MIAB

12: With You

"Cold like snow, First Elder." Third replied and motioned Second to follow her. As both of the two Elders left, First opened her mouth as if to say something to stop them but closed her mouth, refusing to say it. She couldn't show emotion because they made her weak. She sat down on her chair, staring at the last seat and sighed wistfully.

It was hard playing the good guy when no one else could see her effort to keep the balance secure.

~~~MIAB~~~

Bey City, Japan

"Fuyu was a woman that took care of you guys during your captivity?" Hilary asked as she, Nami, the twins and Hiro walked back to the dojo. They had left Hilary's grandmother alone after the older woman had fallen asleep. Hikaru was glad to be gone from the crazy woman that had hit Shun with a cross.

"Uh-huh!" Nami said happily, smiling briefly, "She was a very kind woman. She gave us more food rations and treated our wounds. Of course, she'd be beaten for it but she never cared. She always made us feel happy. In the end, it was Fuyu-san who helped us escape. However, she was killed because of it." The last part was said in a sad tone, her eyes soft.

"She sacrificed her own life for a bunch of kids that she didn't even know." Hiro replied, staring up at the sky, "She was a mother and older sister to all of us. Whenever I felt that it was getting to be too much trying to act like a good older brother, she allowed me to vent out my fears and anxieties."

"I see." Hilary didn't know what to make of this. Her aunt that she had no idea she had had died ten years ago saving kids from the Forsaken Fallen. It would explain why she saw Fuyu – Hoshiko – in her dreams. Anything was possible, wasn't it? She decided to stop questioning the weird things that happened in her life.

"If Fuyu-san really is Hoshiko Hirano, does that mean that she also owned a bit-beast?" Shun asked, causing all of them to think about his words. Hiro analyzed Shun's words carefully. Fuyu had a bit-beast that was obviously not an ally to the Forsaken Fallen. If that was the case, where was the spirit? Since they were family, could the bit-beast that belonged to Fuyu be passed down to Hilary?

The song Resonance by T.M. Revolution started playing loudly, much to their surprise. Hikaru looked away from his brother's incredulous look and dug into his pocket, retrieving his cell phone that had the image of Aya in it. He answered, "Hey, Aya. Did you guys find anything?"

They saw Hikaru go pale as he listened to Aya. He stopped walking, his eyes wide in shock and fear. He cleared his throat, holding the cell phone tightly, "Aya, what do you mean Rin's been taken?"

Shun, Nami and Hiro shared a glance while Hilary gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Hikaru shook his head, "Aya, slow down. Where are you two? Uh huh . . . Yeah, got it. We're on our way." He hung up, staring at them with a morbid look, "Kai and Aya are kind of stranded in an overpass. Let's go get them."

~~~MIAB~~~

Ray and Riku were both calmly waiting for the others to return to the dojo and were also waiting for the arrival of the other bladers. From what he had heard, Tala and the rest of his team had been in Japan so he knew the Russians were going to arrive soon. Riku wouldn't stop fidgeting, hiding his hands within his sleeves, mumbling that something was wrong.

When the others showed up with a weak looking Aya and a battered Kai, Ray knew that Riku had been right that something was wrong.

"Where's Rin-nii?" Riku mumbled, eyes darting everywhere until they eventually settled on Hilary. The brunette looked at Riku with sad eyes, not knowing what to say to him. Riku adored Rin as much as Aya did so telling him that he had been taken by the Forsaken Fallen would hurt Riku. Considering that she had grown fond of the slightly insane male, Hilary didn't want to cause him more pain.