I know, I said I'd update at least every other day, but yesterday I couldn't log into Something about a system overload...
Wow! Chapter Six already! I've only written to Chapter Nine! I think I might be forced to update every two days because it takes a long time to type these chapters...Sorry! I'll try to keep it to every other day.
Thanks again to my beautiful reviewers!
Tomb Robbress- I understand it now! Ha, silly me: ) Erm...I'm not really sure how I figured out this plot...I've had it for about a year...I guess it was just lurking, half-formed, in the depths of my warped mind. : ) Thanks for reviewing again!
Hippochick- Another review? Wow! I never expected repeat reviewers! Thanks so much! You're so special! Anyway, I think your question was why I chose Lethe as the title? It's because I wanted the title to have something to do with the whole amnesia thing so I looked in the thesaurus under amnesia. I chose Lethe, because it is defined as one of the five rivers in Hades that is the river of forgetfulness or as a condition of forgetfulness or oblivion! I thought that was pretty cool. Lethe is pronounced le-thay, I think...
Cry of the Wolf- Thanks! I'm glad you like my story!
Glimmern-glitas- Vacation? Where? Lucky you! Thanks for reviewing and wishing me good luck again. So far it's been working! Of course I'll review your stories! I meant to do so for all my reviewers but I haven't found the time to yet, with all the typing of the chapters. Thanks again for reviewing! I love your name, how did you think of it?
Torri-Chiobie- Hey! Another familiar name! I so completely, totally agree; Tala rocks beyond the definition of rocks! Erm, that didn't come out right...
Well, I don't own Beyblade. Before you read the chapter I would like to make a request. Could you guys tell me if Aya's getting to Mary-Sue-ish? I'm trying to keep her real.
Enjoy!
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" Good afternoon. What would you like today." The lunch lady spoke in a dull, bored monotone, limply holding a serving spoon.
" I would like a medium order of poutine, small order of Caesar salad, extra dressing, and citrus sparkling water." Aya shrugged sheepishly, looking at Yuri, who was behind her in the lunch line. " Poutine's so fattening, but I love it."
" Ditto." Yuri laughed.
" Here you go. Have a nice day. Good afternoon, what would you like today." The lunch lady filled Aya's tray and turned her attention to Yuri.
" Uh…large poutine and a Coke, please." Yuri said.
" Here you go. Have a nice day." The lunch lady diverted her attention again.
" So, how was your morning?" Aya asked Yuri. Since Kai's appearance, Aya had dropped her plan of going to Yuri's classes with him and had Yuri follow Kai instead.
" All right. It was a bit weird." Yuri decided not to mention how the kids seemed scared by him and how most of the teachers had bowed and scraped. One student had fled in terror after Yuri had asked for the time. The few teachers who weren't intimidated by him had blamed him for every little disturbance in the class, as if they expected him to misbehave. Yuri groaned inwardly; he'd already gotten three detentions for things he hadn't done.
" I suppose you'd expect that, seeing as you don't recognize much." Aya smiled sympathetically.
" Yeah." Yuri replied distantly. They walked over to where Mariah and Emily sat.
" Hey, Tala." Mariah spoke with caution. Aya mentally whacked herself. She hadn't explained things to her new friends yet.
" Hello." Yuri smiled politely. He'd gotten used to people calling him Tala. It was easier to ignore it than to explain things over and over.
" You can go eat with Kai if you'd like. Maybe become reacquainted with your friends?" Aya offered.
Yuri looked nervously at the table where Kai sat. His friend was surrounded by tall, burly young men with Russian accents. " I guess that would be best. All right. See you later!" He walked off.
" Since when have you been friends with His Royal Majesty? Speaking of which, since when has King Tala been so nice?" Mariah raised one of her rose-coloured eyebrows.
Aya sighed before launching into her story. She was getting a bit tired of repeating it over and over.
When she'd finished, both Mariah's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into her hairline and Emily's mouth was wide open.
" That seems really far-fetched." Emily, managing to close her mouth, mused.
" Yeah. Are you sure he isn't pulling the wool over your eyes?" Asked Mariah doubtfully.
" That crossed my mind, but I'm positive he's telling the truth." Aya twirled the remains of her salad with her fork.
" Okay, whatever you say." Mariah shrugged. " Anyway, I wanted to ask you to come to a party at my house tonight. Em and Rei and Max and a whole bunch of other people will be there. It is the Heritage Festival, you know."
" Oh yeah!" Aya had completely forgotten about the festival. Mariah had mentioned it last week. " But I don't know if I can come. I wouldn't want to leave Yuri alone…"
Mariah rolled her eyes. " It's not like you're his mom. But he can come with his friends if he promises to behave. My grandma's going to be there."
" I know, but I feel responsible for him. Anyway, I want to ask you one more thing. Is it going to be fancy dress?" Aya laughed cheerfully.
" Not really…I know! Come to my house two hours before the party with some clothes and then you, Emily and I can dress together! The party begins at five, an hour before the festival starts. Here's my address." Mariah scribbled something on her lunch napkin and gave it to Aya. " See you there!"
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" See you later!" Yuri yelled as Aya walked up the steps to Mariah's pretty, two-story house. They had decided that Yuri would drop Aya off and then drive on to Kai's before coming back for the party.
Aya pressed the doorbell and looked around, admiring the simple, elegant Asian design of the garden.
Mariah answered the door with her hair in rollers and in a fuzzy pink bathrobe.
" Come in! Emily's already here."
Aya entered the house. It's interior was very much like it's surroundings; simple and elegant, but very Oriental.
" Did you bring your stuff?" When Aya showed Mariah the duffel bag she carried the neko-jin grinned. " Great. Follow me!" She ran up the stairs with Aya close behind.
Mariah's room was very much like the princess room a little girl dreams about. It was white with a pink silk canopy bed and curtains. The bed had ruffles on the edges and all the furniture was white wood. Emily stood in front of a floor-length mirror, holding a short green dress against herself. When Mariah and Aya entered the room she flung the dress onto Mariah's bed.
" I can't find anything!" The orange-haired girl fumed.
" Don't worry Em. Let's just start with the basics. It's a heritage parade and you're American. Let's find something to reflect your colours." Mariah set to work busily. Aya began experimenting with Emily's hair.
" What about these?" Without waiting for an answer, Mariah ushered Emily into the adjoining bathroom and threw the chosen garments in after her.
" So what did you bring?" Mariah asked Aya, eyeing her duffle bag.
" Some shirts, skirts, dresses, pants." Aya pulled articles of clothing out of her bag as she spoke. " Some scarves, jewellery, and this." Aya held out a white fur wrap that had spikes of black and dark grey fur.
" Oh wow! Is it real fur?" Mariah stroked the soft cape.
" Wolf. But don't worry, the wolf was already dead." Aya was preoccupied in picking through the clothes that she had brought.
Mariah opened her mouth, but whatever she had wanted to say had to wait because at that moment Emily came out of the bathroom.
" You're so pretty!" Aya squealed, leaping up to take a closer look at the girl.
Emily blushed nervously and adjusted the edge of her skirt nervously. It was a pale blue with white lace edging. The freckled girl also wore a lace edged peasant blouse and a red and white striped silk shawl that was dotted with yellow stars.
" Hey Aya, can Em borrow these?" Mariah held out a bunch of jewellery and clips that she had obtained from Aya's bag.
" Sure." Aya was in the middle of twisting Emily's shiny orange hair into a bun on the top of her head.
" You look great!" Mariah smiled as she clipped golden stars into Emily's hair and attached matching earrings to her friend's ears. Emily carefully pinned the shawl in place with a USA flag and adjusted the thin chain of the necklace she always wore; gold with the pendant of an eagle.
" Now you're done! So what are you going to wear, 'Riah?" Aya asked.
" I've got it all planned out." Mariah winked.
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" You guys look great." Max smiled at Emily, making her blush.
" Thanks!" Mariah laughed, tossing her now elegantly curled rose hair. Half of it had been piled on the top of her head, held in place by an intricate gold comb. The gold satin of her high-collared sleeveless Chinese dress complimented her eyes while the pale pink clouds decorating her garment accented her hair. " You don't look so bad yourself!"
" Yeah, you're so dashing!" Aya teased. Being both Chinese and Russian, her clothes reflected both cultures. Her dress was in the same style as Mariah's, although hers was a dark green with silver bamboo stencilled on at the bottom. The edges were trimmed with white, black and grey fur. Her hair had been braided and elaborately twisted into two buns on the side of his head.
" I know." Max chuckled, looking down at his ensemble of navy pants and beret with a red and white striped shirt.
" I wonder when the others are arriving." Emily plopped herself down in a chair.
The doorbell rang. " I'll get it!" Mariah ran off, her curls bouncing behind her. She was back shortly with Rei and two other people.
" This is Kevin and Lee. And that's Aya." Mariah introduced. Kevin was a short, mischievous-looking boy with emerald hair in a topknot and twinkling violet eyes. Lee was serious, with shaggy black hair and bushy eyebrows.
" Hi." Kevin, Lee and Aya spoke all at once. Aya laughed.
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" You look really cool." Aya grinned, licking her strawberry ice cream cone.
" Really? It's a bit weird…" Yuri laughed self-consciously. He wore a navy, orange and white, sort of military soldier…thing.
" You look great." Aya reassured him. They were standing outside in a crowd, watching the parade.
" Wow! Look at that!" Aya pointed in awe at the Chinese fireworks booming in the black sky. " That is so cool!"
" Almost as good as the ones in Russia." Yuri grinned.
" Hmph!" Aya jokingly whacked him on the shoulder before a thought occurred to her. " Hey! You remembered something!"
" Yeah, I guess I did." Yuri seemed surprised at himself.
After a while Aya spoke. " Want to go inside for dinner? It's a bit cold."
Yuri watched the last colourful float drive around the corner before sighing. " All right, come on. Here." Yuri pulled his complicated jacket off and tucked it warmly around Aya. Underneath the jacket Yuri just had a dark blue long-sleeved shirt on.
" Thanks." Aya blushed as she and Yuri walked back to Mariah's house for some steaming dumplings and baozi.
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" Bye! Have fun at Kai's! Remember, I'm going to school with Mariah tomorrow!" Aya waved from Mariah's front door.
" Bye!" Yuri called. He got into Kai's shiny black Mercedes and left.
Aya closed the door and ran up the stairs, back to Mariah's room.
" So, what do you guys have planned?" Aya plopped down onto Mariah's white shag rug.
" I thought maybe some Gamecube, truth-or-dare, dress-up and a movie?" Mariah had changed into a pair of white and pink striped pajamas with fuzzy pink bunny slippers. Her hair hung in two braids on either side of her head as she bent forward to hook up the Gamecube. " What game do you guys want to play?"
" Something Mario!" Aya cheered.
" I have Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart Double-Dash, Mario Party One to Six…" Aya sort of tuned Mariah out as the pink feline girl droned on.
" Um…" Aya suddenly caught sight of Emily. The American girl had just left the bathroom, newly changed into a blue nightgown with her orange hair loose. " Emily! You pick." Aya guessed that Emily would know the selections better than she did.
" Me? Um…how about Double-Dash? While we set up you change, okay?" Emily asked Aya.
" Okay." Aya grabbed her clothes and nighttime kit, which included her toothbrush. She emerged a few minutes later in a pale green nightgown with her silvery hair in one braid down her back.
" You're third controller, okay?" Mariah patted the spot next to her on the bed.
" Sit here."
" Where did you get the TV?" Aya hadn't noticed the black box earlier.
" It's my turn with it tonight. We have two; one in the family room and one that we share." Mariah was only half paying attention to Aya's question.
" All right! Commence with the bum-kicking!" Aya shouted, punching her fist in the air.
" Not if I have anything to say about it." Mariah pounded on the buttons furiously.
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" I win!" Emily did a little victory dance as the other girls panted with exhaustion. After three hours straight of video games, they were really worn out.
" Not…next time." Aya gasped, falling backwards.
" I have finger cramp." Mariah groaned, flexing the said digits slowly.
" I am the champion!" Emily laughed, falling to the ground in glee. " You see where big talking gets you? Ha! In your face! I schooled you!"
Mariah gaped in awe at her friend's uncharacteristic behaviour. Emily noticed her stare and dissolved into a fit of giggles, barely managing an apology.
" Okay, time for something else?" Aya propped herself up against Mariah's bed.
" I'm not up for truth-or-dare right now. How about we watch the movie first?" Emily finally controlled herself and sat up.
" Sure. I'll go with that." Aya smiled. " What did you rent?"
" 'Stepford Wives.' I'll go down for some popcorn and drinks." Mariah eased herself up.
" I'll go with you!" Aya leapt to her feet.
" Why don't we all go?" Mariah extended a hand to Emily.
" Why not?" Emily shrugged and stood up with Mariah's help.
The three girls crept as silently as possible down the stairs. It was all dark except for the thin, yet bright bean of Mariah's flashlight.
" Everyone else is asleep so we'd better be quiet." Mariah whispered. The girls finally reached the kitchen and switched the lights on.
" All right. I'll get the popcorn, why don't you, Aya, get the ice cream and Emily can get the candy and drinks! Now, butter or caramel? I have white cheddar powder too! Yum!" Mariah giggled, holding a white canister up high.
" With the white cheddar I prefer butter popcorn." Aya suggested." What kind of ice cream do you guys want?"
" I'll have to agree with Aya for the popcorn. And I'll have chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce and five cherries. Which snacks and drinks would you like?" Emily looked up from an assortment of chips and candies.
" I'll have strawberry with whipped cream, bacon-flavoured chips and a Sprite." Mariah spoke over the noise of the microwave. Popping sounds were heard and then an aroma of rich butter filled the room.
" I'll just have Sprite and original chips." Aya said, heaping her own bowl with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
" Here, put everything on this tray." Mariah was already loading on the white canister, a huge bowl of popcorn dripping in butter and three smaller, empty bowls. Aya and Emily carefully put their bowls on the tray and the three girls snuck back upstairs.
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" That was sooo much fun!" Aya giggled, snuggling deep into her sleeping bag.
" Mmmm." Mariah mumble, half-asleep. Emily was already snoring softly.
" Night!" The light was switched off and all the girls were soon in a deep, deep sleep.
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