Dark Secrets
Summary: Everyone has secrets. When Mr. Dickinson puts the five teams together for a year on a Beyblade tour, will these secrets be revealed? Set after the Third Beyblade World Championships.
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.
Chapter 1: White Tiger X
Three years. Three years and yet he never said anything.
When the World Championships had ended Rei decided to head back to China with the rest of the White Tiger X team. Since the rest of the teams did the same he felt no reason to stay in Japan. Especially since he knew he would be seeing them again.
'Maybe I should tell him' Rei thought to himself as he stood beside Lee.
Currently he and Lee were giving some beyblade lessons to the younger children in their village. On the side he could hear Mariah and Kevin cheering the kids on while Gary was eating some pork fried rice. Even though his mind was on other things he was completely aware of his surroundings, even the looks Lee sent his way.
"What's up Rei?" Lee asked after they finished.
"Huh what do you mean?" Rei asked in surprise
"You seemed kind of spaced out back there is everything ok?" Lee pressed as the two of them walked over to the rest of their team.
"Don't worry Lee everything's fine" Rei responded with a smile.
"Well if you're sure" Lee replied even though he didn't believe him.
"Once they had met up with the others they decided to go relax near the waterfall that was in their village. Before they made their way there they grabbed some fishing poles and blankets along with a couple of buckets. Once they had made it to their destination Mariah and Gary laid the blankets on the ground dug a fire pit and made a small fire as Lee, Kevin and Rei got their fishing gear set up.
"Isn't this nice" Mariah smiled as she stretched, falling back staring at the sky.
"Yeah especially with the weather so nice" Kevin chimed in enthusiastically as he tilted his head looking back at the pink haired blader.
"We haven't done this since we were kids" Mariah spoke as she watched the clouds.
"Yeah and if I remember correctly, last time Lee fell in the river when he tried to pull up his rod" Rei laughed before sending everyone else except Lee into a frenzy.
"Oh yeah I've meant to get you back for that" Lee stated with a grin before tackling Rei to the ground.
"I give, I give" Rei shouted through tears as he was mercifully tickled.
After awhile silence settled around them as they relaxed by the river a couple of feet away from the waterfall. They spent the day like that, lounging around reminiscing about the past. Making plans to do this more often. When they noticed the sun setting in the sky they decided to call it a night knowing that it would be slightly darker by the time they got home.
As they parted ways going in their respective directions home Lee glanced briefly behind him to watch Rei walk home.
"Lee?" Mariah softly asked as she looked at her older brother.
"I'm just glad he's back" Lee said as he smiled at her.
"Me too" She agreed as they entered their small house.
Gary and Kevin were already up and waiting outside when the rest of the White Tiger X team awoke the next morning. Well waiting was kind of an understatement. Kevin was waiting while he watched his bigger teammate chow down on his breakfast. He looked slightly green as if he had just watched a snake swallow its prey.
"I swear he eats just as much as Tyson only a lot slower" Kevin grimaced when the rest of his teammates showed up.
"Yeah but at least Gary has manners when he eats" Rei replied with a grin.
They had already decided that they would only blade for fun until they were back to Japan. They did this so they could spend more time together enjoying their vacation. But that didn't mean they didn't take any of their matches less seriously.
As they made their way to the practice area Lee suddenly tripped. Immediately Rei was on one side while Mariah was on the other, Kevin and Gary behind them.
"Lee" The collective group of voices called out.
"Lee are you alright?" Rei asked with concern.
"Yeah I'm ok" Lee replied in embarrassment.
As Rei and Mariah helped Lee stand, Rei's hand accidentally brushed against Lee's thigh. Causing the already embarrassed boy to blush a darker shade of red. When they finally got to the practice area they found all the children from yesterday back again. As they watched them face off against each other they went around to each blader and gave tips to help them improve.
Mariah had been awfully quiet the last couple of days. Even when they would go to the river to relax she would be even quieter. The pink haired blader had never been a daydreamer so when she started doing just that her friends noticed immediately. However asking they concluded would probably not be the wisest idea. As sweet as she was, just like her Galux bit-beast she had claws and when angry she was not afraid to use them. So they figured it was a girl thing and opted to leaving it at that.
They were right in that aspect Mariah wasn't usually a daydreamer, but lately her mind just couldn't keep her from fantasizing about her present-day love. With her mind on the person she was in love with her smile widened and she sighed fondly.
Even though Kevin seemed the slower of the group he was anything but, and picking up on Lee's current crush was all to easy.
"Someones crushing on Rei, someones crushing on Rei, someones crushing on Rei" Kevin sang the next day as he and Lee sat by themselves under a shaded tree.
"Shut up Kevin" Lee threatened but to no avail.
"I wonder what Rei would say if I told him" Kevin prodded his friend putting a finger to his chin as if in deep thought.
"Don't you dare" Lee hissed turning to the shorter boy "Besides I don't even know if he's gay."
"I could find out for you" Kevin goaded with an evil grin.
"Kevin" Lee challenged darkly
"Hey look who's coming" Kevin smirked as he spied Rei, Mariah and Gary walking down the path.
"Kevin" Lee repeated a bit harsher
"Yeah yeah whatever you say captain" Kevin laughed. As the trio neared Lee and Kevin could see Mariah holding a picnic basket chatting with Rei. An adoring smile on her face making Rei laugh.
Over the next few weeks the group of close-knit friends spent their time swimming, fishing, and relaxing about enjoying this time off. They knew it wouldn't last though. As soon as they landed in Japan they would have to start training, and since they would have others to battle against taking it easy for now wouldn't hurt.
The White Tiger X team had about two months left to go before their flight back to Japan. During this time of relaxation there were a few things that went noticed and unnoticed between them. The first thing was.
Rei had found himself much like the others (well except for Kevin and Gary), musing over his current love interest. He found the best time to do so was in the privacy of his own room since most of his innocent thoughts took a more lecherous path recently and this way he wouldn't have to try to hide his very obvious arousal. No he didn't need others questioning him. Especially since he wasn't even sure how to handle the situation. It was times like these he was glad he lived alone.
The second thing was Mariah's strange behavior and it was on one particular day that got the boys just a little more than confused. Not that they weren't already.
It had all started in the morning. The five of them had decided on battling before the village children came out. First to battle was Gary and Kevin, this battle ended in a tie. The next battle was Lee and Rei with Rei coming out the winner by a stroke of luck. Hey just because Lee's crushing on Rei doesn't mean he'll let him win. But it was before Mariah's turn began that stumped everyone.
"I'm out" Mariah stated straight-faced getting up from her spot on the ground.
"What do you mean you're out Mariah" Kevin asked flabbergasted.
"See you later guys" She responded "Oh and I wanna be alone now so don't follow me" she stated turning her head glaring at the four boy's before she walked away.
"What's up with her?" Rei asked looking at the retreating figure of his friend.
"I...don't know" Lee responded just as shocked.
"She seem odd to anyone else?" Kevin asked shuddering slightly.
With that they just shrugged and shook their heads, sighing as they did.
Over the next couple days Mariah seemed back to her old self. The others guessing it a female thing didn't press her for answers though they remained curious. This type of behavior happened three more times over the month but still out of respect for the sweet but spicy girl avoided any unnecessary conflict. After all if it was bad she'd tell them. Right?
Lee was another story. In spite of the fact that he was crushing on his best friend and teammate he made sure or at least tried to make sure it wasn't obvious. Even with Kevin knowing he had already agreed to keep his mouth shut until Lee got up to courage to do something about his infatuation. With them growing up in the village they understood each other and refused to meddle in their friends love lives. To them it was out of respect. Even if he did tease Lee a lot he always made sure Rei wasn't within hearing range.
For Kevin he found teasing his friend relentlessly enjoyable to a certain point. But he also found all this secrecy exhausting and ridiculous. If you like someone why not just tell them. To him it was simple logic. If the person you like also likes you back you win. If you get rejected at least you can say you had the ball's to be honest and admit how you felt. After all wouldn't it be better to tell the person you like them and risk rejection then to sit on your ass all day wondering what would've happened.
Out of all of them Kevin was the most perceptive. He rarely showed it, preferring to act childishly instead. After all to him it was just much more fun.
A couple of weeks later. They five of them decided to camp out by the river. Since the village had changed and had become less restrictive they decided to take advantage of the freedom it offered. That day they decided to teach the village kids some more before packing up their bags for their three-day camping trip. Knowing they were close enough to the village if the situation called for them to return early. Knowing this they felt much more at ease.
Travelling together the five Chinese bladers headed down the familiar path shrouded by green tree's which shaded their walk. Upon reaching the site they unrolled their sleeping bags, made a fire pit and sighed happily sitting down on their bedding.
"I can't believe how relaxing this is" Mariah exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah no kidding" Rei replied smiling at the slightly shorter girl "Are you going to fish Lee?"
"Maybe later" Lee smiled.
"Can we start on the picnic basket?" Gary asked staring dreamily at the basket resting next to Mariah.
"We just ate though" Lee reminded his friend.
"I'm still hungry" Gary remarked as his stomach growled, causing the others to laugh.
After they had eaten everyone except Mariah and Gary decided to do some fishing so they would have something for dinner later that night. The basket didn't last very long so they made sure to catch a lot.
That night the five friends laid in a circle around the fire watching the stars. They talked about all sorts of things reminiscing about the old days and things to come. After the fire had died out they fell asleep still in the circle they started in.
Over the next couple day's the five friends spent their time fishing, relaxing and getting in some beyblade action. Although their wasn't much to do in the village they were content just being around each other. The end of the second month was nearing and soon they would only have a bit more time left in the village before they had to leave.
'Should I tell him?' was once again the one question plaguing Rei's mind.
The White Tiger X team had only one month remaining before they would travel back to Japan. Although they were a bit nervous they were also ecstatic to see their old friends. After all they would all be together for at least a year.
During the last month the group had decided to visit the streets of Hong Kong. Heading into one of the hobby shops they decided to upgrade their blades. Just in case they needed spare parts.
"Hey look at this" Gary said as he eyed a poster on the outside of the shop.
"It looks like Mr. Dickinson has already put out word of the tour" Rei replied reading the poster.
"Leave it to him to get fans excited early" Lee expressed with a slight smile.
"Hey guys I need to check on something" Mariah stated with a smile walking away "Be right back"
"We'll be at the restaurant" Lee shouted at his sister. His only response was a wave.
After Mariah left, the boys left to go check out their favorite restaurant. As they waited on their pink haired friend they picked out a table and ordered their drinks. About fifteen minutes Mariah returned with a smile.
"Sorry guys" She said as she sat down and ordered a cup of sweet tea.
"Where'd you go?" Kevin asked suspiciously.
"Chill out Kev I saw a store that I wanted to check out" She said dismissively. This answer seemed to sit with the every one so she opted to not saying anything else about where she went. After all what they didn't know she didn't have to explain.
After they ate they headed back to the village. They still needed to pack and wanted to get it done early so it was out-of-the-way. The last month felt like it went by even faster than the first two. Before they even knew it there was only two weeks remaining. Although they bladed against each other a bit more often time still seemed to fly by.
On the night before they had to leave, the villagers threw a feast to wish them good luck, and given hugs by the children to thank them for their lessons. After the rest of the village went to bed they stayed up, sitting in silence and thinking about tomorrow.
At long last it was the day of their flight. The entire village waited outside to see them off. Offering words of encouragement and support as the White Tiger X team headed for the airport.
"When's our flight" Kevin asked as he bounced around.
"In two hours now calm down Kevin" Lee told him firmly.
After they checked in their bags they made their way toward the waiting area. They still had two hours left to wait so they did what they could to pass the time. Mariah was reading, Kevin was bouncing off the walls, Gary was looking at the restaurants, and Lee and Rei where chatting.
"Who's everyone sitting next to?" Rei asked as they all looked at their tickets.
"I've got seat 1A" Lee said first.
"I'm seat 2A" Mariah told him.
"I'm in seat 3C" Gary replied his mind off food momentarily
"My seat is 1B" Rei replied smiling at Lee.
"And I have seat 2B" Kevin hollered making Mariah groan.
"Rei can we switch?" Mariah pleaded.
"Huh? Well..." Rei started to respond.
"No switching Mariah" Lee told her firmly.
"Fine" The cat blader pouted with a huff.
"It's ok Mariah, Lee's only saying that because" Kevin grinned.
"KEVIN" Lee shouted causing the small boy to crack up laughing.
While the other three looked between the two with confusion. Kevin sat bouncing in his now taken seat, wide-eyed grinning from ear to ear while Lee tried to hide his growing blush.
With only one hour left until boarding they watched other people take seats around them. Even though they were now silent their minds were buzzing with questions they couldn't answer.
"Hey does anyone know where we're staying?" Kevin asked a lot calmer then before.
"Mr. Dickinson said it was at one of the hotel's the BBA owned" Rei replied turning his attention to the green haired blader.
"I hope they have food" Gary said imagining the buffet from the last hotel they stayed at.
"Is that all you can think of Gary?" Mariah asked looking up from her book with a small smile.
"Mmmm ribs" Gary sighed causing Mariah to giggle.
"Don't worry Gary Mr. Dickinson will probably take everyone out to eat when we get there" Rei commented thinking of how Tyson eats.
"I wonder if all the teams will be arriving on the same day" said Lee absent-mindedly.
"I'm not sure but it's highly possible" Rei replied looking at his friend "He probably be at the airport when we arrive to pick us up"
After that the five Chinese bladers went silent hoping the plane would begin boarding soon. As much as they tried to preoccupy their time they had gotten tired of waiting.
"Rei?" Lee started, causing his dark-haired friend to look at him "I."
"Plane 778 From Hong Kong to Tokyo is now boarding"
End Chapter
A/N: Hey everybody. I hope you liked this chapter. I know the build up may seem kinda slow but it's there for a reason. Please stick with this story I promise it will be worth it. There is a method to my madness.
