Chapter 5
At seven the next morning, Tyson found himself rudely awaken by a douse of cold water from Kai. He woke up letting out a yell that could be heard a mile way. Sputtering, Tyson glared at his captain. "What was that for?" he demanded.
Kai glared back at him. "Get up." he ordered. "Training starts at 8."
With that Kai left the room. Grumbling under his breath, Tyson started to climb out of bed when he realized Max and Ray were trying hold back their laughter and failing miserably.
"What are you laughing at?" he snapped.
Holding his sides, Max said in between laughter. "You. You look like you just wetted your bed."
"Hey!"
"Well." Ray said calming down a little. "We tried to wake you up earlier but you were lost in a dream of Thai food so Kai..." he shrugged.
"Can't say we didn't try to save you from Kai." Max said simply.
Kenny came in, holding his laptop. "Why are you still in bed?" he nearly shouted. "We have to train for the tournament! Get your lazy butt moving!"
Max and Ray shared a weird look.
"And you think Kai's bad...." Ray muttered.
"I bet it's the stress." Max said.
Tyson folded his arms in front of him, crossly. "At least Kenny doesn't throw cold water on you. I still think Kai's the worst."
After breakfast, the boys found Jade in the training room doing sit-ups upside down from the monkey bars. Her legs were locked around the bars at the knees. Arms behind her head, she curled her body upwards, relishing the feeling of burning muscles. Upon noticing them, she grabbed the bar with both hands and carefully let herself down. Her feet touched ground lightly and she turned to face them, folding her arms over a cocked hip. She tilted her head. "What took you guys so long?"
"It was Tyson's fault." Kenny said.
Tyson frowned. "Excuse me?"
She cracked her head from side to side, releasing tight muscles in her neck. "I can tell. I'm not deaf."
"That was Kai's fault!" Tyson snapped.
Kai grunted impatiently and strolled forward. "Whatever." he said.
Kenny frowned at Jade. "What time were you here?"
"Seven." she answered.
Hearing that Kai coughed.
Tyson glared at him. "Don't say a thing." he warned. The last thing he needed was to listen to Kai compare him to the new member of the Bladebreakers. Apparently Jade was a keener blader than him. Not to mention, more disciplined and certainly more skilled than Tyson.
Hmm...I can see the reason we should train..., Tyson thought.
"Are we gonna stand around the whole day or are we gonna train?" Kai said impatiently.
That got everybody moving.
Tyson had his chance against Jade when Kenny suggested they have friendly battle so that Dizzi could analyze Jade's Beyblade. Even then when Tyson called out Dragoon to full power, Jade refused to call out her Bitbeast and she still managed to beat him. Kenny and Dizzi were having one heck of a time trying to figure out her blade and tactics. As far as they could tell, she was more on the offense like their leader. Her attacks were swift, deadly and extremely accurate.
At the end of the day, Tyson and Max sat on the floor, exhausted. Kenny was still at his laptop, still trying to crack the riddle that was Jade's blade. She leaned against a wall and shook her head at Kenny.
"Give it a break, Kenny. You'll never figure Draizer out." she told him warily.
"Don't bother." Ray said. "Once he's in to something, there's no stopping Chief until he gets the answer."
She shrugged. "Fine. I'll just let him waste his time."
"If you don't mind me asking..." Ray said slowly. "Why won't you call out your Bitbeast?"
"What for?" she replied. "If I can beat Tyson without calling out my Bitbeast, why should I?"
"What about me?" Ray asked.
She looked at him in interest of his suggestion. "Maybe..." she said slowly. Then her face changed becoming bored. "Then again maybe not. Love to but not today." she shrugged and started to walk away.
Ray stared after her in confusion.
After dinner, Jade headed to the training room again, intending on getting a real workout. It was almost impossible to get real work done with Kenny around with that talking laptop of his. He's checking out every move she or her Beyblade makes.
Dinner was a different story. Tyson had eaten majority of the food like no other. When Max had warned her about Tyson's eating habit, she didn't believe him but during dinner, she saw for herself Max hadn't lied.
Now alone in the empty hallways, she smiled softly to herself. The Bladebreakers have been trying hard to make her feel like she was a part of their team even if she knew she never will be.
Some things just don't change....they can't....
She heard the sound of a Beyblade coming from the training room as she stood outside ready to go in. Someone else apparently had the same idea as she.
She went in and paused when she saw Kai there.
The two-toned-haired boy stood over Beystadium, launcher in hand as he watched his Beyblade streak around the dish. She knew by his body movements he knew she was there. By the way his breathing quickened slightly when she entered, his grip on his launcher tightened, his muscles tensed. Such slight movements would usually go unnoticed to any ordinary person. But she wasn't just an ordinary person.
It was then did she really study Kai. Studying the way his body moved subtlety in rhythm with his steady breathing, the way the light shone of his blue hair, his unreadable crimson eyes....
"You're not planning to just stand there all day, are you?"
She stepped forward hiding her embarrassment of getting caught with a shrug. "No. Are you?"
He called back his blade and turned to look at her. He looked into her green eyes, struck once again with the familiarity of those eyes. Forcing himself to keep his gaze, he said. "No."
She looked away as if hesitating to say the next words. "Thanks." she said.
"What for?"
She gazed at the empty dish, not really seeing it. "For what you did yesterday....in the plane..."
He grunted, now remembering throwing a blanket over her while she slept on the flight to Bangkok. She had looked so tired then. And the tiredness wasn't just in her body. It was in her eyes as well like it was now. Yet she didn't loose the alertness in her eyes.
Silence filled between them for a moment before she spoke again. "Kai?"
He looked at her.
"What... what's it like to be a part of a team?" she asked softly.
He wasn't surprised by the question. He had asked himself that question many times when he first joined the Bladebreakers. What really surprised him was the innocence in her voice. Her voice was child-like filled with innocence of discovering something new.
Kai sighed. "You're asking the wrong person. If you want a pep-talk on teamwork, ask Tyson or Kenny."
"I believe my question was directed at you. You are the captain, captain." she said dryly. The innocence was gone and the sarcasm in her voice had returned. She shook her head. "Never mind."
"Why did you agree join the team?" he asked instead.
"Because Mr. Dickenson wanted me to." she answered knowing well that was a lie.
He knew it too. "I don't think so."
"Why would you care?" she retorted.
He didn't say anything, fixing his blade into his launcher.
Her temper flared but she forced herself to calm down. She pulled out her blade and launcher and said in matter-a-fact way. "Bet you can't beat me."
He looked at her, his expression amused. "You're on."
Kenny was still trying to figure out Jade's Beyblade after dinner when Max came rushing into the room, all excited.
"Guess what, guys?" he said excitedly. "Kai and Jade are going to Beybattle!"
"What?" Ray couldn't believe his ears. Hadn't Jade refused to Beybattle him earlier? Why did she choose to Beybattle Kai now? And how did Kai agree?
"Chief, why are you still here?" Dizzi called out. "Maybe we can get something this time!"
Kenny scrambled to his feet. "You're right."
"Maybe Kai can draw Jade's Bitbeast out." Tyson said as they hurried to the training room.
"Exactly." Dizzi said. "You're catching on fast."
They entered the training room to find Kai and Jade standing over the Beystadium, ready to launch their Beyblades.
On a silent command between the two Beybladers, they launched their Beyblades at the same time.
"Dranzer, attack her now!" Kai shouted.
"Move in!" Jade ordered.
The Bits of their Beyblades glowed and everybody waited in anticipation for Jade's Bitbeast to appear. To their surprise, both blades stopped in front of each other, casting a pale purple glow from the Bits.
Jade frowned in puzzlement. "Draizer?"
"What's going on here?" Kai demanded.
She wasn't sure herself. Shaking her head she shrugged. "I...I have no idea."
Tyson turned to Kenny. "What's going on, Chief?"
Kenny frowned at Dizzi. "I don't know. Dizzi, what's happening? Why aren't they fighting?"
Dizzi's reply was annoyed. "They're communicating. Don't ask me about what. They shut me out completely!"
Without warning, both blades broke part and flew back to their owners. Kai and Jade reacted instinctively, snatching their Beyblades on of mid-air. They shared a look of confusion as they stared at the blades.
"Okay." Ray said slowly, breaking the silence. "What just happened?"
Jade could only shake her head wondering the same thing.
