Chapter 9
"So, like I was saying, when you're fighting an opponent, always watch their blade and the blader, that way, you can spot flaws on both sides!" Oliver declared happily. Ray nodded.
"Sounds like a good strategy." He admitted. Tyson nodded, then looked around from where he sat, cross-legged, in the dirt next to the fire.
"Hey, where's Max?" Suddenly, right on cue, there was a sudden loud squeak, and out from the bushes, stumbling and cursing, was . . . -drum roll- Max!! He held a hand to his nose and was a bright red.
"Maxie? What happened! Are you okay?"
"I'b find." Max grumbled, his voice sounded slightly nasal. "Jusb, don go back therb."
"Huh? Why not?" Ray asked, wide eyed.
"Max, do you have a NOSEBLEED?" Oliver asked curiously.
"NO!" He protested, but sure enough, a tiny little droplet of red leaked out from behind his hand. Tyson shook his head.
"Let me go check." He said and ran off.
"TYSON! NO!!" Max cried out as his friend ran off. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then all of a sudden . . . .
"HOLY SHIT!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??"
"WHAT-?!
TYSON!!!"
"HENTAI!!!"
SMACK!!
WHAM!
THWACK!!
And suddenly, Tyson came stumbling back, bruised . . . and battered . . . and cursing. Followed by crashing, and suddenly Meg and Kat burst through the trees, towels wrapped around themselves and both were waving weapons, in Kat's case, a fan, and in Meg's case, a pan. Please note the heavy red blushes on their faces.
"Pervert!" Kat snapped. Suddenly Oliver whipped out a handkerchief and held it over his nose while slamming his eyes shut. Ray slapped his hands over his eyes while Max swore as his nosebleed returned. Kenny yelped and looked away hurriedly while Johnny's jaw dropped at the sight. Kai blinked in shock while Ian gaped, slack jawed.
"What the heck are you doing?!" He demanded. Enrique glared at him, then returned his gaze to more . . . imposing objects.
"Wow Kat, you look HOTT in a towel!!" Kat glared at him.
"HENTAI!" She shrieked and proceeded to smack him repeatedly over the head with her fan. Suddenly there was more rustling.
"Someone care to explain why I found a spear, a quiver of arrows and a bow next to a hotspring? Tala said dimly as he brushed branches from his view, then suddenly stopped to gape at the scene before him. Imagine if you will . . . Two girls, wet and towel clad, both holding weapons above their heads threateningly, Max and Oliver cursing nosebleeds, Ray walking around blindly, Tyson lying on the ground battered, Kai still in shock, Kenny covering his view with his laptop, Johnny stammering, Enrique cowering beneath Kat's onslaught, Robert just standing, having no idea what to say, and Ian, who looked like an awe struck fool.
"That's mine!!" Kat interrupted and darted forward to claim her spear. It was well over her head in height and had a crescent moon shaped blade.
"And the arrows and bow are mine!" Meg declared and snatched her weapons away. The bow was made of dark stained, and polished wood, tipped with silver at the ends which were sharp and deadly. The arrows were smooth ash and perfect with silver feathers that glinted in the firelight. Tala blinked.
"So uh . . ." He murmured. "Where's the wench?" Meg and Kat looked at each other.
"Uh, she's-"
"Hey guys!" A voice interrupted. "Dinner's ready back at the tree house-!!" Akkiko ran into the clearing, and the three teams couldn't help but notice the two swords she held in her hands with expert ease, both with black leather wrapped hilts and fine blades of steel. Suddenly she stopped as she saw the others. "Uh . . ."
"You have . . . . . a treehouse?" Kai asked, vein twitching.
"Uh! . . . . Noooooooooooo!" Akkiko lied wincing.
"You can HUNT?" Tala demanded.
"Why didn't you TELL us?!" Ian demanded.
"You never asked!!" Akkiko cried defensively.
"You were gone for three days, and it never occurred to you that we might be WORRIED??" Robert snapped. Akkiko lost her patience right then and there.
"STOP PICKING ON MEE!!!" She shrieked with her ever so damnable good lungs. It was there that Brian walked into the clearing, two rabbits slung over his shoulder. He took one look at the scene, rolled his eyes and tossed the rabbits next to the fire. That done, he slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked off saying;
"That's a headache I can already tell I don't want."
---
"Nice . . . . treehouse." Kai said dimly. Indeed it was, 6 large strapping oaks that were next to each other supported what had to be at least a 6 room house, with ladders and spiral stairs going around the base. Meg, Kat and Akkiko all sweatdropped.
"Um, yeah. We just . . . found it." Kat declared calmly while glancing at the other two who gave the tiniest of nods.
'We're probably better off telling them that we found it, instead of saying that Mr. Dickinson dropped by, with a construction crew to make it for us. . .' Akkiko told the others through a mental link. Meg sighed.
'I can imagine the anger that would cause.' She replied.
'Not to mention I hope they don't know about our bits.' Kat broke in.
"So, tell me. How is it you three know those bitbeasts that attacked us?" Ray asked quietly.
Silence.
At once all three girls said to each other;
'Busted.'
"Er . . . . that's a long story." Kat mumbled shifting her feet.
"One we'd rather not tell." Akkiko added.
"Look, I've spent three days tracking you down, through snow, mud, and rain. You'd better tell me wench, or I'll MAKE you." Ian snarled hefting his gun in her direction. The trio all looked at him squarely, and instantly, Tala, Kai and Robert all knew something wasn't right.
"What makes you think you can?" Akkiko asked softly. Ian growled.
"That's it!" He snapped and lunged at her. In a split second, she side stepped his attacked, swung her sword around and hit him with the flat side of her blade in the back. Ian fell flat on his stomach and glared.
"Like I said, what makes you think you can?" She asked. Her voice was icy cold, but Tala, who had spent the last week and a half studying her, knew otherwise. To the untrained observer, her eyes might've have seemed just as equally cold as her voice, but to him, it was pleading, remorseful, and filled with pain. He saw the look in Meg and Kat's eyes as well. Tala stepped up to Akkiko and stared her squarely in the eye.
"So, you want to challenge me too?" She asked softly. Tala paused for a moment, before smirking.
"No, I'm not Ian, I prefer using force only when necessary You will tell us what is going on because you owe it to us as a . . . . friend." Akkiko blinked. Then sweated a bit.
"You don't follow those rules!" She accused. Tala's smirk faded away.
"We don't." He admitted. There was a pause, before he continued. "But YOU do." He had her there. Akkiko sighed and looked at Kat and Meg who grinned.
"He's good. He's VERY good." Kat said slyly. Meg laughed. Tala shrugged it off.
"I've always been good with politics." He declared giving a slightly wolfish grin. Akkiko shook her head.
"I guess it's time to tell them. All of them." Kat whispered. Akkiko nodded and in a swift motion, crossed her arms over her chest, then swung them out again, the swords vanished in a streamline of light. The teams gaped. Kat tapped the spear lightly against her chest, causing the weapon to vanish in the same kind of light, while Meg first touched the top of her bow to her quiver, then as that vanished, overlapped her arms over one another, when they separated, the bow was nowhere to be seen. The bladers gaped wide eyed.
"Yes, well. I suppose we should explain all of that." Meg murmured flushing. Kat sighed.
"So, who has their copy?" Kat asked looking at the others. Meg glanced away at the sky, averting her gaze.
"You know I burned my copy." She whispered. Kai blinked. What were they talking about? Kat chuckled.
"I cast mine into the ocean near the Arctic circle." She murmured in reply. They looked at Akkiko who sighed, then reached into the inner folds of her vest she wore.
"I've kept mine with me at all times. I dare not let my mother find it." She explained solemnly. Reaching the inner seam, she rolled her eyes, hesitated only for a fraction of a second, before ripping the two fabrics open. From inside, fell out, a CD case. She picked it up and tossed it at Kenny.
"That will explain everything." Akkiko whispered softly. Kat nodded.
"And what is this?" Kenny asked as he popped the CD into his laptop. Meg answered that.
"The only known copy left of the tournament 3 years ago. Of the Mystics' final battle . . . . of OUR final battle."
- Video -
"Miss Ryuujin! Do you have any comments before your final match?"
"What about you Miss Roan?"
"Miss Briar?" Meg smirked, the three sat at a conference table, Mr. Dickinson was sitting next to them.
"You three are the heirs of three of the richest families in Asia, Europe and North America! Have you any comments?" Akkiko smirked.
"Yes. Actually I do." The cameras turned to her. She took a deep breath, and folded her hands. "My name is really Kimiko Ryuujin Cimatura, heir to the Knight of Cimatura." She said softly. Meg and Kat gaped at her, then laughed.
"Oh, so we'll start off with that. Okay, my name isn't Megan Briar, it is Magoto Satsuka. I am the eldest daughter of Lila Satsuka, a great great granddaughter to the last Emperor of Japan." Meg said calmly.
"And I am Katherine Muller. Daughter of Daniel Muller, the doctor who has contributed to several articles involving medicines and Jessica Muller, the lawyer who taught 16 courses this year to university students." Kat informed the news press. There was a sudden flurry of activity and the scribbles of pens.
"Miss Cimatura!!" A voice called. "What brought this sudden choice of telling the press your real names?" Akkiko smirked.
"That was for our own purposes, let's just say, our lives, even though we're famous, aren't as easy as they seem."
"Miss Muller! You're team is composed of only 11 and 12 year olds, yet you only appeared this year and managed to make your way to the world finals! How do you feel about this?" Kat blinked.
"Should I feel anything? I'm proud that we got this far. But I know, that without Meg or Akkiko by my side, I never would have gotten half as far."
"You wouldn't have even gotten out the door. We had to drag you the whole way." Akkiko teased. A murmur of light laughter went through the room.
"Miss Satsuka! Do you believe you have what it takes to win the final round?" Meg gave a charming grin.
"Of course. We plan to go all out tomorrow, and let nothing stop us! We even have a secret move prepared." Akkiko elbowed her playfully.
"Don't give it away." She said smirking.
"Do you have anything to say to your opponents before the match tomorrow?" A reporter asked as the three girls stood. They all grinned at the cameras, and said at once;
"Yes. Look out."
- Outside -
The screen went blank for a moment, before starting up again. This time, anticipation filled the clearing.
- Video -
"So, who goes first?" Akkiko wanted to know.
"Let's scout our opponent." Kat suggested and looked at the dish. Standing there was a boy with cruelly hacked brown hair.
"Ouch, he looks tough."
"This is the finals Akkiko, of COURSE he's tough." Meg said while rolling her eyes.
"Oh lay off." She mumbled.
"Who takes him?" Kat asked looking at the other two. Meg paused, then shook her head.
"I got him."
"Okay, go get him girl!" Akkiko cheered. Kat laughed.
"Turn him into mincemeat!" Meg looked back at them.
"But of course." She said with a sly voice and a wink, then, turning back around, stepped onto the platform. She then held her hands out in front of her, palms up, a thin line of white light flashed and she suddenly held her bow. Pulling the string back once, twice, three times. She nodded and grinned.
"There will be a total of three matches in today's finals!" The announcer declared. "All three matches will be sudden death! There will be no second or third rounds in a single match-up!"
"What?" Kat gasped.
"No way!" Akkiko cried in disbelief. Then shook her head.
"Magoto!!" She called out. Meg turned, if Akkiko used her real name, things were going to get serious. "Don't hold ANYTHING back okay?! Use your secret weapon!!" She cried. Kat nodded.
"Do your best and we'll do ours!!" She encouraged. Meg grinned. Then nodded.
"Today's contestants are Ira of the Demolition boys, and Meg of the Mystics! Bladers, are you ready?" The announcer cried. There was a nod, and suddenly, all lights focused on the arena, and the two bladers.
"Three!!" Ira grinned and set his launcher up. Meg closed her eyes and focused.
'Talon, let's do this.' She thought softly.
'We will win.' The voice replied softly.
"TWO!!" Suddenly Meg snapped her eyes open and jumped into the air, the people in the stadium could almost swear they saw two deep blue wings on her back as she flew at least 10 feet into the air. She took the bowstring between her index and thumb fingers as she came to the height of her jump.
"ONE!!" She pulled the string back to her ear, and suddenly, a blue arrow appeared.
"LET IT RIP!!" The voice screamed, and she loosed the arrow. In a sudden streak of blue it whistled down and slammed into the dish, raising a cloud of dust as Ira launched his blade. Meg wasted no time as she fell back to earth, landing gracefully on her feet, she held her arm up as if to direct her blade.
"Talon!! Ice storm!!" She cried. Instantly, her bitbeast rose up, blue and shimmering. It flew into the air, and with a burst of light, unleashed a furious blizzard. Ice pelted onto the blade which slowed under the weight of the wind and ice. Ira was undaunted.
"Reverse spin!" He cried, and suddenly his beyblade sparked before instantly spinning in the other direction, sending the ice chips bouncing off it's surface. Her opponent grinned and pointed his index finger, directly at her. Instantly a giant coyote was revealed and it howled at her. Suddenly something slammed into her gut, causing her to gasp in shock and fall to her knees, clutching her stomach.
"Meg!!" Kat and Akkiko cried at the same time. Meg choked and brought her hand away from her stomach. What had happened? The answer, was next to her shoe, he had slammed a rock from his attack into her gut, blood speckled her fingers. She looked up and glared.
"Cheap shot." She spat at him. Ira smirked.
"Can't take it? Then get out. This is the big leagues, not some happy little frilly game. It's the basic rule of life, the strong survive, and the weak-" he paused dramatically. "The weak die."
"Well then, I think you just sealed your own fate. Cause I refuse to be weaker then you." She declared standing. "Talon!! Strike him down!!" She cried, the giant ice phoenix shot towards his blade in a streak of blue and crashed into his, knocking his blade into the air. The blade shot straight up, and hovered in the air for a moment.
"Game over." Ira hissed. And in a sudden burst of red light, it pelted down and slammed right into her blade, shattering it. With the attack, came an explosion of rocks and earth. The rocks slammed into her body, smashing her already broken ribs and bruising her chest, arms and legs. She fell onto her back with a scream of pain. Akkiko and Kat ran forward shocked.
"Meg!!! Meg!!" Kat shrieked kneeling down next to her.
"YOU DIRTBAG!!" Akkiko screamed at Ira. "YOU FUCKING DIRTBAG!!" She cried, nearly crazy with fury. "YOU AND ME!! RIGHT HERE!! SCREW BLADES, I'LL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN BARE HANDS!!" She took a step forward, only to be thrown back as her blade lit up, and suddenly, barring her path was Falcon.
'Do not be rash. Take the next match and put that anger to use.' Her bitbeast ordered. Akkiko scowled, then averted his gaze.
"Fine." She snapped. The medics carefully placed Meg onto a stretcher, and then was about to cart her off, when she stopped them.
"No." She moaned. Kat took her hand gently. Akkiko stood at her other side.
"What is it Magoto?"
"I stay. After all . . . if they did this to me, what will they do to you? You're my little sisters. I have to protect you." Meg said in what would have been a cheerful voice, if it didn't crack. Akkiko scowled and nodded.
"Alright. Kat, I take this match. Those bastards are going down." She hissed and placed her hand over Meg's for a moment, before walking up to the dish. Standing there was a boy with red hair chopped into something of a mowhawk. The announcer sighed.
"Up next, we have from the Demolition boys, Rakish. And from the Mystics, Akkiko. Bladers, are you ready?" He called. Akkiko glowered and jerked her arms to face down, in which a sword slid into her hands, as if they had slid down her sleeve. She held one over her chest, while the other pointed at the ground, held loosely as if she were at ease, but her face was a mask of anger, her eyes glinting with fury.
"I'm more then ready." She hissed at Rakish, who remained silent. He set his launcher and smirked.
"Three!!" Akkiko twisted a her hips a bit, so that the sword over her chest was pointed more backwards.
"TWO!!" Suddenly, a black streak appeared on the sword at her shoulder. It glowed softly in the dimming light.
"ONE!! LET IT RIP!!" She suddenly whipped her sword at the dish, sending the black streak careening into the dish and striking the center, unleashing a sudden wave of blackness that nipped Rakish's shoulder.
"Two can play this game." She taunted Rakish, who merely grinned. Suddenly, something curved by Akkiko, grazing her arm. And suddenly, pain flared, she gave a sudden small sharp cry of pain and held a hand to her shoulder, gently prying her hand away, she gaped. Blood.
"We'll make an example out of all of you." Rakish declared smugly. Akkiko stiffened. Kat tried to stop her terror from growing, and was failing.
"Akkiko!! Quit! Forfeit! I DON'T CARE! Get OUT of there!!" She screamed.
"NO!" Akkiko yelled back. "I'm doing this for you and Meg!!"
"Screw that!! It's not worth it!!"
"Katherine! You know full well that if you were up here you'd do it too!" She accused. Kat was silent. It was true. She would. With that taken care of, Akkiko turned back to Rakish and glared.
"So you have a few tricks. So what. Falcon!! Darkness wave!!" She cried and in all his glory, rose Falcon, a dazzling red dragon. He rose up a few feet, before giving a feral cry, unleashing bolts of darkness onto the beyblade stadium. Rakish sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Far too melodramatic. Diamond storm." He said calmly, and suddenly his Griffin bitbeast appeared in a haze of white. Unleashing a wind storm upon the girl. Akkiko could practically FEEL the wind whistle through her body, leaving her feeling lightheaded, before the pain. It spread through her entire body causing her to cry and fall to her knees. Her bitbeast roared it's anger and pain as Rakish's blade slammed into hers. Akkiko however, would not give in.
"This is for you Meg." She hissed. Looking up, arms wrapped around her shoulders. She glared, unwavering. "Falcon!! Final attack, Death Star!!" She ordered. Her blade glowed black in the icy wind, and suddenly vanished in a blur of gold and black, it's movements created a ten pointed start, Rakish's blade in the middle. The last hit sent his blade spiraling into the air.
"Game to me!" Akkiko cried triumphantly.
"Not likely. Hawk dive." Rakish interrupted. And suddenly, his blade flashed white, and wind came down from his blade, like a torrent of water. It struck Akkiko dead on, and she stiffened, time slowed for Kat.
"Akkiko!!" She screamed. Her friend didn't reply, her arms were suddenly on fire and she fell to her knees, blood falling down her arms. She collapsed on the edge of the stadium, her own blood coating her shirt. Rakish's blade fell down at meteor speed and slammed into her blade, shattering it, and landing the pieces next to her head.
"Akkiko!" Kat dashed forward, with every intention of helping her, when suddenly wind lashed out in front of her, it whistled in her ears and ruffled her hair. She stopped dead in her tracks to stare at Rakish.
"Stand back. I'm not done." He said grimly, with a smile at Akkiko's twitching form.
"You-!" Kat couldn't even find words the express her anger. Suddenly the anger built up in her and she clenched her fists so hard, her nails drew blood.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER YOU BASTARD!!" She screamed as loud as she could. Rakish laughed.
"Be silent." He ordered and snapped a finger in her direction, she managed to dodge the lash of wind just in time, it barely clipped a hair from her face. That was where Rakish went to far, that was the breaking point.
"Don't . . . .you EVER . . . touch my sister." Akkiko hissed from her spot, she managed to glare at him and for a moment, her eyes turned pure black.
"FALCON!!" Her shattered blade glowed for a moment, before sending a wave of darkness crashing into him, slamming him into the ground. Akkiko gave a weak smile of satisfaction, before her vision blanked out and she fell onto the ground. Kat ran up to her and kneeled down.
"Oh god. . . not you too." She whispered. "Someone get a doctor over here!!" She cried. Medics arrived within seconds, and loaded her onto a stretcher as well.
"It's mainly just the cuts. Nothing too serious." The doctor informed her. "Will she be staying here as well?" He wanted to know. Kat paused to think for a moment. Before nodding.
"Yes. She will. I know she'd want to."
"You . . . can back out if you want to." The announcer from next to her declared. She shook her head.
"No."
"No?!" He repeated in shock.
"If I quit now, Akkiko and Meg would never forgive me, -I- would never forgive myself for putting all of their efforts to waste. I finish this." Kat said firmly, turning to face the dish.
"Once, and for all."
Disclaimer: I own plot, OC bit beasts, and Akkiko. I just realized that I also sort of own Kat and Meg, because they're characters BASED on my friends. But neh, whatever, I'll just say Kat belongs to herself and Meg to herself. It's easier.
