A/N: Konnichiwa, minna! I'm back with a new chapter!
Mei: Yatta! Things are going more smoothly than expected, Kari-chan!
Me: (nod) Hai. Sou demo ii nara, ne, Aki-kun?
Aki: Whatever...
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade G-Revolution, otherwise, Hiromi wouldn't have been a character created solely for the second season (and who somehow found herself carried over to the third).
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Chapter 10: Discovery
"It's you!"
In front of her stood a rather tall, middle-aged man with piercing gray eyes and messy red hair.
Ryushi looked startled "Kumiko…how do you know Mizuki-sama?"
Kumiko kept her eyes on the gray-eyed man. "I met him around a year ago when I attended the opening of a hobby shop near my house. Of course, I didn't know his name then; he was introduced to all the visitors as 'M'."
"I'm glad to see you recognized me, Kumiko…" the crimson-haired man smirked.
The amethyst-eyed teen tried to wrench free from Damoto's grip, without much success. "Let Takeshi and me go, Mizuki! I'm sure the BBA sent search parties out to look for us, and you know how serious an offense abduction is…"
"True, but I'm willing to take the risk…" the cold gray orbs glinted maliciously as the man smirked. "At any rate, we have a few more minutes before your friend Takeshi is brought out; then it will be your turn."
Kumiko frowned. "My turn for what, exactly?"
"You'll find out soon…"
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"Hey!" Max exclaimed, stopping short. "Is it just me, or are we headed for Mount Fuji?"
"WHAT?" Takao burst out, eyes wide with shock. "You mean to tell me that we've come that far already?"
"Max is right," Rei said, taking note of the majestic slope taking form before them. "That does look like Mount Fuji up ahead."
"But…why is Suzaku headed there?" Chiaki looked confused. "She's supposed to be looking for Kumiko."
"Maybe the ones who abducted Kumiko and the others have holed up somewhere near the mountain," Kaito suggested, thinking it a bit absurd that anyone would have a hideout on the mountain itself. It was terribly cold up there, and the rocky terrain would make it difficult to build anything bigger than a small thatched-roof hut.
"Point taken…" Chiaki answered. "I just hope you're right, Kaito, 'cause I don't think I'm ready for a climb any time soon…
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"Stop her!" Mizuki cried, racing to the door as he did so. Damoto and a few others personnel followed him.
A few seconds earlier, Kumiko had managed to break out of Damoto's grip and was now racing back down the corridor.
I have to get out of here fast! The amethyst-eyed girl thought, trying to keep her mind clear enough to spot an opportunity should it present itself to her. I have to...tell Chairman Daitouji...what happened...
"Hey, you! Get back here!" one of the guards shouted as he and his fellows raced to catch up to and subdue her. Kumiko's only response was to run faster until they were farther behind her, but not by much.
It's too bad I don't have my - Kai's - armbands...They would have made a great weapon... Kumiko thought, glancing frantically left and right for a way to lose the men chasing after her.
And then, a few meters away, she spotted a steel door that was slightly ajar. Glancing over her shoulder for only a brief moment - just to see how far the men were - she grinned, scarcely believing her luck. She slowed down a bit as she neared the door, and then quickly pulled it open, ducked inside, and shut it. She felt a bolt on the door and drew it across, locking it in place and sealing her inside, away from the threats of her pursuers. Suddenly, a light at the far end of the room came on.
"How nice of you to join me..."
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"Suzaku, is it any farther?" Kai asked quietly, trying to keep his breathing slow and even. The scarlet phoenix had stopped just at the end of a trail that led to the forest at the foot of the sacred mountain and was resting on a fencepost. The slate-haired teen's companions were sitting or lying on the ground, gasping quietly and glad of the short break; it had occured to none of them that they would have to run this far.
The firebird gave a shrill screech, and then glanced up at Mount Fuji. Kai followed her gaze and spotted something that looked like a watchtower amongst the trees that grew along the mountain slope.
"What did...she...say?" Takao called out in between gasps.
The crimson-eyed teen didn't look at him when he answered. "We were wrong; the hideout is somewhere up on the mountain. Suzaku says it's quite a trek up there."
Takao groaned. "Aww...man..."
Suzaku regarded her former master and his friends with something akin to concern in her eyes, and she gave a soft screech, as though to deter them from following her any further; she would help Kumiko on her own.
Kai shook his head. "No, Suzaku. We asked for your help in finding Kumiko, and you've nearly fulfilled your part. Allow us to do ours."
For a time, Suzaku was quiet. She could see just how fatigued all ten teens were, but she could also sense their determination in helping her current master. Finally, she gave a screech of consent. Flapping her wings once, twice, she was soon airborne, moving easily with the wind that was usually prevalent this close to the mountains.
One by one, the members of Team BBA and Team Phoenix got up and began following the scarlet beast once more, noticing that she was flying lower - and slower - for their sake, and were thankful for it.
Kai glanced up towards the patch of trees where he thought he'd seen the dismal gray form of the tower. Wait a bit more, Kumiko...your friends are on the way...
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Kumiko backed up against the wall, staring in astonishment at the flame-haired man in front of her. "H-how did you-"
Mizuki chuckled darkly. "How did I get here? Why, I knew, of course, that you would come here the first chance you got." He took a step forward, out of the spotlight. "Why do you think I told Damoto to loosen his grip?"
"Told Damoto to-" The raven-haired teen looked aghast. "Then...this...this is..."
"Correct." Mizuki leered at her. "You've fallen for my trap yet again, Kumi-chan."
"Don't call me that!" Kumiko shouted, clenching her fists. It irked her that this man would brazenly call her a name only her closest relatives were permitted to use. "How dare you use that name with me! You're not even a relative!"
Mizuki raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Oh?" If it was possible, his smirk grew wider. "I beg to differ." Slowly, the other lights in the room came on, and Kumiko's eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief. "Do you see, Fujiwara Kumiko?"
Slowly, the amethyst-eyed teen walked over to the nearby wall. There, as on every wall, hung several photographs, each encased in their own frame and shielded by a thin glass plate. Tentatively, she reached out to touch one of them, one she'd seen so many times before. "But...but this photo is...my family. Obasan told my that it was taken when I was barely a year old, the last clan reunion." She turned to her captor, glaring suspiciously at him. "How did you get this?"
Mizuki came closer towards her, his face a sinister mask in the half-light. "Simple. That's my souvenir of the event."
Kumiko let out a bark of laughter. "Don't be ridiculous, Mizuki! You can't fool me! A 'souvenir'...yeah, right. Do you actually think I'd fall for that?" She gave a smirk of her own.
"I can assure you, Kumi-chan, I'm telling the truth...Look carefully at that photograph. Can you see it?"
Kumiko frowned, and then slowly turned her gaze back towards the photo, running her eyes over the rows of people posing and smiling for the camera. There were her older male cousins Yamato, Shigeo, and Touya. Nana and Minagi, her girl cousins and constant childhood playmates. Her Aunt Minami and Uncle Kenji. Her maternal grandparents and her paternal grandmother. Her still-single Aunt Miyuri. There were her parents, and in her mother's arms, her child-self.
And then an image at the upper left portion of the photograph caught her eye. "That person...at the back row...at the very edge of the photo..."
Kumiko gasped. "No!"
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"Hey...why'd we...stop?" Takao asked in between gasps for breath. He leaned forward, leaning his palms on his knees, panting.
"Because Suzaku says that we've arrived," Kai answered, gazing up at something. The others followed his gaze and saw the structure the slate-haired teen had glimpsed back at the foot of Fujiyama.
The main part of the building was a dark, depressing shade of gray, and the windows looked like dark blank eyes staring out of a silent, unmoving monster waiting for its next victim. The watchtower looked even less inviting; it was practically crumbling away in places and had vines crawling up and down its surface, giving the impression of a bound rotting gray corpse.
Takao shuddered, and then turned back to the scarlet bird. "Suzaku, are you sure Kumiko's here? I mean, it's all the way up here, and-" The phoenix gave a small screech, cutting the stormy-eyed teen off. Takao gave a small smile. "Thank goodness. If we have to run any farther, I'll-"
"Everyone, get down!" Kai shouted suddenly, throwing an arm around Yuujin - who was closest to him at that point - and bringing her with him as he hit the light snow that covered the ground. A split second later, the sound of gunshots filled the air.
"What the-!" Chiaki exclaimed, daring to raise her head two or three inches off the ground. "Someone's shooting at us!"
"Looks like that justifies Suzaku leading us here," Kaito said, a small grin on his face. "No one would be firing guns if this place was just an abandoned building."
"Kyaaah!" Yuujin screeched, tensing up. Mere inches from her face, a small dark object stuck up from the frozen ground, vibrating slightly due to the impact.
"It's a tranquilizer dart." Kai observed.
"That's a good thing, then," Max noted. "At least that means they don't want us dead."
"Hn."
After a few more minutes, the barrage stopped. Kai was the first one up, and he gazed at his companions. "Well? Are you going to lie there through what's left of today?"
"...No." Slowly, the others got up, wary and alert for another possible assault.
"So...where do we go now?" Chiaki asked, glancing at their surroundings. "The lowest windows in this building are too high for us to reach, and none of us have any rope handy."
"How about we use the branches of the nearby trees?" Rei suggested, gesturing to a sturdy-looking pine. "That branch in particular looks like it will hold, and it goes almost to that window over there." He pointed to a window at the eastern end of the structure.
For a time, each one was silent, pondering the neko-jin's suggestion. And then Taichi smiled. "Well, I say let's give it a try. I mean, the snow will provide more than enough cushioning if any of us fall, and it will get us inside the building. You never know, Kumiko might be in a room near that window."
Everyone nodded and mumbled in agreement, smiles growing on their faces as they realized they were one step closer to helping the abducted girl.
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"No!" Kumiko whirled around to face the man behind her and Takeshi's abduction. "That...that can't be. That guy in the picture...that's...that's not..."
"That's not me?" Mizuki ventured, stepping closer to the girl. "Oh, but it is. Look closer, Kumiko..."
The amethyst-eyed teen didn't do so, however; she knew the man before her was telling the truth, no matter how hard she wished it weren't so.
"I...I can't believe it..." Her hands dropped to her sides in disbelief, and she glanced down at the floor, eyes wide, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "You...you're... Miinoru-ojisan?"
"So you finally figured it out..." the red-haired man smirked once more. "Yes, I am your father's brother..."
"But...but why?" Kumiko asked, the strength of her voice returning. "Why would you-"
Swiftly, Miinoru alias Mizuki closed the gap between them, and, with one hand, tilted the raven-haired teen's face up so he could gaze into her eyes, and she into his. "Kidnap you? It's simple, really. You see, I came across a file in my former employer's archive. It contained details on an unfinished experiment. One that involved bit beasts and bladers' life force..."
Kumiko's eyes widened when she realized what her estranged relative was talking about, and she pulled out of his grasp and backed up, fists clenched. "You mean...what you're doing to Takeshi is-"
The gray-eyed man shook his head, chuckling darkly. "I'm afraid you misunderstand, Kumi-chan. Like Shizuka and Ryushi said earlier, our only target was you. Takeshi is...merely a decoy.
"You see, in the experiment, one of the more important requirements is that the specimen, so to speak, have optimum control of their blade and, if available, their bit beast. Fortunately, Kumiko, you have fulfilled those requirements."
Suddenly, a door at the far end of the room, hidden behind a tapestry, shot open, and in ran around five security personnel. Miinoru gestured to them, and they approached, two of them swiftly restraining the started teen.
"H-hey!" she exclaimed, snapping out of her shock. "Let me go! I said let go of me!"
"Take her to the upper lab," Miinoru said quietly. Immediately, the five guards made for the open door, bringing Kumiko with them.
"Miinoru-ojisan, please, think about what you're doing!" Kumiko said, fighting to keep the apprehension out of her voice. "This isn't right and you know it! Uncle, you have to come to your senses and stop this!"
Her cries fell on deaf ears, however. Miinoru fell in step behind the small procession and his victim. Balkov-sensei...he thought, smirking. You may be behind bars, but your greatest experiment to date is about to see fruition...
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A/N: I told you it kicks up a bit! XD So...the truth - at least a part of it - comes out, ne? Something else was supposed to happen after that last scene, but I thought I'd cut it there and carry the intended final scene to the next chapter and make it an opening/transition scene.
By the way, check out 'Pointless War' by darkwater-reflection. She only has one chapter up so far, but it promises to be great (I'm something like her editor...)!
Also, for reviewers, please don't just put 'please update soon' or 'I love this fic!' (or somewhere along those lines) in your reviews. Kindly tell me what you liked and/or didn't like in the fic. Not that I don't like getting those kinds of reviews, but it gets kind of tiring reading almost the same thing over and over. If you will, please comment on the different aspects of the fic; constructive criticism is essential if one is to improve.
Dewa mata! Peace out and God bless!