Chapter 1:
Invitation from Team Demangel
Marina Obayashi. He hadn't seen her since he was leader of the Blade Sharks. And now here she was, standing right in front of him, telling him that she'd been all over the place tracking him and the Bladebreakers, and had become good friends with the Saint Shields and other Beybladers along the way, including Mariah of the White Tigers, and Salima of the Psychics. She had watched their battles against the All Stars, the Majestics, and Tala, and, honestly, Kai was at a bit of a loss.
Her blue eyes glittered. "Did you miss me, Kai?" What kind of question was that? She had beat him that day, and then vanished. He had forgotten about her once he joined Tyson and friends, and then she pops up, out of nowhere, trying to convince him to get the Bladebreakers to face her team, the Demangels.
"I accept!"
"Shut UP, Tyson!"
"Who asked you, Hilary?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing!"
Marina leaned a bit to her right, peering around Kai as Tyson and Hilary broke into a quarrel, Rei and Max both trying not to get too involved and Kenny trying to break them up. Kai closed his eyes, and Marina giggled. "So, what do you say, Kai? It seems the 'World Champion' is all too eager. But it's up to the Captain..."
Kai's eyes snapped open, their gazes meeting in a stony stare. A smirk tugged at the edge of Marina's mouth. She had stared into his icy eyes before.
"You've got all the information written down?" he said finally.
Marina grinned, handing him a white envelope. "It's all there...and my cell- phone number, too, incase you've got any questions..." she brushed her raven hair from her eyes, her long bangs having fallen out of her ponytail. She waved to Tyson who had finally stopped bickering with Hilary, and nodded to Rei, Max, and Kenny, then looked back to Kai, smiling faintly. "I'll see you in America." She then turned and exited Mr. Dickenson's office, down to where three other girls waited for her, each with a hood up so as to veil their identities until the battle.
Mr. Dickenson, who had remained silent throughout the whole discussion, finally cleared his throat and stood. "Well, Kai, open up the envelope and see what is says."
Kai did so, reading the information on the pale pink piece of paper. They all were burning with excitement, although only Tyson was unable to keep this feeling to himself.
"Where is it? Where is it, Kai? What does it say? It's in America??!"
"Let the guy read!" Hilary snapped. But not even Hilary could dampen Tyson's spirits now. He was interested in battling anyone who knew he had beaten Tala, the World Champ...she had even called him the 'World Champion' and watched his battles, which made him all the more eager.
"It's in Washington." Kai said finally, handing the invitation to Rei who scanned it over fleetingly, Max reading over his shoulder, and Hilary reading over the other.
"Redmond, Washington..." Rei said as Tyson wrenched the letter from his hands to read it himself.
"Alright! We're going to the U.S.A.!" he declared with a beam.
"I think we should take some more time to think about this." Max said uncertainly, looking at the letter again. "The invitation says our plane leaves next Thursday. That's five days from now. They'll meet us there, they say, at the entrance...hey, Kai, are the tickets in the envelope?"
Kai opened the envelope again, pulling out six tickets. "Wow, she really does know a lot about us...they've bought tickets for Hilary and Kenny, as well." Rei said, taking the tickets from Kai and reading them over. "The plane leaves at five o'clock...so we'll reach Seattle, Washington somewhere in the afternoon...that's a long flight."
Tyson shrugged. "Who cares?" Hilary rolled her eyes.
Mr. Dickenson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Kai, you know this Marina?" the room fell silent, and all eyes rested on Kai.
Kai had his arms crossed and had watched the others in silence. "Yeah, I knew her." He said flatly. Max frowned.
"Can't you tell us more than that?"
Kai sighed. He really didn't want to get into a history lesson. But, looking at the expectant looks on his teammates' faces, he decided it really couldn't hurt. "We met just before I took on Tyson for the first time, while I was still with the Blade Sharks." He said just as impersonally as always. "She beat everyone I threw at her, so finally I just decided to see what she could do."
"And you beat her no problem, right?" Tyson said, too excited about going to America to really care about how Kai and this Marina chick had met. Rei, Max, Hilary, Kenny, and Mr. Dickenson all looked at Kai, waiting for an answer. But Kai said no more.
"Come on, we can head back to my place." Tyson said, taking the invitation and the tickets and stuffing them back into the envelope, tucking it in his pocket. "Thanks for calling us in, Mr. Dickenson...we're going to America!" With that, Tyson walked out of the office, his teammates following with rolls of their eyes, heading back to Tyson's place to start their training, as it seemed no matter how much they talked the matter over, Tyson was going to America. And the least they could do was come along with him and make sure he didn't get into trouble. Well, lots of trouble, at least.
- -- - -- -
"If there's no such thing as perfect, then why practice?" Tyson grumbled as his blade spun about before him, colliding with Kai's blade and bouncing back off again, the two tops circling each other at high speeds.
"Because the Demangels are gonna be as close to perfect as you can get, if they're as good as they think they are." Kenny said, checking the speeds of the two blades on his laptop.
"You've got that right," Dizzi replied from inside his laptop. Tyson sighed as their battle ended in a draw, their blades returning to their hands.
"We're the best bladers there are, Chief!"
"How can you be so sure? You've never battled them before!" Hilary protested.
"Well, Kai battled Marina." Tyson replied arrogantly.
"Yeah, and lost." Tyson and Hilary both froze, turning to stare at Dizzi. "Whoops...maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud."
"Dizzi and I have been searching the net for information on the Demangels." Kenny explained as Tyson continued to stare.
Kai remained silent, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
"It turns out that they've won quite a few tournaments here and there, in fact they've never lost a battle before. I don't think this is going to be as easy a win as you think, Tyson." Kenny said, typing a bit more on the laptop.
Tyson, for once, was silent. His arms were crossed as Kai's were, and for one he was thinking more than speaking.
"Wow!" Kenny said, looking at something on his laptop screen.
"What is it, Chief?" Tyson said, jolted out of his musings.
"It says here that Marina trained with the Majestics, 'Gladiator of Glasgow' Johnny McGregor and Enrique in particular, until a week before we battled against them." Kenny said.
"So she's friends with loads of Beybladers that are tops from their countries." Hilary said. "And she's friends with Mariah, and with Salima. Not to mention she's pals with the Saint Shields. Basically, she's gotten close to everyone we've had trouble battling before." She hadn't been with the Bladebreakers until just recently, just before meeting the Saint Shields and the Psychics, but had researched a bit on some of the bladers the Bladebreakers had faced, just to get more involved. "And we don't even know if she's the best on her team, or the captain, even."
"Yeah?" Tyson said indignantly. "Well, we also don't know if she's still good enough to beat Kai like she did before."
"I have to agree with Tyson on this one." Rei said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, we've all come really far, and we've all trained really hard and we've become a lot stronger than we used to be. Sure, she may have trained with some of the top bladers, but that doesn't mean she's as good as they are..."
"Yeah, I don't remember her ever saying that she was the best in America." Tyson said, his spirits rising again.
Kai opened his eyes, watching his teammates in silence. He, himself, was having doubts, but was almost as excited about going to America and battling the Demangels as Tyson was. "That settles it, then." He said. The others turned to look at him, grinning. A smirk twitched on Kai's lips, and his eyes gleamed. "We're going to America."
Invitation from Team Demangel
Marina Obayashi. He hadn't seen her since he was leader of the Blade Sharks. And now here she was, standing right in front of him, telling him that she'd been all over the place tracking him and the Bladebreakers, and had become good friends with the Saint Shields and other Beybladers along the way, including Mariah of the White Tigers, and Salima of the Psychics. She had watched their battles against the All Stars, the Majestics, and Tala, and, honestly, Kai was at a bit of a loss.
Her blue eyes glittered. "Did you miss me, Kai?" What kind of question was that? She had beat him that day, and then vanished. He had forgotten about her once he joined Tyson and friends, and then she pops up, out of nowhere, trying to convince him to get the Bladebreakers to face her team, the Demangels.
"I accept!"
"Shut UP, Tyson!"
"Who asked you, Hilary?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing!"
Marina leaned a bit to her right, peering around Kai as Tyson and Hilary broke into a quarrel, Rei and Max both trying not to get too involved and Kenny trying to break them up. Kai closed his eyes, and Marina giggled. "So, what do you say, Kai? It seems the 'World Champion' is all too eager. But it's up to the Captain..."
Kai's eyes snapped open, their gazes meeting in a stony stare. A smirk tugged at the edge of Marina's mouth. She had stared into his icy eyes before.
"You've got all the information written down?" he said finally.
Marina grinned, handing him a white envelope. "It's all there...and my cell- phone number, too, incase you've got any questions..." she brushed her raven hair from her eyes, her long bangs having fallen out of her ponytail. She waved to Tyson who had finally stopped bickering with Hilary, and nodded to Rei, Max, and Kenny, then looked back to Kai, smiling faintly. "I'll see you in America." She then turned and exited Mr. Dickenson's office, down to where three other girls waited for her, each with a hood up so as to veil their identities until the battle.
Mr. Dickenson, who had remained silent throughout the whole discussion, finally cleared his throat and stood. "Well, Kai, open up the envelope and see what is says."
Kai did so, reading the information on the pale pink piece of paper. They all were burning with excitement, although only Tyson was unable to keep this feeling to himself.
"Where is it? Where is it, Kai? What does it say? It's in America??!"
"Let the guy read!" Hilary snapped. But not even Hilary could dampen Tyson's spirits now. He was interested in battling anyone who knew he had beaten Tala, the World Champ...she had even called him the 'World Champion' and watched his battles, which made him all the more eager.
"It's in Washington." Kai said finally, handing the invitation to Rei who scanned it over fleetingly, Max reading over his shoulder, and Hilary reading over the other.
"Redmond, Washington..." Rei said as Tyson wrenched the letter from his hands to read it himself.
"Alright! We're going to the U.S.A.!" he declared with a beam.
"I think we should take some more time to think about this." Max said uncertainly, looking at the letter again. "The invitation says our plane leaves next Thursday. That's five days from now. They'll meet us there, they say, at the entrance...hey, Kai, are the tickets in the envelope?"
Kai opened the envelope again, pulling out six tickets. "Wow, she really does know a lot about us...they've bought tickets for Hilary and Kenny, as well." Rei said, taking the tickets from Kai and reading them over. "The plane leaves at five o'clock...so we'll reach Seattle, Washington somewhere in the afternoon...that's a long flight."
Tyson shrugged. "Who cares?" Hilary rolled her eyes.
Mr. Dickenson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Kai, you know this Marina?" the room fell silent, and all eyes rested on Kai.
Kai had his arms crossed and had watched the others in silence. "Yeah, I knew her." He said flatly. Max frowned.
"Can't you tell us more than that?"
Kai sighed. He really didn't want to get into a history lesson. But, looking at the expectant looks on his teammates' faces, he decided it really couldn't hurt. "We met just before I took on Tyson for the first time, while I was still with the Blade Sharks." He said just as impersonally as always. "She beat everyone I threw at her, so finally I just decided to see what she could do."
"And you beat her no problem, right?" Tyson said, too excited about going to America to really care about how Kai and this Marina chick had met. Rei, Max, Hilary, Kenny, and Mr. Dickenson all looked at Kai, waiting for an answer. But Kai said no more.
"Come on, we can head back to my place." Tyson said, taking the invitation and the tickets and stuffing them back into the envelope, tucking it in his pocket. "Thanks for calling us in, Mr. Dickenson...we're going to America!" With that, Tyson walked out of the office, his teammates following with rolls of their eyes, heading back to Tyson's place to start their training, as it seemed no matter how much they talked the matter over, Tyson was going to America. And the least they could do was come along with him and make sure he didn't get into trouble. Well, lots of trouble, at least.
- -- - -- -
"If there's no such thing as perfect, then why practice?" Tyson grumbled as his blade spun about before him, colliding with Kai's blade and bouncing back off again, the two tops circling each other at high speeds.
"Because the Demangels are gonna be as close to perfect as you can get, if they're as good as they think they are." Kenny said, checking the speeds of the two blades on his laptop.
"You've got that right," Dizzi replied from inside his laptop. Tyson sighed as their battle ended in a draw, their blades returning to their hands.
"We're the best bladers there are, Chief!"
"How can you be so sure? You've never battled them before!" Hilary protested.
"Well, Kai battled Marina." Tyson replied arrogantly.
"Yeah, and lost." Tyson and Hilary both froze, turning to stare at Dizzi. "Whoops...maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud."
"Dizzi and I have been searching the net for information on the Demangels." Kenny explained as Tyson continued to stare.
Kai remained silent, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
"It turns out that they've won quite a few tournaments here and there, in fact they've never lost a battle before. I don't think this is going to be as easy a win as you think, Tyson." Kenny said, typing a bit more on the laptop.
Tyson, for once, was silent. His arms were crossed as Kai's were, and for one he was thinking more than speaking.
"Wow!" Kenny said, looking at something on his laptop screen.
"What is it, Chief?" Tyson said, jolted out of his musings.
"It says here that Marina trained with the Majestics, 'Gladiator of Glasgow' Johnny McGregor and Enrique in particular, until a week before we battled against them." Kenny said.
"So she's friends with loads of Beybladers that are tops from their countries." Hilary said. "And she's friends with Mariah, and with Salima. Not to mention she's pals with the Saint Shields. Basically, she's gotten close to everyone we've had trouble battling before." She hadn't been with the Bladebreakers until just recently, just before meeting the Saint Shields and the Psychics, but had researched a bit on some of the bladers the Bladebreakers had faced, just to get more involved. "And we don't even know if she's the best on her team, or the captain, even."
"Yeah?" Tyson said indignantly. "Well, we also don't know if she's still good enough to beat Kai like she did before."
"I have to agree with Tyson on this one." Rei said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, we've all come really far, and we've all trained really hard and we've become a lot stronger than we used to be. Sure, she may have trained with some of the top bladers, but that doesn't mean she's as good as they are..."
"Yeah, I don't remember her ever saying that she was the best in America." Tyson said, his spirits rising again.
Kai opened his eyes, watching his teammates in silence. He, himself, was having doubts, but was almost as excited about going to America and battling the Demangels as Tyson was. "That settles it, then." He said. The others turned to look at him, grinning. A smirk twitched on Kai's lips, and his eyes gleamed. "We're going to America."