Chapter One- Homecoming
Mismatched eyes stared listlessly out of the thick airplane glass window without really seeing. Japan, more specifically Tokyo, stretched out below the jet in a vast expanse of technology and choking exhaust from cars and other nebulous chemicals. The only one really showing excitement around her was the young woman sitting directly beside her, practically bouncing out of her seat. She figured if the woman wasn't wearing a seat belt, she'd bounce straight out of her chair.
"Oh Kami! We're back home! I cannot believe that you're not excited!" the girl pouted, putting her chin on the silent girl's shoulder, "C'mon Sparkie, give your ol' sis a smile, or a sign of excitement!"
Maiko Takashi, better known as Sparkie or Mai, glanced at her older sister. The thing about the two girls was that they looked almost exactly alike, despite being almost two years apart in age. Her sister just looked a bit older and more mature.
"Yo, Kat! Can't you ever calm down?" groaned a teenage boy beside her. The seats on the plane were arranged so that there were fours seat in every row. The one beside Katsumi, or Kat as her nickname was occasionally, was taken by a boy with dark violet hair that was long and stylishly messy. He was glaring at the redhead with annoyance.
"Ryuu! Come on! We're finally back home! Why can't I be excited? Besides, no one else seems to be, I have to make up for it!" Katsumi replied, huffing and crossing her arms, annoyed. Mai just shook her head slightly, and returned to gazing out the window. But the argument continued behind her.
"We're only back to get extra training and to visit family. Then we're back to Europe to train more so we can get into the next tournament." Ryuu pointed out. Mai could almost feel her sister shrug.
"So? Just 'cause it's for Beyblading doesn't mean we can't be happy to be in our home country." the female said perkily.
"Kat, you were born and raised in America for the first nine years of your life." Ryuu corrected.
"Well… You know that's not the point Ryuu! We grew up here in Tokyo together! And now we can finally see our parents again!" Katsumi squealed, though quietly since she didn't want to disturb anyone on the plane. Mai silently began hitting her head on the window, trying to resist rolling her eyes. Thankfully the fight breaker came in. A soothing male voice cut the argument short.
"Now, my friends. Let's not get into another fight on this flight. We might get thrown off the plane."
Both boy and girl chorused together, "Sorry Hitoshi."
The announcement for landing then rang through the plane, and Katsumi started quivering in her seat again, causing Ryuu to roll his eyes. Then Katsumi paused.
"Are you sure Mr. Glory was telling the truth? You know, about how we're going to be training with another team?" she asked Ryuu.
Ryuu scoffed, "Why would he lie? He just is an old fart who refuses to tell us who we're gonna be bunking with. Seriously, you think the idiot would let us know the names of our new roomies."
Hitoshi smirked, grabbing everyone's attention. Well, he had Mai's attention, but she just didn't show it, "I think I know who he's teaming us with. He was talking about the best of the best…"
Ryuu's eyes narrowed, "I don't like this. I hate training with others."
"Ryuu, honey, you hate training with everybody." Katsumi commented as the teenager snorted, and opened his carry-on, which was actually an animal carrier. A slight hiss warned others before up his arm slithered a beautiful Burmese python up his arm to around his neck. The violet haired teenager shrugged in indifference, and Katsumi threw up her arms into the air and stormed out of the airport spinning doors out into the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
"It's good to be back in Tokyo." Hitoshi said calmly, taking Mai by her elbow and pulling her forward. The red-head snapped out of her daze, and jogged forward. Her large purse flopped against her knee as she cautiously lifted her carry-on. It too was an animal carrier. In fact, every-one had an animal carrier.
In the world of Beyblades, it seemed that every team had their own miniature theme. Well, the habit that everyone on Ryuu's team was their exotic pets. Other than that, it was a shock to think they were a highly effective team. Everyone was a polar opposite from the next: Ryuu a loud-mouth, Hitoshi kind and gentle, Katsumi sociable, Maiko silent and withdrawn.
"Onee-chan." Mai finally spoke up, "Glory-san said he was going to send a car."
Katsumi spun to face her sibling, "Yeah, so?"
Maiko shrugged, "Then why are we walking?"
That was when it his Katsumi that she was taking the route that had been drilled into her brain, her auto-pilot. She grinned sheepishly, and tried to cover her fumble.
"W-Well, you see…"
"Takashi-sama." this time everyone turned in surprise. But then it faded when they realized it was their ride, a sleek black limo. Ryuu whistled.
"Damn! Old fart has us riding around in style! Wonder why! Usually he shoves us all in the back of his two-door…" he shuddered at a recurring memory, "Let's get in."
The four piled in, letting the driver put their suitcases in the trunk, and the carriers were opened. There was Ryuu's python, Maiko fox kit, Katsumi's jackal, and Hitoshi's sand cat. No one could really figure out how these specific animals, especially the fox, sand cat, and jackal, had managed to be so tame, and the team never told. But thanks to some connections, they were at least allowed to travel with them.
"So, where are we headed anyways?" Ryuu asked Hitoshi, who was just stroking the sand cat's head.
"Mr. Glory told me about the place we're staying at. It was an old friend's house that is very large, with plenty of areas to train. We'll each get our own room, and the other team gets their own room too, so obviously it's large. Huge kitchen too, Katsumi." he smiled at the red-head, who nearly squealed with excitement.
"Yes! I can finally get to some REAL cooking." she said happily.
"That doesn't really matter, I still just want to know who the Old Fart decided to team us up with." Ryuu scowled.
"I don't think it really matters, Ryuu-kun." Maiko said even as her attention was elsewhere in a book, "I think we should just think about what we're going to do to train ourselves better to blade more."
Ryuu snorted, "You? Train? Don't make me laugh Sparks, you never train!"
"Knock it off Ryuu." Katsumi snapped, "Besides, she has a point. We could all use some training to get better. Even though I'd rather just relax for once. I'm definitely hitting the baths when we get there."
"There's a unisex hot spring there." Hitoshi informed, "You can take a bath after unpacking."
"Dibs!" Katsumi replied, "I'm not letting any other guys in, I don't care if it's unisex!" she stated firmly, "Sparks, you gotta come though!"
The silent girl looked up a moment to meet her siblings eyes before letting them return to her book, "Hai, hai."
Katsumi laughed manically, ignoring the odd and slightly scared looks she got from Hitoshi and Ryuu, "This is gonna be awesome!"
Hitoshi grinned, "Yes, this should be good. It's nice to be back home."
Ryuu nodded, "Yeah, after spending a year outta the damn country. Six months in America, and six months in England? Seriously, I want to know why Ol' Glory wanted us away for so long."
"We did learn a lot," Katsumi said cheerily, "I mean, now we speak English fluently, plus, we learned some new wicked moves! Plus, Sparkie got to use a new weapon, since we can't use guns in Japan!"
"Should we really be proud of the fact that a sixteen-year-old can shoot a gun like a sniper?" Ryuu asked sarcastically.
A corner of Maiko's lip curled up in a tiny grin while the other two laughed.
"Well, she can shoot anything else!" replied Hitoshi, "And I don't see why that isn't an advantage. You know how well she can launch a Beyblade!"
"Thanks, Hitoshi-kun." Maiko said placing her bookmark in the book, "Do we know how far away the house is?"
Hitoshi crossed his arms behind his head, "Well… the house is out in the countryside, about thirty miles outside of Tokyo. Considering we have to get through Tokyo traffic, it should take maybe an hour."
Ryuu groaned, "Great! A whole bloody hour trapped in a car with you guys! Maggie is probably going to be the only quiet one! Other than Sparkie, but well, you never talk."
Maiko rolled her eyes, and flicked her hand. Promptly the tiny fox kit sitting comfortably in her lap leaped into Ryuu's, and began a licking assault on Ryuu's face. The rebel spluttered, trying to push away the youngling without hurting him.
"Sparkie! Cut it out!" he groaned, finally grabbing the kit by the tail so he could catch him by the scruff. The silent girl looked up, and sighed.
"Konta. Come here." she said softly. The red fox stopped, eagerly turning around in a jump to jump into his owner's lap to lay the kisses on her. The red-head smiled and sent a look at Ryuu, who just rolled his eyes while Maggie slithered along his arms to get under his shirt to the warmth of his chest.
"Jeez Sparks, for such a silent person, you have deadly ways of getting people to be quiet." Hitoshi commented as he stroked the tiny golden and black sand cat in his lap, who mewed, "Such as massive puppy love." Maiko smiled in return, before opening her book again to fade back into the backround.
"Anyways," Katsumi interrupted, her hand on her jackal's head, "I still think that we should figure out what we're gonna do when we get there. I know after we get our rooms chosen and we unpack, me and Sparkie are hitting the hot spring, but what about you two? What's going on?"
"We should probably wait for the other team to arrive." replied Ryuu, and Hitoshi nodded.
"Yeah, if we don't, it might be rude. Although can we beg you Katsumi, for a lunch before you two bathe?"
Katsumi sighed, "Fine. But then I claim a whole hour in the baths. Sparkie too."
"Whatever." Ryuu groaned.
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"Oh Kami-sama! Look at this place!" Katsumi cried as their driver opened the limo door and humans and animals alike piled out.
"I gotta admit, this place is the shit." Ryuu said with a grin.
The house could be more described as a mansion, even though it was Eastern style, and had only two stories rather than three or four. But the grounds were lush with flowers, trees, and all well groomed and tended to. When they went inside, the interior was a bit more modern, with a huge entertainment system in one room which really pleased Ryuu's taste, a training room with all the kinds of weights and exercise machines you could think of, and a kitchen that made Katsumi want to drool. The furniture was all high quality, and themed in lighter wooden colors, giving the whole house a rather bright appearance. The house was so large it even had a courtyard with a pond in it that had koi swimming around in it.
The second floor was obviously for bedrooms. Hitoshi explained to the others how the master bedroom was off limits, but all the others were fair game. It wouldn't have mattered, the master bedroom was locked.
Katsumi gratefully threw her two suitcases onto the bed with a groan, her sister just setting hers down. Konta and the jackal were eagerly sniffing around the room.
"This is awesome. And this room it so pretty!" Katsumi complimented.
This bedroom had a western queen sized bed instead of a futon, and was like the rest of the house. The walls were painted a pale golden yellow, which when the sun shined through the two floor to ceiling windows, they glowed like the sun itself. The furniture involved two dressers that were a darker golden-brown, but very fancily crafted, a desk made from a high end pale wood, and two end tables on either side of the bed. There was lamp on both end tables, and one on the desk, along with a potted plant that Katsumi knew as grape hyacinths. The carpet was thick, warm, and egg white, and very comfortable to walk on. There was a sliding door leading to a walk-in closest, and another to a small, personal bathroom.
"This guy must really be loaded!" the older said excitedly, zipping open her suitcases.
Maiko nodded, opening her own suitcases. While Katsumi laid claim to the walk-in closet, Maiko took the dressers. Folding clothes and sorting them, the two worked well around each other. Maiko twirled her toothbrush between her fingers before throwing it into the cup by the sink in their bathroom.
"Onee-chan." she finally said, and Katsumi looked over her shoulder.
"Yeah, what's up?" she replied.
"Do you think we should see Okaa-san and Otou-san and tell them we're back in Japan? I don't think we told them." stated the younger twin. Katsumi turned fully, eyebrows raised.
"I'm surprised you would even want to talk to them. But I'll probably call them in a few days. Or tomorrow. Depends on what's going on." the elder reluctantly said, "Why?"
Maiko shrugged, "It was just a thought."
"A really odd one." she retorted, "Seriously. By the way, what should I make for lunch? Or dinner?"
"Whatever you want, Onee-chan. I'm not hungry right now. Just make something good for Konta, neh?" the red-head grinned, and hugged her younger sibling.
"Okay! I'm practically done unpacking, so I'll just go down and cook. Ryuu is probably crying he's so hungry." Katsumi whined the end of the sentence, purposely horribly imitating the rebel with a mischievous grin. Maiko giggled, and waved to her sister as she skipped out, the jackal on her heels. With a sigh, the younger sibling straightened out, and cracked her back with a sigh. Opening her second suitcase, anyone would have been surprised. She'd gone through customs just so she could transport all of the weapons inside. She gazed at the sword, knifes, and other assorted weapons that the mind could imagine, then sighed, and moved the small weapons into one of the drawers. The larger ones she borrowed a small bit of space Katsumi's closet to store them.
A knock on the door made her turn, and Konta perk her ears from where she was curled on the pillow. Hitoshi opened the door, smiling warmly.
"Sparkie, your sister is cooking, and it's a quick one. Lunch should be done in about ten minutes. You done storing your stuff?" he asked. She nodded.
"I only have to put away my books." she said quietly, and Hitoshi nodded, "Is Mari hungry?"
The sand cat on his shoulder perked up at her name. The sand cat was a small creature, only twenty inches in length not including her foot long tail which was wrapped around Hitoshi's neck. Her large ears were pointed in Mai's direction, her face sweet looking. Her fur was sandy yellow, the normal black bars or stripes along her back barely visible, though the tip of her tail, ears, and her paws were black. All in all, she was absolutely adorable. Hitoshi glanced down at her fondly, and scratched behind her ears.
"Yeah, she hasn't eaten all day, and is stressed from the flight. I think some good protein will do her good." he said, lifting the small cat to let her lick his face.
"That's good. Konta is hungry too." once more the fox kit perked, this time at her name, and then yipped to be taken off of the bed. She was still too young to jump off the bed without the possibility of hurting herself. Maiko easily swept her off the edge and placed her on the ground as Hitoshi placed Mari down so the two could play. The whole canine/feline rivalry did not account for the fox, sand cat, and jackal, but Mari and Konta were the closest.
Maiko glanced over at the brains of the group. Hitoshi had snow white hair that was naturally spiked with the length he kept it at. His soft grey eyes beamed at her through a stylish pairs of black rimmed glasses. Hitoshi was good heartthrob of the team, all the girls loved him for his seriousness and how he appeared. The rest of them loved Ryuu just because he was a rebel. Today he was dressed casually in black slacks and a white button up, the top three buttons undone.
Mai sniffed quietly, smelling the fruits of her sister's labor.
"Onee-chan's done. Do you want to head down?" she asked monotonously. Hitoshi raised his eyebrows with a grin, and nodded. As she passed, she felt him ruffle her long, mid-back hair that was drawn back into a braid, save for the two chunks that were cut to her chin and black in color. That was the main difference between her and her older sister, except that their different eye colors were switched. Maiko's eyes were the right one was red, the left black, and Katsumi's were red on the left and black on the right.
And said sister was brandishing a butcher knife at a certain violet-haired teammate.
"It is official! You are an ASSHOLE!" the chef was fuming, while the rebel only laughed from where he sat on the counter. When Katsumi started to advance, Hitoshi decided to step in.
"Katsumi, Ryuu, calm down. I don't know what you were fighting about, but I'm not exactly sure I want to find out. Katsumi, is the food done?" he turned to the fuming teenager.
"Kami-sama!" she growled, then calmed, "Alright, I got the animal food done, and I only need to wait for the oven to be done before the human food is done. And Ryuu, apparently they already sent live mice for Maggie, so stick her in her cage and let her eat."
Ryuu grinned wolfishly as he slid off of the counter, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say… prude."
Katsumi's face darkened dangerously again, and she slowly lifted the knife again. Ryuu turned back to notice this, and ran out, practically cackling. Katsumi sighed, and pulled out three bowls, each one with a different name scrawled in kanji on them.
"Kin! Dinner!" she called.
There was an echoing bark as the jackal bounded in. He was about two feet long, with golden fur tipped with light brown. He immediately jumped up, putting his paws on Katsumi's hips to receive a scratch behind the ears with another happy bark.
"Hey there Kin, ya hungry?" she cooed; everyone had a very close relationship with their own respective animals.
As she served up each animal's respective needs for food, mostly raw meats, she and Hitoshi chatted comfortably while waiting for the human food to finish cooking.
"I think we're going to be awesome this year. I mean, this is a great learning experience, you know?" Katsumi chatted as she now served out some cooked chicken, vegetables, and white rice. Moving to the massive dining rooms, she set the plates down, and scurried around to serve some fresh brewed tea. With Kin, Mari, and Konta eating in a corner of the room, and Ryuu running back in after washing his hands from feeding Maggie, the four finally settled to eat.
"Your cooking is amazing as usual." Hitoshi commented, and Maiko nodded in agreement
"Considering I have to go shopping at some point. This guy is rich as hell, and has all the supplies but the food!" the jackal lover pouted, and Ryuu laughed.
Lunch was an easy time of eating, chatting, and comfortable silence. Although Ryuu ended up flinging a cooked carrot at Katsumi, it ended rather peaceful and Katsumi was eager to hit the big baths.
"Ryuu! Do you know where they are?" she called, knowing his room was barely down the hall. She and her sibling were disrobing and going into robes to bath.
"What!?"
"The baths, dipshit!" she hollered back.
"Like hell if I know! Find 'em yourselves without pacing around in skimpy yukatas! I don't want to vomit!" Katsumi growled, and Kin lifted her head from the bed. Konta was nestled comfortably in the pillows again.
"Bastard!" retorted Katsumi, and let out a groan, "Sparkie, I'll find it. Take your time getting changed."
"Hai."
Katsumi whistled, which caused Kin to stand, and gracefully jumped from the bed onto the ground and trotted to her side. She and the jackal ran down the stairs, the human too eager for a bath. Her eyes darted around as she grumbled.
"If I were a hot spring… where would I be?" she mumbled, and looked down to Kin, "Think you can sniff it out?"
Kin barked, and set her nose to the ground. Katsumi grinned excitedly and ran with the jackal to reach a door. The kanji to the side said it was the baths, and she pumped her fist victoriously.
"Success!" she crowed, and opened the sliding door.
The inside made her jaw drop. Stream gently rose and drifted from the crystal clear water, surrounded by naturally places rocks. The owner of this house really did a number, making the area roofless so that fresh air could circulate, and planted small but sweet smelling trees.
Katsumi was in heaven.
Untying her robe, she carefully folded the yukata and set it on one of the rock before slipping into the water.
"This is amazing!" she sighed, submerging to wet her long hair before untying and shaking her head to let loose a spray of water. With a sigh of ecstasy she sank back into the clear depths.
A few minutes of soaking, and she heard sounds outside of the door. Her eyes opened, and she stood up, knowing it was her sibling.
"Sparks?" she called softly.
The sliding door opened, but instead of seeing the curved figure of her younger sister, she saw three very masculine figures through the steam. They moved forward, and it took a second for Katsumi to finally let out a scream of shock.
A/N: Oh my, this is a new one for me. This is my first Beyblades fic ever, and I have to thank two of my friends on for introducing me to it. But I have to tell you, Hillary and Daichi being away is a cover for the fact that I've only seen the first season. By the end of my school vacation I should have met Hillary, but I'm not sure how long it'll take for me to get to season three. If it takes too long, I will bring Daichi in, but I'll have to rely on my friends and Wikipedia to get him in character as best as I can. I hope that this is an okay story for you guys, cause I like where this is going!
A/N (#2): Okay, this is the AN that I'm doing right before I post. For you people who are mad at me for not posting on The Truth, So Help You (my Naruto fanfic)... Have no fear! With all of the excitement of midterms, and moving every week between houses, it's been a bit hectic. But now, I've finally been able to work on TTSHY, and should get a chapter out within the next two weeks. This story just swept me away, and now I'm equalizing my time.
I do not own Beyblades. I wish I did, but alas, I can only write fanfiction, or steal my friend's art of them... And watch the series over and over again. And daydream. But anyways, I hope you understand that -sob- I do not own Beyblades. Although I'm thinking of buying some, and technically in a way I WILL own Beyblades! Just not the show or characters.
