A/N: Ahahaa! Two chappies in one day!
Aki: That's not really a record...
Me: Don't be such a wet blanket, Aki-kun! I am trying to make up for the delay in updating 'Revelation', ya know...Anyway, this is where it might start to get obvious who'll end up with ---- Wait, I'm not supposed to give out info this early...hehe...At any rate, hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it up!
Disclaimer- Me: Aki, it's your turn...
Aki: sigh Hikari doesn't own Beyblade and its characters; they belong to Aoki Takao, d-rights, Hudson Soft Takara Beyblade Project. All other characters are of her own creation. If any persons mentioned herein bear any resemblance to any real persons, living or dead, they are purely coincidental - so don't sue!
Me: Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The First Encounter
"Who else do you think signed up for the training program?" Kumiko asked as she hurriedly pulled on her pristine white P.E shirt. She had looking forward to the event since that morning, but now that it was actually here – she hated to admit it – she was nervous.
"I'm about as clueless as you are, Kumiko. I didn't bother looking at the sign-up sheets before we left the room." Yuujin grinned brightly at her friend. She reached up and tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ears. "What I really want to know is-"
"Who's going to be training us? That's what I'd like to know, too!" The amethyst orbs sparkled with excitement. She grabbed her brush and began putting her hair into the two braids she usually wore them in whenever they had P.E.
Suddenly, the P.A system blared. "All senior students please assemble in the gym," came the voice of their P.E instructor. "Your 'special trainers' have already arrived."
"This is it…" Yuujin muttered, instinctively grasping Kumiko's hand in hers; the raven-haired teen knew her friend was nervous, possibly more than she was, so she squeezed the other's hand, trying to reassure her.
"Yup, the point of no return." She grinned, and then both girls made their way out of the locker room.
"Uh, where is everybody?" Max asked, looking around. The huge gymnasium was still empty, except for a lone janitor at the far end.
"They're probably still changing," Rei suggested as he sat down, allowing his amber eyes to take in every detail of the building's interior.
The silence was broken by the rather eerie squeal of hinges, and all eyes were drawn to a door at the left side of the gym. Out stepped two girls, who looked rather bewildered. They carefully made their way over to where the group was standing.
Takao grinned, then waved at the pair. "Hey, are the both of you seniors?" he asked
"H-hai." The taller one, a girl with deep purple eyes and shoulder length hair answered. She and her companion – a rather petite female with auburn hair and pleasant blue-green eyes – bowed as a sign of respect.
"Please, sit down for a while." Kyouju said as he looked up from his laptop. "We're still waiting for the others to catch up."
"Hai, sensei." This time, it was the smaller girl who replied. The other seemed, strangely enough, overwhelmed.
Kumiko glanced at her friend. She was pleased to see a small smile grace her lips. Their eyes met, and the grin widened. Kumiko knew what that meant, for she was thinking the same thing. We're actually going to be trained by Team BBA! She thought excitedly, scarcely hiding her smile.
It seemed like only seconds had gone by when Yuujin looked up. To her surprise, she and Kumiko had been joined by the whole senior year. Everyone, except for her and Kumiko, were chattering away, paying no mind to the five instructors standing quietly in front of them. Apparently, one of the instructors had had enough.
"Silence." Kai's voice, at once quiet and commanding, echoed throughout the building, effectively cutting the chatter short. His crimson gaze trailed from one end of the congregation to the other, as though he were daring someone to break the silence he had induced. When he was satisfied that no one would, he turned away and returned to leaning on the wall.
Rei spoke up, more to break the ice than for introductions. "Uh, welcome, everyone. As you may already know, my companions and I – known largely as Team BBA – are here to train you."
"Hopefully, enough so you'll participate in the Junior Championships." Max added with a grin."
A hand must have shot up in the back, for the next thing the blonde said was, "Yes, you have a question?"
Kumiko craned her neck to see who had spoken. It turned out to be a guy from the section across the hall. She'd seen his face before – the rather floppy brown hair and dull blue eyes – but she couldn't recall his name. His given name, at least.
"Uh, yeah." The youth grinned sheepishly; he seemed embarrassed, to be frank. "Will all of us be participating?"
"In the Championships?" Takao asked, seeking to verify the query. The brown-haired teen merely nodded.
"Good question." Kyouju piped up. He snapped his laptop shut and reached for a pile of papers. Kumiko guessed the papers were the sign-up sheets that had been distributed earlier. "Thing is, we won' be able to handle all of you; that's why only five will be taken from each class. After that, only four will be chosen from the first forty – there are eight sections, right? Anyway, those four will represent your school in the Junior Championships. By the way, that's why it's called the 'junior championships' – it isn't being held throughout Japan, but only in the Tokyo region."
Another hand shot up. "How will the 'elite four' be chosen, sir?"
"Well, we thought we'd hold a little tournament among you guys." Takao answered, grinning.
"A tournament?"
"The first forty will be divided into two – twenty to a group – and each will be given a corresponding number. The person in the other group who's been assigned the same number as you will be your partner – and opponent."
Rei took over. "The twenty winners will then be divided into four groups – 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B. That means there'll be five participants in a group. This part will be a round robin tournament, meaning you'll each face every other participant in your group. The student – trainee, if you will – with the most points at the end of that part will go on the 'semi-finals'. The winners of each match will face each other in the 'finals'."
"I thought four would be chosen. Why are we still going to have a semi-final and final round?"
"We thought it would be more fun and interesting. Also, we'd be able to see what each one of you is capable of." Max replied.
"Without further ado," Kyouju added. "I will now call the first five participants from each class. When your name is called, please make come to the front of the uh, room."
Slowly, the crowd of seniors grew smaller and smaller as various names were called. Kumiko and Yuujin waited with bated breath. When would their names be called?
"From section 1-A…Fujiwara Kumiko, Itoe Yuujin-"
As soon as they heard their names, Kumiko and Yuujin jumped up and hurried over to join the group at the front. In their excitement, they failed to hear the rest of the names.
Kumiko glanced at the teens that were on either side of her. To her right, though, was an unpleasant surprise. "Mikage?" she whispered hoarsely. "You signed up as well?"
"What if I did, Fujiwara?" The ash blonde, emerald-eyed girl asked haughtily. It can't be denied that ever since the two of them – Kumiko and Mikage Chiaki - had become classmates, every subject became a contest between the two, and so far, Kumiko was 'in the lead'. It seemed that Chiaki was determined to extend the competition to this P.E class.
"…And Shimamoto Taichi." Kyouju finished. A rather tall teenager with coppery brown hair and olive green eyes joined them.
"The rest of you may do anything you wish – run laps, play dodgeball, whatever – as long as you keep busy for the rest of the period." Max informed the rest of the students. The seniors abruptly streamed out of the main doors and out onto the field, relieved to be 'set free' for the rest of the afternoon.
For the second time that day, Kai spoke. "Let's get started then."
"Follow me." Kai instructed. The 'chosen' seniors glanced at each other bewildered, and then, as a body, followed their crimson-eyed instructor through the rear gym doors. They had already been divided into two groups, as stated earlier, and they had already been assigned a number. However, each one didn't know who their 'opponent' was going to be.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, they stopped short. The storage area of the gym had been transformed into a training room. In the far left corner, there were several exercise bikes and weight-lifting apparatuses. All the way across was what seemed to be a water station – small shelves stacked with hundreds of water bottles. All around the room, beydishes had been set up. In the middle stood a middle-sized platform with a bigger dish. Apparently, that was where the 'semi-finals' and 'finals' would be played.
"This is so cool!" Yuujin whispered excitedly. "We're actually in a Beyblade training room!"
"I know!" Kumiko whispered back. "It would be even better if Mikage weren't here…"
The aqua orbs flashed understandingly. "Yeah. She can be a pain sometimes."
"Okay, listen up, people." Takao called over the excited chatter, which had once again broken out over the group. "When I call a number, please make your way over to the assigned dish. My pals here will guide you."
Nervous, Kumiko could hardly hear the numbers being called. She tried to concentrate on what she had learned so far from her occasional training sessions at her home, to no avail.
"Student Number 8, please come forward."
"Eep!" Yuujin squealed, grabbing Kumiko's hand. "That's me!"
"It's going to be alright, Yuujin-chan," Kumiko said, gently patting her friend's shoulder. "You'll do fine."
"I hope so," Yuujin grinned nervously. "Wish me luck!" she called as she ran off towards Rei, who was waiting with another student – Yuujin's opponent, no doubt.
"I will!"
"Number 9…Number 10…" The group thinned as numbers were called and the students went off to the various dishes in the room. Kumiko was acutely aware of the sound of battle – the whirring of the small, plastic tops, and the highly distinguishable crash and whack of collision.
"…Student Number 12 from Group A, your opponent is waiting." Takao's voice cut through her reverie, and she looked up. Kai stood near the platform and next to him was Tagaki Saburo, a rather boisterous, redheaded classmate of hers. She hurried over and started to apologize for making them wait, but Kai cut her off.
"Enough chitchat. This way." He turned and led them towards a beydish near a window. "Now, both of you will need these," the slate-haired teen said briskly. He reached into a rucksack and brought out two plastic launchers, with the ripcords already in the slots, and two blades, one silver; the other, midnight blue. Saburo chose the silver one. While the teen attached the blade to the launcher, Kai glanced at Kumiko expectantly, holding out the remaining blade to her. That was when the brunette remembered.
"Uh, Hiwatari-sensei, may I use my own blade?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"You have a blade?" The slim, slate-gray eyebrow shot up in disbelief. Kumiko nodded, her braids bouncing, as she reached into her pocket. She drew out a commercialized version of Kai's very own Dranzer F and held it up. It was identical in every way, except that the chip was blank where the picture of a bit beast should have been.
Kai studied it for a moment, and then consented. "I suppose you have a launcher as well?"
"I do." Kumiko brought out her silver launcher and ripcord, and fitted her blade to it.
"Very well. On my signal," The two teens faced each other. Saburo held his arms out in front of him, in standard launching position, while Kumiko held hers above her head.
"3…2…1…Go, shoot!"
At the command, Saburo pulled hard on his ripcord, and his blade spun into the stadium. Kumiko swung her arms downward and, at a precise forty-five degree angle to her torso, she yanked the ripcord. Her blade was nothing but a blur as it shot downwards into the stadium.
Unknown to her, Kai had already left the scene and had joined his companions on the platform. "We have a serious trainee here, Kyouju." He informed the bespectacled teen, who was typing away furiously on his laptop.
"What do you mean, Kai?" he said, looking up from his work. Kai merely gestured over to where Kumiko and Saburo were battling.
"The Fujiwara girl?" Takao asked as he changed his sitting position to a more comfortable one. "How can you tell?"
"She brought her own blade and launcher, and she perfected the Fury launch." The crimson-eyed teen replied, placing emphasis on the last part of his reply. He was obviously surprised and pleased that he'd encountered one such student.
"The Fury launch?"Takao jumped up, shocked. "But…but no one's perfected that but you, Kai!"
"Until now," Kai said simply.
"You're bluffing."
"I never play games, Kinomiya. You-"
CRASH!
"What was that?" Max glanced up abruptly.
"It came from dish 12." Rei replied as he made his way over to the said dish. The other Blade Breakers followed.
"What happened?" Takao asked as soon as he got there.
"My…my blade…it flew out the window." Saburo stammered. "I…I'd better go get it. Please, excuse me." He bowed quickly and ran pell-mell towards the exit.
Kumiko, far from happy that she had defeated Saburo, looked horrified. She glanced quickly at her instructors, then turned to face them. She was also acutely aware that several other students were gazing in her direction.
"I'm sorry, sensei," she said. "I had no idea that my attack was that strong, much less that it would cause his blade to break the window. I-"
"Hold your horses there, kid!" Takao clapped a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off. "It's no big deal! Remember, the objective here is to show us how well you blade. Unless, of course, you don't want to compete in the Junior Championships…?"
"I…I do, Kinomiya-sensei, but-"
"Exactly!" Takao grinned, attempting to reassure her that it really was all right – no one was hurt or anything. "Anyway, congrats on winning your match!" With that, the blue-haired blader walked back to the platform. Everyone else followed, except for Max, however, stayed behind for a bit. He grinned at Kumiko.
"Do you know that you're the first one to qualify?" he asked, half-whispering.
Kumiko shook her head vigorously. "No, I didn't. Are you…serious?"
Max nodded, grinning wider. "Yup! You're the first to win your match, Fujiwara! Congratulations!" He offered his hand.
Kumiko hesitated a moment, and then took it. "Thank you."
Max smiled instead of replying, and then walked off to join his friends on the platform.
Still shaking inwardly with relief and surprise, Kumiko made her way to the water station. Choosing a random bottle, she opened it and downed the contents. She wasn't thirsty; she just needed something to do. Knowing that she had won against Saburo, with almost no effort on her part, not to mention the fact that she'd been the first trainee to 'qualify' was very shocking news. She hadn't expected her first match to be so easy!
I wonder how Yuujin is doing?
"Hah! Take that!" Yuujin exclaimed as her blade knocked against her opponent's, promptly sending it out of the dish.
"Wow. Guess I was wrong…" The rather bookish, hazel-eyed Tadehiko Shun replied, bending down to pick up his fallen blade. "Sorry about that, though…" He added as he stood up.
"That's alright." The auburn-haired girl replied, holding out a hand. "Great battle, Tadehiko-san!"
"Thanks!" He grasped the chipper teen's hand in his own for a brief handshake. "By the way, where'd you learn that cool spiraling defense technique?"
"From my friend Kumiko," Yuujin pointed out Kumiko, who was coming towards them. "Here she comes now."
"Yuujin, how'd you do?" Kumiko asked upon reaching her friend.
"Not too bad," Yuujin replied, grinning. "It took a while, but I finally defeated Tadehiko-san here."
Kumiko turned to see Shun also smiling at her, in an awed sort of way. She held out a hand.
"I'm sorry to hear that you lost your match, Tadehiko-?"
"Shun. Tadehiko Shun." Another handshake. "I'm afraid I don't know your name…"
"It's Fujiwara Kumiko."
"I see…Fujiwara-san, I'd like to ask you something.
"Ask away."
"Nearing the end of our match, Itoe-san used this highly effective defense technique."
"Which one?"
"It was a spiral move, going in a…counterclockwise direction, I think. She later told me that you had taught her that move."
"Oh…" Kumiko looked puzzled. "And…?"
"I was wondering…did you go a special training school or camp?"
"No, I didn't."
"So how did you learn it?"
"Well, it's actually a variation of Hiwatari-sensei's 'Spiral Survivor' technique. He used it during a tournament – I forgot which one, though – which was broadcast on TV."
"You actually decided to try out a champion level move?"
"Uh…yeah. That's about it." Kumiko grinned sheepishly.
"Fujiwara-san…" Shun was smiling very widely now (A/N: freaky smile)."Could we meet later…say, after school?"
"Uh, sure. Why not?"
"Great! I'll meet you at the park, okay?"
"Um…okay, I guess…See you…?"
"Yes!" With that, Shun was off like a shot.
Probably to change his clothes or something, then come back in and watch other people battle… Kumiko thought, shaking her head.
"Chiaki!" Hazel-haired, brown-eyed Katachi Yuriko ran up to join her best friend at the water station. The emerald-eyed teen whirled around and grinned.
"Yuriko!" she greeted. "How'd it go?"
"Not too hot…" the hazel-haired girl replied, looking downcast for a moment. "I tried to put up a good fight, but…no such luck."
Chiaki put an arm around her friend. "That's okay. You can't win all the time."
"Well, how did yours turn out?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Chiaki smirked good-naturedly. "I won, of course! I beat that shmuck Akuro in around three minutes!" She reached for her water bottle and took a swig. "I bet I was the first one to qualify."
"Er, yeah…about being the first one to qualify…" Yuriko grinned sheepishly. "I passed by the instructors and they were…discussing something."
"What is it they were discussing?"
"Fujiwara-san."
"What about her?" Chiaki took another sip of water.
"Well, Fujiwara-san defeated her opponent in under two minutes."
"What?" Chiaki spat out the water she'd just drank. "Less than two minutes?"
"That's what I heard, Chiaki," Yuriko grinned. "And then around a minute after her, Itoe knocked out her opponent, Tadehiko Shun from Class 1-B."
"No way! There must be some catch; Fujiwara can't have won that easily. Same goes for Itoe."
"Well, you can ask Saburo yourself; he was Fujiwara's opponent. Also that Tadehiko Shun guy; I heard he's in the gym right now."
Without another word, Chiaki whirled around and stalked off towards the exit. Is there anything that annoying Fujiwara isn't good at? she thought, more than a little ticked off.
"Thanks for cooperating, everyone," Kyouju said as he finished encoding the last bit of data onto his laptop. "I know some of you may be disappointed at the results, but hey, that's life, right?" Several students nodded their heads in sullen agreement.
"Now," Max added, "If you'll allow me announce who will be in each block…" Takao handed him a sheet of paper, and the blonde began to read out the list of names.
"In Block 1A: Chitose Mariko, Fujita Takumi, Mikage Chiaki, Aizuki Yukina, and Satou Yoshi; Block 1B: Matsuo Kaito, Tsubakura Haru, Itoe Yuujin, Asukaga Morita, and Ryuzaki Kazuma; Block 2A: Fujiwara Kumiko, Oniki Yuka, Mamoru Kouji, Yoshikuni Akito, and Hamano Taichou; and finally, Block 2B: Fujita Taiki, Makino Rika, Setsuno Yuki, Ryota Katsumi, and Shimamoto Taichi."
"Phew! That's a mouthful!" Takao commented. "Anyway, students, since were clear out of time right now, this next part will take place tomorrow – same time, same place, all right? Those of you who were eliminated may also join us, if you like. While the matches are going on, I'm sure that any one of us who is free at that point in time will be glad to train you. Otherwise, spend this period doing whatever it is you want to do, as long as its related to P.E."
"Also, it has come to our attention that there are already several among you who have bladed before, but only as a hobby," Rei added. "So tomorrow, you may bring your own Beyblade if you like. If there aren't any questions…class dismissed."
"You what?" Kumiko exclaimed, a little flattered and more than a little shocked. She and Yuujin had gone directly to the park after school. Both were not exactly calm after learning what Shun wanted.
"Please, just one match? It's for my blader archives." Shun explained, hitting several keys on his X-2006 series laptop. "Rather, what will be my blader archives." He looked up and grinned, sheepish. "See, Fujiwara-san, you'll be the first one to have a profile."
"C'mon, Kumiko, just do it!" Yuujin encouraged.
"Oh, all right…" Kumiko sighed. "What do I have to do?"
"What do you mean by Dranzer acted 'strange'?" Rei asked, throwing the slate-haired teen a puzzled glance.
"Well, lets just say she reacted to what happened during Fujiwara and Tagaki's match. The split-second before we heard the glass breaking, my blade just started…vibrating in my pocket."
"What?" Max exclaimed, spilling some of his smoothie over his shirt. "That's what happened to me, too!"
"Huh?" Takao looked up from his sundae.
"Draciel seemed…excited about something when Shimamoto Taichi won his match. I happened to walk by just in time to see him knock his opponent out of the dish. He also started to vibrate."
"Are you guys serious?" Kyouju asked, flipping open his laptop in order to record what they were saying. "Your blades reacted to several trainees?"
"Yeah. I felt Driger do that at the outset of Matsuo Kaito's battle…" Rei began.
"And Dragoon did the same thing when I saw Chiaki win hers…" Takao finished, his mouth agape. Inadvertently, he dropped his spoon, but he didn't seem to care.
For around five minutes, there was silence.
"…Wow." Max said, overwhelmed that they had all experienced the same thing at some point during the session.
"Wonder what it means, though…" Kyouju looked thoughtful. The bespectacled teen stood up. "Well, I'm going home. I may be able to find something that will explain all of this. See you guys."
"See you, Chief!" Takao called after the teen's retreating figure, but the auburn-haired teen didn't seem to hear. He was wrapped up in his own thoughts.
All four bit beasts responded in the same way to four different trainees? This can't be good…
A/N: Yay! Another chapter done!
Mei: Yatta!
Me: ahem Anyway, I won't bore you any longer -
Aki: Thank the gods...
Me: so...read and review, onegaishimasu! Peace out!