Summary: For the Bladebreakers, Beyblading was the one and only sport in the world. Well, they might be right, but what about other sports? How do they cope with their success? Meet Seiko Tachibana, a strong-minded and (apparently) uncaring girl who wishes never to be related with Beyblade, and captain of the national Japanese volleyball team. In which our favourite (or maybe not) bladers learn about a Ronin, heirlooms, struggling, and… someone who likes to play the harmonica and another whose catchphrase is: "take a look around…"

Chapter 1 – Different opinions

"WE'RE HERE!"

"Geez, Tyson, we already know that. You don't need to make it an echo in our ears." complained Hilary, who was standing right beside him, massaging her hurt ear. Tyson, however, was too excited to even listen to the girl. He was staring in awe and happiness at the Bey Stadium, his eyes twinkling.

The Bladebreakers stood right behind him, Kenny holding his precious laptop close to his chest with a smile, Hilary still complaining about how loud he was, Max was laughing with the same joy as Tyson, although he didn't show it the same way as him. Rey was standing close behind with a soft smirk on his lips. Beside him, a bit apart from the group, stood Kai, arms crossed, looking blankly at the huge building in front of them.

It was the Beyblading Association's 30th birthday and the board decided to make an extra tournament to celebrate it, for the joy of bladers and fans. The Tokyo Bey Stadium, where the Association had its headquarters, was a huge building next to a sports centre in the middle of the town. The place was mingling with people, fans, pros, and the casual jogger who used the round stadium to determine laps.

"I'm going to kick their asses!" exclaimed Tyson in his energetic spree, throwing his fist in the air with pride and joy.

"This is pathetic." commented a voice not very far from them. "Look at me! I'm going to kick their asses with my bad twister thingy! I'll call my teddy bear and make you cry like a baby!"

Tyson was outraged. Who dared to speak like that about Beyblading? Not only it was the most amazing game ever, it implied a whole culture around it! Some people even thought that the Bit Beasts were divine spirits!

He and the other beybladers looked around to search for the source of the voice, and possibly face them.

"Honestly. This game is for babies." the same voice sneered, while another one chuckled softly.

They all looked at their left and took notice of who was speaking. And to look at their faces, they had to look up, and up, and up…

"Wow." muttered Max in an astonished voice. "They're even taller than Kai."

Indeed, the two girls were very tall. They both were wearing the same red and white uniform, and had blue bags lying in front of their feet. One of them had black thick hair that covered her head like black silk, and her arms were crossed in front of her. She was eyeing with violet eyes the large building with despise.

"I really don't see what the big deal about blading is." she continued in a more serious tone, although it was dry and cutting. By her voice, they could tell it had been her taunting all along. "I can do tricks with a yo-yo and I don't make a big fuss about it."

Tyson sputtered. 'Yo-yo'? 'YO-YO'!

"Hey!" he yelled, stomping angrily to them. The girls peered down surprised with the intromission.

"Listen, you snooty girls." he started unaware that he looked ridiculous between them. The top of his cap barely reached their chests. The girls had sweat drops on their faces. "Beyblading is a great game, and it's not to be taken lightly. It has nothing to do with stupid yo-yo's."

"Apparently this guy doesn't know what sarcasm is." Mumbled the other girl with a light eyebrow arched. This girl was even taller than the other one, if only by an inch or so, and had wavy blonde hair brushing her shoulders.

"Well," drawled the dark-haired one with slight amusement in her eyes, "and who are you to tell us that, midget?"

Tyson growled, annoyed, while the girls had a mischievous gleam in their eyes. The other Bladebreakers were watching the scene not very far away, trying to figure out if they should be angry and surprised by the girls' attitude, or if they should be embarrassed by Tyson's child-like behaviour.

The champion adjusted his cap and put a finger in the air, trying to make his point.

"WELL, I AM-"

"-Yama, Kimi. Let's go." another voice interrupted. The amusement in the girls' face was gone, to be replaced with surprise. They turned around to face who was calling them, revealing another girl standing behind them in the same uniform, and holding an equally blue bag over her shoulder. This girl was the shortest of the three. She reached the blonde's shoulders, which meant that she was about the same height as Kai.

"The bus has arrived." she said, her face serious. "Stop bullying around and hurry up. As soon as we reach the hotel we will start practicing." she ordered sternly over her shoulder before walking away and showing a dark-brown braid falling between her shoulder blades.

"We're coming!" the black-haired girl called back. The blonde sighed.

"She's at it again." she commented, closing the lids over her green eyes.

"She always overworks herself in tournaments like this." the brunette answered, hoisting the bag over her shoulder just like the other girl had. "Correction: She always overworks herself, period. She definitely needs something to get things out of her head."

The green-eyed girl stared with horror.

"Kim, you do remember what happened when you last tried matchmaking, don't you?" she asked, looking at the other girl, who apparently was named Kimi, like if she had grown another head. Kimi cringed.

"I've given up to that." she said. Yama sighed with relief. "Poor Keichi-kun, I still feel sorry for him. I swear: the moment Seiko gets a boyfriend, I'll throw a party, launch fireworks and pick up the debris all by myself."

"Hey!" yelled Tyson with frustration. He had been trying to interrupt their chatter without success. It seemed that the girls were on another radio frequency and wouldn't tune him in. Finally, they looked down.

"It was nice talking to you, Midget!" Kimi said, smiling like if she had completely forgotten that she had been teasing him a while ago. She turned her back and started walking. Yama tossed a smile and a wave over her shoulder, joining her partner.

"Why don't we get her a hobby?" the blonde asked in a lower tone, returning to the subject about their smaller colleague, Seiko.

"This is her hobby, Ya." Kimi answered. "She's studying in Havana to be who-knows-what. I think she wants to be a lawyer… or is it a teacher? I know it's something ending with an 'er'."

Yama sweat dropped.

"You know, that gives us a lot of options…" she commented, while the other scratched her black head in a sheepish way. They continued walking and talking until they turned a corner.

Tyson and the others just stared at the place where the girls had been moments ago. The blue-haired boy finally woke up from his reverie and grumbled angrily. "Conceited" and "annoying Eiffel Towers" could be heard between his mumbles.

"Well, at least those two were cute." Max said, always trying to look on the bright side. "That blonde one, Yama, was actually very pretty." he grinned.

"Who do you think they were?" Kenny asked him. It was Ray who answered them.

"They were wearing training-suits, so they have to be sports players." the Chinese boy answered.

"It doesn't matter!" Tyson bellowed. "They were annoying stuck-ups. They don't even know what the real deal about Beyblading is. They probably don't even know how to launch a blade."

"Somehow, Tyson, I don't think they would be very upset about that." Hillary commented. The teen sent her a glare.

"Stop whining and let's go." said Kai dryly. He had been silent all this time but had been watching the scene with a frown. "Mr. Dickinson must be waiting." he noted, unfolding his arms and striding forward, not caring if the rest of them followed or not.

The team met Mr. Dickinson right in the main entrance of the Stadium. He saluted them with a friendly smile as usual.

"I've already taken care of your submission and accommodations." he told them with a smile. "That car over there will take you to the hotel. The rooms are booked in my name. Now make sure you rest and have a bit of fun before the tournament." he advised.

"Yes, let's go! I'm starving!" Tyson said, heading for the car in a jog. The others shook their heads with exasperation. It seemed that Tyson had only one thing on his mind besides Beyblading: food.

While they were on their way to the hotel, Hilary read out loud a leaflet that Mr. Dickinson had given her. Aside from the usual mall and conference rooms, it seemed that the hotel had two water pools, one for leisure and other for swimming sports, a sauna, three ("THREE?" asked Tyson, eyeing Kai wearily) exercise rooms, each with a running hurl, lots of equipment and two bey dishes.

"What about the… restaurants?" asked Tyson hopefully, although hesitating in using the plural. Hilary sniggered before answering.

"There are a Grill, a fast-food restaurant, and an Italian in the commercial area of the hotel." she explained. "Not counting with the hotel restaurant in the residential area."

Tyson yelled a "Huzzah!" in happiness. There were tears in his eyes.

"Wow. Mr. Dickinson shouldn't have bothered to let us stay in such an expensive hotel." Max commented, still a bit dazed from all the information.

"Indeed. That sounds like heaven." Ray said, astonished as well.

"Mr. Dickinson said that the Association acquired the rooms by a sponsoring deal." explained Kenny. "So my guess is that he got them for free."

They reached the hotel only an hour later. The hotel had a huge garden surrounding it, clashing with the urban landscape that surrounded it. It was a really tall building, no wonder it held everything the brochure announced.

The team looked around the entrance hall while Tyson, Ray and Kai headed for the reception. Max, Kenny and Hilary sat on some comfy-looking couches on the waiting room. It wasn't long until the yelling started.

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

It was Tyson's voice, of course, in a raging fit. The three got out of the room and found him almost climbing up the stall with his fists on the air. He would have if it weren't for Rey's hold on his shirt.

"What's happening?" asked Kenny, alarmed. Kai, who was not looking pleased, but stood back with his arms crossed, answered with his deep voice.

"Apparently the Association forgot you were coming." He said, motioning Hilary with his chin. "They say they don't have a room for you."

Hilary's eyebrows shot up. Now that had to be considered a problem. But she could understand the Association's mistake: she had been given permission to go on this tour at the last moment. It probably had something to do it that.

"When were the rooms booked?" she asked the manager. He took a glimpse at some paperwork lying on the counter and checked.

"Two weeks ago." He answered.

"Ah, that explains it." Kenny said. "Hilary only knew for sure that she was coming a week ago. That's why there's no room for her."

"But aren't there any free rooms for her to stay?" asked Ray. He was a bit uptight from grabbing Tyson, who was still squirming under his grasp and trying to approach the receptionist. Said receptionist typed something in the computer, and shook his head.

"Every single room is booked. The hotel is full of people who came to watch the tournaments." He said, still typing.

"TOURNAMENTS? WHAT TOURNAMENTS? THERE'S ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT AND-" bellowed Tyson between squirms.

"-Hey look, it's Midget!" someone said. "What is this ruckus about?"

They all looked at where the voice was coming from. Tyson gasped.

"Oh no." he said. "You again?"