Anime: Wassup, you guys! I'm back in this new Beyblade story: Awakening of the Forsaken Fallen. This story is like a prequel to the main story MIAB (coming soon). This story deals with the OC's of MIAB.
Tyson: We're mentioned here to, right?
Kai: I'm a character here.
Ray: You're sort of out of character though.
Anime: Don't judge me! This is AU-ish, ya know! MIAB and AOTFF take place after the events G-Revolution. To be more specific, after the events of the last episode.
Max: You're introducing more than just the OC's here, Anime.
Anime: I know; I'm also putting in the plot of MIAB here!
Rin: Do you mind starting the story already?
Aya: The only OC that isn't in this chapter is Kaori Kumai. The reason for this is because Anime said she would be introduced in MIAB or later on as the story goes on.
Shun and Hikaru: This story is dedicated to the awesome and hilarious Little. A. Granger, the badass and amazing SuPa4Natural and the sweet and cool kinomiyahiwatari! Check out their stories! TyKa for life!
Riku: Anime doesn't own anything of the Beyblade franchise except some of those beyblades and season one through three of the original. The characters do not belong to her and won't unless she buys the rights.
Nami: If she did own it, I think the TyKa OTP would be canon.
Anime: You know it.
~~AOTFF~~
1: Under the Star of Fate
How many stars are there in the night sky? Thousands, probably as many stars as there are people. Some say that every person is born under a specific star that rules their destiny. Some stars allow you to have a good and normal life while other stars lead you to a harsh and cold life. Let's see those people who were born under the stars of fate, shall we?
~~AOTFF~~
It was a silent and dark night in Moscow, Russia. Some bright stars glinted in the night sky, adorning it the way Christmas lights do to a Christmas tree. It was summer, although it was cool practically most of the year. Moscow was a naturally cold place and some people couldn't survive it. Several people were currently at home, resting, while others weren't so lucky. Our current setting revolves around someone who couldn't seem to find the peace of a dreamless sleep this night, someone born under the star of fate.
The home this person lived in is an old 1800's mansion, appearing to fit in Victorian London rather than modern-day Russia, some miles from its capitol. In this large estate, you could see, from a window, the silhouette of a person who was awake at the moment.
The teenager had raven-black hair and light blue eyes. He wore a simple white shirt that hung off his pale, slim body, reaching up to his knees, and black pants. Despite this, his eyes seemed to be a lot older than his body, making him look mature. He gazed at the sky, sometimes blinking slowly.
"Mizushima-sama, what are you doing still up?"
The boy turned to an elderly woman standing in the open doorway. He stretched, "Akasuki . . . the question is why you are up. I thought you and Alexander had turned in for the night." His voice was smooth and cold, his voice sounding too mature for a normal boy his age.
The maid stared at him, "Rin . . . you haven't been able to sleep in two days. Due to this, I've noticed you picked up the young Hiwatari's habits of drinking coffee. I hope he's not the reason you can't sleep."
Rin scoffed, "As if. Hiwatari is not in my mind. The thing is that . . ." He was silent, his brilliant eyes piercing the night sky as if the answers to his questions were there, "It's around these days that I managed to escape that hellhole nearly ten years ago."
"Oh . . ." Akasuki looked down. The event ten years ago was a dark time for the Mizushima household and the young master hardly spoke of it. He still had the scars of the past but he didn't speak of them, often avoiding the subject altogether when it was brought up. She cleared her throat, looking at the floor, "Then . . . you're up because of your nightmares. Are they just as bad as back then?" That event had traumatized the sixteen year old, causing him to mature too quickly and to even be afraid of falling asleep, fearing what part of his past would haunt him.
"Ten years, Akasuki. Ten years have passed yet I can still hear them screaming in pain. Ghosts of my past that haunt my present and damage my future. I don't think I can ever get them out of my mind. Sometimes I fear for my sanity," Rin bit his lower lip, leaning on the balcony window for support.
"I really am sorry, Rin, for that night." She whispered, although the young male heard her. He tensed at her words, knowing what she was going to say. It was what many people had told him over the years. "You were too young and too innocent to experience that. No one deserved to go through what you did-."
"It's fine." Rin interrupted, looking at the ground with an intense gaze, "I survived and so did others. Speaking of which, the day after tomorrow, Orikasa requested I go to Moscow at six. Apparently she and the others want to reunite and deal with our ghosts together. It has been our tradition since we escaped."
Akasuki smiled, remembering the bright girl she had met three years ago. It was hard to remember that she had gone through the same things as Rin had yet continued to smile like that, "That girl is so sweet. She and the others have always looked out for you. They're good friends for you."
"Friends . . ." Rin whispered, looking to the ground, "I hope you don't mind that I'll be visiting their graves tomorrow on my own. I don't need any bodyguards." He met her gaze, his eyes showing sadness that he knew he couldn't hide, "You should rest. Tomorrow is a new day and who knows how that'll be like. Knowing Orikasa, she'll probably want to storm in here. I'm glad she doesn't know where I live."
Akasuki bowed, "Of course, young master."
As she left, Rin made his way towards his bed. Even though he was the head of the household, he refused to take the master bedroom. That place had too many painful memories. The whole house was painful to see, especially because hints of the fire that nearly destroyed it ten years ago remained. Most of the old portraits had been saved but others had been burned. The wallpaper had changed because the other had been severely burned. Rin could still remember he had been forced to stay in the Mizushima home in Japan while the main estate was being fixed.
Fire . . . searing hot pain . . . blood-red eyes gazing at him . . . pain . . . red feathers . . . sharp talons . . . pain . . . an ear-splitting screech . . . the chanting of the men dressed in black hoods . . . so much pain. . .
He shook his head. He couldn't relapse again. They had nearly locked him up in a white room with a straightjacket the way they had to Riku last time. He couldn't have that. He had a company to run and a reputation to uphold. He was a Mizushima; he was competitive, shrewd and level-headed by nature. Having a mental breakdown was a sign of weakness, and he couldn't have that. Besides, he didn't want to meet with someone who would love to see how his mind worked and what he hid inside.
His cell phone rang and his eye twitched when he heard his ringtone. Damn, Sakamoto was going to get killed next time he saw her for changing his ringtone to the song Rise Above the Storm. He should learn how to change his ringtone before killing her, though. He shook his head to clear his mind and picked it up after about ten seconds, "This is Mizushima Rin."
"You sound as if you've been awake long."
Rin nearly groaned and would've if he hadn't had an ounce of patience. He merely rolled his eyes. He just had to call him, huh? "Call the devil and he comes . . ." He mumbled. Louder than his previous statement, he said, "Well, if it isn't Kai Hiwatari. I thought you were in some random ditch playing with kitties now that the Beyblade tournament is over."
"I have to say, I expected you to be awake, even if it is two in the morning over there." Kai replied and Rin bit his inner cheek. If he couldn't sleep because of his nightmares, he would never sleep knowing Hiwatari had called him, possibly to ruin his dreams.
"Don't tell me you believe Sakamoto when she says I don't sleep, Hiwatari." Rin replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Speaking with Hiwatari made him feel exhausted, "Or I'm going to have to believe that you and Tyson Granger are dating." The last remark had a teasing tone to it and Rin could feel Kai's death glare through the phone. Too bad he was immune to it. After all, they had been close until the incident when he was six. After that, he and Kai were more antagonistic against the other. That was to be expected, considering that creature . . .
"Did Orikasa tell you that?"
"No need for her to tell me. The maids in my mansion claim you and Granger have 'sexual tension' and you're just waiting to release it. When you make-out, however, don't let the paparazzi catch you. I don't want to see your face in a newspaper too early in the morning." Rin replied and he inwardly laughed as there was silence in the other line. He enjoyed annoying the hell out of Kai. It was one of his favorite past times, whenever he was bored.
"Why would you say that, Mizushima?"
Rin almost groaned at the question. He wanted to bang his head onto something solid when he was at it. He sighed, "Tyson this, Tyson that . . . you sound like a love-struck teenage girl gushing about her crush, Hiwatari. It's obvious."
"You sound like you're jealous of him. Could it be that you have feelings for me, Rin?" Rin held back a growl when Kai addressed him with his first name in that teasing tone. Only certain people were able to use it and Kai certainly wasn't one. He and Orikasa loved to use it to annoy the hell out of him. Those two were like natural disasters for Rin.
"In your dreams, Kai." Rin shot back, narrowing his eyes.
"Considering the fact that you asked me to marry you, I'm not sure about that."
Rin turned bright red when he remembered that, wanting to strangle Kai so badly. How could he use that against him when Rin had only been an innocent and idiotic child and had no idea what the term 'married' meant? It was more embarrassing when his maid decided to marry them . . . it was a fake sermon but, nonetheless, it was terrifying to remember that. He had managed to suppress the childhood memories of him being with the young Hiwatari. Too bad that that day hadn't been forgotten by either.
"God, I was four, Hiwatari! Besides, you could've said no! If I recall, you were excited about getting 'married' to me!" Rin shot back, losing some of his composure.
"Did you know Akasuki found the pictures Nariko had taken that day?" Kai said, calm as ever. He was probably enjoying annoying the hell out of Rin; the bastard was that cruel and sadistic. Rin was considering strangling the phone in his anger. Kai Hiwatari was the most infuriating person he knew! How had he and the other boy been best friends, once upon a time?
"What's your point?" He asked, one of his fists clenched.
"How do you think Aya will react when she sees them?" Kai asked and Rin froze. If Orikasa saw them, she'd storm over to Russia, find him despite the fact that she didn't know where he lived, call him a cheater and tell him to file a divorce. She was that irrational and obsessive. Rin narrowed his eyes. Was Kai blackmailing him (Rin hated to admit that it was working)? What for, though?
"What do you want?" Rin asked, not wanting to beat around the bush in these matters. He had to have a reason. Even if Kai was a bastard and Rin hated him, he didn't do things without a reason.
"A favor. I want you to come with me to this event that's being hosted in Red Square tomorrow. We have to act as if the Mizushima and Hiwatari Enterprises are still close allies."
Rin groaned, a hand running through his hair. Before the death of his parents, the Mizushima and Hiwatari families had been close business partners. When he became the head of his family . . . well . . . he didn't have the same beliefs as his father and, due to his rivalry with Kai and disagreements with Voltaire (some of them surrounding Biovolt), stopped working with alongside the Hiwataris.
"Alright, fine. After that, let's just ignore the other's existence." Rin replied, feeling his eyebrow twitch.
"Agreed." Kai replied and the call ended.
Rin sighed, lowering his hand that held his phone. He wanted to sleep so badly but he knew his dreams would be haunted by his memories of the past. He threw himself backwards in bed, closing his eyes. He would be visiting the graves tomorrow and going to the event with Hiwatari. The day after tomorrow, he would nurse his old wounds. Some things never changed.
~~AOTFF~~
Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
"Ah!" A woman in a reception desk exclaimed, looking at the girl standing in front of her. The teenager seemed to be about fifteen years old, had long blonde hair and bright purple eyes. She was wearing a black skirt, white socks, black shoes, a white shirt and a black blazer, finishing the outfit with a black bag. The woman immediately recognized her. Who wouldn't recognize the heir of Orikasa Industries, the largest shipping company in the world? "Miss Orikasa! How may I help you?"
"I'm here to see a patient," She replied. It was the same thing she said every year for ten years when she came to see him. He had been, out of all the survivors, the only one that had not been able to properly recover. He had cracked, becoming this. Now, he was basically locked up in an asylum. Of course, it wasn't an asylum but Aya saw it as such.
"Mr. Kuonji, am I right?" The woman replied, giving her a smile that Aya didn't return. It was hard for her to smile to strangers during these days, considering that's how she had been kidnapped ten years ago. Those awful memories were imprinted on her brain and would never get out. She had to go through therapy until she was eight because she had been so scared of other people.
"Yes. Is he still awake?"
The woman nodded, "Yes, he is. He's been waiting for you, saying that you always came to visit him. He's in the same room, Miss Orikasa."
"Thank you," Aya said with a curt bow and proceeded to head towards Riku's room. The number was branded into her mind, ever since she found out who had survived that event and decided to track them down to see how they were coping. It wasn't hard to find them, considering most of them had been from prestigious and wealthy families.
Room 267. Kuonji Riku. Reason for being institutionalized? Madness. That's what everyone said. Aya knew that Riku wasn't insane. It hadn't been his fault; after all, the poor fifteen year old had been broken beyond repair at the tender age of five. Out of the survivors of that event, he had been one of the ones to suffer.
She stopped in front of Riku's room, thinking. Shun, Hikaru, Nami, Kaori, Rin, Riku, herself, Tyson, Hiro, Julia and Raul were the only survivors out of nearly four hundred children to survive. Tyson, Hiro, Julia, Raul and Kaori had been the lucky ones, somehow suppressing the memories. She and the others were managing fine but they still suffered through those painful memories. Riku had been the only unlucky one, breaking under the pressure of the other presence within his mind.
She opened the door and smiled, "Hey, Riku."
She was met by an extremely skinny and pale fifteen year old boy with light brown hair – that almost seemed blonde – and red-purple eyes. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and white pants. He was curled up in the corner of his bed, eyes gazing at empty space. The sight of the heir of Kuonji Corporation – a powerful corporation that sold impressive cell phones and laptops – like this made Aya want to hit his parents. Why would they keep him like this?
Upon hearing her voice, he cautiously turned to her. Aya still felt the same sorrow inside her when she gazed into Riku's lost eyes. "Aya-nee?" His voice was soft and weak, as if he didn't use it often. Considering his situation, he probably didn't.
She smiled, sitting down at the edge of the bed, "Yeah, I came to visit. I wanted to know how you were. It's already the tenth year anniversary of that time. It . . . Anyways, how are you coping?"
He stared at her before dropping his gaze to the ground, "You visit me more than Rai and Taishi, Aya-nee. Nami-chan came yesterday and Hikaru-nii and Shun-nii came two weeks before her. Rin-sama visited on my birthday. He offered to take me out of here. But I told him that I was crazy. The owner of Mizushima Enterprises shouldn't be around a person that is insane. It'd be bad for him."
"Don't say that," Aya placed a hand on his hand and resisted the urge to pull away. He was freezing! It was like he was a corpse, "Rin cares, in his own Rin-like way, and so do the others. Even if your parents don't care, you know that we do. Speaking of," She began to rummage through her bag, "I got you this."
She took out a poster, smiling, "I know you like Beyblade since I told you what it was so . . . here!" Riku gazed at the poster, recognizing some of the bladers from the recent championship. During those days, Rin frequently visited to tell him how things were going. Of course, Rin had been a bit angry that Kai and the Demolition Boys – Blitzkrieg Boys, he corrected in his mind – made it to the finals. He had almost seemed happy when the BBA Revolution had won.
"I even got it autographed for you! Oh, I wish you could meet them, especially Kai! One day, I'm going to introduce you to him. He's a lot like Rin – I think that's why they can't stand each other – so you'll get along fine with him-."
"Tyson Granger."
Aya stopped to look at Riku, who gazed at the current champion of the Beyblade sport. He closed his eyes, "He was so lucky to forget. I wish I could forget but he's always in my head. I'm always going to be insane, Aya. Every time he makes his presence known, he hurts people. He makes me hurt them . . . I want him out of my head. How would it be like, only hearing your thoughts?"
Aya sighed, "It's a nice thing." She was silent before grabbing Riku's hand, "You . . . you should really get out of here. This never helped you. You should have come with us. I can even sneak you out-."
"I was born under the star of insanity, Aya. I deserve to be here." He replied.
Aya pouted, giving Riku a hard look that he met with a calm and defeated look. He always said that. He claimed that everyone was born under a star that ruled their destiny and he had been born under a star that guaranteed his insanity. Aya thought that was total bullshit but Riku's beliefs were the only thing that kept him from spiraling into true madness so she never told him off about it.
"You're wrong. The star you were born under isn't the star of insanity. You're meant to do something more!" She retorted, shaking her head. He looked down and stared at the poster she had brought, silent. Until he broke it.
"He has Driger, right?" He was pointing at Ray Kon, the neko-jin from White Tiger X with long black hair and cat-like golden eyes. Aya bit her lip, knowing deep down that, even if they met, Ray Kon and Riku Kuonji wouldn't be able to be close friends as she had wanted. They'd clash, the same way Rin and Kai did.
She hated to admit it, but Riku and Ray had been born under opposing stars. No. That wasn't the reason. It was because Riku had been claimed by the thing that's only desire was to destroy Driger and its master. One day, they'd fight, just like Rin and Kai would fight and the way she'd have to face-off against the innocent Max Tate.
Aya just hoped that that day would never come.
~~AOTFF~~
New York City, New York, United States of America
"Can you drop me off somewhere here, Sebastian? I want to see some of New York before we head to our next location. Why do Mom and Dad have to have such varying schedules?" A female voice said, causing the driver to look through the mirror to have eye contact with his only passenger.
"Now, Miss Sakamoto, your mother wants you to see her in her new photo shoot and your father wants you to see him in his new movie set; you should be happy that they want to see you. Other famous parents would've let you stay home." The male replied and the girl gave out a huff, shaking her head, pouting.
Inside the black luxurious car, in the back of the car, a fourteen year old girl with long light navy blue hair and bluegreen eyes sat, gazing at the lights of the Big Apple. Her hair was up in two ponytails, making her look younger, and she wore a light pink sweater, a blue skirt, white socks that made it up to her knees and light brown shoes. This was the young Nami Sakamoto, only daughter of the famous model Natasha Sakamoto and famed actor Ren Sakamoto, and granddaughter of Haru and Nikki Sakamoto, owners of the worldwide Hoshi Resorts.
Even though Nami was famous for her parents and grandparents accomplishments, she didn't let that get to her head. She was a rather simple and humble girl, rather shy despite the outgoing personalities of her parents, but she had a tough past. Her past was something that haunted her every day for ten years.
Sebastian had been the girl's butler for thirteen years and had been one of those people who had frantically searched for her when she, along with several children, went missing ten years ago. She had been one out of eleven survivors from that incident ten years ago; however, like the others, she was still burdened by those terrible memories.
Nami bit her lower lip, rubbing her left arm. She still had old scars, both physically and mentally. She knew she shouldn't whine about the one scar she had. She knew the others probably had more scars. She had been four when that had happened so that time was a blur. However, the others had been five, six in Rin's case, so they had more of chance of remembering. All she remembered was the dark, the cries of pain coming from children and pain.
"It's already been ten years, hasn't it, Nami?" Sebastian said and Nami fidgeted on her seat. She looked at her lap, intertwining her hands together. She sighed, staying quiet. Her butler seemed to understand and didn't pry. He knew that topic was sensitive to Nami. It was a miracle that she even spoke at all about the incident.
"Yes . . . This year, we're meeting in Russia. It's Rin's turn to host." She mumbled. It still hurt her to remember. She remembered how they had put her inside a coffin, just like Hikaru had been, and buried them both. Hikaru had gotten out sobbing and coughing, gasping for breath. She had passed out due to the lack of oxygen. Even to this day, Hikaru hated enclosed places and would freak out if he was in a tight place. She didn't get that phobia, to her good fortune.
"Rin Mizushima. Out of all of you, excluding Master Riku, he suffered the most. He returned home to find two graves, a house haunted with ghosts of his past and no one to call family." Sebastian said and Nami was struck with how wise he had sounded at that moment. There were moments when Nami forgot that Sebastian wasn't that twenty-seven year old man her parents had hired to protect her. The man was already forty and Nami had seemed to overlook that fact.
"Most of us returned to families that received us with open arms. Riku came back to a home where he was neglected and Rin to an abandoned home. Maybe that's why they're the most broken out of all of us." Nami said, looking up and facing the window, "Sebastian . . . just take me back to the hotel. I'm tired."
Sebastian nodded, "Physically or mentally, Miss Nami?"
Nami closed her eyes, leaning on the seat. She sighed, "A little of both, I suppose."
~~AOTFF~~
Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
"I'm bored, brother." A male voice spoke out from the shop. There was a sigh but no response, as if the other didn't even want to bother. The store that was owned by Kuonji Corporation had the special honor of having the fifteen year old heirs of the Kuwashima family visiting them, the same family that was known for its job as a medical organization and had their own police force. Their health products were used all over the world and their hospitals were stationed in every country. However, these two males were special in their own way for, unlike the others in their family, they had been born under the star of fate.
The names of the twins were Hikaru and Shun Kuwashima. Hikaru was the older brother and had blue hair and red eyes. His hair was messier and tousled, as if he hadn't bothered to comb it. He was wearing a black T-shirt, a dark blue jacket and dark blue jeans, matching with his dark Converse shoes. His eyes seemed to have a mischievous glint to it. Indeed, Hikaru was a rowdy, wild, bold, confident, mischievous and rude.
The younger twin was Shun Kuwashima, the opposite of Hikaru. Like his brother, he had the same blue hair and red eyes. The similarities ended there. Shun's hair was combed neatly, a difference to his brother. He was wearing a buttoned white shirt, black dress pants and black shoes, looking professional. His eyes seemed soft and gentle, opposing the mischievous glint his brother had. A sharp contrast to his brother, Shun was kind, gentle, sweet, shy, honest and respectful.
The one who had spoken had been Hikaru, who indeed looked bored. Shun looked at his brother, "Hikaru-nii, we're looking for gifts for the anniversary, remember? Aya-chan said it'd be polite to get everyone presents."
"Yeah, yeah, I know Aya said that. But why do we gotta go to Russia? I don't want to visit the grouch Rin. He gets extra moody around these times. He acts as if he's the only one hurting. Newsflash, we were all there. We didn't get like him, though." Hikaru practically yelled. Hikaru's loud voice and Shun's soft one was another difference between the twins.
"Rin-san lost a lot, like we did. He has a different way of coping than us. We shouldn't judge him or the others on the way that they are." Shun said wisely. Hikaru and he had lost their parents when they had been ten, dying in a car crash. Their way of death had been better than how Rin's parents had died. Shun got shivers by just thinking about it. He still remembered when he had read the obituaries.
Haru and Natasha Mizushima had been Rin's loving parents and owners of Mizushima Enterprises. One day, nearly ten years ago, there was a fire that threatened to burn down their mansion. All the servants except Akasuki Kakihara and Alexander Kozlov were found dead. The head of the Mizushima family was found dead, his head severed from his body. His wife suffered a similar death. Their only son, Rin, was missing and was found almost six months later.
Shun shook his head and turned to look outside, gazing at the other stores nearby. He gasped, his eyes brightening as something caught his eyes, "Oh, that store would make lovely gifts for them! Hikaru-nii, let's go and see!" Grabbing his brother's hand, Shun ran out of the building.
Hikaru gave out a yelp, surprised by his brother's actions. Shun didn't typically act like this, after all, "Shun, where do ya think you're taking us?"
"Hikaru-nii, look at this!" Shun cried out as he took his brother to the store across from their original location. The store looked rather dull – named San Beth's Shop – so Hikaru had no idea why it had interested his younger brother so much. Then, he saw from the window, the amazing sculpture of a fiery red phoenix.
"Whoa, that is pretty neat. Rin would definitely like it, Shun." Hikaru noted once they stopped in front of the store. He squinted but he couldn't see anything else inside. It was no wonder no one stopped to look at the store; it looked as if it was closed. Shun smiled at his brother's antics before opening the door and entering, Hikaru having no choice but to follow him inside.
Shun gasped, "These are amazing!" He ran to a shelf where the sculpture of a dark blue dragon with no wings was located, roaring as if it had been fighting something. He smiled, touching it delicately, "You know, it reminds me of Tyson-kun's bit-beast. Dragoon, right? That's what he's called, right?"
"I think so."
Hikaru blinked as he caught sight of a painting where eight beasts were depicted, trapped inside the yin and yang symbol. In the yang side, he could see a red phoenix, a blue dragon, a white tiger and a black turtle, each of them looking as if they were fighting something, or the creatures that were in the yin side. In the yin side, there was a dark red phoenix, a dark blue dragon, a gray tiger and another black turtle. Even though they looked very similar, the creatures in the yin side radiated darkness. Hikaru shivered despite himself, having a feeling what those things were.
"Dragoon is Tyson, Dranzer is Kai, Driger is Ray and Draciel is Max," He mumbled, touching the surface of the painting, "Each of them has an opposite. Rin, Riku and Aya but no one knows who Tyson's opposite is . . ."
"Did you say something, Hikaru-nii?" Shun asked. He had carried several sculptures to the cash register already. He already knew who was going to receive the sculptures. The phoenix would be Rin's, the turtle's would be Aya's, the tiger would be Riku's (if he didn't break it, that is), the woman who seemed as if she came from the earth would be Nami's and his brother's would be the man covered in what appeared to be darkness.
Hikaru jumped and shook his head, "No, not all. Just . . . I'm thinking I need to buy this painting. It's very beautiful." Shun turned to him and his breath hitched upon seeing the painting. He bit his lower lip, turning paler when he remembered. Those creatures were the reason that they hadn't had a normal life. They had changed everyone and it was their fault.
"Oh," Shun said, looking away, "I see. . . I didn't know you had a good eye for art, Hikaru." Hikaru clenched his fists, knowing Shun was really bothered if he didn't even use an honorific when addressing him. He knew that Shun knew the importance of the painting and how it had impacted their life. This thing forced them to remember things they didn't want to remember and had tried to forget.
"Well! If you're taking all those six items, then you're getting something for free, gentlemen! It is, after all, a special for this month only." The twins jumped in unison, looking around to look for the source of the voice. They finally found the person, who was leaning on a door that read Employees Only.
The person was a female around twenty-eight years old and had an olive complexion. She had wavy chocolate brown hair she had up in a messy ponytail. She had dark brown eyes, hidden behind black rimmed glasses. She was wearing a baggy blue T-shirt that read 'Let It Rip!' and black jeans. She seemed to be wearing dark blue Nike shoes and she had a smirk prominent in her face. Shun, for a brief moment, wondered if that was the proper attire she had to be wearing. After all, didn't this store have uniform? Hikaru, on the other hand, was wondering why she hadn't appeared sooner.
"What special?" Both asked in unison.
The female chuckled, "Buy one and you get one of these for free," From her pocket emerged a shining light blue stone, akin in looks to a sapphire, hanging from a leather cord. She smiled, "Of course, there are other colors, if you want."
Shun smiled and bowed politely, "Thank you very much . . ."
"My name's Lizbeth. No honorifics, please. I don't want to be addressed with any because I don't think I need them. You Japanese are awfully polite, you know. Then again, there aren't many polite people from where I'm from." The female said as Shun straightened up, blinking at the woman.
Hikaru rose an eyebrow. He had known that she wasn't Japanese due to her complexion but was curious from where she was from. After all, she was speaking fluent Japanese, "You're a foreigner? Where do you come from? What brings you to Japan?"
Lizbeth nodded her head, placing one of her hands on her hip, "Yeah, I'm a foreigner. I'm from a small town near the border of Texas in America. Ever visited there? The reason I'm here, you ask? Well, to see how this story is going to play out, of course. I have nothing better to do."
"Huh?" Shun and Hikaru asked in unison. What did she mean with 'how this story is going to play out'? The woman noted their confusion and smiled, as if she knew something they didn't. Of course, Lizbeth didn't want to say that to them. If she told them what she knew, the story wouldn't be much fun.
"Oh, never mind. Are you buying all that?"
At the twins' nod, Lizbeth checked out the items. She smiled, "Your total is ninety-five dollars. I don't know how much yen is that so please help me with that." She chuckled, scratching the back of her head as if she had done something idiotic.
Shun smiled, being the polite one from the twins, "Here." He gave her a one hundred dollar bill. At her surprised look, Shun elaborated, "We make sure to carry currency from around the world just in case. Who knows, right?"
Lizbeth nodded. As she tried to get their change, Hikaru shook his head, "Keep the change. I think you earned that extra money for yourself. I mean, it was you who made these, right?"
Lizbeth was silent and then nodded, "You're very intelligent, kid. Now, here you go." She took out six necklaces, all of them a different color. There was red, blue, white, purple, yellow and black and all the stones seemed to shine. Shun didn't know why but he kept thinking that they looked a lot like stars, the way they were shining.
"Thank you very much, Lizbeth-san. We hope you have a good day." Shun said with a curt bow, still using the honorific even though the woman had told him not to use one on her. It was a habit that Shun had drilled into his head and it wasn't easy to forget a habit. Hikaru smirked at the look on the woman's face. Shun would always use honorifics – unless he was angry – and addressed everyone with one. Lizbeth was no exception.
Lizbeth placed the items in boxes before handing it to the brothers. Both of them caught each other's gaze and shared a smile before heading out of the shop. Lizbeth waved at them, "May the stars watch over you, Shun and Hikaru Kuwashima."
Once gone, Lizbeth sighed, fishing out a necklace that depicted several creatures. She closed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling of the shop. If the twins had looked up, they would've seen that it had several stars painted on them. While some of them were just white, only a few were painted with other colors. The young woman blinked slowly, seeing what only she could see. After all, she was a keeper of fate and helped keep the balance of the world.
She hummed, "A decade has passed already. Are they ready, I wonder? Those children born under the stars of fate must get ready. After all," Lizbeth seemed to shrink, turning younger. Her skin turned lighter in tone, her eyes seemed to glow with youth and her hair turned longer. She now looked fifteen years old, a major change from her other form, "the awakening has already started. The Forsaken Fallen will finally be unleashed. You better be ready for the counter attack, sacred spirits."
~~AOTFF~~
Anime: Sebastian isn't an important OC and that's a reason I didn't describe him (plus, I was really lazy). Lizbeth, however, is somewhat important. I based her off me!
Tyson: Anime, in this chapter, showed the different ways people cope with a dangerous events and this gives you a look at the psyche of the OC's.
Kai: Rin turned bitter, Riku turned mad, Aya turned into an airhead (somewhat), Nami became a girl who wants people's happiness, Hikaru turned mischievous, Shun became shy and Kaori forgot.
Max: Why do you keep hinting at the 'event' but won't say what really happened?
Tyson: Why did you say Hiro, Julia, Raul and I were among the survivors?
Ray: What's this about them opposing us?
Anime: All meant to be unveiled in MIAB a.k.a Missing In Action Blader
Rin: You love to annoy the hell out of me, don't you, Anime?
Anime: Hehehe…
Aya: Oooh, will I meet with Kai or Rin in this story?
Shun and Hikaru: How long is this story going to be?
Nami: Did anyone like this story?
Kaori: Does anyone bother to read these?
Riku: Why is this author's note so long?
Anime: I'm glad I got this out because I promised certain people I'd have it out. I have lots of fics to work on (Dueling Legend, L!f3, Frozen Butterfly Wings, Bittersweet Lullaby, Ship's NezuShi fic I promised her last year, MIAB, etc.) but I have time! Read and review! If you do so, I'll update and give you these Bladebreakers plushies!
Rin: Why is Riku in the mental institution but not her?
Riku: She acts sane in front of other people.
Tyson: See you later, guys!
