A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm back with another chapter for 'The First of Their Kind'. This is really my first story wherein the story revolves around a tournament, so bear with me if almost all the chapters have something to do with Beyblade battles in them...most of the realizations happen during the battles, so...
Anyway, to all those who read and reviewed -
Aki: There are only two who read and actually reviewed -
Me: Shush! A BIG 'thank you' to those who reviewed! It really made my day!
Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade...do own the OCs, though...
Chapter 04: Yasashii Yoru Ni
A light breeze whistled as it swept through the trees, rattling the leaves and knocking some of them off the branches. A lone student, her jet-black hair blowing around her because of the wind, shook her bangs out of her eyes and gazed at the orange sun as it slowly sank behind the hazy mountains. The sky was already a dusky blue color; night was falling. She smiled contentedly, turned, and then approached the nondescript oak door, which opened into the tastefully furnished outer hallway of a rather large house in one of the few ritzy suburbs of Tokyo.
"Tadaimasu!" Kumiko called as she stepped through the wooden doorway. "Obasan?"
From the direction of the kitchen, there was a clatter, as of something being dropped, and then footsteps coming down the hall.
"Kumiko-chan, you're home!" A slightly built, middle-aged woman with thinning brown hair stood in the hall, a motherly smile on her face. "So, how was your day?" she asked. She cocked her head to one side. "I heard that your school is starting this training program in Beyblading for those who are interested."
Kumiko grinned as she approached her aunt – for that's who the woman was. "Hai. But, Obasan, that was yesterday. Today, we had the second part of it – the semi-finals and the finals to be exact."
Minami – Kumiko's aunt – looked puzzled. "Why are you having a tournament? I thought it was a training program…"
Kumiko chuckled. "Oops. I should have told you this earlier. See, they want to get the best of the forty people who signed up for the program. Those not accepted will still be trained-"
"Why would they get only 'the best'?" Minami looked more puzzled than ever.
The raven-haired teen sighed inwardly. If only her aunt were more patient! "Well, we were told that the school would enter the Junior Championship taking place soon; that's why they started the program. They're only going to get the best four bladers to represent the school, but the other students who signed up will still be trained, though their training isn't going to be as rigorous as ours."
"'Ours', you say?" Minami blue-green eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Ah…I…was one of the top four chosen to represent the school…" Kumiko half-whispered, blushing slightly. She hated telling her relatives of her achievements; they tended to 'go wild' and throw a big celebration in her honor. Especially since she – in her relatives' eyes – was following in her parents' footsteps.
The aqua orbs widened with joy. "Oh, Kumi-chan! That's wonderful!" she exclaimed, using Kumiko's 'baby nickname'. The amethyst-eyed teen cringed; she hated that name! "Please, won't you go call your uncle? He's upstairs…"
"Eh?"
"He'd want to hear about this, I'm sure. In fact, I know I would want to hear your story!" Minami turned and hurriedly walked back to the kitchen. Before she entered said room, she half-turned and added, "It's a good thing, then that I prepared chicken your favorite way; it can be our celebration dinner."
Kumiko heaved a loud sigh when her aunt disappeared from sight. "I knew it…" she groaned. She dropped off her backpack in the living room, and then trudged up the stairs to the second floor to find her uncle.
As she padded along the wooden upper hallway, glancing into the various rooms now and then, she began to allow herself to drift away on her memories…
It seemed so long ago now, but it was actually nearly six years since 'the accident', as the clan referred to the tragic accident that took Kumiko's parents…
Her mother, Mariko, was a great artist and fashion designer. She was also a great singer – according to Kumiko's uncle, her mother had been a voice actor in several anime series, and had become quite successful in the business before she retired and began her second job. In fact, stories used to circulate in school that Kumiko would one day become a great seiyuu herself. It was from Mariko that the raven-haired teen inherited her love for music and her skills in drawing.
Kumiko's father, Saburo, was a department store manager, but Kumiko remembered that he also liked to tinker with Beyblades. She knew because one day, when she had recently turned ten, she had wandered into her father's study and found several sheets of paper, filled with designs, measurements, and the occasional statistic for a blade he was helping to develop. She thought that, perhaps, it was her dad that had helped influence her to go into blading.
Around four months after Kumiko's tenth birthday, her parents had gone on a business trip. One from which they never returned. It was a car crash, the police said, but Kumiko thought otherwise. She had found out, through eavesdropping on her other uncle's phone conversations – he was also a Beyblade engineer – that, approximately one-and-a-half months before the accident, her father's partner had mysteriously disappeared. Apparently, for reasons yet unknown, the company had fired him. The raven-haired teen thought it odd that her parents would get into an accident so soon after a colleague had disappeared; it appeared too coincidental. She had always wanted to tell someone, anyone, ofher suspicions, but she knew they'd never believe her; she didn't have enough 'proof'.
By now, she had reached the last room on the second floor – the TV room. She knew her uncle liked to watch the early-night programs, so he was sure to be here. She peeked in; sure enough, her Uncle Kenji was seated on his favorite mocha armchair, his favorite program playing on the television.
"Ojisan?" she called, not wanting to interrupt so abruptly. The charcoal-haired man seated on the chair jumped and then whirled around. A wide grin broke over his kind, wrinkled face.
"Kumiko!" he exclaimed as he approached his younger relative. He gave her a hug, which the girl returned with much gusto. The middle-aged man broke the hug, held her at arm's length, and gazed at her, a confounded look on his face.
"How is it that you can always sneak up on me?" he asked. "I try and try, but I never seem to be able to catch you!"
Kumiko giggled. Ever since she had come to live with her aunt and uncle nearly six years ago, she had developed a knack for sneaking up on either of her guardians and surprising them. And her uncle asked that very same question every time she did that.
"Uncle, you know you sometimes have that television on rather loud; maybe that's why you can't hear me…"
"You know, you have a point…" Kenji looked thoughtful. And then he chuckled. "Well, that's enough on that! So…why are you looking for me?"
"Aunt Minami is calling you; she wants you to hear something." Kumiko replied vaguely.
"Really? What's it about?"
"Err…" Kumiko bit her lip and looked away. "It has something to do…with school." She answered hesitantly.
"Well, this must be good news if she's calling me at least five minutes before dinnertime!" the emerald-eyed man said, scratching his neck. "Let's not keep her waiting, then!" he clapped a rather large hand on his niece's shoulder. "Off we go!"
"Kumiko, that's wonderful!" Uncle Kenji exclaimed, putting down his fork. The 'family' was seated around the dinner table and were around halfway through the chicken dinner Aunt Minami had prepared earlier. Kumiko looked down at her plate, blushing once more. She knew what was coming next…
"If only your parents could see you now…" the middle-aged man added, also looking down at his plate, vaguely aware that he was thinking how strange his family was – Japanese, yet they rarely used chopsticks, as other families were wont to do. Minami nodded in agreement to her husband's comment.
"We should probably tell Miinoru and the others…" she said quietly, still smiling. Kumiko's head jerked up.
"What?"
Aunt Minami smiled. "Well, they'd want to hear about your recent achievement, Kumiko-chan." She stood up. "I'll go-"
"Wait, Obasan…" Kumiko said, also standing up.
"What's wrong?" Uncle Kenji looked up from his chicken.
"Well…just this once, could we…keep this news to ourselves? Even just for a little while?" Kumiko pleaded. "I'm…just not sure I'd want them to know about this so soon…"
"What's the matter with them knowing?" Minami was puzzled. This was the first time her niece had asked them not to tell their other relatives; was something wrong?
"When the tournament comes around, I wouldn't want to have so many people cheering for me; it's a little embarrassing. And I know how Uncle Miinoru is about Beyblades," she added, referring to 'the accident'. "He'd probably go ballistic!" She grinned, trying to assure them that everything was fine.
"She has a point, Minami…" Kenji glanced up at his wife. Minami glance back, and, after a few moments, she sighed.
"All right…" she sighed, acquiescent. "So when should I tell them? They can't not know about this, Kumiko; they'd want to congratulate you…"
"I'll…let you know, Obasan…" Kumiko replied cheerfully. She sat back down to finish her dinner. "I'm…still trying to get used to the idea, though, that I'm going to represent the school in the tournament…"
Kenji grinned at her. "Don't worry, Kumiko…you'll do just fine, I'm sure."
Kumiko smiled back.
Yoru no sora ni matataku…
Tooi kin no hoshi…
The soft strains of music wound its way throughout the room. It was one of Kumiko's favorite songs, evidenced by the sheer number of times she'd played it.
The raven-haired teen put down the pencil she'd been using and stretched. Getting up from the chair at her desk, she glanced around the room.
Yuube yume de
miageta…
Kotori to onaji iro…
Nemurenu yoru ni
hitori utau uta…
Wataru kaze to
issho ni omoi wo nosate tobu yo…
She turned back to her sketchpad and sighed. It was turning out bad, in her opinion.
For the past thirty minutes after she had finished her homework, she had been trying to finish her phoenix drawing. So far, she had the body perfectly positioned – she had gotten the pose right on her first try – but she still had to sketch in the wings. And she was failing. Horribly.
Yoru no sora ni
kagayaku…
Tooi gin no tsuki…
Yuube yume de
saite'ta…
Nobara to onaji
iro…
She sat back down and picked up the pencil once more. Now…how would Mom start sketching something she was having trouble with?
Yasashii yoru ni
hitori utau uta…
Asu wa kimi to
utaou yume no tsubasa ni notte…
She leaned over the paper and began to sketch in the shape and curvature of the wings to serve as a guide when she started on the shading that would denote the feathers.
Yasashii yoru ni
hitori utau uta…
Asu wa kimi to
utaou yume no tsubasa ni notte…
The soft melody slowly faded away to nothing; Kumiko glanced up, startled. She swiveled her head to glance at her CD player, which was now silent, and then got up and walked to the nearby CD rack to pick out another album. She ran her finger over the different titles, reading them silently to herself, until she stopped on one that held some promise, meaning it was the most likely one to inspire her to finish the sketch tonight; she wanted to start on the color version tomorrow, if possible.
She turned and approached the CD player. After placing her chosen CD in the player, she pressed the 'play' button and then walked back to her desk, silently counting down to the start of the first song.
Hoho ni ataru kaze
ga kizoukeshite yuku…
Kimi no koe ga
tooku chikaku kikoeteru…
She smiled to herself and continued to draw.
"Kumiko-san, it's beautiful!" Rintaro breathed. He'd gotten a glimpse of the drawing the raven-haired teen was working on. Before she practically shielded it from view, that is.
"Arigato, Rintaro-san…" Kumiko said quietly, suddenly wishing she'd left her sketchpad at home.
"When did you start working on it?" another of her female classmates, who had managed to approach without Kumiko noticing, asked, peering over Kumiko's shoulder in order to get a better view.
"Um…a few days earlier…" the amethyst-eyed teen replied, glancing out the window as she did so.
"Really?" the girl, Erika, asked. Kumiko nodded in reply and Erika smiled. "Well, can you show it to me when its finished?"
Kumiko opened her mouth to reply, but shut it once more when she saw that Erika wasn't listening. Without waiting for an answer, the other girl had turned and ran off to join her friends, who were on the other side of the room. Unbeknownst to her, Rintaro, too, had left her to her drawing in favor of the companionship of his gaming buddies.
The jet black-haired girl sighed in relief. Finally, their gone! she thought as she picked up a scarlet pencil. She had finished the pencil sketch last night, and was about to start on the colored version. She glanced up and noted that Yuujin wasn't in yet, but shrugged it off. The auburn-haired teen was probably with a couple of her other friends from the adjacent classroom. Kumiko didn't mind this, despite the fact that this happened often; she was perfectly used to the idea that she wasn't Yuujin's only friend, and it wasn't so bad, actually.
It seemed only five minutes later that the bell chimed throughout the school. Kumiko huffed, annoyed, and then moved to replace her colored pencils and pad in her bag. Once finished, she brought out her mathematics book, notebook, and pencil case.
Here goes another school day…
"Did you understand the math lesson?" Yuujin asked between bites of a riceball. It was their lunch break; Yuujin and Kumiko had gone outside and occupied their 'usual eating spot', which they usually reserved for balmy days. Today was one of those days.
Kumiko put her chopsticks back in her lunchbox and leaned back against the smooth bark of the tree – one of the reasons they chose that particular spot. "Why are you asking only now?" she asked, casting her friend a perplexed look. "Why wait the whole morning to ask for help?"
"Well…" The auburn-haired teen looked down sheepishly. "I sort of forgot to ask you – or any one of our classmates – earlier. I guess my mind was on the science quiz…"
Kumiko sighed and shook her head, smiling. "Well, what part of the lesson didn't you understand?"
"Um…the part about finding the exact values of secants, cosecants, and cotangents."
"Oh, that part!" Kumiko sat up straight and reached into her bag for her notebook and pencil. Muttering to herself, she flipped through her notebook until she found the page she'd written that day's lesson on. "Okay, here it is!"
Yuujin scooted a little closer to her friend and leaned over in order to read the notes better.
"Let's say you're finding the secant of 45 degrees," Kumiko began, scribbling with her pencil on the opposite page to show the aqua-eyed teen how it was done. "First, equate this to its appropriate inverse – you do know that the secant function is an inverse of one of the trigonometric functions, right?"
Yuujin nodded. "It's the inverse of the cosine function."
"Yup!" the amethyst-eyed teen grinned. "If that's the case, all you have to remember is that the secant of 45 degrees is equal to 1 divided by cosine of 45 degrees."
"That would be…" Yuujin stared off into space for a few moments, thinking. Then her eyes brightened. "That would be the square root of 2 divided by 2!"
"Good! You remember!" Kumiko gave her friend a quick thumbs-up, and then turned back to her notes. "But you have to 'rationalize' the equation; in other words, you have to get rid of the radical sign."
"So…how do you do that again?" Yuujin reached for the pencil and the notebook; she wanted to try solving the equation. "Do you…multiply it by something?"
Kumiko smiled broadly. "You're almost there, Yuujin! What do you multiply it with?"
"Err…" The auburn-haired teen tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's the, uh…reciprocal of…something…"
"Bingo!"
"Huh?" Yuujin glanced at her friend, bewildered. "What do you mean, 'bingo'?"
"You got it!" Kumiko said excitedly. "You multiply it with the reciprocal! In this case, the reciprocal is '2 over the square root of 2'."
"Then what?"
The raven-haired teen glanced at her. "C'mon, you were able to remember the lesson so far; you can do it."
Yuujin squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to remember the next step. "You…convert '1' in the equation into…"
"'Square root of 2 over square root of 2'!" Kumiko grinned happily, took the pencil from her friend and quickly wrote down that part of the equation. "So the equation now reads 'secant of 45 degrees is equal to square root of 2 over square root of 2 multiplied by 2 over square root of 2'."
"So…" Yuujin's eyes brightened once more, and she quickly grabbed the pencil and wrote down her answer. "The secant of 45 degrees equals 2 square root of 2 over 2!"
Kumiko nodded. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it? You had understood the lesson all along; you just didn't realize it!"
"Yeah…" Yuujin mumbled, reaching over to replace Kumiko's notebook and pencil into the bag. "I guess so…" Having finished returning the materials, the aqua-eyed girl leaned back against the tree, and her companion followed suit.
There was silence for several minutes as the two friends reveled in the fresh breeze, which had just sprung up. The scene was a serene one, if you didn't mind the occasional students playing tag or soccer on the nearby area of the field. The sky was rather hazy – full of wispy, silvery clouds – which lessened the glare of sunlight. Aside from the shouts and yells of students playing around and chatting, the only sounds the pair could hear were the chirping of the birds that had come to nest in 'their tree', as they liked to call it.
Yuujin was the first to break the silence. "Do you have any plans for this afternoon? After training, I mean…"
"Chiaki!"
The ash blonde teen whirled around, searching for whoever had called her; upon seeing who it was, she grinned and waved.
"Yuriko! Hey!"
The hazel-haired teen caught up with her a few moments later, and Chiaki stopped; she could see that Yuriko was panting hard, so she decided it wise to give her friend a few moments to catch her breath.
"Whoa…ran like crazy back there…" Yuriko commented, leaning back against the wall.
"Why were you running anyway?" Chiaki asked, an eyebrow arching up in bewilderment.
"Well, I…I just wanted to get to class earlier than I usually do after lunch break…" The chocolate-eyed teen grinned sheepishly. "I'm not exactly known for being punctual…"
Chiaki chuckled. It was true; Yuriko wasn't fond of bringing a packed lunch to school, so she usually ate out. Unfortunately, this resulted in her being constantly late for the first period after lunch.
"Oh, yeah!" Yuriko interjected, smiling broadly. "Are you planning on going somewhere this afternoon?"
"After the training at the gym?" The emerald-eyed teen wanted to know.
Yuriko nodded, still grinning.
"Uh, no…" Chiaki looked puzzled.
"Good!" Yuriko looked pleased. "Meet me at Anna Miller's as soon as you guys are let off, okay?"
"Err…okay…" Chiaki was rather hesitant to accept her friend's invitation, but she felt she had to accept. She could tell that she'd be very busy over the next few days, what with her training and all; the least she could do was spend a bit more time with her – and her other friends, for that matter – before the time actually came.
"Ow…" Kumiko groaned, rubbing her fingers. She allowed herself to drop onto the long wooden bench found in the middle of the girls' locker room. The foursome had just finished the first two 'placement sessions', as Kyouju called them, five minutes ago, and she still had to meet Yuujin at Anna Miller's – a popular teenage hangout in Tokyo.
Slowly, she got up and walked to her locker, where she kept a change of clothes aside from her uniform. Wonder why she wants me to meet her there? she wondered as she reached for her favorite black shirt. She quickly pulled it on, and then reached for a red pleated skirt.
As soon as she was dressed, she reached into the locker one last time and brought out her school bag and outside shoes. Once she was outside the building, she took off her indoor shoes, neatly placing them on a rack of similar shoes, and then put on her other pair. She quickly shrugged on a jacket – it was a little chilly – and then crossed the rather large field to get to the gate.
After walking for a few minutes, humming a song to herself, Kumiko reached the street directly across from Anna Miller's. The amethyst-eyed teen smiled a bit as soon as she saw the restaurant. Whereas the nearby buildings were rather dreary, Anna Miller's sported a rainbow awning, and the lighting from inside was warm and inviting. Also, directly outside, but still covered with the awning, were a couple of wooden chairs and tables, for students who wanted to feel the breeze and whatnot.
Kumiko quickly glanced left and right, checking for vehicles, and then crossed the street to the restaurant.
When she got inside, to her surprise, the whole class was there. She glanced around, puzzled – and spotted Yuujin. She hurried over to the auburn-haired teen – who was smiling broadly – and pulled her aside.
"Yuujin! Why is everyone from our class here?" Kumiko asked in a whisper.
"Kumiko, don't you remember?" Yuujin replied, her head cocked to one side. "Today's Mikage-san's birthday!"
"Oh, yeah…" Kumiko said, smiling back. "I guess I was so caught up with this new drawing that I'm afraid I got the dates mixed up. I thought her birthday wasn't until next week!"
"Well, you'd better find a seat you like and quick, before all the good seats – meaning those next to the windows – are taken."
"Yeah, good idea…" the raven-haired teen said. She then proceeded to retrieve her bag from the chair where she'd left it and then settled into one of the comfortable cushioned booths near the back. It was quite removed from the tables where almost everyone was seated, but still near enough so she could see the door and hear and see what was going on.
After a few minutes, the door chimes sounded again; Kumiko looked up. There stood Chiaki, a bewildered expression on her face.
"Otanjoubi omedetou!" The class cried in unison, huge smiled lighting up their faces.
Chiaki smiled back, though she was still dazed and shocked. "Oh, my…" she muttered, as she was lead to a table smack in the center of the restaurant. "What are you all doing here?"
"It's a party for you, Chiaki!" Yuriko replied, still grinning.
"You told me to meet you here," the ash blonde shot back, also grinning, "but I wasn't expecting this!"
"Ah, it's no problem, Chiaki-san…" Erika said, patting her hand. "After all, we're all friends here, right?"
"Yeah, right…" Chiaki looked down at her lap for a few moments. Suddenly, her head snapped back up. "So," she said, with a big grin on her face. "When are we going to order?"
Everyone burst into laughter, and Rintaro called some waitresses over.
After around ten minutes, everyone finished ordering, and they were seated at the various tables around the restaurant, chatting and laughing while waiting for the food. Kumiko had moved a few tables towards the front, to be closer to the others, but she could find no one to sit with.
She sighed. I should be used to this…she thought rather sadly. After all, this usually happens on class get-togethers and such… Though it was true that she tried to join in on conversations, she didn't have that many friends in class, but that had never been a problem for her. She'd grown used to it throughout her teenage life, but she never thought that it would come to the point that no one would come up to her; even though in class she mostly kept to herself, one of her classmates would come up to her and start a conversation.
Oh, well…she sighed again. At least I brought my sketchbook…I'll have something to do instead of waiting in vain for someone to join me here…
She reached into her schoolbag and brought out her drawing materials. At first, she tried to finish the drawing she had been working on, but she found she couldn't concentrate. She tried to tell herself it was the noise, which was partly true. She wasn't bothered by the noise level; she was bothered by what the noise meant: everyone was having fun, while she was…well, all alone.
She sighed for what seemed the umpteenth time and replaced her sketchpad and pencils in her bag. She got up and made for the door.
Yuujin looked up as soon as she heard the tinkle of the door chimes. Her eyes widened when she recognized Kumiko heading outside. She quickly excused herself from her table and hurried over to her seemingly devastated friend.
"Kumiko?" she asked worriedly as soon as she had caught up to the amethyst-eyed teen. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh?" Kumiko turned to face her friend, who was halfway in, and halfway out of the restaurant.
"What's wrong?" Yuujin looked genuinely worried, and suddenly Kumiko felt a pang of guilt for making her worry.
"Nothing's wrong, Yuujin!" Kumiko replied, forcing herself to smile. "Its just that I decided to go outside so I could finish the drawing I started earlier; I need some inspiration, and I couldn't find it inside the restaurant."
Yuujin stood there, silent. She grinned after a few moments, but Kumiko could read doubt in her friend's eyes.
"Don't worry about me!" she said, gesturing nonchalantly. "Just call me when my food's already there, and then I'll go inside, okay?"
Yuujin nodded slowly, not sure if she believed her. "All right, I'll do that…" she said. The two stood there for a few more moments, and then the auburn-haired teen let go of the door handle, allowing it to swing shut.
Kumiko slumped into the nearest chair and breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't stand it when the auburn-haired girl blamed herself if she saw that Kumiko was unhappy.
She leaned over and took out her sketchpad and pencils once more. As she set the materials on the table in front of her, she sang to herself her favorite song:
"Yoru no sora ni kagayaku…tooi gin no tsuki…yuube yume de saite'ta…nobara to onaji iro…"
She sighed. Right now, that 'distant moon of silver' seemed a perfect comparison to the constant companionship she secretly craved, yet could never find. Yes, Yuujin was there for her, but she wanted something more other than the lunch breaks they spent together, the occasional outings at the mall and wherever else their feet led them, and the biweekly Beyblade training sessions – which had to be cut off because of the school training program Kumiko was now engaged in.
"Yasashii yoru ni hitori utau uta…asu wa kimi to utaou…yume no tsubase ni notte…"
Kumiko shook her head, suddenly angry with herself for being so…emotional, even given the circumstances. She had no time for self-pity!
Grabbing a red pencil, she bent over her sketchpad and started to draw.
A cool breeze blew, bringing from within the restaurant the sounds of student laughter and the enticing smell of freshly cooked food. Up above, several small stars twinkled in the distance, accompanied by the brighter glow of the ever-present moon.
A/N: There! Chapter 4 done! Yay! No beybattles! Oh, I apologize if I bored anyone out with the 'math lesson' thing back there...I typed this up a few minutes after I finished studying for a math quiz about the same thing, plus, it was the only thing that popped into my head that Yuujin and Kumiko...I'm really sorry! Oh, and the 'Anna Miller's' restaurant? I'm not sure if it's a real restaurant in Japan or not...I just saw it mentioned on 'Megatokyo', a doujinshi which can be found at So...I guess that's all...Peace out! God bless!