Chapter four

Rei: I am in big trouble.
Gatem: Why?
Rei: Bubbly girls that are psycho over me are not what blow's my hair back.
Gatem:
Kai: He means don't let the bubbly girls do something to him without him doing something to them.
Gatem: Right…What blows your hair back?
Rei: Doesn't own Beyblade, if she did, I'd be dead.

'thought to bitbeast'
thought to self
NIGHTMARE
REALITY

Kira had taken out her cell phone the minute they had gotten outside. She speed dialed about six numbers, each time saying the same phrase over in French. When Kira was done she started going off to Melissa. When she noticed Rei's quizzical glances, she said, "Were going up to our penthouse." She picked Rei up and hugged him until he couldn't feel his arms. "He is soooooo cute!"

"Hands off, Kira!" said Melissa. She pried Rei out of Kira's grip so she could do the exact same thing to him. Why is being cute so painful? he thought.

"You hands off, Melissa!" Kira pulled Rei next to her. "Rei would rather walk with me. Right, Rei?" she said, giving him puppy eyes.

"Uhhh…"

"See! He would rather walk with me!" said Melissa. Well at least they aren't pulling my arms off… thought Rei.

Rei somehow managed to convince the girls that they could hold his hands, and that a little chibi like him needed double the protection. It worked but Rei regretted it; there combined might and glee of having Rei made him no more than a toy, which swung in step.

They arrived at the penthouse ten minutes later. They entered the lobby and Rei had to be dragged to the penthouse elevators. Lots of ritzy people were sitting around, a few ladies glancing at him from their seat at a table with fancy wines put out, the table sitting beneath grand chandeliers. Rei could hardly take his eyes off and nearly got his head slammed in the doors. He was surprised at the speed of the elevator as they climbed straight to the top. The car shuddered to a stop and the doors opened to a circular wing with a single door.

"This is it." said Kira, placing the key card in. The door lighted and flashed green with a chime and Kira pushed the door open. Melissa gently pushed Rei in after her.

The penthouse looked like one huge living room. On the right was a spiral staircase leading to bedrooms, on the left was a dining area with a kitchen beyond it. In front were some floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the cafés and shops. All this Rei would have seen, if he hadn't been swept up by Melissa and Kira's friends the moment they saw his face.

"Don't touch his hair or his face. He bites." said Melissa. At this, Rei began snarling at the hands around him and all the girls took a step back. His eyes sharpened, the pupil lengthening. The without warning, he pounced. The girls screamed, running in all directions. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"

"AHHHH! HE'S GOT MY HAIR! HELP!" A girl slid to a stop in front of them, panting hard, as Rei hung off her back.

"Rei! Get off of Antoinette!" Kira commanded. Rei was up and over to the stairs in a heartbeat, disappearing to the upper level. Several something's crashed, and just when the girls thought he stopped, a large flower vase fell in front of them, shattering into a few large pieces. "Go get him, Melissa! He likes you better."

"As if!" retorted Melissa. "You see how much he leaned toward you?"

"He is so cute. Why are the cute ones so destructive?" cried Antoinette, sitting up. Not a minute later, Rei came back down the stairs and went out to the window. All three girls approached him. He was just standing there, his arms behind his back, fingering his ponytail. "See how adorable he is?" whispered Antoinette. Rei's ear twitched. She took a bold step next to Rei, kneeling next to him. "Rei?" He turned. "May comb your hair?"

"W-won't take it out?" whimpered Rei.

"Promise." Rei nodded. "Aww…thank you." Antoinette took Rei's hand and led him to the kitchen. She left when he got on a bar stool to get a comb. In her place a few of the other girls including Kira and Melissa came in.

"I had some pent up energy. I'm normal now." Rei said. Immediately the girls swarmed him, going on about how cute he was. He was overwhelmed and couldn't stop the hands that managed to pull off his long whit ribbon. So he did the only thing he could. He began to cry.

Antoinette came back and saw the other girls around him trying to comfort him. "Stop crying, Rei" they said, or "Were sorry, Rei. Please don't be sad." Rei had hid his face in his knees and the girls could hear him sniffling.

"What did you do to him?" Antoinette said sternly. She noticed the long raven mass covering his back. "You pulled off his ribbon? How could you?" She picked Rei up and brought him out to the living room. The instant she touched him, Rei looked up. His face was dry. He hadn't been crying at all. Melissa and Kira followed Antoinette.

"Here you go Rei." Kira said, holding out the ribbon to the chibi. Rei said nothing as he started to d his hair up as fast as possible. "From now on, we are not going to touch you." she said.

"Hey!" said Melissa. "Why don't we go out to some of the Beyblade shops in town?" She turned to Rei. "You like beyblading, right?" Rei nodded.

"Great idea! And when were done we can go challenge some people in the alleyways. Rei needs his street cred." said Kira.

"I already do, in Hong Kong, the White Tigers rule the alleys." said Rei.

"Then winning around here should be easy." said Antoinette. The girls departed followed by Rei, Kira, and Antoinette as Melissa locked the door. They chatted in the elevator about good street 'bladers and they asked to see Rei's beyblade.

"The legendary White Tiger bit." said Kira, holding it up. "It suits him well, right girls?" she said, handing it back to him. When the group got outside, three girls left waving goodbye. The other two led them around well-known beyblade shops. They bought Rei a new attack ring, a couple of weight disks, and a new, longer, curved ripcord. Melissa and Kira swapped parts on his beyblade until they had a good combination as Antoinette led them to a popular alley where street battles were held.

"Step up, step in! There's a beybattle to win!" a young boy called, standing on a shop ladder that led to the roof. "Who can defeat our champion?"

"If one of the Bladebreakers, or Oliver or Enrique were here, they'd beat everyone!" someone called. The onlookers cheered at the statement. "Not even Rafael could stand up to a Bladebreaker!"

"But who will stand up to Rafael?" the commentator boy shouted.

"I will."

The crowd parted to admit Rei and the girls through. The spectators didn't mind that Rei was half their size; if you wanted to beyblade, so be it. Rafael stood across the beystadium, arms crossed as he stared down his opponent.

"What's your name?"

"If I told you exactly who I was, you wouldn't believe it. Just go with Rei."

"Welcome our new challenger, folks!" shouted the commentator boy. The spectators cheered. "This is sure to be an interesting battle, ready…? 3, 2, 1—

"Let it rip!"

"C'mon Rei, you can take him!" cheered Kira. Rei grinned.

"Alright Rei, lets see how well you stand up to my attack. Attack, Kikoran!" Rafael shouted. His 'blade charged straight for Rei's and at the last second, Driger dodged and disappeared.

"And Rei's blade has vanished!"

"Driger!" Rei called. The 'blade reappeared high in the air. "Tiger Claw, attack!" A single flash of light struck through.

"Rei has attacked, but did it do any damage?" The two 'blades were spinning but after a moment the attack caught up with Rafael's 'blade. It split in two. Driger zoomed back into Rei's hand. "Alright! Rei has beaten the alley king!" The crowd cheered as some of the teenagers picked the chibi up onto their shoulders.

"Guys careful, he bites." said Melissa. Like before, at those words he started growling and the onlookers dispersed, leaving Rei to land on his feet. The girls crowded around him to make sure he was okay. "I've gotta learn how to do that." Rei stood up.

"If you want a rematch, I'll be in town." said Rei. He walked after Antoinette, waving and smiling.

"So how bout it, Rafael? Are you going back to reclaim the title?" the commentator boy asked. Rafael picked up the pieces of his beyblade.

"Oh, I'll come back. Battling him was like battling a Bladebreaker!"

At the mouth of the alley, Rei's keen ears picked up Rafael's comment, and his grin grew even bigger.