Well, I got one positive review, so I guess I'll update. Eh, I have fun writing this anyway, so I don't mind the lack of reviewers. Well then, on with the show.
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.
Rivalry Of The North
Chapter 2
"All right, guys, I have to go meet with some of the tournament officials and organizers. The Arctic Circle have agreed to escort you guys to dinner. Then, they'll show you to the sleeping quarters reserved in the BBA facility for tournament participants," Judy Tate informed her team.
"You've got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Michael. "I don't want to spend another minute with those snobby, pompous as—"
"Watch your mouth, Michael! The Canadians are graciously hosting us; have some courtesy," Judy chided. With a sigh, she softened her tone. "I know that your first impressions weren't too great. But, give them another chance. I'm sure you'll all become good friends and fine rivals in no time."
Michael and Steve grunted indifferently, while Eddy shrugged and Emily mumbled a half-hearted agreement. With a reassuring smile and another farewell, Judy left them to stand in the hallway.
"Well, looks like we have no choice," Eddy remarked. "Maybe the coach is right. The Arctic Circle might not be so bad after all."
"Well, we'll see soon enough," added Emily. "They're coming this way."
Sure enough, the four members of Team Canada were walking towards them. Now that they were inside, and rid of their heavy outer garments, the All Starz were able to examine them more clearly.
At the front of the group stood Rena; her steel grey eyes were as impassive as ever, but a slight, though friendly, smile sat on her lips. Her medium length hair was pinned up near the base of her head so that it spilled over the top of her clip and part way down her neck. Loose strands of black hair hung down around her face with bangs that reached just below her eyebrows. Despite the relative cold, she sported a white and red muscle shirt along with black jeans. She stood at the same height as Steve.
Next to Rena was a smiling Dani. Her long brown hair was tied in two braids lying over her shoulders, tied with dull yellow ribbons. She wore a matching yellow T-shirt and a long pink skirt—which must be of a heavy materiel to last the cold. Dani was pretty short indeed; probably around Emily's height of 5'1", give or take an inch.
On Rena's other side, Rose leaned against the wall. Unlike her fellow female team mates, she was quite tall; she was almost Michael's own height of 5'11". Her fly-away blonde hair reached the middle of her neck, framing a freckled face and soft blue eyes. A white, opened blouse was worn over her brown tube top. It seemed the cold didn't really affect her. Her pale blue jeans were frayed and ripping at the knees.
Lastly, Joey stood in the back with a spaced out look in his hazel eyes. A little bit shorter than Rose, his brown hair was cut to one inch length all around, with a longer fringe over his forehead. His hands were tucked into the pouch of his black-grey hoodie. Bits of a white shirt stuck out from the bottom and at the top of his pullover. His legs were covered by dark blue, straight-cut jeans.
All four of them had jackets slung over their arms.
"Are you ready to go?" Rena asked. "You'll want to grab a coat. We're going to trek to the other building for food." Hesitating for only a moment, they went into the room they had previously exited. Their luggage rested inside, waiting to be taken to their rooms.
"Just leave your bags. We'll come back to get them later," Rose said as they slung on their jackets.
Filing out of the room, the All Starz followed their hosts down the long hallways.
"I don't think that we've been properly introduced, yet!" Dani chimed, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm Dani, that's Joey, Rena, and Rose." Of course, they already knew this information—and more—but they simply nodded.
"I'm Michael, beyblading champ of the U.S. of A.!" Michael replied, never missing a chance to boast.
Ugh, and he said that he didn't want to get friendly with them! Emily thought with a roll of her eyes.
"I'm Emily. That's Steve, and that's Eddy. We're the other, less egotistical members of our team."
"Hmph, you just can't accept that I'm better than you!" the redhead sneered.
"And by the end of this tournament, you'll have to learn to accept that our team is better than yours," added Rena, with a mocking glance over her shoulders.
"Oh yeah!" demanded Michael. "Don't think you're all that just because you beat those losers from the old Canadian team!"
"Yeah, well, don't think you're all that just because you're the self-proclaimed champ of the states!" she retorted, returning his glare. "What I heard was that some kid named Max Tate beat you, Mr. I'm The Best!"
"What did you say!"
"Que tu es un raté," Rena answered calmly. The All Starz stared at her while Dani giggled and Joey smirked. Rose did not understand French as well as her team mates, but she knew enough to make a pass at what she said. She had called him a loser.
Feeling the tension rise to a dangerous level, Joey spoke up. "Bundle up, boys and girls!" Luckily, they really were at the exit. So, Joey's exclamation didn't sound too weird, and it deterred everyone from their previous conversation. He then pulled open the doors leading outside and started down the shovelled path to the other building.
The sky was even darker and the night air even colder as the group of eight trudged back to the other building. The All Starz were eager to get some rest after the uneventful supper. The food was good enough, and they felt much better now, but the half an hour had been somewhat nerve-racking. The Arctic Circle said not a word and ate their food in silence. Only slight, fleeting glances had been exchanged.
Joey was in the lead once more, and everyone followed behind the brown-haired boy. Finally, they reached the door, and many of them sighed with relief. But, as his gloved hands pushed on the door, it only gave way an inch and jammed. Frowning, he shoved harder, but the door just buckled once more.
"That's funny… The door's locked."
"Try the other one," Rena suggested with a shrug. However, when Joey pushed the partner of the pair of doors, it was also locked.
"No good," he replied with a exhalation of breath.
"What's going on?" demanded Emily. The other All Starz's faces reflected the same question.
"The doors are locked. What else does it look like?" Joey asked with a sardonic arch of his eyebrow.
"Don't worry; this happens to us quite a bit. There's another door we can use," Rose said reassuringly. "Of course we'd have to walk through quite a bit of deep snow."
"What!" exclaimed the American team. They had changed from shorts and skirts to pants, but walking through knee-high snow? Not what they were expecting.
"Why are the doors locked in the first place?" Michael demanded.
"Um… they usually lock the doors at about 11 p.m." answered Dani.
"It's only 9:30!" retorted Emily, checking her watch.
"Beats me… This happens all the time. For some reason, a few times a week, some of the doors lock on us way before their normal times. We've just learned to cope with it," Rena replied with another shrug. She seemed to be prone to doing that.
"Well, let's get going," Dani spoke up again. "But I'm not going first." She pointed at her skirt.
"Tallest first!" Rena said, using both hands to shove Rose and Joey forward. She would've loved to push Eddy and Michael instead, but she had to play the good host. What a shame.
With a groan, Joey and Rose braced themselves and plunged into the deep snow that stood on either side of the beaten path. Careful to avoid getting snow in their shoes, the others followed; the All Starz first with Rena and Dani bringing up the rear.
"How much further is this other door?" Steve grumbled as they continued to plough around the perimeter of the building.
"It's just around the next corner," Dani chirped from the back. "Oh!" Suddenly, the girl stumbled and fell forwards, crashing into Rena.
"Whoa!" her team mate exclaimed, tumbling under the other girl's weight. Just before she went down, Rena grabbed at the closest thing in front of her out of reflex. Unfortunately, the closest object was the pant leg of Michael Parker's sweats.
"Argh!" Down he went, with his pants halfway down his thighs.
"Sorry," Rena muttered, slowly standing up. Dani had already recovered, being used to falling down in the snow. She was staring in horror at the sprawled out Michael; more specifically, his now exposed star-spangled boxers.
"Oh dear…" she murmured, eyes wide, a slight blush on her face. The others in front of them had turned by now and were gawking at the sight with somewhat slack jaws.
After gaping at Michael, who was half struggling to get up, something in Rena's brain clicked.
"Out of the way!" she hollered, stumbling as best as she could through the snow and her companions. "Joe! Up!"
Unconsciously, Joey knelt and cupped his hands. Rena's lithe figure skater's body easily boosted off his palms and she landed several feet ahead, the snow cushioning her fall. Dani wasn't taking any chances either, and was right behind her, doing quite well despite her skirt.
Michael did not realize what was happening until he felt cold snow trickling down his legs. Glancing down, he gaped and then his mouth twisted into an angry snarl.
"Why you!" Staggering up and yanking up his pants with a face as red as his hair, he gave chase after the two girls.
"We're sorry! It was an accident!" Dani yelled over her shoulders.
"I'm not," Rena snickered. Luckily, no one but Dani heard that.
The sight of the three youths trouncing through the snow really was quite funny. The rest of their team mates had long since broken out in laughter and Steve was practically rolling in the snow.
"Ack! He's catching up!" Rena hissed, trying to quicken up her pace. "C'mon Dani! Let's get in the doors and lock it behind us! Even the U.S. champ can't break through steel with his bare hands."
"Good plan," her friend nodded. Thankfully, they burst out of the snow mound in another few strides and staggered onto the sidewalk. Recovering, they rushed to the set of twin doors and shoved on the horizontal handlebars. To their dismay, they found that these entrances were also locked.
"Uh oh… I think we're in trouble," Dani murmured under her breath.
They could almost feel the heat of Michael's anger radiating from his body as they turned to face him. A cold shiver shuddered down their spine and they cringed involuntarily.
"I am so getting you back for that," he growled, cracking his knuckles.
"Y-You wouldn't beat up a girl, would you?" asked Dani with a sheepish grin.
"I wouldn't put it past him…" Rena grimaced, the gears in her mind working overtime to find an escape route.
"I would never sink that low! There's more than one way of settling something!" Michael snapped, pulling a certain baseball from his pocket.
"We're going to play catch…?"
"NO! We're going to clear this up with a beyblade battle!"
Ah… I think I'll just end it there. But, will Rena and Dani accept Michael's challenge? Who knows! You'll just have to wait and find out. As long as there's a review, I'll update soon. Thanks to whoever is reading this…
--FireEdge--