Thanks very much to my favorite reviewers:
Starwave: J Thanks for reviewing again! I'm not very good with keeping readers in suspense w/ cliff-hangers, so I guess I did good this time, huh?
Miekkie: J Thanks very much! Love your buddies (;
Destiny's Angel: Thanks for clarifying! AND THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for giving me TALA's last name-Even better!
Ice Archer Girl: * I'm really that good? Thank you so much! * And you're absolutely right about Tyson's English last name-I remember now!
Tenshi no Hikari: Yeah, I enjoyed writing about the fans. (; Thanks for reviewing!
My Observance for the Day: BTW, I wasn't hungry when I wrote this chapter. I guess hot dogs just sort of appeal to me.
My Naïve Corner: THANK YOU SO MUCH to my wonderful reviewers who gave me the last names for Tala, Lee, Mariah, Tyson, Kai, Max, and all the Majestics! I don't mind a few more last names, but I think I've got all the ones I absolutely need. Thank you again!
Authors Note: My ending was pretty abrupt but I can't guarantee I won't cliff-hang you again. Also, screw what I said earlier. Since I can't seem, for the like of me, to figure out these characters, they'll rarely be "in-character" throughout this story, though I'll try to get the personalities as close as possible. I guess it won't matter that much as long as you like it. I've never had any problem not doing all the stereotype teen girl and boy thing, but in this chapter I'd have to make an exception. At least it's believable. Oh well. To make up for my kinda delay, cliff-hanger, and stupid exceptional stereotypes, this chapter is a bit longer than my other chapters. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Any misspellings, confused references or mixed up teammates are purely accidental and are a result of the author's new innocent fascination with the world of beyblading. Kira Ocelet, Mobekai Tart, Danika Woods, Colby Peterson and Trish ?? belong to me.
Also-I've heard that famous artists such as Renauld and DaVinci visited Aix-en-Provence, but I have no proof that DaVinci actually has a home there or that their works are featured in local art museums.
Italics are thoughts.
Bold Letters are songs.
*SecretQuill*: Do you like it?
*Tyson*: Actually, the spinach puffs aren't that bad.
*Kai*: I made those.
*SecretQuill*: I found the recipe! What do you think of the chicken, Ray?
*Ray*: Well, they're…really good.
*SecretQuill*: Would you eat them every night?
*Max*: (whispering to Kenny) I think she's over that Kaiba dude.
*Ray*: Well, I wouldn't go that far…
*Mariah*: Hiya, everyone!
*SecretQuill*: When did you get here?
*Mariah*: Just now. Duh.
*Ray*: What's up, Mariah?
*Mariah*: All the other White Tigers want Chinese food. I hate Chinese food. I heard that SecretQuill was cooking, so I picked up some hot dogs. Anyone?
*Everyone except SecretQuill*: YES!
*SecretQuill*: I can't believe you, Tyson! You're about to eat a bunch of hot dogs in the contest!
*Tyson*: Screw the contest. My stomach wants real food.
WATCH THIS!
Chapter 5: Hot Dogs and Perfume
"Ready? 3….2….1….LET IT RIP!"
The beyblades were ripped.
Max bore down hard on Lippy, who had cowardly switched to defensive mode, running away from Max's beyblade.
"How much has Lippy's homemade bit-beast improved, Emily?" Dr. Judy Mizuhara asked from the stands.
"Not by much," the auburn haired girl replied, "At least, it still pales in comparison to Max's."
Down in the main arena, Max could see the fear spread on Lippy's face as he began to tail his beyblade. The concentration in Lippy's eyes broke as Max shouted,
"DRACIEL ATTACK!"
The attack from the magnificent bit-beast came quickly-it took no effort. Lippy's beyblade gave a few more weak whirls before stopping completely in the dome.
Max walked confidently back to the waiting Bladebreakers amidst cheers from the crowd.
"See chief?" He calmly told Kenny, "I told you I could do it. I didn't even have to break a sweat."
Kenny ignored his comment and looked up as Chucky from the Bladehunters approached the dome on the other side,
"You know what? We might not even have to duel Zippy if Kai can win just as easily."
The blue-haired boy smirked evilly and clutched his Dranzer tightly. He stood up and walked slowly toward the dome,
"This'll take no time."
A.J. had no problem picking up with his commentary where he last left off.
"Well, Max and his bit-beast Draciel pretty much wiped Lippy off the mat in that match. But does his teammate, Chucky stand a chance against Kai and his all-powerful bit-beast Dranzer? Round 2 of the battle between the Bladehunters and the Bladebreakers is about to start! Get ready players!"
Chucky stared helplessly as Kai grinned at him, holding his launcher ready to strike.
"3…2…1…LET IT RIP!"
Kai was merciless. Chucky tried to outrun him just like Lippy had done, but Kai came down right on top of his blade, cutting it apart into small pieces and ending the battle quickly.
Kai picked up his blade and slowly walked back to the Bladebreakers as if nothing had happened. Chucky stared at his broken blade and looking pretty close to tears, picked up the fragmented pieces.
"Well then…" A.J. paused as he spoke overhead, "That's got to be pretty tough. Kai wins this match easily, giving the Bladebreakers their first win in this tournament. However, the Bladehunters will be given another chance to stay in the game with the Beginners." Kai returned to the bench, sat down, and crossed his arms once more,
"Told you that'd take no time."
"Way to go, Kai!" Tyson grinned.
"Very good!" Mr. Dickinson clapped his hands together, "Very good indeed."
Max turned to Chucky, who was still trying to pick up the pieces of his Beyblade.
"That was really unfair of you," he told Kai, feeling a sting of sympathy for the Bladehunter, "There's no way he'll be able to use that blade again…at least not in this tournament."
"I wasn't trying to inflict damage," Kai defended, "It was a lot weaker than I had assumed."
"Aaaah," Tyson complained as they walked backstage, "I was looking forward to battling, too."
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"They're a lot stronger than we assumed," Colby told Trish as they walked through the streets of Aix-en-Provence, "Maybe we should train a little harder."
"Really?" Trish turned, "To tell the truth, I was expecting more from the Bladebreakers. That battle was only a disappointment."
"They crushed the Bladehunters, Trish," Mobekai reminded her, "We're powerful, but not that powerful."
"Maybe you're not, but I am," she amended.
Colby's fists clenched,
"We're a team, Trish-"
"Wrong. You're a team. I'm just here cause that was the deal."
"But Tai-Ken could always-"
"Tai-Ken doesn't have any power over me," Trish snapped, "Only Boris does. I'll help you win this tournament but only because it's my reputation that's at stake. After that, you're on your own."
No one spoke for a few moments. Then Colby asked quietly,
"What is it that Boris wants so badly from the Bladebreakers?"
"He doesn't want something from the Bladebreakers. He wants someone. Just like Tai-Ken does."
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"I've never seen so many French girls in my life!" Kevin grinned, "Bonjour, Mademoiselle!"
The French maiden giggled and waved back,
"Bonjour monsieur!"
"C'mon Kevin…" Lee grabbed him by the ears, "You can flirt later. Are you done yet, Mariah?"
Mariah walked a few paces ahead of them, holding a bag at her side and devoutly scanning every shop in sight. The White Tigers were at one of the many malls in Aix-en-Provence because Mariah had insisted on some shopping,
"Wait! There's a clothes shop up here. I wanna see-"
Gary yawned quite loudly,
"I'm so tired."
"And I would still like to go see one of DaVinci's homes like we'd planned." Lee protested.
Mariah gazed longingly at the shop and then looked desperately back at the others. She'd really never liked "pretty" things-jewelry, perfume and clothes, but the tantalizing ads she'd seen in every country she'd been to for beyblade always showed the luxurious items available in the streets of France. Mariah was strongly conscious and proud of the fact that she was the only girl on the White Tigers. It was her strong commanding disposition that made her stand out from other predictable teenage girls. That is, except for the next couple of hours, when she would shop like a French girl.
"You go on ahead and see the exhibit," Mariah clutched her bag, "I'll meet you at the train station."
"We leave at eight," Lee warned.
"I'll be there," Mariah nodded furiously.
"All right then, we'll see you later."
They made their way to the opposite end of the L'Ocean mall.
Mariah turned and began trying on really expensive blouses in Roswell. It was really weird, trying on the different outfits because she was so used to her regular sleeveless white top, capris, and comfortable waist jacket. However, each member of the White Tigers was allowed a 150 currency extra budget-approximately the same cost as the countries they were in, of course. Her outfit was starting to feel tight on her and it was starting to smell…so, as she tried on some cute denim jeans, she thought why not? She could do with a little change in appearance. Just as long as it was comfortable and easy to wear in all situations. Her burst of girlish feelings weren't prompting her to go wear a miniskirt and tube top. Besides, she wasn't getting paid much for her water job in the White Tiger Village anyway. She might as well indulge while she could.
After another twenty minutes of perusing through the items, she found the perfect top-a light maroon blouse with an elastic chest band and extra long loose sleeves. It was very comfortable and in the bottom left hand corner of the shirt were three yellow flowers. But the price was much too high.
She was going to get the denim pants, but even if she just got the blouse, she wouldn't have enough for the rest of the trip. She sighed and reluctantly hung the blouse back.
"Au Revoir, Mademoiselle!" The desk clerk called.
"Au Revoir!" Mariah called.
A clock above the Evian water supply store read six thirty-seven.
"Mariah!" Mariah spun around and saw a familiar figure waving from the bench. Max, from the Bladebreakers, was eating a pretzel while four small bags rested behind the bench.
Mariah approached curiously.
"What are the odds that out of every mall in Aix-en-Provence, I end up seeing you here? This mall seems to be the current gathering ground for bladers, huh? I wouldn't be too surprised if the All Stars or the Majestics walked up to us right now."
Now that Mariah thought about it, there were a lot of bladers hanging around. It was like some sore of magnetism in the air.
"I guess a lot of people just feel like shopping, huh?" she replied.
"What've you got there?" Max saw her bag.
Mariah, a little ashamed at having been caught door shopping, pushed her bag behind her,
"Just some clothes."
Max gestured to the bags next to the bench,
"We're watching Kira and Danikas bags. You know, from the Wild Cheetahs. They're with Tyson downstairs. They heard that the annual hot dog eating contest was being held tonight and he and Kira have entered."
"We?" Mariah asked curiously, seeing only Max.
"Ray's looking for a jacket over there. Wanna sit down?"
"Actually, I really wanted to go…get some pretzels too. That looks really good." Mariah covered. She'd actually spotted a jewelry store that looked intriguing.
"We're heading to the food court when Ray gets back so we can watch the competition. You can come with us," Max offered.
"No. I really shouldn't."
"Are you sure? It won't take too long."
"No thank you."
"Hey Mariah!" Ray came up behind her, also clutching a pretzel and bag.
"Hiya Ray!" Mariah smiled.
"Are you going to come watch the competition?" He asked.
"No, I'd rather stay up here for a while," she protested.
"Oh, come on!" Max tried again, "And you can get a pretzel too."
"See?" He lifted his up, "Tasty!"
She laughed,
"I suppose I'll come for just a little while. I don't think you two'll leave me alone anyway."
"Of course not," Ray added jokingly, "We love annoying the crap out of you."
Both boys had to grab the four bags plus the pretzels in their hands and the extra bag Ray was now carrying. Mariah felt a little foolish holding only a small parcel bag.
"Let me take something, kay?"
"It's fine. We got it-" Max started, but she defiantly grabbed two bags from them.
"See?" she grinned, "That's easier, huh?"
Ray laughed,
"Yes, I guess so."
They made their way to the elevators situated in the middle of the hall.
"By the way, that was a great match today, Max!" Mariah was reminded of the battle when they passed a Beyblade shop.
"Thanks! So, where's the rest of your team right now?"
"DaVinci's house. I'm supposed to meet them at the train station later."
The lower floor of the L'Ocean mall looked mostly like a small spider-web. The four separate rows of stores all met at the main food court where Mariah, Ray, and Max made their way to the gathering crowd.
"Ray! Max! Over here!" Danika waved to them as she stood next to the platform. She grabbed the bags from them,
"Thanks so much for watching these. How's it going, Mariah? I didn't expect to see you here."
Mariah was a little taken back with her friendliness. She was so used to harsh competitive spitfires from the Wild Cheetah girl that she could barely utter her reply,
"Hi Danika."
Danika smiled briefly before updating Ray and Max on what had happened. Mariah felt too much like a stranger and wished she was either upstairs shopping or in that boring DaVinci house with the other White Tigers. She wondered why Danika and Kira weren't with the other Wild Cheetahs and why they took the liberty of hanging out with Ray and Max from the Bladebreakers, also competition at this point. But then again, to the other four, she was also competition and Ray never refused to speak with her. It was most likely just common courtesy.
A man with a pointy black beard and mustache stood in front of the crowd and pointed at the table behind him where Tyson, Kira, and another plump boy sat impatiently waiting for the queue to dig into the hot dog bowl in front of them.
"In less than a minute, these three contestants will begin eating the thirty hot dogs placed in front of them. The person with the least amount of hot dogs left after a minute's up will take home 10,000 francs. Are you guys hungry?"
Tyson nodded vigorously. Kira could only stare covetously at the hot dogs and the plump boy, tagged as "André" held the bowl hungrily, a bit of drool running down his chin. Mariah raised an eyebrow,
"As hungry as Kira and Tyson might be, that boy doesn't look like he's had a decent meal in years."
"He's the defending champ," Danika explained.
Max frowned at André's weight,
"He looks pretty well fed to me."
"I meant he looks extremely hungry," Mariah explained, "I'll be back."
"Hurry," Ray added.
She made her way to the pretzel stand. She really didn't want to waste her money on food, but she couldn't very well tell Ray and Max that.
"Salt only, please," she turned back hastily. The competition had already started. A round timer clicked the minutes away. Tyson shoved hot dog after hot dog furiously into his mouth, but he paled in comparison to André who had his head stuffed into the bowl like a dog. She was mildly surprised that Kira was stuffing two to three dogs in her mouth at a time.
"Eight francs, Mademoiselle."
The Attendant handed her the pretzel.
"C'mon, Mariah, you're missing it!"
Ray suddenly appeared at her side and grasped her arm.
"Eight francs," the man insisted.
"I have to-" Mariah began.
"Here," Ray gave the man eight francs and pushed her forward, "You'll miss all of it."
"I could've paid for that," she insisted, once they'd reached the platform. She made to hand him the eight francs she was intending to use, but her pushed her hand back and said,
"It's all right. I really don't mind."
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"Good luck!" Kira winked at Tyson. He gave her a thumbs up,
"Same to you too. Don't enjoy the meal."
"I won't." she laughed.
"On your appetites," the announcer joked, "Prepare your stomach…3…2…1…EAT!"
Tyson stuffed a bunch of hot dogs in his mouth. André dunked his head into the bowl here he began to rip the hot dogs apart.
Kira planted two to three hot dogs in her mouth and prepared herself with three more while she chewed.
The clock began to tick even more furiously.
"That a girl, Kira!" Danika grinned.
"C'mon Tyson!" He could hear Max yell, "You can eat faster than that!"
He picked up the speed and tastefully cut two hot dogs in half before stuffing them in his mouth. Kira got down lower and didn't waste time before stuffing three more into her mouth only seconds after she'd stuffed her face.
Meanwhile, "André" was starting to look a little green.
"Ten more seconds…" the announcer warned.
"C'mon Tyson!" Ray yelled this time.
Tyson courageously grabbed the bowl and began dumping the hot dogs in his mouth,
"That's it!" Max laughed over the crowd.
Tyson's name was soon being chanted as he dumped them down his mouth. Kira stared at him out of the corner of her eyes. The intervals between her hot dog stuffing slowed and even André looked up for a glance at Tyson.
"Time!" The announcer yelled and for Tyson's sake, "Bowls down!"
Tyson looked from his bowl to Kira's to André's. The announcer went through all of them, counted the hot dogs and finally stepped up to announce the winner.
10,000 francs is a lot of money…Tyson thought.
"In third place is Kira Ocelet from Panaji, India with only 15 hot dogs left."
A bunch of cheers erupted. Danika whistled and Ray and Max yelled encouraging words as well.
Tyson held his breath,
"And in second place with eleven hot dogs… André Miller, from Paris. That means, with only nine hot dogs left, that Tyson Granger from…"
Tyson could hardly hear what was happening as the crowd yelled and clapped for him. Ray , Max, and Danika were grinning and shouting from the side and even next to him, Kira was clapping as well,
"Good job!"
As the 10,000 francs were dumped in front of him, he grinned and suppressed a burp. Now that had been a well-deserved meal.
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"That was great Tyson!"
"Good job!"
"You ate pretty fast yourself, Kira! I had no idea…"
Mariah met and congratulated Tyson and Kira after they had all regrouped. She was sure she was having a lot more fun than Lee, Gary and Kevin would be having.
"We really need to be going," Danika interrupted painfully, glancing at her wristwatch, "We're heading to Switzerland tonight so we can get in some more practice before we watch your match tomorrow."
"We're going tonight too!" Mariah added, grateful to contribute to the conversation.
"So are we," Tyson nodded, "Later tonight-we're taking the late train out of here."
"I guess we'll see you around then!"
Kira and Danika waved as they traced their way back through the mall,
"Good luck!"
"Let's go see the art museum," Max suggested after they roamed the mall for a few minutes, "I hear there are works from Renauld and Picasso there."
"That sounds like something Kenny would say," Tyson moaned.
"Maybe we'll see him there," Ray suggested.
Max shook his head,
"Nah, he's with Kai in the park watching the Beyblade battles to get data."
"Let's go there then," Ray glanced at the rest of the mall, "We have to regroup with the others anyway. Have a nice night, Mariah."
"Bye!" she waved and finally watched as they too disappeared in the crowd.
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Seven o'clock rolled around and Lee, Gary, and Kevin walked out of an aging building surrounded by brick gates.
"That was…" Lee, who had wanted to see the exhibit in the first place, was actually at a loss for words, "Extremely boring."
"At least we know more about a famous artist," Gary contributed positively.
"I know the village leaders had said we could get out and see the world a little more before we entered the Russian World Tournament two years ago, but honestly, some of this world could do to remain hidden." Kevin yawned.
"We better go get our stuff," Lee looked up at the sky, "We're supposed to meet Mariah in an hour."
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"Summer Breeze," Mariah read curiously off the perfume bottle. She accidentally sprayed herself in the nose,
"Aaaagh!"
She wiped her face quickly and dropped the perfume bottle.
"Maybe not…"
She was perusing through a nearby perfume shop after deciding that the items in the jewelry shop were much too expensive.
"Wet rosebuds," she read off a label on the brand Tropical Flowers bottle.
"Mariah?!"
She spun around and stared as Emily, from the All Stars, approached with a bottle of lotion in her left hand. At any other time, she'd have laughed, remembering Max's earlier statement: I wouldn't be too surprised if the All Stars or the Majestics walked up to us right now.
Emily gaped at the fact that she was seeing Mariah in a perfume shop,
"I didn't know you were into perfume."
Mariah pushed the perfume out of sight, slightly flushed,
"I'm not. And I didn't know you used lotion."
Emily looked down at the bottle in her hands,
"I happen to find it very relaxing. Not like you'd know anything though."
Mariah's fists clenched,
"Oh, go shove off and buy your relaxing gel!"
Emily smirked and walked away to another shelf. Mariah tried focusing once again on the perfumes in front of her. She couldn't decide whether she wanted wet rosebuds or wild daffodils. She bit her lip and after a few minutes of watching Emily look through different lotions, finally walked up to her,
"Could I get your opinion since you seem to know so much about this stuff?"
Emily brusquely tried on both perfumes before quickly deducting,
"Wet rosebuds. I'd never tire of it."
"Thanks," Mariah brightened and hoping to return the favor, pointed out one of the lotions in Emily's hand, "Oh, I like Sweet Pea. It smells good."
Emily forgot quickly that she was supposed to ignore Mariah and asked,
"Really? I kind of liked this citrus and ginseng."
"Can I try?" Mariah asked curiously.
"Sure!" Emily sprayed some on her elbow.
Mariah sniffed it,
"Oh yeah! I like that much better. I think it fits you better anyway."
Emily smiled,
"Thank you. Have you checked out yet?"
"No, I'm about to do it now,"
As they waited for the clerk to bag their items, Mariah turned,
"Hey Emily? Could you…not mention this to anyone?"
"What? Perfume shopping? Of course."
"Thanks!"
The mall was a lot more crowded when they walked out of the store because it was getting darker outside.
"So, where are the rest of the All Stars?"
"Judy's at some art exhibits, Michael's touring the streets and Eddy and Steve are at our hotel."
"You're staying overnight?" Mariah asked.
"Oh yeah!" Emily grinned, "So, where's the rest of the White Tigers?"
"Touring DaVinci's home."
Emily frowned,
"I thought that place closed at seven."
Mariah gasped. The time!
She glanced at the Evian clock.
"Seven forty! The train leaves at eight!" Mariah began to panic.
"It takes half-an-hour to get to the station!" Emily exclaimed.
"I have to go-I'll see you later!" Mariah turned.
"Wait!" Emily grabbed Mariah's shoulder, "Before you go, I want to tell you-I'm really sorry."
Mariah stared,
"For what?"
"For misjudging you. I thought you were pretty spoiled and snobby…but you're not."
Mariah grinned, "I guess we were both wrong. I thought you were a little miss-know-it-all. Could we start over again? As friends?"
"Anytime," Emily grinned back, then, glancing again at the clock, pushed Mariah forward, "Goodness, you better get going!"
"Bye!" Mariah called as she began to sprint down the mall.
"Good luck!" Emily yelled.
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"Where is she?"
"Monsieurs, we need you to take a seat immediately!" The only French engineer who spoke English approached them, "There are others waiting!"
"We can't!" Kevin exclaimed, "We're waiting for someone still! You have to wait!"
The engineer frowned,
"If the seat is not occupied in five minutes, we will have to give it up to another passenger. There are lots of men and women on standby."
"You can't do that!" Lee protested, "We're Beybladers-we had them reserved in advance."
The engineer shook his head,
"I'm sorry."
Kevin heavily dropped his luggage,
"Shoot. What are we gonna do now?"
"Wait and hope Mariah shows up in five minutes." Lee watched the barriers anxiously.
"And if she doesn't?"
"We'll have to hope she can get alternate transportation."
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Final Note: Yay! I had oodles of fun writing this chapter. I will have lots of chapters like this one: many "in-betweens" in the tournament. Hope you liked it just as much-please read and review!
