***Time's POV***

"Let it RIP! "

The silent forest seemed to echo with the sound of beyblades clashing with each other. The metallic sounds were soon hard to hear over the loud voices of the bladers feverishly urging their beyblades to give their best. As the attacks became more and more aggressive, snow began to get stirred up and a sudden blizzard interrupted the heated beybattle.

"Darn it! " The male voice sounded frustrated, "Why the hell did all of this snow had to be flying about NOW? I was sooo close to winning! "

"Ride the Tide! " The other voice coolly commanded her bey with the hint of a smirk. 

The owner of the voice was slender and quite tall for her age. She was wearing a white coat and muffler, black leggings and black running shoes which now looked almost white, thanks to the snow sprayed on them. Her hair, reaching down to her shoulders, looked slightly untamed and was loosely held back by two black clips. A few white strands of white hair escaped the clips and fell lightly over her eyes.

"Eh? " Kai looked confused. Ride the Tide? Was that a new move? It sounded so lame...

Ayuri's crimson eyes twinkled with mischief as her beyblade vanished out of sight. Kai started looking around frantically, "Where did it go? "

"Well, you see Kai, " Crimson eyes met amethyst ones, " 'Ride the Tide' is not some new move. In reality, it is an English phrase meaning 'taking chances and making the most out of any situation'. " Kai's eyes widened in realization, "You mean..."

"Yes." She was not even the least bothered by the blizzard and was actually using it as a shield to defend herself against Kai's attacks. But, there was a catch. Kai's usual smirk returned, "However, Ayuri, the blizzard doesn't let you see your own bey, whereas my bey is right in front of me-which means that you can't even attack me, " He made a tsking sound, "What an amateur mistake! The blizzard will slow down your bey and it will finally stop. " Ayuri smiled at him, making him start.

"What makes you think that I need to see my beyblade in order to attack yours? "

She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Kai's face fell. "Wh-what do you m-mean?" He stuttered.

"Watch me. "

"You are bluffing! "

"Am I? "

"No... no one can attack without seeing where their bey is! It's... it's impossible. "

"Nothing's impossible. " On hearing her reply, Kai looked at her and saw her standing still, eyes closed and head tilted to one side. CLANG! He heard something metal hit his bey. Turning towards his bey, he just couldn't believe his eyes. 

Ayuri's bey looked like a blurry streak as it appeared out of nowhere, dealt a powerful blow to his bey and disappeared. This kept happening again and again. He tried to follow its movement. He tried to steer out of its way. But, each of his maneuvers failed as the sleet and snow made it difficult to see. He could barely make out the outline of his competitor.

Anything he tried to say was lost to the howling wind. Suddenly, his bey lost balance and came to a sudden stop, right in front of him. Ayuri opened her eyes to see utter disbelief written all over Kai's face. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but could sense his confusion. Sighing, she walked over to Kai.

"Yes? "

"How? "

Ayuri rolled her eyes at Kai's eloquence. "The sound. " Kai looked at her quizzically. She explained, "Every bey has a whirring sound, right?" Kai nodded. "Well, every different bey has a different sound. " Sound? Kai was dumbstruck. Ayuri further added, "Like, a heavier bey has a deeper sound, but the lighter a bey is, the more it sounds like skidding. If you can commit these distinct sounds to your memory right at the beginning of the battle, you would just need to follow the source of the sound to know where it is. " Kai simply gaped at her. Finally, he found his voice, "A sound... defeated me? " Ayuri felt like smacking him. Obviously he cared A LOT about winning. Noting the look on his face, she shook her head and grabbed his right hand. Kai flinched and blushed a little, not expecting physical contact. She tried to ignore his reaction and pulled him forward. Just at the edge of the marked area for battle, she let go of his hand.

"Listen closely."

Kai frowned, "To what? "

Ayuri resisted the temptation toroll her eyes, muttering something about a 'hidden genius'. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Can you hear your beyblade's whirring sound? "

Kai scrunched his face in concentration, then groaned, "No, but I can hear the howling wind really well. What's more, I can also hear it whispering that if we don't find shelter NOW, it will make me go deaf. "

"Concentrate Kai. Imagine your bey calling out to you."

Kai grunted, then tried again. He tried to imagine his bey calling out to him, whatever that meant. He started in surprise when he could hear its sound over the wind. It was loud and clear.

"Why wasn't I able to hear such a loud sound before? "

"Because you weren't looking for it. "

"So... what now? "

"Put out your hand, palm first. "

"Done."

"Call back your bey. "

The small practice bey leapt back into Kai's outstretched hand, "Done."

"Run for your life."

The blizzard abated after an hour or so. Ayuri came out of their hiding place and frowned. They had taken shelter inside the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. After the blizzard, the whole surroundings looked like a frozen wonderland. However, the snow was now almost knee-deep, she realized as she waded about in the snow. She looked back to see the slate-haired blader climb out. A part of her wanted to stay there and have some more beybattles with Kai, but common sense told her otherwise. They might come looking for her - after all they really can't afford her to be dead. Even though it was but a slim chance of them crossing that dreaded fence, she wasn't eager to find out.

She looked at Kai, who was kicking at the snow grumpily. There was no denying it - Kai belonged to that Abbey her parents were always talking about, and by the sounds of it, they didn't seem to be friends by a long shot. If they found Kai, there was no limit to what they can do to him.

"Bye." She spun on her heels and began walking away.

"What! Wait there. " Kai walked, more like jogged over to her, "Where do you think you are going? "

"Back. They will be... worried. " More like royally pissed off.

Kai glared disapprovingly at her, "Your little town won't miss you if you are late by an hour or so. After all, it WAS a big blizzard. "

Oh, right. Kai thought she was from the town nearby. Well, she wasn't in too much of a hurry to correct his mistake and tell him that she wasn't fortunate enough to live in that 'little town'. Also, she had a lingering feeling that if he knew where she lived, he would try to come visit, and she wasn't a great fan of that idea either.

" What do you want? " she demanded in a blunt fashion. As a rule, they always quarrelled heatedly over anything before agreeing on something else. Kai hadn't expected her to give in like that. His cheeks went a little pink. Ayuri noticed his reaction and looked at him oddly. Then it struck her. She had not even put up a fight. It was almost as if she accepted him as a fr... Ayuri immediately abandoned that line of thought. She cleared her throat loudly, willing the rising blush on her cheeks to go away. "You." She pointed towards Kai, "Don't get any dumb ideas." Like being friends, she thought to herself. Kai snorted in reply, though his face was still flushed and wore a deer-in-headlights expression. Ayuri, on the other hand, mentally kicked herself for letting her guard down.

They had always told her that friends were a hindrance; that friendship was in reality a weakness no true warrior should ever possess. Also... she wasn't really entitled to have friends - after all, she wasn't strong enough to protect them.

She remembered the new cook, Maria, who was the first person to ever talk to her kindly and gently. She made her laugh, and also taught her some great recipes. She would have such happy escapades into the main kitchen whenever training took a great deal out of her. Then... her parents got to know.

The cook was kicked out of the household before her own eyes. She was not able to do anything. She knelt down and begged, she cried; yet she couldn't protect the only person who had ever treated her like a human being. The cook lost her livelihood because of her. She still remembered her father's cold voice whispering ominously into her ear as she looked at the slumped shoulders and retreating back of the cook with tearful eyes. "Friends hold you back; they are a hindrance. Be thankful, since this was your first time falling prey to such meaningless emotions, she was only fired. I trust this to be the last time as well, because if this happens again, the consequences for that person would be much more... dire." She had looked up in fear; she knew what he meant. Though it was unbelievable that he would go so far, she knew that he always followed up on his threats. He had sneered at her when he saw tears fall from her eyes, and his eyes had held nothing but disgust. She was punished that day for her failure in controlling herself and concealing her feelings. After that, she had promised herself that she would never cry before another person.

Kai was the first to regain his composure. He shrugged in indifference. "I just want a rematch," He stated. Ayuri simply looked at him and said nothing.

"It's a challenge." Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh come on, no true blader ever gives up on a challenge, especially, " he waved his bey in her face, "if it comprises of a beybattle." She felt her face break out into a smile but hurriedly changed it into a smirk.

"Okay big guy - show me what you've got."

"What do you mean BIG? I'm only a year or two older than you."

"One or two years OLDER, right? "

"Point noted. Let's battle." Kai readied his bey and launcher, then he realized that the area was fully covered with snow. He quietly swore under his breath, looking around.

"You swear A LOT Kai, do you know that? " She received a deathly glare from Kai as a reply.

"So, the great Kai is whining for a proper beystadium, huh? " Kai opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself when he saw a gleam in Ayuri's eyes. He got what she meant.

"Hm, clever... you're on! "

Ayuri pretended to cower and look scared to death, then shrugged innocently, "Why scratch our heads for a proper battleground when we have got Mother Nature blooming all around us? "

"More like drooping and freezing." Kai mumbled to himself, noting the branches of the nearby trees bent low with the weight of the snow piling on them.

"In 3, 2, 1... Let it RIP! "

The beys almost immediately skimmed over the snow and vanished into the woods. Kai looked hesitantly in Ayuri's direction to see her taking off after them. Confused, he ran after the snow-haired blader. Ayuri, as if sensing his confusion, turned back and grinned. "Beat me to the finish line, will ya?" Kai slightly smiled, "With pleasure. "

Both of the young bladers raced away into the snow-clad woods, none of them having any idea as to where the finish line might be.