Hello! NTM here again! I really wish I owned Beyblade, but I don't. . .
Anyways, Let's continue with the story!
Ch 2: The Tiger
"RAAAAAAAAAAY! WAKE UP!"
A pink cat girl shook a raven-haired boy.
"Mariah. . .It's too early. . ."he grumbled.
"C'mon sleepyhead!" she said, with her usual perkiness. "It's breakfast time silly!"
The neko-jin yawned and sat up.
"Alright Mariah. . ." he said. "I'm awake. . .You can go now, I'll be there in a minute. . ."
Mariah happily ran out of his room.
Geez. . . he thought. Why does she have to wake me up at this time EVERY morning?
He stepped out of bed, and got dressed. He then fixed his hair and tied a red bandana with a yin-yang symbol on his forehead to keep his bangs out of his face.
"RAAAAAY. . ." whined Mariah. "COME OOOOOOON!"
Ray laughed.
"I'm coming Mariah, don't worry about it!"
He yawned and stretched and stepped out of his room into the common sight of his village. White Tiger Village was full of more excitement than usual, on account of the BBA Tournament. His team White Tiger X was determined to take home the gold this time.
"There you are. . .I wondered if you'd ever wake up!"
He turned around to see his friend and Team partner Lee. Lee and Ray were close, and Mariah was Lee's brother.
"Hey Lee!" he said. "What's up?"
Lee smiled.
"Not much Ray. . .except that Mariah was having a panic attack cause you wouldn't get up!"
"Mariah. . .she's silly. . ."
"Well, she's my little sister. . ."
They laughed.
"So Ray," said Lee. "You must have had a good dream last night!"
"Why do you think that?"
"Mariah said that you were purring pretty loud, because she could hear you next door."
"I was purring?"
Ray's face was red with embarrassment.
"Well," he said. "I am a neko-jin. . ."
Lee laughed out loud.
"Yeah that's true. . .so was it the same dream?"
"Yeah. . .The one with that creepy voice. . .and the really pretty girl. . ."
"So that's why you were purring. . ."
"Lee! Cut it out!"
"Make me Raymond!"
"You asked for it!"
They began fighting each other, like two kittens romping around in the grass. Ray and Lee pounced at each other until they were both on the grass, laughing.
"Still. . .can't. . .catch me. . .Ray!"
"You just. . .wait. . .Lee. . .someday. . .I'll get you. . ."
"Looks like you two were having a little catfight. . ."
A pair of golden-colored eyes, grey fox ears, and a tail looked at them.
"Having fun?" she said.
Lee and Ray sat up.
"Hey Rika. . ." they said.
Rika Kitsune smiled and swished her tail. Her blue hair was tied back in a hairstyle similar to Mariah's.
"I was wondering what you were doing. . ." she said. "We are still waiting for you two, and you know the rules. . .no one eats until everyone's at the table. . .so can you please play some other time and come to breakfast? Kevin is starting to complain. . ."
Lee laughed.
"Sorry about that Rika. . .I'll get to breakfast. . .coming Ray?"
Ray shook his head.
"Nah, I'm not that hungry. . .you guys go ahead and eat without me. . ."
"You going to try that again? Ever since that day Mystel came you've been determined to get the fruit at the top of the mountain. . ."
"I won't give up until I make it to the top. . ."
"Sheesh! You are so stubborn Ray! C'mon Rika!"
They ran off towards the others.
Ray smiled, and headed for the cliff, where the fruit was.
I will. . .someday. . .until then I won't give up! he thought.
"LET IT RIP!"
"What the?"
His eyes caught sight of a white Beyblade heading up the side of the cliff.
"Come on! Keep going Shinaru!"
"Wha?"
He saw a girl with brown hair and blue eyes at the foot of the cliff. Her eyes affixed on the Beyblade. Ray was astonished at this girl standing so close to the cliff.
Who is this girl? Doesn't she know about the danger?
The Beyblade began to spin out of control.
"Oh no!" she said. "Shinaru! Stay on course, don't give up now!"
The Beyblade stopped spinning, and got caught on a short ledge.
"Oh great. . ." she said. "Now I've got to go get it. . ."
She began to climb the cliff, trying to reach her Beyblade.
Ray was now even more astonished at the girl.
What is she thinking? he thought. She'll fall if she slips. . .
The girl was halfway at the top, when she reached her Beyblade on the small ledge.
"There you are Shinaru!"
She picked her Beyblade up and put it in her sash.
"Huh? WHOA!"
She began slipping and fell a few feet off the cliff.
"Oh no!" said Ray. "She's going to fall!"
The girl grabbed onto a tree branch and held on tight. Her eyes were filled with fear, as she held the tree branch.
"Help! Somebody help me!" she said.
Suddenly, she heard cracking.
The branch was breaking, and she began to slip lower.
"HELP! HELP!"
The branch broke, and she began falling.
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
A streak of white and black raced off and jumped up the cliff, catching the girl in mid-air. The girl and her mysterious rescuer landed on the ground.
"Are you alright?" a soft voice said.
She slowly opened her eyes, and stared into a pair of amber eyes. Ray held the girl in his arms, harshly breathing. The girl blushed as Ray smiled.
"You should be more careful. . ." he said. "It's not a good idea to climb the cliff. . .you could get hurt."
The girl nodded.
"Thanks. . ."she said. "You saved me. . ."
He smiled.
"No problem. . ."
"AYANE-CHAAAAAAAAAN!"
A smaller girl appeared at the edge of the forest. The girl waved happily at the smaller girl.
"Hey Kimiko!" she said. "What's up?"
Kimiko caught her breath.
"Ashura's been looking for you. . .you better head home. . ."
Ray set the girl down.
"You better go. . ." he said.
The girl turned around.
"Thanks for saving my life again uh. . ."
"Ray, Ray Kon. . ."
"Thanks for saving my life Ray. I hope we meet again!"
"I hope so too. . .Ayane right?"
"Yep! That's me!"
"AYANE-CHAAAAAAAN! LET'S GO!"
Kimiko was jumping up and down.
"Okay Kimiko. . ."said Ayane. "See you Ray!"
She and Kimiko headed off towards the forest. She turned back to look at Ray once more.
I wish we had more time to get to know each other. . .maybe I'll see him again. . .
Ray smiled as the two girls disappeared out of sight.
Ayane. . .lovely name. . .I hope we do meet again also. . .
Well, that's it for Ch. 2! Ray and Ayane have finally met! Well, next up is Ch. 3, but first I want to give a big thank you to XCrimsonNinjaX for giving me my first review!
Next up! Ch. 3: The Bit Hunters! Until then, please read and review!