Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade despite how much I really want to.
Author's Notes: Sorry about the 2nd chapter taking so long.... I had writer's block plus evil homework and projects, which I still do....**oh the agony**
This chapter is really really dull and badly-written...flame me if you want... I don't think I'll mind... Hopefully, the rest of the story will get better...*cries* /Why can't I just skip to the fun parts?!/
This is re-edited 'cause when I was re-reading it I found a major error...the part with Mai summoning her Windra bit-beast.
Chapter 2: Do you remember me?
As soon as the others heard Max's voice calling out for them, all of them, except Kai and Tyson hustled to the front door, anxious to see what the matter was. Kai did however, walked leisurely to the front door. Tyson, now, that's another scenario; he stayed behind, stuffing his mouth with delectable food.
"KAI!!!" the little girl called out excitingly, rushing to hug him, before he could get a good look at her.
"Ahhh!" Kai whinged when the little girl embraced him. "What do you think you're doing?!?!" Kai groused.
"Hugging you, Kai," the little girl comfortably answered, stating the obvious.
"ERRRR!" Kai growled, pushing the little girl away.
"Ouch," the little girl whimpered when Kai accidentally used too much of his strength to push her away, and caused her to topple onto the concrete pathway. Still on the ground, she bursted into tears, crying out, "Don't you recognize me, Kaaiiii?"
Kai examined the little girl as she picked herself up from the cold concrete ground. Her hair and face were both familiar. She had short hair with streaks of reds, browns, oranges, as well as black. She reminded him of the bewitching girl who he danced with at Enrique's Halloween party the night before. She [the little girl] was also wearing the same pendant around her neck as the girl he met, but never gotten her name. She knew his name, but that's probably because he's known throughout the world for his beyblading talent. There was something different. The little girl in front of him didn't have glitter on her hair or the same voice, height or age as the girl whom he felt strangely attracted to at the party. Perhaps, this little girl in front of him is her little sister, Kai thought.
Not getting an answer from Kai, the little girl realized that he, Kai, didn't remember her at all, and so she cried even louder. Everyone covered their ears with their hands as best as they could.
"Ah! Don't cry, little girl," Ray complained, "You're making my ear drums go crazy."
"I'm sorreeee [sorry]...." she said, still weeping, but now softer.
"Tell us your name. What is it?" Mariah inquired.
Ceasing to cry with all her will, the little girl answered Mariah, "My name's Mai. Yours?"
"MAI?!?!" everyone [not Mai or Tyson of course] repeated in shock.
"That's right, that's my name. What about it?"
"Nothing really. It just that it rhymes with Kai," Max blurted out, laughing nervously.
"Hmp," Kai replied, crossing his arms.
Glancing at Kai, Mai thought in hopelessness. 'Perhaps Mi was right. Love at first sight only happens in fairy tales. Even love in real life doesn't exist. No, Mai, you mustn't feel that way. Kai's probably just... just... not ready to accept me with open arms... somewhere, deep inside, he feels something for me... You saw that, Mai, you did, when you danced with him...'
'Why is she looking at me like that? Those peculiar downcast amethyst eyes,' Kai thought, feeling somewhat uneasy and some pity towards Mai. "Where are your parents?" Kai asked Mai in an emotionless tone.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that," Max started to say. In one of his hands was a piece of paper in which he then bestowed to Kenny.
Kenny read it out loud. "Sorry to bother you. You must help me. Someone is after her, so take care of her for me. I'll be back sometime in February. Signed, a stranger in need."
"This must be a joke," Emily declared, "We should go and report this to the authorities."
"The police?" Mai asked skittishly.
"Absolutely. This is serious," Kenny agreed. "You do want to go back home, don't you, Mai?" Kenny asked her.
"Ummm... certainly, but not as much as going to the police and... and filing a report..."
"You make it sound like a bad idea," Kai commented. "Hmmm.... Why is that?"
'That because if we do that, that wicked magician Merlin is going to find me when he gets informed of my location by my stubborn and conservative parents who would be called up by the police,' Mai thought as she narrowed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Tell me, Kai, what did you feel when you danced last night," Mai requested.
The others stared oddly at Kai as he made his reply, "What are you talking about? I don't recall dancing with anyone last night. By the way, you sound as though you knew where I was last night. Were you spying?"
Mai, too depressed to be offended by Kai's accusation, answered him bluntly, "The girl you danced with, Kai-- I know her. I was with her at the party."
"Hmmm..." the others [not Kai, of course] mumbled with great interest.
"She's... um... how should I say this... um..." Mai stuttered, trying to make up a story hastily, "she told me all about her encounter with you [Kai] --"
"Yes... go on, this is rather interesting," Emily stated and the others [besides Kai and Mai] nodded.
"All I really want now is to know what you felt last night," Mai stated, eyeing Kai.
Kai, feeling a little awkward towards the subject, answered sternly, "If you really want to know, Mai, I'll tell you. I felt--"
"Yes... Go on, you felt--" said Tyson in anticipation. He had unexpectedly appeared from behind Kai.
"Tyson," Max, Emily, Kenny, Ray and Mariah said altogether.
"What? I had to finish breakfast first. It's the most important meal of the day."
Folding his arms, Kai continued cooly, "Nothing besides annoyance."
Hearing that, Tyson, Max, Emily, Kenny, Ray and Mariah scowled, "KAI!"
"That's too bad, she really thought she felt something special with you," looking at Kai, Mai commented in sadness.
'Huh?' Kai thought.
Heart-broken, Mai slowly started to walk away. 'Oh well, at least, in this state, I won't be marrying that maniacal Merlin. I'm certain he's already forgotten about me just like Kai did, or at least he will during the next eleven to twelve years.'
"Hey, Mai?!?! Where are you going?" Max called after her when he noticed Mai sneaking away.
"Anywhere but here."
"Hey. Wait there, Mai. A little girl like you can't go wandering off without an adult," Mariah called out, halting Mai temporarily.
"I'm not a little girl," Mai answered bluntly. She stood still, just a few metres from them. Taking one last look at Kai, she mumbled, "Goodbye."
"Are we going to just let her leave?" Max asked as Mai started to cross the road.
"Yes," Kai muttered. "It's better if she returns home."
"No! Come back, MAI!" Mariah yelled. "If she's in danger, we should help her."
"Don't tell me you believe that counterfeit letter. I'm certain it was just a setup to get us to pamper her," Emily said with coldness in her words.
Tyson, Max, Kenny, Ray, Mariah and Emily began to debate what to do, while Kai kept a watch on Mai as she began to walk along the pathway, away from their house. 'She'll be fine,' Kai thought, 'I'm sure her parents are just around the corner.'
As Mai continued walking, she lowered her head in disappointment. Without warning, she bumped into someone. "Huh?" Mai gasped when she looked up to see who was in her way.
"And where do you think you're going, Little Girl?" the figure asked in an authoritive voice. The figure belonged to a male police officer in his mid-thirties.
"I'm going home, Officer," Mai answered.
At the same time, all the Bladebreakers, except Kai, and Mariah and Emily continued to debate until Kenny made a realization. "GUYS?! What are we doing? By time we finish debating, Mai's already gone."
"Not necessarily, she just over there," Kai pointed out as he directed their attention to a little girl with a uniformed officer. All, except for Kai, walked at a steady pace towards Mai. Kai did join them, but he decided to lock the door first. 'Those mindless friends.'
At the same time, the officer continued his questioning. "And where is home?"
"Out of town," Mai asked the officer bluntly.
"Little Girl, where are your parents?"
"At home."
"And where is that?"
"Out of town."
"Perhaps you should come with me to find--" the officer started to say before he was interrupted.
"Excuse, Officer, Sir, but we know who she is," Tyson claimed.
"Is this true, Little Girl? Do you know them?"
Mai shook her head. "No, Sir. I thought I knew one of them, but I guess not."
"Which one would that be?"
"It doesn't matter now. I just wanna go home," Mai replied with a heavy heart.
"Alright then. But we'll have to go back to the station to do that," the officer suggested.
"Do we have to? I know where I live and how to get here," Mai whined as she looked at the officer with puppy dog eyes, "Can't I just go there myself?"
"You can, when you're older, but for now, you have to come with me to the station," the officer answered, not giving into her eyes. "There you can explain everything so I can get you back home."
"Okay," Mai said in defeat. She didn't want to delay her departure from Japan any longer. She wanted to go home, back to Canada. That was where she thought Mi, her responsible little sister, was headed to after she escorted Mai to the Bladebreakers' house.
"I believe all of you should come along too, to clear some things up," the officer requested.
"Fine," Kai answered for them.
And so, all of them began to make their way to the police department. However, they had to make a stop at a coffee and breakfast place. When all of them finally had breakfast, Max, Tyson, Ray and Mariah took a cab while Kai, Kenny, Emily and Mai sat in the officer's car.
[A/N: Tyson had breakfast again... He complained that looking at food just makes him hungry...And don't worry, the food at the Bladebreakers' house are all covered...Tyson didn't want them to get spoiled...]
*****
When they finally arrived, the officer led them to his office. Everyone took a seat, all facing the officer. Skittishly, in her seat, Mai asked, "This won't take long, right?"
"Not to worry yourself, Little Girl. All I need to do first of all is to get some information that'll be useful in my search for your parents. You just need to be a little patient and ask some questions," the officer said as he switched on his computer.
'I should have brought Dizzi with me,' Kenny thought.
"Oh. Okay. But after that I should be leaving before he finds me," Mai blurted out by mistake. She had given them more information than what she intended to.
"Who's he? Actually, better yet, tell me your full name," the officer asked with great interest as he opened a program on his computer.
"My name's Maizaru Takarnara [My-zar-ru Tak-kar-nar-ah]. But everyone calls me Mai," Mai answered obediently and the officer typed in her full name onto the computer so he could see if her name matched anyone missing in Japan.
As the computer continued to analyze and find a match, the officer went on to asking her the most general question of them all. "Tell me exactly who you are and what happened."
"I guess I should start from the beginning, ah?"
"'Yes. I would think so too," the officer said and Mariah, Emily and the Bladebreakers patiently waited for her explanation as best as they could.
"Okay then. Brace yourself. I'll tell you from where it all started."
'The suspense is almost killing me,' Kenny told himself.
'I can't stand this waiting!' Tyson shouted in his mind.
'Why does she look so much like her? Could she be her daughter? Mai did say that she's the oldest, and the girl I danced surely wasn't this young.'
'I wonder what really happened to Kai last night,' Ray thought as he stared at Kai who appeared to be mediating.
"You see, me and my younger sister, Mizaru [Me-zar-ru] took a late flight to Japan several nights ago from Canada. Our plan was to go and enjoy our cousin's, Enrique's party--" Mai started to say when she was rudely interrupted.
"YOU'RE Enrique's cousin?!?!" Tyson blurted out in astonishment and Mai nodded, not sounding very thrilled.
"We went there. And there I saw Kai and so I sent my sister away to say hello to our cousin. We danced but then some stranger pulled me away into the balcony. The impolite guy who pulled me away apologized and explained to me that he only wanted to have a dance with me. Seeing that he was sorry, I accepted. But then, while we were dancing, he said my name. I DIDN'T tell him my name," Mai explained, getting emotionally unstable. She could feel the strong urge to cry as she recalled last night. 'Why am I telling them this?!?! They'll never believe me! No! Mai! Don't think that! You must have hope! You must do anything and everything in your power to-- To what, Mai?!?! For what?!"
'She's changing her story again,' Kai and his friends thought.
"Ahhhh!!!! I'm so confused!!!" Tyson shouted.
"Take it easy, Tyson," Ray said. "I'm sure it'll turn out to be very logical."
"That's the plan. Just continue slowly, Mai," the officer told her as he waited for the results on his computer.
"Okay," Mai replied and a tear ran down from her eyes but no one noticed it. 'Keep it together!' she commanded herself. 'Act like your sister--be strong, don't cry.'
"Hmm. I soon learnt that he knew my name because he claimed that he and I were engaged and getting married as soon as I turn eighteen next year. Tell me, Officer, is there a law against prearranged marriages?"
"Ahhh.... Well....," the officer stuttered. His mind was elsewhere. "Ah-ha! You're not on the missing list."
"Of course not. My sister knows where I am, or at least where I should be," Mai commented.
"Hold on. You said you were going to get marry next year. You don't look eligible," the officer finally realized. "Where are your sister and parents? This is a serious matter."
"My sister? I dunno. My parents are in Canada, on business affairs."
"How could you be wed next year? That's outrageous!" Emily strongly expressed.
"Well, actually, I could if I wanted to."
"HUH?!"
"I didn't finish telling all of you what happened," Mai reminded.
"Well then. Please, do go on," Kai demanded cooly. He was skeptical.
All she wanted was to return to her normal form. Moreover, she desired that Kai would be the one to break the curse. Perhaps, by telling them the whole story, they can somehow help her, at least that's what she thought as she finished her story quickly before there were more interruptions.
When Mai finally finished revealing, practically everything that happened to her, everyone was even more doubtful of her story.
"You can't expect us to believe such a wild imaginative story," Kai criticized.
"Actually, I believe in strange, and magical occurrences, such as bit-beasts. And she can prove her story. If her cousin can recognize her as his cousin who is actually going to be wed next year, Mai's story is a fact, " the officer stated. "How about giving us the number to your cousin Enrique, Mai?"
'FINALLY! Someone, besides my sister, who can be convinced of the truth,' Mai thought. She stood up, unstrapped her knapsack and took out a silver plated cell phone from inside of the largest pocket. "How about I dial the number and you talk?" Mai asked the officer and he nodded.
"It's still ringing. Here," Mai said and handed the officer her cell phone. She then strapped on back her knapsack and sat back down in her chair, away from Kai.
"Hello--" the officer started to say before Mai interrupted, asking to be excused to the washroom. He nodded as he continued to talk on the phone. Mai left his office, heading for the girl's washroom.
"I'm sorry, but Master Enrique just left the country at dawn," a male voice on the other line informed the officer.
"What about Oliver?" he continued to ask and the voice spoke again, informing him that Oliver left with Enrique. "Robert? Johnny? Anyone that may know Maizaru Takarnara?"
"Well, actually, Master Johnny is here at the mansion [the mansion that held the Halloween party]. Shall I put him on the line for you?"
"Yes. Please do. That'll be great," the officer answered in relief. He finally got someone who hasn't departed from Japan. The butler placed him on hold.
At the mansion, the person who took the call was one of Enrique's butlers. He used another line, line two, on the telephone to ring up Johnny who was still sleeping in his room.
Inside Johnny's room, the phone rang, alarming a sleeping and grumpy Johnny. "ARGH! I need sleep. I stayed up too late last night searching for Mai and Mi," Johnny expressed, agitated, and picked up the clamouring phone that was driving him mad. "HELLO?!"
"Good morning, Master Johnny. Sorry to disturb you, but there is someone on line one who request to speak with you about the young Mistress Maizaru," the butler informed calmly, despite Johnny's rude greeting.
'MAI?!' Johnny thought as he said, "Okay then. Thanks."
"Always at your service. Goodbye now, Master Johnny."
Johnny hung up and dialed line one. "Hello. This is Johnny speaking. What were you saying about Mai?"
Hearing that, the officer filled in, "Well, there's someone here at the police station at... claiming to be Maizaru Takar--"
"I'll be right there! Don't let her leave," Johnny impatiently exclaimed and hung up the phone.
"HUH?" the officer said as the line was cut. "He hung up. But he's headed this way."
'I thought that Merlin said that she left to return to Canada to make wedding preparations right after dancing with him. He said she was so excited that she left right away. That was all gibberish! I knew he couldn't be trusted. Oh Mai, I didn't see you at the party. Are you in trouble again?!' a worried Johnny thought, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, taking a quick shower, dressing into his new attire. In a black limousine, Johnny left the mansion in the direction of the police station that he was told that Mai was at. Luckily, the distance between the mansion and the station wasn't great, and this was a great advantage, for Mai was still the girl's restroom, deciding whether she should return to the apartment by herself or wait for Enrique to prove that she was telling the truth.
'Ooh.... I wish if Mi was here. She can take me back home on Shadow's back,' Mai thought as she stared into the large mirror in the restroom. Lucky she was tall enough to see her reflection. She was the only one inside the restroom. Sighing, she called out to her bit-beast. "Windra!" However, Windra did not respond. "Windra! Windra?! Windra? Win--" Mai repeatedly commanded until a female officer entered the restroom.
"What were you saying, Little Girl?"
"Nothing important really. I was just wondering if that is called a window," Mai quickly said as she pointed to the glass. Not wanting to draw more attention, she pretended not to know what a mirror was instead of telling the female cop that she was actually calling out her bit-beast's name.
"Um... Actually, Sweetie, that's a mirror. So you can see your reflection."
"Oh. Okay."
"What's your name?" she asked, smiling.
"Um... It's Mai. I need to go now, Ma'am," Mai mentioned, making her exit. In frustration, Mai pondered why her bit-beast came to her rescue last night, but didn't bother to respond when she called forth it just now.
"Oh. Okay. What a cute little girl."
Almost as slow as a tortoise, Mai started to make her way back to the officer's room. She didn't want to face them again. Halfway there, Mai decided to leave. Dashing towards the police station main entrance without looking, Mai collided with someone who was entering the station with as much haste as she was exiting. "Ahhhh!" Mai shrieked when she almost landed on the floor but a hand reached out to her to grab her by her hands, preventing her fall. "Ah!" Mai whimpered when the figure pulled her body close to his.
Mai could hear the figure's heart beating. In curiosity, she looked up as she began to step backwards, trying to see who she crashed into. "Johnny?! Oh it's you, Johnny!" Mai yelled in relief and excitement as she rushed to hug him. It was really Johnny.
"Mai?!" Johnny asked in disbelief as Mai cuddled herself against his body. Feeling her warm body against his caused Johnny's face to redden. Though he was enjoying her sweet hug, he felt a little embarrassed as some eyes started staring at them. Only one person could ever make him feel uneasy and vulnerable to embarrassment and blushing--it was Mai. "Mai."
"I'm so glad you could recognize me, even in this form," Mai replied as she finished hugging him for comfort. She took several steps backward to give him space. Every officer resumed with their usual work. His face returned to its normal coloured complexion.
Gazing down, straight into the little girl's eyes, Johnny was finally convinced completely. It was Mai. Only Mai could have those mysteriously enchanting amethyst eyes. "What happened? Why are you so-- so tiny?"
"Um... Can we talk it over somewhere else but here?"
"Sure, Mai," Johnny said, smiling sweetly, "How about over cups of hot chocolate?"
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Johnny," Mai commented, beaming a smile at him. Johnny's face started to glow a shade of pink as they walked out together, hand in hand.
To be continued....
A/N: Yes. Johnny did actually smile in a nice, non-schemish way. And he blushes too! Lucky, it's only Mai that can make him react like that. How is this possible? Just a note before you go and review, that is if you are: I'm not intending to pair Johnny with Mai...you can comment about this on the review board if you wish....Perhaps, I'll see what I can do...^__^ ok then, until next time...By the way, I know I shouldn't mention this to all of you because you might get mad at me, but I feel I should tell you...and so I will, I was going to type more for this chapter, but I did a word count and found out that it was already very lengthy...I didn't want to keep you from reading other fanfics or do more interesting things, so I decided to keep it at this... Next chapter, I plan to make someone to take a lie detector test..LOL...won't that be fun?! Ahhhh!
By the way: MERRY CHRISTMAS!