Chapter 31------Cherry-face Syndrome

"Ahhh, I'm sooo stuffed." Mai rubbed her stomach in satisfaction as she collapsed onto the sofa. But she quickly sat up and smiled when she remembered today's events.

They had won! They were in the finals! They were this –uses index finger and thumb to make a small gap between them- close to winning the trophy. Instead of not wanting to believe it, Mai DID believe it. This wasn't a dream, it was real; and it was obvious. 'We have a chance…we actually have a chance!'

"Hey look, they're broadcasting today's match." Everyone focused their attention on the talking black box before them.

"And now for the latest updates on the Beyblading Asian tournament. China's very own White Tigers beat the Moraccas two out of three in today's semi-finals group A match. –tv plays snippets of White Tigers match-.However, they failed to qualify into the finals after being beaten two to one by the Saint Shields in the group B match. Moving on, the Bladebreakers give an astounding performance today, completely wiping out their opponents from both the group A and B matches. –Replays BB's match- Their new team member, Takuya Mai, knocked out Indonesia's own Ryan Tandiono in a stunning finish to claim the victory two to one. The Bladebreakers will move on to battle newcomers, Team Freedom, in the finals this Tuesday. Now for the news on—" –twink- "Haaah! Maji ka yo? Na Higure-san wa... (Whhaaat? Are you serious? Then Mr Higure…)" Tyson had switched the channel to some Japanese variety show showing a very funny guy dressed up in a pink bunny suit.

"Chief, run a check on team Freedom." A cold-voice sounded from the kitchenette.

"Already on it!" Kenny's fingers tapped furiously on the keys and finally punched in the ENTER button. He waited as the website loaded a picture and description of the team, "Huh? –amazed- Team Freedom is Riya's team!"

"Wha—?" The sound of Riya's name alerted Mai's attention as she turned to face the computer whiz. She scrambled to join Hilary, Kai and Rei who had already gathered around the chief; all of them staring at the computer screen.

Dizzi: Whoa! Seems like you guys are up against some competition. The leader's stats blow the roof!

Mai's eyes speed-read through the short description of the team. Worry grew inside her as she looked at their progress so far and what the tabloids were saying: "blew his opponent away in an outstanding move", "the performance of the century", "strong, determined and packing a killer bit beast ". 'He's really serious… -expression changes to a more determined look- I can't let him win.' She withdrew herself from the group, "Training. 9 am tomorrow," she said sternly. "I'm going to bed early. Oyasumi. (good night)" With that, the girl headed back to her sleeping quarters, leaving the rest wondering what was wrong with her…

-Morning-

"FLAME SABRE!" The red phoenix spread its flaming wings and tackled Levian, bruising it on its left side. Mai watched as Levian fell from the impact. Her blade wobbled, a sign that it was losing balance. She needed to do something, quick! "LEVIAN! WATER MAGE!" The wolf obeyed but all his clones were shot down by a quick attack from Dranzer. 'Dammit!' Mai was feeling the pressure but she wasn't going to back down so easily. "DRANZER ATTACK!" Kai shouted. 'Hey! Wait!' But Mai wasn't given the time to react. You had to be quick. Speed and Accuracy were the keys to winning. In a matter of seconds, her blade sailed through the air and landed noisily on the floor.

Kai recalled his blade, examining it for any serious damage. Nothing, only a few scratches here and there. He traced his finger over the tip of the hooks of the defence ring, 'It's a little rough… But then again, her blade's coated with diamond dust. Shall get Kenny to look at it.' The boy cleared his thoughts and looked up to see how Mai was doing. The girl just finished brandishing her blade with a small towel.

MAI'S POV

You did great Lev. I'll fix you later when we get back and Kenny can do something about your balance.

I heard a soft growl in reply. –smiles- I'll let you rest now.

I put away the towel and caught Kai looking at me so I made my way to him, "Nice move back there. –quickly argues- But you didn't give me time to attack! No fair!"

He just shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal… You know what? I give up on this guy… He doesn't do anything else but shrug, smirk, glare and keep silent. Argh! Can't you do anything else? –imagines playing with a Kai-doll and flailing its arms in anger-

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something familiar.

"Chotto, ii? (Can I have a word?)" It was Riya. Why is he here?

I ended up saying yes. I didn't sense any danger so it was ok…right?

We both walked out of the training hall and stopped at an area which had a nice view of the harbour. The whole stretch of one side of the wall was lined with windows while the other side was a glass railing overlooking the lobby downstairs. The space also had some chairs and a coffee table in the middle. I joined Riya and leaned on the gold railing near the window. I glanced at him; he was looking at the view before him.

… So he calls me out to see this?

I opened my mouth to say something—

"We'll be battling tomorrow." He was still looking at the harbour but the distant look in his eyes told me that he was thinking.

"Yeah…" I mumbled, not really enjoying this conversation. Then he turned to face me, "Will you come with us? After all this is over?" I didn't know what to say. A part of me wanted to say: "What? And help you destroy Humans?" but I couldn't though I knew it was wrong.

"I want to but…" I saw a look of hopelessness in his eyes when I said the word 'but'. I shifted my gaze to the floor, "Are you really going to use Eden to destroy Humans?" I said softly. I dare not look him in the eyes; I was afraid of his answer, it hurt too much… I felt as though he was letting me down, but then again, he doesn't owe me anything in the first place… Yet…why do I agonise over him so much? Why do I feel so disappointed? My thoughts were disrupted when I felt someone's arms wrap around me.

"Do you hate me because of that?" He whispered, his breath gently blowing on my shoulder.

Suddenly my stomach felt really empty with this cool-queasy sensation floating about inside. I found myself hugging him back, my head resting on his chest. "Iie… an'ta kirai wa dekimasen… datte… Riya wa suki (No… I could never hate you…because… I like you). No matter what you do… I'll always forgive you. Always…" I could sense that he was smiling. A small voice inside of me was screaming 'OMG! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?' but I ignored it. I didn't even know I was capable of saying such things, but I guess when you get lost in the moment, everything well… just spills out. I don't know what I was doing… but somehow, I didn't really care.

"Tell me your answer after the awarding ceremony ok? Good luck tomorrow." He placed a soft kiss on my cheek and left.

And I just stood there, watching him leave, feeling that something was left incomplete… I think I need to sit down. Yeah, I need to sit down. I grabbed a chair and sat down, recalling what just happened. I touched my cheek. Did that really happen?

I felt myself blushing, it DID happen.

END OF POV

Mai stoned on the chair for a bit, 'Ok Mai, get yourself together. You have to get back to training. Training, yeah! Gotta get back to training!' The girl put on a straight face, finally prepared to face her friends again when—

Levian: First kiss?

Mai's face exploded into a deep shade of red as the memory came flooding back to her. 'Don't talk about it!'

Levian: -chuckles- So much for being prepared

'Go away!' She glared at the air space above her line of vision. She was going back to her friends NOW! Meaning to say Levian had better not say anything funny.

Mai took a breather to calm herself down and was about to push open the door when the door swung open from the other side, almost missing her face, 'Ack!' and she jumped back in surprise.

"Oh! I was about to go looking for you. Where've you been?"

"Out…" The ashen-haired girl replied tersely and walked through the doors as Hilary held them for her…

-Fast forward-

"You alright? You haven't touched your food." Max pointed out. Mai had been pushing the same piece of meat all over the plate for nearly 3 minutes. "Something happen with Riya?"

"Nothing happened!" She jabbed the fork right through the chicken, trying very hard to suppress her blush. "Ooookay…" Max decided it was best to drop the subject though the others exchanged uneasy glances.

'Will you come with us? After all this is over?' His words floated in Mai's head. Such bothersome and persistent words they were; so much so that it made her oblivious to everything else around her. 'Two souls together… how do I stop him if I'm with him? …Am I even obligated to free Eden? If I don't then Riya will do it, or maybe the archaeologists may accidentally free him… But what do I do after I free Eden? What happens next?'

'And what if Eden gets his revenge anyway?' The girl thought hard, she thought deep, analysing the consequences as much as she could.

Levian: What if what if what if… You're life's full of 'what if-s' isn't it? You know what the problem with you is? You worry too much. Just focus on the present and let destiny fall into place. It's not about who frees Eden first or who does what with him; the question has nothing to do with Eden. It's about you, do you want to be with him or not?

'I don't know… I like him. I like Riya a lot… But I'm just scared that… in the end, I might not be able to stop him…'

Levian was silent, the girl had a point. She loved Riya no matter what he did. And because of this, she was afraid she wouldn't have the strength or will power to stop him when the time came.

Levian: What you can do and what you want to do are two different things. I trust you'll make the right decision…

'Thanks.' Even if it wasn't much, Levian had made it easier to make a choice. He had made it clear that it was up to her.

-Next day, day of the finals-

"Here." Mai picked her blade out of Kenny's hands and examined it. "Tyson, c'mere a while." Mai added a "Please?" when she saw that the boy was reluctant. "Launch your blade and attack Levian alright?"

The two bladers launched their beyblades into the beydish. "Dragoon Attack!" The white blade knocked hard against Levian but it regained its sturdiness in a matter of seconds. "Levian!" Mai recalled her blade. She gave a little nod of satisfaction, "Thanks so much Kenny!"

"That was it?" Tyson gaped at her, but he let it slide when Mai thanked him for his help.

"Okay, now that all your blades are done, it's time to discuss battle strategies." The chief announced as everyone gathered around the table. "Ok, what do we know about Team Freedom?" He asked enthusiastically, his hands set on the keyboard ready to record any given data that might prove useful.

"Nothing." Came a sharp reply from Tyson. –POP- The chief's enthusiasm deflated like a balloon… "Ok, then umm anything else?–grins half-heartedly-"

"Well...Copellia's a bit aggressive so she'll use more offensive attacks; get someone who's good on defence to battle her, maybe you Max. –points to Max- Drex likes to study his opponents while Mit-chan is more on the impulsive, quick-thinking side, so you have to be quick up here –taps head with finger- and Riya's very competitive, kinda like you Tyson. Oh and Kai, the top of your blade's fairly weak so be careful about that." Mai finished, gaining bewildered expressions from the rest of her team. 'Whoa! Since when did she know so much?' They all thought.

"-Shrugs shoulders- I grew up training with them so… But never mind that now, -waves hand to dismiss the subject-" Mai's voice changed to a more serious note, "They're not easy to beat, so don't let your guard down." The group nodded determinedly.

"Now let's get out there and kick some Freedom-butt!" Tyson whooped and the team headed out with sounds of 'Yeah!' trailing behind them.

'This is it Levian. Don't let me down.' And the girl walked towards the bright light that opened into the stadium…

Viola! the 31st chapter is done. Haha, wow i wonder how long my story will advance. Seems really long no? Are you readers getting bored? Would you like some thing more spicy/comical/plain crazy/sadin the story?

If so, tell me and I'll fit 'em in!

Till next time,

blu.