.The Skin Trade.
.[Chapter 1 – A New Mission].

"It's not like Mr Dickinson to summon us like this." Spoke Kenny as he gazed his eyes around Mr Dickinson's office. "Usually he will either approach us or call us. So I am beginning to wonder why he would request the entire team. Anyway, I hope it's nothing bad."

"Ah, you're worrying too much Chief." Tyson strolled across the room to gaze out the oversized windows. He smiled like a curious child as he admired the routine of the busy city life. "Oh man, Mr D has such a view from up here. I would never get any work done if I had these windows in my office space."

"Really!? Aw, let me see!" Max rushed over to his best friend to have a cheeky peek. After a few seconds, he chuckled, "Look, Tyson, there are two men over there having an argument in the middle of the traffic."

Tyson pressed his finger against the glass and stated, "Haha! I can see. That man on the right looks like he is hangry."

"I bet he was on his way to KFC." Max nudged Tyson playfully and then pointed to the nearby fast food restaurant, "Speaking of which, I would kill for a bucket of chicken."

"Guys, really?" Blurted Hilary. She rolled her eyes and attached both of her hands onto her hips. "And get your palms off the windows! You're marking it."

A light sweatdrop formed in the corner of Tyson and Max's forehead. They jumped back away from the glass and then dived their hands into their pockets. The pair didn't stop to think about the consequences of their oiled fingerprints.

"So, did Mr Dickinson's assistant mention how long he was going to be?" Ray interrogated impatiently with a huff. He sat down next to Kai on the luxurious sofa that was provided nearby the desk. The early flight from China to Japan had finally taken a toll on his mood and Ray was ready to walk out of here any second. "Because I really need a nap."

"But you've just had a nap in the taxi here-"

Ray shot Tyson a stern red-eyed glance. But before he could open his mouth to release his inner storm, something caught his attention within the corner of his view. His heart leapt with joy at the coffee machine that was sat at the back of the room.

A light smile stained his lips and his eyes gleamed with relief. 'Tyson lives to breathe another day.'~

"Kai, would you like a black coffee?" Ray considerately asked. "Or a milky cup of tea?"

Stubbornly, Kai turned his head to face away from Ray. "Neither. But I bet the lady sat at Mr Dickinson's desk would like a latte." He replied in a dull tone. Kai was so embarrassed to know that none of his teammates had acknowledged the elephant in the room.

"What?" Ray suddenly felt wide awake when he realised that the back of the leather chair was facing them, "There's someone at Mr Dickinson's desk?"

"Uh!" Tyson grunted with his hand reaching to his blade, "No way! Who's that!? Show yourself!"
A villain-like snigger flattened the atmosphere, and all the bladers tensed as the sound reached their eardrums.

"I can see why Mr Dickinson is very fond of you all. You're all so innocent and free-spirited." Slowly the desk chair swirled around to reveal a formally dressed violet-haired woman. Her green eyes jumped from each of the individuals in the room to study their physique and reactions. "However, I should start by announcing that Mr Dickinson is very apologetic about not being able to make it to this meeting of ours. He's been caught up in other affairs."

'I feel like I can't trust her.' Max swallowed the saliva in his mouth forcefully and frowned, 'She looks like a con-artist of some kind.'

"Other affairs?" Tyson tilted his head, "Like what?!"

"It will all be revealed in time. But for now, all I can tell you is that I have been asked to approach you for your assistance in a certain mission of ours." The pale hour-glass figured woman stood up from her chair to introduce her slender legs that were barely covered by her short skirt. "My name is agent Z, and I am in charge of the Beyblade Agent Organisation. [BAO]. I am the individual who has the final say in difficult situations, and sometimes, it can be life or death."

'I haven't had enough coffee to deal with this.' Ray stuck his tongue into his inner cheek, 'But what does this woman from BAO want with us?!'

"I don't know if you boys have heard recently, but an ex-agent of ours went to the press about an underground trafficking scenario. The BBA was so close to annihilating this inhumane objective until the media had chosen to stick their nose into our business. Their interference has cost us greatly because we have lost track and sight of the ring leaders completely. It's as if they have vanished from the map. Plus, many agents have encountered the threat of being exposed in the newspapers."

"BBA agents?" Tyson repeated with a memory performing before his eyes, "I have heard of them before, but I didn't think that they were real. I mean, Hiro told me about them after winning the third world tournament."

~Flashback~

"You may think that you're the best, Tyson. But you still haven't seen the bladers are have been purposely hidden from the human eye."

"What do you mean?" Tyson sat up straight and tilted his head at his brother, "I have taken down Brooklyn, Max, Ray, Daichi, you and Kai in the last season. So what more do I have to do to prove that I am the best? Surely there is nobody else."

A smug smirk filled Hiro's lips. He was secretly pleased to know that Tyson was paying attention to his wise words.

"There are bladers out there who have been trained to wipe out the dark side of this sport." The elder Granger sat down beside his brother and made eye contact with him. "These people are known as The BBA agents. They take down people who are dirtier than Boris."

"You cannot be serious?!" Tyson's heart skipped a beat, "But how come we have never heard of all this?! Hiro, I am beginning to think that you are pulling my leg."

~End Flash Back~

'Damn, he was right. But I didn't believe him!' Tyson facepalmed and expressed an irritated groan. 'I'm such an idiot sometimes.'

"So if your agents cannot get close to the big guys who are responsible for this mess, then why have you came to us-"

The violet-haired agent rolled her green eyes at Hilary. "I haven't come here for you. I have come here to collect Kai. I'm also here to explain that Kai will not be joining you on your upcoming tournament." She corrected as she turned her attention over to the man of the hour – Kai, he was now on his feet in a defensive stance.

"Kai?!" Everyone but the leader screeched. "Nooo!"

"Lucky me." The raven-haired male clearly wasn't delighted with the news. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but you're wasting your time. I don't want anything to do with these evil traffickers. Besides, if the press is undercover in the investigation, then a star vehicle like me won't last ten minutes in your pathetic approach."

An eyebrow raised on the agent's pale face, "Mr Dickinson did explain that you were a stubborn one. But you are our last resort. You are a valuable asset to this mission and I'm afraid that your compliance is not an option. I will give you a few minutes to say goodbye to your friends Kai."

"Mr Dickinson!?" Kai's muscles tensed at the new information. "He's put me up to this?"

"Maybe." The agent shrugged, "But you pretty much signed and sealed the deal when you and your teammates interrupted a mission of ours."

"Our team have never crossed paths with any of you." Ray piped up to defend his captain, who'd strangely gone quiet. "So I think you better check your facts again."

"Uh." A sheet of sweat then formed across Kai's forehead. He added, "She's not talking about you."

"She's talking about the Blitzkrieg Boys, isn't she, Kai?" Tyson clicked on straight away, "Oh man."

"This may be a delicate subject. Buuuut." Max scratched the back of his neck anxiously, "What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Kai quickly placed a restriction on that memory. "Anyway, you can't prove anything."

The agent then placed her palms onto the desk and leaned over to intimidate him with a grin, "I am not a woman who plays games. Kai, I almost ordered one of my agents to shoot Bryan because he jumped in the way of our snipers." She explained without a hint of mercy lingering within her icy voice.

'Fuuuuuuuuck.' Kai swirled his neck around to release some tension in his figure. 'Of all the people to witness us, it was HER!'

"You knew about all of this!?" Max's eyes almost exploded inside their sockets, he couldn't believe that was such a dark twist to this joyful sport. "How come you never mentioned it, Kai?! And why have I only just heard about all of this?! I'm always in touch with the news!"

"Yea, Kai, how come you knew about all of this? And why have you decided to turn a blind eye to it all?" Demanded the world champion with his face firing a glare into his captain's direction. "Personally, I thought you would have done more to help those bladers who need it most."

"Perhaps Kai has never been given the chance to help out." Hilary squinted at her teammates, Max and Tyson. "You guys of all people should know that you can't bring down a dangerous threat without a team of people you can trust. Look at Boris for example. He had so many supporters and followers that it would have been impossible to bring him down without some help."

A heavy sigh flared through Tyson's nostrils. "Fine, but now that you do have the opportunity to help, are you going to do it, Kai?" He reiterated the question in which the agent was seconds away from asking.

"It would seem like I don't really have a choice. So I am ready to do my fair share." The Dranzer wielder almost sounded sheepish, "Still, I don't understand why you would choose me."

"That will all make sense in time Mr Hiwatari." The agent almost looked relieved to know that Kai was coming along quietly. "All I can tell you now is that you'll be undercover with a brand new identity for you and your Beyblade. But for the safety of you and your friends, you will not communicate with them until this assignment is over." The female office explained formally, "Mr Hiwatari, you will be introduced to some of the evilest beings that the world has ever walked upon this Earth. Some of these ring-leaders have bounties on their heads which are worth more than your grandfather's company."

An uncomfortable grunt cooed from Tyson's throat, "That's insane." He interlocked his fingers together and then pressed his hands down on top of his head.

"Yea, well, I'm not the slightest intimidated. So when do I start?"

Gob-smacked by what Kai had just said, Kenny leaned onto Ray for support to prevent himself from collapsing. "Is he, is he being serious!? Kai! You aren't exactly a James Bond, these big shots will kill you-" His words ran out of runway when his lungs sealed up with anxiety.

A slight snigger danced through Ray's lips, 'it wouldn't surprise me if Kai has been asked to play a James Bond role.' However, once he recovered from his brief amusing thought, Ray took a deep breath and fixated his attention onto Kai.

'I know you'd survive because you're strong, Kai. But what happens if the worst case scenario did occur? Would you really be able to aim a weapon to the enemy and use it to destroy them? Or would you crack and allow the enemy the chance to kill you?' So many scenarios leapt through Ray's imagination and his fists sealed tightly with worry.

"Kai!" Ray snapped without hesitation, "Take care of yourself and don't hold back. I just know you can do this."

"Ray's right." Max straightened himself up proudly, "We support you, Kai. It's a shame you won't let any of us come with you though-"

Grateful with the support, Kai's crimson eyes widened. In the darkest of hours, it was always his teammate's support which gave Kai the strength he needed to perform the impossible. Never one to back down from a challenge, the Hiwatari clenched his fist and lightly smirked.

'Thanks, guys.' Kai mentally concluded. 'I won't let anyone down.'

"Haha, that's what he thinks." Interrupted the Dragoon wielder as he approached his rivals personal space. Tyson placed his hands onto his hips and he grinned confidently, "I am going on this mission too, wither you like it or not."

"You've got to be kidding me." Kai thought out loud with his mood swinging from one to another like a pregnant woman. He was livid with Tyson's choice. "You have to continue in the tournament and support the team."

"Ah, come on, Kai." Tyson stuck out his tongue for a second, "Let's put the shoe on the other foot for a moment. Would you stick around in a tournament if I wasn't around? No. I am going to do what's right and help those kids who are suffering."

"Wow, what a jerk." Hilary rolled her eyes and then nudged Max, "Am I right?!"

"I mean the team will be fine, after all, they do have Hilary to keep bossing them around." Tyson glanced over his shoulder at the manager to imply that there was more to that sentence that met the eye. "But fine, I can see that you're never going to accept the fact that I want to help, so I am going to do my own mission and take down a separate ring-leader."

By now, Hilary was being restrained by Max. "Knock some sense into that pig before I do, Kai." She demanded with steam coming out of her ears.

"Hey, we both might come face to face in a match sometime during our missions." Winked the Granger confidently, "Even though we will be unrecognisable, we could define to everyone just exactly Beyblade is. It's not about the money, the prizes or the titles, it's about having fun."

Unable to endure another word of Tyson's little fantasy, Kai turned his back to his teammate and hung his head low in disappointment. "Fine, do what you want, Tyson. Just don't interfere with my mission because I will make you pay for it." He warned heavy heartedly, before walking out the room.

'It's just like Mr Dickinson said, if you can win over Kai, Tyson will follow too. Excellent.'~

"Besides, I want to meet a BBA agent and then I want to kick their ass!"

"Tyson! If Mr Dickinson allows you to enter this mission, then you have to work alongside the agents." Kenny exclaimed with so much anxiety welling up inside his chest. "There is more to this mission than beating up your fellow agents."

A/N: This idea hit me out of nowhere, I honestly couldn't tell you what the inspiration was. But I do know that this plot has intertwined with other story ideas that I have been playing with for some time now. I know lately that my updates have slowed right down, but this idea has really made me feel so eager to express everything. I never realised that I was so hungry to get back onto the scene to show everyone what I really can do. My writing has improved, yet my imagination has just stepped outside of its comfort zone xD. Anyhow! I hope you all have enjoyed this strong introduction, take care and see you soon! - Granger~

Next Chapter –
The Dodged Bullet. Bryan's Luck.