "Stop hurting Kai!"

And in that moment, Tyson turned to her with a shocked expression. "... What?" he muttered. If anything, she felt threatened by his icy stare. "Why are you…" his sentence was left floating as he closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Kai again and spitting down at him. He finally stood up only to make his way to her, disgust and hurt clear on his face. "Now I see what this is all about," he said as he faced her, his own eyes getting teary as well. "You had planned it all."

"What?" Hilary's chest felt tight and each heartbeat hurt, but the way he looked at her was just the icing on the cake. "What are you even talking about?"

"You were planning on leaving me so you could run to him."

The way he spoke so clearly as if he believed what he was saying was fact and not just his imagination confused her, but she knew him all too well by then. He clenched his fists to the side, knuckles tinted a vibrant red with a few blood drops still lingering on his skin. "N-no, Tyson, please; that's not what happened at all. It was just-"

"Just what?" he cut her off, crying. "Just a little peck? It looked more like none of you needed oxygen from what I could see!" She didn't dare to say anything as his words cut through her, breaking whatever emotional armor she could've had up to that point. "You know what?" he added, sighing and composing himself. "Just… spare the breath you've left. I'm sure he'll need it now."

Tyson turned around and started making his way towards the stairs that led to one of the park's entrances, but Hilary's instincts kicked in and she ran after him as fast as she could without tripping. "Tyson, wait!" she called out as she reached him, grabbing his sleeve before wrapping an arm around his waist. He could feel her body pulsing, much like he'd felt her entire being the night before. She was sure he could feel her shaking, but both their hearts were submerged in pain at that moment. What should I say? She thought, her mind betraying her at the worst possible moment. With her face buried on his back, she whispered a single, "Tyson…"

But nothing happened – he was a glacier and everything seemed to just slide off him. The memory of Kai's lips on hers was something she was sure both of them had in mind, but no amount of hugs or love would be able to delete that.

His mind wasn't any better than the mess she felt inside; his own voice resounded in his head, betraying his every move and moving him towards an irreplaceable anger that he knew could lead him to do something much, much worse. She ran off to him, he told himself to justify his actions. She broke up with me to replace me. Tyson clenched his eyes shut for a moment before grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from him, not even turning back to offer her one last glance.

Hilary was left to watch as he disappeared into the night with a quick pace, and she fell to her knees as the red jacket her ex-boyfriend wore faded among the crowd. She felt her throat dry and her face puffy, yet the tears appeared once again and she covered her eyes with her hands to try and make them stop at least for a while.

Behind her, Kai was finally getting up slowly, his whole body slightly numbed thanks to both the cold and Tyson's hits. Holding his nose with both hands, he put it back in place with one swift move as blood kept trickling down his chin and onto his shirt. He walked to her with heavy steps and tried to kneel beside her with one hand on her shoulder, to which she reacted with a loud, "Leave me alone!" she looked up at him and felt a tinge of guilt as she noticed all the different ways his face had been hurt in, and she knew he felt just the same. "I… I'm sorry," she added between sobs. "I've never seen you as anything other than an older brother of some sort." In her head, she remembered the time she first saw a photo of him and thought he was cute in the way she thought of Seita as cute – nothing more than fraternal love. "I did it because I was hurt," hiccups made their way out of her lips as she spoke softly. "I just left him because I couldn't stand him leaving anymore. I didn't mean it, and now I don't have him."

"I know you don't want to listen to this," Kai replied slowly. She could tell even speaking hurt him. "But it needed to happen eventually. Remember those times he chose tournaments over going out with you? Whenever he left you waiting for two hours because he had practice and just forgot? Or that one time you made him a calendar with a schedule and he only thanked you before never using it? I remember having to hear about it whenever we got to hang out." She turned to him while biting her lower lip, snow falling around them creating what could otherwise be considered a romantic situation. "I can't always be behind him asking him to treat you right. I'm no babysitter."

"Stop – you just don't want to see the truth," she said with a frown. "He has proven to me that I'm much more than just a girl to him. He's grown out of his childish ways by now."

Though she tried to sound sure about it, it felt more as if she were trying to convince herself of her own words. "Really? Because to me it just looks like a failure," he told with a hint of hatred in his voice. "I've seen many times when he hasn't treated you properly, yet you are too blind to see that you're wasting your tears on him. If it were me, those would be tears of joy – I wouldn't waste occasions like this."

"Stop, stop it" she repeated as she looked away, unable to continue looking at him without feeling disgusted. "How can you claim to know everything that has been going on between Tyson and I when you only come to Japan once every blue moon? How can you claim you'd treat me better when you're not even here? You don't know how close we were. Open your eyes, Kai – I'm not interested in you."

He stayed quiet for a moment before muttering, "I'd never leave you like he just did."

"He left because of you."

"He left because he couldn't cope with his own feelings!" he exclaimed, making her jump in both surprise and fear. "He may have been my best friend but I won't deny the fact that he just doesn't deserve someone like you, Hilary, and I can't just stay out of it when he's destroyed his opportunity. I could be so much better if you just gave me a chance to show you that – I'd even be willing to fight him for you. I've found myself wanting to compete for something else besides beyblade now." No reply came from her and he only sighed in response as he stood up, and before he made his way back home as well he turned to her and said, "Just think about it. You should be with me and see where things can go from there. I'll treat you better than he can."

She heard him walk away, but only glanced over her shoulder after a minute to see him disappear past a light post. Solitude took hold as she watched other people from afar, all sporting bright smiles and chatting happily with one another – she envied them. Then, steps were heard and she looked up with hope in her heart only to see a familiar face walking towards her.

"Aya?" she asked out loud as the girl reached her side. "What are you doing here? You should be with Kenny."

"I had to come with Tyson but he walked past me when he left," she explained as she wrapped one arm around Hilary's waist to help her stand up; it was only then that she felt just how stiff her legs had become. "Come on, I'll take you home before you get sick."

Thankfully, it was a short walk to her house, and although she told Aya to go back to the party and have fun the girl would have none of it, insisting on staying with her so she could have a shoulder to cry on if needed. However as soon as she entered the place, Hilary made a run to the bathroom, leaving Aya to sit on the couch and pull out her phone to call Kenny. "Hey love," she said as soon as he picked up, "we're back at her place. How are things over there?"

"Well, things are as good as they can be right now," he told her. "Tyson hasn't come back to the dojo though, so I guess he went straight back home. How is she?"

Aya looked up at the bathroom door and she could hear some light gagging noises, to which she sighed. "She's pretty shaken, she's in the bathroom now puking so I guess she just has to get everything out of her system. I'll tell you about it later though, just know that everything's fine now. I'll stay here to keep an eye on her."

Kenny laughed from the other side and added, "Sounds good to me. I'll save a piece of cake for you."

Before his girlfriend could reply the bathroom door opened and a pale Hilary walked out, dropping on the couch next to her friend and curling up with her knees to her chest. "Are you better now?" she asked, reaching out to grab her hand gently and giving it a light squeeze. "Do you need to let anything else out?"

For a moment, it looked like she was going to cry again, but her expression remained blank. "It was disgusting," Hilary said, her gaze fixed on the floor. "I don't even want to think about it. I felt… violated in a way, dirty. To think that Tyson saw the whole thing... had to see me like that, grabbed by Kai of all people. I wanted to reach out, to just claw his eyes out but I couldn't, my mind just turned off at that point. I don't even want to remember what it felt like."

"Babe, I'll go back to the party," Kenny said from the other side of the phone not wanting to hear any of that, and Aya jumped as she remembered she hadn't ended the call before. They said their goodbyes and each side went about their own life for the night.

It was well past midnight and the dojo was still alive even after the party had ended; the White Tigers were still awake as they played a simple Truth or Dare game, Ray and Max chatting with each other absentmindedly when the main doors opened suddenly, the cold night breeze sending shivers down everyone's backs. On the other side, with snow on his shoulders and bloodied fists clenched, stood Tyson Granger.