Well here is the next chapter for you all to read. Sorry that it took so long. My mind's been occupied lately, but don't worry about me. Thank you to Hellblazer, Red Pheonix, and Samurai2000 for letting me use your character in my story, but your gonna have to wait a bit longer to see them. I promise. Enough with me...go read the chapter!
I don't own BeyBlade...
Chapter 6: More of a Surprise Than Explanation
Kumiko moaned in protest as bright rays of sunlight filtered the room. She buried her face into the nearest pillow to block out the light. She was slightly surprised when the pillow groaned in response. She opened her eyes only the be met with sleepy crimson red. She smiled and snuggled closer to him when he pulled her closer when she suddenly realized that someone was missing.
"Where's Kari?" Kumiko asked looking around for any sign of the small girl. Kai began to look around as well, wondering where she could have gone. He looked at the clock and realized that it was pretty late in the morning, well compared to the usual time he woke up.
"She probably woke up early and looked around," Kai replied noticing that Kari indeed was not in the room. Kumiko nodded and got out of bed. Kai followed in suit and both proceeded to go down stairs to where they heard noises. They arrived at the kitchen where everyone, including Kari, was having breakfast. Noticing Kumiko and Kai at the doorway, Kari jumped out of her seat and ran to them, giving them each a hug.
"Ohayo onii-chan, Miko-chan!" Kari greeted brightly leading them toward the empty seats next to hers.
"Ohayo gozaimasu," Kumiko greeted to all occupants in the room. Before she sat down, she gave her father a hug. "You're looking better this morning otou-san. Glad you took my advise and went to sleep," Kumiko commented as she took her seat next to her father and Kari. She thanked Hotaru for the plate of pancakes that she placed before her.
"Arigato for finishing the paperwork," Ryo thanked to his daughter with a smile.
"Anytime," she responded, returning the smile.
"Miko-chan, can I see your tattoo?" Kari asked suddenly with an innocent curious look on her face. Kumiko nearly choked on her orange juice when hearing that question. She put her glass down and turned toward the young girl on her left.
"Kari-chan, who told you that I had a tattoo?" Kumiko questioned with a somewhat nervous expression.
"Ryo-san told me this morning when I accidentally went into his office while he was in there," Kari explained with a bright smile. Kumiko turned to look at her father who gave her a slight sheepish smile.
"I was signing the documents you finished when she came in with a slightly lost but excited expression on her face. I asked who she was and why she had bandages on her arms when I noticed them. She told me what happened last night in which you failed to inform me about," Ryo explained and looked sternly at Kumiko. She just gave him a sheepish smile and he continued, "She asked numerous questions and I told her the truth. She understood perfectly well actually. By the way, how's your arm?"
By now Kumiko was doing a great imitation of a fish. She snapped out of it when she heard giggling coming from the little girl next to her. "My arm's fine otou-san, don't worry about it," she finally said. She actually looked quite relieved about the whole situation. She thought she would have the explain it to Kari the hard way. 'Maybe otou-san should explain everything from now on,' she thought to herself.
"Well Miko-chan? Can I see your tattoo?" Kari repeated her question from earlier.
"Ano...I'll show you later okay?" Kumiko replied with a smile. Kari returned the gesture and resumed eating her breakfast.
"So Miko-chan, what do you plan on doing today?" Tala asked with interest.
"Well, I planned to take Kari to the amusement park," Kumiko responded and looked at Kari. "Is that okay with you?" she asked slightly unsure. She smiled when the little girl nodded enthusiastically.
"Onii-chan, are you coming too?" Kari asked with an anxious face.
"Hai I am," Kai responded with a smile. Kari happily returned it.
"How about we go with you? We don't have anything planned for today," Tala suggested and Hotaru just nodded to confirm what he said. In truth, both of them didn't want a repeat of what happened last night. They knew that Kumiko was capable of taking care of herself but she would be too worried about Kari's safety than her own and that what got Tala worried. Besides, he figured the more the merrier.
"Yatta!" Kari exclaimed with a bright expression on her face. Kumiko smiled and looked at Tala and Hotaru with grateful eyes. Both just smiled in understanding, knowing she too didn't want a repeat. "What time do we leave?" Kari asked with a anxious face.
"It's only nine, so how about ten o'clock," Kumiko suggested. She received nods from everyone at the table. She finished up her breakfast and stood up. "How about we get ready to go girls?" Kumiko asked referring to Hotaru and Kari. They nodded and got up as well.
"Mind if I join you ladies?" Tala asked in a playful, hopeful look.
"Iie," Kumiko responded bluntly. She smiled at Tala's playful pout. "In fact, Kai-kun needs to get his things out of my room," she said, looking at Kai. She then turned toward her father who was reading the newspaper the whole time. "Otou-san, are you gonna be here for dinner?"
"Iie, I have a business dinner that I need to attend to. Gomen nasai, little hoshi," Ryo responded with an apologetic look. Kumiko just smiled in understanding and gave her father a reassuring hug, telling him that is was all right.
"How about the come over for dinner at our place?" Kari suggested immediately, seeing the slight disappointment in Kumiko's eyes. She smiled when she saw Kumiko smile at the idea and nodded in agreement.
"With that settled, how about we get ready?" Hotaru suggested with a smile. In response, Kumiko and Kari rushed upstairs with Hotaru following suit. Tala just shook his head in amusement while Kai just shrugged. He went upstairs as well and retrieved his things before following Tala to his room.
"Can I see you tattoo now?" Kari anxiously asked. She had waited until Kumiko had gotten out of the shower and was currently in her closet. Kumiko smiled and nodded.
"All right," Kumiko said. She lifted her tank top enough to reveal the phoenix tattoo that was just below mid-back. Kari had an amazed look on her face at seeing such a beautiful and detailed phoenix. Kumiko giggled a bit at seeing Kari's astonished face.
"Finally showed her, huh?" Hotaru asked in a amused tone.
"Why don't you show yours?" Kumiko suggested with a raised eyebrow. In an instant, Kari was at Hotaru's side with an excited and anxious look on her face. Hotaru sighed and turned around to reveal her butterfly tattoo. A big smile appeared once again on Kari's face.
"Miko, could I borrow something to wear?" Hotaru asked when Kari was done marveling at their tattoo's. Kumiko nodded and both of them went into the walk-in closet to decide what to wear. Kumiko decided on flared denim blue jeans with a simple baby blue cap sleeve shirt and a zipper white hoody. She put on white shoes and put her hair up in a ponytail with a few loose stands framing her face. Hotaru picked out a pair of flared dark khakis with a sea foam green cap sleeve collared shirt that opened in a V-shape in the front and a light brown zipper hoody. She wore her white shoes and pulled her hair into a ponytail as well.
"Ready to go yet?!" Kari asked excitedly already dressed in jean overall pants with a sleeveless white shirt with a baby blue hoody and white shoes.
"Almost," Kumiko replied smiling. She grabbed her wallet and cell phone and looked around to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. "All right, I'm ready," she stated and looked over to Hotaru who nodded while grabbing her own things.
"Yatta!" Kari exclaimed and grabbed her bag and race out the door and down the stairs where Kai and Tala were waiting. Kai was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that was tucked in with black shoes and a black belt. Tala was wearing almost the same thing except that his shirt was white. All four teenagers smiled at Kari's excitement and bright attitude when she began jumping around, her patience wearing thin. Kumiko led the way toward the garage and was not surprised to see one of the Mecha Boys already working on her damaged Infiniti.
"Hey Nick," Kumiko greeted toward the observing mechanic.
"Miko, decided to give me something to do?" Nick questioned to her, gesturing toward the black car. Kumiko just smiled sheepishly and gave him a slight shrug.
"Just leave it and I'll do it. It wasn't my fault anyway. Those Radicals got me last night," she responded.
"I'll fix it. Don't worry about it. You know it's in good hands," Nick responded arrogantly. Kumiko just rolled her eyes and looked around. She noticed that curiosity had gotten the better of Kari and was currently looking at all the cars and bikes. She also noticed that Kai was surprised to see so many in one garage. Kumiko, Tala, and Hotaru just shared amused looks as they looked on. Nick walked up to the small group and asked," What are you going to take today?"
"I was actually thinking of taking my car," Kumiko replied with a semi thoughtful look. Tala raised an eyebrow at this.
"Honto ne? I thought you only drive that one once in a while," Tala said with slight surprise. Kumiko just shrugged.
"It's been a while," Kumiko stated.
"Yeah right. Two weeks is what I hardly call a while," Hotaru voiced sarcastically. Kumiko just smiled sheepishly.
"I was talking relatively," Kumiko said, trying to defend herself while making her way toward a small cabinet on the wall. Taking out a key, she unlocked it and looked at the six sets of keys. "Tala, you still hanging on to that Ferrari?" she asked, glancing at the redhead over her shoulder. Tala just shrugged his shoulders. Kumiko rolled her eyes and grabbed her set of keys. She relocked the cabinet and went toward the back where there were two more garage doors. She opened on and went in. They soon heard the roar of an engine and soon saw a royal blue two door Nissan Skyline come out and stop right in front of them. She turned off the engine and got out of the car.
"You fixed it up fast," Tala remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"What happened with it?" Kai asked wondering what Tala meant.
"Two weeks ago I was in a street race with this car. Well one of the drivers was being a pain and bet that he could beat me. I agreed to the bet and being the loser he was didn't set any ground rules before the race. Then during the race, he rammed his car on the right side of mine and put a pretty big dent on the door. I still won anyway and got the forfeit. He thought it wouldn't be a big deal and just brought out a wad of bills. Let's just say he wasn't expecting to hand over his car so suddenly," Kumiko explained with a smug look.
"His car wasn't all that bad either," Nick commented. "Of course, we made some modifications to meet our tastes."
"So Tala, what car are you taking? Or do you want to cram into my car?" Kumiko questioned to the lanky redhead.
"Me and Hotaru are just gonna go into another car since we made some dinner plans," Tala replied with a slight shrug. Kumiko simply nodded and gestured toward Kai and Kari to get into her car. Kari happily skipped toward the royal blue car and climbed into the back seat. "We'll follow you," Tala said heading toward a car with Hotaru following. Kai went into the passenger seat of Kumiko's car while she climbed into the driver's seat. Once again they heard the roar of the engine and with a quick wave to Nick, they were on their way with Tala following in a black Mercedes. The whole car ride was quiet, save for the music playing and Kari was looking at the scenery. About twenty minutes later they arrived and was not surprised that it was already packed. They did manage to find parking spots next to each other and made their way toward the gate. Once they were inside, Kari looked around anxiously, trying to decide what to do first.
"How about we ride some rides first, then have lunch and then play some games," Hotaru suggested. Everyone agreed and headed toward the ticket booth.
"How much you want to bet that I can get Kari the biggest prize her?" Kumiko challenged with an air of confidence. Tala and Kai both raised an eyebrow at her confidence and gave each other similar smirks.
"You're on!"
Later...
Kari happily stepped out of the car, clutching a fairly large silver gray wolf that she had received from Tala and an equally large black dragon from Kai. She grinned at her brother who was currently holding onto a red phoenix that was almost as big as her that she had gotten from Kumiko. The said girl was smiling smugly at Kai who had scowl on his face.
"Cheer up Kai-kun. I didn't think my forfeit was all that bad," Kumiko said with a Cheshire cat smile. Kai just had an annoyed look on his face. They made their way toward the front door which was being held by a butler. Kai and Kari's personal maid, Ayami, appeared and smiled brightly at seeing the small group.
"Welcome home Kai-sama and Kari-san," Ayami greeted with a bow. Then she turned toward the third member of the group and smiled. "Good to see you again Haraguchi-san," she greeted with a slight bow. She then took both Kai's and Kari's bags while the butler took the large phoenix from Kai. Kari happily followed her maid with the butler in tow.
"Kai! You're home! Kumiko-san, good to see you are still her!" Yumi greeted with a bright expression on her face. She gave Kai a kiss on his cheek in which he returned and gave Kumiko a hug which was returned as well. "Come, my husband is in the living room." She lead the way toward the said room in which Sho was sitting down drinking a cup of tea. When he noticed the new arrivals, he stood up and walked up to them.
"Kai you're home," Sho said and nodded to his son. Kai returned the gesture and stepped aside so his father could greet Kumiko. Sho smiled at seeing the young woman again. "Kumiko-san, a pleasure to see you again," he said giving her a small hug in which she returned. He gestured for them to sit down and have a cup of tea. Just as they sat down, Kari came rushing in and greeted her mother first with a tight hug and then went to her father and sat in his lap. Sho didn't object and wrapped his arms around her. He then noticed that her arm had a bandage wrapped around it and there was a small bruise on her left cheek. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked towards his wife who noticed his expression and then toward Kai who was looking anywhere but him. Finally he looked at Kumiko who had a slightly guilty look but was trying greatly to mask it.
"Sho, what is it?" Yumi asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Where did Kari get these?" She asked calmly, gesturing toward the bandage and small bruise.
'I was afraid of this,' Kumiko thought to herself, nervousness becoming evident. "Well, ano.....how shall I explain this?" she asked more to herself than the other occupants in the room. She began to fidget a bit, still unsure how to explain that their son was part of a gang and Kari got involved in a chase. She was surprised at Sho's next question.
"Was it the Radicals?" he asked still keeping the calm expression. Kumiko looked at him with wide eyes.
"How do you know?" Kumiko asked in response, surprise still expressed on her face.
"Well, the night that you first had dinner with us, I noticed that Kai seemed greatly troubled. Yumi and I pulled him aside into my study and asked him what was wrong. He seemed hesitant to answer but eventually told us the truth. Let's just say that we were surprised that a girl like you was affiliated with a gang but then I remembered your surname and it made sense," Sho explained. At Kumiko's questioning face about her last name, he continued, "I remembered back in college that your father was my roommate and a good friend of mine and he told me about a gang called the Dark Shadows. It wasn't until later that I found out that he was part of it. I kept it a secret for him and he did numerous favors for me. When Kai told us he had the chance to become part of the infamous Dark Shadows that I heard so many things about, I gave him my consent to join if he wanted. Yumi felt the same way," he concluded and Yumi nodded in agreement. After a minute of silence, Kumiko smiled and looked toward Kai's parents.
"Arigato, for being so understanding. And gomen nasai for what happened to Kari," Kumiko replied with a sincere expression. Yumi smile softly and took Kumiko's hand.
"It's all right. Kari is still alive and well because of you. We should be thanking you for getting her out safely with only a few scrapes," Yumi said reassuringly. Sho nodded in agreement, bringing a brighter smile to Kumiko's face. Kari, being silent the whole time, spoke up to break the silence.
"Miko-chan, remember you said you were gonna stay for dinner," Kari reminded to the older girl. Yumi became excited to hear that she would be staying and Sho was equally happy but didn't express it as much as his wife.
"That's wonderful! Why didn't you tell us sooner? I must inform the chef," Yumi hurriedly said, rushing off toward the dining area. Sho just chuckled at his wife's antics. They began conversing until dinner was announced by Yumi and everyone went toward the dining table, taking the same seats as the last time Kumiko was there. The evening went on comfortably and Kari even informed her parents of the small bet at the amusement park earlier between Kumiko, Kai, and Tala and how both boys lost. Yumi and Sho both shared a laugh at that while Kumiko just smirked at Kai who had a scowl on his face. Soon after dinner, Kumiko left promising to return one day, agreeing to bring her father. Kai escorted her to her car and gave her a kiss good night, promising to call later that night. She went home relieved that it went so well and surprised that the Hiwatari's already knew. Once again her father had saved her from a long and difficult explanation.
Well there you have it...another chapter out just for you readers. Now I did something for you...now you have to do something for me...which is click that button down there at the bottom the screen and review.
Oh yeah...I'm still taking characters if anyone is interested in having their character put in this story. All the details were in the last chapter.
later, kurai hoshi