Kit: Yay! The sequel to Cat Woman vs. the Phoenix is finally up! Or the first chapter, anyway. Hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Beyblade characters, but I own this story and its basic plot and anything having to do with it besides the original characters and other things I don't own.
Disclaimer for Dummies: I no own; you no sue.
Alright, here's a quick little guide for this chapter so you no get confused:
(italics) - memories; something of that sort. Anything else and I'll warn you.
Moving on to the story!
Rayne sighed as she looked just outside of the hut, watching all of the adults hustling around like chickens with their heads cut off. She'd heard there was a ritual of some sort going on today, but she wasn't sure what it was. She was only ten years old now, having just had her birthday the previous week. In the past week, the village had been preparing for something major, and the young ones, and the children were called, hadn't been allowed to help. They had, on the other hand, been allowed over to her house while her 'parents' were out, helping with the ceremony and other such preparations.
She turned around, surveying her friends through the door leading into the main room of the house. Her cousin, Ray, sat on the couch. The rather small twelve year-old was the oldest of the children there, and had been given the job of watching all of them. Mariah sat on the floor, laughing with another young girl about their age. Rayne couldn't remember her name, but Clara or Claire was somewhere close to it. Lee, Gary, and Kevin were off in the corner, talking avidly among themselves. They either knew something she didn't and were reveling happily in the thought that they held something over their friend, or they were just plotting something…She hoped they knew something, that way she could get it out of them later.
Suddenly, she was picked up from behind, and she looked up to find her mother carrying her lightly. Her mother smiled down at her, then looked inside the door, "Come on, young ones. It's time for the ceremony." Her mother shouted for the children, holding the door open as they rushed out onto the porch of the hut. Her mother led them to the town square of the village, telling them to find their parents and sit with them. She then took her into one of the nearby huts.
In said hut, she was dressed in a beautiful red dress that went to her ankles. Her hair was let loose of its binding, bangs falling to cover one eye and the rest falling to her ankles. Her feet were left bare and cosmetics were brushed across her face. As soon as the other village women were satisfied with her appearance, her mother scooped her up again. She carried her outside and back to the town square. She set her down on the small platform in the middle of the alter they seem to have prepared for the ceremony...
Rayne sighed as she dove down under the gentle waters of the pool, pushing herself to the bottom, although that didn't take much effort with the added weight she'd gained in the last few weeks. Of course, she knew why she'd gained it – she'd only found out a few hours ago – and she couldn't wait to tell her husband the news.
Of course, she was still in the first few weeks, so the tell-tale signs were no where to be seen. As far as most she knew were concerned, she just looked the same. After all, it would be a while before she even got the tiniest little bulge. Thinking about telling her husband, she could just imagine his face as he heard the news.
Speaking of her loyal husband, he'd gone to work that morning. She'd had morning sickness that same morning and, given the circumstances (which Kai still didn't know of) she'd asked him to tell their band mates to work without her. At first, Kai had been a bit suspicious, but he finally succumbed to her pleas and let her stay home that day. And – much to her liking – it was about time for Kai to be home right about now.
Thinking of this, she surfaced, pushing back her curtain of raven hair so she could see. She swam over to the edge of the pool and was about to pull herself out, when she heard the door at the other end of the room open with a creak. Turning slowly, so as not to make much noise, she looked around attentively for tell-tale signs that her husband was home, but there was no one in the room. Narrowing her eyes, she swam over to the other side, looking around for someone that might have hidden in the shadows of the walls. Still, there was nothing there, and that unnerved her. Carefully, she pulled herself out of the pool, taking care to not make much noise.
"Kai, is that you?" she called worriedly, her voice carrying a slightly scared drawl to it. Turning suddenly, she saw a flash of black fly behind her, flapping as it moved. Taking a timid and shaky step in that direction, she was caught unguarded when the flash of black appeared again, behind her this time. She jumped and turned around at the same time, fear and adrenaline mixing together as she looked around wildly for the cause of her newly acquired fright. Once more, she took a step back, unknowingly taking her closer to the pool. Giving a small gasp as something flew across her stomach, causing a small gash across the unclothed part of her body; she took one step back to many and went tumbling backwards into the pool. She was submerged so quickly, that all she heard was a voice yelling her name before she heard nothing but the rush of water around her body.
The next thing she knew, she was trying desperately to swim for the surface, but something had a hold on her ankle, a tight hold at that. She was running out of air fast. If she didn't get up to the surface soon…Well, now wasn't the time to think about that…Suddenly, there was a splash in the pool next to her, and someone grabbed her wrist, pulling her up. With the added extra effort, the thing holding her down released her and disappeared before she could look to see what it was. After a few seconds, she gasped in a huge gulp of air as she came up, her husband, Kai Hiwatari, coming up beside her, his hand still gripping her wrist protectively, as if he was afraid she'd go under again. He helped her over to the steps out of the pool and climbed up behind her, watching her worriedly.
"Are you alright, Rayne? You had me scared there for a second." He told her as he checked her over while she stood in the middle of the room, small streams of water making their way down her skin as she shivered in the cold air. Coming back to his senses, he picked up the towel from the chair next to them and wrapped it around her to keep her warm.
She nodded fervently, gripping the towel close to her, "It's alright. I'm fine." She assured him, but it was more like she was assuring herself as well. He regarded her with a slightly misbelieving look before he seemed to be satisfied with her answer.
"C'mon. Let's get you into some warm clothes." He said gently as he gripped her arm again and led her out of the pool room. They walked up the stairs to their room together, one relieved about the comfortable silence while the other wished to end it with another question but decided against it.
The village elder stood from where he was seated as her mother sat down on the first row of seats that had been set up. He stepped up onto the platform beside Rayne and turned to the rest of the village.
"In the time that we have been living in the village and on this land, there has been a legend that the heir to the throne of the Yueh Mao kingdom would be born to one of the mothers in this village. We expected this to be by natural birth, but never by adoption. Nevertheless, here she is here to save the world from darkness and evil.
At first, we were unsure if she was the one, but after watching her, we are sure she has finally arrived. This ceremony has never been done, and we are praying it goes right, despite a few complications." The elder paused to step from the platform, leaving Rayne standing there alone. He held up a book that had nothing on the cover but the picture of a pure white cat. He then flicked it open, turning to Rayne as he found the correct page.
"Rayne Frost, you have been chosen by the Yueh Mao kingdom as the only heir to their power. Do you choose to accept the power they offer their princess, and take on the challenge of keeping the world itself safe from any danger it may face. This is your challenge and yours alone. No one may face this with you, and it is your burden to carry. The road you may choose is a lonely one, full of bumps and hardships, but you may face them with courage and bravery well beyond your age and years of life. There will be people after your life or people who mean something to you. Do you wish to take this burden for yourself?"
Rayne stood straight, a newly pronounced fire burning deep within her eyes, "Yes sir, I do." She promised.
The elder nodded, "Then let the power of the rulers before you fill your being and give you power like the world has never seen."
A bright silver light erupted from her body and surrounded her and her body floated into the air. Everyone, but a few, covered their eyes, while the few that hadn't watched the transformation in awe. Rayne's body elongated drastically and her hair lengthened with her growing height. Her legs became longer and more shapely. Her feminine features became more defined, or in some cases pronounced. Her face lost it's childlike qualities, replaced with that of a womanly look. Her fingers and arms lengthened. Her dress also changed, lengthening and becoming bigger in some places, to suit her form. Its color became a beautiful silver color. Her skin lost its light tan, becoming a creamy caramel color. The light dissipated and her form floated down onto the platform once more. Everyone looked at her in awe, waiting for her to open her eyes. She looked up, her eyes flying open to reveal amber-honey eyes, the black pupils slit right down the middle.
The elder regained his composure from her sudden transformation, and turned to the rest of the village, "I present to you, her highness, the eighteen year-old princess of Yueh Mao, Lady Rayne…"
Kit: Alright, everyone, that was the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! A quick thank you to someone, Kyuubi no Tai, who reviewed Cat Woman vs. the Phoenix with a very good question. She gave me the idea to add in a bit of Rayne's past so all of you could see how she got her powers. But there's a little twist to it! Read and Review!
Quick challenge:
If someone can tell me what 'Yueh Mao' means, not the literal translation but what it means in that order, then I'll let your character be either one of the characters in my story that tries to hurt Rayne, or one that tries to help her. You can decide. And, if you do get it, your character will need a nickname. (ex: 'Tack', 'Dartz', etc.) Just tell me in the review you send for this chapter, I'll tell you if you got it right in the next, and you can send in your character in that review!