Thank yous and hugs go to:

Midnight Insanity: Thanks for the two lovely reviews; you came from beyblade baddies, right? ;) I'm so glad you like the story and Albina- I hope this chapter answers your question! XD

AutumnAki: Thank you for continuing to review, and yes you did inspire me to create Albina! So if it wasn't for you I would never have wrote this story- you get the biggest hug of all!

X ShadowWolf X2: I'm so grateful to you for staying with the story and reviewing every chapter- thank you so much, you've really kept me motivated!

Tama: Thank you for leaving another nice, long review! Yes I guess it is quite funny to imagine Boris talking all nicey-nice like that, but he'd never act like that to anyone else. Yay, Tala 4 Albina!!!

Drago-Kai: Thanks so much for reviewing, and I think you might be right! ;) I hope you keep reading!

Disclaimer: I own my OC Albina but not beyblade. And I can't write funny disclaimers so I'm afraid they'll always be boring like this one.

Chapter 6 - Hiwatari

The next day, the team was taken out of the abbey for the first time in their lives to go to Voltaire's mansion. Albina sat alone at the front of the bus and gazed out of the window, amazed at the sight of the trees and small houses whizzing past in blurs. It was weird just being outside in daylight again. Tala sat across from her and two seats back, his eyes darting anxiously around the walls, every now and then coming to rest on the purple triangle under Albina's right eye. The other 2 sat nearer the back. The tension was so high that they could all feel it mounting on their shoulders and pressing their heads into their necks. All of a sudden the bus came to a grinding halt and they stepped out, squinting their eyes in the bright sunlight; then they were escorted up to Voltaire's office where they awaited, in a line for his arrival.

Pounding, heavy footsteps.

A large, elderly man stepped into the room, his broad shoulders enrobed with a purple, velvet shawl over a dark, suit like outfit.
"So, this is your amazing team, Boris?" His voice boomed, rattling the chandelier. "A weak looking lot, I must say..." His smirk disappeared when he laid his eyes on Albina, whose small, slight physique had been hidden behind Spencer's before. When his eyes rested on the purple triangle under her eye, his strong-featured face drained white, and his pupils shrank in shock. The team looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to breathe a word. Albina simply stood and stared at him, frozen solid. He eventually gathered himself back and stood up straight, retaining his original pose.
"This is the famous Albina, I presume?"
"Yes, your honour. Before you discount her, I'd like for you to see her technique."
"For a moment there, I thought.." The impending man furrowed his brow and looked at her again, then turned to Boris.
"Didn't you say her technique was reminiscent of Kai's?" Boris nodded. "Show me, girl."

Taken aback, a blade span at her out of nowhere and she launched her own from its gun-shaped launcher in response. It moved as a blur and smashed into the opposing blade, shattering it. A blanket of silence lay over the room as everyone waited for what would happen next.

"My girl- I have reason to believe that you are a Hiwatari."
Again, wide eyes and blank, confused faces, and the silence stretched out longer, Tala looking at Albina with an expression of mixed incredulity and revulsion. Boris merely nodded and muttered "Ah." whilst Bryan and Spencer stood wondering what he'd just said. Without warning, Voltaire broke the silence with an explanation.

"I thought that this may be the case when Boris first told me about you, but until now I couldn't believe that it could be true. Let me explain." He began to pace the room, stroking his bearded chin thoughtfully as he spoke. "A few years after Kai was born to my daughter, I found out that she was pregnant with another baby- a girl. But I had no interest in a granddaughter- I thought that a girl would be too weak to carry out my plans, and so I ordered the baby to be killed." Tala was still staring at Albina, now with a strange expression of mixed disbelief and understanding. "My daughter told me that she'd had an abortion. Now," He continued, frowning, "I see that this was not the case. Tell me how you got your name, child."
"Um, it was sown inside my clothes..." Albina could hardly speak for shock.
"And where did you grow up? Why did you come to the Abbey?"
"I lived on a street corner- I can't remember any earlier. I came to the abbey because, because..." Painful memories of the first time she saw Tala came rushing back, and soon his innocent smiles and kind words flooded her mind. The feel of his soft skin brushing her cheek, his inquisitive finger running along her scar... "Tala" she whispered, unconsciously. She was broken out of her daydream by Bryan's laughter and Boris's shouting. Voltaire shouted for silence and all noise in the room ceased to exist. He continued the interrogation, ignoring what she had just said. Her face burning, Albina turned her head as much as she dared until she could see Tala- he was blushing too, looking embarrassed and annoyed.

"It seems to me, that my daughter didn't have the heart to kill you and instead abandoned you on the street. A truly foolish act, to be sure. The name she gave you was completely unknown to me. Obviously, Petrova originates from your father's name." At the word 'Father' Albina realized with a jump that she had a mother and a father, and immediately she began to imagine what they looked like. "But you have risen above all expectations, Albina, and I now accept you as my granddaughter. From now on, you will be Albina Hiwatari." She remembered that she also had an evil grandfather and came plummeting back to earth.

"Your Honour, if I may interrupt- it is a pleasure to know of Albina's roots to be sure, but do you approve of the team?" At this, Voltaire broke into terrifying laughter, which shook the walls and ceiling.
"Well," He began, once he'd finished laughing, "We can't have a girl on the team, can we?" The second bombshell of the morning dropped. Albina felt like she'd been physically winded.
"What?" Boris, Albina and Tala all exclaimed in unison.
"The team will be called the "Demolition BOYS". Boris, I never meant for her to be in the team-"
"But you've seen how good she is! She could win this for us!"
"We don't need her- we will need her later on, but not for this tournament." Albina couldn't believe her ears- this whole day seemed like an unbelievable dream; she felt her whole world crashing down around her. "I have another plan."
"She's our team captain!" Tala unexpectedly cried, "We've already planned it all out..." He faltered and trailed off under Voltaire's intense glare.
"Tala, you should be pleased to know that I am now appointing YOU team captain. Boris, is there anyone who could fill Albina's place temporarily?"
"W-well, there is Ian, but-"
"He will do. We may not even need him, if my plan goes accordingly"
"Your honour? May I ask what this plan is?"
"My grandson is competing in this tournament, as team captain of 'The Blade breakers". I plan to entice him back into the Abbey, where you will trap and imprison him. Knowing Kai, he would willingly come back to us if we promised him the ultimate power of Black Dranzer." Black Dranzer? What was that, a bit beast? The team was full of blank faces.
"With all respect, your honour, you must remember what happened last time?"
"Indeed I do. But I believe that this time around, he will be able to control it perfectly."
"Very well- Bryan, Spencer, Tala, Albina- we shall take our leave." Albina wanted to protest, but for some reason she couldn't bring the right words to mind or summon the sounds to her throat. The speechless party left, aghast. Tala, however, after pushing his shock and shameful pity for Albina out of his mind, was realizing his dream. He was team captain- finally, he was the best!

Albina was looking out of the bus window again, trying to calm and sort her thoughts. They were so scrambled that she felt as if she'd never be able to focus on just beyblading again. Feelings of hope at the mention of parents mingled with anger at not being allowed in the team, and these prominent thoughts were tangled up with her fear of what Voltaire was to use her for, incredulity at losing her beloved last name, sadness over her realized lost love with Tala and excitement over finally getting to meet her brother- her BROTHER! - Kai. Her life had just been changed forever- but was it for better or for worse?


So there you are, I know that some of you already guessed, but that's good, because I meant for there to be clues! :D Though maybe it was a little too predictable...
I was worried about this chapter because it's mostly talking, and needed to establish information- I hope that it fits with the rest of the story. Please review!