Chapter 3: Chaos
"Two cups of hot chocolate please," Johnny ordered by the coffee shop's counter. One of the staff filled his order promptly. Receiving both cups of the hot liquid, Johnny headed to the table where Mai was already seated at.
"Here you go," Johnny said, placing one of the cups in front of Mai, who faced opposite to him.
"Thanks," Mai replied as he sat down.
For fifteen minutes Mai explained her crisis thoroughly to Johnny as they sipped their hot cocoa while elsewhere at the police station, the others except Tyson sat patiently awaiting Mai's return. Kai, although patient, he saw waiting for Mai as a total waste of his priceless time. However, he felt that if he had left he would have missed learning the truth if it decides to finally emerge. And so he decided to wait, at least for a little while, instead of taking a promenade.
"Why don't you just come and stay with Oliver, Robert or me? Merlin would surely suspect your cousin Enrique."
"He'll suspect you also."
"But we will be able to protect you from him. Enrique will be too busy getting acquainted with him. I'm sure that he won't want to be acquainted with anyone else but your family."
"My sister! I hope she'll be okay. Johnny?" Mai asked when she saw him in deep thoughts.
"Huh? Oh right. I'm sure Mi will be alright. We have to formulate a plan. This is what we'll do …" Johnny explained when he stepped back into reality.
* * *
Another fifteen minutes flew by, and everyone awaiting Mai's return were growing impatient. They had sent Mariah to check up on Mai in the washroom, but she couldn't find Mai. The bladers were about to returned home when suddenly, Mai revealed herself, slowly creeping into the room. Johnny didn't arrive with her.
"MAI?!?! Where have you been? We've been worried sick," Mariah yelled at her when Mai walked through the door into the officer's room.
"You sound like my mom," Mai claimed with a shaky voice.
Mariah was now embarrassed. They were all staring at her strangely. She didn't mean to blurt out that. Mai was staring straight into her eyes, wondering why she said what she said. She didn't really know Mai well enough; she was just concerned about Mai's safety just like how she is about everyone else's safety.
"Johnny!" Max exclaimed gleefully, and Mai discontinued looking into Mariah's eyes, and instead set her sights on who was approaching from behind her.
"Hey, Guys. Who's this?" Johnny asked, pretending not to know Mai.
"Don't you know her, Johnny? She's Enrique's cousin," Emily answered and Johnny shook his head.
"That's strange. She claims to know Robert, Oliver, Enrique, Kai, and you," Kenny stated.
"I don't know why she would think she knows us, but she's not Enrique's cousin. I know Enrique's cousin, Maizaru, very well, and she is a lot taller and older," Johnny replied confidently. "Who are you, Little Girl?"
"I'm Mai. I'm Mai! I'm Mai!" she asserted and Johnny shook his head.
"I don't know her. I thought you said that Maizaru was here. "I rushed here hoping to inform her that she's needed elsewhere to prep for the wedding."
"Whose wedding?" Ray questioned curiously as he eyed Kai. Kai wanted to know also, but pretended not to care.
"Her own of course. She's marrying in a few months. But since last night, no one has seen her since."
"AHHH!!! I'm confused! How can she know so much and not be Mai?!!!" Tyson yelled, frustrated.
"Shhh!" the others around him scolded.
"Let's head into another room," the officer insisted as he glimpsed at Mai who frowned. "This case must be solved promptly so this little girl can return home. And the only way to determine if she is truly telling the truth is for both of them to take the lie detector test."
"Sure. But we'll have to make it quick. I have a busy schedule," Johnny agreed.
Mariah shrugged and nodded. 'Here we go again. Another headache,' Emily moaned. The officers led them into another room.
After a few minutes of connecting wires onto Mai and Johnny to separate lie detectors, both of them were being tested at the same time and the others observed them carefully. One of the questioned the officer asked Johnny is if he knew the little girl who was sitting beside him. Johnny, of course, answered no. Johnny claimed that he knows Maizaru, not her. The interrogation dragged on until little Mai couldn't stand it anymore and began crying out loud, "I'm Mai! But I'm not the one getting married! I'm Mai! I'm not the Mai that's engaged to Merlin or whoever it is! I'm JUST MAI!"
Another officer entered the room to collect the data for analysis.
Everyone covered their ears as she continued bellowing and weeping. 'Err. She can still cry that loud,' Johnny thought as the officer left with the data.
"I can't stand it anymore! Make her STOP!" Kai demanded, exploding with anger.
Suddenly Mai stopped and they gave out a sigh of relief. "Sorreee [Sorry], Kai."
"Hn," was all Kai could say as he closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Can we leave now, officer?"
The officer nodded and Johnny waved goodbye. "See you guys later. And good luck with the little kid." Walking away reluctantly, Johnny said mentally, 'Good luck, Mai. Hope Windra emerges again. In the meantime, I'll keep watch on Merlin.'
'Grrr,' Kai thought. 'She's not coming with us.'
Mariah, Emily and the Bladebreakers were about to leave when Mai clung onto Mariah's leg and pleaded, "Don't leave me here. I'm scared of cops. My sister said to stay with you and your friends until she comes back for me."
"That's too bad. But I'm sure this officer will get you back home eventually," Emily answered as she tried to remove Mai from Mariah with no avail.
"Think of this as your punishment for lying," Kai mentioned scornfully. He hated when people lied to him.
"Where is your sister?" the police queried.
"I'm not sure. She didn't tell me exactly where she was going. She said to stay low until she works things out."
"What things?" Max questioned, sounding a bit more serious.
"Family affairs. Not to mention the person who's out to get me," Mai answered sorrowfully.
"How about you tell us your family's name? We will be able to contact your parents or sister with that piece of information," the police inquired.
"Um… I know I'm Mai. My sister told me that the family's name is Takarnara. Hopefully it is."
"Little Mai, you don't even know your last name?" Kenny asked in disbelief. Mai shrugged, letting go of Mariah's waist.
"Sorry, Kid. You'll be safer with the police. They'll handle things," Mariah spoke, trying to reassure Mai before she leaves with Emily and the others.
"But the public can't know about me. We placed our trust in you and your friends to protect us," Mai begged when they were almost out the door. All of them wanted to help her but felt that it was best she stayed with the police.
"That's nice. But we didn't agree," Kai rebuked without looking back. The peculiar feelings towards Mai were repressed, and he wasn't about to show it.
On their way out of the room, the same officer who took the data for analysis reported back, "Sir, the results show that the boy passed."
"Did the girl pass also?"
"Yes, Sir. She did." Everyone was now staggered. "Oh yeah, Sir. Maizaru Takarnara has just called in to ask for a little girl name Mai."
"Oh? What did she say?"
"Sir, she says that it's best for her to stay with the Bladebreakers until her sister comes back."
"Did she mention what her relation was with her?"
"Mai and her sister are foster children, and Maizaru called her Mai and was caring for both of them until Mai's sister decided to leave abruptly because of the marriage between Maizaru and Merlin. And it was Johnny who just phoned Mi, informing her of his strange encounter, which then caused Mi to call up Maizaru to clear things up."
"OH! That explains a lot. She gave this little girl a name identical to hers," the officer shouted in comprehension while the others looked puzzled.
'Yeah. Clear as mud,' Ray and his friends thought in sarcasm.
"Should I contact the Takarnara family about the little girl?"
"No. It seems that the young mistress is already aware of her whereabouts. That's enough. What we need to do now is to find a safe place for her to stay until Maizaru or little Mai's sister comes to pick her up."
"Yes, Sir. Where?"
"Send her to crash with Johnny," Emily suggested. "I'm sure he's got lots of room."
"He's heading back to Canada to arrange things. He won't have time to take care of her," the (first) officer said.
"How about she stays with us?" Max blurted out delightfully and Mai began jumping around.
Kai glared at him. 'Such insolence.' The bladers looked at Kai in desperation, waiting for his approval. Kai sighed in defeat. "Fine. But if she's naughty, she's out of there. And she's not staying in my room. She gets yours, Max."
"WHAT?!"
"It was your idea," Kai said, sneering.
"Don't worry, Maxy. We're gonna have lots of fun with Kai!" a hyper and happy little Mai countered.
'Maxy?!' the bladers thought, slightly amused and slightly shocked.
Kai darted Max another death glare. Max stuck his tongue out at Kai, gloating. Max didn't mind giving up his room to Mai. He could always take the couch and watch television all day and night. Max smiled mischievously. You see to him, the couch and television was like a fridge full of food for Tyson, a lab for Emily and Kenny, or a beystadium for Kai, Ray and Mariah.
'Uh-oh,' Ray thought. 'What's Max up to?'
"Not so fast," the officer bellowed before they exited the department.
"Huh?" asked the young teens as they froze by the main door.
The police officer returned Mai's cell phone to her. "Before you go, I just wanted to see what else is in your knapsack, little Mai," the officer explained and Mai allowed him to examine the interiors of her knapsack. Found within the bag were photographs of Maizaru, Mizaru, and the Majestics, a compact mirror, a bag of clothes, etc.
"Those are my friends," Mai spoke, pointing to the Majestics in the photo, and tears pricked from her eyes.
Satisfied for some mysterious reason, the officer told them to take care of Mai and to report back to the station or the Takarnaras if anything bad happens. Then, he said farewell to the teenagers.
* * *
"You're not to enter the lab," Emily taught Mai as they sauntered home.
"Or to touch any of the food in the fridge that has the name Tyson on them," Tyson added immediately.
"Oh?" Mai asked, looking up at Tyson's face.
"Tyson! Your name isn't on any food," Mariah snapped.
"It will be as soon as I get home. My cousin, who's about her age, eats more than me. She might just finish off all of my food."
All of them blasted Tyson annoyed looks. "I'm offended. I'm not that greedy. I won't steal and eat your food, Tyson. I might get food poisoning. And besides you should go on a diet; too much fat wouldn't do you any good, Tyson. You need more muscles and less fat, like Kai," Mai said as she halted and looked back towards Kai dreamily.
"Hmph!" Tyson was insulted, folding his arms. Everyone except Tyson and Kai snickered.
"Hn," was all Kai said as his face had a little pinkish glow when the others had turned to face him. He didn't care much of what this foolish little girl thought of him so he quickly regained his cold complexion. When they resumed to walking home, Kai sniggered at what Mai said about Tyson. 'Kids today say the darnest thing.'
* * *
Upon entry into the Bladebreakers' house, Mai enthusiastically hopped all around the house to familiarize herself with her new temporary home while the others halted by the front door, flabbergasted. She awed as she peeked behind every door she noticed.
"I'm heading back to my chamber. Dizzi and I need to do some research," Kenny said, quickly retreating to his bedroom to prevent Mai from entering and from tinker with anything in his room.
"Anyone who missed breakfast should consume it now; training starts in exactly thirty minutes. Whoever is late will do the dishes for the next seven days."
"Aye, aye, Captain Kai!" Tyson shouted and saluted him. Kai, ignoring Tyson, walked away and headed in the direction of the backyard for some solitude.
"Um, that's disturbing. You're not supposed to salute unless you called him Sir or Ma'am," Ray remarked.
"Aye, aye, Ma'am Ray," Tyson exclaimed crazily with a smirk. Emily, Mariah and Max snickered in amusement.
"Ma'am Ray?! TYSON!!!" Ray cried out in fury.
Clumsily, Tyson began running to his room for protection against a provoked White Tiger who was in full pursuit.
"Come back here! Tyson!" Ray bellowed and continued chasing a laughing Tyson until Tyson hurriedly locked himself in his own room.
'Safe at last!' Tyson thought, breathing heavily, as his back braced against the cold door.
"Open up!" Ray demanded crossly and Tyson refused to, leaving Ray to keep yelling and banging at the door for minutes. 'He'll have to leave his room sooner or later,' Ray thought as he quietly left for some training with Kai.
'Whoa. It's so quiet now. Did Ray leave?' Tyson asked himself as he tried to peek through the keyhole. 'I need food,' he thought hungrily when he saw no Ray. Silently and slowly, Tyson opened the door. But, when he was about to step out, he realized that Ray could be in the kitchen waiting for him. It would be the most likely place to find Tyson at any time of the day when he's not beyblading someone. All of his friends knew that. There would be no question about it that Ray would be there, eagerly awaiting for Tyson. At least that's what Tyson believed. But he couldn't just give up on food when his tummy rumbled. Quietly as he could, Tyson tiptoed to the kitchen as he glanced around for Ray. To his surprise, no one was there in the kitchen. It was just so tranquil. No noises could be heard from any direction within the house. It was his perfect opportunity to grab a bite before beyblading exercise. He looked in the fridge and didn't see any food he could just pop into the microwave to cook. Not accepting defeat, Tyson panned his head from left to right and then from right to left until he spotted on the table something that was covered by a large stainless steel bowl. Excitingly, he sprinted towards it, and lifted the metal bowl to find a meal already prepared. 'Aw. Shucks. Max must have saved it for me,' Tyson thought, feeling appreciated and adored, as he sat down. "Okay, time to dig in," Tyson mumbled and began to gulp down on a bowl of chicken noodle soup, a mixed salad, a large plum, and a mug of hot cocoa.
A few minutes later, the chicken noodle soup and the salad disappeared while the plum was being bitten by the navy-haired teen. Too preoccupied by food, Tyson didn't realize that Mai was passing by the kitchen's entrance with a half-eaten green apple in her right hand. Her face reddened with madness when she discovered Tyson enjoying every bite of the plum. 'That was for Kai! GRRR!' She roared when Tyson finished off the plum and started to sip the hot cocoa. Furious that Tyson had devoured the lunch she prepared for Kai when the others left for practice, she impulsively pelted the apple in her hand at Tyson.
"OW!" Tyson shrieked.
'Yes!' Mai thought triumphantly when the apple hit Tyson's hand.
Neither of them realized that his hand had let go of the mug until they heard a sharp noise. The mug had shattered upon hitting its surface against the tiles. Looking down beside him, they saw shattered mug and some spilled hot cocoa. A half-eaten apple was not too far away from it. 'Who did this?' he questioned and turned to look in the direction of where the apple was shot from. "MAI?!"
"Uh-oh," Mai shouted and began to run away.
Tyson forgetting all about Ray and his training ran after her, yelling, "Come back here!"
Mai had no idea where she was going and neither did Tyson who was more concentrated on capturing Mai. All Mai was doing was running frantically in search of an exit while Tyson remained in full pursuit until they both found themselves crashing into Kai, who was in the middle of a blade battle against Emily, Max, Mariah and Ray in the backyard. It was Kai versus the rest. The Chief was also there, except he was paying attention to his laptop. Loud thuds could be heard when all three of them went off balance and collapsed onto different locations on the grass. Whimpering, all three of them brushed themselves up.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Kai growled, glaring at both of them.
"It was his fault," Mai blamed Tyson while Tyson blamed her at the same time.
"Hmph!" both Mai and Tyson barked at each other as they looked away from each other angrily.
"What did you do this time, Tyson?" Max asked, making it sound like Tyson was the defendant as Kai continued to stare at both suspects irately.
"What you do mean what did I do?! I'm telling you it was all her fault!"
"Alright, Mai, is that true?" Mariah asked her.
"It's all his fault," Mai replied bluntly.
"I was just enjoying the mug of hot cocoa when she threw an apple at me," Tyson stated innocently. (A/N: hmm… I'm not sure that he is even innocent. Lol)
"Way the go, Mai!" Ray exclaimed, showing his support to Mai, who raised an eyebrow at his remark while the others looked at him strangely. He was rejoicing; after all, he was still furious with Tyson for calling him a 'Ma'am'.
"What mug of hot cocoa?" Max questioned curiously and dreamily.
"Max!" Emily scolded. "Just forget about those silly details."
"The hot cocoa you put on the table for me, Max."
"I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"No, I didn't. If I had made any, I would have drank all of it," Max explained.
"If it wasn't you, then, it must have been—" Tyson slowly said as he turned to look at Mai.
"ME!" she shouted without looking at him. "And it wasn't for you, Tyson."
"If it's not for me, who was the meal for?!"
"ME!" Mai retorted. She wasn't going to reveal to them that she had made the meal for Kai.
"Alright! That's enough! Let's head back into the house to cool down," the Chief suggested.
"You sure about that?" Mai asked, reluctant to enter the house.
"Yea. Are you sure?" Tyson joined in, causing suspicion. Max, Emily, Mariah, Ray and Kenny ignored their questions and entered the house while Mai and Tyson quietly stood against the wall of the house in the backyard.
A moment later, both of them heard their names being bellowed almost angrily. They peeked into the house and saw their friends standing before them. "Come in," Mariah welcomed strictly.
Tyson and Mai laughed nervously as they took small and slow steps into the house. As soon as they saw a fallen jacket-hanger, Tyson began to whistle and look at the ceiling.
"Look at the mess both of you caused!" Emily pointed out to all the stuff littered in front of them.
"AHH!" yelled Kai from the kitchen area.
It was very unusual for all of them, except Mai, to hear Kai screaming like that unless he was really really really ticked off. Kai only growled that loudly only a few times and only on special occasions when Tyson somehow managed to exceedingly offend Kai. All of them raced into the kitchen only to find a really crossed Kai staring straight at them. They looked at the mess near Kai's feet. 'Uh-oh. It was Kai's mug!' they all thought in unison when they saw 'Kai' and 'Touch and Die' inscribed on a piece of broken ceramic, which resembled the bottom part of a mug. They lifted their heads up and discovered that Kai's facing was reddening with anger, and at any moment he might unleash his anger and perhaps his bit-beast upon Mai and Tyson for destroying his favourite and only mug.
* * *
To be continued….
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.
A/N: I'm dreadfully sorry about the late update. I had writer's block, lot of school stuff to eradicate. Anyway, this is a horrible and lame chapter. All reviews are welcomed. Tell me what you think of it. I'm hoping for more than three (positive) reviews (except from my real friends) before I continue because I don't think there's any demand for it. Indicate if you want me to continue….