Anime: Welcome folks, to chapter one of MIAB – Missing! In this chapter, we're looking at the main characters of the series and their thoughts. Please tell me if you see any grammatical errors. I'm sure I made several. This chapter shows what happens when you write during the night when you haven't eaten in hours and you're listening to Evanescence, Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, Within Temptation, Skillet and Ludo.
Aya: That doesn't mean the OCs aren't coming out!
Nami: We're right here, you guys!
Kaori: The OCs will finally meet up with the main characters.
Hikaru: Not to mention that more information of the Forsaken Fallen will surface. Not to mention a little plot twist!
Shun: Big thanks to those who reviewed/followed/favorited this story! *bows politely* Thank you for reading this! You guys are the greatest.
Rin: Shouldn't we get on with the chapter?
Riku: And we shall, Rin-san. Also, each chapter will be named after a song. This one is named after Missing by Evanescence. Good song.
Ray: We hope that you enjoy chapter one. It's like 8000 words or so.
Kai: Anime doesn't own Beyblade. Beyblade belongs to Aoki Takao, TV Tokyo, etc. Support the official release.
~~~MIAB~~~
1: Missing
Hilary used to have a normal life. Emphasis on the used to part. Her life had taken a drastic turn when she was kidnapped along with Kenny to force Tyson to beyblade. Back then, beyblading was something stupid and insignificant. Homework, school and cleaning duties had been more important. Again, that had all changed that fateful day.
Now, she was the manager of a beyblade team – the Bladebreakers, once called the BBA Revolution and also known as the G-Revolutions – that won the world championships practically every year. She hadn't expected that this would happen but she had learned to expect the unexpected.
The team consisted of Tyson Granger, Kai Hiwatari, Ray Kon, Max Tate and Daichi Sumeragi. All of them had bit-beasts: ancient and powerful creatures that powered their beyblades and were sometimes coveted by the bad guys. She used to have trouble believing that bit-beasts were real because she couldn't see them but, after Ray's battle against Joseph from the Saint Shields almost two years ago, she was able to see them.
Another key member to the team was Kenny, the brains of the operation. He modified and fixed their blades and he had extensive amounts of data on Beyblades. Just a couple of months ago, he – with the help of Emily and Miguel – had created the Hard Metal System when they couldn't get spare parts to repair their beyblades in order to battle the BEGA team. He also had a bit-beast – Dizzi, who was stuck in his laptop – and was a blader too, owning the blade named Hopper.
Hilary, at the moment, was in the Granger dojo, standing in the doorway of Tyson's room. She refused to enter it, considering everything. The bed was messily done, some papers were cluttering his desk, his closet door was slightly ajar and Dragoon was placed in his bed.
"Well, I'm off to pick up something! I won't take long!"
Those were Tyson's last words before he and Brooklyn went missing. It had already been two weeks since their disappearance and they hadn't even found a single clue to where they were at.
Ray, Max and Kenny were out doing their own search while Hiro had taken Grandpa to the police station so they could see how the search was going, Daichi tagging along with them. Tyson and Brooklyn's kidnapping was headlining the news, practically overshadowing the disappearance of the girl Kaori Kumai.
Hilary had wanted to go with the boys to try to find hints of where Tyson and Brooklyn had disappeared to but they had refused, saying she had to take care of the dojo and their guest. Speaking about said guest. . .
Hilary closed the door to Tyson's bedroom and headed towards the dojo, where she and the others had often slept in or had meetings in. That's where their unexpected guest was currently lodging in.
Hilary didn't know much about him, except that the boy had appeared in their doorstep the same day Tyson and Brooklyn went missing. He had muttered a weak "Ray" before he fainted. Ray had claimed he had seen the boy in his recent dreams so that lead to another oddity about their guest.
The other oddity he had? He was barefoot, wearing white clothes and white bracelet that they put on you when you're in the hospital. With the written information in it, they found out that the boy was named Riku Kuonji. He was fifteen years old and he was born on October 30 and had been in room 267 in Neo Flamvell Medical Center under the care of Doctor Isaac Saiga.
They had no idea why he had been in Neo Flamvell Medical Center. According to her research, that place was located in Maizuru in the Kyoto Prefecture, which was miles away from Bey City. Not only that, but most patients that were admitted there were insane, slightly disturbed or had other mental afflictions. And that wasn't the end of it. They had discovered that Riku Kuonji was the only son of Rai and Taishi Kuonji and the heir of Kuonji Corporation, one of the most successful establishments in Japan. So why had he been in a mental hospital? How had he escaped?
Hilary entered the room to find Riku asleep in a futon. He slept most of the time he was here. It was rare seeing him awake. Only Max had seen him awake and had given him food, which was rather odd. It was as if he only liked Max or something. Max had even said that he had spoken to him, calling him "Aya-nee". That made them wonder for Riku's sanity.
Riku was a very thin and pale kid and had light brown hair that almost seemed blonde. Hilary had only seen him awake once and he had shortly passed out afterwards so she didn't know his eye color. He wore no jewelry except for the medical bracelet but he had been carrying a backpack when he showed up. That didn't help them much, though.
Where was Kai during this whole mess? He was in Russia visiting "an old friend". During a phone call almost two days ago or so, Hilary had heard his friend's voice when she had mentioned Riku. He had immediately started trying to get the phone from Kai, asking if Riku was okay and yelling that he was on his way to Japan. Whoever Kai's friend was – because Kai hadn't named him – he had a connection to Riku and Hilary wanted to know about that connection.
Hilary sighed, "What is going on?"
"The end of all normality."
Hilary jumped and her eyes met red-purple eyes. Riku was finally awake! She saw Riku observing her, eyes assessing her as if she was a difficult problem he had to solve. His eyes didn't look right. It was missing something, something that everyone else had. What was it?
"Excuse me?"
Riku closed his eyes and sat up. He was still wearing the clothes they had found him in, refusing to part with the clothes. Hilary wondered when was the last time he had showered and flinched. Surprisingly, though, he smelled nice. Considering everything that had happened, Hilary had expected him to smell worse.
"Hilary Tachibana, right?" Riku asked, opening his eyes slowly, giving him a tired look, "It is very nice to meet you. My name is Riku Kuonji and I'm insane."
For a brief moment, Hilary wondered if he was joking. When he didn't start laughing and just stared at her with a blank stare, she realized that he was serious, "Er. . . You're insane, huh?"
Riku nodded seriously, speaking in a monotone, "Mad as a hatter. I hear voices and I have hallucinations. Is that normal? Of course not, I know that. I also have mental and emotional breakdowns. Not to mention that I'm dangerous."
Hilary resisted the urge to flinch away. It was scary the way he was just telling her that he was crazy and dangerous. She really wished that he was kidding. Then, Hilary finally realized what was missing in his eyes.
Emotions.
He didn't look happy, sad, angry or anything else. His eyes were dead and emotionless. His eyes were inhumane. He also looked really tired, as if he was carrying the weight of the world. She hated seeing those eyes. She hated that he looked so tired even though he was her age. No one she knew had the look Riku had. Even Kai and the Blitzkrieg Boys didn't have that look, even though they had a harsh past. At least they showed emotions.
"Oh, I see-."
"You're a lot like her. Fuyu-san, I mean. You have a similar aura to her." Riku interrupted and turned to her, his gaze calculating. He seemed to look right through her with that look. Hilary gulped. She really wished that the others would come back soon. She was already getting scared of the boy and he hadn't even said anything resembling a threat.
"Um, Riku," Hilary coughed, "About what you said earlier. That normality is ending. What do you mean by that?"
"That is what is going on, Tachibana-san," He responded, "Madness is something people don't think about as a serious problem and ignore it. Those who are insane are outcasts of society because they're not like them. All people want is order because that's what they call 'normal'. But he is going to bring chaos into this 'normal' world and change it. It'll be something odd, don't you think? Most people will go mad. The weak-minded will go mad and the strong-minded will too. There won't be any person who isn't mad."
"Who is bringing chaos?" Hilary asked.
Riku looked at something behind her, "The Forsaken Fallen. They crave chaos, the destruction of humanity and eternal night. They'll cover the world in darkness, you see. And they're going to take me the way they took Tyson and I'll no longer be insane because I'm going to become his vessel and I won't be anything-."
"What do you mean they took Tyson? Are you saying that the people who kidnapped Brooklyn and Tyson are the Forsaken Fallen?" Hilary interrupted Riku, worried about the boy because he had a maniacal glint in his eyes. It was very creepy. Perhaps he was insane.
Riku nodded, "Of course. They took him like they did ten years ago. They kidnapped all of us. We were kept in that dark room and they hurt us physically, mentally and emotionally. Most of us died while only eleven survived. But I think I died too. I don't feel alive."
"They kidnapped you? What?" Hilary asked.
Riku started staring at the wall, "Chaos and night were the first to arrive and then the rest followed. Earth, sky and the void came first. Vengeance, magic and death changed the world. Spring, summer, autumn and winter are forms of time. All will eventually return to chaos and night."
Hilary shivered at those familiar words, the ones Dizzi had recited when she came back to tell them about the Forsaken Fallen. Riku had a connection with them, if he knew so much. It was a shame that he wasn't cooperating. With all these symptoms, she just knew that the boy had schizophrenia.
"Riku-."
Riku's eyes widened suddenly and he clutched his head, "He's angry with us."
"Riku, calm down," Hilary placed her hands on his shoulders, making his wide eyes turn to her. She felt sympathy towards the boy. He looked like a frightened animal that had been abused by its former owner before being abandoned so it could die. "You're okay now. You don't need to be afraid."
Riku was shaking uncontrollably, looking at Hilary with those terrified eyes. He didn't look inhumane or crazy now. He looked like those scared little kids that were lost and cried for their mothers. He buried his face in her neck, wrapping his arms around her. Hilary was surprised by his actions but then returned the hug. He looked like her really needed it.
"Fuyu-san . . ." He muttered weakly, "Iroiro to arigatogozaimasu."
Hilary had no idea who Fuyu was but, for some reason, she kept imagining a female around her late twenties with long black hair and a streak of white in her bangs, covering one of her light purple eyes. She was grinning brightly, holding something in her hands. The image vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Hilary felt Riku's hold on her tighten, mumbling in another language that wasn't Japanese. Several thoughts rushed through her mind as she held the quivering boy. Only one of the questions kept being replayed inside her mind.
What is going on?
~~~MIAB~~~
Max was wandering Bey City alone, searching for possible places to where Brooklyn and Tyson were at. Recently, the search had taken up most of his time. The only leads they had to the disappearance was that they found a package near this old park that had Tyson's name on it. Inside the package was a broken sculpture that Max had realized had been the thing Tyson had left to retrieve.
The day Tyson and Brooklyn disappeared kept repeating itself on his head. Tyson had called him in the morning to arrange a small get-together in the dojo. Max had agreed and then went to watch the news. The protests to ban Beyblade had gotten under his skin and had nearly soured his morning. His father had noticed and turned off the television, saying that there was a letter for Max from his mother.
The letter had said that they were having worse problems in America and that protestors had practically attacked their lab. However, she got aid by the Sakamoto family. She went into great lengths talking about Ren and Natasha Sakamoto, that were also supporting them. She even mentioned their daughter – Nami, who was a year younger than him – was interested in blading herself and was a big fan.
She had started talking about the other influential families that were supporting them – the Kuwashima family, the Orikasa family, the Kumai family – and had said that most of the influential people in the world that had been against them had cowered in fear when Rin Mizushima and Seto Kaiba had both decided to support their cause. Things were looking up now so there was a good chance that they wouldn't ban the sport.
After that, Max was a bit happier. He left the house and headed to the Granger dojo, meeting with Ray along the way. He told the Chinese blader about his mother's letter and he had been ecstatic about the news. They arrived at the dojo where Kenny, Hilary, Daichi and Tyson were already waiting. Max shared the news and they were all happy for that.
They spoke about anything and everything, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Then, Tyson had left to get something and they waited for him to come back. Ray ran out of the house and they saw Riku standing in front of the house before he eventually passed out.
After getting the boy inside, they decided to go looking for Tyson, deciding that he was taking way too long. When they found the package with his name on it, they immediately called the police and they discovered that Brooklyn and Tyson had been there. The odd thing was that they found some of Kaori Kumai's hair in the scene as well and she had been reported missing some time ago.
The following days after that were filled with chaos. Kenny suspected that they were kidnapped by anti-Beyblade protestors. Tyson and Brooklyn were professional bladers and were dangerous – as seen during their match – while Kaori was a blader herself, her family being some of their main supporters. However, Max didn't think that was the case. Not when thoughts of the Forsaken Fallen – that Dizzi had mentioned to them – were fresh in his mind.
Dizzi had been monitoring them for a year and, according to her, had been awakened during the battle between Brooklyn and Tyson. They were dangerous and powerful bit-beasts that wanted to destroy humanity, let chaos rule the world and shroud the world in eternal darkness.
From what he had learned from Dizzi, there were twelve of them, each of them as cruel as the other. They had been sealed away by Dragoon, Driger, Draciel and Dranzer when they nearly destroyed humanity thousands of centuries ago. They had woken up once ten years ago but they willingly returned to their slumber. That part was what chilled Max. Why did they go to sleep when they were finally free from their imprisonments?
Were they waiting for something? If so . . . what?
"Jinsei wa shinsetsude koseideatta baai, osoraku, watashi wa gokana seikatsu o okuru koto ni narimasu."
Max stopped walking to hear the song. That voice was familiar. He'd often hear it screaming his name in the middle of the night. He turned around to see long blonde hair turn a corner.
"Watashi wa rakuen de odotte iru hazudesu. Doramu no yawarakai bito wa watashi no komori-utdearou." The girl kept singing and Max could hear her getting farther away from him. He needed to know who she was.
Max decided to chase after her, turning the corner. There! She had her back facing towards him, not knowing that he was behind her. Max began to walk faster to catch up to her. She might help him understand why he kept hearing her scream in the middle of the night.
"Shikashi, watashihadare o karakatte imasu ka? Kaosu wa watashinojinsei o shihai shi, kurayami wa watashi o hipparu. Rakuen de no seikatsu no tame ni amarini mo oku. Watashi wa kage ni nagusame o mitsukemashita."
Max had finally caught up with her. "Wait!" He cried out, grabbing her wrist to stop her from walking. The girl gasped and turned around and Max finally looked into the face of the unknown speaker. . . .
. . . Only to get slapped in the face.
"Ow!"
"You're one of those nasty perverts Rin told me about!" The girl shrieked, Max holding his injured cheek, "I'm so glad I took up his offer and studied judo with him!" She got into a battle position, eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
"W-wait! You got the wrong idea!" Max cried out before she could do anything.
The girl blinked, "Wait a minute . . . Max Tate?!"
Max finally had time to take a good look at the girl. She was tall and lithe and appeared to be around his age. She was wearing a sky-blue sundress but the outfit might have looked better if she wasn't wearing a black jacket over it. She had long blonde hair that was similar to his own and bright purple eyes. She was rather pretty, Max thought, hiding a blush.
The girl gasped, "Oh my goodness, I am really sorry I hit you like that! Are you okay? Hikaru tells me that my slaps hurt like hell so I hope your cheek doesn't sting that badly. I thought you were a pervert . . . Sorry."
Max sighed, rubbing his cheek, "I'll be fine, Miss . . ."
"My name is Aya. Aya Orikasa, pleased to meet you." Aya grinned. For a moment, Max saw a little of Tyson in that smile but that thought disappeared in an instant. He shouldn't be thinking about that now. There was something else that Max wanted to know. Wait . . . did she say . . .?
"You're Aya Orikasa?!" Max exclaimed at the petite girl. She nodded and Max was left in shock. This girl was famous, being the only daughter of Orikasa Industries, and she was one of the many who thought that Beyblade should continue. So she was the one that he kept hearing at night?
"Yeah, in the flesh. Who else would I be?" She asked, eyes wandering, as if she was looking for something. She gave out a small 'hmm', "I thought that being alone would attract them to me but I guess I was wrong . . ."
"What's that?" Max asked.
Aya stiffened suddenly. She grabbed Max's hand, "Time to go! He's coming here and I don't think he'll like that you're here." She started running, Max having no choice but to follow, wondering why she was acting this way.
"Who's coming?" Max asked as they turned towards a street filled with several people. Aya glanced his way, suddenly looking serious. Max decided that he preferred her when she was carefree and smiling. Aya looking this serious was unnatural. Max frowned. Why would he think like that? He didn't even know the girl. For all he knew, she was always serious.
Aya stopped in front of a café shop, pushing him inside. Max nearly fell forward but caught himself before he did. Aya closed the door behind her and sighed in relief, "I doubt they'll find us here . . ."
"You didn't answer my question." Max whispered. He had no idea why he was whispering but he felt the need to do so. Aya looked around and led him to a table far from the other customers.
"Well," Aya pursed her lips, "that might have to wait for a little while. I came here to Japan because there were news that Tyson Granger and Kaori Kumai have gone missing. Is that true?"
"Yeah. So has Brooklyn Masefield, you know. . ." Max started and then was surprised by the look of horror that was present on Aya's face. He raised his hands, "Um, hey, it's going to be okay! Don't you worry, the police are already in the case-."
"They'll never find them." Aya muttered, "Ten years ago, they never found us until we managed to escape. Humanity might as well be screwed. . ." She was silent, looking at the table with a look of despair. Max wondered what she was talking about so he could help her.
A waitress eventually came to their table, asking if they wanted to order anything. Max ordered the same thing for both him and Aya, even though he didn't know if she would like what she got. The waitress glanced at them both and grinned at Max, giving him a wink. Max wondered what that was about.
"Okay, you're confusing me. Can you tell me what's going on?" Max asked and that got Aya's attention.
"Well, I know this may be a long shot but have you heard of the Forsaken Fallen?" Aya asked, keeping her voice low so only she and Max could hear the conversation. Max's eyes widened in recognition, something Aya caught. "I see that you do," She looked around again, "What do you know about them?"
"According to Dizzi, they're twelve powerful bit-beasts that want to destroy humanity, bring darkness to the world and let chaos rule it all. They were sealed away thousands of centuries ago by the sacred spirits but they awoke once ten years but returned their slumber after a while. They awakened again because of Tyson and Brooklyn's match during the Justice 5 tournament. That's all I know." Max replied, watching Aya's reaction.
Aya nodded, placing a hand on her cheek and leaning on it, "You got the gist of it, alright. However, I think I need to fill in some holes in your story. When they first woke up ten years ago, when the seal was broken, they decided to look for tamers."
"Tamers?" Max asked.
Aya sighed, scratching her head, "I forget, you guys don't use our terminology. Well, a tamer is the person that controls, or works together with, the bit-beast. You, for example, are Draciel's tamer."
"Oh, I see." Max replied.
Aya frowned, growing tense, "Unlike your relationship with Draciel, these guys planned to possess their tamers and use them as vessels to destroy the world."
"I don't think I'd like that type of a relationship. It doesn't sound healthy." Max muttered, feeling chills run down his spine. He'd hate someone taking over his body so they could do whatever they pleased with it.
"You're right, Max," Aya responded, stopping for a moment when the waitress came back with their order. They both thanked the waitress and, when she left, Aya continued, "It's not healthy. Humans can't take the amount of power that the bit-beasts have. That's why normal bit-beasts don't possess their tamers. It strains the tamer and might kill him or her if the bit-beast uses too much power."
"Well, it seems the Forsaken Fallen don't care if they do kill their tamers," Max growled out, taking a sip from the tea he had ordered.
"They don't. They observe them as tools, not equals." Aya replied, also taking a sip from her tea. She had more grace when she drank it, though. Max wasn't that surprised about that. She was from a wealthy family.
"That's not how it's supposed to be," Max replied, "They're supposed to be equals, fighting together to achieve their goal. Dragoon and Tyson are a good example of how a relationship between bit-beast and tamer is supposed to be."
Aya placed her cup down, "Well, as I was saying, they went out to look for tamers. Whenever a person had an aura that made it possible for them to be tamers, they would kidnap those people. They'd then possess those people to see if they're worthy of them."
Max's eyes widened, "Wait . . . does that mean . . .?"
Aya nodded, their eyes meeting, "They'd unleash most of their power when they were inside their human vessels. The humans wouldn't survive."
Max looked down at his cup of tea, "How awful. How can they be so cruel?"
Aya crossed her arms, looking down, "They're heartless beings, that's why. They don't seem to understand kindness. However, certain humans didn't die when they underwent that test. In fact, their auras were compatible to the Forsaken Fallen."
Max took another sip from his tea, before setting it down. He quickly processed that information and spoke, "You're telling me that they successfully found tamers?"
Aya nodded, "Correct, Max. They didn't start their plans of chaos, darkness and destruction yet because their tamers were so young. The youngest was four and the eldest eleven. They couldn't do much with that, don't you think? Instead, they decided to keep their tamers, along with several other children that somehow survived the tests as well, with them. It didn't go as planned when they managed to escape, though. Out of all the hundreds of children they had kidnapped, only eleven managed to get away alive."
Max closed his eyes, "You were one of the survivors, weren't you?"
Aya jumped and Max opened his eyes, "You know this much because you survived the whole ordeal and I know you're one of the tamers. The question is who the bit-beast that has claimed you as a tamer is."
Aya blinked and then smirked, "Pretty perceptive, Max. You're right: I am a tamer and a survivor. As for which one of the Forsaken Fallen has chosen to me to be its tamer . . . I think you should have a pretty good idea."
Max reached into his pocket and dug out Draciel. The beyblade was shaking and the bit-chip was glowing. Max bit his lower lip and looked into Aya's eyes. He had an idea of who the bit-beast that had chosen Aya was. It would make sense, now that he thought about it. Aya seemed strangely connected to water because of her family business. He kept hearing her voice from Draciel and his bit-beast was reacting this strangely because he was close to her.
Max nodded, "Yes, I know who has chosen you to be their tamer."
For a brief moment, Aya's hair turned purple while her eyes turned black. That moment vanished and Aya smiled sadly, "You're correct. I was chosen by the one born to oppose Draciel. I am Dark Draciel's tamer."
~~~MIAB~~~
Ray was sitting alone in a park bench, contemplating the recent events. He was practically ignoring the surroundings. The sounds of children laughing in glee were mute to his ears. The wind blowing gently didn't faze him. He didn't feel any of his surroundings. He was deaf, mute and blind to the world around him. No one could blame him, though. He had too much in his mind, after all.
Not only were the disappearances of Tyson and Brooklyn in his mind, so were the appearance of Riku Kuonji and the awakening of the Forsaken Fallen. Those thoughts occupied his mind and, if he didn't find the solution to this problem, he'd probably go mad.
Riku Kuonji was the first oddity that had appeared on his life. The male was a mystery and their odd connection a greater one. Ray couldn't understand how they had both known each other's names before meeting. Sure, Riku could've been a fan and, therefore, known his name. But the way Riku had looked at him was something that haunted his mind.
Sorrow. Happiness. Hatred. Love.
Riku seemed happy yet sad to see him. Seemed to love him yet hate him. It reminded Ray a lot of the yin-yang concept. Darkness and light fighting against each other but coexisting because they couldn't exist without the other. Riku reminded him too much of that and Ray wanted to know why that was.
Ray had sensed Riku coming to the dojo and had heard his voice in his mind before their meeting. He had seen Riku in his dreams and in brief hallucinations. Not only that, but his beyblade would start shaking whenever he was near Riku's location and Driger's bit-chip would begin to glow brightly. According to Dizzi, this happened because Driger was sensing the tamer of his opposite.
That reminded Ray a lot of the conversation he had had with Riku about the subject.
~~~MIAB~~~
Three days ago
Ray was restless, his sleep haunted by visions of a boy with flaming red hair, red eyes and red wings crying to Kai to kill him for the sake of humanity. Kai, oddly enough, had been crying, saying there must be another way. Ray woke up hearing the screams of anguish of both Kai and the other male.
Ray was walking the quiet corridors of the dojo when he heard a soft voice singing in the room where Riku was sleeping in. He stopped and stared at the door, wondering if he should enter the room. After a moment, Ray decided that he should go for it and entered, drawing the attention of the only occupant.
Riku smiled at him, "Hello, Ray Kon. It is a pleasure to meet you during the witching hour. Why would they call midnight the 'witching hour' anyways? Not very original, don't you think? I would call it something else. Perhaps the spirit hour. Witches can fly around anytime they want but spirits like to linger during midnight. Seems fitting, don't you think?"
Ray had no words. He was extremely confused on what was going on. Riku was an oddity and he spoke rapidly about odd things. Riku's eyes were currently hidden by his bangs, giving him an eerie look.
"Hello, Riku," Ray replied and stood awkwardly in the doorway. Riku turned his head to a spot on his side, as if telling Ray to sit down there. Ray complied and felt awkward when the other didn't speak. He was just looking down, his eyes covered by his long hair.
"How does it feel, Ray?" Riku asked.
"Huh?"
Riku bit his lower lip, "How does it feel not having another voice inside your head that tells you to murder the person next to you?"
Ray stiffened, not expecting that question. Riku lifted his head and Ray's eyes widened. Riku's eyes were glowing a bright golden color and they were cat-like in shape. He looked at Ray's wide eyes and smiled, looking up at the ceiling, "I always hear him, Ray. He tells me to destroy you and curse Driger. He's a very cruel creature. He drags me closer to the darkness as days go by. How can I stay sane if this continues? What can I do?"
Ray felt those glowing orbs turn to him and shivered. His beyblade began to shake in his pocket and he could see a faint glow coming from it. He reached into his pocket and took out Driger, both teens turning to look at the blade. It was shaking uncontrollably now and the glow became brighter. "Why is it reacting this way with you?" Ray asked.
A cold hand covered the blade and both teens looked up to meet each other's eyes. Riku smiled softly, his glowing eyes giving him a maniacal glint, "It's obvious, isn't it? He senses his darkness is close by."
~~~MIAB~~~
Ray groaned, leaning back on the bench. If both Dizzi and Riku were right, then the reason his blade was acting strangely was because Riku was the tamer of Driger's opposite, a member of the Forsaken Fallen.
Dark Driger.
Ray didn't know what this meant for the future of Driger, Riku and himself. He knew one thing for sure, though. Things weren't going to end up pretty. After all, they had to take down the Forsaken Fallen. If they didn't, then-.
"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice asked and Ray sat up straight, seeing a boy around his own age sitting down on his left. He had messy blue hair and playful red eyes. He was dressed in all black – shirt, jeans and jacket – except for his white shoes and wore a leather necklace with a shining black stone. He was grinning, showing brilliant white canines.
"Huh?" Ray asked.
"Oh, ignore him, Ray-san. He likes to jolt people out of their thoughts. I think he's compensating for the fact that he doesn't get lost in his own thoughts." Another voice inputted and Ray turned to the right and jumped, meeting a similar face with the same eyes and hair.
Ray looked to his left and right, confused for a moment before realizing that he was sitting in between identical twins. Whoa, they looked eerily similar at first glance with the same hair color and eye color. Now that he was looking properly at the twin at the right, he could spot the differences.
The twin on the right seemed less wild than the one on the left. He had soft red eyes and combed blue hair. He, opposite to his brother, was wearing all white except for his black shoes and he wore a leather necklace with a shining blue stone. The brothers seemed so similar yet so different.
Yin-yang.
"C'mon, don't be so mean to me, Shun." The black-clad twin replied, pouting. He placed his hands on the back of his head, "Besides, how else were we gonna get him outta his thoughts? He might as well have been in Asgard!"
The white-clad twin – Shun – shook his head, shooting Ray an apologetic look that seemed to read 'I'm sorry my brother is such an idiot', "There are better ways to get someone out of their own thoughts, Hikaru-nii. You lack tact."
Hikaru rolled his eyes, shooting Ray a look that read 'I have to deal with this everyday', "You've been spending too much time with Rin, ya know? You're starting to talk a lot like him."
Another difference of the brothers: their voice and mannerisms. Hikaru was loud and rude while Shun was quiet and polite. Ray had heard that twins were, sometimes, opposites but these two only seemed to share similar features. Everything about them was different. Who could have a hard time trying to tell the difference between the two?
Shun shook his head, "We're getting off topic here, Hikaru-nii," Shun turned his full attention to Ray, "after all, we only came to Bey City for them."
"Right, right, I hear ya." Hikaru replied before looking at Ray as well.
"Have you ever heard," They asked in unison, "of the Forsaken Fallen?"
~~~MIAB~~~
Hiro Granger felt like crap. He wasn't always around for Tyson and he knew that. He always felt guilty about not being around and being a better brother. He kept telling himself that Tyson understood and he was fine. But Tyson wasn't fine. He got over the fact that Hiro had left him alone with their grandfather all those years ago. When Hiro joined BEGA, it was the last straw for Tyson. He refused to speak to him and had grown distant. Hiro hadn't blamed him for it and had decided to give him space. He'd apologize when Tyson wasn't too upset.
Then Tyson was kidnapped.
Hiro had felt his heart stop the moment his grandfather had told him the news through the phone. Hell, he had rushed to the dojo in record speed after ending the call, desperately wishing that it wasn't true.
Two weeks had passed and they still hadn't found a sign to where Tyson or Brooklyn had been taken. The case was getting even more complicated when they discovered traces of another missing person – a fifteen year old girl named Kaori Kumai – in the area where Tyson and Brooklyn had been kidnapped.
Hiro groaned, burrowing his face on his hands. He, along with Daichi and Grandpa, had gone to the office of K. Kurumada, a young man that specialized in finding missing people and was currently working to find Tyson and Brooklyn. He had been working for ten years on the division and Grandpa had decided to talk to him. When Hiro questioned him about it, his grandpa merely replied that he knew the young man very well.
Daichi turned to him, giving him a sympathetic look, "Don't worry about a thing, Hiro. We'll find Tyson and Brooklyn."
During these two weeks, Daichi had matured quite a bit. He was less rowdy and wild, something that worried Hiro. He knew the boy was taking Tyson and Brooklyn's disappearance badly, especially Tyson's. Hiro had even caught him getting lost in thought during dinner.
Hiro looked up to give him a soft smile, "Thank you, Daichi. Yes, we'll find them. Both Tyson and Brooklyn will be found."
"But how long do you think that'll take?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Both males turned to the left to see the speaker. The one who had spoken was a female who looked to be around fourteen. She had long, light navy blue hair that was up in two ponytails and bluegreen eyes. She wore a light blue sweater, a pink skirt, white socks that made it up to her knees and dark brown shoes.
Hiro felt as if he should remember that girl. She looked so familiar. Where had he seen her before? This was the first time he had met her, right? Then why did he feel that he had met her before?
"Thank you, Hiro-nii!"
Hiro shook his head and Daichi spoke, "Who are you?" The red-head felt something was off about the girl. She might look harmless but Daichi felt that there was more to the girl that what she let on.
The girl smiled and Hiro, once again, felt that he had met the girl before, "My name is Nami. Nami Sakamoto. It's a pleasure to meet you. I know who you both are so there is no need for introductions." She glanced at the door where Grandpa Granger was speaking with Kurumada, "I came here to have a chat with an old friend but it seems luck is in my favor if I was able to meet you guys."
For a moment, Nami's eyes glowed but then stopped. Daichi narrowed his eyes at that but didn't say anything. Nami sat down next to them, humming softly. She turned to Hiro, "How's the search going?"
"Wha-?"
"I'm asking if they've found a trace of Tyson or not, Hiro-nii." She replied, pouting, "I'd ask about Brooklyn but, no offense, he's not that important at the moment. With Tyson in their hands, the Forsaken Fallen will cause a lot of harm."
"Did you say the Forsaken Fallen?" Daichi asked, giving the odd girl his full attention. He remembered Kenny's laptop speaking about them the day Riku appeared and Tyson and Brooklyn went missing. Were they behind their disappearances?
Nami nodded, suddenly looking serious, "Yeah, they are. I came here because all of us are here and Tyson was kidnapped here. Not to mention the disturbances come from here . . ."
"What was that?" Daichi asked and Nami turned to Hiro. The older male froze upon seeing her eyes. Those eyes. Those eyes that belonged to the girl who seemed so familiar to him. They reminded him of-.
Darkness . . . pain . . . blood-red eyes gazing at him . . . hunger . . . crying children . . . needles . . . loneliness . . . an ear-splitting scream of terror coming from someone he cares for. . . dying children . . . so much pain. . .
Hiro gritted his teeth and held his head. Nami blinked, "Well, then. It seems that the memories were repressed with hypnotism rather than naturally like Kaori's. I wonder, is it just one word or a phrase?"
"What's going on?" Daichi asked, looking between the calm Nami and the pained Hiro. He knew he was missing something. What memories of Hiro's were repressed? Why was this girl trying to find out, anyways? What was she trying to do? Daichi had a lot of questions but no answers. He didn't like that at all.
Nami bit her lower lip in thought before she grinned, "I bet it's that damn phrase that they always insisted we say but we would refuse, right? After all, none of us would like to say it. Bet you decided that this would be the phrase to lock Tyson and your memories, right?"
"Hey! What are you trying to do?"
Nami looked Hiro dead in the eyes, "Do you remember anything when you were eleven or is everything a blank?"
"I . . ."
"I know what happened." Nami whispered, eyes shining with determination, "If you allow me, I'll unlock those memories you hid away to forget living on hell. After all, they could be the key to finding Tyson, Kaori and Brooklyn before it's too late." At that, Hiro's eyes widened. Could finding out what happened when he was eleven really help figuring out what was going on? Could he help find his little brother?
"Do it."
The door to the office opened as Nami spoke, "We are the servants of night, chaos and destruction."
Hiro couldn't say anything as thousands of memories assaulted him. He held his head as he saw several children – Aya, Rin, Tyson, Raul, Julia, Mio, Sarah, Riku, Kaori, Natsu, Nami, Shun, Hikaru, Jack, Alice, Sienna, Aster, Yuna, Asuna, Christian, Adam, Yudai, Nikko, Taka, Taro, Allen, Freyr, Aziza, Heru, Neith, Omari, Sekhet, Arvada, Ejnar, Ester, Haki, Oliver, Akina, Joseph, Miley, Philip, Ann, Goku, Hajime – crying in pain as something attacked them – He's angry with us – while someone laughed sadistically.
A dark blue dragon glaring at him. A starving Raul. A sobbing Julia. Aya inside a water tank. Tyson and Shun on top of operating tables. Rin hanging from pole, screaming, as fire surrounded him. Hikaru being thrown into a pit and being buried. Nami screaming as they dragged her away. Fuyu giving him a smile. Riku sleeping on his lap. Red eyes staring at him from the darkness. Kaori screaming as they placed her in a chair made of thorns. Ann trying to save Jack but getting hit with a whip, screaming as she fell. All of them sitting in chairs and screaming as intense pain washed over them.
"Hiro!"
Hiro cried out and found himself back in the office with Nami touching his shoulder, staring at him with sympathetic eyes. Daichi looked confused but worried. His grandfather looked scared and worried while the young man next to his grandpa – a man in his early thirties with black hair and brown eyes – seemed sympathetic, worried, afraid and confused.
"Hiro?" Daichi asked, looking at the young man. After Nami had said those words, he had tensed up before his hands had gone to the side of his head as he began to tremble, eyes widening. He had looked so terrified of something Daichi didn't know. The girl hadn't allowed him to get near him, though, saying that Hiro was just remembering. Remembering what, Daichi had been tempted to ask but had held his tongue.
Hiro looked up, his eyes looking older and worn, as if he had seen all the horrors of the world. Nami's eyes softened more, "You remember everything, don't you? You saw what they did."
"Yes, I did." Hiro muttered.
Daichi looked at both and then gave out a loud yell of frustration, "Are any of you two going to tell me what's going on?!"
"Easy," The one who had spoken was the dark-haired male who was standing next to Grandpa Granger, "it seems Miss Sakamoto has made Hiro remember about the event ten years ago when they were both kidnapped."
"No," Nami said, giving them a weak smile, "I made him remember our personal hell so he can understand that the fate of the world is hanging by a small thread and that he is a crucial member of this dangerous game."
"After all," Hiro said, facing the others, "this is just a game."
~~~MIAB~~~
"You look like a nerd, Rin." Kai said aloud, giving his companion a devious smirk. His companion looked up, shooting him a death glare. Kai's companion was a pale sixteen year old boy with raven-black hair and brilliant blue eyes that were hidden by black-rimmed glasses. The male was dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and a black blazer. In his hands were several documents that he had insisted were important.
"Shut up, Hiwatari," Rin shot back before he looked down, fixing his glasses, "I require glasses because, unlike you, I read in my spare time. Far more productive than Beyblading, if you ask me. Besides, I don't need them all the time. I just need them to read."
Since hearing about the disappearances of Tyson, Brooklyn and Kaori, the two half-Russians had been talking about their new enemies, the ones known as the Forsaken Fallen. After discussing that, Rin began looking through the family trees of every person that was a tamer for a member of the Forsaken Fallen. Of course, the proud boy refused to tell Kai what he was doing. Kai knew that the other was going to tell him eventually. His childhood friend hadn't changed many of his old ways.
That didn't mean Kai wasn't annoyed that Rin hadn't told him why this was important.
Kai rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "If you think like that, why would you support us? You could've gone anti-Beyblade and the whole world would've followed after you."
When the protestors had demanded the sport to be banned – after witnessing the destructive nature of Beyblading in the Justice 5 tournament – Mizushima Enterprises had been a sponsor the BBA desperately needed to continue. Since he was the head of that major corporation, Rin was in charge of the decision to support them or stand against them.
After a public riot to ban the sport, Rin had hated how uncouth the anti-Beyblade protestors had been in their approach ("If they had wanted to win this debate, they shouldn't have pulled that stunt. The public will lean towards us, now."). After that, Rin had publicly announced that he was going to support the BBA, giving them a high chance to keep Beyblade around.
"I like doing charity cases." Rin retorted, as he skimmed through the documents, "Without my support, Beyblading would already be banned. After all, are you forgetting that I got many protestors to back down in that petty social event you took me to? Ugh, they were all idiots." The last part was muttered under his breath but Kai managed to hear it.
Kai sighed, "Whatever. What the hell are you doing, anyways?"
"Searching through family trees, as I've told you before," Rin replied, never taking his eyes off the document. He frowned, pointing his index finger at one part before tracing upwards, "I need to know if I have any living relatives."
"What for?" Kai asked as he sat down next to his old friend. The two were at a library – of all the places around, Rin had decided to review the documents here – in Bey City. Kai had no idea why the other wasn't rushing to the Granger dojo when he had been ready to do it a couple of days ago when he had heard Riku was there.
Rin huffed, looking up at Kai, "Well, haven't you noticed that people from the same family tend to be tamers for bit-beasts?"
Kai raised an eyebrow, urging Rin to go on. Rin looked at the documents in front of him, biting his lower lip in thought, "Think about the White Tiger team. Lee and Mariah have bit-beasts and they're both siblings, right? Well, Kevin and Gary also have bit-beasts and they're just cousins."
"So, you're saying if one member of the family has a bit-beast, there is a possibility that another member of that family might have one too?"
"Exactly," Rin replied, nodding his head in agreement, "I'm a tamer for a member of the Forsaken Fallen, as you already know." Kai nodded, Rin having told him everything he knew of the twelve dark bit-beasts, including the bit-beast that had chosen him as a tamer.
"Well," Rin fixed his glasses, before turning to look at Kai, "Let's say I drop dead now, right? I think there is a high possibility that a member of my family would take my place as his tamer. This theory is plausible, considering the bit-beasts the Majestics have in their possessions have been passed down through their family since ancient times."
"And you're looking for any living relatives that might become the next tamer in case you die?" Kai questioned and Rin responded with a nod.
"Luckily, I haven't found any living relative yet," Rin replied, searching his family tree again, "If I die, it'll be a pain searching for someone with a compatible aura."
"What about the others?" Kai asked.
"Well, they all have cousins because their parents weren't only children, unlike mine," Rin replied, taking off his glasses and setting them aside, "It seems they could be disposed of if they don't listen to orders or submit. Damn, this isn't good news."
"What isn't?" Kai asked, narrowing his eyes.
Rin sighed, rubbing his eyes, "There are good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" This was a bad sign, Kai thought to himself. When Rin asked if you want to hear 'good news or bad news', it meant that the situation wasn't good.
"The good news." Kai replied.
Rin looked up, staring at one of the many bookshelves. Kai grew tense at the sight. Whenever Rin didn't want to meet his gaze when telling him something, that meant it wasn't something good to hear. "Well, it turns out that I do have relatives." He spoke softly but his eyes were as cold and jaded as ever. He didn't seem happy about finding out he had living relatives.
"Well?" Kai prompted, nudging him softly so Rin could look at him directly in the eyes. He wanted to know who these relatives were, "Who are they?"
"In the Mizushima family tree, I noticed that Hikaru Mizushima, sister of my great-great-great grandfather Rin Kaage Mizushima, was married to a man named Yudai Kumai." Rin sighed rather loudly, "Kumai, Kai. I'm a distant relative to Kaori Kumai from my father's side."
Kai's eyes widened in surprise, "You hit the nail on the head on that theory of yours, Mizushima. Both you and Kaori are tamers of those dark bit-beasts, after all. Well then, what about Natasha's side?"
"From my mother's side, there is only one. These are where the bad news start, you see. He's her cousin from my grandmother's side. Apparently, Anja Borkov nee Avilov had a sister named Zeny Avilov who married a man named Shurik Balkov. Zeny and Shurik had a son and he's still alive, although many people wish that he wasn't."
Kai froze, hearing that familiar name, "Balkov? Are you telling me that…? No way. You're kidding me." Rin had to be playing a practical joke on him. There was no way that he was related to that man. The man that made Kai live through hell during the Abbey. He couldn't be . . .
Rin's eyes softened, "I'm afraid not, Kai. I'm related to Boris Balkov."
~~~MIAB~~~
Tyson: *claps hands together* That's a wrap!
Brooklyn: That was fun. Although, why didn't we show up?
Kaori: That was a lot of information in the Max-Aya interaction. My head is about to explode.
Anime: Sorry if you guys had to absorb so much of that. I mean, reading all of the Aya-Max interaction and finding out Kaori and Boris are distant cousins to Rin?
Tyson: You now know that Aya is Dark Draciel's tamer and Riku is Dark Driger's! Dark Draciel represents 'winter' in the 'spring, summer, autumn and winter are forms of time' part of the whole thing while Dark Driger represents 'autumn'. Although, you were probably expecting that.
Aya: At least I'm not-
Ray: No spoiling yet! Now, we know the identity of four out of the twelve members of the Forsaken Fallen (the last two being revealed in AOTFF): Gaea (earth), Ouranos (sky), Dark Draciel (winter) and Dark Driger (autumn). Any guesses on who's the tamer of what?
Max: More identities will be revealed but I think it's obvious who is the bit-beast that chose Rin. There were a lot of hints shown.
Kai: We all know.
All: Totally obvious.
Kaori: As for Ray's dream in the flashback . . . don't take it too lightly. After all, we all know who that boy was, right? *winks*
Nami: Hiro remembers what happened ten years ago thanks to yours truly! He might regret finding out but he will help with what's going on.
Hilary: Anime is seriously shipping me with Riku.
Riku: We have no idea how that happened.
Anime: Well, I ship all my OCs with somebody. Nami x Shun is canon and so is Kaori x Hikaru. Aya . . . that's tough. I think I'm going to think about that later. Takao won't get shipped with anyone either. Rin is going to stay forever alone because he only belongs with Kai.
Rin: Shut up. I could get anyone else. I'd rather die than be with Hiwatari.
Aya: What about me?
Rin: Stay with Tate.
Aya: Hey!
Kenny: That's enough. Well, thank you for reading this, you guys. Review to tell us how we're doing. We appreciate the reviews. Name your favorite Beyblade character or OC and Anime will give them more screentime. Aya, Rin and Kai are getting a lot of attention because they're the most loved characters.
Aya: It's because we're adorable!
Rin: I'm not adorable.
Kai: Keep telling yourself that.
Brooklyn: Have a nice day! See you all in chapter 2! We'll be waiting for you the way you wait for us!
All: We hope to see you there!
~MIAB~
Translation time!
Riku's Line: Thank you for everything
Aya's Song:
Perhaps if life had been kind and fair, I would live a gorgeous life.
I'd be dancing in paradise. The soft beat of the drum would be my lullaby.
But who am I kidding? Chaos rules my life and darkness pulls me in. So much for a life in paradise. I've found solace in shadows.
~MIAB~
Next chapter: Numb
