"Gorgeous! Absolutely stunning! That's it! Twist that way, perfect!" I groaned inwardly as the eager photographer's voice rang over and over again in my ears, telling my sister what a wonder she was in front of the camera. It was her third day with the photo shoot, and to be honest, I was starting to get jealous of the attention she was receiving not only from Sony's representatives, but also everyone else (even Kai!). Somehow, it had leaked out that Sarial had received a record deal.
I watched as Sarial used the back of her hand to push back her long, waist-length brown hair, then throw her hair out with her arm, twisting her head the opposite way, closing her eyes. Strands of delicate brown fanned out behind her, and I unconsciously started to play with my hair. Sis had such a full-looking shine to her hair. Did I have that kind of shimmer to mine? My thoughts were drowned out by a voice in my head telling me to watch my sister.
She was wearing a uniform from a local high school. A white and red short sleeved blouse, red necktie and a matching skirt hugged her form well, showing her small (and still growing) but fashionable curves. I stared in awe as Sarial whipped her head from its previous position to the other side, her hair swishing behind her, resting gently on her shoulder; some landing on her lips. The photographer went wild at this point, with my sister acting all sexy in front of the camera.
"You look lovely back there," I said to Sis during our fifteen-minute break. She sipped water from her bottle and smiled, winking at me.
"I thrive in front of cameras," she joked, sounding all snobbish. I laughed with her at the way she talked. It sounded so unlike her! The most I've heard her use are English accents and French accents. Making herself sounding snobbish just… it just doesn't sound like my sister. Soon enough, her break was over and she was seated in a chair in a classroom, turning this way and that, smiling glamorously. Another wave of jealously came over me, hitting me in the face like when she swung her braid around yesterday for a photo; harmless but stinging on the inside.
When work was over and done with, we retreated back to the hotel, in hand, developed photos of my sister's work to divulge. Inwardly, I thirsted to hide away some of those photos. Sarial looked so radiant in several of the shots, but I knew it would be selfish of me to carry out what I thrived to do.
We had eaten lunch at a balcony Greek restaurant called Pangaea, accompanied by Mariah, Hilary and a tall brown haired, green eyed girl named Julia. Apparently she was from some team called F Dynasty. She's pretty cool, but I guess she can be bitchy sometimes, it's pretty annoying.
Later on, her brother, Raul, dropped in, and it was like a sudden feeling of connection between us; we were both the other half of a pair of twins whom were superstars. I wished he had stayed for lunch with us. I wanted to talk to him.
The girls practically bowed to my sister chanting 'Princess Sarial' when they saw the pictures. The way my sister held her sleek black leather purse, flicking her braid over her shoulder. The way she held her black iPod in her hand, dancing around. The way she; well, basically the way she did everything. Julia kept on complementing Sarial and said that she'd attract a lot of attention at a circus if she performed.
"With a pretty face like yours, the audience would come to see just how lovely you look!" Julia complimented. Sarial laughed.
"I could never work well with animals. I can't even work well with Kai!" she defended, motioning to the sleeping pup in my lap. I stroked his head and sipped my lemonade. All of us laughed, drawing stares from the crowd below us walking by. After lunch, we just kind of walked around the Harbor, admiring the beauty of the water and the way it glittered like a giant sapphire. Kai the Labrador trotted happily at my side on his leash.
Hilary, Mariah and Julia were talking about tomorrow's Beyblade finals while Sarial and I were listening when Tala came up to us from behind. "Good afternoon, ladies. Mind if I interrupt for a moment?"
"Actually, yes we do," Hilary said, scrunching her nose at the sight of her enemy. I don't blame her; after all, the finals are between Blitz-something Boys and the BBA Something. "What do you want?"
"I came to talk to Sarial and Katora. Got a problem?" he fired right back. Tala blew some hair out of his face and turned to us, ignoring Hilary's loud complaints. "Are you two too busy tomorrow afternoon?"
"Early afternoon or late afternoon?" I questioned, trying to sound annoying. Tala rolled his eyes, sighing (probably at my stupidity).
"Early afternoon, at 12:30 p.m. It's the finals tomorrow—"
"We're aware of that, thanks to Hilary," Sarial interrupted.
"Yeah, well, did you two want to come? We can convince Dickenson to let you in. It won't be much trouble," Tala said. Hilary frowned, huffing.
"Hey, I was going to invite them!" she said. Tala smirked.
"Too slow, like the rest of the BBA Revolution," he shot back, earning a glare from Hilary. That's it! Their name is BBA Revolution! I thought, the memory flooding back into my brain.
"So you're inviting us to your showdown between the BBA Revolution and the Bli… The Bli… Oh God, what was the name?" Sarial asked sheepishly. Tala ran his hand down his face, groaning. The girls laughed.
"I think it was the Blizzard Boys or something," I offered, uncertain myself. What was the name?
"Blitzkrieg Boys! It's Blitzkrieg Boys!" Tala roared, earning some giggles from some girls walking by. Redhead Boy huffed angrily. Kai barked and snapped at his heels for yelling.
"Relax, Redhead. It's only a name," I said, patting him on the back. Ice blue eyes stared at me in shock.
"Only a name? It's the meaning behind the name! Just like the meaning behind yours, and Sarial's and Hilary's…" His voice faded away in my mind when I heard his words. What did my name mean? I've heard Mother says several times when we were younger that Sarial's name comes from the Hebrew 'Sari', which was 'meaning'. What was the truth behind mine? Father chose my name for me, but he never told me what it meant…
"Hey, are you listening!" I snapped my head up to come face to face with Tala, staring at me weirdly. "You were spacing out, weren't you? Don't even have the decency to listen to a friend!"
"I'm sorry. I was thinking about something," I apologized. Sarial and the others laughed at me. "What?"
"Well, you had this glazed look on your face, and you didn't even blink when Tala started waving his hand in front of your face. Is something wrong with your other eye as well?" Sarial joked. It kind of hurt, my own sister thinking that something was wrong with my right eye. But I knew she was joking.
"No, my right eye's fine. I just spaced out about something."
"So, are you two coming to the game tomorrow?" Hilary asked. Sarial shrugged.
"I think we can make it. We only have a two-hour shoot at 9, tomorrow morning. Sure, why not?" she said. She turned her head to me, her hair floating out a bit. "That is, if Katora doesn't mind to watch the boys scream at each other and spinning tops."
"No. I'll come. There isn't anything to do anyways," I said. Tala grinned and ran off, waving his hand goodbye to us.
"I'll call you tonight with the details!" he cried. Julia huffed.
"How rude, not inviting us," she said, sighing. "Men are such bastards sometimes."
"I thought as competitors you already have spots secured," I pointed out.
"Yeah. Front row seats. But still, being a gentleman and inviting us to something we're attending anyways couldn't hurt," Mariah stated, winking. We laughed our ways to the dining room of our hotel.
Next DayToday's photo shoot was a lot like the one from yesterday. I held Kai in my arms, who for once was awake, and watched silently as Sarial posed in various positions on the concrete walkway. She was acting even sexier today than yesterday.
She was clad in black leather spike heels, a red and black plaid skirt and a white shirt with one shoulder cut off and the other slashed into thin straps. On top of the white shirt was a black one, exactly the same style but smaller. My sister looked like a true diva now.
The little green bugs called envy crawled all over my skin, biting at me. Sarial's hair was pulled up into a bun, with her bangs let loose and some locks of hair left hanging out of her style. This showed off the dangling ruby earrings that her manager gave to her today. Talk about spoiled, huh?
People passing by stared at my sister in awe. Groups of girls pointed at her and sighed; while clusters of boys walked by whistling, catcalling, purring, you name it. Sarial blushed prettily, her now red cheeks making her look even more stunning. Light bulb flashes went off like wild for the next minute, and my sister did dramatic poses.
An hour later, Ayayoshi and Necor changed her into a dark brown skirt with ruby red beading at the hem and waist, a white spaghetti strap tank top and bangles that matched her skirt. She walked barefoot along the Harbor, her smooth, pale feet touching the brown boards of wood. In her hand were her flip-flops with tiny heels, and nestled on her nose were a pair of sunglasses.
She twirled around, scared away seagulls, waved hello to passing people, tilting her sunglasses down at the camera, giving the photographer a stunning shot of her green eyes. By the time she folded her hands behind her hand and smiled at the camera one last time, I was dark, dark green with lots of envy. It only became worse when the photographer and Tanaka gave us the photos from yesterday's shoot.
After the others left, Sarial and I decided that we didn't need to go back to the hotel to change; she looked nice the way she was. I felt so –how should I say this? - so inferior. Compared to the way she dressed, I looked so immature in light brown Timberland's ankle boots, khaki shorts, white tank top and red plaid long-sleeved shirt tied around my hips. And while Sis' hair was up in this stylish bun, my hair was in its old braid.
We arrived at the stadium half an hour early. It was big, with this gigantic plasma right outside the front doors which read 'BEYBLADE FINALS TODAY! TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!' Under the sign, at the box office, was this long line of people, curving like a snake. I was surprised that a large population of the ticket buyers were females. Maybe they were interested in Beyblading?
"Oh my God, when was the last time I saw Kai's face in person?" I heard one girl ask as I walked by. Sarial was immune to their conversation, and they were immune to her looks.
"Like, never. It's the first time he's come to Australia for a Beyblade tournament," said another. She flipped her blond hair over her tanned shoulders. Some of it smacked me in the face harmlessly. Suddenly, she was jumping up and down excitedly. "Look! Look over there! It's him!"
I looked at the way Sis and I were heading to find that Blue Boy had just exited the building. He was walking to us. Sarial raised a hand and waved. "Hey, Kai! How's it going?" We ran up to him, and he handed us an envelope. Sis ripped open the flap and pulled out the letter. I stood behind her to read the curly letters:
Dear Ms. Sarial and Ms. Katora,
It is my honor to extend an invitation to you at the request of Kai Hiwatari to attend the Beyblading Finals. I have sent Mr. Hiwatari to bring you to your seats. Enjoy the match.
Yours truly,
Mr. K. Dickenson
Chairman of the Beyblade Battle Association
"Follow me," was all Kai said as he turned around, his white scarf hitting me in the face. What was it inanimate things hitting my face! Am I that ugly? Nonetheless, I followed Sarial and Kai, who were ahead of me and making small talk. Or rather, Sis rambled on about something while Blue Boy nodded every once in a while. Kai the trouble maker trotted at my side, his red collar sticking out from his golden fur.
At the door, the guard nodded at the three of us, but stared at the puppy and shook his head. "No animals allowed inside. Sorry," he said, giving me an apologetic look. I picked up Kai and scratched his ear. Sarial turned to me and pouted.
"It's okay. You go on, I'll head back to the hotel with Kai," I assured her, flashing a fake smile. Sis didn't buy it. Kai stepped up to me and stroked the puppy's small head. Kai pined at the touch, nuzzling his head into Blue Boy's palm.
"The puppy received permission from Mr. Dickenson to attend. He'll be on his leash during the finals," Kai told the guard. The guard nodded his head without hesitation and let us through. We were led to a side of the stadium with a lot less seats than the other three sides, which were packed with people already. Sitting in a comfortable looking chair was a chubby man who was balding at the top.
"Ah, Kai! Thank you for bringing them here," said the man as we approached. Kai nodded and walked away. The balding man turned to us. "You two have certainly matured during the two years, Katora and Sarial."
"Same to you, Mr. Dickenson," Sarial and I spoke in unison, bowing. Kai barked and wagged his tail. Dickenson stared at the dog. "I assume you haven't met Kai. We adopted him a few months ago." A wrinkling hand reached to pet the furball's head.
"I hope you didn't run into any trouble with the guards at the front gate, bringing in a dog," Dickenson said, resting back in his seat. He motioned to the two empty seats next to him, and we sat down. I took the seat next to the Chairman of the BBA.
"We didn't, on account of Kai telling that guards that you gave us permission to bring our pet," Sarial explained, bowing her head in thanks. Dickenson frowned.
"I don't remember saying—" he was cut off short by an enthusiastic voice booming into the stadium, getting the crowd pumped up. A man appeared through smoke that the backstage crew blew out. He was wearing mostly black, with a red bandana on his head, hiding part of his brown hair.
"Hey there, folks! Are you ready for the Beyblade Finals!" he cried, pumping is fist in the air. I thought about how boring a job this must be for him, going from place to place just to announce the opening of the match. Even so, the crowd roared back, screaming at the top of their lungs. Kai and I winced at the volume, but Sarial screamed right along with everyone.
"You don't even know the sport, and you're cheering?" I demanded, hints of frustration creeping into my voice. Sarial smiled at me, and I felt my anger flush away.
"Sure, why not?" she said, flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes. She watched the stadium as the announcer called out Tala's and Kid Face –I mean- Daichi's name. Both approached the round dish, taking their launchers from their back pockets. I marveled at how something so big can be pulled out of nowhere. "I mean, we are at a public event. Blend in, or else people will think us weird for not enjoying ourselves when we're sitting in top seats."
I looked around at the seats on the other three sides. We sat in cushioned chairs, while everyone else in the stadium sat in plastic chairs. I guess we did score a good spot for free. My mind hardly paid attention to the battle in front of us. My green eye wandered over to the bench where the Blitzkrieg Boys sat. On the end closer to us sat Kai, eyes closed, arms crossed, lips sealed.
"Mr. Dickenson," I began. Baldy nodded his head to show that he was listening. "In the letter you said that Kai requested that we attend today's match. Are you sure it wasn't Tala who asked you?"
"It was Kai, I can guarantee that," he replied. He chuckled. "During the past few years I've known Kai, I never thought that he would ask something from me."
"Was it too much trouble? That my sister and I came here?" I asked. Dickenson laughed.
"Of course not. It's a pleasure having you two here today. Like I said before, Kai isn't one to ask people for favors," he explained. He lit a pipe (to my disgust) and started to smoke. I hope I won't die of second-hand smoke. "I'm glad to see the boy finally opening up to people other than his teammates."
I watched as a white and gold light came from the Beyblades, Daichi and Tala screaming at each other now. The crowd went absolutely wild. I frowned. "I still can't see them," I whispered to Sarial, nudging her. She swung her head my way and frowned.
"Still?" she said. Then she turned back to the dish. "Well, your loss. That wolf's one hell of a beauty."
"What's the matter?" Baldy asked.
"Katora can't see Bit-Beasts," Sarial blurted. Dickenson's brown eyes widened.
"Oh dear, that's not a very good thing," he said. "The beauty of the Beasts are what draws the crowd." Suddenly, both tops flew out of the dish, landing at their respective owner's feet. Both Tala and Daichi stared at their feet in shock. Kid Face was the first to be dramatic.
"Mr. Dickenson, sir," said a man in a dark suit. He had a hand up to his ear, his other at his shirt collar. "Both Tala's and Daichi's Beyblades are badly damaged. They won't be able to go for a second round." Baldy was silent for a moment, closing his eyes to think. Then he opened them again.
"We'll have Tyson and Kai battle for the title of victor."
"So soon, Karl?" said an elderly man on the other side of Dickenson. He turned to the one who just spoke.
"And why not, Lucif?" he challenged. "The crowd loves a good battle, and Tyson and Kai are rivals, so this should result in a decent battle."
"The last one barely lasted a half hour! How do you expect that this one will last longer?" cried another. "And we can't have them stall, or the audience will catch on!"
"Mr. Dickenson, sir, I have just received a request from Mr. Hiwatari. He wants to battle Tyson for the position of World Champion," said the man in the suit. I motioned for him to come over to me, and I pulled him down by the collar, taking his earpiece.
"Hello?" I said. The judges (expect for Dickenson) stared at me. Sarial raised an eyebrow.
"Sarial? What're you—" Kai's voice came over the earpiece, but I cut him off. I pulled the man's collar closer to my lips.
"It's Katora. Thanks for the seats by the way, and we've just processed your request," I said. It was silent on the other end, and I turned back to the stadium to look at where the boy on the other line sat. Kai held a phone to his ear, his dark brown eyes looking at me, waiting for my answer. "Mr. Dickenson has given his consent for you and Tyson to battle."
"Now wait one damn minute!" cried the first man who challenged Dickenson. "Who put you in charge!"
"No one," I answered, still holding onto the man's collar. Kai still had the receiver u to his ear. "But if Mr. Dickenson seems to think this a good idea, I think the rest of the world will, too. After all, if the viewers do really like the sport, they won't care how long a battle lasts. They'll only care if the players do their best," I explained. Flashing a smile, I added, "It's the same with sprinting." Dickenson smiled at me.
"Katora," Kai began. I turned my attention back to Blue Boy. Kai the Labrador sat in my lap, head cocked at me. "Are you sure Mr. Dickenson is okay with this?"
"Of course he is, after all, he suggested it as well," I said. I looked at Kai to see him looking right back at me. I smiled. "Good luck." Releasing my firm grip on the man's now wrinkled collar, I sat up straight in my seat. The announcer told the crowd the change of plans, and called up Tyson and Kai. The crowd went absolutely wild. Girls held up signs that read 'We (heart) Kai!' Boys jumped out of their seats, pumping their fists at the dish.
No sooner had Tyson and Kai launch their tops, they summoned their pets, or Beasts or whatever. Again I saw flashes of silvery blue and fiery red. But when the red light came from Kai's top, I saw a large red bird with streaks of gold and long tail feathers. It appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Turkey!" Tyson cried, jumping up and down. Kai narrowed his eyes into a glare.
"How many times do I have to tell you! Dranzer is NOT a turkey!" he cried, sparks coming from the dish. Pieces of rock flew everywhere. Sheets of glass were shattered, and their broken shards shattered even further. But worse was the damage that the boys sustained.
I never thought that Beyblading was a dangerous sport. I mean, all the people do is scream at each other, right? No, I was so wrong. Apparently, the Bladers are connected to their pets or whatever, and receive whatever damage that their partners receive. I never thought a stupid sport like this would have bruises. Cuts. Loss of breath from the damage. But worst of all, blood. The sight of the crimson liquid dripping onto the floor shocked me. I felt Sarial trembling in her seat next to me.
Somehow, neither Kai nor Tyson would let up, until an hour later after the match started, Kai collapsed to his knees, his blue top dropping with him. A roar went up in the stadium. It transformed into a cheer. And then a gasp of shock. I looked around the stadium to see that they were staring at our side of the stadium. I turned to see Sarial looking at something invisible in front of me. What was she staring at?
I felt something warm brush against my bare arm. Kai barked at the… magnificent creature in front of me. The large red and gold bird from earlier. It's emerald green eyes pierced into my being, searching through every one of my cells. I thought this was just an ordinary over-grown bird. But up close, I finally knew what it was. A phoenix. A stunning phoenix, talons gripping the railing in front of me.
I could feel my feet rooted to the spot. I finally understood why everyone stared at me, because it wasn't at me they were looking at. I reached out to touch its wing, and I did fell its silky feathers beneath my skin. The phoenix touched my forehead with its beak. Suddenly, starting at its feet, thousands of tiny golden lights appeared. The phoenix disappeared slowly, its eyes leaving last. Before I could open my mouth, all that was left was gold sparks.
The one to break the trance was the announcer person. He announced Tyson as the World Champion, talked about how he would receive a reward for his team, and all that crap. Every one in the stadium converted their attention to the cheery dark haired boy who was jumping with bruises and cuts all over his skin.
I looked around the stadium, looking for any sign of the red phoenix, but instead found someone who wasn't broken from the trance. Kai stared at me, standing still with his top in his fingers. I stared back at him, until he really did collapse this time. I screamed for the medical staff as he fell to the ground into his own tiny puddle of blood.
Author's Note: I've never been to Australia before, so I got all the information I needed off the internet. And the information I couldn't find, I made it up.U So if you're Australian, I'm very sorry if you're offended in any way.
I'd also like to thank my friend Yuukan for editing this chapter for me.