Saint and Sinner
AUTHOR'S NOTES: AAAACCCKKK! Reports and Finals COMING! So sorry about long updates...I really am! Watched Naruto Episodes 85-88. I only have one gripe about Uchiha Itachi. Why does he have such a RIDICULOUSLY low voice in the Japanese version...! He and his younger brother both, whereas Uzumaki Naruto has such an otherwise...feminine voice. What GIVES! Oo;; I KNOW Itachi's voice from somewhere...anyway, the Bey Blade bluebloods get their fill of exquisite carnivore dining with Selenay screaming shrilly in the background, Johnny resenting Lei's existence, Max going on sugar-high, and Kai questioning his reason for existence. Professor notes that this competition is WAY different from any other competition they have faced for the fact that all combatants here have their OWN -Holy Beast- each. Who could've known that there are many such -Holy Beasts- in existence...? What does Takao's father have to do with all of this? Questions, and more questions. R/R PLEASE!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bey Blade and all its characters, I only own some of the OC's portrayed herein, and some other OC's are owned by their respective authors (to which I have permission to use them here). So no SUING!
-
"We'll have those grilled stuffed squid kebabs, garlic pork, chili chicken wings, hunter's salad, cheese chops, seafood carbonara, deviled rice, honey ribs, drunken shrimp puffs, beef rolls and a bunch of Pan's Pipes deluxe" Giancarlo was reciting in monotone to a uniformed waiter. "And 3 pink iced teas, 2 cloud floats, a Cherry Coke, 2 Four Seasons and a melon shake. For dessert we'll have the fruit dips, 3 chocolate fudgenut blasts, a banana parfait, 2 blueberry cheesecake slices and 3 slices of Food for the Gods."
The waiter jotted all of these down on his notepad. "Would that be all, sir"
"Make the iced teas bottomless" Shizue put in. "And make sure the chocolate's all crumbly and absolutely perfect."
"Yes, madam. Anything else"
"That would be all."
The waiter got their menus and went off to relay their orders to the chef. Medain sighed then leaned back against the pouf, her arms under her head. "Well, I guess that's ALL taken cared of, then."
"Can we hit the chocolate bar after this" Kikka asked. "They've ACTUALLY taken cared of the white chocolate problem, and I've been missing that for AGES"
"Yes, definitely." Oliver blinked. "I NEVER really did understand why Greece HAS that white chocolate fix, instead of other chocolate bars in France, Italy, or London, for that matter. But I must admit it did wonders for the tourist industry...chocolate fanatics searching for the ultimate white chocolate fix come here from round the world over, in addition to those people who came here for that certain enriching Homeric or whatever experience."
"Chocolate actually makes kids out of the adults, themselves." Shizue blinked. "Hey, Selenay, are you alright? You look a little green."
"I HATE YOU SUMMER! You've got all of THIS ALL planned out, and you made sure there AREN'T any vegetarian meals on the MENU before you made this RESERVATION" SD Selenay was on the verge of bursting into tears. "Do you hate me that BAD"
Medain looked at her with the very innocent look of mild surprise on her face. "Why Selenay, such accusations you make! The reason I had chosen this particular restaurant is because of its fusion cuisine. I'm actually planning to branch out our family business, so to speak, with new dishes introduced in its repertoire, fusion dishes - Eastern, Western, Southern, Northern - alongside our family restaurant's resident aces in keeping those customers coming back for MORE. I am doing this out of research and I am NOT doing this just to spite you. I honestly didn't KNOW they didn't have any vegetarian meals on their menu."
"That, plus the fact that those Pan's Pipes are simply DIVINE, and their seafood carbonara rivals even those made by genuine Italians on a seafood diet" Giancarlo put in. "And those cheese chops. I never could do that with ordinary Cheez Whiz."
"But this is not a hopelessly carnivorous affair, Lady Herrault...there IS that hunter's salad" Ralf told her. "Tossed with pure virgin olive oil."
"It would've been JUST alright, except that salad has cut up chicken, pork, and ground beef all tossed in with the onions, herbed mushrooms, cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and white pepper and CROUTONS" SD Selenay started waving her arms frantically over her head. "That's UTTERLY REVOLTING! The freshness of those VEGETABLES sabotaged with those hateful pieces of MEAT! TAINTING THEM WITH THOSE AWFUL TASTES! AND THOSE FATS! AND OILS! AND PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ELSE"
"God, Selenay, it's not as if we killed those poor chickens, pigs and cows and laugh while we sate ourselves with their quivering flesh or something" SD Shizue told her, her eyes little slits. "We're not a bunch of frigging bloodthirsty cannibals you're making us all out to BE."
"You do KNOW very well I'm VEGETARIAN and I absolutely DETEST eating ANYTHING made out of animal SUBSTANCES and using or wearing ANYTHING like those as WELL" SD Selenay was shaking her head. "That's why I don't go for leather goods, and fur coats, and feather boas"
"Your Marks and Spencer's made of WOOL" Medain commented slyly.
"But at LEAST they're not tortured when those farmers shear the wool off of THEM! Or shut up in pens, or stuffed in inhumane conditions before being cut up and what else"
"For one, Selenay, the farmers ARE very careful with those wool shears or whatever because if the sheep in question's quite frisky, things would get real BLOODY, and two, those animals are not even human to begin with as to treat them like they're real people when they're NOT. No offense meant...yes, I KNOW they're stuffed like sardines in a can and situations ARE as nasty as they come but it's not as if we're on to every single animal on the planet for our own personal enjoyment" Johnny told her. "OK"
"AND before this escalates into a Greenpeace affair, here come our drinks" Ralf said, nodding, as Selenay opened her mouth to say something else. "It is very unfortunate that this restaurant doesn't have any available vegetarian meal on their menu, and this is the only restaurant available for our erstwhile tortured palates, as all other restaurants are fully booked because of the tourists and the competitors in this tourney, enjoying their stay as tourists and as gourmands, alike. Greece has never had a tourist surge like this for ages, what with those exotic Eastern excursions and whatnot. You could try the seafood carbonara, it's not as hopelessly carnivorous as you think, as they weren't shot, stabbed, or mangled beyond recognition just to arrive at your dinner plate. That would be the best alternative now, right"
SD Selenay was just quiet.
Their drinks arrived shortly, and Selenay was just very quiet as she took a tiny sip of her Four Seasons as the rest of them talked about Oliver's new recipe, Shizue's new ideas for her bedroom draperies, and and Giancarlo's cousin's regatta. Medain was quietly sipping her pink iced tea then sighed. She looked over at Selenay. "Look, Selenay, that was uncalled for, but really, I have NO idea they didn't serve vegetarian meals in this restaurant. Sorry. So please don't get mad at me."
"I'm not MAD." Selenay took another tiny sip of her Four Seasons, a small frown on her face. "I just wish I didn't see how those stuffy old wine barons maul an innocent fox on one of their horrid hunts back when Papa took me out on my first and LAST hunting trip ever when I was 9. So then I would be blissfully unaware of the fact that what we are going to eat right now didn't come at the expense of all that violence just to get them sitting nicely on our plates."
"Well...I'm pretty sure those butchers didn't hit them over their heads with 500 ton mallets or something. And besides, it's not like you're going to be condemned by eating just a little bit of those."
"Just this ONCE I'm going to eat seafood. And that would be the end of it." Selenay looked around. "Where did Cerridwen run off to"
"I think she ran off to the nearest vegetarian bar when she realized a while ago that you're going to be in GREAT distress" Shizue told her. "And I think that aforementioned overcrowded vegetarian bar's somewhere at the other end of the world."
"She DID" Selenay felt absolutely horrible. "But...I...she didn't HAVE to! I really..."
"Just kidding. Her dearest mum's on the telephone, and couldn't really bear to part with her darling daughter THAT long" Shizue replied. "They've been talking for, like, AGES already. Well, it's no big deal, since her mum owns about 40 of that telephone company's shares. They could talk for a whole month for all I care."
Selenay blinked. "You mean they've been talking on the phone ever since we GOT here 3 hours AGO"
"The phone rang just as we entered the mall an hour ago" Medain told her, sipping her pink iced tea. "Nobody told us that even valet parking in this restaurant had to be reserved beforehand, it's this popular. Good thing the Duke of Verlaine (BTW I'm just making this UP!) decided to bolt for the Swiss Alps the last minute."
Selenay turned SD. "You DON'T say"
"Oh." Medain blinked, as well. "Yeah, I remember. He's that old guy with that rather clingy son, isn't he? Mother told me that the son in question has such a rather horrifying habit of horsing around in the innermost circles of French aristocrats, having women like he's just having several changers of his under drawers. His latest addiction is that 'well-moneyed and old-titled lass from the wine country down Loire Valley'. Gee, I wonder who she is"
Selenay turned even more minute. "And I DON'T like the attention he's been giving me so far. He comes off as an insult to Jerry Maguire. You know, that 'you complete ME' bit! God, I didn't think I could hear something like THAT from a guy and barf. It was HORRIBLE! And the evil thing about it is that Maman is considering THAT pox from hell's backside, butchered Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Tennyson be damned."
Shizue turned SD. "Isn't THAT a little too MEDIEVAL! I didn't think pre-teen arranged MARRIAGES are still acceptable in this day and age."
"Hey, if you think that's appalling, get a load of MacGregor" Giancarlo said through his cloud float. "His grandmother had been thinking of having him engaged on his 9th birthday."
Johnny coughed into his Cherry Coke.
"Now that's SOMETHING we don't know anything about." Medain looked over at Johnny with interest. "What happened? I didn't think there'd be ANYTHING which would hinder the pint-sized wedding of the century...your family could truss the entire Westminster Abbey up in ribbons and the Queen of England would say naught of it..."
"It was just too bloody early, SEE? My dad put his foot down, he wanted me up for Eton and St. Andrew's, and join the military. Isn't that the sort of thing aristocratic male children are expected to do before thinking of settling down with a proper and well-bred young lady to continue the family line with! And I REALLY thank him for that, Grandmother was literally pushing me off to marry a Mountbatten. Somebody decently close to the Windsor line." Johnny gulped down a glass of water. He then shook his head. "Geez, it's as if I'm doing the 100 meter dash or something...to catch myself a bride, that is."
"Cerridwen's the only girl I know with a bloodline very decently close to that of the Mountbattens, one way or the other" Medain said. "Why didn't your Grandmother think of pushing you towards Cerridwen"
"It's just that she's certified, duly-approved, and 100 pure Lancastrian material. Aunt Margot has expressed her intention of marrying Cerridwen into the House of Lancaster, their York-Tudor lineage be damned." Johnny had such a pained expression on his face. "To which I'm all FOR."
"So. That was WHY you were giving Lei Kon death glares a while ago." Shizue sipped at her melon shake. "Hey, he's NOT a Lancastrian by a long shot. It's just a very unforgiving coincidence that he just happened to look like ONE."
"Or HIM, for that matter." Medain gave Johnny a pat on the back. "Don't worry, MacGregor, we'll push you towards another girl of some halfway decent lineage. Your grandmother's going to be SO proud of you."
"Yeah, he would" Oliver said with a laugh. "There's this Graf's daughter we want you to MEET. She's been telling Ralf she wanted to meet you for AGES already."
"You try doing that I'll have Salamander immolate your Unicorn, Polanski" Johnny said venomously.
Kikka turned SD, blinking. "Hey, I think Helmet Hilde would do the trick. She's just as wonderfully nice as the Graf, right, Ralf"
"Wonderfully so. Both of them would have LOTS of things to talk about, seeing as they're both volatile tempered as the other." Ralf sipped at his own pink iced tea. "Your grandmother would be all out for it, MacGregor."
"SHUT UP, JURGEN!"
-
"Damn, I didn't think those exhibitionists would be giving Takao a run for his money" Max was saying a little while later. "Those are wicked moves, I'll say."
"Exactly which WAY are they giving ME a run for my money, Max" Takao said, his eyes little slits.
"The way they ham it up on stage." SD Max was laughing. "Yeah, and I didn't think those insult fests would limit themselves upon you and Kai. I'm sure we're bound to meet other Bladers with rivalries as intense as YOURS...even WAY more intense..."
"I DO NOT ham it up on the STAGE" SD Takao protested vehemently.
"Oh yes you DO Kinogu, and it's as pathetic as it gets" Kai said from somewhere behind them. He was looking through the audience. "And believe me, you're just about the WORST actor I've ever seen for ages."
"And what does that make YOU, Sir Laurence OLIVIER" SD Takao fumed.
"On the contrary. I never needed to act anyway. Goes to show I'm not as hopelessly Bladed-ly challenged like some Bladers I KNOW with egotistical complexes." SD Kai gave a small sigh, a small cloud coming out of his mouth. "I never really understood why you have to do those awful things anyway."
"Why YOU"
"Hey, would you 2 quit it already? We're almost up, you know. They just need to fix the arena after that last bout." Professor was typing furiously away on his laptop. "For one thing, I never realized this experience would introduce me to such wonderful Bey Blade data...I can't wait to start analyzing them at the end of the day..."
Max looked over his shoulder, then his eyes turned to little beads. "How come you've got Cerridwen's launch pic saved as a wallpaper on your DESKTOP"
SD Professor turned beet red, a million sweatdrop explosions about his head. "I've had this picture for DAYS already, MAX! So don't think I'm an obsessed manic fan or SOMETHING"
"Sorry. Who's manic"
"MAX!"
"Hey, where the heck's Lei" Yuri blinked. "Don't tell ME he and Mao went out on a little date."
"He's got a LOT of explaining to do, ever since that Michiko Rinori gave him a bear hug right in front of the entire congregation. I'm pretty sure he's trying to coax her out of a tree somewhere." Kai shook his head. "Geez. I never really understood how that girl's mind works, anyway. It's not as if Lei's to go bolt off to the sunset with that girl or something just because she gave him a bear hug..."
"Well, what would you KNOW, Kai, you don't know how it IS with young couples VERY much in LOVE" SD Takao muttered with an evil grin on his face. "Girls haven't actually killed themselves for their unrequited love for you by the hundreds."
Kai turned SD, looking like a disgruntled cat. "And what would you KNOW, Takao, no girl has ACTUALLY asked for your name yet to qualify for becoming Bey Blade's resident STUD. I don't see any lame fan girls fainting ANYWHERE."
"And you think you QUALIFY!"
"I've heard how Mao's been fighting off Lei's fan girls ever since they got together at the end of the Russian Finals ages ago" Max was saying. "And I've been hearing rumors that what Mao did was not very NICE."
"Rumors are just rumors, and Mao didn't EXACTLY send a bunch of houngans to terrorize those poor fan girls for the rest of their sorry lives." Lei plopped down on the seat right beside Professor. "She just didn't want them sending me love charms and that sort of thing."
"So what exactly did you 2 DO, Lei? Here I was thinking Yuri should go ahead and take your place" Kai asked him.
"Well...she was a bit miffed when Michiko hugged me and...I told her that she was a friend from my wandering days a long while back."
"That explanation took 3 HOURS" SD Max was wide-eyed. "We were seriously considering sending out the entire Greek police squadron to look for YOU."
Lei turned bright pink. "Yeah, well...we had to drop by the post office after that, Gao sent her something."
"And would it be her wedding gown, perchance"
Lei turned an even brighter shade of pink. "N-no."
"..." Kai turned SD. "Next time we go out on a tourney, Lei, would you mind freezing her passport or something? I've no qualms about your girlfriend following you every chance she could get, but you're quite forgetting you have other teammates here, waiting for you. There are times for everything. You just have to KNOW how to go about it."
"Speaking of which, she's supposed to be studying back in Japan. We're sort of excused because we're on a tourney...but, yeah, we DO have those dreaded home study programs with us." Takao blinked. "Is she on some sort of sabbatical"
"..." Lei was just quiet.
"For one thing, she did a great job of showing the Wing Blades a while ago that she OWNED Lei. That, at the expense of almost having a mud wrestling match right in front of the arena." SD Max was grinning right over at Takao. "As for you, Takao, you and that Medain Summer are so cut-out to be Bey Blade's most DARLING little couple."
Takao had several gargantuan twitches on his head. "What the HECK was that supposed to MEAN"
"..." Kai then stepped forward, his arms crossed over his chest. "No sense trying to make SENSE out of Kinogu's non-existent little love life. It's time to get this thing rolling. DJ's almost up next."
"HEY!"
Yuri blinked. "So who's for our lineup again"
-
"Sorry to drag you out here on such short notice" Cerridwen was saying as they made their way through the crowds. "Lady Celes wanted me to catch up on my 'homework'..."
"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing" Selenay said with a small wave of her hand. "Giancarlo was up to making a fool of himself in the chocolate bar, and Medain and Shizue wanted so much to have their chocolate fix. I really can't understand Donatore."
"Ralf's been telling me he has a huge crush on you, Selenay. Maybe that's why he was acting so abnormal a while ago" Cerridwen said with a laugh.
"Oh, you and Jack Benny." Selenay turned SD. "I have that perverted abomination running after ME, and now Giancarlo's so decided that he wants me to become the lady of the entire Donatore estate. What next"
"Well...there's always Yuri..."
"CER-RID-WEN." Selenay turned SD. "It's really obvious that he has a huge crush on you, and won't look at any other girl around even if the entire Miss Universe contingent parade around him in those skimpy swimsuits. Or those supermodels, for that matter. He's that hopelessly in love with you."
"..." Cerridwen turned SD as well, her eyes little beads. "Eh...he DOES...? I thought he had a crush on you..."
"If he had a crush on me, Cerridwen, he would've frozen Giancarlo at once. But NO, he was giving that Lancaster look-alike that pained, frustrated look a while ago. I mean, he wasn't able to do anything when he found out you and Arthur were some sort of couple, and...Lei's just giving him heart problems. I know how guys who have terrible crushes on other girls react, and Yuri's such a classic example."
Cerridwen blushed. "Arthur and I weren't a couple, Selenay. His mother's decided he's just in the market for older girls to continue the Lancastrian line with. I think he was engaged to marry his second cousin...and besides...Arthur only likes me as a little sister and that's that."
"Really? Well, Mr. Lancaster was giving off a very weird aura, and it was bordering on something like, 'stay away from Cerridwen or else you'll be eating the pointed end of my saber'. He looked as if he wanted to throw that huge David statue at that pervert who was asking for your autograph in Italy, remember? Was it Florence, or Naples? Anyway, Giancarlo made a vow to himself that he'd stay 100,000 light years away from you during that particular trip, he kept joking he had his gladiator costume with him and everything. Ralf vowed he wouldn't touch you even with the pointed end of his own halberd. And Rupert barely managed to contain him when that 50 year old count was asking you to become the bride of his grandson."
"Rupert..." Cerridwen blinked. "Oh yes, Arthur was with his older cousin at that summer trip to Italy...it was really surprising, to say the least. I thought they'd gone to Germany."
"If they DID that, then Giancarlo could be happily married to you by now, with Salamander burning off what's left of his tux." Selenay shook her head. "And if Arthur DID manage to find out that Giacarlo's married you, then I'll say it's goodbye, Donatorean line. No more playboys hamming it up on the Lido or the French Riviera."
"OR his cousin's regatta." Cerridwen smiled at her innocently. "I didn't know you were SO fond of him Selenay, that you ACTUALLY even have his yacht pennant waving its prominence back at your dorm room."
"What was I SUPPOSED to do, he was threatening to DATE me" Selenay then grabbed her arm. "Let's go over there, we're going to get a great view of the action going down below. Perfect for your research."
They made their way up the stands until they found themselves 2 empty seats right beside Ana. Cerridwen then set up her Apple iiMac, then started typing furiously away on the keyboard. "BBA Team, new file created. Who's on for the first match"
Selenay blinked then squinted right down the Bey Stadium. "It's that guy with those face tattoos..."
"Your dance partner? Oh." Cerridwen started typing again. "Hiwatari, Kai. Bey Blade and -Holy Beast, Dranzer F." She then opened a couple of other files more. "As far as I'm concerned, these Bey tech statistics are pretty impressive. He's got a superb track record to back it all up, and his expertise are by far up to par with Johnny's..."
"Heh, Johnny managed to do him just fine, and I pretty much daresay they've each scorched the other. And they weren't exactly so lovey-dovey about it, to boot."
"It is no doubt that Mr. Hiwatari is one of the best Bladers in the entire world, and his technique sure drives the matter straight to the heart. But given a couple more months of training, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in the entire Bey Blading world. That is, if he hasn't been missing out on his training regimen every single day. But from what I gather, they say he's still in junior high..."
"He's Shizue's schoolmate" Selenay said. "He's on the student council, and he's one of the top students in his class..."
"And still keeps up with his training? That's one mean feat."
"..." Ana was just quiet.
Kai then came up the stadium.
DJ swept his arms in a wide arc about him, grinning broadly for the entire crowd. "Well then, after that furious match with the Wing Blades, we're off to a roaring evening opening salvo from the BBA Team! As you all probably remember, the BBA Team were the champions of the recently concluded Finals Tourney back at Russia, and I hear they're one of the top favorites of making it into the Finals! Have the Wing Blades finally found their match! That's what we're about to find out" He then gestured to each of the Bladers. "From the BBA Team, we have their captain, Kai Hiwatari! And from Team Brazil, we have Diego Mujeres! Are you guys ready to RIP IT"
Kai glared at his opponent. Well, he's going to SHOW his sister he didn't need the power of the Black Dranzer in order to win this match. He was able to come out of his many Bey battles unscathed, and his Dranzer F hasn't let him down just yet. He was going to win this and he was going to be strong without the help of that cursed Bey Blade.
The hunger for true power lies in each and every one of us...most especially in you. You cannot escape your destiny, Kai. You cannot hoodwink Fate. Ana had been smiling at him so tenderly back then. You cannot escape you.
Kai fitted his Bey Blade into his Shooter.
And what exactly is my destiny? That I'll be cursed to be doomed forever, chained by my connection to that Bey Blade! Have you foreseen it all along, Ana? Have you foreseen it all along that I will eventually fall prey to that hunter, as its intended hunted? Why did you let it use you? Why didn't you stop it before it claimed you?
"3..."
Why did you submit to the Saint Dranzer's calling? Why didn't YOU escape YOU!
"2..."
Why did you let Fate do that to YOU! Why did you want me to be like YOU!
"1..."
Didn't you tell me to be strong? Didn't you tell me we'll always have each other, even if Grandfather threatened he'll do everything in his power to break us BOTH!
"GOOOOOOOOOO..."
I got so close to doing that, Ana, but I must be strong and must not let Fate decide what should happen to me...because I decide what happens to ME! Not FATE! Not ANYTHING else! Not that thing which binds me to my own powerlessness and my own hunger for power! Not now, not EVER! Kai's red brown eyes flashed. And if THAT'S what you want...you are NOT going to break ME!
"SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTT!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Test of wills, Kai Hiwatari-style. Go Dranzer, GO!
