Beyblade Ultima
Chapter 2: Aloha Hawaii!
Out of the darkness, surrounded by secrecy a lone figure stepped out towards a Bey Stadium. The place was empty; there was not one sound except for the sound of a Beyblade moving in a dish. The blade whirled; it spun in the air, it moved in straight lines, circles and stayed in one place. The figure bent down and picked it up, a feeling of satisfaction spread in its mind. Excellent, now we are ready to begin Phase 1. The figure stood up and thanked the Beyblade. Carefully looking around, the figure crept out of the arena and into the ventilation shaft. After crawling through the shaft, the mysterious person made it out of the stadium. Luckily it had managed to avoid the guards for this session, like a ninja born out of the darkness…The figure ran as the sound of running footsteps could be heard heading towards the stadium doors. Two security guards stepped out of the building holding their torches up, one turned to the other.
"Did you hear a Beyblade in the main arena?"
The second man paused, "Now that you mentioned it I did, I also saw what looked like a shadowy figure running past a corridor earlier."
The first man put his torch down, "I think we better call HQ." They left to go back inside.
The figure watched as they left, it breathed a sigh of relief. The figure jumped down from its hiding place and headed towards the BBA museum. It past a sign that read, "For a special time only, the Beyblade Association presents the Shinawazi collection. Come and learn about the greatest Beyblading clan from Japan!" Bypassing the security, the figure stopped in front of the main exhibit. In the top of the room, lined perfectly in the centre lay a glass case with a Beyblade in it. The plaque underneath read, "The Shinawazi's ultimate Beyblade, possibly the most powerful blade in the world." The figure read the plaque out loud, "And the BBA is just keeping it safe, for the blade itself is very valuable." The figure waved a hand in the air, and of course none of the public will really know if this is the real thing. Except me… Pulling out a set of keys, the figure bent down near the two locks on the case. Hardly breathing, the keys were placed in their locks and turned at the exact time. Now there were only fifteen seconds before the alarm went off. The figure grabbed the blade and replaced it with its own, turning the keys the figure let out a sigh of relief. A loud ahem caused the figure to turn around.
"Turn around with your hands up!" One of the guards demanded while the other moved forward with a pair of handcuffs. The figure smiled and dropped to the ground, the guards moved forward and where surprised as smoke began to issue from the figure on the ground. Coughing they turned back and switched on the lights, the smoke had cleared. There was no sign of the figure…
"Yahoo!!" Tyson yelled as he ran out of the airport doors, "I thought that flight would never end!"
The Blade Breakers had finally reached Hawaii; the BUC was to be held in Honolulu. Mr Dickinson had left earlier to book their hotel rooms and organise their transportation. Tyson's grandfather had volunteered to chaperone the boys, though it was unsure who was really looking after whom.
"Hey my homies, let's get down with it and check out the sites."
The Blade Breakers looked at each other, Kenny sighed. "Mr Granger, we are supposed to go and check in our hotel first." Grandpa stopped and waved his kendo stick in the air, "And miss out on the fun, no way dudes!"
"I think it is a good idea."
They all turned around and saw Dr Judy followed by the All-Starz, "Mom! Glad you could make it." Dr Judy smiled and hugged Max. "I think it would be better to check in, you boys can ride in our bus with us."
Michael groaned, "You guys better not eat all the chocolate on the way, I mean it." For emphasis he pounded his ball hard into his mitt.
"Chill dude, these little guys are welcome to share our bus. After all, didn't you want to challenge Tyson?" Eddy remarked.
"You are you calling little?" Tyson added as he whipped out his launcher, "We beat you fair and square last time."
Ray nodded, "You needed our help to get your Bit Beasts back too."
"He's right, after analysing their data it seems they are even more powerful than we were when we first met." Emily said a little annoyed.
"Yo kids, just keep the fighting to a minium. This is Hawaii, land of surf and sun. Let's relax!" Grandpa said and pushed them all to the bus. Dr Judy laughed as she ruffed Max's hair, "So, do the Blade Breakers plan to win the BUC?"
"You bet Mom, we won't be holding back even if it is friends."
"Glad to hear it, the All-Starz could use a challenge."
Before they had even left the airport, they met up with the White Tigers. The All-Starz' bus was big enough to carry all three teams and their luggage. Along the way, Dr Judy pointed out places of interest for Beybladers of all kinds. The BUC wouldn't start for a few more days as the events still had to be set up and all participating teams had to be registered.
"It's best if you register early, that way your battles will be organised quicker. Now over there is the main stadium that the BUC will be held, it's called the Pacific Wonderland. It took four years for the outer structure to be complete and 3 years for interior to be finished. As a result it is one of the largest stadiums around though it hasn't got the most advanced technology like the Glitter Dome. Now if you look on your right, we're approaching the BBA Museum, it's famous for exhibiting displays to teams, historic events in Beyblading, famous blades and important people. I believe last year they had an exhibit about the evolution of Beyblades."
Kenny almost had a fit when she mentioned it, the others looked at the museum in awe. Except Tyson, he was pigging out on chocolate and Kai barely glanced at the museum. Dr Judy continued.
"The museum is holding a special display in honour of the BUC, tomorrow the public will be able to see the Shinawazi collection for the very first time."
Tyson managed to swallow, "Who's the Shinawazi?" Some of the others looked at each other and shrugged.
"That's the first I've heard of them." Lee mentioned, "Are they a special team?"
Dr Judy shook her head, "Well they were in a way, and the Shinawazi was the greatest Beyblading clan in the history of Japan. The family were the best bladers; they combined traditional with modern techniques. Their style was unsurpassed and their Bit Beats would have crushed yours like bugs."
Kevin climbed up the back of one of the seats, "Wait, you say 'was', why?" Michael threw his ball in the air, "Don't ask me and you shouldn't interrupt." This resulted in a squabble of sorts until Kenny yelled, "Quiet!"
Everyone looked stunned, Dr Judy shot him a smile of gratitude.
"I use past tense because although the Shinawazi had a long history of being Beybladers, it was about seven years ago when the BBA reported the clan to be dead. None of the family were alive, so the BBA tried to keep their possessions safe so the public would remember the greatest bladers of Japan."
Ray put up a hand, "You say they died, just like that?" he clicked his fingers.
"Well, no one is too sure if they died of natural causes however there are rumours suggesting that the family was murdered."
"Murdered! Who would do a horrible thing like that?" Mariah asked.
"Jealous clans, enemies, it's easy to get enemies in Beyblading." Emily replied and asked Dr Judy a question, "Judy, I heard someone talking about the heir of Shinawazi before, what does that mean?"
Dr Judy didn't answer as the bus pulled in the hotel, "Okay let's get off and check in."
"Judy, you didn't answer my question!"
While relaxing in the pool, Tyson, Ray and Max talked about the upcoming competition. Kenny had dragged Grandpa off to help him register the team and Kai; well Kai was probably practising by himself. Tyson floated and thought. The greatest bladers in Japan… wow… Now they don't exist, I wish they did. It would be so cool to challenge them.
"Hey Tyson, what's on your mind?" Ray asked as he swam up to the side of the pool.
"Nothing, just what Dr Judy was talking about."
Max floated by on an inflatable dinosaur, "If Kenny saw us hear he would be making us concentrate on the BUC."
"I guess we should, we want to prove the Blade Breakers are the best team around." Tyson added.
"So what are we waiting for, let's go practise."
The trio jumped out of the pool and prepared themselves for practise. If Kenny were around he would have been pleased. They spent the rest of the day having training rounds with the All-Starz and White Tigers. All teams have improved dramatically, however everyone felt the training session was lacking direction. Too tired to launch a blade anymore, the teams quitted and headed towards the buffet. Kenny and Grandpa met them there, pleased that his team had been practising he shouted them drinks unwittingly buying drinks for all three teams. The day ended with a more relaxed feeling, as Tyson and Gary competed to eat more than the other however where stopped by Mariah who reminded them of the competition ahead. Ray seemed more open with his old team mates than he had before; Kevin balanced the situation between the All-Starz and White Tigers by playing a few pranks. Lee observed Ray quietly, "Ray, I think you made the right choice to join the Blade Breakers. You've certainly have become stronger." Ray nodded in agreement, and then blushed as Tyson and Eddy teased him and Mariah. The night ended with a traditional Hawaiian dance complete with grass skirts. Kai had disappeared after eating so the others embarrassed themselves completely by dancing the night away.
"Welcome to the first Beyblade Ultima Cup live in Honolulu! I'm Brad Best and beside me is AJ Topper, we'll be bringing you all the action here in Hawaii!"
"That's right, the competition in going to be sweet! Teams from around the world are competing and this is not just a regular tournament."
"You got that right AJ, the BBA are bringing out events that will challenge the most skilled teams. Wait… We have just received news that there is an optional match for all teams. AJ care to spill the details?"
'Sure thing B-man! The Alpha challenge was just released today; teams old and new will get their chance to challenge any team of their liking"
"Now I like to hear that, the BBA sure have gotten their act together and produced an action packed event."
"… Just remember who's paying us Brad, but the BUC is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Hear them roar!"
The crowd went wild as DJ Jazzman rose up from his podium, "Hey Beyblading fans across the world, welcome to the Beyblade Ultima Cup! We promise the best action and skill from the Beybladers here and now the president of the BBA Mr Diego Valentino will make the opening speech."
Above the crowd the roof of the stadium opened up as a parachute floated down to the floor of the stadium. The flyer was assisted by BBA men and danced his way to the podium. A tall man with greying brown hair, with moustache with twirled ends wearing a dark suit tapped his microphone. "Testing one, testing one two three. Welcome Beybladers of the world! Are you ready to feast your eyes on the best competition the BBA has to offer? Yeah! I would like to wish all of you the best of luck and remember it's all about how much you put in it. All of you should learn from your experiences here, you'll meet new teams and make friends. You can test your skills, but remember this is still a game so you've got to have fun! I'm happy to announce that the greatest sport of Beyblading can have a new event to call its own, the Beyblading Ultima Cup is open! Let it rip!"Mr Valentino raised his arms as confetti and streamers burst out behind him, DJ Jazzman clapped his hands.
"Give a hand for Mr Valentino! Now let's get onto the first match!"
Brad Best cleared his throat, "The first match is the Blade Breakers versus the Inoki Samurai. As the World Champions, the Blade Breakers get the first match, and boy is it worth it. These kids have got what it takes to reach the top."
"You got that right Brad! The Inoki Samurai are new comers to the Beyblading scene but from what I've seen they've got plenty of tricks to keep the Blade Breakers busy."
The two teams sized each other up, the Inoki Samurai were all dressed in traditional armour coloured black with turquoise sections. The leader spoke, "We are the Inoki Samurai, Nobunori, Nobutaka and Nobukage." The Blade Breakers stepped up; Tyson replied back, "We are the Blade Breakers, Tyson, Ray, Max, Kai and Kenny." The samurai were all slightly stocky; the leader was the tallest and wielded a battle-axe while his companions each held a banner. The one on the left had a scar on his right cheek and pointed his sword at Max, "I will fight you." The other on the right had a thinner face than the others; he stamped his spear on the ground and glared at Ray. "I have chosen my opponent. Like the sakura blossoms, my victory today will be full of fragrance while my opponent will rot on the ground."
"Whoa, looks like these teams aren't letting down, those samurai mean business!" AJ commented.
"They sure do, that bit about the wind and flowers was very serious... Maybe he ought to wait till battle."
DJ Jazzman stood in the middle and waved his arms at both teams, "Okay, teams take your places! The first battle will be Ray versus Nobukage."
Tyson looked at Kenny, "So Chief do you know anything about these guys?"
Kenny typed fast, "Not much, I know that they follow the ancient samurai code of honour and they use traditional fighting techniques in battle."
Ray nodded, "They shouldn't be too hard to beat, I'll just have to show them that traditional isn't always better."
"Don't get too cocky, even if their techniques are traditional, they still could use something unknown to you." Kai added.
"Ray and Nobukage please come up to the dish."
As Ray walked up the Blade Breakers cheered him on, "You can do it Ray!"
Author's Note: Beyblade belongs to TV Tokyo and other respected people; any original characters belong to me. Bey Stadiums in the game of Beyblade refer to the dish, this can get confusing when the places of competition in Beyblade are also called stadium. Though usually they have a name. Think of this as a BBA stadium whose name has yet to mentioned. The mystery about the Beyblade will come up in a later chapter. Mr Valentino is a made up character, he's a little like Tyson's grandfather however he is quite serious a lot of the time. The Inoki Samurai are in complete traditional samurai armour, you can find pictures on the net, use your own judgement for what they really look like. Nobukage's treat to Ray is based on English translations of the poetry form the waka. The waka is a poem simular to haiku; it consists of five lines of the set number of syllables in the pattern
5, 7, 5, 7, 7, 7.
Hito no oya no kokoro no yami ni aranedomo ko wo omou michi ni madoinuru kanaA parent's heart does not seek the darkness, yet will lose its way in thinking about his child.
Any suggestions, reviews or flames can be left in the review section or you can email them to me.