A/N: I'm back, with a new story to boot! hehe...sorry to all those who've been waiting to read the next installment of 'Revelation'. I've been busy with schoolwork and, somewhere along the way, I lost the train of thought...oops... But that doesn't mean the fic will be discontinued! I just have to dig up my notes for the story -

Aki: What notes! You didn't even create a backupstoryboard for that fic!

Me: Don't mind him; he's just jealous because his partner, Mei, thought up the story and not him...anyways...hope you guys enjoy this fic. It came to me in a dream one night and it was so good I had to make a story based on it...and if you don't enjoy it...sigh oh, well...

Disclaimer - Me: Mei, if you would be so kind?

Mei: Yay! I get to do the disclaimer! ahem Hikari-chan does not own Beyblade nor its characters. She does, however, own Kumiko-chan and the rest of the OCs.

Me: Enjoy!

Prologue: The Beginning

A lone leaf twirled in the wind, as though looking for a playmate. Finding none, it went on its way, dancing and flitting in the breeze. The sun was bright, but its warmth was pleasantly soothing. A bluebird surveyed the scene before it: peaceful and quiet.

Suddenly, it spied something coming around the corner. Like the single leaf, the girl, with shoulder-length hair and glasses was alone, but didn't look lonely. In fact, she seemed glad for the solitude. The bluebird cocked its head, as though deciding on something, and then flew towards her. She looked up and grinned, offering her hand as a perch for the winged creature.

"Hey there." She said. Her voice was soft, a soothing mixture of joy and sorrow. The bird cocked its head once more. It studied her, its coal-black eyes twinkling.

The girl smiled once again as she gently stroked the blue feathers, humming a tune known only to her. The bird opened its beak and chirped along with her. A small laugh escaped her lips.

"Go on, little one. I need to go now, and I'm sure you'd love to be off as well," she whispered, stroking its feathers once more. The bird obliged, immediately taking wing, singing as it did so. The brunette grinned once more, watching as it flew off.

"Thank you for the song!" she called after it, though she knew it could never understand her. She stood there, gazing into the sky until her small companion could no longer be seen. Then she turned and continued on her way.

"Earth to Kumiko!"

The amethyst-eyed teen looked up and smiled. "Hey, Yuujin." She greeted the auburn-haired girl that approached her.

"Don't tell me you're listening to another CD," Yuujin said, stopping to smooth down the black skirt that was part of their uniform. Kumiko smiled sheepishly.

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"No wonder you didn't hear me the first time I called you!"

"Well, I wouldn't have heard you anyway," the brunette shrugged. "I mean, take a look at this hallway! Its crammed full, and everyone's jabbering away!"

"You do have a point, I guess…" Yuujin let her aqua eyes roam the packed hallway. It was rather jam-packed, and the students were rather noisy…

"What's all the fuss about, anyway?" Kumiko wondered aloud. "Is there some sort of celebrity here?"

Yuujin gaped at her friend. "You didn't hear about it?" she asked, thunderstruck.

"Hear about what?"

"The announcement last Friday!"

"I don't think so…" Kumiko gazed off, thinking. "What was it about?"

"The principal said that our school was chosen to take part in the Junior Beyblade Championships - "

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Kumiko exclaimed, looking excited. "That's…that's wonderful! I've always wanted to join the Championships! This is so…" Suddenly, she looked crestfallen. "But…none of us know how to blade. Competitively, at least."

"I'm getting to that." Yuujin gave her friend a smile, indicating that the purple-eyed teen should be patient. Obligingly, Kumiko stopped talking.

"Anyway, he said that one of several blading teams that had competed in the previous World Championships would come here. They're the ones who are going to train us."

"Okay…and this is by class?" Kumiko looked hopeful once more.

Yuujin shook her head vigorously. "Nope. You have to sign up."

"Where?"

"Registration will take place in our respective classrooms. Various teachers will place the sign-up sheets on the door after homeroom. The first five from each class will be taken. "

"But-"

"Let me finish!" Yuujin said laughingly. She then leaned over so she could whisper in her friend's ear. "Not a lot students from our class know about this. And you know how often a teacher posts something on the door-"

"Which is a lot…"

"That means we can sign up while our mathematics teacher isn't there, so we'll be among the first to sign up from our class."

"Good." Kumiko nodded happily. "Thank you for telling me, Yuujin."

"No prob."

Suddenly the bell rang. "Uh, oh!" The pair dashed off down the hallway towards their room, weaving their way through the 'crowd'.

"…Suzumaki?" the teacher looked up from her records, wispy strands of blonde hair falling in front of her eyes as she gazed from the tops of her reading glasses. A red-haired girl at the back of the classroom raised her hand.

"Present, sensei."

The teacher gave a curt nod and closed her record book.

"Everyone's here. Good." She walked over to her desk and set down the record. "Now-"

There was a knock at the door; everyone turned to see who it was. Another teacher, this one male and from the physical education department, stood at the door. He smiled at the blonde instructor. "Sorry about that. I was just going to put up this announcement on the door."

The teacher smiled back. "No problem. I'll ask my students to read it later."

"Of course." With that, the P.E instructor left.

Kumiko locked gazes with Yuujin, who was clear across the room.

It's the sign-up sheet… she mouthed, her purple eyes twinkling with excitement.

I know! The auburn-haired teen mouthed back, her eyes sparkling as well. Then she looked worried. But sensei said that she'd ask the class to check it out later. Now everyone will know about it!

Don't worry! Kumiko winked, grinning mischievously. I have a plan… Suddenly, she raised her hand.

"Yes, Fujiwara?" the teacher addressed her. Kumiko grimaced and lightly touched her stomach as she stood up.

"Sensei, may I visit the school nurse? I don't feel well…"

"Very well, you may." To the class, she said, "Which one of you would kindly volunteer to accompany Fujiwara to the nurse?"

Yuujin raised her hand. "May I do it, sensei?"

"Thank you, Itoe. However, I expect you to be back in ten minutes."

"Yes, ma'am." The girls answered in unison. At the same time, both discreetly concealed their mechanical pencils in the pockets.

Trying hard not to giggle, Yuujin 'helped' Kumiko out the door. Kumiko, meanwhile, was giving a making all sorts of pained faces to convince the teacher. As soon as they stepped over the threshold and closed the door, they slapped each other high fives and took turns to sign in their names on the sheet. Kumiko, having been the one to cook up the plot, wrote her name in the first blank; Yuujin wrote hers on the second.

"C'mon, let's go to the nurse now," Kumiko urged.

"Why? Can't we just hang out in the washroom until the ten minutes have passed?"

"What if Takeda-sensei spots us?" the brunette asked, referring to the school's disciplinarian. "We'd have to have a good reason. What's better than having to pay a visit to the school nurse?"

"Oh, yeah…" The two girls ran down the hall, slowing down as they neared their destination.

"Welcome back, Fujiwara, Itoe." The two girls looked up as they entered the door of their classroom.

"Good morning, sensei," they greeted. Their mathematics teacher nodded his head, smiling.

"Please, sit down. You're lucky; the class started but five minutes ago, so you haven't missed much." To Kumiko, he said, "I hope you're feeling better, Fujiwara. Your homeroom moderator tells me that you had a stomachache earlier this morning."

"Thank you, sir, but I feel much better now." Kumiko grinned. She sat down and took out her notebook. Across the room, Yuujin did the same.

"Now, as I was saying…"

Kumiko stepped back from the door. She and Yuujin had just carried out Phase 2 of their plan to be among the 'lucky five', as she called it. Two minutes earlier, the bell had rung, signaling their break, and she and Yuujin had rushed to the door and 'signed' their names on the first two spaces.

"Wow, you girls were fast!" One of their classmates, Rintaro, commented as he glanced at the paper. "You're the first two signed up!"

"I guess we're just lucky," Yuujin said, chuckling. "Excuse me for a moment." She stepped out and ran down the hall.

"Beyblade, huh?" Rintaro said, apparently having just finished reading the announcement. He glanced at Kumiko. "I didn't know you girls could blade."

"Well, I do in my spare time, and so does Yuujin."

"I see. Well, good luck." He smiled at her before stepping into the hallway to meet his other friends.

"Thanks." She replied, grinning back. Having nothing to do, she made her way to her desk and sat down. She reached into her book bag, took out her sketchbook, and leafed through it until she found the page she wanted. On it, she had sketched herself, wearing a black halter-top and blue cargoes, one of the outfits she loved wearing on weekends out. That part was already inked and colored in. It was the background she was having trouble with. She had sketched a phoenix, the bit beast of her favorite blader, Hiwatari Kai of Team BBA, but she hadn't finished it yet.

Sighing, she reached for her pencil and began to draw.

"This looks like the place," a rather short, brown-haired teen with glasses glanced at the paper he held in his hand, and then up at the gray building.

"It has to be, Chief. There's only one Sento-Sasaki Senior High School in all of Wakayanagi." A dark-blue haired teen standing beside him said, grinning widely.

"Shall we go inside?" an amber-eyed teen suggested, smiling at his companions.

"Sure, Rei. Why not?" Mizuhara Max, the blonde agreed. Rei Kon glanced at his friend. Indeed, he looked excited to go inspect the facility. He's been like that ever since Chairman Daitouji told us about the program…he thought, smiling and shaking his head.

"Then let's go!" Kinomiya Takao, the blue-haired teen who had spoken earlier, urged. He took off like a shot towards what must have been the entrance to the gym, since the building was rather set apart from the rest of the compound.

"Here we go again…" 'Chief' sighed. He picked up his bag from the ground and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "C'mon, guys…"

The three teens quickened their pace in order to catch up with their companion. Only one teen was left standing at the school's main entrance.

Hiwatari Kai, the stoic captain of Team BBA, continued to gaze at the building. For reasons he couldn't explain, he was drawn to the third window on the second floor; no matter where he forced himself to look, his eyes always ended up on that particular window. Finally, he sighed and compelled himself to join his companions in the gym.

Something's about to happen, he thought, the wind blowing his signature scarf to one side. But what?

A/N: So, what do you guys think? It feels rather short for a prologue...Ah, well, that's life! Anyways, please read and review, people! Peace out!