A/N: Yay! I got the 2nd chapter up! applauds self Sorry, I'm feelin' hyper today...my personality doesn't seem to match my name at all! Hehe...;

Mei: I was really sad when Hikari told me that no one reviewed yet...sniff

Me: It's okay, Mei...someone will review, sometime...I think...

Aki: hmph Fat chance...

Me: Shut up, Aki!

Aki: Not that's the Hikari I know...

Me: Whatever...rolls eyes

Disclaimer: Me: I do not own Beyblade; only the OCs and the new beyblade...

Mei: Enjoy! kitty-cat smile

Chapter 2: Preview to the Finals

"Oh, I'm so nervous!" Yuujin murmured as she pulled out her midnight blue Beyblade, along with its red launcher and ripcord. It was the next day; she and Kumiko were the last ones in the locker room. They didn't want other students to see their blades – just in case.

"Don't worry, Yuujin-chan!" Kumiko reassured her friend. She adjusted the strap to her tank top. "You'll do fine! I doubt a lot of our companions are serious bladers, anyway."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm not that sure…"

"Oh…!"

Suddenly, the PA system blared. "Participants, please make your way to the gymnasium's training room."

"C'mon, lets go…" Kumiko tugged at her friend's wrist, already itching to begin.

"Wait! I forgot my good-luck charm!" the aqua-eyed girl hung back a moment, rummaging in her bag. Presently she brought out a small trinket – a tiny skull-and-crossbones charm dangled from the end of the silver chain. Kumiko watched as the auburn-haired teen slipped it onto a belt loop.

"I didn't know you like skull-and-crossbones icons, Yuujin…"

"I just going to scare my opponents – make them think I'm serious."

"Whatever…" the amethyst-eyed girl rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Now come on!"

"Everyone present and accounted for?" Kyouju looked up, doing a mental roll call. After a few moments, he turned to his laptop and punched a few keys. "We're off to a good start; everyone's here."

"Nice to see you guys had enough sense to bring proper workout gear." Takao commented. Every student had dressed in shirts and loose pants. He leaned over to one student – Tsubakura Haru – and whispered loudly, "Kai here is a real slave-driver…"

"You do know I can hear you, Kinomiya…" Kai piped up, causing the stormy-eyed teen to stiffen.

"Oops…" he whispered, then straightened up. "Okay, let's get this party started, people!" he exclaimed loudly, abruptly changing the subject. "Rei, will you do the honors?"

The neko-jin grinned, then held up a sheet of paper. "Right. You all still remember which block you belong to?" he asked. There was a chorus of yeses, causing him to grin again. "Good. Then I won't have to read out this list again. Anyway, when I call your block, please follow Max, Kai, or Kyouju; any of the three will lead you to a specific dish, where the 'block eliminations' will begin. Understood?"

"Hai!" the students chorused once more.

"All right. Block 1A students?"

Five students moved out of the small group. Max stood waiting for them, grinning excitedly.

"This way, guys!" he said, beckoning them forward. Kumiko watched as the five were lead to a dish at the far side of the room; she disregarded the dirty look Chiaki shot at her.

"Block 1B students, please follow Kyouju!" Rei called. Yuujin let out a small 'eep' and squeezed Kumiko's hand. The raven-haired girl shook her head and placed a hand around her friend's shoulder.

"Go on, girl! Show them just who is boss!"

"Thanks, Kumiko…" Yuujin smiled back and ran off to join her block.

"Block 2A students, go with Kai!" Rei instructed.

As soon as the five students assembled in front of him, the crimson-eyed teen did a head count and then led them to a dish situated near the center platform. Kumiko concentrated so hard on the upcoming session that she barely heard Rei call for the last five students.

"You are all familiar with round-robin tournaments, correct?" Kai asked as he set up a small, portable chalkboard. All five teens nodded their heads. "Good, that saves us time." Kai said approvingly. "Now, I've been instructed to choose – through random selection – the first two students who will compete with each other. But before I do, do all of you have your own blades?" Only Yoshikuni Akito – a tall and lanky teen with gingery hair and dull green eyes – shook answered 'no'. This reply was met with consternation. Wordlessly, Kai reached into his satchel and took out a blue-green blade, a white launcher and ripcord. Smiling sheepishly Akito took the proffered items – profusely thanking their 'mentor' and, at the same time, apologizing for the 'oversight'.

"If you're done blabbing," Kai said, his quiet voice hinting at irritation, "we can get started." He glared at Akito. "Yoshikuni."

"H-hai?" The teen's voice was filled with trepidation.

"You shall go first-"

"Me!"

"-Against Fujiwara."

"Wha-?" Kumiko's head jerked up at the sound of her name. She hadn't been paying attention to what was happening; in fact, she had been watching Chiaki's match rather intently (their dish was quite close to that of Block 1A).

"Fujiwara, step up to the dish." Kai said simply. "You will go against Yoshikuni."

"I…very well, sensei." The brunette sighed and approached the dish. Slowly, she took out her launcher and ripcord, and then attached her Dranzer F to it. Behind her, she heard Oniki Yuka and Hamano Taichou – students from Class 1-D – 'conferring'.

"She bought a Dranzer F!" Taichou was saying.

"Yeah, well, it's a store-bought version," Yuka replied, not bothering to keep his voice down. "It might not fare very well."

"Well, she might have customized it, you know…"

"Still, there's less than a 2 percent chance that it will have the same power as the real thing…"

Kumiko rolled her eyes in irritation, and then grinned good-naturedly at Akito. "Good luck," she said, extending a hand. Akito smiled back nervously. The two bladers shook hands, and then took their positions.

"Mikage wins again!" Max exclaimed, writing down the points on the scoreboard. Team BBA had decided to adopt the knockout-outlast scoring system – that is, a tie equaled 1 point; spinning longer than the opponent, 2 points; and knocking out the opponent, 3 points. So far, only three out of the five students had battled, and the score was: Chitose Mariko with seven points; Fujita Takumi, three; and Chiaki, six. The team had also decided that, aside from doing a round robin, they would also employ the knockout system, with a few changes. For instance, just as in a real knockout match, the player who lost would return to his or place, but they could be called to the dish again later if the current player hadn't battled with them yet. This gave everyone a fair shot at recovering lost points.

"Fujita, please approach the dish," the hyperactive teen said, taking his place near the dish as well.

Fujita, a rather stocky male, grinned and took his position opposite Chiaki, who just smirked and reattached her blade to the launcher. This is going to be a piece of cake…she thought. I just need to get past these losers, and then the sorry idiot who somehow from Block 1B. And then…Fujiwara, you'd better look out!

"Itoe wins!" Kyouju was barely able to contain his excitement. He'd just seen a rather spectacular display of Beyblading. In the previous match, Yuujin had effortlessly knocked out her opponent, Matsuo Kaito, twice! "Well, you're rather serious about blading, aren't you?" he asked, glancing directly at the aqua-eyed girl.

"I'm not that good, sensei…" she murmured, looking down at her shoes.

"Well, that doesn't matter. Please, take your position." Kyouju adjusted his glasses, and then peered at the chalkboard. So far, as with Block 1A, only three students had battled. The score: Matsuo Kaito with five points; Tsubakura Haru, three; Yuujin, six. Who should I call next? Kyouju pondered his choices, and then shrugged.

"Asukaga, you're next."

"Well, that was…unexpected." Rei fumbled for words to describe the match he'd just seen. He was put in charge of overseeing the matches for Block 2B, and so far, the first student he'd chosen – Fujita Taiki – had beaten his first two opponents. Rei especially liked the last battle, where Taiki had employed a feinting strategy, luring his opponent to attack him directly. He knew that move; he'd used it often enough, and he knew that it was 99 percent effective.

The neko-jin glanced at the scoreboard; early on in the block eliminations, and this student was showing promise. Taiki had 11 points; Makino Rika, two; and Setsuno Yuki, three. He grinned, and then called up the next opponent.

"Ryota Katsumi, please step up to the dish!"

"Good battle." Kumiko commented. She had just finished her match with Yuka. Though she tried not to show it, she personally enjoyed trashing the mousy-haired girl's blade to bits.

Kai glanced at the scoreboard. This Fujiwara is good…he thought, noting that out of six rounds – three rounds to a match – she'd only had one loss. Her match against Yuka had been…intense, to say the least. Kumiko won all the rounds in that one, and during the last round, she'd broken her opponent's blade's attack ring!

The eighteen year old ran a hand through his hair, pushing a few stray strands from in front of his eyes. "Fujiwara, why don't you take a break? Oniki, stay where you are. You'll be battling against Mamoru next."

"Sensei, my blade…" Yuka started to protest.

"There are several spare parts in that bag," Kai interrupted, indicating the bag from which he'd taken out the blade Akito had used. "Now make it quick."

"Yes, sir…" Yuka dug through the contents of the bag until she found an attack ring that suited her. She quickly replaced the broken attack ring for the one she found, and then got into position. Across from her, Mamoru Kouji grinned at her and did the same.

Kai glanced at each one to make sure they were ready. "On my signal…"

"Fujiwara-san!"

Kumiko whirled around to find Shun making his way over to her excitedly.

"Tadehiko-san?" She was confused. What was doing here? "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Kumiko – is it okay if I call you Kumiko?" cutting himself off.

The amethyst-eyed teen smiled. "Of course it's okay, Tadehiko-san…"

"Please, just call me 'Shun'," the bespectacled teen smiled back, and then quickly flipped open his laptop. "I just wanted to tell you that that last match you had against Oniki was great!" he exclaimed. He punched in something on the keyboard, and then a file began to play on the screen. Kumiko's eyes grew wide.

"You actually recorded that?" she fairly screeched.

"Of course I did. I need it for the archive!" Shun replied, grinning widely now. I also got one of your friend, Yuujin. She's doing pretty well, too!"

"Well, that's a relief…" Kumiko sighed at hearing the good news. "But why are you taking videos, anyway?"

"It helps the research process." Shun said as he opened another file, which turned out to be Kumiko's own profile. "See, I've installed something into my laptop that helps me analyze a blade's spin power; offensive, defensive, and endurance capabilities; and weaknesses. So if I record one match and the name of the blader is on-file, that info is sent directly to the file, so the next time the blader has a match, I can see if he or she has made any improvement."

"Okay…so, any bladers I should look out for?"

Shun frowned as he thought for a moment, and then opened up another blader profile. "I'm not sure if you should look out for her because of her blading capabilities, but you should be careful around her. I heard she's-"

"Wait a minute! Her?"

"Yeah. Mikage Chiaki – one of your classmates. I overheard her mumbling something about 'showing Fujiwara who's boss'. You're the only Fujiwara who has made it this far in the program, so I figured she meant you."

"Right. So what are her stats?"

"I'll show you." Shun tilted the laptop so that Kumiko could read what was onscreen.

"Hmm…Attack: three stars; Defense: two stars; and Endurance: two stars. Not too shabby…" she commented, leaning back against the wall.

"You think those stats are good; compare them with Yuujin's, then to yours."

"Alright. Why not?" The raven-haired teen pulled the appliance towards her, scanned the (rather short) list of bladers who had a profile until she spotted her friend's.

"Attack: three stars; Defense: one star; Endurance: two stars. Pretty normal, if you ask me." Once more, she chose her profile. Almost at once, her jaw dropped. "That…that's not possible!" she exclaimed, nearly dropping the apparatus.

"Watch it!" Shun warned, reaching for the laptop in case it really fell.

"Are you sure that the analyzer thing you installed in this is accurate?" Kumiko asked. She'd nearly lost it when she read her stats – Attack: four stars; Defense: three stars; Endurance: four stars. "No way could those be for real!"

Shun chuckled at the expression on the girl's face. "You bet those are real! And I assure you, the analyzer I installed is accurate; it is the latest version after all. Why are you surprised at your stat readings, anyway?"

"I had no idea that they were that high!" Kumiko answered. "Those are my stats? You can't be serious!"

"Calm down, Kumiko. Yes, those are your stats. I got them from the battle we recorded in the park, and from the match I recorded today." He grinned sheepishly. "I still have to get some more readings, though, if I want to make sure that they're final."

"I hope they aren't!" Kumiko murmured. "It's really nice, though, to know that you've got a fairly balanced blade…" she added as an afterthought.

"Fujiwara!" The raven-haired head jerked up.

"Uh, oh! Gotta go!" she said, getting up from her spot on the floor and then making her way over to Kai – he was the one who'd called her.

Shun stared after her, and then slowly got up. Wonder who I'll record next?

"Guys, settle down!" Max called over the din in the gymnasium. Around six minutes ago, the round-robin part of the 'tournament' had ended. The five teens had asked five of the participants to call the rest of the seniors into the gym for the announcing of the four trainees who had made it to the 'semi-finals', while they themselves had stayed to tally the scores. Thankfully, they finished tallying by the time the seniors began to arrive.

"We're about to announce the four semi-finalists, people!" Takao added. That did it; when they heard 'semi-finalists' the whole senior group quieted down. They did not want to miss a word of this.

Kyouju sighed in relief, and then pressed something on his laptop. Suddenly, the wall in front lit up, and twenty photos – of the twenty participants – could be seen. "These," Kyouju began, straining to make his voice loud enough to be heard, "are the twenty trainees who made it to second round of the tournament."

"However, only four of them are eligible for the semi-final round." Rei added, joining his friend up front. "We called you here because as soon as the announcements are over, we're going to go directly to the semi-finals, and we thought it would be nice if your classmates or friends had someone to cheer them on."

"Just announce them already!" Someone from the back called.

"Okay!" Max cheerfully agreed. He nodded to Kyouju, who pressed something once more. At once, the pictures rearranged themselves by block. "I'll be announcing the final scores of everyone from each block. If you were unable to catch it, just glance at the, uh, screen in front of you; it'll be displayed there." He took a deep breath…

"Block 1A: Chitose-" he began, but was cut off by a light burst of clapping, which quickly died down. The blonde smiled good-naturedly and began again. "Chitose – 16 points; Fujita Takumi – 15 points; Mikage – 18 points; Aizuki – 17 points; and Satou – 12 points!"

The whole group burst into polite applause; at the far right side of the group however, Kumiko could see several of her classmates – specifically, Chiaki's close friends – going wild. Well, why wouldn't they be happy? Mikage made it, after all…she thought.

"Quiet, people! We're not yet done!" He glanced down at the sheet again. "Block 1B: Matsuo – 19 points; Tsubakura – 13 points; Itoe – 16 points; Asukaga – 14 points; and Ryuzaki – 13 points!" Once more there was applause, and Max waited for it to die down. "Block – huh?" he stopped suddenly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around to see Kai standing behind him. "Kai? What is it?"

"I think you'd better announce the results from Block 2B first," he said quietly. The blue-eyed teen looked confused at first, but then his face brightened.

"Oh, yeah!" he said as he realized what Kai was getting at. "Well, as per our captain's orders, the results from Block 2A will have to wait, so…Block 2B: Fujita Taiki – 15 points; Makino – 15 points; Setsuno – 11 points; Ryota – 17 points; and – are you guys ready for this? – Shimamoto…21 points!"

The whole gymnasium burst into applause. The same person who had previously talked out of turn commented again: "Yeah! That's the highest score so far! You go, Taichi!" It was apparent that the floppy-haired, olive-eyed teen was a classmate of his.

Once more, Max waited for the noise to die down. He didn't have to wait long; they quieted down almost immediately. "Now, what I'm about to read might shock you guys – I know, 'cause we were shocked, too! – but I'd like to urge you to keep your reactions to a minimum." The group remained silent.

"And the results for Block 2A…Hamano – nine points; Yoshikuni – 14 points; Mamoru – 17 points; Oniki – 14 points; and Fujiwara…29 points!"

At that, all the seniors, especially those from Class 1-A, went wild. They had a good reason to – two of their classmates had become semi-finalists. Yuujin flung her arms around her friend, crying, "Yatta! You did it, Kumiko! You got in!"

Kumiko smiled self-consciously. "It was nothing, Yuujin…I-"

Takao overheard her and cut in. "What do you mean, nothing?" he asked, incredulous. "That's the highest score anyone in this training program could have. Considering that 36 is the maximum number of points you could earn in this case, I'd say you're doing very well!"

"I…th-thank you, sir…" Kumiko blushed, embarrassed at being singled out like this.

"Who's your trainer?" Takao asked just then.

"Huh?"

"Who trained you, kid? It has to be someone good, like my bro; otherwise you wouldn't be this talented-"

"I don't have a trainer, sensei."

Takao's jaw went slack. "You…you don't have a trainer?" he sputtered. He forgot to keep his voice down, so the group overheard.

"Who doesn't have a trainer?" One of the students whispered to a friend, who shrugged.

"Kinomiya-sensei was talking to Fujiwara when he said that, so he could be referring to her."

"Sugoi…"

"So…how'd you manage to get so good without a trainer?" Takao was asking.

"Um…I…" Kumiko kept her gaze towards the floor; she felt reluctant to give out any more information that would just attract more attention to her. Yuujin squeezed her hand and gave her a tiny smile. "I…train by myself, sir, but I make it a point to watch any Beyblade matches – especially when its showing your team – so I can get some pointers."

"Well…you just keep up the good work, Fujiwara." The stormy-eyed teen grinned at her, and then walked off to join his friends.

"Students, please go into the back room. That's where the semi-finals will take place." Kyouju instructed even as he gathered up his materials. Chattering noisily once more, the seniors stood up as a body and went into said room.

"C'mon, Kumiko!" Yuujin urged. "Let's go!"

"All…all right…" Kumiko assented, allowing her over-eager friend to half-drag her back into the 'stadium'.

"I still can't see how they moved stuff around so quickly…" Shimamoto Taichi mumbled. All around them, the smaller dishes had disappeared and where replaced with benches and (for those who didn't want to share…!) stools. Only the larger dish and platform remained.

"I agree." Matsuo Kaito came up and sat down beside him on the bench. "I guess they had workers waiting, and that the dishes weren't attached permanently to the floor."

"That's possible…" the copper-haired teen said, staring off into space.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Kaito said suddenly, a small grin playing across his lips.

"What?" Taichi glanced at his companion.

"I mean Fujiwara-san," Kaito gestured towards her with a jerk of his head. Kumiko, who was still talking to Yuujin, had her back to them.

"Y'mean how she got only seven points less than the maximum number of points?" Taichi smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty neat. Wonder how she did it, though…"

"I also noticed something," the chocolate brown-haired teen added, frowning slightly.

"What is it, Matsuo-san?"

"It's Kaito, Shimamoto-san. I'm not comfortable with people my own age who call me by my last name…"

"I see…well, what is it you noticed, Kaito?"

"Well, I saw Mikage…Chiaki, I think her name was…anyway, I saw the look on her face when Mizuhara-sensei announced, Fujiwara-san's score. She didn't seem too…happy about that. Strange how she reacted, especially since they're classmates."

"Well, I've news for you, bud." Taichi grinned. "I've got a friend who's a classmate of theirs. He says that ever since the school year started, Mikage's started a 'competition' with Fujiwara. It isn't official, but everyone in the class knows about it."

"Why does Mikage want to compete with Fujiwara?" Kaito looked puzzled. "Fujiwara's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she is. Everyone from that class always mentions how she's helpful and friendly, though a bit on the anti-social side. As far as anyone knows, she only has one close friend in the class – Itoe Yuujin."

"Okay…I still don't see why Mikage's out to get her."

"Well, Fujiwara's…been getting on her nerves, so I hear. It seems that Fujiwara comes out on top, in every subject."

"Consistent top-notcher, huh?"

"You wouldn't believe how consistent." Taichi rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Get this. In the finals last quarter, Fujiwara was the top scorer on every exam, except for Mathematics, where she ranked third-"

"Well, at least its not monotonous."

"And Mikage ranked fifth."

"Oh."

"Anyway, Mikage's determined to break her 'winning streak'."

"Wow." The teal blue-eyed teen let out a low whistle. "Isn't she going overboard?"

"Well, some people are like that, I suppose…" Taichi said, directing his gaze towards the platform at the center.

Suddenly, all the lights dimmed, and a spotlight seemed to appear from out of nowhere and shone down on the platform. Takao, who, apparently, had appointed himself as 'official' commentator for the round, was standing on the platform.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he began, copying DJ Jazzman – commentator for the BBA – perfectly. "I know you guys are itching to get started, so I'll get straight to the point. For the first match, we have the winners of Block 1A and Block 1B going at each other!" The spotlight moved to the sidelines, where the four semi-finalists were waiting.

"Let's welcome…Mikage Chiaki and Matsuo Kaito!" The group burst into applause.

Kaito stood up. "Well, here goes nothing…" he murmured, reaching into his pocket and taking out a silver-gray blade.

"Gambatte!" Taichi called after him when he was halfway to the stage. Kaito looked back, his teal eyes reflecting the glare of the spotlight, and he flashed a thumbs-up.

"Bladers, take your positions!"

"No way!" Kyouju exclaimed as he finished an article he'd just found via the Internet. He scanned the writing again.

Usually, the bit beast is an heirloom, and it stays with its master until said master passes away, or is unable to wield the beast any longer. There is an exception to this rule, though, wherein the beast chooses its next master even though the current one is still alive and can still wield the beast himself or herself. When that happens, it is usually signaled by strange behavior on the bit beast's part. This may be in the form of defiance, or by simply not responding to commands, but the most common sign that the beast is ready to move on is an unexplained reaction to a certain blader.

Kyouju sighed. Maybe the guys were just imagining things…he thought. Deep inside, though, he knew that each member of Team BBA was serious yesterday when they shared the strange actions of their beasts.

But how can I tell them…?

"Whoa! Talk about fiery!" Takao exclaimed. Center stage, Chiaki had just knocked Kaito's blade out of the dish. "This girl's not just hot; she's blazing!"

"Cool attack!" Kaito exclaimed as he retrieved his blade from behind the platform. "I didn't see that one coming!"

"Thank you for the compliment." Chiaki replied, smirking. "Can you just get back here? I want to finish the match as soon as possible; my feet are killing me!"

Kaito shrugged. "All right…" He mounted the steps to the dish once more and reattached his blade to his launcher.

"And so ends the second round, boys and girls," Takao was saying. "Chiaki wins this round, putting her and Kaito at 1 win each. Whoever wins this next round is going to go through to the finals!"

The 'audience' cheered once more, and several whoops of "You're the man, Kaito!" and "Go, Chiaki!" could be heard.

"Bladers ready? 3…2…1…Go, shoot!"

Chiaki's white blade shot directly into the center of the dish, while Kaito's gray one zigzagged along the sloping walls for a few minutes before heading towards its opponent.

"Attack!" Kaito commanded. His blade circled round the dish for a while, and then swooped in for the kill.

Chiaki smirked. At the last possible moment, before the blades could connect, Chiaki's blade pulled out, and Kaito's hit the wall and bounced back into the center.

"Nice evasion tactic for Chiaki there," Takao commented, grinning. Even he was getting worked up. "Kaito doesn't seem to happy about that."

In the sidelines, Kumiko sighed as she got up. This is going to take awhile…she thought wearily. She leaned over to Yuujin.

"I'm going to take a walk to get my thoughts together." She whispered. The aqua-eyed girl didn't even turn from the match – she was that wrapped up in it.

"Just make sure you get back in time for your match," Yuujin cautioned. "I know you wouldn't want to be disqualified for non-attendance."

"Yeah, don't worry…" Kumiko smiled softly. As quickly as possible, she made her way to the exit and went out, making sure that the door didn't squeak as it swung shut.

As soon as she was out in the open, she breathed a sigh of relief; as far as she knew, no one had seen her go out.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Kai heaved a sigh. Where is she off to? He'd spotted Kumiko sneaking out of the gym. He glanced around, and, when he was sure no one could see him, quickly made his way to the door. Through the glass panels, he saw her exiting the gym. Quickly he followed her.

What is she doing out here? he wondered, peering between the leaves of a rather large bush situated at the side of the runner's track.

Kumiko was out on the field, which was smack beside the gym. She should be – "Augh!" Kumiko's dark blue blade came slashing through the branches, missing him by inches.

"Who's there?" Kumiko called out, running over towards the bush. Kai quickly stood up.

"What are you doing out here, Fujiwara?" he asked sternly. Kumiko stopped short; he had seemingly come from nowhere!

"Hi…Hiwatari-sensei!" she exclaimed.

"You didn't answer my question." Kai leaned closer. "Why are you here? You were supposed to stay inside the gymnasium. You could have hit someone with your blade."

"I…I got bored inside, sir, and thought that I might train outside-"

"No exceptions, Fujiwara." Kai stated simply, handing over her blade.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, sensei…" she said, staring down at her feet. Caught by an instructor! She groaned inwardly. Now I'm going to get it…

"Come on. I'll escort you back inside."

Kumiko looked up at him, puzzled. Huh? Kai glanced at her.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked. "It's nearly your turn."

"Ah…h-hai…" Kumiko averted her gaze and started to walk towards the gym doors.

"What an exciting finish, ladies and gentlemen!" Takao shouted over the applause. "What an unexpected turn of events! Chiaki wins this round, and she goes on to the finals!"

The noise got even louder.

"Let's not forget to give a round of applause for Kaito's valiant effort! Let's give him a hand, everybody!"

"What happened?" Kumiko asked as she sat back down next to Yuujin. The auburn-haired teen glanced up.

"You should have seen it!" she exclaimed, grinning excitedly. "Matsuo's blade was hammering in on Mikage's, and she just seemed to keep on taking it! And then Matsuo did this high-flying move that we thought would finish Mikage for sure, only at the last time, she dodged out of the way. Then she drove up the slope and slammed down on him. It sent him crashing out of the stadium!"

"Really?" Kumiko looked surprised. "I didn't know Mikage was capable of that…"

"Well, she's obviously been hiding it…" Yuujin replied. "But you're still the best blader I know!" she gave her friend a huge smile.

"Thanks, Yuujin…" the raven-haired teen smiled back.

"And now, boys and girls!" Takao was shouting. "The second match for the semi-finals! The two highest-scoring trainees will battle it out against each other for the last spot in the finals! Give it up for…Shimamoto Taichi!"

There was more applause as the 'spotlight' swung over to the left side of the platform, where Taichi ascended the steps. He glanced over to a spot in the audience, grinned, and waved; it was obvious his classmates were seated there.

"And from Block 2A…Fujiwara Kumiko!"

Almost immediately, the entire gym seemed to explode into vigorous applause. Kumiko winced inwardly (A/N: she hates publicity, remember?), and then mounted the stairs to the platform.

Taichi held up a hand. "Congrats on getting the highest score, Fujiwara-san!" he said.

"Thank you." Kumiko took it in a firm grip. "Oh, and best of luck for the upcoming battle," she added, with a slight smile. Taichi started back; the smile she had just given was unnerving, as was the strange glint in her eyes.

Kai was seated with the rest of Team BBA, when he felt Dranzer vibrate again in his pocket. He looked up just in time to see Kumiko and Taichi shake hands. He also saw the strange look that came over the amethyst-eyed teen's face. What's her deal? His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Bladers ready?" Takao asked, glancing from Taichi to Kumiko. Both teens had just finished attaching their respective blades to their launchers.

"Let's just get this over with…" Taichi mumbled. He wanted to finish the match as quickly as possible – the look Kumiko had given him had unnerved him quite a bit.

"Ready." Kumiko replied.

"All right! On my count…3…"

Kumiko's grip tensed, and she narrowed her eyes in concentration. Across the dish, Taichi was also focusing, evident from the hard look on his face.

"2…1…Go, shoot!"

Both bladers pulled on their ripcords, and the blades simultaneously shot into the stadium. They circled each other for a while, and then Kumiko's blue blade shot forward and slammed into Taichi's, effectively knocking it out of the stadium.

Immediately after, silence descended quickly on the audience. Everyone was too stunned at what had happened.

"Looks like Kumiko made the first move, folks!" Takao exclaimed after a few minutes, having been the first to collect his wits. "And what power! Taichi was slammed out of the game!"

The crowd clapped and cheered its approval.

"Whoa…" Kaito mumbled.

"What a move!" Taichi commented as he knelt down and picked up his blade. "Where'd you learn that?" There was a click as the launcher gripped the small top.

"A good blader never reveals their secrets," Kumiko said, grinning slightly. She, too, attached her blade to her launcher.

"Time for the second round, people!" Takao said, sensing his cue. "Bladers, on my mark…3…"

"This time, I know what to expect!" Taichi called over the din caused by the audience.

"Don't be too sure of yourself, Shimamoto!" Kumiko replied.

"1…Go, shoot!"

Once more, the two blades were mere blurs as they sped into the stadium. This time, Taichi launched an all-out attack on Kumiko's blade, forcing it up the slope towards the rim.

"Ha! You actually think that will work?" Kumiko asked, a strange grin on her face.

In the stands, Shun noticed the change of personality in the amethyst-eyed teen. "Does this usually happen when she's battling?" he asked, leaning towards Yuujin, who shrugged.

"Dunno. I've never seen her like this…" she muttered, half to herself.

"Dranzer F, attack!" The blue blade obediently shot forward. At the last moment, Taichi's blade swung out to the side, while Kumiko's kept going. It slammed against the opposite slope and bounced back into the middle, wobbling slightly. Taichi grinned.

"Gotcha! Draei, attack!"

There was a sharp thwack! as the green Draei blade slammed forcefully against the blue, and it was all over.

"Amazing!" Takao was saying. "Looks like Taichi still had some tricks up his sleeve! Kumiko has got to be steaming after that battle!"

"Hmph. She had it coming to her…" Chiaki - who was seatedsomewhere near the back - sneered. "We'llsoonsee who the real champion is, Fujiwara…"

Yuriko turned around; apparently, she had overheard Chiaki's words. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"Aaa…nandemo na, Yuriko-chan…" Chiaki replied, grinning. "I was just…thinking out loud, that's all."

"Oh, okay…" Yuriko turned her attention back towards the center stadium.

"All right, folks! It's time for the third round! Whoever wins this round will battle Chiaki in the finals! So bladers, give it all you've got!"

The 'crowd' applauded again, and some students took to calling out the name of their favorite blader.

Kumiko shook herself mentally as she retrieved her blade. This is it, Kumiko…the deciding round…She straightened up and placed her blade on the launcher. On the opposite side, Taichi was doing the same.

"Ready?" Takao glanced at them; both of them nodded that they were. Kumiko raised her arms above her head.

The Fury launch…Kai realized. She's getting serious…

"Don't think you'll get away with that trick again!" Kumiko warned, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated.

"3…"

"Don't worry, I won't!" Taichi grinned. His grip on the ripcord tightened.

"2…1…Go, shoot!"

Taichi's blade shot towards the center.

"Go!" Kumiko exclaimed as she swung her arms down forcefully and, at the precise moment, yanked on the ripcord. The force of the launch sent her blade ricocheting off the slopes of the dish several times, but its spin didn't decrease. On its last ricochet of the left-hand slope, it passed Taichi's blade, however, and knocked it aside. Now Kumiko's blade was spinning in the center.

"Kumiko's getting serious," Takao announced. "That launch was a powerful one!"

"Gambatte, Kumiko-chan!" Yuujin yelled, standing up in her seat. Kumiko turned towards her, grinned and flashed a thumbs-up.

"Hey, Fujiwara!" Taichi called from the other side of the stadium. "You'd better keep an eye on your blade!"

"Huh?" Kumiko glanced back at the dish; instantly a look of horror creased her features. Taichi's blade was continuously knocking into hers, sending it up the slope towards the rim.

"No! Dranzer F, go for it!" she commanded. The blue blade responded instantly, pushing back at Taichi's light green blade with as much force as it could muster.

"Looks like your momentum's worn down," Taichi commented. "Look!" Sure enough, the blue one was wobbling slightly now, but it delivered a powerful blow to the green, nearly sending it out of the dish.

"But it can still kick butt!" Kumiko added. She wasn't smiling now; only grim determination could be read in the purple orbs. As if for added emphasis, her blade started incessantly attacking Taichi's, in what seemed a desperate bid for victory.

"Oh, yeah?" Taichi asked, also getting into the game. "Try this on for size! Draei! Whirlpool Crush!"

"Whirlpool Crush?" Kumiko half-chuckled in indignation. "What kind of attack is that?" Once more, to prove her point, her blade veered out of the line of attack and dealt out one of its own attacks. Taichi, however, didn't let this slide past.

Kumiko's eyes widened as she watched, in slow motion, as Taichi's blade reversed its counterclockwise circle around the dish, knocking her blade sky-high.

Kumiko's eyes widened in shock.

A/N: Another cliffie! I seem to be doing that a lot lately...

Aki: Doesn't every writer do that?

Me: Well, I usually like to leave a chapter finished, especially in Beybattles, in which case I announce the winner of that certain match. Here I decided to make an exception. Anyway...minna, I'll be trying my best to have the next chapter for 'Revelation' up next week, and also the third chapter for this story...

Mei: In the meantime, R&R, okay? Arigatou!

Me: Peace out!