North South East West

-minted*candi

A/N::

*bows* Thank you all for all your lovely, lovely reviews!!! I am eternally grateful for them!!! ^^ And I shall take the chance to plug in the 2nd chapter of North South East West! WAIIII! X3

Mist: …

It's a TyKa! From what I've been seeing in my reviews I seem to have a lot of TyKa fans reading this story. Heh. So I've decided NSEW is a TyKa!!! *dramatic music in background* But of course, I won't have them jumping into each others' arms and proclaiming their love for each other… That is… weird… and I won't be able to keep the characters in… So I'll still have my little hints… that get larger as the chapters pass… and then… X3 Nyahahaha… [No Yaoi. Pure Shounen-ai desu!]

But one thing's for sure! It's TyKa decided! ^__________^ *beams*

^_^ And the replies to my reviews! ^^ THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! MIGHTY WORSHIPPABLE REVIEWERS!!! *dances around them*

Feelin Glayish-sama: O_O You reviewed! One of my idols reviewed!!! Thank you very much! I'm happy to hear that you found the story interesting… ^^ *bows* I think I'm starting to become a little too addicted to TyKa now… O_o Maybe I won't be able to accept any other coupling… heh. ^^***

Kyoko-chan: Thank you Xi Ying! ^^ You're always so nice~ ^^~ I'll try and reduce the confusion in this chapter… I'm sure a bit of answers might help… or maybe not… heh. 'The more you know, the less you know' yea? X3

Losingmymind-sama: Thank you! (Heh. I'm getting repetive) Glad you found it interesting~ ^^ Here's the second chapter!

KageYuri-sama: Aww shucks… you flatter me… I think you write great stories too! ^^ Don't lose confidence in yourself! ^^!

GoDdEsS-oF-nAtUrE-sama: Here's the second chapter! ^^

PinkDevil-sama: *booooooooooow* I think I've received too much praise for my own good. Heh. ^^ You have 'sharp eyes'! YAY!!! X3 TyKa yea? *bounces*

Kiina-sama: I continued! ^^ And it's a TyKa too! YAY! X3 Hee hee hee… And yesh… you are very very far away from where I am now… Thank the internet for making places so far seem so close! ^.^~

TechnoRanma-sama: Yesh… an adventure… with romance mixed in. Yayness… X3 And it's a TyKa!!! X3 Wheeeeeeee~

Mystic-sky-dragon-sama: Eh… no, it's not a Fuushigi Yuugi fusion and crossover. Not all stories with the four gods has got something to do with FY… Honestly. ^^* This is purely Beyblade mixed with my inspirations and research on chinese mythology! ^^ And it's updated~ Thank you for your review~ ^^~ Glad you like!

Aaaand the disclaimer!!!

Mist: Next time, go pay someone else to do it for you. Heck, you don't even pay me.

Just say it, Yaaaamiiii… _

Mist: Hmph. Minted*Candi can never own Beyblade, she lacks the talent in character creating and story plot weaving and most of her stories don't end anyway, let alone go into the 3rd season…

Ok, ok… enough…! _ You take the chance to insult me EVERYTIME!

Mist: *smirks*

So anyway… Japanese names for all!

Takao – Tyson

Kai – Kai

Rei – Ray

Max – Max

Kyojyu – Kenny (He won't appear anymore, anyway… I think. O_o)

[*][+]~[+][*]

[Phase 1][Part 2][Black.White.Grey]

Never judge a person by the colour…

"Whoa… whoaaa… sloooow dooowwwnnn…" Takao flailed his arms wildly in the air at the girl who was currently bowing in worship at him, Kai watching the comedy in front of him with mild interest. "Don't bow!!!"

"I'm sorry for not being respectful…" The girl stopped bowing but continued to stay knelt down in front of the midnight-blue haired boy.

"Gah. Stand up… I see no reason in you having to be respectful to me… well, at least not this respectful…" Takao scratched the back of his head, "I don't even know your name…"

"Aoi, sir. Aoi Kutamaki," The girl gave a pert bow, while Takao – who was struggling with all the formal actions, bowed back.

"I'm Takao Kinomiya… and I'm no… what did you call me? Iseki no… what?"

"Isekai no Seijyutsukai…" Kai answered for Aoi, the answer coming out as a murmur, and he went back to silence. There was something he couldn't understand, and he was going to work it out.

Takao looked at Kai and raised an eyebrow, "Well, that explains everything…"

Aoi blinked, "I think I should explain a bit about this… at least, all I know of… We've only heard legends about you and all…"

"Legends?"

"Yes…" Aoi motioned for Takao to sit down, waiting for him to plop down on one of the cushions before she sat, "A legend handed down for a decade in Jyuukei… Not a very old legend, but we were brought up with it. Long, long ago, Mekaiina had five guardians – Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, Genbu, and a god that no one knew about. The god was angry because no one cared about what the god did, so the god saved energy and sealed Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu…" Aoi trailed off, seemingly trying to recall what came next.

"Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu…?" Takao scratched his head, "But isn't that…?"

"Our bitbeasts," Kai replied once more, and went back to keeping quiet.

"And…!" Aoi clapped her hands together, finally remembering what came next, "Before the god sealed them off… Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu cast a spell… and that spell was mainly a spell that would summon the four chosen ones of Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko and Genbu from another World – Earth – to unseal them and fight the god…"

"Ah…" Takao nodded, "So?"

Kai sweatdropped and Aoi slapped her forehead, before quickly regaining her composure, "Well… I'm not very sure… because the god doesn't like us telling that legend, all the people who knew the full version were killed… The god is cruel… The god is not fit to be a god! We all hate god, but we cannot do anything about it…"

"And so you are going to depend on these 4 chosen ones to fight your god," Kai frowned, "That's irresponsible."

"If there was a way we could fight god, a decade would not have past and Takao-sama would not have arrived." Aoi frowned and replied stubbornly, "The god is not afraid of any weapons or any magic. The god is a god. We cannot defeat the god. Only a god can fight a god – that is the rule of the universe." [1]

"… So you're trying to say that I'm supposed to kill this… god?" Takao looked at Aoi, eyes wide in shock, "I can't do that! I don't even know what I did to that Scorpion thingy!!! And why is it just me! Kai came to this world too!"

Aoi shook her head in confusion, "But only Takao-sama showed signs of a Seijyutsukai… and the chosen four would all be Seijyutsukai…"

"Hold! Hold! Hold!!!" Takao flapped his arms wildly at Aoi, who sweatdropped,

"Eh… yes?"

"I don't even know what a Seijyutsukai is…" Takao grinned sheepishly. Aoi tried not to facefault, and she continued as patiently as one could,

"Mekaiina is a world of magic and sorcery, but magic is split into different forms. [Seijyutsukai] is just a name for a type of magic. [Elementals] are people who are born with the gift to produce magic from an element itself. A [Seijyutsukai] is someone different. He or she would have elemental powers too, but it will be borrowed from one of the many holy beasts in the world. Most [Seijyutsukai] can summon their own beasts, and their strength depends very much on their holy beast, it's like… borrowing magic… in a way…"

"Aaaa…" Takao sweatdropped, "I think I get it… more or less…"

"You're trying to say Kinomiya can use magic?" Kai raised an eyebrow at Aoi, who nodded fervently.

"Impossible." Kai shrugged, "The guy shows no signs of magical talent – not even here. He may have summoned something, but honestly, do you feel his aura?"

Takao blinked, and Aoi frowned.

"It's quite true, he doesn't have an aura… but I was sure it flared just now when he defeated the scorpion beast. And you," She stopped scratching her chin in deep thought and turned to Kai, "You do know a lot."

"I know more than people think I know."

Aoi's cerulean eyes darkened, "How much do you think I know that you know?"

"Not enough," Came Kai's simple reply, his crimson eyes baring into the girl's.

Takao blinked and looked back and forth from the two in front of him.

It was like watching a tennis match.

Correction. It was like watching a tennis match without knowing what tennis was.

"Aoi Kutamaki of the Silver Wolf! You have a message from the elders!"

The voice interrupted the tense silence, Aoi stood up with a last look at Kai, then hurried over to the door.

"…Kai…?"

"What?"

"Since we're in Mekaiina or something… Is there a way to go back? To Earth?" Takao asked, visably worried, "I don't really like this place… I mean, Aoi's nice and all… but…"

"It doesn't feel right," Kai finished for him, looking around the house, "There's this feeling in the air, and I don't like it."

Takao opened his mouth to say something, but before a syllable could come out, Aoi re-entered, frowning, "News pass too fast in Jyuukei… The elders are requesting to meet you, Takao-sama."

"Me?" Takao pointed incredulously at himself, and Aoi nodded. "Just me?"

"I'm going too," Kai stood up and dusted himself off, while Aoi shook her head,

"The elders have only requested Takao-sama…"

Kai snorted, "I don't care what the elders request. I'm going. Kinomiya is not going anywhere without me here." [2]

Of course, he didn't care about Takao. It was just that Takao knew nothing of Mekaiina. Yea, that's right. He did not care. He did not care… Kai had learnt something about convincing himself. He just had to repeat something a few times and he would believe so. And now, he was trying to convince himself – again.

Takao brightened up, "Well, if Kai can't go, then I won't go too!"

Aoi looked slightly distressed, "Oh well, the elders can't blame me for going against their orders if it was the Seijyutsukai-sana who wanted it this way…"

"So Kai goes."

"Kai-san can go…" Aoi sighed in defeat, while Takao leapt to his feet and let out a whoop of joy.

Perhaps it was that nagging thought in the corner of his mind that told him this could be dangerous that had caused him to act like this.

It was just instinct.

And Takao had to admit, he had very good instinct. They tended to be right most of the time, and he wasn't going to risk anything.

=====+=====

"Welcome to the shrine, Takao-sama," An old man stepped out of the shadows of a wide throne room where Aoi had taken them.

This was the Holy Beast shrine, where most of the people of Jyuukei got to know their Holy Beasts. It was a sacred place, and it was also the place where the elders of Jyuukei lived in.

Takao bowed curtly, before asking directly, "Hey, is there any way for Kai and I to go back to Earth?"

Kai sweatdropped and shook his head, while Aoi stood next to him, wearing a slightly amused expression at the midnight-haired boy's antics – she got quite used to the boy's informality and slight rudeness, and she hoped the elders would be able to take it as lightly as she could.

"W-well… that is a hard question…" The old man stroked his long white beard in thought – seemingly not noticing Takao's rudeness, "The god of this world controls everything that goes on here – in other words, you'd probably have to talk to the god in order to go back to earth – and I doubt you will be granted permission, let alone come back alive…"

"…So?" Takao blinked slowly, absorbing information.

"The only way is to kill the god here!" The old man laughed a croaky laugh, and Takao facefaulted.

"So whether I want to help you guys or not, I will have the kill the god," He mumbled, blowing at his fringe.

"Yes, that's right, Seijyutsukai-sama," The old man laughed again, a loud appreciative laugh – Takao felt he could like this old man, given time to adapt to that laughter.

"My name is Elder Rashii, one of the three elders of Jyuukei," He nodded at Takao, then turned to Kai, "Why you are here I will not know – you don't seem to be any user of magic, you've got no aura – but since you are here, you will be here for a reason…"

Aoi cleared her throat, "But Elder Rashii! Kai-san knows a lot more than most people! Probably even more than me, I expect…"

Another voice cut her off, "But if he doesn't have an aura, what difference would that make?"

Kai growled slightly at the voice – the owner of the voice chose to drawl, and it was a mellow voice that shone with pride. Too much pride. And the aura of the owner of the voice… was strange. Kai frowned, he could not really put a finger on it, but it was strange.

"Elder Kaede," Aoi nodded at the woman that strode in, holding her head high up and her nose in the air. Elder Kaede was not old, and was probably only in her mid-twenties, she was slim, tall and held herself with elegance and royalty.

"So you are Takao…" She stopped and looked at Takao, who began to feel uncomfortable under her intense stare, "Hmmm, interesting…" She then walked over to Elder Rashii, "Are you sure about allowing outsiders in?" She stared pointedly at Kai, who glared at her. She ignored him and twirled a strand of raven-black hair around her fingers.

"If Kai had come to Mekaiina, he would be here for a reason." Elder Rashii replied, quite firmly, and Kaede frowned, clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"What Beast does Takao-sama have?" Another voice, this time a young male, cut in, and Takao literally leapt three feet in the air when the owner of the voice appeared behind him.

"We don't know… but I heard from Aoi that it is under the Water Element…" Rashii replied

"Ah… the Water element…" The guy nodded, before grinning at Takao, "The name's Raimei."

Takao nodded, while Kai frowned in a corner. Now that the throne room had more than 3 auras, he couldn't really differentiate which person did the aura emit from.

"Well, I think we ought to tell Takao-sama a bit more about his job and all…" Rashii began, but Kaede cut in,

"We ought to tell Takao-sama a bit more about what is happening and his job without outsiders listening to it."

Kai growled, and the raven-haired elder glared back.

"I think," Raimei grinned sheepishly, "It may sound stupid, but we should really find out what is Takao-sama's Seijyu… After all, so long as we can confirm his Seijyu is Seiryuu, we will know for sure that he is the legendary Seijyutsukai. There have been many cases of people just entering the world for no reason…"

Takao blinked.

Rashii nodded, "That rather makes sense. Even thought Takao-sama comes from Earth, and does show his abilities as a strong Seijyutsukai, he may not be Seiryuu's – the only water elemental beast among our four guardians, excluding the god – chosen one. And if he isn't, we should not be dragging him into this…"

Kaede shrugged and sniffed, "Whatever you guys say, so long as we aren't letting any outsiders that could pose danger to us hear anything confidential."

Kai resisted the urge to roll his eyes, how many times did that idiotic woman have to repeat the same thing for?

"Well, then…" Raimei dusted his hands and motioned to a doorway, "Would you follow me, Takao-sama…?"

"Uh… ok…" Takao nodded and thrust his hands into his pockets, following. Funny though, he remembered that he had always kept his Beyblade in his pockets[3], but now he could hardly feel it. However worried he was, he shrugged it off. He was far too confused to think about his Beyblade now, perhaps later, when things got sorted out.

Kai sighed and began to follow, only to be stopped by Kaede, "Sorry 'bout this, kid, but you aren't going to be allowed to enter."

He glared.

She glared back.

Aoi sweatdropped, "Elder Kaede really isn't that bad, she just gets a little jumpy about outiders… lately there have been cases of people infested by darkness, and they are posing as a threat for us… so…" She took the chance to explain as Kaede followed Takao and Raimei through the doorway.

Kai snorted, "What makes her so sure I'm an outsider?"

Aoi looked at Kai, "Huh?"

"Never mind," Kai shrugged it off, leaving Aoi confused.

-----+-----

Raimei led Takao into a room, followed shortly by Kaede, who shut the wooden door behind her. The room was simple, rather small, and empty, except for a circle in the middle of the room with weird symbols carved into the floor.

"Funny, Raimei, I don't remember using these type of rooms to find out what one's Seijyu was…" Kaede looked around, frowning.

Raimei shrugged, "I don't know, but this morning a Journeyman came in with the message that the rooms had changed and we were to use this room for finding out one's Seijyu."

"Hnnn…?" Kaede took it all in, and looked amused, "Well, then, shall we begin?"

"Well then, Takao-sama, would you step into the circle and follow my directions…?"

Takao obliged, stepping into the circle cautiously. Nothing really felt different.

"Okay, now, you close your eyes, and focus on nothingness. Don't think about anything," Raimei gave the directions, and Takao followed – not to much ease. Things kept popping into his mind. And just when he thought he was thinking about nothing, he started thinking about Beyblade, Kai, food, Max, Rei, Kyojyu, Dragoon and…!!!

"Focus, Takao-sama…"

Focus. Focus. Focus. He missed Tempura. Focus. Focus. Focus…

… Pudding is delicious…

Focus. FOCUS. F.O.C.U.S.

… Blank. Empty. Darkness.

Funny how everything just disappeared. There wasn't even a gradient. It just suddenly came – darkness.

And out of that darkness, he could hear something. It was only a slight echo…

"Kono yo no naka no subete no kinirou mono: raimei, kaminari yo. Ima, koko ni, Raijyuu no na wo kake, raitei no chikara wo ware no mono ni nare…!" [4]

Funny. He remembered the words to that spell vaguely… Wasn't that the spell for an attack…?

But no. Nothing really came to mind. Blank emptiness. That was all.

Then out of the blank emptiness – pain. It started like small nibbles from his toes, then slowly, it spread upwards, the pain intensifying.

What was this feeling? It felt like… electricity…

"Raimei! What do you think you are doing?!" Kaede shierked as a Thunder beast – Raijyuu - appeared, crackling with raw energy, sent bolt after bolt of lightning into the circle, striking Takao one after another.

"Kaede… this is the only way to drive Seiryuu out!" Raimei turned to his fellow elder, the usual calm humourous look in his eyes lost, driven away by a maniacal glint.

"It isn't! Raimei! What happened to you?"

"Nothing. I have always been like that," came his simple reply, his attention fully focused on his beast and Takao, "All I have to do is drive Seiryuu out, and claim the power of the Legendary Water Dragon for my own…!!!"

"You're acting stupid!" Kaede growled, muttering a few words under her breath and sending a fire ball in his direction. To her surprise, it vanished in mid-air, turning into harmless smoke as it hit Raimei.

Raimei smirked, "Do you think I could allow you to attack? There is an anti-fire spell in this room, and only strong fire attacks can really take their effects here. I know your fire beast very well… not a very cheerful one, eh? Mood swings come and go easily, often making your power vary. I've checked, your Catoshia beast just had a quarrel with you yesterday…"

"… You…" Kaede looked at Raimei, eyes widening as his speech continued, "Why…?"

"Power," A simple answer, "Working against our god isn't the wisest choice… working alongside our god is the road to success!!!"

Kaede spat, "I never expected a person like you to be infested by darkness! Slime!"

Raimei tutted at her, his amber eyes flashing, "Words don't work, Kaede. Now you can sit there quietly and watch me claim Seiryuu for myself."

Bolt after bolt of electricity hit Takao, he gritted his teeth, trying to rid his mind of the emptiness. If he could only just think. If only he could just think…

Flicker. Flicker. Flicker.

Blue light erupted from the midnight-haired boy's body, shooting upward in a bright blue pillar, and slowly, the pillar disappeared and a blue dragon materialised.

(A/N: My vocab died. O_O)

Seiryuu.

Raimei let out a maniacal laugh, "Let the beast choose it's master by itself!!!"

//I do not swear loyalty to a minion of Ragiel.//

"Minion?" Raimei fumed, his composure broken, "My dear Seiryuu, that isn't a very good word to use, even though you are a guardian of Mekaiina. You are also not permitted to call Ragiel-sama plain Ragiel."

//I choose the names I wish to call and the person by which I call them.//

"Shut up!" Raimei growled, pupils dilating, a ball of electricity forming in his hands, his Raijyuu let out a roar, and he sent the ball flying at full speed toward the blue dragon.

Flicker. Flicker. Flicker.

The blue light faded, and the ball came into contact not with the blue dragon, but with Takao, sending him crashing into one of the walls.

"Itteeeehhh…" [A way of saying "Owww" in jap] Takao groaned, he felt rather paralysed and numb, but at least – for some reason or another – his brain could think again. He rubbed his head. If he did rub his head, he certainly did not feel anything. He couldn't even stand up. "Wha…?"

"Boy. Where did Seiryuu go?"

Takao looked up, hazel eyes clouded over as he stared at Raimei – or what was once him. This person wasn't Raimei. That was what his instinct told him. And as he believed, his instinct was never wrong. "I don't know."

Amber eyes narrowed and Raimei moved backward, his Raijyuu stepped forward, "Then I may have to do it by force."

-----+-----

It was the yell that caught Kai's attention. Takao was supposed to be checking what Seijyu he had. And from what he knew, it wasn't supposed to be painful.

"What happened?" Aoi looked bewildered, "Was that Takao-sama?"

But when she turned, Kai was already gone.

"AAAA!!! MOUUUU!!!" Aoi let out a shierk of annoyance, "People from another world…!"

And it was then Aoi found out – she really knew nothing much about Kai…

-----+-----

Takao gritted his teeth, as he tried to push himself upward. He made it a point to mentally note that he would hate lightning and thunder from now on.

Well, went the annoying voice in his head, At least you've learnt that you can use your magic to make a shield.

He growled at himself, now wasn't really the time to be sarcastic. Water shields were not the best choice when fighting with a Thunder beast. At least it helped decreased the damage. Which wasn't really a great help when the damage was too big for one to handle anyway.

The shield just made the damage slightly easier to handle, but still rather big.

"SAY IT! WHERE DID YOU HIDE SEIRYUU!?"

"I said. I. Did. Not. Hide. Seiryuu." Takao said through gritted teeth. Partly because he was annoyed. And partly because he was getting a little too drained to talk in full sentences.

And of course, a drained Seijyutsukai never managed to keep a firm grip to their spells – in other words, their spells' effects would disappear…

… And the thunder beast took the chance to pounce on him and keep him on the ground with one paw. Raijyuu looked from the boy trapped beneath his paw to his master, who was currently kept busy by Kaede – who decided that if she could not use magic, she would try physical damage, and was putting her staff to good use.

Raimei smiled darkly, blocking blow by blow of Kaede's staff with his sword, though receiving some damage, he didn't really seem to be starting to tire.

Flames. That was what the door burst into. Red, crimson flames. Raimei turned from his fight, thrusting his sword at Kaede causing her to fall backwards. Both stared at the door in shock.

Kaede was supposed to be the only person who could wield fire in the shrine…

"What…!?" Raimei looked, rather stunned, "I put an anti-fire spell here! Fire spells aren't supposed to work!!!"

"Weak fire spells aren't supposed to work."

Raimei's eyes narrowed as he watched the doorway, "Who are you…?"

"Hiwatari Kai, Suzaku's chosen," Raimei did not really recognize Kai. No one really could. Because the flaming red aura around him flared up, and behind him, one could very clearly see a bright red phoenix.

Crimson eyes narrowed, a fire ball formed in his outstretched palm, "And I'd suggest you let go of Takao." [5]

-----+-----

Tsuzuku!

Awawawa… I was writing this past midnight. Told myself I just had to finish it… And I couldn't continue anymore, so I left it at that… Hope it seemed more like a cliffhanger. Heh. More or less cleared up a few mysteries in this chapter, and added a few more mysteries in this chapter. Mwahaha.

*-* Ain't Kai-sama cool? I just ruined him totally with my horrible vocab… U___U;;

And I've added more little teeny tiny hints… that for certain reasons seemed quite obvious when I went through the story. Heck, most of my reviewers wanted a TyKa anyway. Ohohohoho… ^0^

Well, hope everyone enjoyed this… O_O R&R please!!! I need them to improve!!! ^^! Comments, suggestions, compliments and constructive flames welcome! Idiotic flames will be extinguished by Takao-chan and Seiryuu – who both have somewhat damaged egos due to this chapter...

Takao: T^T Why did you make me so weak!?

Seiryuu: *nod nod*

Aheh.

So anyway, just drop an idiotic flame with no reasoning whatsoever and he'll let some steam out on them. Yep. ^^

Side notes, nonsensical stuff, and author notes:

[1] While writing this sentence, I was like going all "The heck…?"ish. I made the sentences all choppy!!! And abstract!!! And I still couldn't bear to give away the god's name!!! So it's all weird!!! *bow bow bow*

[2] XP Couldn't resist. Hee hee, Kai-sama, all protective and obsessive deshi nee~ ^^* - weirdo.

[3] Where DOES Takao keep his Beyblade? O_O I kinda forgot. X3 Ehehehe… ^^** And I kinda figured at that time, he might not have really went, "WAIT! My Beyblade is missing! Let me search for it first!!!"… Or maybe he would. O____O Oops.

[4] Wahahaha! Another dose of my infamous jap blabberings!!! This is another spell, and for you all clever observant people, note that it's just a pint different to Takao's spell. Most spells are like that… So anyway, meaning:

All the golden things in this world: thunder and lightning. Hereby, in the name of the thunder beast, I shall wield the powers of thunder and lightning.

[5] Uwa. Sorry… couldn't resist adding this too! X3 According to the japanese fansites (and the japanese versions of the story), Kai never really calls Takao Takao unless it's a… special moment? Well, this probably isn't what everyone's special moment image is, but I was thinking:

Heck, Kai's worried! Does he even CARE if Takao notices that he is calling him "Takao" and not "Kinomiya"? X3

[Chapter 3 coming up! ^^ Atashi gambaruu~]