Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.

Note 1: This is strictly AU, may have OOC, and will have several OCs.

Note 2: This story will be taking place maybe a few months after the end of G-Revolution, so everyone's pretty much around 15 or 16 years old.

Beyblade
Hearts of Luck

Chapter One
Paper Cranes

Kai sighed as he left the convenience store. He had gone inside to buy some milk and maybe a little tuna or something for a family of cats he had recently discovered. The mother, he realized, was quite young, and the way that she was lost when it came to handling her kittens Kai knew that it had to be her first time. She looked so skinny too; surely she didn't know how to manage her time of taking care of the kittens and hunting. So Kai decided to help out. If he gave the mother food, then she wouldn't starve, and the kittens would get proper nutrition as well.

Today Kai was sporting his usual clothes, trademark white sash and all. As he walked the street of the town it wavered behind him. He was not wearing the secure pouch in which he usually placed his beyblade. In fact, he wasn't wearing any of his usual gear today. Out of force of habit, he had a beginner's launcher and ripcord in one pocket and Dranzer's beyblade – or should he say what used to be Dranzer's beyblade? – was in his other, the Bit Chip on top of the beautiful blue beyblade was empty, like the hollow feeling Kai got every time now just by thinking of beyblading.

Kai soon entered the neighborhood section of the town, walking parallel to the river as it flowed in the opposite directions. The cats were near this area, but on the otherside, somewhere secluded and surrounded by bushes. Children were laughing and cheering further down the bank, surrounding a red classic Beydish as two of their friends faced off. Kai diverted his red eyes for a second, but then reminded himself that for him it was over.

'It's time I just admit it. I don't feel anything for the sport anymore. Sorry, Dranzer, sorry I couldn't be a better blader…' Was the dismal thought that ran through his mind as he continued down the bank. The river a few yards away took a turn, and behind the stone gates of the neighborhood yards were the bushes where the cats lived.

"Come now, Miss's," A frustrated man's voice reached Kai's ears before he had turned the curve of the riverbank. "Come along with me, you've had your fun."

"Let go of me!" A girl shouted back, "I told you I'm not going!"

Kai finally made it the bend of the river. His eyes fell on a man dressed in a black formal looking suit and a girl just around his age. The girl had large, stunning emerald green eyes with a blue burst at the center, and her raven hair fell several inches below her shoulder, streaked with crimson red, especially her bangs. Her skin was a beautiful porcelain color, the blue, short sleeved off the shoulder dress she wore accenting the blue bursts in her eyes. Around her neck was a thin blue ribbon, the excess hanging over her chest, the center being a silver rose, a black spaghetti strap purse hanging from her shoulders, and around her left wrist an expensive looking silver bracelet, a peculiar book-shaped locket hanging from it with the letter "L" imprinted on it.

"Young Miss, you must return with me immediately!" The man shouted.

"I said no." The girl replied, attempting to yank her wrist from the man's grip.

On reflex, Kai's hand reached for his beyblade and the launcher. Like the pro he is, he launched his beyblade and, with or without Bit Beast, was as accurate as ever. The beyblade struck the man's hand, forcing him to retract it away from the girl, and then flew back into his hand. For a moment Kai's intense red eyes met the girl's green ones, but only for a moment. Seizing her chance to escape, the girl scale a nearby neighborhood wall with astounding precision, like she'd practiced it many times, and disappeared from view.

The man sighed exasperatedly, calling desperately, "Young Miss! Come back!"

Kai ignored the man and continued on to where the cats were hidden. The man soon left, chasing after the girl, though his attempts would be futile. The mother cat came out as Kai approached, laying down food and milk for her. She ate quickly, only glancing briefly at him with her large eyes, before shooting back into the bushes to where her kittens were. Kai knew she was watching, the girl from before. Kai could feel her emerald eyes following him as walked around the river bank; she had only pretended to run away, but in reality had backtracked to here. Kai didn't care if she was watching or not. He walked to the flowing river until he was only a few feet away from the crystal blue waters. His beyblade was in his hand and briefly he looked from it to the river. He felt as if he should throw it in, like when a family member was cremated, you freed their spirit by letting them go free. Kai moved to draw his arm back, but at the last second found that he could not.

Sighing yet again, Kai returned to where the cats were. He peered into the bushes, where the mother was feeding her kittens, and decided that leaving his beyblade here would more than suffice. He placed it inside the bush, hidden from view, and left the area. Kai hadn't minded that the girl had been watching him, hadn't minded even though she had seen his failed attempt at discarding his beyblade, but now he was starting to get annoyed. Rather than leave like a normal person, the girl had taken it upon herself to follow him back up the river bank, and she didn't even bother to conceal the fact that she was indeed following him.

Finally fed up, Kai stopped abruptly, turning and glaring at the girl, "Why are you following me?!" His gaze was intense and extremely annoyed, one that usually made people flinch.

But she didn't flinch, only stopped because he had stopped. Her gaze was unwavering. She wore a small, miniscule smile, as if time had frozen it there, but their was a strange sort of locked up sadness deep in her eyes that made Kai think of a bird who'd never left it's cage. After a long stare down, she moved forward, closing the distance between them to around ten feet, "Thank you." She said softly.

"I didn't do it for you." Kai retorted, "He was disturbing the cats. Now quit following me." Kai turned back around, sure that this weird fan girl that was stalking him would certainly decide to leave now.

But she wasn't a fan girl, at least not the kind he was referring to, and instead of running away in devastation at being rejected, her voice, soft like the wind, called him back, "Wait…! You're…Kai Hiwatari, aren't you?"

"I don't do autographs." Kai replied, and continued to walk on once more.

"You know, if you're going to retire from beyblading, you really should've thrown this into the river." She said, bypassing his remark as she reached into her purse and withdrew his blue and red beyblade. "You never know who might just pick it up."

Kai stiffened, whipping back around, his glare sending daggers her way, "How – "

"I saw you slip it into that bush when you checked on those cats." She said.

"What do you want?" He demanded from her.

"Nothing, really." The girl replied as she walked forward, yet again closing the distance between the two to a mere ten feet. "I'll gladly return this to you…On one condition. It's nothing hard, you just have to spend the rest of the day with me. I'll give it to you afterwards."
"And what makes you think," Kai growled, "That I even want it back?"

"Because if you didn't still care about it, you would've thrown it into the river." She answered perceptively.

Kai turned his back on her, angry that she was right. He sighed again, waiting till she was standing next to him, and they continued back to the city. Kai was expecting one of those girls that could always be heard in the Beystadiums, screaming at the top of their lungs. He was expecting one of those girls who would grab or hug him at any chance they got. In fact, Kai was expecting this girl to glomp him at any given moment, but it never happened.

The emerald eyed girl remained a respectable distance from Kai. They walked into the town together, the girl talking about little things, not once mentioning beyblading or the fact that Kai and several of his friends were known all over the world, while Kai simply remained quiet. "It must be nearly lunch time by now." She said, "Let's get something to eat, shall we? Oh don't worry; I'll pay for it." She smiled at him and he followed her to a little bistro and coffee shop where they ordered sandwiches and of course some coffee. The bistro was quite fancy, the sugar being individually wrapped sugar cubes rather than the packets you usually saw nowadays. She led Kai outside to the bistro's pleasant patio, a large umbrella protruding from the black iron table for shade. The chairs were made out of woven wood, cushions making them soft, waiting for their food to arrive.

Kai continued to pretty much ignore her, even when their food came and they started to eat. After awhile, she picked her cup of coffee up, sipping it lightly. She set it back down, "So you really are retiring…Huh? Since you left it in that bush…"

"That's none of your business." He replied, sipping his coffee as well.

"To not beybattle anymore…For someone with so much skill, it seems such a waste, and –"

"Beybattling isn't just about skill." Kai snapped.

"And," She continued with a calm voice, "For someone who loves the sport so much, I can't understand why you'd want to give it up."

"Is that supposed to be a question?" Kai asked, setting his cup down.

"A statement." She paused, considering, "…and a question. Answer if you wish."

Kai was quiet for a long while, thinking it through. She did not raise the question or statement, or whatever it was that she wanted to call it, again. She took the paper from the sugar cubes they had used and was doing something with them on her side of the table as he pondered. His crimson eyes fell upon the curious girl, not quite understanding her motives. She sat their, folding all the papers on table, her small smile like that of a porcelain doll's, permanently etched there yet their seemed something unreal about it. Her eyes told a completely different story.

"No matter how much you love to do something," Kai began, "You can't do it if you don't have the will to."

"There are many things no one understands. Take Bit Beasts, for examples. Souls from ancient battles that live on still today…Sometimes, a spirit can get lost, you know? And even though we may lose our will when that spirit is lost, you have to keep pushing. For if one calls loud enough, if one lights a fire bright enough, perhaps even that lost spirit will find its way back."

"Do you mean Dr– "

"Come on." The girl stood up abruptly, "Let's go do something else now. The city's a very lively place, no?"

Intrigued, Kai followed the girl out of the little bistro, not noticing the paper cranes she'd folded on the table. They ventured all across the city. The girl seemed to have a restless heart, for they never could stay in one place too long. They had gone to the mall where she simply seemed to be goofing off, delighting in just watching others interacting. They had stopped by a passing ice cream cart walking down the street and gotten ice cream. When she heard from someone walking by that there was a fountain that you made wishes to they had gone all over town just searching for that one fountain. Once there, she'd produced a silvery coin from her purse, but couldn't quite decide what to wish, and so spent several minutes just standing and thinking. Kai, annoyed once again, simply sighed and looked away, hoping for the day to end sooner. Before he knew it, he was being splashed with water, much to his chagrin, and discovered that she had finally finished her wish. As the sun began to set, she asked Kai if he knew of a playground somewhere, especially one with swings. Kai brought her to closest one. The playground itself was quite empty, save for a small group of children playing tag, and other groups grouped around the park beydishes. She immediately took to one of the swings, though she did not begin to swing. She simply sat and beckoned Kai to follow suit. The sun was sinking lower in the sky to their right, the bright red-orange rays falling directly on the girl, making her porcelain skin glow. Her eyes remained glued to the group of children running and playing tag.

"You never answered." Kai said, breaking the silence.

"Answered what?"

"I asked you why you followed me, but you didn't answer."

"What do you think, Kai? I'm just your everyday run of the mill fan girl." She said robotically.

"That's a lie." Kai said, frowning, "You must know that Tyson, Max, and Ray are here too, so why me?"

"If I told you it was just coincidence that I saw you today, would you believe me?"

"…Not really. You're avoiding the question."

The girl swung herself off the swing, landing a few feet away, her back to him, "Not all questions have an answer."

Kai didn't understand. What's with this girl? What was her gain? One afternoon spent with him doing pretty much nothing? Others would've taken an opportunity like this with more serious notions, either as a fan or a blackmailer, and yet – ?

"Thank you for today." She said, facing him, just as a new black sedan pulled up on the street next to the park.

"I didn't have a choice, remember? So why are you thanking me?"

"Right…" She said slowly, smiling softly at him. She dug into her purse and produced Kai's beyblade. She held it out for him to take, "Guess it's time I gave this back to you. Don't lose it now."

"The day isn't over yet," Kai said, "I can just leave if you give it to me. Why – ?"

"Young Miss!!" An curt voice rang out across the empty playground. The man who had been attempting to drag her away earlier stepped out of the driver's side of the car, "Come here this instant!"

"In fact, you deserve something more." She continued, ignoring the man, "Now close your eyes." Kai sighed audibly, tired of her games, but she only giggled at this, "Come on, it isn't that bad." Rolling his eyes, he finally complied, holding out one hand. She dropped something into from her purse, two something's to be more exact, one that was heavy and one that was light. "I guess this is good bye." She said as she turned and began to walk away.

Kai opened his eyes, looking down at what she had dropped into the palm of his hand. At first all he saw was the white crane, painted with black markings and a red crown at the top of its head. But it wasn't the paper crane that had caught his attention. No, it was the star green beyblade sitting underneath the paper crane, elegant blue and red patterns marking the sides. The bit chip at the top held the image of a bird that looked much like a crane. Kai's crimson eyes rose from the beyblade to the girl who was now ten feet away, shouting, "Wait!" The girl stopped and a question was zooming around Kai's brain. Why, why did she give him her beyblade?! What was the meaning of this? What was this whole day all about? These were questions in which Kai wanted to ask, should've asked, but instead he found himself saying, "What's your name?"

"Lucky." She said, pausing for a moment as if she weren't sure that were her name, "Just call me Lucky." The girl continued forward until she was twenty feet from the sedan.

"Young Miss, what were you thinking?" The driver reprimanded, but his curt tongue was nothing compared to the rage of the man who stepped out of the car.

He was an important looking man, dressed in a pristine designer white suit. He was aging, most likely at least well into his fifties. He wore elegant gold rings on some of his fingers, and he was frowning as she approached the car. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He raged, catching Kai's attention, "I let you go into one store alone and you disappear for an entire day?! You know we're on a tight schedule today, yet you chose today of all days to runaway?! More of your antics?!?!"

"Sorry, Father, it won't happen again." She replied as the driver opened the door for her.

"And look at your hair! What did you do to your hair? How am I supposed to bring you to the party tonight if you're looking like some punk off the damn street?! Get in the car now! We might have time to bring you to the hair salon to get those out."

Kai watched as "Lucky" got into the car without another word, without even the slightest glance back. Her father got in as well, the driver scrambling to quickly close the door and start the car up again. And just like that, she was gone, and he would probably never see her again.

Kai quickly secured his own beyblade in his pocket, opting to carry "Lucky's" beyblade in his hand as well as the paper crane. He left back to the city, just to walk around, not sure why he felt confused and even a little frustrated. He should be happy, relieved of that strange girl's presence, yet he only felt troubled. Perhaps it was they way that her own butler had hounded her, or maybe it was her paper smile, but most likely it was the way her own father had addressed her.

"Kai?" Max called to the slate haired boy as he walked by, not even noticing the blonde.

He looked up from his ponderings, "Max."

"What're you doing out here so late?" He wondered.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I was just about to go to Tyson's." Max answered, smiling as an idea came into his head, "I bet you Ray'll be there, too. We should all go, come on!" Kai complied, walking alongside Max as they made their way towards the Granger family dojo. "So, Kai, is something bothering you?" He wondered after they had been walking in complete silence for a long while.

"…A girl…"

"Ooh, a girl?" The teen perked up, "Was she pretty?"

"Max, you're missing the whole point. She gave me these." He showed Max the paper crane and her beyblade.

"Really?! She gave you her beyblade?" Max said in disbelief, "But why would she do that?"
He shrugged, "I'll never know."

"Well do you know her name? I mean we could go look her up in the town directory or something."

"Lucky." He said, "She told me to call her Lucky."

"Well that doesn't sound very solid…" Max said. He clapped him on the back nonetheless, "But don't worry, we'll find her. Then we can clear this whole mess up."

When the two had made it to the dojo, Grandpa was the one who let them in. Tyson, Ray, Kenny, and Hilary were all inside already, flipping through TV channels, evidently completely bored. "Don't you guys have better things to do?" Kai questioned as he and Max entered.

Tyson's hand finally became tired, forced to stop on a news channel while he rested. Kai felt dumbstruck by what he saw. That sedan, that black sedan, it was on the TV, pulling up to some major five star hotel of some sort.

Live tonight from outside the uptown Otani Hotel, the news anchor woman said in the usual direct tone, We are witnessing the annual get together dinner party of the richest resident families of all of Japan. A black sedan has just pulled up to the front doors, and the man seen exiting it is none other than Charles Carlisle.

"Will you look at that?" Tyson said, "Just a bunch of rich people going to have dinner and they make the news."

Charles Carlisle is the founder and owner of the Carlisle Company, a large corporation whose products dip into almost every marketable field, from medical supplies to agriculture, and now most recently the sport of Beyblading.

Kai had to force his jaw not to drop, "She…?" The driver ran to the other side of the sedan, opening the door. She was no longer in her simple blue dress, nor was her hair, pulled back into a bun, dyed red. Instead she wore a very formal looking white dress, blue jewelry adorning her neck and wrists, sapphire drops in her earlobes.

Oh, and whom might this charming young girl be? The anchor woman asked, Why I do believe that it is Charles Carlisle's one and only child, Luca Ambra Carlisle. This is the first appearance Carlisle has made with his daughter in two months, and she looks as beautiful as she has ever looked, and the general public can be sure that this won't be the last of her appearances, especially with her Sweet Sixteen just around the corner…

"Lucky," Kai blurted out, making the rest of the people in the room turn to look at him.

"What's wrong, Kai?" Hilary asked.

"It's her," Kai said, speaking mostly to Max since he was the only one who knew as of yet, "That's Lucky."


Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it! Please, please review, tell me what you think, good or bad, I'm all ears. I know the titles a little weird, I'm thinking about changing it, but I'm not sure to what, so for now it will be this. Anyway thanks again for reading, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon!