DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of Beyblade, J.R.R. Tolkien's works, or Inu Yasha. I only own my own characters. Please ask me if you intend to use my characters.
CAUTION: Mild swearing and some violence and bloodshed.
NOTE: So. This is Chapter 4. Enjoy. Oh, remember, Tyson and Co. are all speaking English, because of Tanika's spell. Also, an apology to the characters of Beyblade if they are getting OOC in this story.
Email me if you have any questions/advice/flames/etc. Or better yet, do it by typing up a review for me! Either way would be helpful and greatly appreciated!
Chapter 4: Trouble Arises
'This is insane. I knew this would get insane the moment I stepped into the gateway, or whatever it's called.' Kai's face was neutrally blank as he walked through the crowd.
"This is strange. I'm sure the elder was right when she told us the exit was this way…" Tanika was following along closely, albeit looking behind her less and less and time wore on. 'Yes, it's so fantastic that I'm stuck with some mythological being that shouldn't even exist. When have I started to talk to myself? I was never this sarcastic, was I? It could be the affect of insane people all around me.'
A hand appeared in his line of sight and he blinked, "Are you okay, Kai? You had a strange look on your face a moment ago." Kai ignored Tanika and muttered something that sounded to her like, "Definitely not helping."
Tanika shrugged and ran after him.
Kai stopped and more or less glared at Tanika, "The old lady must be wrong. We haven't seen an exit for at least thirty minutes now." Tanika frowned, "Mm, I don't think so. Elders don't usually lie unless they have reason to."
Kai felt his eyebrow uncharacteristically twitch, "Then maybe she had a reason to." Tanika sighed, "This is no use. Maybe we should just go and ask someone for directions and-" She froze. Kai looked at her blankly, "What is it now?"
Tanika shivered, "Someone's following us. I can feel their gaze on me. The gaze feels so… cold." Kai raised an eyebrow wryly, "Perhaps it's one of your zombie friends looking for you."
Tanika shook her head, "That's not funny, Kai… Maybe I should do a Tabieskana just in case." Kai just stared at her blankly. Tanika muttered something and dragged Kai by the wrist to a secluded spot by a potted tree. "Make sure no one's looking," was heard over her shoulder and she turned towards the tree.
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together with the forefingers and middles extended in front of her face. To any that might have been watching, the posture could have been passed off as praying.
A string of muttered words poured out of her mouth and a look of deep concentration settled on her face. Kai looked at her blankly before turning around and glanced around the area they were in.
A sign near an escalator told him that they were on the fifteenth floor of the mall. 'Fifteen more floors until we get outside…' Kai crossed his arms and leaned against the pot, waiting for Tanika to finish whatever she was doing. 'I don't see any suspicious people… Tanika is insane…'
He noticed a group of girls sitting at a table some distance away. They were giggling and ogling at him. 'How annoying…' The girls giggled harder and batted their eyelashes when he glanced at them. Kai turned his head away in disgust. 'I bet that idiot Tyson and the others are fooling around like they always do.'
A tap on his shoulder brought Kai back to the present. Tanika's worried eyes bore into his, "Kai, we need to get out of here, fast! There are at least twenty people converging on our position. We need to leave this place."
Kai felt his eyebrows twitch in annoyance and he stared down at Tanika, "Why should I listen to you of all people? Besides, we still need to find that idiot Tyson and the others." Tanika sighed in frustration, "I know we have to find Tyson and the others. I'm not dumb, you know. And you should listen to me, unless you want to get killed."
Kai raised a blue eyebrow, "Really? I somehow doubt that." Tanika was about to retort when her eyes widened in alarm and fear, "They're here." She breathed. Tanika shuddered and grabbed Kai's wrist in a surprisingly strong grip and ran, or dragged, him onto the nearby escalator.
The moment they were on the escalator, Kai wrenched his arm free of Tanika's grasp and glared at her coldly. Tanika took no notice whatsoever, busying herself with continuously looking over her shoulder.
Kai sighed and looked around. He raised an eyebrow at Tanika.
"What?" Tanika looked at him quizzically.
Kai leaned back on the escalator railing (don't remember what it's called) and looked around him, "If we want to get out of this mall, why are we going up, not down?"
Tanika stared at him, "What?" She blinked and an innocent grin spread over her lips, "I don't know."
Kai resisted the irrational urge to hit something hard. 'Remember, deep breaths, deep breaths.' He regained his composure and asked, "Then shouldn't you do something about it?" Tanika chuckled nervously, "I guess so…"
Tanika looked at the floors below them, "You're not scared of heights, are you Kai?"
"No…"
She nodded gravely, "Good. Let's hope Koguro doesn't kill us. Oh, and don't scream or move. Just stay still."
Kai did not have time to reply as Tanika grabbed his arm and dragged him over the side of the escalator.
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"Um, excuse me, have you seen a girl with orange hair and a guy with blue hair and two triangles on each side of his face come by here? They're about 15."
Tyson's little group had been asking around for news of their friends.
Daichi plopped himself down on a bench and groaned, "We're never going to find them." Kenny sat down beside him and moaned, "Oh, we'll never find them! We should just get out of this mall and find a way to get back to Japan!"
Tyson growled in frustration, "We can't just leave the others here, they're our friends! They'll be looking for us too."
Hilary leaned over the railing facing out into the empty space in the middle of the mall, "I hope whatever thing Tanika did to us to make us know English will hold out until we get back." She looked up at the higher levels and blinked, then squinted.
The air high above Hilary was rippling, and she could see irregular flashes of blue and orange falling with a strange rippling effect. As it sped past her, she felt a gust of wind. 'What was that?' When the phenomenon reached two floors beneath her, the flashing and rippling vanished completely. In the background, Tyson was yelling at Daichi about something.
The group looked up when Hilary came walking back with a strange expression on her face. "What's wrong, Hil?" Max asked. Hilary frowned, "I may have been seeing things, but I saw this weird rippling in the air, like when the air is hot, and then I saw these weird flashes of orange and blue. And when it went past me, there was this gust of wind…"
Tyson laughed, "You're probably seeing things. After all, it was you who saw this thing, right?" He started choking when Hilary grabbed his shirt and glared at him, "Are you saying that I'm hallucinating!" Tyson cowered from her and grinned sheepishly, "Calm down, Hilary, people are going to think you're some crazy hag."
The fire in Hilary's eyes flamed even higher at the comment.
Max sighed and smiled, "Well, those two are at it again." Kenny moaned and buried his face in his hands dejectedly. Daichi yawned at the two, "Those two look like they were made for each other, don't you think?"
Max nodded with a big grin on his face, "Yes, it seems so obvious, doesn't it?"
"WHAT!"
The three flinched as Tyson and Hilary's voice rose in anger. Flames rose up behind Tyson and Hilary as they loomed over their three friends.
Max chuckled nervously, "You know, guys, under lighting don't suit you. It makes you look way too evil." Kenny nodded fervently behind Max. Daichi coughed, "Shouldn't we be looking for our friends instead of arguing?"
"For once, Daichi isn't yelling…" Daichi sweat-dropped as everyone backed away from him.
"A flash of orange and blue, you say?" Everyone whirled around at the voice. An old woman had seated herself on their bench without them knowing.
"Ehhhh! Where the… how… what the!"
The old woman continued as if nothing had happened, "Ah, you must be talking about the dragon child and her companion… Kai, was it? He wasn't looking very happy, I'm afraid."
Tyson snorted, "Kai never looks happy."
The woman continued, "The dragon is clever, she will be alright." Max thought of something, "Oh, have you seen Ray and Koguro?"
"Koguro…? I remember now… he was such a sweet young pup back then. But then he had to go through all that training. Coming from such a distinguished pack must be hard on him."
Tyson grinned, "Alright, you saw Ray!" Hilary hit him on the head, "She was talking about Koguro, you idiot. She never said whether she saw them or not."
Tyson rubbed his head, "Jeez, you don't have to be so violent about it." Hilary ignored him and asked politely, "Um, so did you see Ray and Koguro?"
The old woman ignored her question, "Listen carefully, children, for you are all in grave danger. There will be people after you, and they are not to be taken lightly. Do not trust anyone, except for yourselves. Even your closest friend may be your downfall."
She turned to leave, "But there will be others, others who have good hearts. They will help you find what you seek. Keep your hopes strong, and everything will be alright." The old woman paused, "Tell Koguro this, 'Hold what is close to your heart dearly, for you may lose them when you least expect it."
She disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind five bewildered teenagers.
"What was that all about?"
"She never answered our question…" The five sighed dejectedly.
"What should we do now?" Daichi wailed. Several people frowned at him as they walked by.
Hilary sat down and looked around, "Hey, I just thought of something. We could use the elevator!" Max pointed at a sign near the elevators, "We can't. It's under maintenance." Tyson looked at him, "Wow, Max, you can read English? Whatever that weird girl did to us didn't make us know how to read English."
Max grinned, "Of course I know. I'm from America, remember?"
Hilary stuck her face in front of Tyson's, "That 'weird girl' has a name, Tyson!" Tyson folded his arms and grinned smugly, "You're just defending her because she's another girl whom you can hang out with, that's all!"
"Why you… you idiot!"
"Hey, my title's 'Third time World Champion,' not idiot!"
Kenny moaned and buried his face in his hands, "Not again, Tyson! We'll never get anywhere like this!" Max smiled and patted Kenny's shoulder comfortingly, "Come on, Chief, cheer up a little. This little trip could be fun!"
The younger boy groaned and Daichi put his hands behind his head, "Man, those two really like to argue, don't they?"
The aforementioned two glared at him, "Talk about yourself, Daichi!" Daichi jumped up and held up a fist, "Are you challenging me, Tyson!" Tyson whipped out his beyblade launcher, "Like you can beat me. I'm World Champ! No one can beat me!"
Daichi pulled out his as well, "Oh yea! We'll see about that! I'll defeat you and become the new Champion!"
Hilary waved her arms around, "Guys, this is a mall! Stop causing such a racket!" By now, a large group of curious onlookers had gathered around the two youths and some were even betting on the outcome.
Kenny moaned, "Why must this happen every time!" Max chuckled, "Don't worry so much, Kenny, I'm sure they just need to blow off some steam."
"Who's blowing off steam!"
"Hey, I'm your opponent, not Max! Now pay attention or I'll knock your Strata Dragoon to the moon!"
"Hah, as if that will happen!"
"Guys, break it up! This isn't a Beystadium, it's a mall!"
Kenny wailed in frustration and Max could only smile, resigned to what would happen.
---------------------------------------------
"So, your headache any better?"
"Don't remind me…"
"Ok, I'm sorry I brought it up, and why are you glaring at me?"
"Because it helps to relieve the pain."
"Oh, I see…"
Ray sighed, 'Why do I even bother? He doesn't even want to talk to me.'
A groan made him look at Koguro, who was holding his head in pain. "Are you ok?" Koguro glared at him, "Would you be okay if you had been hit with a baseball bat, then found out that we're only on the twelfth floor!"
"I guess not…"
"Exactly!"
"Well, let's go find the nearest escalator or elevator."
And so, they made their way to the nearest elevator…
"What do you mean, under construction!" Ray sighed as Koguro glared at the construction worker he was talking to. The worker flinched under the glare and apologized, "I'm sorry sir, but the elevator stopped working this morning and we've been trying to fix it since."
"Is the escalator also not working?" Ray was sure that the worker was going to melt from the heat of Koguro's glare. The scared worker shook his head timidly.
Ray swore he could hear a collective sigh of relief when he and Koguro left the vicinity of the workers. "It's not their fault, Koguro, so calm down." Said person growled, "You've never had to look after someone who can literally have you killed, do you?"
"Uh, what do you mean?"
"Never mind, you'll never understand. After all, you're a neko-jin."
Ray sighed for the umpteenth time, "Is this about what Tanika said back in that place…world?" His companion snapped, "No, and shut up!"
'I wonder when we'll find Tyson and the others. Having to stand Koguro's temper is really tiring…And of course, there's the fact that he pretty much hates me.'
Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Hey, isn't that Ray from White Tiger X?" Ray blinked. He turned around in time to see a large group of fans, mostly female, running towards him. "Uh oh…"
Koguro jumped out of the way in time and stared dumbfounded as poor Ray was mobbed by his screaming fans.
"Oh my god, it's Ray!" The girls squealed and Koguro winced from the volume.
"Marry me, Ray!"
"Can I have your autograph?"
"Ray, go out with me!"
A flustered Ray looked at the throng of fan girls, then over at Koguro, who still had a dumbfounded look on his face. "Help me!" Ray mouthed. Koguro looked at him disbelievingly and shook his head. Ray looked at him pleadingly and Koguro threw his hands up into the air in exasperation.
Koguro thought for a moment and an idea appeared in his head. All that was left to do was to make it work.
"Hey look, there goes Kai, the famous beyblader!" All the fans' heads turned as one towards the raised voice.
"Where is he! Tell us where Kai went!" Koguro pointed in a random direction and the fans ran off screaming about Kai.
Ray sighed and straightened his clothing, "Thanks, Koguro. I thought I would never get out of that. Say, I didn't know you beyblade." Koguro glanced at him dismissively, "I stay up to date with the news, that's all."
Koguro looked after the retreating crowd of fans, "You have such loyal fans, you know that?" Ray sighed, "I sometimes wonder why I get fans like that."
"Oh, well, maybe we'll have a beybattle sometime? That is, if you know how to beyblade."
When Koguro didn't answer, Ray looked around to see Koguro with his head tilted back. "Koguro, what are you doing?"
Koguro didn't answer and breathed in deeply.
"What's wrong?"
Koguro repeated the act once more before facing Ray, "We need to leave, now. Something doesn't smell right. Whatever it is, it doesn't smell friendly."
"What are you talking about? I don't smell any-" Ray was cut off by Koguro's snort, "Of course you can't. You're a neko-jin. Now shut up and come, unless you want to meet whatever's coming after us."
'What is wrong with him? And why does he hate me so much? It could be because I'm a neko-jin, but that conflict Tanika mentioned is long gone now. It's all past. Koguro sure knows how to hold a grudge.'
Ray realized Koguro was telling him something. "-stairs. They're faster, less people." Without a backward glance, Koguro strode off; his long strides making Ray walk at almost a running pace to catch up. "Say, what should we do if we can't find Tyson and the others?"
Koguro looked over his shoulder at Ray, "Then I'll be skinned alive by my family for getting into such a mess. To make myself feel better, I'll drag you along with me and put half the blame on you. Of course, my family will never believe me and put me down in the books as a lying coward who can't do his job properly." The tone in his voice was slightly strained, as if the wolf did not want to think about it.
Ray muttered, "Sorry I asked." His companion grumbled something inaudible and picked up his pace, "Hurry up. I can feel its presence."
The two went down a set of stairs and continued down another set when Ray felt a tiny twinge of dread in his mind and a shiver ran up his spine.
"You felt it too…I guess you're not as stupid as you seem to be."
Suddenly, Koguro came to a halt and turned sharply. Ray looked at him warily, "What is it?" Koguro's eyes widened, "It's Tanika!" He jumped down the rest of the stairs and ran towards the hollow center of the mall.
Ray caught up to Koguro as the latter skidded to a stop before the railing. Koguro looked down and took a sharp breath, "It's Tanika, and Kai! That manipulating bastard! When I find him, I'll skin him alive!"
"What are you talking about? I don't see Kai or Tanika."
Koguro looked down at the lower floors, "Of course you can't. That's because they're invisible. I bet that bastard put that stupid idea into Tanika's head! I can't wait until I get my hands on him. He'll regret the day he met me."
Ray had a large sweat-drop on his forehead, "Kai's not the type to do that, Koguro, especially if it means putting someone else in danger."
"Anyone who lays a hand on Tanika has to deal with me. I don't care if it's you or some stranger, as long as anyone touches her, they're in trouble."
'Why am I stuck with such an overprotective person who hates me again…?'
"Come on, there's no time to waste." With that, Koguro dragged Ray by the neck of his shirt down the next flight of stairs.
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"I see they have been separated."
"Yes, my lady. The targets each have one other person with them. The others are in a group."
"I see… Get the boy ready. His first assignment will begin soon."
"Yes, my lady."
A soft glow surrounded an object and faraway rumbling could be heard in the background.
"Yes, what is it?" A different voice spoke up.
"Get him ready, I'll give you the signal when it's time."
"Of course. I'll begin shortly."
The odd glow faded away with the voice.
"Is there anything else, my lady?"
"They won't know what hit them. We'll gain the upper hand and win. Isn't that right?"
"Of course … would you spare a question, my lady?"
"Yes?"
"How exactly, will that boy's assignment do anything in our favour?"
"…Are you questioning me?"
"I would never do such a thing, my lady!"
"Then don't ask any silly questions, or you might find that you don't have a life anymore."
"…Yes, my lady."
"So... it's finally started… everything is in motion… Inform the others!"
"Yes, my lady."
A figure rose and a pair of boots faded into a long, dark hallway silently. Silence enveloped the room.
Blood red lips shone in the dark and the owner rose from her seat, "There is nothing left to do…except to wait."
Well, I hope you liked this chapter. If you have any comments to make, go ahead and do so….
Please tell me if you find my characters being in any way Mary Sue-ish and the Beyblade characters OOC and I'll try to correct my mistakes next chapter.
Hopefully, all of you who read this got the idea that Koguro hates Ray. I hope I made it obvious enough.
This is getting repetitive, but I'll say it again….please review! By reviewing, you'll get chapter postings more often!
Thanks for reading!