Chapter 37------Signs of Danger
Dear Riya,
It's been 2 months, 3days, 14 hours, 24 minutes and uhh...18 seconds since I last saw you. Okay okay; maybe I'm exaggerating a lil' but yeah, it's been 2 months.
It's been a long time huh? I wonder what you're doing now, whether you still think about me or are having fun with the guys. You're probably wandering around China right now; or maybe somewhere else. I haven't found anything yet that will help locate the second jewel…I hope we find something soon though, Kenny's been working real hard but we haven't got any leads. Maybe you've found something?
But then again, I wouldn't know that would I…
I've been tagging along at school with Tyson and the rest. It's kinda cool over here, the culture and stuff, but they make the girls wear this dumb chequered skirt that stops above the knee, it's sooo short! I bet you're laughing right now… And oh did I tell you? My Japanese is improving! I can introduce myself now! Haha!
The school thing's only temporary though, we get out next month to train for the American tournament then come back later after the season ends. Will I get to see you there? I hope so…How you're gonna get to America I don't now but still, it doesn't hurt to hope right?
Hope you guys are doing fine wherever you are… Dammit! I should've given you my mobile phone number! I'm such an idiot! Argh!
Sigh… I really miss you and the guys a lot. Sometimes I wonder if I made the wrong decision to leave you and the rest. But at least I know you're somewhere out there, alive hopefully…because:
Me-sad equals you
But,
Me-you equals sad
I read that from a book somewhere, makes sense doesn't it? I really want to see you again. Maybe Eden will do something, a miracle perhaps… But please please enter the tournament? Oh! Gotta run, Grampa G's calling for dinner. I'll see you there ok?
Mai.
Mai chucked her mechanical pencil in her pencil box. She then carefully folded the letter into eighths, meticulously making sure that all the ends met. She looked around, then slowly lifted the tatami mat and placed the paper on top of the other undelivered letters. She padded the floor firmly and dragged her futon over to conceal it. 'There.'
"MAAAAAIIIII!"
"Coming!"
Heavy footsteps thudded into the room, a chair was pulled out and a girl filled up the space above wooden seat. "You haven't even changed." Tyson eyed her uniform as he sat down beside her. "I'm dumping it in the wash anyway…I'll take a bathe after dinner. Itadakimasu!" Mai pulled her palms apart and skewered her fish with her chopsticks, ripping out pieces of meat and drenching it in sauce before placing it inside her mouth.
Dinner was mostly a silent affair, something Mai had learnt after so many months in Japan. If you wanted to talk, you had to make sure your mouth was empty and people usually spoke in short sentences. It was either that or the boys in this house had little to say to each other…
She stuck with the latter.
She watched the rest of them eat; all munching softly. It wasn't like this back home. Back home, everyone talked about something, everyone laughed over the table, joked, snatched food from each others' plates… She chuckled at the memory of Copellia falling backwards when she rocked her chair on two legs.
"What?"
"Eh, nande mo nai. (It's nothing)" The girl held back her laughter and continued with her meal.
"So which one of you dudes is washin' today?" Grampa G asked as he got up to clear his plate.
"Mai…" Everyone chorused in a monotone.
"ME? Why is it me again?" 'It's a conspiracy!'
"Because you lost yesterday's bet, remember?" Max pointed out.
"But… But!" She looked to Grampa G and Rei for backup but they did nothing. "Hidoi! (Yr all so mean!" She pounded her fist against her lap in protest.
"Kai can help you."
The usually calm and collected face of the Russian wrinkled up with a frown at the mention of his name. "It's supposed to be your turn today, help her out." The old man nodded in Mai's direction before exiting the dining room.
'Fine…'
-Fast forward-
"You're supposed to scrub properly! Like this!" Mai scrubbed the plate till it squeaked. "See?" She pulled it out of its soapy grave and showed it to the boy.
"Then why don't you do it?" Kai replied coldly.
"Because you're supposed to help me!"
"Fine. You wash. I'll dry." He tossed a cloth off its handle and caught it in mid-air.
'Stupid jerk… Who does he think he is? 'You wash. I'll dry.' Don't command me like some servant! BAKA!' Mai cursed in her head as she rubbed the sponge against the porcelain surface –scrub scrub scrub- 'Wait till it's his turn to wash, I'll make sure…' –scrub scrub scrub- A fleck of soap landed on Kai's nose. "-snorts with laughter- Sorry!" The boy wiped it down with his index finger and flicked some dish water onto Mai's face. "Hey!" She caught the guy smirking, daring her to retaliate. 'Fine! If that's how you want it!" Mai smashed the sponge on his shirt, leaving a patch of bubbles on the cotton surface. She jumped out of the way before Kai could get his revenge. 'Hah!' But she forgot that this wasn't Copellia, Mit-chan or Riya she was used to playing with, this was Kai: cold, stubborn and bad-tempered. He studied his shirt then glared at Mai, "You can clear everything yourself." With that, he threw the cloth on the counter and walked past Mai.
Wow, that was harsh. Mai felt like she had been hit by a cold winter wind. The water dripping on her feet reminded her of her duty and she went back to washing… 'Baka… can't you just lighten up a bit?'
-Next day-
The doors to the classroom slid open and two figures dragged into class, "Ohaiyou… (Good morning)."
"TYSON!" Hilary marched up to the bluenette, "Where were you yesterday? You were supposed to stay back to do the geography poster!"
"I forgot ok?" The boy dumped his head into his arms and prepared to go back to sleep.
"WHADDYA MEAN YOU FORGOT? IT'S DUE TODAY! YOU—"
Mai disconnected her ears from their argument and slipped into her seat by the window. Everyone loves the window seat, and she proceeded to do exactly what everyone would do when they get the window seat— stare out the window.
She had a nice view of the field but the school gate was blocked by the maple tree. In between the green foliage she could see bicycles streaming in through the gates, girls chit-chatting away in their small cliques and boys strolling in. Just then, something caught her attention…
"Riya wa kakkoi ne! (Riya is sooo cool!)"
"Drex mou! (Drex too!)"
"I heard that they almost beat the Bladebreakers."
"Shh! Not so loud, Tyson might hear us."
Mai stood up from her chair and walked towards the group, "Ne, chotto misete iin desu ka? (May I have a look?)" She pointed to the magazine. The girls looked at her weirdly, 'Oh shit! Did I say it wrongly?' Mai felt her cheeks burn up. One of the girls said something to her friend and they both started grinning.
"Yamete! (Stop it!)" A short brunette rebuked the pair and handed the magazine to Mai, "Here."
"Thanks." The ashen-haired girl forced a weak smile and scanned the glossy page. 'A Storm to Remember?' Her eyes fell on the picture of her friends, then to the little write-up on the left of the page. 'Team Freedom wrecked a storm in the Asian Beyblading Finals 2005, trashing Rei Kon of the Bladebreakers…… But how much do we know about this illusive group? ... hails from the land of China, and consists of Copellia Hashiba, the Dureinne siblings Mit-chan and Drex, and the oh-so-adored team leader, Riya Fujimori…'Mai read on with furrowed brows as the article moved on to give the 411( I think it's American slang for low-down/scoop/details) on the team members. 'When did they do this? What if people find out who they are?'
Fortunately, the article didn't leak any private information. Her friends had lied about some of the details, 'But if people find out…if Grandfather found out…' She studied the picture of the group, 'Let's hope he doesn't.' She closed the magazine and handed it back to the brunette…
-Somewhere in Japan-
"Yes sir, I'll put him on."
Liz held the phone to Britten's ear, "Hello? The tracking device is working fine sir. We've pinpointed her location. –taps on laptop- Tokyo. Uh-huh. Uhh… –looks at Liz- she's working on it. I understand. Yes sir." He pulled his ear away from the mobile and Liz pressed the 'disconnect' button.
"So what the boss say?" Chace was sprawled on the sofa, legs dangling over the edge.
"Just checking. He wants the plan in by Thursday."
"But that's two days from now!" Chace sat up. "He thinks we've got nothing better to do than work on his stupid plan?"
"If you didn't laze around so much then we would've finished it by now!" The raven-haired girl snapped.
"Fine! Let's just get this over and done with, and don't do the hero-thing again. I don't wanna fail another mission; it'll tarnish my track record."
"Maybe you should concentrate more on your acting skills."
"Shut up." The light blue-haired teen threw a pillow in Britten's direction.
"Keep a close eye on her, Britten.This time, we play by the book." Liz unrolled the plan across the table and the team got to work…
-Back to Shiroyama High School-
-DING DONG DING DONG- -DING DING DING DONG- "YYEEEESSS! SCHOOL'S OUT!" Tyson rejoiced.
"Mr Granger! Sit down!" The teacher ordered and pointed an imperious finger at the chair. "Homework, -class groans- do questions 4, 5 and 8 of exercise 4.5 in your notebook. I want it in by tomorrow. Class dismissed."
The chairs screeched across the floor, "Thank you Miss Harada…"
Mai slung her sling-bag over her shoulder and stood by Tyson's table, watching him throw his books into his bag, "What's the rush?"
"I have training to do. –throws bag over shoulder- Let's go."
"Uh-uh-uhhhh," Hilary grabbed him by the collar, "your not going anywhere. You're staying back with us to finish the poster." She placed her hands on her hips.
"But the American tournament's coming up! Training is important."
'Sigh…' Mai waited for them to come to an agreement. "They bicker everyday…They must really like each other."
"Yeah…" Kenny agreed.
"All right…" Tyson finnaly gave in, "I'll stay. Sorry Mai but do you mind waiting? I have to finish this –holds up poster-"
"It's okay, I'll go home myself."
"No!" Mai was a bit startled by his response. "Uh I mean, get Max to go home with you. Kai's orders remember? Someone has to accompany you at all times."
'That stupid rule…. (face looks like this: -.-''')' "Where's Max then?"
"Usual place; by the school gate."
"Oh, later then." The girl walked out of class. She hated this part; the part where students would stare at her and whisper to their friends as she passed them. Sure she was still new and was part of the Bladebreakers but did they have to treat her differently?
Mai ignored the looks people were giving her though occasionally some students would say hi. She was grateful to them for making her feel welcomed but wished the rest would stop staring, it made her feel uneasy. She went down three flights of stairs, through the main hall, passed the gym and finally emerged out of the school building; she saw Max standing by the gate just like Tyson said he would.
"Tyson's staying back for a project. He said we could leave first."
"Yeah ok. We're waiting for Kai and Rei. They're still on the field. Wanna go see?" Max pointed over the the field.
The girl followed behind him and was surprised to find a huge crowd of girls gathered at the edge of the field. "How come there are— -spots Kai on the field- Oh…no wonder…" She muttered sarcastically. The pair sat themselves down on one of the benches; Kai scored a goal and a variety of screeches, screams and shouts went up in the air. The whistle was blown and the soccer players shuffled back to the benches.
"Ready to go?" Max got up as Rei, Kai and another boy walked up to them. Mai recognised the boy as Yuta: senior high grade 2, attends the same geography class as her and forward-attacker for Shiroyama High's soccer team. With light-brown hair, emerald-green eyes, tall, a nice smile and a pro at penalty shots, the girls were right; there were lots of eye-candy to drool over.
"Mai, you know Yuta?" Rei motioned his hand to the boy who had a towel draped around his shoulders.
"Uh yeah, same Geography class right?" 'Why's my cheek heating up? Dammit!'
"Konami Yuta desu. Yorushikku. (I'm Konami Yuta. Nice to meet you.)" The boy held out a hand and smiled warmly.
"Eh? Oh! Takuya Mai. Yorushikku!" Mai quickly shook the boy's hand.
"Sorry, would it be better if I spoke in English?"
"No, it's okay. I have to improve my Japanese anyway." 'Good girl! Just stay calm and everything will go smoothly.'
"In that case, I'll see you around then? Don't forget to bring your compass tomorrow. Ja ne!" Mai watched as he turned his back and headed into the school building.
"Hehhhh? Am I missing something?" Rei grinned. "What's the compass for?"
"It's for Geography." Mai huffed. "Don't go thinking the wrong way."
"Besides, she's got a fiancé." Max added.
"Yeah!" the girl retorted.
"Ikou. (Let's go)" Kai grabbed Rei's duffel bag and tossed it to him. With that he headed towards the school gate while the others followed…
"Maxie, can I borrow a compass from you?"
"Yeah sure."
The group was split in two, with Kai at the front and Rei, Mai and Max just a few feet behind. They were passing a row of shops when Mai suddenly stopped, "Mai?"
But the girl didn't answer; her eyes were glued on the television setby the window:
Riya: "Well I suppose we would but I wouldn't wanna push the team."
Interviewer: "So what's next for Team Freedom?"
Riya: "Maybe travel around more? We're kinda busy with something so the schedule's a bit tight."
'Baka! Nani yo suru? (Idiot! What do you think you're doing?)' Anger was starting to build up inside her, 'you're gonna ruin us all!'
"Dooshite? (What's wrong?)" Rei asked. Even Kai looked at her weirdly.
Fed up with what she was seeing, "Nothing, let's go," she replied coldly and walked ahead of the group, staying silent throughout the rest of the walk home…
'Riya wa baka. BAKA!'
Hey! I'm back! Hahaha! I'mso happy! I've finally started on the second season!
readers: WOOOO! Finally!
Hope you guys enjoy this new one! Sigh, I still have to think up the rest of my plot for this season... Remember to review k? X3