Hey everyone! I'm almost next to positive that only half of you are still interested in this... LoL, so to all of you are still reading, thank you and I'm so very sorry for the delay. I hope this chappie makes up for it. Since it's been about a month, I figured that I normally would have submitted two chapters, which is why this thing is the length of two chaps XD 5 627 words baby!! On average I write 2 365 MUAHAHAHA ~^ On a side note...I can't believe I'm on chapter 10!! ^^ Okay, sorry, I'm babbling =P Happy reading!

Star Horizons

Chapter 10: Arising Enmity

"Oh crap!" Tyson swore vehemently as his Beyblade was suddenly catapulted into the air. "Hang in there Dragoon!" he fervently yelled. 'Man, for someone without a Bit Beast, he's pretty damn powerful,' he mentally added, tightening a fist.

The third round had barely commenced and already Cyris seemed to have the advantage over his adversary. In truth though, it was a slight twist of fate since initially, Tyson looked as if he had the upper hand. The navy-haired boy had won the first round quite easily, and although he lost the second set, it was an extremely close battle. Now however, the tables had turned and the outcome wasn't looking too promising for the returning world champion.

Like many other bladers, Cyris liked to play predator and prey. During the first round, he simply monitored Tyson's moves: gazing, analyzing, and planning. He knew that observation was an excellent preliminary step to victory. Thus, he wasn't too concerned about winning or losing the first round.

During the second battle though, Cyris was well aware that had to win. Although despite that, he was still holding back. He had simply put in just enough effort to advance the match. During that time, he just didn't want to fully bear his claws. Up until now at least.

"You're done," smirked Cyris, his forest eyes sparkling with a cocky glint of success.

His optional prerequisite was definitely paying off. Everything was going just the way he wanted it to. He knew exactly how to counter everything Tyson had thrown at him. It was perfect. On top of that, his evading skills left Tyson rather frustrated, which ended up decreasing his vigilance. Of course, Cyris wouldn't let a weak spot go unnoticed. What blader would? That probably explains why Dragoon was now weightlessly falling back to the dish.

'This match is as good as over, Tyson,' he grinned to himself. 'Even if you do manage to land back into the battlefield, I'm gonna make you wish that you hadn't.'

"And it looks like Cyris's blade is powering up! Tyson better watch out!" announced Brad Best.

"That is if Tyson's blade can manage to stay in the ring," AJ rang in, emphasizing the 'if'.

"Well AJ, we've already seen this kid battle three years ago and I'm sure that we all remember how he can pull off the most impossible stunts. Just think back to when we first met him at age twelve. He literally blew us all away!"

"You can say that again Double B! Even at a young age, his Beyblading abilities were sky-high. And as far as we've seen of him today, he seems to still be kicking! But the question is: is it going to be enough to beat the undefeated Cyris?"

The blonde jerked his head discontentedly at that last remark. 'Of course he can,' Max thought to himself, furrowing his brow. 'This is Tyson we're talking about. He's no ordinary blader.'

Almost immediately after that thought, his blue eyes quickly attained a stronger spark of vivacity, much like fire. The light-haired teen then literally bounced from his sitting position and leaned over the rails, beginning to cheer like there was no tomorrow.

"C'mon Tyson! You can do it!" he exclaimed along with various other words of support and scattered hoots.

Tyson's navy eyes darted to the right for a brief moment and upon seeing the sight of his friends, he could all but grin. Sure, he wasn't exactly doing too hot in the match, but at least his buds were behind him. Okay, maybe they were probably more than ten metres away from him and the only possible way to hear them was if they used major diaphragm power, but that wasn't the point. All that mattered was that they were there. For Tyson, it was just a comfort to know that they actually showed up, that they didn't just forget about him. In a way, it almost seemed like they were a team again. Almost.

Just as Tyson was about to take a quick stroll through memory lane, his moment of gratitude was cut short by the sound of Cyris's swaggering voice.

"You can daydream all you want Tyson, but that's not gonna do you much good," he heard him say.

Tyson blinked. Shaking his head, he quickly looked down at the dish, finding a not too-very-good picture. 'Oh shit.' Cyris's blade was dangerously increasing its speed around the metal bowl, hungrily, as if waiting to devour Dragoon.

'Aw man! Can Dragoon even manage to land inside the dish? But then…what am I supposed to do if he does? If he lands out, I'm disqualified, and if he manages to land in, Cyris'll pounce on him as soon as he hits the ground! Daaammnnnniiittt!!' Tyson inwardly groaned from the frustration of what seemed to be a lose/lose situation. 'Dude, this sucks. I'm supposed to be a World Champion, and Cyris is making me look like an amateur! What do I-'

"TYSON!" Max yelled out as loud as he possibly could, interrupting his thoughts. "You can win this! Don't forget, you and Dragoon make an unbeatable team!"

"Yah Tyson!" Richi chimed in, just as loudly. "You guys are the real deal! You and Dragoon go together just like me and chicken- I mean me a Draikin!" he quickly corrected himself, grinning sheepishly.

Tyson raised an eyebrow, cocking his head. 'You know…they're right,' he thought to himself with a slight smirk. 'Dragoon and I do make an unbeatable team. As long as I believe in him, in us, then I know we can pull through.'

As if on cue, Dragoon landed roughly on the edge of the punch bowl, barely keeping his balance. 'Well at least he's not out of the dish,' he thought to himself. Although Tyson was feeling more confident now, there was still that one little concern haunting his mind: Cyris attacking before his blade could get off the rim. Sure, walking across a log is easy, but on a windy day, there'd be a pretty good chance you'd end up falling into the river.

'Come on Dragoon, get off the rim…' he pleaded, watching his Beyblade trying to stabilize. Tyson secretly prayed that Cyris wouldn't attack, that he'd let Dragoon have some time, even just a few seconds, to wander safely across the log, away from the thrashing waters. He was hoping, almost begging, but at the same time, he also knew he was probably kidding himself. Perhaps Tyson wasn't exactly the smartest fish in the barrel, but he wasn't that naïve. Ever since the beginning of the last round, Cyris showed no mercy. Why would he change now?

Funny thing is, people aren't constant. Sometimes they just might surprise you, just like Cyris did. Although the brunette hated letting vulnerable openings go untouched, he hated winning without a resistance as well. There was just no honour in that. For a second, there was a little inner conflict about whether he should attack or not. Compromising, he finally decided to give Tyson a few, just a few, seconds to regain himself. If he wasn't ready by then, then that was just too bad.

Tyson noticed this unexpected break and, thankfully, waited for his blade to quickly get off the frame. Although much to his surprise, Dragoon made no advancements to dismount from the rim.

"Sorry Tyson, I hate winning like this but I can't wait any longer. It's time to take you out," his rival smirked, a patronizing air literally showering his voice and face.

Tyson took a deep breath as he boldly met Cyris's concentrated gaze. Subtly, he brought his attention back to the battlefield where Dragoon was loitering beside the river. 'Why are you still on the edge Dragoon?' he whispered, a cold drop of sweat trickling down his left cheek. 'Why haven't you spun into the bowl yet? What are you doing? We're not gonna be able to-' his musings abruptly stopped. 'TYSON, STOP IT,' he firmly scolded himself. Almost growling at the thoughts of doubt floating in his mind again, he forcefully pushed the negativity out of his head.

'Okay,' he began silently. 'I don't know what your planning Dragoon, but I trust you. I know we'll win this.' Pumping a fist, he slowly inhaled and met his opponent's gaze one more time. "Bring it on Cyris! In Chris's words, YOU ARE GOING DOWN!"

"Oh is that so?" the haughty teen shot back, laughing lightly. "In that case, I guess the fact that your blade is still on the border wouldn't make a difference, right?" Tyson didn't flinch, but Cyris could still see that his remark had faintly hit a chord. How convenient. "Well, let's find out then, shall we?" he smirked before suddenly giving the command to attack.

"And it looks like Cyris is gonna finish this match with one quick hit!" proclaimed Brad.

AJ added, "Hopefully Tyson still has some tricks left in that hat of his!"

All eyes were now on Cyris's Beyblade as it came zooming towards Dragoon. The two competitors stared, completely absorbed, as their blades finally met with a resonant clash, the aftermath of which was an intense vibration that shook the entire stadium. It seemed that a trend was picking up, as many of the previous battles had the same effect. Without delay, a thin screen of sparks surrounded the punchbowl as the audience waited for Tyson's blade to come flying out of the foggy collision.

"I don't know about you AJ, but I think the fat lady just sung! Who needs kung-fu movies when you can see and feel the action live?"

"I'm sure even everybody at home felt that clash too Brad. And I bet Dragoon felt it the hardest."

"That's right B-man! And speaking of Tyson's blade, where is it anyway?"

It seemed that the whole crowd was wondering the exact question. The white Beyblade was nowhere in sight. Maybe Cyris's blade propelled it into the air again? Some people looked up, expecting the metal top to rain back down, sort of like during the final match between Tyson and Kai a few years ago. Surprisingly though, there was absolutely nothing there. Nothing but air, at least. All everyone could do was watch. Watch and wait, that is, for the bowl to clear up.

"Come on kids, this is a good match. Can't we just relax and enjoy it?" questioned Jet, almost like a plea.

Silence.

"Can I take that silence as a way of telling me that all of you are so interested in the match that you don't want to be interrupted?" he probed on hopefully.

More silence.

Jet sighed, slumping his shoulders. This didn't seem to be working. On the other hand, nothing had seemed to be working after Little Miss Hot-Head blew up and left.

Following Alex's great stalk out of the room, all Jet could do was talk to the remaining teens. He reaffirmed that yes, Ryo was the new team captain and yes, Richi was now on, or at least was going to be, on the Bladebreakers team. Being teenagers, he expected that they would start arguing with him, but for once, they didn't. They simply gave him brief nods, or some other signs of acknowledgment, and that was it. The next little while held nothing but a fixation on the television.

Jet almost wished that they had started yelling at him. There was just something eerie about the silence, especially when you were in a room with teenage bladers watching a Beyblade match. Silence just didn't fit.

'I think they're mad at me…' he thought to himself unhappily. 'Well maybe not exactly mad, but they're not really jumping for joy either. Maybe I should say something…but I don't know what to say…'

And still the silence continued, the three adolescents helping it to linger on. It's not that they were helping it on purpose though. Much like Jet, they were simply speechless. If they were to talk, what would they say?

"Thanks for replacing Richi and making Alex go absolutely haywire"?

Or "Thanks for putting me in charge of a team of girls"?

Or how about "Thanks for giving us a insolent prick as a captain"?

Not exactly the most pleasant of comments, to say the least. As the saying goes, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"Hey look! Tyson's still in the game!" Jet finally spoke up again, tilting his head to the screen. "Wow this is pretty cool, but…kinda weird too. How in the world does his Dragoon manage to stay on the tip of the dish while Cyris's blade is ramming into him like that?"

Although there were no replies, a certain turquoise-haired girl was contemplating an explanation for that very question, primarily because it gave her mind something else to think about. 'Hm…I guess it's hard to tell, but I think Dragoon is concentrating his tornado attack on the area facing away from the dish. My guess is that he's using it as a cushion, or in other words, like a spring, to keep himself from being pushed off the ledge,' Casey mentally answered. 'Heh, and it looks like it's getting Cyris pretty riled up too. Not a bad plan.'

Of course, thinking strategically was practically this girl's speciality. She was always figuring out people's tactics and either working on ways to counter them, or finding out how to use them to her advantage. That was just Casey for you, the analytical thinker. But unfortunately, this talent of her's wasn't much help when it came to situations that couldn't be broken down, looked at, and analyzed. An excellent example would be like the state of affairs she was in now.

What was she supposed to do? What was all of them supposed to do? Alex was off probably creating the apocalypse, Jade was resisting the urge to just bolt out of the room to find her, Ryo was obviously peeved about the team he was placed on, and Casey was caught in her own battle, as she fought against the temptation to smack their new captain for his impertinence. She was almost positive that Ryo's disappointment had a lot to do with the fact that they were girls and that really got to her. Pricks? She could deal with. But sexist pricks? Now that was a whole other story.

Seeing how now Tyson's blade finally decided to spin back into the bowl, Casey's lavender eyes wandered to the kitchen where Ryo has typically isolated himself. With all the commotion earlier, she hadn't really gotten a chance to take a good look at him. No, she wasn't blissfully gawking at him. Are you crazy? She just needed to get used to seeing him as their team captain.

Ryo was in a classic loner stance. His mass rested against the counter, arms crossed with crimson eyes locked on the TV. Since Jet had talked him into putting his coat away so he'd supposedly feel more "comfortable", all he was left with was a fitting sleeveless top that had the same deep shade of his eyes.

The dark-haired boy heaved a sigh, taking notice to how the girl with light aqua hair was eyeing him closely.

'What is she staring at?' he wondered to himself. He could practically feel her eyes examining every part of him, as if making sure he wasn't some crazed lunatic hiding a bomb somewhere. Where would he hide a bomb anyway? With what he was wearing now, there would be no room for one.

Quickly, he brushed off the unnerving sense that had slowly crept near him as a result of her gazing. Regaining poise, he almost laughed at the thought of feeling self-conscious. There was just absolutely no reason for him to feel that way. After all, he's always been treated like something from the unknown depths of Africa.

Everyone he ever came across had always seemed to be examining and judging him as if there was an evaluation sheet right in front of him or her. It used to really get to him when he was younger, but due to the fact that he didn't have much say in the matter, he eventually got used to it. He even made a little joke about it.

Ryo liked to refer to it as "the ass method". All those people would always assess him while they sat and stared. Hence, the name "the ass method". Of course, that name also came in handy for the countless individuals who really were ass's, but that was just a bonus.

"Whoa! I can't believe this, but it looks like Cyris could be trapped!" AJ suddenly announced on the screen.

"If he doesn't do something fast, Tyson's gonna blow him right out of the dish!" exclaimed Brad.

Ryo watched the display carefully and rolled his eyes. 'I hate to say this, but they might be right,' he admitted to himself reluctantly. 'Cyris was so rapt up with trying to shove Dragoon off the edge that he actually left his defences down. Bad move. Guess he was caught off guard when that storm suddenly appeared. Hn. Now his blade is stuck in the eye of it all, just waiting for the inevitable. What a foolish mistake. And to lose to someone like Tyson too. Pitiful.'

Just as his mind was getting ready to name all the other dozens of flaws in the match, a girl's voice unexpectedly broke through.

"Okay then. Ryo," began Jade, unable to stand the lack of conversation any longer, "I guess we got off on the wrong foot. So let me be the first to actually give you a genuine welcome," she grinned lightly, walking over to the kitchen.

Despite the fact that she was worried about Alex and pretty upset that Richi wasn't on their team anymore, she just couldn't hold a grudge against the dark-haired teen. Besides, it's not like he forced Richi to leave so he could become captain. In fact, she was well aware that he didn't seem too pleased about his new status, but it was still worth a try to be nice to him. After all, they were kind of stuck with each other.

As Richi used to say, "When life gives you unbearably spicy chicken, grab a bucket of ice and chow down!" Strange saying, but that was just Richi for you. You can't deny that he has a crazy obsession for chicken, but that's just one of the things that make him so totally loveable.

"Well Ryo?" the redhead spoke up again, now standing across from him.

He stared at her, realizing that she had extended her hand. 'What the hell, I might as well get used to this,' he finally decided. Taking her hand, he nodded. "Thanks, I guess," he replied simply.

Jade's grin widened. 'Okay, at least this is a start,' she thought with some relief. 'I don't think the ice is totally broken, but at least it's cracked a bit.'

The metal-haired man on the couch found a small grin cross his lips. 'Thank you!' he thought gratefully. 'Maybe this isn't totally hopeless after all. At least Jade's handling this all right. And Casey seems okay too. This might actually-'

"I'd like to say something too," the light-haired girl halted Jet's thoughts, standing up as well. "First off, welcome to our team. I'm sure that you are well capable of handling this position. Jet wouldn't have pick you if he didn't think you could," she stated firmly, glancing at their manager. Slowly striding towards the kitchen, she folded her arms. "Second, as the new captain, I understand that you will have authority over this team, which I am required to abide by. All I ask is that you treat us as equals. Do I have your consent on that?"

Ryo cocked an eyebrow, meeting her fixed gaze. 'Hm. I don't think she's too fond of me,' he declared to himself.

After encountering so many people before, he could easily judge whether a person liked him or not based on their voice. There was always something he noticed, regardless of how small it was or how much they tried to conceal it. Jade, for example, was quite sincere with her greeting. Casey, on the other hand, appeared to have a hint of annoyance when she talked to him, despite how she tried to hide it with her formal tone and diction.

Ryo shrugged. It didn't really bother him anyway. First off, not many people did like him. And second, two could play at this game.

"I will regard all of you to the extent that I feel is necessary," he replied impassively.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she questioned, keeping their gaze locked.

"It means exactly what it sounds like," he slowly spoke. "You're a girl, aren't you? I'm sure you can figure it out. Although if you desperately need me to rephrase that, I'll be happy to do so."

Casey forced a smile, as she shook her head. "No, thank you. I understand completely," she responded, keeping control over her articulation.

"Good for you then," he smirked, purposely adding touch of insolence in his drawl.

Jet sighed, realizing that he spoke too soon. He looked up at Jade who was now slowly creeping away from the two teens. Not that he blamed her though. He definitely wouldn't want to be caught in the crossfire either if things – and they probably will- heat up.

'This is just great. I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be so easy,' he sighed, leaning back against the cushion. 'And then there's still Alex,' he added with a groan. 'Now why did I agree to this again? Oh yeah, I remember. I like challenges and this'll give me more experience. Plus it's supposed to help the kids. Now, I think I'll just keep repeating those reasons…'

"Why do you continue to stare at me? It's very impolite," he heard Casey say.

"And of course you would know that," Ryo shot back. "Earlier. You remember, don't you?"

Jet let out another long breath of air, adverting his gaze from the scene in the kitchen. 'Oh boy…this is going to take a while…'

And just like that, the battle was over. Cyris did all he could, but the squall was just too strong. Although he always knew that Tyson could give the command for a storm attack at any time, he had assumed that he'd be able to handle it if it ever came to that. After all, he did know how to evade Tyson's earlier moves. Besides, it was just wind, right? Wrong. To put it simply, Cyris underestimated Tyson and the power of his Dragoon. And for that, he paid the price.

"I can't believe it's over…" Cyris sighed quietly in defeat. Looking back, he could clearly see the errors he made and was practically kicking himself for being so careless.

"And the winner is Tyson!" declared DJ Jazzman.

"It looks like Tyson's return to Beyblading is going to be a memorable one," proclaimed Brad.

"Everybody better watch out because this kid is back and ready to soar!" AJ added in.

The crowd applauded excitedly, as Tyson waved to all of them in triumph. "WOO HOO! I won! Thank you! Thank you! I love you all!" he started a series of hoots and corresponding gestures of victory. All the attention was definitely feeding his ego and he had no problem with flaunting his win. After all, what person didn't like to be cheered for?

After what seemed like hours, Tyson finally took a break. During his pause, he looked down at the blade that rested in the palm of his hand. "Thanks Dragoon, I knew we could still do it," he whispered.

"Tyson."

"Huh?" he looked up, meeting Cyris's dark green eyes.

"It was a good match. I guess I should have listened to everyone who warned me about you. You're as good as they said you were. Even better," he complemented.

Tyson blinked, putting a hand behind his head. "Well you're not so bad yourself," he grinned. "I thought you were totally gonna cream me for a while back there. Put it there man!"

Cyris reached out and shook his opponent's hand. "The next time our paths cross, I'll be ready."

"So will I," he nodded.

The brunette shook his head accordingly and began to head off. Turning back one more time, he waved humbly before completely disappearing into the competitor's hall. Tyson could all but stare after him.

'He is one wicked Beyblader,' he grinned.

Before Tyson could reinitiate his waving and hooting to his adoring fans, he felt something suddenly bounce off his head.

"Wha?" he asked aloud to no one in particular. He glanced at the floor instinctively and immediately caught sight of something shiny a small distance away. Walking just a few steps, he leaned down to pick up the unknown matter. "Tin foil?" he questioned, puzzled, as he examined the rough silver material.

"I'll take it that you didn't hear me yell 'heads up', did you?"

Tyson looked away from the article in his hand to find a grinning Richi holding another wrap of tinfoil, while the rest of his friends stood behind him.

"You did it man! Congratulations!" grinned the brunette, smacking Tyson on the back. "And I thought you deserved a little prize too," he added, waving around the silver envelope.

"Really?? They're both for me??" he exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

"Well actually-"

"Thanks Richi!" Tyson cut him off, swiping the second packet from the boy's unsuspecting hand. "You are so the best!" he beamed, hastily unravelling his latest gift.

"No but-"

"Mmmm… Thith ith tho good!" he quickly announced, after swiftly popping one of the wings into his mouth. "Riffi! I canf beweev how nithe yu awr! Fanc yu tho muf!"

The chocolate-haired boy almost had tears his eyes, as he watched Tyson devour one of his last precious pieces of chicken. Of course, being the nice guy that he was, he couldn't bring himself to tell Tyson that one of those drums was supposed to be his. Besides, it wouldn't have done much good since the second piece was already in his mouth now.

"Eheheh…you're…" Richi paused, trying to keep his voice from breaking. " …You're welcome," he finally managed to choke out, as he pinched his arm at the same time, hoping that it would provide some distraction from the sight before him. 'Breathe Rich,' he tried to calm himself down. 'Don't worry…you can always go back and buy some more…hey wait a sec! That's not a bad idea.'

The cheerful blonde scratched his cheek as he watched his friend wolf down the meat. "Tyson! Take it easy or you're gonna choke on the bone!" he laughed, rolling his eyes.

"If we're lucky, it'll get caught in his windpipe and we won't be able to hear that loud mouth of his anymore," teased Kai.

Tyson, of course, let his temper get the best of him as he began yelling at the blue-haired boy. "Well sorry to disappoint you Kai, but my mouth is just as open as anything and it's not gonna be closing anytime soon!" he hollered, mouth totally gaping, while much of the chicken had not completely been swallowed.

Kai flinched as he glanced at the small morsels that had happily flown from Tyson's mouth and found a new home on his white scarf. "Tyson," he murmured, shooting him a death glare, "weren't you taught to chew with your mouth closed?"

"Of course I was!" he replied loudly with a cheeky grin.

A few more bits flew at Kai, making the slate-haired teenager grunt in annoyance. "If you continue this, I am going to hit you, Tyson," he stated matter-of-factly, eyes narrowing.

"Continue what?" Tyson shot back, sending more bits Kai's way.

In a blink of an eye, the auburn-eyed teen was magically standing behind Tyson with an impish grin. Before the unprepared boy could protest, there was a loud thwap as Kai smacked him behind head. Not hard though! Okay, maybe it was hard, but not as hard as he could have hit him.

Tyson yelped, rubbing the back of his head. "OW! Why did you do that for?" he whined, who, lucky for him, had finally finished chewing all the meat.

"I warned you, didn't I?" scoffed Kai, shaking his head.

The younger adolescent let out a dramatic groan. "Yah but I thought you were kidding! Why couldn't you just do what you always did?" Kai stared at him, along with the others, oblivious to what he was referring to. "Oh you remember! You'd be like," he paused, getting into "Kai" mode. "Hn. Bunch of babies," he mimicked his former team captain perfectly and stalked off, before running back to the group a second later. "Y'know! That!" he exclaimed, waving his arms.

The others stared at the navy-haired boy for a brief moment before they burst into hysterics. Despite how much he and Kai contrasted, Tyson could still pull off a pretty damn good impression of him.

"You have a death wish, don't you?" Kai glared at the goofy teen.

"Aw, come on Kai," laughed Max. "Be a sport. Besides, I hear that hitting someone's head makes them lose brain cells."

"Well then there's not much to worry about," he smirked, earning him a glower from Tyson.

"Are they always like that?" whispered Chris, watching the two boys continue to bicker.

"I'd be worried if they weren't like that," Kenny replied. "But I guess fighting is sort of what makes them good friends."

'Fighting = goods friends,' Richi mentally repeated as an equation. 'Heh, I guess that is true,' he smiled, thinking about a certain girl with dark red head who ran around like a volcano about to erupt.

Despite the fact that Alex and him did argue quite often, usually about trivial things, they were still very close, even when it didn't always seem that way. He honestly did care about her. Really cared about her. So much, that if you pinned him against a wall and forced him to choose between Alex and chicken, he'd choose Alex without any hesitation. For Richi, that's saying a lot.

"Oh yah!" Richi suddenly yelped, smacking his forehead. "I forgot! I'm gonna go buy more chicken. You guys wanna get something to eat too?"

"OOOH! More chicken!" Tyson jumped up excitedly.

Richi sweatdropped, regretting having said it out loud. "Um…well actually…I was hoping that…err…"

The brunette quit his stuttering as the younger boy with glasses put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'll buy Tyson his own bucket," he reassured him, grinning.

Richi let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he smiled gratefully. He didn't mind sharing, in fact, he loved to share. But he also knew that Tyson would probably eat at least half, if not all, of the chicken, which wasn't a thought that appealed to him much.

The group of boys, who were actually still in the centre of the arena, began heading to the competitor's hallway and then to the food stands. Kenny bought himself a nice salad and the bucket of chicken he had promised for Tyson, Chris and Ray both decided on two juicy deluxe hamburgers, while Kai, who initially said he was not hungry, ended up having a piece of chicken that Richi insisted that he should try.

'This is the life,' Richi smiled to himself, glancing at his new friends while eating the delicious meat. 'I can't think of anything that could go wrong.'

"Enjoying lunch, are we?" a derisive voice suddenly asked from the right. Richi froze.

'Oh my God. Please do not let that be who I think it is…' he hoped in vain, knowing that voice all too well. Slowly, he tore his attention away from his food and indeed, he was right.

A girl with black track pants stood before him, dark red hair cascading over the shoulders of her midnight blue top. Some of her white undershirt showed below her neck, which corresponded to the white stripes on her pants. Black sunglasses calmly rested on her head, opposite to the livid glint in her deep forest eyes as she stared at him.

"H-hi," Richi managed to sputter out, pushing himself out of his chair.

"Hello Richi," she replied flatly, eyeing him carefully as he hesitantly walked up to her.

"So…um…how did you get here?" he asked, realizing that the other boys were now watching the two of them.

"You'd be surprised at the lengths one would go through when one has certain motivations," she shot back, folding her arms over her stomach.

"I bet," he said quietly. "So…um…is there…err…something you…want?" he attempted to inquire, knowing that her answer wouldn't result in anything pleasant.

"We need to talk," she stated straightforwardly, "about a lot of things," she added, the seething spark in her eyes becoming more obvious.

"T-talk?" Richi echoed. He knew just as well as any other guy that when girls wanted to "talk", it never meant anything good.

"Yes. Talk," she emphasized the second word, saying it like it was a deathtrap.

Richi offered a meek nod before suddenly taking a great interest in his shoes. Alex wanting to "talk" was equivalent to Alex wanting to make hell on earth for the person she wanted to talk to. A fact like that wasn't too comforting for poor Richi, but he wasn't about ready to just run away either.

He finally looked up to meet her heated gaze again. "Fine," he agreed slowly. "Let's talk."

Whoa! How is this "talk" going to turn out? Is Jet going to be able to manage his team? And will Tyson eat Richi's chicken while he's occupied? Tune in next time for the next chapter of Star Horizons!