Good morning/afternoon/evening reader! Wow..it's like 10pm here XD Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this fic because I'm actually having more fun writing it now ^^;; Thank you for reading and for those who review too, it's a real morale booster *wink* ^^ and I really appreciate it. And for you Tyson fans, I'm sorry that I made him lose, but keep in mind that he hasn't bladed pro-level for like three years XD And hey I really like him too! Anyway, I'll stop talking, enjoy the chappie ^^
Star Horizons
Chapter 7: More than Meets the Eye
Tyson continued to stare blankly at his old group as if they were a quartet of movie stars. It had been such a long time since the five of them were all together like this that it almost felt like he was simply reliving the past when he was a Bladebreaker.
Being a Bladebreaker…now that was a time he'd never forget, and seeing his friends like this helped to refresh all those past memories as well. Tyson couldn't help but to remember how they were always there for him cheering him on; they were what you'd call real friends.
'I can't believe this…they're here…all of them…' he thought in complete awe, his navy eyes glancing at each boy as if making sure they weren't a mirage. Kenny, Kai, Max, and Ray…his old team was actually standing right in front of him, and even so, he still couldn't believe his eyes.
There's an old saying that says, "seeing is believing", but in Tyson's case, it was more like, "experiencing is believing". He was only able to fully absorb the whole situation when that familiar go-lucky blonde just couldn't refrain any longer and had glomped him excitedly. The next thing you know, it's déjà vu all over again with Tyson and Max laughing hysterically on the floor.
"Um…I guess we'll take a fifteen minute break for Tyson to take a pit stop," Jazzman declared, unable to resist from glancing at the two strange boys who were in mysterious hysterics on the ground.
"Maxie! You actually made it!!" Tyson exclaimed, recovering a bit from the hilarity. "And Kenny! Kai! Ray! What are you guys doing here?! I'm pretty sure only Max knew about me entering this thing…" he said thoughtfully, putting a hand on his chin. "And hey Kenny! Aren't you supposed to be in like Australia with Mr. Dickenson or something? And Ray, how in the world did you fly back here? And Kai! What made you show up? You actually fit me into your busy schedule of training?"
His four friends rolled their eyes simultaneously, while Kai shot him a scowl that ultimately turned into a smirk. Same old, dense, big-mouthed Tyson; you gotta love him.
"Why don't we talk about this in the competitor's area?" suggested Kenny, who was noticing all the stares that were building up.
"Good idea," smiled Max, standing up again. He held out a friendly hand to Tyson who gladly took it and the group of five soon headed to the player's region.
Still on the opposite end of the dish was Richi, who had had remained stationary throughout the Bladebreaker reunion. As he watched them leave, a small grin managed to cross onto his soft lips involuntarily. It was just a reflex for him to smile when he saw people looking so happy. For you see, despite his seemingly double c, cocky and crafty, character when he bladed, Richi was actually an all-around nice guy.
Still grinning, he quickly looked at his golden blade before slipping it into the pocket without the left over chicken. 'I think it's safe to say that those are the rest of the Bladebreakers,' he thought with a smirk. 'They must be here to help Tyson. Heh, cute.' With that last thought, he began making his way to the participant's vicinity as well, but before he got too far, a deep voice suddenly called out his name from a distance.
The brunette looked around curiously; that voice was undeniably familiar. As he eyes scanned his surroundings, he soon noticed a suited man with silver hair leaning against the wall inside the hallway. He grinned, knowing that man all too well. Casually, he advanced towards him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Hi," he said simply, now also standing in the hallway.
"So, any opinions?" asked Jet, getting right into business.
Richi shook his head. "Well no, I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to all of them yet," he said bluntly. "Speaking of which…have you gotten a chance to talk to the others?" he asked in an almost shy manner.
The metallic-haired gentleman shook his head. "I thought I might check up on you first. So, are you okay with all this?" he questioned, his voice more gentle than usual.
The chocolate-haired boy nodded slowly, while instinctively looking at his shoes. "I guess…" he replied in a tone a bit less than confident.
"Kid, I know you're not exactly as sure as sure can be right now, but trust me, it's all gonna work out," he said to the teenager reassuringly. "Just trust me."
Richi managed a small grin as he brought his attention away from his shoes. There were still a few doubts lingering his mind, but he also knew that Jet wouldn't do anything if it weren't for the best. Besides, no one would ever get anywhere if they never took any chances with a little faith.
"Dude! I still can't believe this!" exclaimed Tyson who was practically bouncing off the walls. "How did you all manage to get here?"
"Um…why don't Dizzi and I start updating your blade before our fifteen minutes is up?" recommended the Chief, who said that partly because they really should upgrade Tyson's blade, but also because he wanted to change the subject.
"Oh right!" grinned the navy-haired teen before passing the younger boy his Dragoon.
"I'll help too," chimed in Max, making his way to where Kenny was seated.
Tyson was about to start babbling again when he noticed his newfound friend standing quietly by the door. "Oh guys! I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," he stated loudly, a wide grin on his face. The light-haired boy's eyes widened, rather surprised at Tyson's sudden declaration. "What are you doing still standing there? Get in here!" hollered Tyson.
Chris blinked, shyly stepping into the room. The sixteen-year-old immediately put an arm around his neck, nearly choking him half to death. With a goofy grin on his face, Tyson finally gave the younger boy a chance to acquire some desperately needed oxygen. "Guys, this is Chris. Chris, meet Max, Ray, Kai, and Kenny," he smiled, pointing at each boy respectively.
"I know who you guys are," Chris said softly, who on the inside was actually extremely excited. "It's an honor to actually meet all of you," he added with a timid smile. Meeting Tyson was one thing, but meeting all of the Bladebreakers was just plain unbelievable.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" a familiar voice suddenly interrupted their meeting. "I am the one who saved you from starvation, eh Tyson?"
Of course, who else would be standing at the doorframe but the bearer of chicken. Richi walked in nonchalantly, noticing the neutral expressions on the others's faces as he glanced around the room. Tyson, in particular, wasn't exactly mad, but he wasn't really happy either. He was…well let's just say he was simply himself.
"So what are you doing here? Come to try to help me fix my blade in someway that'll be to your advantage?" Tyson asked in a tone a bit short of pleasant.
Richi rolled his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry if you saw it that way, but it wasn't my fault that you didn't use my advice correctly. During that battle, I was the better blader and we all know that the better blader always wins. So you wanna know why you didn't win Tyson?"
No reply.
The brunette smirked. "You may not want to hear this, but I think you should to listen. For one thing, you weren't thinking fast enough. You let yourself get too cocky and when I finally decided to use Meteor Raid, it was like you weren't even trying to think of a way to counter it. You weren't focusing on the match enough Tyson. Don't let yourself get so distracted kid," he finished his short lecture.
"Well you made me believe that my storm attack would help me, when you knew it would be to your advantage all along!" he shot back.
"Your storm attack *was* supposed to be at your advantage, but you weren't thinking straight," he stated plainly. "You didn't use it the way you were supposed too."
Tyson looked at Richi rather confused. How was Dragoon's storm attack going to help him? All it did was help Draikin to be airborne!
Richi's eyes began scanning the room, soon stopping at the blue-haired teenager. 'I'm guessing that's Kai, the Bladebreaker team captain. Hm…' he pondered silently, as he observed the slate-haired boy. Soon enough, a small grin slowly appeared on his face as he noticed that small knowing glint in Kai's crimson eyes. 'I think he knows what I'm talking about,' he thought contentedly, 'but what did I expect? He *is* the captain, afterall.'
"Anyway," Richi began again. "I should go. Don't wanna be late for my match. Good luck Tyson," he said genuinely, "and think about what I said," he added before exiting the door.
Tyson stared after him rather heatedly. Clenching a fist, he soon opened his mouth. "That guy-"
"Gave you some pretty good advice," Kai spoke up, finishing Tyson's sentence. "Your attack is the key to winning this, if you use it right."
Tyson blinked. Maybe Kai had gone insane and wanted Dragoon to assist Draikin in beating him again? Well no, that wasn't it. Kai wouldn't do that, but at the moment, the only thing Tyson saw his storm attack being good for was helping his rival.
"We're done!" declared Kenny, who held out Tyson's blade proudly.
"It's got state of the art new parts," grinned Max. "So you go win this thing for all of us, okay?"
Tyson grinned, as he took back his Dragoon. 'I'll figure out how to beat you Richi…you can count on it,' he thought to himself firmly. Pumping his fist, he gave his friends that familiar determined grin. "I will."
The three girls had finally managed to clean up their hotel room. It was a very tricky task indeed, but they ultimately succeeded with the help of blaring music and sugar. Now, the girl with light red hair was fixing the buns in her hair, while the other red head was busy looking for her Avril Lavigne CD which might have been lost sometime during their clean up.
"Jade, have you seen my CD?" she asked the girl securing her hair.
"No," she replied. "Why don't you ask Casey? I think she's in the living room."
"Thanks," replied the redhead, making her way out of the bedroom. "HEY CAAASSSEYYY!" she hollered in the hallway. "HAVE YOU SEEN MY AVRIL LAVIGNE CD?"
Casey looked up in the direction the yell had come from and sighed as she got up from her rested position on the couch. Cleaning used to be so easy for her before. Now, she was just thankful whenever they somehow managed to put some order in their hotel room.
"Yes," replied the turquoise-haired girl calmly, "and I put it in your bag."
Her friend smiled and said a quick thank-you before heading back to the room to grab her duffel bag. Before she was able to step into the room though, Casey began to speak again. "Hey Alex! Tell Jade that Jet said that he's going to be a bit late," she half stuttered that sentence with all the J's.
"Sure, no problem," she replied, but before Alex could reenter the bedroom, she looked back at her friend on the couch. She wanted to asked Casey something, but wasn't quite sure how to put it. Hesitantly, she finally began speaking in the most casual tone that she could possibly pull off. "Hey Case, I was wondering, do you know where Richi went? I haven't seen him all morning and it's not like him to just disappear."
"Sounds like someone is worried," a teasing voice came from the washroom. Jade poked her head out of the bathroom, playfully waving around a soaked towel. She subsequently threw it at Alex, who unfortunately failed to dodge the flying wet thing, and of course, it conveniently landed right on her dark red hair. Jade blinked, staring at an irritated looking Alex.
"Oops," she said grinning apologetically, if that's what you'd call it. "I was actually aiming for your face since you were looking a little tomato-like there, but hey! I guess things worked out fine since we all know what a hot-head you are."
Now is it really a good idea to be telling a girl that's a hothead that she *is* a hothead? Especially when she is in possession of a wet towel? Not likely. In the next second, Alex was heatedly twirling the damp material into a whip. Before Jade could utter an "uh-oh" she had frantically slammed the door shut just in time to hear a loud SMACK against it.
Casey watched the whole scene laughing in much amusement. It never ceased to amaze her at the bizarre acts the two redheads could pull off. Last time, Jade was on the verge of pulling out all of Alex's hair when she had put glue in her hair gel. Jade's buns were literally stuck on her head!
Casey rolled her eyes, deciding that perhaps she might entertain herself with something a bit more normal. Grinning, she grabbed the remote and switched on the TV. Quickly surfing through the shows, she stopped on the BBA channel. Maybe she'd see something interesting since the Regional Tournament was taking place today.
"What the…" she whispered to herself, noticing what was on TV. "Hey guys! I think you should come see this."
"Can't you see I'm a bit preoccupied?" retorted Alex, who was now trying to pick-lock the door with a hair pin.
"Richi's on TV. He's at the Regional Tournament," the teal-haired girl stated simply.
Alex immediately stopped, turning to face Casey whose violet eyes were glued on the screen. 'No…she's kidding. What in God's name would he be doing there?' she asked herself silently.
The redhead quit her current task and headed to the living room, surprisingly soon followed by Jade. In no time, the three girls were sitting in front of the set staring at the display wordlessly. They really didn't know what to say. It was definitely Richi; there was no doubt about it. He was battling another boy with a blue-red baseball cap and from what they could see, it looked like it was a pretty good battle too.
'Why is he there?' Alex asked to herself in confusion. 'And why did he leave without telling us? This just doesn't make any sense...'
Whoa! It looks like there's a lot more to this Richi fellow than you'd think. Who is he anyway? And how is he connected to those girls, Jet and the Bladebreakers? And what about the match between him and Tyson? Tune in next time for the next chapter of Star Horizons!
Star Horizons
Chapter 7: More than Meets the Eye
Tyson continued to stare blankly at his old group as if they were a quartet of movie stars. It had been such a long time since the five of them were all together like this that it almost felt like he was simply reliving the past when he was a Bladebreaker.
Being a Bladebreaker…now that was a time he'd never forget, and seeing his friends like this helped to refresh all those past memories as well. Tyson couldn't help but to remember how they were always there for him cheering him on; they were what you'd call real friends.
'I can't believe this…they're here…all of them…' he thought in complete awe, his navy eyes glancing at each boy as if making sure they weren't a mirage. Kenny, Kai, Max, and Ray…his old team was actually standing right in front of him, and even so, he still couldn't believe his eyes.
There's an old saying that says, "seeing is believing", but in Tyson's case, it was more like, "experiencing is believing". He was only able to fully absorb the whole situation when that familiar go-lucky blonde just couldn't refrain any longer and had glomped him excitedly. The next thing you know, it's déjà vu all over again with Tyson and Max laughing hysterically on the floor.
"Um…I guess we'll take a fifteen minute break for Tyson to take a pit stop," Jazzman declared, unable to resist from glancing at the two strange boys who were in mysterious hysterics on the ground.
"Maxie! You actually made it!!" Tyson exclaimed, recovering a bit from the hilarity. "And Kenny! Kai! Ray! What are you guys doing here?! I'm pretty sure only Max knew about me entering this thing…" he said thoughtfully, putting a hand on his chin. "And hey Kenny! Aren't you supposed to be in like Australia with Mr. Dickenson or something? And Ray, how in the world did you fly back here? And Kai! What made you show up? You actually fit me into your busy schedule of training?"
His four friends rolled their eyes simultaneously, while Kai shot him a scowl that ultimately turned into a smirk. Same old, dense, big-mouthed Tyson; you gotta love him.
"Why don't we talk about this in the competitor's area?" suggested Kenny, who was noticing all the stares that were building up.
"Good idea," smiled Max, standing up again. He held out a friendly hand to Tyson who gladly took it and the group of five soon headed to the player's region.
Still on the opposite end of the dish was Richi, who had had remained stationary throughout the Bladebreaker reunion. As he watched them leave, a small grin managed to cross onto his soft lips involuntarily. It was just a reflex for him to smile when he saw people looking so happy. For you see, despite his seemingly double c, cocky and crafty, character when he bladed, Richi was actually an all-around nice guy.
Still grinning, he quickly looked at his golden blade before slipping it into the pocket without the left over chicken. 'I think it's safe to say that those are the rest of the Bladebreakers,' he thought with a smirk. 'They must be here to help Tyson. Heh, cute.' With that last thought, he began making his way to the participant's vicinity as well, but before he got too far, a deep voice suddenly called out his name from a distance.
The brunette looked around curiously; that voice was undeniably familiar. As he eyes scanned his surroundings, he soon noticed a suited man with silver hair leaning against the wall inside the hallway. He grinned, knowing that man all too well. Casually, he advanced towards him with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Hi," he said simply, now also standing in the hallway.
"So, any opinions?" asked Jet, getting right into business.
Richi shook his head. "Well no, I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to all of them yet," he said bluntly. "Speaking of which…have you gotten a chance to talk to the others?" he asked in an almost shy manner.
The metallic-haired gentleman shook his head. "I thought I might check up on you first. So, are you okay with all this?" he questioned, his voice more gentle than usual.
The chocolate-haired boy nodded slowly, while instinctively looking at his shoes. "I guess…" he replied in a tone a bit less than confident.
"Kid, I know you're not exactly as sure as sure can be right now, but trust me, it's all gonna work out," he said to the teenager reassuringly. "Just trust me."
Richi managed a small grin as he brought his attention away from his shoes. There were still a few doubts lingering his mind, but he also knew that Jet wouldn't do anything if it weren't for the best. Besides, no one would ever get anywhere if they never took any chances with a little faith.
"Dude! I still can't believe this!" exclaimed Tyson who was practically bouncing off the walls. "How did you all manage to get here?"
"Um…why don't Dizzi and I start updating your blade before our fifteen minutes is up?" recommended the Chief, who said that partly because they really should upgrade Tyson's blade, but also because he wanted to change the subject.
"Oh right!" grinned the navy-haired teen before passing the younger boy his Dragoon.
"I'll help too," chimed in Max, making his way to where Kenny was seated.
Tyson was about to start babbling again when he noticed his newfound friend standing quietly by the door. "Oh guys! I'd like you to meet a friend of mine," he stated loudly, a wide grin on his face. The light-haired boy's eyes widened, rather surprised at Tyson's sudden declaration. "What are you doing still standing there? Get in here!" hollered Tyson.
Chris blinked, shyly stepping into the room. The sixteen-year-old immediately put an arm around his neck, nearly choking him half to death. With a goofy grin on his face, Tyson finally gave the younger boy a chance to acquire some desperately needed oxygen. "Guys, this is Chris. Chris, meet Max, Ray, Kai, and Kenny," he smiled, pointing at each boy respectively.
"I know who you guys are," Chris said softly, who on the inside was actually extremely excited. "It's an honor to actually meet all of you," he added with a timid smile. Meeting Tyson was one thing, but meeting all of the Bladebreakers was just plain unbelievable.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" a familiar voice suddenly interrupted their meeting. "I am the one who saved you from starvation, eh Tyson?"
Of course, who else would be standing at the doorframe but the bearer of chicken. Richi walked in nonchalantly, noticing the neutral expressions on the others's faces as he glanced around the room. Tyson, in particular, wasn't exactly mad, but he wasn't really happy either. He was…well let's just say he was simply himself.
"So what are you doing here? Come to try to help me fix my blade in someway that'll be to your advantage?" Tyson asked in a tone a bit short of pleasant.
Richi rolled his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry if you saw it that way, but it wasn't my fault that you didn't use my advice correctly. During that battle, I was the better blader and we all know that the better blader always wins. So you wanna know why you didn't win Tyson?"
No reply.
The brunette smirked. "You may not want to hear this, but I think you should to listen. For one thing, you weren't thinking fast enough. You let yourself get too cocky and when I finally decided to use Meteor Raid, it was like you weren't even trying to think of a way to counter it. You weren't focusing on the match enough Tyson. Don't let yourself get so distracted kid," he finished his short lecture.
"Well you made me believe that my storm attack would help me, when you knew it would be to your advantage all along!" he shot back.
"Your storm attack *was* supposed to be at your advantage, but you weren't thinking straight," he stated plainly. "You didn't use it the way you were supposed too."
Tyson looked at Richi rather confused. How was Dragoon's storm attack going to help him? All it did was help Draikin to be airborne!
Richi's eyes began scanning the room, soon stopping at the blue-haired teenager. 'I'm guessing that's Kai, the Bladebreaker team captain. Hm…' he pondered silently, as he observed the slate-haired boy. Soon enough, a small grin slowly appeared on his face as he noticed that small knowing glint in Kai's crimson eyes. 'I think he knows what I'm talking about,' he thought contentedly, 'but what did I expect? He *is* the captain, afterall.'
"Anyway," Richi began again. "I should go. Don't wanna be late for my match. Good luck Tyson," he said genuinely, "and think about what I said," he added before exiting the door.
Tyson stared after him rather heatedly. Clenching a fist, he soon opened his mouth. "That guy-"
"Gave you some pretty good advice," Kai spoke up, finishing Tyson's sentence. "Your attack is the key to winning this, if you use it right."
Tyson blinked. Maybe Kai had gone insane and wanted Dragoon to assist Draikin in beating him again? Well no, that wasn't it. Kai wouldn't do that, but at the moment, the only thing Tyson saw his storm attack being good for was helping his rival.
"We're done!" declared Kenny, who held out Tyson's blade proudly.
"It's got state of the art new parts," grinned Max. "So you go win this thing for all of us, okay?"
Tyson grinned, as he took back his Dragoon. 'I'll figure out how to beat you Richi…you can count on it,' he thought to himself firmly. Pumping his fist, he gave his friends that familiar determined grin. "I will."
The three girls had finally managed to clean up their hotel room. It was a very tricky task indeed, but they ultimately succeeded with the help of blaring music and sugar. Now, the girl with light red hair was fixing the buns in her hair, while the other red head was busy looking for her Avril Lavigne CD which might have been lost sometime during their clean up.
"Jade, have you seen my CD?" she asked the girl securing her hair.
"No," she replied. "Why don't you ask Casey? I think she's in the living room."
"Thanks," replied the redhead, making her way out of the bedroom. "HEY CAAASSSEYYY!" she hollered in the hallway. "HAVE YOU SEEN MY AVRIL LAVIGNE CD?"
Casey looked up in the direction the yell had come from and sighed as she got up from her rested position on the couch. Cleaning used to be so easy for her before. Now, she was just thankful whenever they somehow managed to put some order in their hotel room.
"Yes," replied the turquoise-haired girl calmly, "and I put it in your bag."
Her friend smiled and said a quick thank-you before heading back to the room to grab her duffel bag. Before she was able to step into the room though, Casey began to speak again. "Hey Alex! Tell Jade that Jet said that he's going to be a bit late," she half stuttered that sentence with all the J's.
"Sure, no problem," she replied, but before Alex could reenter the bedroom, she looked back at her friend on the couch. She wanted to asked Casey something, but wasn't quite sure how to put it. Hesitantly, she finally began speaking in the most casual tone that she could possibly pull off. "Hey Case, I was wondering, do you know where Richi went? I haven't seen him all morning and it's not like him to just disappear."
"Sounds like someone is worried," a teasing voice came from the washroom. Jade poked her head out of the bathroom, playfully waving around a soaked towel. She subsequently threw it at Alex, who unfortunately failed to dodge the flying wet thing, and of course, it conveniently landed right on her dark red hair. Jade blinked, staring at an irritated looking Alex.
"Oops," she said grinning apologetically, if that's what you'd call it. "I was actually aiming for your face since you were looking a little tomato-like there, but hey! I guess things worked out fine since we all know what a hot-head you are."
Now is it really a good idea to be telling a girl that's a hothead that she *is* a hothead? Especially when she is in possession of a wet towel? Not likely. In the next second, Alex was heatedly twirling the damp material into a whip. Before Jade could utter an "uh-oh" she had frantically slammed the door shut just in time to hear a loud SMACK against it.
Casey watched the whole scene laughing in much amusement. It never ceased to amaze her at the bizarre acts the two redheads could pull off. Last time, Jade was on the verge of pulling out all of Alex's hair when she had put glue in her hair gel. Jade's buns were literally stuck on her head!
Casey rolled her eyes, deciding that perhaps she might entertain herself with something a bit more normal. Grinning, she grabbed the remote and switched on the TV. Quickly surfing through the shows, she stopped on the BBA channel. Maybe she'd see something interesting since the Regional Tournament was taking place today.
"What the…" she whispered to herself, noticing what was on TV. "Hey guys! I think you should come see this."
"Can't you see I'm a bit preoccupied?" retorted Alex, who was now trying to pick-lock the door with a hair pin.
"Richi's on TV. He's at the Regional Tournament," the teal-haired girl stated simply.
Alex immediately stopped, turning to face Casey whose violet eyes were glued on the screen. 'No…she's kidding. What in God's name would he be doing there?' she asked herself silently.
The redhead quit her current task and headed to the living room, surprisingly soon followed by Jade. In no time, the three girls were sitting in front of the set staring at the display wordlessly. They really didn't know what to say. It was definitely Richi; there was no doubt about it. He was battling another boy with a blue-red baseball cap and from what they could see, it looked like it was a pretty good battle too.
'Why is he there?' Alex asked to herself in confusion. 'And why did he leave without telling us? This just doesn't make any sense...'
Whoa! It looks like there's a lot more to this Richi fellow than you'd think. Who is he anyway? And how is he connected to those girls, Jet and the Bladebreakers? And what about the match between him and Tyson? Tune in next time for the next chapter of Star Horizons!