I don't own Beyblade. But I wish I did.

"Deep Assassin"

"Hey, did you hear?"

The voice spoke quietly but erratically to another. Tala and the other Demolition Boys walked by, unamused by all of the commotion. Yet the sounds were unavoidable, as good and bad children alike could not stop chatting about the apparent news.

"…a new person's coming to Biovolt. I heard he's a strong one."

"Hmph, doubt it. Nobody's as tough as the Demolition Boys. They're the stuff, man."

Tala heard Ian sniff out a laugh as the comment passed their ears. He turned and glared with his ice blue eyes.

"Ian. Does it amuse you that we're the best? Should you be concerned about comments?"

Ian stopped and shook his head. "No, Captain."

"Good. Now keep moving."

The boys arrived at the main office where Boris was waiting. The tall masked man was in his usual chair, his fingers tracing marks on the desk. He stood up once Tala came in through the door.

"Hmm, good morning boys. I trust you've heard the news?"

"Sir," Tala snapped calmly, "I heard it almost immediately. I'd like to know what it is about." Spencer and the others nodded in agreement.

Boris grinned and motioned to the door, and a man in his twenties pulled open the door. In stepped a child no taller than Tala. Their hair was spiked, but long, and their features were about as calm and empty as Kai's.

He reminds me of…Kai… Tala thought with a small, unseen twitch. It had been a week since Kai had joined back with his team the Bladebreakers, and Tala, despite enjoying the absence, still hated even hearing mention of Kai's name. He stopped automatically as he caught the newbie's eye.

"So, I bet you're wondering who this little fella is. Well, I'm sure he'd introduce himself, yes?" Boris stated gently in his usual way. The kid looked up at Tala and gave a small salute.

"Good morning. My name is Aki. I look forward to assisting you."

In the Demolition Boys' personal dorms, Aki sat alone in the corner, inspecting the small array of books on the shelf. Ian and Bryan stared Aki down from the other end of the dorm, almost mystified.

"This is strange. He don't seem as strong as everyone said," Bryan snapped.

"Well, we haven't tested him out yet. Maybe he's really stronger than you think," Ian replied as he sipped his juice. Spencer stepped in with Aki's stuff, which was very little, and gently placed it at Aki's side. Aki looked up, placid blue eyes unwavering in dullness, and thanked Spencer diligently for bringing his stuff.

"Well, he's nice. That's cool," Bryan snapped again. Spencer nodded gently to Aki and left the room to fix some snacks. Tala stepped in and sat in his designated chair, or rather, he went to, when he saw Aki reclined in it, fast asleep. He still seemed as calm as he was when he introduced himself in Boris's office. Usually Tala would shove anyone, newbie or not, off his chair, but for some reason, Tala found himself stumped. He knew nothing about this boy, or his actions, so he dared not touch him until he knew more. He turned away from the chair and plopped down on the sofa, much to Ian and Bryan's surprise.

Spencer walked in with some freshly baked apple pie. Spencer was the best cook of the four, and in a place where you had to cook on your own or eat slop, you had to be good to what you had. Aki's eyes fluttered open at the scent and he rose from the chair.

"I-is that… pie?" Aki asked. Everyone turned at the sound of Aki's voice. His shirt was dropped a little off his shoulder, and as he rubbed his eyes, he resembled an innocent child. Spencer smiled and nodded as the put the plate to Aki.

"Go ahead. Eat." Aki smiled vaguely and cautiously pulled a small slice from the plate. He stood in front of Tala next to the chair, both their eyes fixed coldly on one another. The others left the room to practice, unaware of the short tension.

"I noticed you're hard to read," Tala spoke up arrogantly. Aki munched his pie and wiped the crumbs with a peach-tan colored thumb.

"As are you. But I don't believe you're staring me down just to 'read' me, yes?" Tala's eye twitched at the words. He was rather sharp for a newbie.

"Why are you here? I doubt you're here for just joining!"

Aki stood still at the confrontation, placid blue eyes now a deep black. His short frame bulged small, fit muscles as his fists clenched.

"You're right. I'm not just here for joining you, or any of Biovolt. In fact,"

A set of short knives blazed out from different angles of the room, all aimed for Tala. Tala felt Aki's fingers slide into his mouth as he shoved him down to the floor. A knife grazed Aki's shoulder, but he showed no sign of pain. Tala felt Aki's fingers release their hold in his mouth and slide out, Aki getting up from the floor.

"W-what the hell just happened?" Tala yelled with a slight cough from Aki's hold. Aki turned and smirked as he wiped the blood from his shoulder and licked it from his fingers.

"My name is Aki Hyra. I am here to save your ass, Yuri Ivanov. So…yeah."

Tala fainted, both out of confusion and out of dizziness.

Well, it's a cliffhanger. Gotta keep people guessing. Please review, and if you want more, I'll try to continue!