Author's Note: Gwaha!!! It's Space Lion here, running on three hours or so of sleep! Of course, this is likely going to be written over the span of a few days, so it may or may not be change after. I tend to write better when I'm tired.
Some other notes. These places in Edmonton actually exist, and Edmonton does hold an amazing amount of yearly festivals over the summer. It was said in the first chappie that the Bladebreakers are 16 years old in this fic. ANNND, my fellow authoress DOES NOT write crapola stuff! There, that said, let's get on with it.
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Chapter 2: Wild Goose Chase
The Bladebreakers standing outside the window listened as the enraged teen's voice carried out of the store, and onto the side walk, causing the people passing by to stop and stare. The Breakers were soon surrounded in a crowd three people deep, and they were all staring into the store with curiosity.
Tyson glanced at all the people, did a double take, and then asked what looked like one of the local natives why they were all just standing there, most with appreciative looks on their faces.
"Man, this is Whyte Ave., during the Fringe Festival," the teenager replied, nodding. Tyson stared at him and wondered if he had missed something.
"Yeah, so?"
The teenager looked at him, brows rising. "You mean this isn't an act?" Tyson shook his head and almost got pushed into Max as the crowd suddenly deepened. Kai was completely oblivious as he stood up to the window, wondering where he had seen the redhead before, when she turned her eyes to meet his, and for a brief moment, time stood still. Kai felt another flash of something, an almost physical jolt starting from his head and ending at his feet.
For her part, she stared at Kai intensely, and then her attention skipped over to the crowd of people. Amusement flickered across her face, and she turned back to the blond.
"Just what do you think you're doing, you dumbass?" She shouted, apparently just now getting around to requesting any information. She fairly oozed rage, her violet eyes snapping, her mouth set into a grim line. Oddly enough, her anger didn't affect the boy standing next to her. He was practically dancing with amused glee, licking his lips to get the chocolate off of his mouth.
"What are you talking about?" Ray finally asked, totally flabbergasted by this short blond girl—teen, his mind whispered.
"You practically steal my younger brother off the streets and you're asking me what I'm talking about?" She gestured to Parley, who was grinning from ear to ear at Ray. He stifled the urge to cuff the kid and turned his attention back to the outraged sister.
"I only got him some ice cream," he said, as calmly as he could. Ray was starting to loose his patience, though.
The teenaged girl standing across from him let out a derisive snort, her voice lowering to a sarcastic tone. "That's the way it starts, isn't it? You give a young kid some ice cream and gain his trust and then you snatch him up for your own dark purposes."
Ray could hardly contain his shock at such an untrue accusation. He was about to deny it, loudly, when he saw the dark delight glittering in her eyes. That's when he noticed the large crowd gathered outside of the ice cream store, and realized she had seen it a long time ago. She was purposely egging him on!
"Now just hold on a second!" He half snarled, pupils slitting.
"I don't hold on for anyone, much less a pompous arrogant jackass with fake fangs!" She was serious now. "Do you go around buying ice cream for kids all the time? How……sweet." She let that last word drop out like venom.
His temper was about fly unchecked, when a throat being cleared interrupted them both. The redhead stood there, unruffled as two pairs of murderous eyes turned her way. "This is all very enjoyable, but perhaps we can part ways? My friends and I have a few things we need to do," this last aimed at the blond and her brother. At some unseen signal, the girl dressed in green and black stepped out of the ice cream store and waved her hands around, calling out loudly. "Alright, folks! The show is over."
Giving a good-natured grin to all the groans of disappointment, she turned towards the four by the window that weren't departing. Her eyes narrowed slightly as they all turned towards her, staring. Used to appraising stares, she didn't mind the way the three shorter ones were watching her, but the fourth's gaze made her uneasy. She was reminded suddenly of the intense staring contest held earlier, and she abruptly glanced away, arms crossing.
In the ice cream shop, the blond glanced to her brother, smiling fondly as the scamp grinned up at her. "So, did you get the stuff we needed?" she asked, ruffling his hair lightly.
"Not yet, Rika, but I did get……." The eleven-year-old paused, digging through all of his pockets, taking out a bunch of money, and on the top, a beyblade. "Uh." He tried for innocent. "Now how did that get here?"
Ray's eyes widened as he recognized the beyblade lying on top of the small mountain of cash and coins as his own. "That's Driger!"
Parley shoved the money back into his pockets quickly and snickered, calling out over his shoulder as he zipped away, "It's mine now!"
The blond growled under her breath and ran after the kid, yelling, "Damn it, Parley, you've got our grocery list! Get back here!" Ray stared after them, stunned, and then he moved—quickly out the door and after the two. The girl standing by the door watched the two run past her and heaved a sigh, turning on her heel to prepare for a chase, when she ran into Ray. Surprisingly more agile than the Chinese teenager, she stayed on her feet while he fell back.
"Oops. Sorry!" she offered before running after her two friends. Ray got to his feet quickly and, at the incredulous stares he was receiving from his teammates, pointed after the three. "He's got my beyblade!"
Galvanized into action, the Bladebreakers ran after the two teenage girls and the younger boy. About halfway down two streets from where they had been, Rika caught up with Parley, and Natayla joined them.
"What's going on?" Natayla demanded, breaths coming out into short gasps.
"That jackass freaked out," Rika replied, shooting a suspicious glare at Parley. He was dashing along, the coins in his pockets making him jingle with every step, but he barely looked winded.
"We know these streets better than they do," Natayla said after a few moments, and a glance over her shoulder to see if they were still following. They were. Rika shared a conspiratorially grin with her best friend, and they grabbed Parley to suddenly change direction.
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How hard is it to loose a bright red haired girl? Kai asked himself, disgusted. When the three they were chasing turned the corner, they had lost them. Now the five Bladebreakers were standing by a busy street, storefronts on one side, and a festival on the other, searching in what seemed like vain for them. On top of that, Kai still couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen those two teenagers before, but from where?
"Look!" Max exclaimed suddenly, catching sight of three heads turning another corner, one red, one pale, bright blond, and one brown. Ray muttered and kicked into a run again, the other four following him at a slower pace. They walked down the alleyway, and Tyson threw his arms into the air at seeing that it was a dead end and abandoned.
"Why can't they just stay still?"
A voice called from the front of the alley, light with mischief, "Where's the fun in that?" They all turned and stared in astonishment. The two sixteen year old girls were standing on the top of a large dumpster that had been moved into the mouth of the alley, effectively trapping them for the time being.
Rika flashed a smirk at all of them and waved mockingly before leaping off. Natayla followed her friend more slowly, just in time to catch the infuriated shouts following their descent. Sharing an amused snicker between themselves, they met up with Parley and started back to the motorcycle, deciding to get the groceries together.
Just as they were about to make a graceful getaway, they were stopped by an elderly man's voice behind them. "Excuse me!"
Rika let out a frustrated sigh and was about to get on the bike anyhow, but Natayla turned and smiled politely. "Yes?"
The man stopped and gazed at Parley behind thick classes, and his large nose stuck into the air after a few moments. "Are you two the guardians of this young child?"
"What's it to you?" Rika muttered, half sitting, half leaning against her motorcycle. Parley squirmed under the unaccustomed to attention and inched towards Rika, his thin frame hiding behind her.
"Do you feed him enough?" came the unexpected comment. Rika stared at the elderly man, uncomprehendingly. Feed him? Her dazed mind remembered the big bowl of cereal, two pancakes, and the slice of toast with jam on it that Parley had wolfed down earlier that morning, along with the three cups of various juices. Was this guy on drugs?
"Yes, sir, I believe we do," Natayla replied, calmly. Rika could only marvel at her friend's ability to remain amicable, not matter the circumstances.
"You see, I am a Doctor!" he continued pompously, as if he hadn't heard the teenaged girl. "And he looks extremely underfed. Starving, in fact."
"Look, if you saw how much he eats in a day, you'd have no doubts that we feed him enough, so just lay off, okay?" Rika snapped out, tired of all these people presuming to tell or show her how to take care of her younger brother. He may be a pest and a pain in the ass sometimes, but she had been taking care of him for years now, and could handle it. The so-called doctor drew himself up to his full height, which was still shorter than Rika, and huffed indignantly.
"You hardly look like you can take care of him, miss."
At that, Rika's eyes narrowed, and she prepared for battle. "I can assure you that I take care of my brother just fine," she said, coolly.
Another voice interjected, drawling out irritatingly. "Oh, I don't know. He certainly ate that ice cream as if he had no food. And you certainly didn't do anything about him stealing my beyblade." Ray stood behind them, glowering, his amber eyes dark.
Rika whirled around, hands clenched to either side of her. "I didn't know it was yours! Will you just drop it and lay off? You're really starting to bug me."
"I will," Ray started, arms crossing, "when you give me back my beyblade, and apologize for that scene in the ice cream shop."
Natayla saw the warning signs much faster than everyone else, and stepped forward to stop Rika from blowing up, but stopped when Parley trotted up to Ray and held out his beyblade.
"Here. Sorry I stole it," he muttered, eyes downcast. "And don't make Rika apologize. That's just how she is. Protective."
Rika's anger cooled as her little brother looked back at her sheepishly.
"Now, about that young boy getting enough nutrition," the man said behind them, arms crossing.
"Yes, we're going to get groceries today, and he'll get enough to eat," Natayla said firmly, face making it clear that she would take no more arguing from the doctor. One look at those large green eyes, and he relented. Natayla turned back and her eyes met Kai's, who had been watching her closely the entire time. Startled, she felt rooted to the spot until Rika grabbed her arm.
"Let's go," she muttered, gazing at the Bladebreakers distrustfully. Natayla gulped and nodded, turning to the motorcycle and putting the helmet on. Parley and Rika followed suit, and they drove off in a roar of the engines without even saying goodbye.
"I certainly hope we're done all this running around," Kenny said, glancing to each of his teammates. Kai was the last to turn away, and when he did, recognition startled him into a dead stop.
"Damn it!" His sudden exclamation made the others pause and stare at him, confused. He had reconstructed the last place he had seen those two heads, and he couldn't believe that they were the ones from the abbey, but that explained his instinct that he knew these two from somewhere. "Why didn't I see it before?" he muttered to himself.
"See what before, Kai?" Tyson asked reasonably, his head tilting curiously.
"I've seen those two before," he paused, shaking his head. "And you'll never believe where……"
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Author's Notes: Cliffhanger!! GWAHAHAHA!!! Well, ok, not really. ^_^ Passing the baton onto Dark Dragoon now. ^_^ Hope you all liked it!