How do Japanese, Chinese, Russian and American teens communicate with each other? Simple, they don't, so the fact that Beyblade has these kids (Takao, Rei, Kai, and Max) all communicating coherently with each other doesn't make sense. They all speak different languages! (And the idea that they all speak English is quite absurd since Rei comes from an isolated village). This fan fiction is, well, about what happens when you have people who speak different languages on the same team; you get translators. Oh, and all the fun things that happens when things are misinterpreted...

Translation Error(s) starts near the ending of the qualifying tournament, where all characters have yet to meet each other, and where they all have stayed in their respective country until said tournament.

Just a few notes before I start… First off, I guess most people will already know this but, here goes nothing. I do not own Beyblade or any other ideas etc. that are related to it. I also do not own any other copyrighted material that may appear in this fic (eg. brand names, other names of series etc.) Okay… Basically, I don't own anything in this fic except the idea itself, the writing, and my OC's that will be appearing later on as translators. Another thing, most of the time, things people think are placed in italics. That's about it, so I guess this is where I start the story?

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Takao

Takao sighed, rolled over, and lay there on his back, casually resting his head on his arms. The qualifying tournament had been just as easy as he had suspected, however, there had been a few bumps. The bumps? People who had actually proved to be a challenge! And it wasn't like he was getting shown up by people from his own country. He was getting problems from people who weren't! The people who stuck out like sore thumbs, here in Japan anyway. It wasn't like there were a whole whack of them, just like... three? Or, those were the ones he had spotted. Didn't matter. It was they who had caused him his woes.

There was some blonde kid who had an absolutely horrible taste in fashion, even Takao could see that; another was raven-haired, and he really wouldn't have stuck out so much if he hadn't worn the Chinese Yin Yang symbol on his back, and forehead... Then there was some blue haired teen, with the front lighter than the back. He had probably dyed it; a person couldn't possibly be born with blue hair, right? Takao just let that thought hang for a moment before brushing it off as he stood up. Time for some undercover sneaky spy work. He needed the low-down on these kids. He needed to know their country, their language, their blades, hey! Maybe he'd even try and find out their names. He would work tirelessly until all of that information was his. Well, just as soon as he got something to eat, and took a nap...

Max

Max looked around in amazement. This place… Tokyo… Was gigantic! He had been to New York before, but nothing could have prepared him for something of THIS magnitude! He seemed so small and insignificant, heck, people around here treated him like that. Nobody seemed to like foreigners. Especially American foreigners. Basically, nobody knew enough English to properly communicate with him, and he was stretched beyond his limits just saying 'Konichiwa.' He could have just competed in the qualifying tournament back at home… But NOOOOO, his mom had to be stubborn and decide that she wanted to size up the competition. She never even considered how he, Max, would feel getting pulled along to some alien planet where he was an outsider. "Great, thanks mom" he grumbled to himself, drawing some attention from passers-by. I guess they've never heard someone speak English before… Well… It wasn't only that. Not only did he speak English when the rest of these people spoke Japanese, but he had a mop of very blond hair. That and… He was wearing some of the strangest clothes that had ever hit the face of the Earth (A/N no offence) Actually, scratch that, he'd changed. For the whole tournament Max had worn the brightest clothes he owned, because they were the only clothes he could find. Stupid mom had to go and get my luggage lost… stupid, stupid, stupid… Luckily, his luggage had come in just a few hours ago, and he'd been able to change into something half decent. Some jeans and a hoodie had relieved him of the stinking mass that he called clothes for… way too long. Now Max walked along, hands shoved in his pockets, and turned his thoughts to the tournament. He just found it easier to think of that instead of his lost-ness.

He had only spotted two others who also didn't quite seem to fit in with this… Tokyo place. Asking his mom about them turned out to be a good idea since she was some sort of stalker and knew basically everything about anyone competing here. Or just about anywhere else he wanted to know about. He could have asked her whether or not some random guy over there had clipped his toenails last night or not and she'd have known the answer. Seriously, it was scary how she was taking this tournament. The raven-haired teen who boldly wore the Yin Yang symbol was Chinese… And his name currently evaded the blonde. The other boy's name as well, had flown out the window. Which other boy? Well, the cold, blue haired one with the really long scarf. Even though Max couldn't remember the other teen's name, he remembered the nationality. The blue haired teen was Russian. That… was about all he could salvage from his talk with his mom. Sad thing being? His mom had told him about five minutes ago before he decided to go on a Tokyo expedition… and get lost. Sighing inwardly, Max resolved to ask for directions from random people until he got a decent answer. Pointless though it sounded, he really had no other choice. Who says men can't ask for directions? Of course, the fact that they couldn't understand a word he was saying helped; he could have been asking about the weather for all they knew…

Kai

Was he irritated? No. Angry? Nope. Ticked off? Still no. He was well beyond any of those that he doubted the angriest person in the world could rival him. And what had gotten so under his skin? Stupid fan girls of course. Kai glared at the mass of giggling girls permanently pressed against the glass of the training room offered in the hotel he had taken residence in. He tried desperately to ignore them, but they simply refused to be ignored. How irritating. The mass steadily grew within the few minutes he had entered the room, and some had even been as bold as to enter themselves. Mostly they stuck to the far wall, preferring to look at him rather than to make contact. Suited him just fine, he wouldn't have acknowledged they were there anyway. That or he'd have knocked some sense into them. Right now though, training was number one priority. Beating them to a pulp so that they'd have to breath out of tubes could wait till later. Or not. One of the braver ones had suddenly decided that she wanted more than just to look at him, and started approaching in his general direction. Honestly, these girls didn't know when to stop! Kai reviewed how many ways his privacy had been intruded upon within the last few weeks of arriving for the qualifying tournament. 1. They stalked him. Kai couldn't recall the number of times he'd looked behind him to see a mass of fan girls chattering excitedly amongst themselves. It was that often. 2… He didn't get to think of the second reason because there was a large ruckus outside the training room. Obviously these girls were getting on the staff's nerves as well, because the giggling faces quickly disappeared.

FINALLY some peace and quiet so he could concentrate properly! Kai quickly chose the strongest looking blader of the ones assembled in the room, and challenged him to a battle. Even with the language barrier, the boy caught the gist of what Kai was offering, and eagerly accepted. Many of the other boys quickly arranged themselves around the dish to watch, offering cheers and encouragement. The battle commenced, and two seconds later, it was over. Well, maybe not two seconds later, but close enough. The other teen was left wondering what hit him, as Kai scanned the amassed crowd for faces from the tournament. Weaklings…All of them weaklings… Some he did recognize, but quickly remembered that they had been the first ones eliminated from the tournament. Kai came to the conclusion that no one worth battling was there. If he wanted a challenge, he'd simply have to search out the teens from other countries. They at least had been half decent. Finding them should be easy enough.

The Japanese media had made a huge fuss over the fact that they had Chinese, Russian and American teens blading in their tournament. Obviously they were wondering why these three hadn't opted to compete in their own tournaments. To Kai's knowledge, the other two had no real reason to be there other than the fact they could be. He was especially interested in how the Chinese kid had gotten his hands on enough money for a plane ticket to Japan. Apparently, he came from a remote village deep in the country of China, so how he afforded a ticked was beyond Kai. How he knew this? His grandfather had sent a translator with him. The man had given up and quit the day after they arrived in Tokyo, with pay for a month and a ticket back home. Kai would make sure that the man was sought out and punished thoroughly, but not because he left. The translator had been boorish and slow, and he stumbled over words often. The punishment would be because he had not performed the job he had been paid for.

Kai had rarely used the translator, opting instead to use surroundings to catch a sense of things. The only information that mattered to him was where he was blading, who he was against, and when the battle was. All but the latter was the same no matter what language you used. And the tournament even displayed photographs of the opponent, so he didn't have to read anything. For him right now, not understanding was fine.

Rei

Were Japanese people good at sniffing out foreigners or what? Rei hadn't been at the airport for more than five seconds when he started attracting curious looks. People pointed him out, giggled over him, and spoke rapidly in Japanese. Mainly girls, but what had surprised him was that some boys as well had joined. It was scary, in a weird sort of way. What had set him immediately apart from the rest of them were his clothes. His headband bore the Chinese Yin Yang symbol, and it was also proudly displayed on the back of his robe. The only reason he had worn the garb was because he had sort of wanted people to recognize he wasn't Japanese. He'd had people approach him and immediately start talking in Japanese, wearing his traditional garb was the only way to set himself apart.

Since right now the qualifiers were over, and he was simply wandering aimlessly, Rei had changed into something else. One of the only things that people recognized him by were his clothes, so he had tried to find something that was completely different so he wouldn't be bothered. Fan girls, hopeful bladers, and even fan boys alike only really seemed to respond to him when he was wearing his robes. So to simply stop attracting attention, all he had to do was change. Well, at least it gives me a little peace, if not complete peace. It's something. He still drew a little attention – what with his ponytail and his eyes – but not quite as much. It got hot in Tokyo, so he had chosen the lightest clothing he had on hand. A pair of jeans, and a sleeveless white shirt with a torn piece of cloth acting as a headband let him blend in fairly well with the rest of the crowd. It didn't shout 'Hey look at me! I'm not from around here!' and it wasn't much different from what most other people were wearing right now. What with the smog and the humidity, Rei was getting a little dizzy. How anyone can deal with these conditions 24/7 is beyond me…

Deciding to go on a tour of the world, and starting with Japan was… an okay idea. At least he'd been able to sign up for the qualifiers here in Tokyo. With the language barrier, it had been a long and strenuous affair, and he had held up quite a line of people. Most were still a little bitter with him, and the fact he had beat them at their own game hadn't helped. He'd seen his own image more than once, flashing on the occasional television screen as he walked by, or pasted on the side of a wall with scribbled messages. There were about two other teens who were getting the same treatment, and he wasn't sure if this meant good or bad things. The media was probably not being too nice about anything though, that much he guessed.

As Rei walked along, he started regretting his choice to fly here first. He had been saving money for quite a while, not knowing what to do with it. Odd jobs here and there, and his part time job down in the city had provided him with enough money for a plane ticket after a few years. His family was contented living where they were, no matter how many times Rei had offered to use his money for them. They had simply reassured him they were fine, and to keep saving up. When he thought he had enough, he had said a tearful goodbye to his village, and left for the wonders of Japan. He was now quite comfortably set up in a small inn as much out of the way of the hustle and bustle as it got. The board wasn't very expensive, and Rei had found another part time job working at a small café nearby. He had simply to memorize the menu, and the sounds that went with it. Waiting on tables wasn't that hard, and many people enjoyed him even with the inability to speak the same language. Yes, his life right now was comfortable enough for him. When the time came, Rei vowed, he'd face the problems that had been nagging him, but for now all he had to do was brace himself for the worst, and pray. The worst, at this moment, was getting plowed into and almost knocked over. His reflexes kicked in, and he was able to stay on his feet. The other teen was not quite as fortunate, and landed un-gracefully on the ground. All Rei could see at this moment was a mop of very blond hair…

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Well, this is my fic... It's long, and I just noticed that it gets longer and longer as it goes along... Don't mind my run-on sentences, that's just the way I write, lol. Any guesses as to who the blond is? Any suggestions or constructive critisizmare welcomed, anything to help me write this thing! lol. So yup. Also, if anyone could tell me what Mr. Dickinson's and Kenny's names are in the Japanese version, that'd be a huge help :D This fic is rated T 'cause... It'll get confusing. That's just about it though. So ya. Till next update!