"We are going to Puerto Plata for the entire week for a special occasion?" wondered Leonor.
Germán replied, "I know it sounds sudden, but I believe we all need this break from beyblading."
Since the 14-year old arrived at the Dominican Republic 2 years ago, Leonor ended up doing a lot of beyblading there and other neighboring Caribbean countries. Whether it was with her team R.D. Libredads or on her own, she always comes back to the island. It hasn't been long since she returned to Santo Domingo, the country's capital to meet up with her team. Germán, the manager of R.D. Libredads planned a trip to Puerto Plata, one of DR's smaller cities. It's also known as one of the more popular places to go along with Santo Domingo, Santiago, and Punta Cana.
Germán saw the puzzled look on Leonor's face. He knew that Leonor just came back from Nassau from a singles beyblading tournament that she wanted to enter. Plus, the manager for the Dominican team couldn't tell her about the special occasion. On top of that, he also invited the Brazilian Team, SB Rios to join them this week along with Aitana, R.D. Libredads's bey trainer. Plus it was an opportunity for the 2 beyblading teams to enjoy the Puerto Plata Cultural Festival during their time off.
Leonor has been to Puerto Plata a couple of times, but they always took the 3 hours drive to get there. The 14-year-old isn't surprised if Germán decided to do the same thing just like their last trip to Puerto Plata. But at the same time, the captain for the R.D. Libredads felt like she needs a break too from all those Beyblade tournaments. Leonor decided to go back to her room and pack up her bags once more. Maybe this trip to Puerto Plata was something that she needed after months of non-stop beyblading.
"So we're going to be taking our favorite van, or you have something better in mind?" asked Leonor from across the room.
Germán replied, "Unlike our other trips to Puerto Plata, we are going take the plane there so we can meet up with SB Rios on time."
The Killick Lorelei user nodded as she continued to pack her bag. Aside from her beyblade and her launcher, Leonor made sure she had one week's worth of clothes to wear. She knew that the team was going to be staying in Germán's summer house. The 14-year-old didn't know what was going to be to rooming arrangements for when they meet SB Rios. Germán's summer house was more of a summer mansion. There was more than enough room for both teams to stay.
Another thing that Leonor was thinking about was Ruway. She hasn't seen him for a while now. With the constant beyblade training and tournaments, the 14-year-old Chinese-Portuguese blader knew that had a lot on her plate. Her brownish-gold eyes saw what she had packed. It was just enough for what she could wear for an entire week including some swimsuits to wear.
Leonor walked out of her room and saw the rest of her teammates outside with their bags at hand. Just like her, they were ready to go to Puerto Plata. A small smile formed on the 14-year-old girl's face and thought all about the trip. As usual, the team's substitute manager Anibal was going to stay behind with the bladers that didn't want to go on the trip. Leonor knew that she didn't have to worry about the rest of R.D. Libredads.
In the next 2 hours and 45 minutes, the Dominican team managed to endure a 30-minute ride to the airport, an hour and half of waiting for the plane, and a 45-minute plane ride. Once they arrived in Puerto Plata, there was a crowd of beyblade fans that held signs that say "Welcome R.D. Libredads" or "Welcome Back Leonor" in Spanish. Leonor was surprised to see some of her fans here. It was the same when came back to Santo Domingo yesterday from Nassau, Bahamas. A sapphire blue haired girl zoomed up with her bags and began walking at the same pace as Leonor.
"Looks like your fanbase is increasing Leonor," said the blue-haired girl.
Leonor commented, "To be honest, I am surprised to know I'm one of the more popular bladers in this country along with you and Delmar, Chuntao."
Chuntao replied, "It's not every day that a foreigner like you can try to make Beyblade popular in Latin America."
The Killick Lorelei user nodded and understood what her friend was trying to say. The 2 best friends chatted together while they followed up with the rest of their team. As the Dominican beyblading team continued walking around the airport in search of the Brazilian team. It wasn't too long until Germán was able to find SB Rios right by those chairs. Their manager, Banner Clay, and the team's 2 best bladers Kaiza "Xhaka" Xhakuenji and Ruway Sun were standing there.
Germán said as he bowed down, "Thank you, Master Clay, for accepting my invitation."
"Do not thank me Germán. You have been one of my best students during your time in SB Rios, and you have managed to create one of the best teams in the Caribbean," replied Banner.
At the same time Delmar, Efrain, and Heliodoro were talking to some of the other members of the Brazilian beyblading team. Chuntao and Leonor both approached Xhaka and Ruway so they could talk to them. Xhaka noticed the 2 girls approaching them and smile formed on his face.
"Long time no see Leonor. You seemed to be very busy since you haven't written letters in such a long time," said Xhaka.
Leonor replied, "I know Xhaka, but I've been busy with the tournaments that I've been participating on my own and with the team."
"I know, and you decided to come to Puerto Plata just right after you won that tournament in the Bahamas," said the Sieg Xcalibur user.
The Chinese-Portuguese blader stated, "I know, but I realized that I also needed a break from all that beyblading."
"That is what I was trying to tell Ruway once we told him about the trip to Puerto Plata," he said before looking over at Ruway.
Leonor noticed how quiet the Shelter Regulus user was while she was talking to Xhaka. She hasn't spoken to him since last year's Bey Carnival, nor she has written a letter to him. Leonor assumed that he has been busy with his training. The 14-year-old didn't know what to say to him. As for Ruway, he watched as Leonor looking in another direction. She stopped talking to Xhaka and let her best friend talk to him a bit. He noticed that she felt a bit distracted.
"Is something wrong Leonor?" he asked her.
Leonor bolted up a bit once she heard Ruway talking to her. The Killick Lorelei user snapped out of her daze before making eye contact with the SB Rios blader. He had his usual nonchalant expression on his face despite, not much to the Chinese-Portuguese blader's surprise. Leonor knew that she would rather be honest with him than lie to him.
Leonor replied, "To be honest, I feel bad that I stopped writing letters to you and Xhaka during these past months. But I've been extremely busy with Beyblade and preparing for this year's Bey Carnival in Santo Domingo."
"That makes complete sense since I've noticed that you have been traveling to different parts of the Caribbean to enter those tournaments," commented Ruway, "as for myself, I've continued with my training with SB Rios while doing some individual beyblading all around the Americas these past months."
Leonor said, "That explains why Xhaka told you that you need a break from Beyblade. It's cool though because you will have a lot of fun this week in Puerto Plata."
The smile formed on the 14-year-old's face as she told about what was going to happen in Puerto Plata. The first week of June was always the best time to go to Puerto Plata. Even though it's Summer 365 days a year in the Dominican Republic, it was also best to go during their dry season. She glad that the members of SB Rios came during the Puerto Plata Cultural Festival.
From the airport, the 2 teams took 2 different vans that were going to Germán's summer house. That was only another 30-minute ride from there to the airport. Once they arrived at Germán's summer abode, the members of SB Rios was surprised to see the place that they were going to stay for the week.
"I didn't know that your manager was that rich," said Stan.
Germán explained, "I may I come from a family of businessmen, but I always lived a middle-class lifestyle here. The mansion belonged to my beloved grandfather who passed away ten years ago."
The manager of R.D. Libredads didn't say another word before opening the door to the mansion. With more than enough rooms, everyone was able to settle into their rooms before meeting out back to where the pool was.
"We're going start the first day of this break with a pool party. Everyone will be helping out with the preparations," said Germán.
Banner further explained, "I know my team is not familiar with the country like R.D. Libredads. Germán and I agreed that it would be best that a member of the Dominican team will join you while you do some of the shopping in the city."
"I also made the assignment simpler for you by providing a list of what you need and a budget for that items. The last time we did this, it got out of hand," stated Aitana.
Aitana walked towards each of the pairs and gave them a small list of items that they would need and a certain amount of Dominican pesos. As Aitana gave Ruway and Leonor their shopping list, the Killick Lorelei user remembered that she brought some of her prize money from the Bahamas back to DR.
"Is it okay that I use some of the prize money I got from my tournament win to buy the items?" asked Leonor.
Aitana replied, "That is fine Leonor since I knew that you did exchange your Bahamian dollars for Dominican pesos at the airport."
Ruway didn't know that the tournament that Leonor entered had prize money at stake. The Shelter Regulus user didn't think that Leonor was a blader that would want to play the sport for monetary value. But she didn't seem to care about the money when she battled against those bladers. Leonor looked over at the list to see what they were going to buy.
"We are going to get a pork shoulder, 3 limes, 2 bitter oranges, lemons, and 3 bottles of soda for the pool party," said Leonor.
Ruway asked as he peeked at the list, "What is the citrus fruit for?"
"Aitana makes a delicious seasoning with the citrus fruit whenever she makes a pork roast on the barbeque," stated Leonor.
The SB Rios blader didn't know much about Dominican cuisine like Leonor, but she was able to explain it pretty well. Ruway knew that he had to trust Leonor while they were on the streets. Yes, she was a foreigner like himself, but Leonor had been living this country for two years now. It was also an opportunity to do some catching up since they had little time to do so at the airport.
All the members of SB Rios and R.D. Libredads left the mansion while the managers of both teams and Aitana decided to stay behind. They also had to get working on the pool party, and it was also a good time for the adults to do some catching up.
"Are you sure you want to tell your team about your engagement Germán?" asked Banner.
Germán replied, "Honestly I wouldn't want to keep this a secret. These five members have dedicated their lives to R.D. Libredads. They played a part in the team's success along with Aitana. We are like a family Banner."
SB Rio's manager watched as his former pupil and his soon-to-be wife holding each other's hand. They were happy together, and they were confident that their team was going to happy about this news.
"You've been an impressive young man Germán, and I know that your team will acknowledge everything you've done until now," he said to his former student.
In the city, Leonor and Ruway were at the supermarket looking for what was ever on the list. It was always a good start for them since they could get everything there. The Shelter Regulus user decided to stick together since the last thing they wanted to was to get separated. At the same time, Chuntao and Xhaka were also her getting some of the other food that's needed. Leonor walked back to the shopping cart with lemons, bitter oranges, and limes.
He looked over at the cart and saw the fruits that Leonor picked out. Ruway saw that Leonor was serious about the food shopping. Plus she was sticking to what was on the list that Aitana gave them.
"Do you want to get the sodas Ruway while I get the pork shoulders?" asked Leonor.
Ruway replied, "Sure thing. What kind of soda we can get?"
"We need to get cola champagne, which is a dark yellow soda that tastes like cream soda, a raspberry soda, and regular cola soda," said Leonor.
Ruway nodded and walked away with the shopping cart. Leonor went her own way and looked for the meat section. Knowing that there are some people with big appetites, Leonor had to get more than a pork shoulder. As she made to the meat section, Chuntao and Xhaka were looking at the type of meat that is there. It seemed that Aitana split the tasks between the four of them. Leonor looked over at the pork shoulders and saw there was 3 left.
The Killick Lorelei user waited for Ruway to come back with the sodas. Leonor knew it 3 wasn't that dangerous for him to do a task like that. Her hazel colored eyes saw Ruway coming back with the shopping cart at hand. The 3 sodas that she told him to bring was in there. Leonor looked over and saw the 2-liter bottles of regular cola, cola champagne, and the raspberry soda in place.
"Oh Ruway, I didn't know that Leonor left you to get some of the ingredients," said Xhaka.
Ruway replied, "It was fair since she did get the citrus fruits from the produce section earlier. Plus I know that we need that pork shoulder."
"I think we are going to need at least 3 pork shoulders because Aitana forgot an important detail," stated Leonor.
Leonor almost forgot about how big eaters Xhaka, Chuntao, and herself are. She recalled the time that Aitana had to buy another pork shoulder for the others since Chuntao and herself ate an entire pork shoulder amongst the 2 of them. Ruway knew that it was strange that Leonor would say something like this until he realized what could happen if they bought one pork shoulder. The Shelter Regulus user nodded and helped Leonor with getting the 3 pork shoulders into the cart.
After the trip to the supermarket and not going over the budget, the four bladers headed back to the summer house. Germán, Aitana, and Banner were getting everything else ready for tonight. Some of the other bladers from SB Rios and R.D. Libredads came with the other items included. Everyone seemed to follow the list that Aitana gave them.
"Aitana, I had bought three pork shoulders just in case because I did not want the same thing happening again," said Leonor.
Aitana replied, "Thank you Leonor because I was able to call you about that. Banner told me about Xhaka's huge appetite for food, and I thought that was going to be a problem along with you and Chuntao."
Ruway now understood why Leonor told him about the pork shoulders earlier. Just like Xhaka, Leonor and Chuntao also have big appetites. Seeing that was going to happen, Leonor decided to play safe and get them the three pork shoulders.
"You can get changed into your swimsuits and swim for a bit while we get the barbeque going," said Germán.
The 4 bladers left the bags on the table and walked out of the backyard. Today was a good day to enjoy a barbeque with friends and lounge by the pool. Moments later, Leonor walked outside with a black and white one shoulder, one-piece swimsuit on, a pair of brown colored shorts that reached her knees, and a pair of white flip-flops on. Her black colored hair was pulled up into a simple ponytail.
The Killick Lorelei user saw how different the backyard was. With the bright summery decorations, Leonor thought that it was a pool party. She placed her towel on her chair so nobody can take her chair. The Chinese-Portuguese girl removed her flip-flops and shorts and laid them on top. Leonor was ready to jump into the pool and swim. Right before she could jump into the pool, the R.D. Libredads blader watched Ruway walked into her direction. The SB Rios blader had on a white tank top, a pair of blue swim trunks on, and a pair of dark blue flip-flops.
Ruway looked over and saw Leonor getting ready to jump into the pool. It had been such a long day today for both their teams. The Shelter Regulus blader didn't expect that he would survive a day without beyblade training. Master Clay had been giving the teams assignments to do around the mansion and into the city. Ruway sighed and removed his tank top and placed it on the chair that was next to Leonor's stuff. He put his towel and flip-flops on top of his tank.
He walked towards her and Leonor looked over at the Shelter Regulus user. Despite Ruway being shirtless, the 14-year-old didn't make a big deal out of it. Plenty of guys and boys don't wear shirts when they are swimming. She waited for Ruway since she guessed that he wanted to talk to her before jumping in.
"Oh hi there Ruway," said Leonor.
Ruway wondered, "You were waiting for me. Leonor?"
"Yeah since I saw walking towards me. I was wondering what you wanted to tell me Ruway," replied the Lorelei user.
Leonor wanted to hear what the SB Rios blader had to say to her. During their day trip in Puerto Plata, they were able to have fun and work together on getting some food for the party. Strange enough, it was the first time that she had fun without her precious beyblade. It was probably the same for Ruway since he hasn't trained with Shelter Regulus during their time in Puerto Plata.
As for Ruway, the SB Rios blader didn't expect that he would not be training as much during his time in Puerto Plata. It was the first time in such a long time since he had fun without his beyblade. Leonor was an excellent guide during his first day here in the DR. She was able to translate for him from Spanish to English due to being fluent in the language. They were able to shop without a problem. Ruway wanted to know more about the culture of the Dominican Republic, and he knew he could trust her.
"Since Germán told us that there is a festival that is going on, I was wondering if you wanted to check it out sometime this week," wondered Ruway.
Leonor replied, "That's a good idea Ruway. I was going to ask you the same thing since I wanted to go there tomorrow."
"Like around what time should we go?" he asked.
She said, "After lunch like around 1:00 is fine with me."
Ruway was surprised with how calm she was when he asked her about the festival. It seemed that Leonor had intentions to go to the festival, but by herself. The light brown haired blader from SB Rios wanted to know more about Leonor. They have been acquaintances for quite some time.
"Cannonball!" yelled Xhaka.
He ran towards the pool and formed himself into a ball. The Sieg Xcalibur wielder created a wave of chlorinated water that covered both Ruway and Leonor as they stood there. Luckily, there was more than enough water in the pool for everyone to swim in. Leonor slowly began to shiver as once the water came into contact with her skin. At the same time, Ruway was ready to jump into the water as well.
"Are you going jump Leonor?" asked Ruway.
Leonor replied, "I have no other choice Ruway since I'm wet from Xhaka's cannonball. Plus I'll feel warm once I'm in the pool for a few minutes."
The 14-year-old Chinese-Portuguese blader ran and jumped into the water to refresh herself. Leonor shivered a bit as she felt the cold pool water. Ruway jumped into the water, and the SB Rios blader saw Leonor just standing there.
"Let's race," she said nonchalantly.
"You want to race me? Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked her.
Leonor replied, "Yes and I want to see which of the two is a faster swimmer."
Ruway raised an eyebrow once he heard Leonor's response. She wasn't going to give in on this. He didn't know how fast the Killick Lorelei user was in the water. But then again, he always liked a good challenge from anyone. It may not be beyblade or martial arts, but Ruway thought it was going to be a good experience for him. Both bladers moved back to the shallow end of the pool. Leonor looked over at Germán with Aitana together.
"By the way Germán, when did pop the question?" asked Leonor from where she stood.
The manager of R.D. Libredads heard the blunt, but cocky comment Leonor made. Germán already told the rest of R.D. Libredads about his engagement to Aitana. He was going to surprise her and the bladers from SB Rios with this news. But what he didn't expect that she already figured out about the engagement. Leonor then looked over at Ruway, who didn't say a word about her comment.
"So are you ready for the race?" asked Leonor.
Ruway replied, "Of course I'm ready to go."
Oh wow! It's been a while since I've posted a long one-shot like this. Originally I wasn't planning on posting this one-shot here, but I thought it was a good summery fanfic to post here. Plus it is my first doing a Ruway/Ren WuXOC fanfic with Leonor (who used to be Desidéria in my previous one-shots, but I changed her name completely and gave her a new beyblade).
As for the setting of this story, I would have to say this was during Chouzetsu/Super Z era due to the 2-year time skip from Beyblade Burst God/Evolution to Chouzetsu/Super Z.