Hi everyone! I'm back! Hope the first few days of the new year have gone well for everyone :D Thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed the previous chapters.

To Guest: Well, you asked who is the best archer. Kai? Or Tyson? Here, I've just started showing you the path of their rivalry :P Don't worry, the answers will be revealed soon and some consequences and decisions will result in the outcomes of today's beyblade shows and matches :P

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

The entire ecosphere was lidded with murk and muteness. Neither the stars could be seen, nor could the moon be found. Even, the usual blows of the wind were hardly felt. The restless, volatile water of river Mudan didn't seem to follow her typical nature. The leaves of nearby trees were resting. Grasping the twigs with their claws, the owls and owlets were quietly observing the movements of rats in the croplands, rotating their circular orbs discontinuously. If one had closed his eyes and offered his ears to the nature, he might have heard the crickets, trying to pierce the veil of silence with the pins of their inaudible buzzing.

"Splash!"

Ripping the cloak of discreetness of that night, someone placed his right foot on the surface of river Mudan. All the aquatic creatures were peacefully sleeping beneath it. Nonetheless, they didn't seem disturbed at all. Not delaying, he dragged his left foot forward as it gently touched the water-land.

Not putting much force downwards and not inciting the gravitational force anymore, concentrating on his velocity, he progressed, raising tiny pulsations in Mudan. She stirred a bit, her mumbling in her sleep was heard. However, she didn't wake up.

Reaching the other shore of the tributary, he landed on the ground, crossing the river only with the help of his legs. His feet created shallow holes into the sands. He stood up, dusting the soil-gifted powders clinging to his skin and cloths. With his amber-eyes, he glanced all over the atmosphere.

"Thrash!"

"No!"

The sound of some people's groaning and weeping hit his tympanic membranes as his eyes got enlarged. At the next moment, he closed them. Following the resonation, he stepped forward.

Suddenly, all the dark clouds from the sky moved away, letting the moon appear along with the bunch of stars. Gusts of wind also appeared, removing his ebony-colored bangs from his forehead and making his waist-length hair dance. The malleable radiance of Princess Luna showered itself on his temple. He opened his eyes, revealing the sharpness of his gorgeous golden pools. The taijitu symbol drawn on his wrist became exposed. The yin-yang locketed-pendant hanging from his neck swayed a bit as the blue veins beneath his tanned skin became visible.

Rays met Ray.

Every muscles of his body got strained as he peered through the leaves of a bush, kneeling down on the ground. In front of his eyes, a soldier whipped on the back of a villager which left a bloody taint there. In pain, he screeched.

"Aaah!"

There were also a few people tied to trees and pillars of abandoned houses, including women and children. The cloths of most of the women were ragged. Their hair was ruffled, their cheeks were bearing the signs of fingers and fangs. They were almost expressionless. A few of them were sobbing, without creating any sound. On the other hand, the children were bursting into tears. Hearing them, the cruel guards burst out laughing.

Those scenes and sounds were enough for him to boil his blood. His fingers curled into fists as he tightened his jaw. Standing up, he clasped a tree.

'I'm sorry, mother earth,' He whispered, panting, 'But in order to save the innocent people, I'd to hurt you. Forgive me.'

Uprooting it, he tossed it at a group of soldiers. As it collided with their heads, they collapsed on the ground, unlucky enough to utter a single word before their demise.

Leaping and advancing, he picked up one of their swords. Other combatants rushed towards him, raising their naked weapons but he moved in the speed of whirlwind. Using his ankles as springs, he jumped, ending up landing on a strong branch of a tree.

Baffled, the militants gawked at one another's face. Using the opportunity, cutting another heavy leafy branch from the tree with the help of his sword, he dropped it on the tormentors. As it landed on them, their heads got smashed. Their contaminated blood trickled down on the surface as she sucked it like a vampire.

Climbing down from the tree, Ray approached the captives. Cutting the ropes, he spoke, "Don't worry, people. Nothing will happen to you anymore. You're safe now."

"Thank you so much, young man!" An old man's eyes glittered with tears, "If you didn't come here, we would be no more."

"Mention not, Mister," He smiled, "You may return home."

"Sure." Expressing their gratitude towards him, the people left the place hurriedly. Sighing in relief, the raven-haired neko-jin turned back as he heard someone clapping.

"Good job, Ray," The blunette's teeth got exposed, "Never knew that you could hurt the nature for reaching your goal."

"Kane?"

That time, his tightened jaw dropped, eyes again got amplified in shock and disbelief.

The prince of Hong Kong was the person whose face he despised to see.

"What does he think of himself, Master Tao?" The blue-eyed guy's tone seemed wrathful, "He cannot destroy the nature to save people."

In front of the great teacher, the raven-haired neko-jin kept his head lowered. He didn't protest, he didn't utter a single word, letting his fellow complain against him.

"May I show you, Master?" He was still blabbering, "How cruelly…..how cruelly this boy has uprooted the tree!"

Fake tears rolled down on his cheeks. Sniffing, he continued, "No tree will grow there ever! Besides, he has also cut the branch of a tree very ruthlessly! With a sword! When I saw it, my whole body turned into a stone-made statue! I kept screaming, yelling but this…this guy hardly listened to me! Such a selfish man he is, Master. Had he talked to me before talking any decision, mother earth wouldn't have been so gloomy today!"

"Calm down, prince Kane," A well-dressed guy squeezed his shoulders, "Ray will be punished. In fact, he must be. What do you say, Master Tao?"

'This…this son of a farmer is too unsuitable to become the comrade of the princes like us…..' A smirk rose in Kane's lips, 'Master Tao will surely kick him out today!'

The bald, old guy had kept his eyes closed during the whole explanation, crossing his arms on his chest. Opening them, he turned to the raven-haired Chinese. Then, he asked, "Ray, is Kane speaking the truth?"

"Yes, he is," Ray nodded.

"Do you want to say something to defend yourself in this regard?"

"I've nothing to say, Master," He raised his head, "Just…I want to ask Kane a few questions."

"Sure, go ahead."

"So, prince Kane…." The neko-jin started, "You love trees a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course," In pride, Kane let his nose touch the sky although it failed to do that, "Trees and plants are my life."

"Then…. why did you cut several banana trees last week?" Ray grinned.

"Um….because of making a raft, I guess," The prince of Hong Kong scratched his head, "Rafts help us cross rivers, you know."

Everyone there burst out laughing, save Kane's ardent followers who just facepalmed. Even, the rough and tough Master Tao couldn't help giggling a bit.

"Look, Kane," Ray calmly verbalized when the laughter stopped, "Trees are one of the most important elements of our nature….because of its own uses. We must never cut down trees at random but we may use them when we need them. Kane, when the metals weren't discovered, people used to make weapons from trees. Like them, at that moment, I had no weapon. My hands and feet weren't enough to finish that well-armed troop. So, I had no choice. I had to take help from nature. Actually, we all do it."

In resentment and embarrassment, the ears and cheeks of the blunette turned cerise. He clenched his teeth and grips, looking down at the ground.

"Hope you've understood, Kane," Tao voiced, "Ray, you must be tired. Rest for a while, you've to work hard tomorrow."

"Sure, Master," He bowed and left the place. Then, the bald man approached the blue-haired prince. As Kane stared at his eyes, he saw flames dancing there.

"Kane," He cleared his throat, "When you were describing how desperately Ray was cutting down the trees, you mentioned that you were screaming. It means….you stood still. You didn't help Ray a bit, did you?"

"Well, Mas….Master….." Now, he started stuttering.

"Knew that," Tao sneered, "Leave it. Tonight, you're going to stay awake and guard the whole learning center. Got it?"

"Wh….what?"

"Yeah, you ears haven't got rotten yet," Tao yawned, "I've to sleep now. See you tomorrow, Kane."

He left the place, smirking, leaving a flustered prince whose egotism had been shattered into pieces just then.

In humiliation, Kane felt as if the ground underneath his feet had started crumbling. Fury raced through his veins as cracks appeared on the so-called unbreakable walls of his self-respect. Frustrated, he punched a nearby tree, almost making it tremble.

Kane's P.O.V:

Aaaah!

What? What does that fucking Ray think about himself? He….he thinks that he's stronger and more intelligent that I? Really, he lacks of proper etiquette and manners. He doesn't know how to talk to a prince like me. Despite being the son of a farmer, he is so proud of himself! Why so pride? Why so arrogance?

By the way, why am I blaming Ray unilaterally? What is our principal, the greatest of all teachers, Master Tao, doing? Isn't he provoking Ray? Is he impartial? Nope, he isn't. He keeps pampering that son of a bitch. I wish….I really wish….I could slice him into pieces.

What will Ray do by studying like us? We're studying and gaining knowledge so that we can become great kings and rulers in future. But what's his profit? What will be his destiny? No matter how educated he becomes, he'll remain the son of a farmer. He won't be able to be a prince or a king ever in his life, will he? Then why? Why is here, among us?

Nah, neither it can ever be accepted, nor can it be tolerated at all. A farmer's son can never tarnish the pride and dignity of a prince. Sooner or later, I'll show him his exact place.

The place that he deserves!

"Princess! Hold on!"

Smiting the granite-built floor of the passage, the redhead was racing towards her own-known destination. When her bare feet were falling on the ground, the reverberation of metallic trinkets chimed into the ears of her chasers. They were running behind her, they were pleading to stop. But, at that period, the princess seemed deaf to them.

Eventually, because of exhaustion, they gave up running. Standing still, they were panting.

"Water….." One of them huffed, "I seriously need water now."

"Only her body has grown up," An elderly maid commented, "She still has the soul of a child."

"Aaaaaaaaaa!"

The sudden scream of a guy sent shivers down to their spines. Gaping at one another, they gulped.

"Hasn't it….hasn't it come from the room of….." The first one's voice was getting choked, "Prince Jim?"

"Shit!" Another maid cursed, "What will happen now? Should we go there and check?"

"Have you gone crazy?" The leader clasped her wrist, "Will you enter the room of a prince?"

"Then….then what should we do?"

"Let's go to inform the queen," The first one bit her lips, "Only she can solve the problem."

"I…..I'm sorry, sis….."

The yellow-head prince was stepping back slowly. Holding a sly smile all over her face, the redhead was gradually approaching him. One of her hands was holding an exposed sword. Its blade was glistening as the sunshine fondled it, entering through the uncovered windows and diamond-shaped loopholes on the walls.

"Sorry?" She let her head lean against her shoulder, giving the most innocent smile to her brother, "Of course, Jim, you're the one who are to be sorry! Speaking of which…..aren't you cursing your hands?"

"Yeah…yeah…sure…" His feet was trembling like a banana tree in a storm, "Hehehe…..my stupid, forgetful hands…promise that you'll never leave a cockroach again in one's cloths….okay?"

"Not okay," The keen zenith of the rapier touched his chin, "Still you've to face my wrath!"

"Sister, please…..let me go now….." Kneeling down, the helpless brother joined his hands together, "I promise….I'll never do it again!"

"You've already promised for the 10th time, Jimmy," She mocked, "By hook or crook, I am not leaving you without punishing you."

"Help!"

He screamed. His throat dried. It was craving for getting drenched by a single droplet of water. Before him, there was his sister, looking like a fierce warrior. No no…not like an angelic one. She was rather seeming a part of the battalion of Satan.

"Salima!"

"Shit!" The red-haired girl bit her tongue, "Mother is calling me. I've to go now."

Dropping the weapon on the ground, she hissed, "You're lucky enough, Jim. But don't forget that I won't forget to make you pay!"

Leaving the scared and still-shuddering boy behind, she left the room like streaming rivers. The horrified brother stood up on his feet somehow, sighing in relief.

'Thank you so much, dear mother….' He exhaled, 'Keep saving me like this always.'

That was...*huffs*

Do read and review. Since I wrote it despite the abdominal pain *Tearful eyes*, there may be a lot of grammatical and spelling errors. Pardon them.

-Misty ^_^