Bao: I just want to say that... DragonFang2011 does not own Metal Fight Beyblade. And it's about time she let me say the disclaimer. Kyoya always does it.
Me: Well, Kyoya loves saying the disclaimers!
Kyoya: That's true...
Me: And I want to wish my little brother a Happy Birthday, and I dedicate this chapter to him! Because no matter how frustrating, annoying, irritating, spoiled, rotten, bratty, monstrous, fake, and freakishly babyish he is, he's still my little brother and I lo... lo... lo...
Gingka: *thumps my back*
Me: Love him. And this is the only time I'm gonna say it! Too bad he isn't reading this... Oh, well...
"I want to enlist for the army, too," Toby protested, his hands clenching into fists.
Kyoya, Ryuga, Benkei, Aguma, and Bao glanced back at the group they were leaving behind in one of Sirius' many inns. "Well, you can't," Bao said. "You're sick. What if you pass out because of all the training you're required to do? And do you even know how to use a weapon?"
"I want to learn," Toby said.
"Too bad, sport. Mastering a weapon takes years, and we don't have years. And the army doesn't slow down to train amateurs." And the maroon-haired young man left—tailed by Aguma—leaving the rest of them speechless.
Gingka let out an awkward whistle. "You know what?" he said. "I'm gonna go check up on Pegasus..."
"No, you're not," Madoka said, getting to her feet. Gingka noticed that she was wearing the dress she'd been making for the past few days. "You're going with me to the marketplace, and we're going to find a way to make some money, and we're going to buy some new clothes!"
"But—"
Madoka shook her head. "No buts."
Yu, Reiki, and Kenta burst into laughter. "No butts!" Yu sputtered.
"Oh, shut up, you three," Dan muttered, but he was smiling anyway.
"Okay then." Kyoya grasped the handle of his sword nervously. "You sure you guys are gonna be okay?"
"We'll be fine, Kyoya," Hikaru said, sitting up on the bed. The wooden piece of furniture creaked with the sudden movement. "Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves. Honestly, you are such a worrywart, sometimes."
"Worrywart? I am not a worrywart! I just... Most of you are pretty irresponsible people..." Kyoya and his blushing face were pushed out of the door by Ryuga. "Let's get going, Tategami," the archer grumbled, "while there's still a war to fight in."
"C'mon, Kyoya-pal!" Benkei exclaimed.
"Wait for us!" Madoka called, grabbing the money pouch and pulling Gingka after her.
"You call this piece of horse dung art?"
Gingka turned to the sound of the shout just in time to see a woman throw down a flat rectangle of wood onto the ground in front of a tiny stone house. He almost dropped the parcels that he was carrying for Madoka, who was also watching the scene with curiosity in her turquoise eyes.
A girl with long pink waves of hair, and a fancy teal-green coat bent down to pick up the painting, which Gingka noticed was just a rather odd mix of different shapes and colors. "Your face isn't art!" the teen retorted, and Gingka was surprised to find that the voice was male. The pink-haired artist was a boy!
"Untalented delinquent! Off with you! Scat!" The woman threw a bag at the guy's feet, stomped into the house, and slammed the door shut. Gingka heard her say something along the lines of "Worthless excuse for a son."
"Thanks for the encouragement, mom!"
Gingka turned to Madoka, who mouthed, "That was his mother?" with a look of shock on her face.
"That was a guy?" Gingka mouthed back, feeling just as shocked.
The pink-haired teen strolled towards them. He had an unusual amount of makeup and face paint on his face. His lips were blue in a clown-like sort of way, and a black and yellow half-mask covered the right side of his face.
"Hello there, fellow humans," he said. "I have never seen either of you around here before. You new?"
"Yes, we're travelers," Gingka explained. "We just arrived from Ensis."
"Ensis, eh?" The teen rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked around. "Rumor has it that it was destroyed by another one of Fortissimus' invasions. The king hasn't sent anyone to look for survivors yet, but everyone's saying that he won't because he needs every single man that could fight to go to war. Speaking of war, there's actually a big battle coming up in a few months... Are you refugees?"
"Yes?" Gingka was shocked by the sudden change of topic, and how no one was coming to Ensis... There were probably no survivors, anyway, Gingka, he told himself. Except us. And the Sodo twins.
"And you two have come all the way from Ensis, alone? Do you know how dangerous that is? Shadow Hunters, man-eating birds, blood-sucking leeches... Is one of you a magician? Because both of you seem pretty unharmed." He gasped dramatically. "Maybe you're both magicians!"
Gingka tried to catch up with the teen's lively chatter. "There are actually others in our group, and—"
"Then there's that dreadful bandit from Goren!" he exclaimed, moving on. "Or was he in Mienora? Doesn't matter. Yes, I've heard that he was the worst. The worst, indeed. If he wanted to, he could steal from the king. I've heard that he's ten feet tall, with dark creepy eyes, and hands that could crush boulders!"
That is the most inaccurate description of Yu I have ever heard.
"Yu?" Madoka muttered quietly, to herself.
But the guy heard. "Of course not! I would never steal anything from anyone! For your information, I am a soldier! You can't just go around accusing people of being a thief like that, little girl. It will get you in trouble. Big trouble. You could get hurt."
The brunette opened her mouth to say something, when Gingka stepped in front of her. "She was just joking! Right, Madoka?"
Hope this guy's stupid.
He glanced over his shoulder at Madoka, who looked startled. Then, she seemed to get the message. "Yeah," she said.
"Well, don't do that," the pink-haired teen said, frowning. "The people around here don't take jokes lightly. Especially the other men. And you're so young and pretty, too! Why, if you didn't have a companion with you, you would've been raped by now."
Gingka put an arm protectively around Madoka, who was trembling. "I'm twelve!" she said.
"Age doesn't matter here. But enough about this pitiful heap of trash we call our capital city. I'm Jack." He held out a gloved hand.
They each shook it.
"Gingka."
"M-Madoka."
"Well, Gingka and Madoka, what do you want to know about this not-so-fine city? I know this place like I know the back of my hand!"
Gingka raised an eyebrow. Didn't he just say that he was done talking about this?
He exchanged a glance with Madoka.
This guy's nuts.
Ryuga: Finally, we get somewhere! This... This is progress!
Me: And a lot of characters are going to be showing up when Kyoya enlists for the army in the next chapter! Including... *pauses for dramatic effect* Nile! That's who you've been waiting for, azure blue espeon! I'll try to post it ASAP! Before Christmas, probably.
Nile: Boom, baby!
Kyoya: That was kind of uncharacteristic there, Nile.
Nile: *shrugs* I'm doing it for the fans.
Me: Once again, Happy Birthday, bro! And I hope you get lots of presents today! Speaking of presents, I forgot to get him one... WHY MUST I KEEP FORGETTING TO GIVE PRESENTS TO MY LOVED ONES?
