Chapter2: Depression

3 years and 5 months later

Missi sat in the cramped plane seat. Next to her sat a Chinese boy with long, coal black hair. He looked to be in his late teens (guess who?). She sighed; she didn't want to be here, she probably shouldn't be here either.

*Flash Back*

Missi sat in the principal's office. It was cold, crisp day at the beginning of the year. Missi had been sent to his office because over the past few weeks she had shown what her teachers and peers called 'extreme depression' and 'suicidal tendencies'.

The principal, Mr. Newman, walked into the office and sat down. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and continued to ponder about what he was going to say.

Painted across his face were looks of awkwardness and disgust, mixed with pity. After sitting there staring into her deep royal blue eyes he broke away and started to talk.

"I understand that you've been a bit depressed lately," he spoke slowly, as though he was speaking to a small child. His voice was coasted sickly sweet with honey. 'That's the understatement of the century,' thought Missi bitterly.

He waited for her to answer but Missi just sat there. So he decided to try a different approach.

"Have you been having problems at home?" he continued. At this comment Missi snorted.

'What home?' she thought sarcastically.

"No sir," she whispered, putting her mask back on. Scowling he adjusted his glasses and shuffled some papers on his desk. Finally he found the paper he was looking for and flipped through it, he expression growing darker with every page turn.

"Your grades have significantly dropped as well," he placed her report back on his desk and looked up at Missi, "you're such a bright girl, I don't know why you don't try."

'I lost any reason to try three years ago,' she thought harshly.

"So which is why I've decided to send you to Japan on exchange," he finished.

"Excuse me?" she replied abruptly.

"We are sending you to Japan to stay with a respected Japanese family that is having problems of it's own," after this he muttered, "maybe you can share in each others misery."

Missi heard this comment but it didn't matter, people were always saying those things.

'I will crush you little man,' came an deep, arrogant voice in the back of her mind, 'you are against my lady.'

*End Flashback*

Missi took her beyblade from her pocket and gazed at it. Even though she didn't use it anymore, she still carried it around with her, like a security blanket.

She looked it over; it was exactly as it had been three years ago. 'Of course it's the same,' she thought scorning her own idiocy, 'how can as mere beyblade change itself?'

She turned her beyblade over in her hands feeling all the familiar edges. The custom made base that would not slow down or slip if launched onto ice. She felt the tiny cold steel blades that fanned out when the blade was going fast enough.

The weight disk was small and light, allowing for maximum speed, but a short spin time. When she had bladed she planned her matches days before so she could use that short time to its maximum potential.

Her attack disk was shaped like a classic snowflake. It looked flimsy and delicate, but was sturdy and could slice cleanly through nearly anything. Missi ran her fingers over the top of the ice blue disk and reached the edge. Not remembering the savage edge, she brought her finger down and one of the blades sliced deep into her finger.

"Shit," she cursed dropping her blade onto the floor "Are you ok?" asked the guy next to her, "it looks pretty deep." "I'm fine, it's just a scratch," she replied shortly, putting a tissue on the cut. She wouldn't accept help from anyone, especially someone she didn't know. "I have some Band-Aids in my backpack," the ebony haired youth persisted. "I'm fine!" she replied, a note of hostility in her voice.

Hearing the aggravated tone in her voice he bent down and picked up her blade, being careful not to get cut himself. "It's some fancy blade you got here," he said, handing the blade back to Missi, "by the way my name's Ray."

Missi grunted in reply and took the blade from his hands. 'I need to get another pair of gloves,' she thought, taking the blade carefully from Ray's hand.

"It's really old, I need to upgrade it," she replied dully, "I haven't bladed in years." "Not very animated are you?" returned Ray, "So have you got a fancy name to go with your fancy blade?" Missi's eyes flashed, this guy asked too many questions for her liking. "Mississippi," she whispered quietly. "What?" replied Ray. "Mississippi," repeated Missi, slightly louder. "Mississippi," echoed Ray, his catlike eyes glinting at the familiar name. "That's what I said," sighed Missi. After that Ray didn't make anymore attempts at conversation.

Glad to escape any more questions Missi stared out the window. They were over land now. Not that it was much more to look at than the ocean. A message came through the speakers a short while later, informing the passengers that they would be landing in half an hour.

Missi idly flipped through some old BeyBlading magazines that had been stuffed into the pocket of the seat in front of her. One particular ad caught her attention.

'A beyblading academy, how cute,' she thought, a mocking smile played her lips. Despite what she thought something kept nagging in the back of her head that she should apply for a scholarship.

Kai sat in his dark study, the only light coming from his computer monitor. Over the past few months his ordered life had been turned upside down by a meddling social worker. She thought that he was too sheltered from society and insisted that he do what she called 'community service' and other 'wholesome' activities rather than just sitting in his study or training during all his spare time, which did not amount to much.

Ever since Voltaire had disappeared without a trace three years ago, two days after the Blade Breakers had won the world championships, Tanaka Yoko had been screwing with his life. Her latest interference had been signing him up for some school exchange program. Which meant that sometime this afternoon a young teenage girl would come and shatter the order that Kai had left in his life.

'Curse that woman,' he sighed mentally as he printed out his Business studies assignment. He was constantly reminding himself that it was less than a year and then he would be rid of her forever.

He got up and walked down to his personal beyblade-training center. He readied Dranzer and let it rip. He did the usual drills and soon lost interest. Blading had lost its adrenaline rush years ago, even beating the living crap out of amateurs had lost its fun (poor Kai, his favourite pastime has lost its fun).