DISCLAIMER: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade and Ranma ½ belong to their respective owners so please don't sue me or anything.
A/N: Writer's block. I hate it because it delays writing so much. Oh yeah, not Nelvana names again here; Takao=Tyson, Kyouju=Kenny, Rai=Lee, Mao=Mariah, Kiki=Kevin, Gao=Gary, Shell Killer=Blade Shark, you get the drill. And the story happens sometime after the tournament. I hope you enjoy! =)
AS MUCH TROUBLE AS YOU NEED
ChApTeR 1
"I'm hungry…"
"Wow, just look at this place! It's so extensive!" Max's blue eyes were wide.
"I'm hungry…"
Kai's mahogany gaze swept across each standing pole scattered before him and his teammates. The gaze continued, this time studying tens, no, HUNDREDS of springs around them. THIS was their training area? Uncountable patches of water impaled by bamboo shoots? WHAT was the Chinese Team thinking anyway?
Kyouju looked around as well. "I don't see any members of the White Tiger tribe. Do you think we wandered off to the wrong location?"
"No, this HAS to be the right place." Rei scanned the area. "Mao mentioned that our special training ground is characterized by bamboo poles and lots of springs. This must be it."
"I'm hungry…" A loud groan from a stomach was heard.
Kai fought the urge to strangle Takao with his bare hands. Ever since they got off the bus the Japanese beyblader had been saying those two annoying words nonstop. Sure, the two boys had been friends ever since the Russian Tournament ended, but it didn't lessen the fact that Takao's endless complaints were starting to wear Kai's patience tissue-thin already. "That's your own fault, Kinomiya. If you hadn't lost the map, we could have eaten our lunch here hours ago."
"Hey, is it my fault the wind just blows out of a sudden in that part of China? Besides, whose idea was it that we shouldn't eat anything until we got here anyway?"
"It was mine." Rei pointed at Takao's bag. "And if you hadn't listened, then you'd have nothing to eat by now."
Takao sat down on the ground, already bringing his packed food out of his own bag. "And now that we're here, what are we waiting for? Let's eat before we die of hunger!"
"Rai and the others, of course," Kyouju answered, shedding a sweatdrop as Takao practically drooled. "They should be here any moment now."
"Rai and those other White Tigers can wait but our stomachs can't," Takao declared, suddenly pointing a challenging finger at the boy holding a laptop. "Why? Can you concentrate on your research if your stomach is very demanding?" He turned to the others. "Do you really think you can proceed with our training if you're all tired with no energy because you didn't eat? Well?"
"Okay, we get your point already, Takao." Max stretched his arms for a while. "I have a suggestion: We wait for the Chinese Team for the next ten minutes. If they still don't show up by that time, we eat and rest to prepare ourselves. Well, what do you guys say?"
"Agreed," Rei replied, sitting down as well.
Kyouju settled his bag on the ground. "Okay."
Takao let out a resigned sigh. "Fine."
Hn. Kai didn't really care at the moment whether or not Max's suggestion made sense. Anything, as long as it would shut Kinomiya up!
"I don't believe this." More than an hour later Takao was starting to look annoyed. "We've been waiting here forever but they're still not yet here! Good thing I ate already."
What's keeping them so long? Rei walked around again, trying to think of answers to his question. It wasn't like Rai to be extremely late for a training session, especially for a special one he had approved. Absentmindedly he picked up one of the broken pieces of wood scattered on one side of the ground. Judging from the way the ink on it was brushed, the piece seemed to be a part of a written sign.
Kyouju, on the other hand, was concentrating on studying the springs, rubbing his chin and all. "Hmm… I could be wrong but I think I found a possible way for turning this place into a training area."
"Yeah?" Max stopped polishing Draciel with a cloth. "We're listening."
Rei threw the wood back on the ground, all thoughts about the Chinese Team on pause. "Go on."
Kyouju cleared his throat. "As you can see, this place is filled with countless poles and springs. There won't be much space for beyblades to spin and surface area for the beybladers to stand on. Based on this I would conclude that you need more skill and control to make your beyblades fight without letting them fall into any of the springs. It doesn't sound easy but maybe that is what the members of the White Tiger tribe planned."
For a while Rei thought about it. Kyouju's explanation DID make sense. "It looks like you're right."
"That's IT? Piece of cake!" Takao rested his head on his raised hands. "Winning shouldn't be a problem for me."
"Provided that you should avoid for the longest possible time destroying any of the poles," the brown-haired boy continued.
"I'm NOT allowed to touch them?" Takao stared at him. "How on earth am I supposed to attack then?"
"I said destroy, not touch. Anyway, that way you could learn to be less impulsive and be more efficient."
"Sounds great to me," Max remarked before turning to Takao. "Don't you like it? It's a challenge for you, Takao. This is the kind of stuff you live for, right?"
Takao rubbed his nose, a grin forming on his face. "Hehe. I don't care how narrow the space is. I'll still beat whoever my opponent is, even after everything Kyouju said." Then his face turned blank. "Which reminds me, who will be my opponent anyway?"
"Wait, I got it." An idea had just formed in Rei's mind. "While Rai and the others are not yet here, we practice by ourselves first. It will be like a warm-up before the actual training. But we have to battle by pairs and not get in the way of the others."
"Good idea but the question is, where do we begin?" Max gestured at their surroundings. "Like Kyouju said, the grounds between the springs are quite narrow for all of us at the same area."
"Then one pair has to do it somewhere else." With a single leap, Rei stepped on the nearest pole using one foot. Still athletic enough for me to do this. He WAS trained as a White Tiger after all. "Come on!"
"Hey, you don't expect us to go up there, right?" Takao called. "I can't jump like that, let alone balance myself to launch Dragoon from that position!"
"Oh, great." And the idea of testing his skills from an elevated level had really intrigued the Chinese boy. But without any of his former teammates who can definitely jump the way he did… "Who will my opponent be then?"
"Don't think you're the only one who can do that."
Much to Rei's surprise, Kai suddenly jumped high and landed on top of the pole of the spring across Rei. Kai could actually do that? The black-haired boy turned to find his other friends quite amazed.
"So it's settled then." Max picked up his shooter and Draciel. "Takao and I will battle on the ground while Rei and Kai will practice with each other on the poles. Let's go, Takao." He left to find his own place meters away from Kai and Rei while Takao followed him.
"This will be a good time to update my data." Kyouju grinned as he sat down on a point where all four beybladers can be spotted and opened his laptop.
Rei watched Kai carefully. "You really can handle this?"
"I was once a Shell Killer. And I'd been trained back in Russia." Kai brought out Dranzer and his shooter. "This is nothing."
"Oh yeah, I forgot." So Kai will be his opponent, huh? Rei smiled at the challenge while following Kai's cue. This was going to be really interesting.
Kiki didn't bother to hide his yawn while watching Mao pace back and forth like some caged animal. If the female White Tiger were to do it any faster, she would be burning a trail on the ground. "Will you stop doing that and remain still? Any moment I'm going to get dizzy."
"I wonder what happened to Rei-ni. He should have been here two hours ago." Apparently Mao wasn't listening to him, continuing her pace.
The small boy rolled his eyes. "Worrying too much won't bring him here any faster. It's not like he could sense it or anything."
"But the fact remains that Rei and the rest of the BBA Team ARE late." Rai turned to Mao. "Calm down. Rei won't stand us up on purpose."
Kiki rested his hands behind his head, lying on the ground. And to think Rai had strictly instructed them to wake up early so that they'll be more prepared for their special training while in the meantime Rei and the others didn't even bother to show up! I just KNEW I should have slept more this morning. "Maybe Rei got whacked on the head or something and he could no longer tell when the real date is."
"Rei-ni is not stupid," Mao shot back.
"Or maybe he and the BBA guys got lost," he suggested. "It could happen."
"They COULDN'T get lost," she stated firmly. "I gave them a map the last time I visited Rei-ni and I know I made my instructions perfectly clear and correct. Following the map should also be just easy."
"Unless they couldn't read it properly. Or maybe they lost it." Kiki tried to think up of more reasons, all for the sake of just killing his boredom. "Hey, maybe they got into some sort of trouble, like, a landslide or an accident maybe?"
"KIKI!" Mao's amber glare was dangerously boring holes already.
"Hey, don't kill me! Sheesh, can't you take a joke?"
"Well, obviously I don't like the way the sense of humor runs!"
"Fine, I'll just shut up about it." Really, girls could be beyond sensitive.
"They'll be fine," Gao reassured.
"Unless…"
Everyone else turned to Rai, whose arms were folded over his chest.
"Unless they took the other direction which leads to the cursed springs."
I forgot to tell that I'm trying to keep up with the original version. Oh well.
Review please, review! ^_^
