"Hiromi...is that you?" Audrey curiously inquires once her eyes land on a familiar female upon their entrance inside of the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

The brunette bob promptly rotates her head in the direction of her name only to catch a streak of dirty blonde rapidly draw closer to her.

"Audrey!" "Hiromi!" The two girls happily exclaim once they identify and tightly embrace each other.

Hiromi steps back from the two first and comments, "You look like you've matured in these past few days."

"Ah…it does?" She shockingly poses to her friend right before she casually runs her fingers through her bang to tame the messiness due to their encounter.

Lanying causally ambles closer to Meifang before she casually remarks about Hiromi, "You have a good one on your hands."

The silver haired woman cracks a smile at her companion's statement, which prompts her to retort about Audrey, "It looks like your hands were full with that one."

She sighs, rests one of her hands on her hips and comments, "She may have the attitude of a delinquent but she truly has a heart of gold underneath all that iron."

"Plus, she brings good fortune." Lanying mentions as the teachers closely watch their pupils interact with each other.

"We just so happened to stumble across sea turtles some days ago during her training. You do know that those turtles are extremely rare to find here in the Forbidden City let alone China." She discloses.

"So that's what I felt about the child...good fortune." Meifeng solemnly utters after she instantly reads the aura around the dirty blonde.

"Where's Akane?" She eventually asks about a specific teacher before she follows up with, "She's usually the first one here whenever we have a meeting."

Grey eyes closely study their surroundings prior to her prediction, "For some odd reason, I can sense that she's already here."

The other woman merely rolls her eyes at the assumption and claims, "You do know that she is the quiet one with that mysterious air about her."

"So how was your training?" Hiromi enquiringly wondered about the training her friend managed to endure that caused her to quickly mature in a short period of time.

"I either stayed in, on top of, next to, or near the freaking water." She dramatically asserts with a groan and a roll of her eyes.

"Check out my prudish fingers!" Audrey grimly asserts as she shows her hands to her friend before she poses, "So what about your training, Hiromi?"

"You could say the same as you, except mine was in the air. Oh, I did a lot of meditation and some Yoga too." She reveals her training regimen to the girl.

At the same time,

Lin peers over at her student and notices her tremble from both anxiousness and excitement for the meeting.

'I guess she's more excited about this than I am.' She instantly assumes with a small smile present on her face.

'There they are!' Wenling excitingly screams to herself once her sights finally behold a brunette and dirty blonde, who converse with each other.

"Hello ladies, how are you?" Lin kindly greets the four individuals upon their arrival as their concentration shift to the two people that just arrive.

"I am good, Lin." Meifeng courteously responds as she smiles at the goldenrod blonde in front of her while Lanying replies with, "Wonderful".

"Fine," Hiromi kindly remarks and Audrey drastically exasperates, "Tired,"

She then politely introduces herself "My name is Lin," after she dutifully bows at the waist and points at the girl "This is..."

"Wenling!" Wenling rudely interrupts her sensei before she eagerly asserts, "It's finally the time that we properly introduce ourselves to each other, neh Hiromi and Audrey?"

"Hold up!" Audrey quickly chimes in with one of her hands toward the other brunette in order to question, "It's our first time ever meeting each other so how do you even know our names?"

Hiromi closely observes the brunette for a couple more seconds and simply utters, "I see."

Her calm statement captures the dirty blonde's attention, which prompts her to inquire, "What do you mean by you see, Hiromi?"

"So you do remember me then." She mysteriously hints with a confident smirk present on her face.

Audrey constantly exchanges glances between Hiromi and the brunette before she defiantly challenges, "Can you please put me back in the loop, Hiromi?!"

"Do you remember when we first got here…" She speaks up, which earns a "mhm" from the younger blonde "…and how I stopped you from losing all of your money during that game?"

"Yeah…"

"If it wasn't for her, the old lady I chased after, you would've been completely broke." Hiromi finally reveals how they both know the girl that currently stands in front of them.

"Oh...so that explains why you took off after the grandma but couldn't catch her." Audrey eventually mutters once realization finally dawns on her.

"Thank you for that…" She attempts to thank the brunette as she pauses in the middle of her sentence as a mean to ask for her name, "Wenling,"

"Thank you for that…Wenling." Audrey properly thanks the girl as she abruptly executes a bow at the waist.

"Wenling...that name sounds Chinese." Hiromi suddenly speaks up since her name sounds awfully familiar to her teacher's name.

'Her name does sound awfully familiar to me.' Meifeng sharply contemplated as she tried to conjure up exactly where she heard that specific name.

Her smile widens at the fact that the other brunette was able to read her quite well ever since they officially meet, "That's because it is. It means…"

"Mild jade; tinkling," The silver haired woman unexpectedly reveals as the three girls' eyes land on the older woman, who stands between the purple and goldenrod blonde teachers.

"Hey Meifeng, don't just go interrupting the kiddies' conversation." Lanying playfully reprimands her with a gentle pat on her shoulder.

Her forest green eyes cast over to her companions when she hears the other young brunette guesses, "Meifeng means a beautiful wind, right?"

"Yes, yes it does. Yet, it is quite odd to meet royalty outside among commoners." The woman softly mutters as it completely catches both Lin and Wenling off guard.

The goldenrod blonde swiftly grinds her elbow in to her companion's side and grunts, "She doesn't want anyone to know about that."

Her eyes were now back on Wenling, whose facial expression shows that she completely agrees with her teacher's statement.

"My sincerest apologies Wenling. As you probably can assume right now, I was born in to an aristocratic family also." Meifeng sincerely apologizes and provides a reason as to why she mentions that.

'I guess it is safe to assume that she must be under my family sovereignty if she recognizes my name and face.'

"Under traditional normal standards you aren't in the wrong. However, I would like to refrain from that title while I am here." The brunette earnestly asserts with no animosity present in her tone.

"I understand." She declares with a nod of her head.

Meanwhile,

Akane and Archimedes steadily drew closer to the six females that already assembled in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

The cheerful vibes being passed around via the younger girls suddenly faltered at the sight of a raven haired girl clad in all white once she strutted closer to the group.

'The air around them has dramatically changed.' Meifeng immediately notices as she peeks over to her pupil to see her expression swiftly changes from joyfulness to seriousness.

'What's up with this intense feeling?' Hiromi inwardly wonders once she abruptly feels the sudden shift of air around the group upon the arrival of the young girl.

"The never late yet but oh so punctual Akane is...late." Lanying teasingly quips at the sight of the powdery white haired woman along with her pupil in tow.

Akane's sights were now on the woman with purple hair and clarifies, "We were here before everyone else."

"Ugh, I knew it was too good to be true." She irritably grumbles with a shrug of her shoulders because she knows that Meifeng's assumption from earlier is absolutely accurate.

"I think introductions are in order Akane," The silver haired woman respectfully suggests since they each did the same thing upon their entrance.

"My name is Akane. I am 24 years old. I am from Kyoto, Japan. My hobbies are Calligraphy, Painting and practicing Kyῡdo. It's a pleasure to meet you all." Akane colorlessly spiels about herself to the group with a deep bow at the waist.

'She did such a proper and standard introduction.' Everyone, except Archimedes and the other instructors, simultaneously surmise out of shock.

"This is my student…Archimedes Von Braun." She properly introduces her pupil as well, which earns a response from each one.

"Hiromi Tachibana," The brunette with ruby red eyes reveals her name along with her silver haired teacher, "Meifeng".

"Audrey Steele" The dirty blonde with green eyes discloses her name as did her purple haired sensei, "Lanying".

"Wenling" The other brunette with forest green eyes mention her name follow by her goldenrod blonde mentor, "Lin".

A pregnant silence settles among the group as they each seem to absorb the new girl's presence that seems to radiate quiet dominance.

"It seems as if this group of girls have something powerfully hidden deep inside of them." Akane promptly declares to the other mentors while the girls earnestly attempt to warm up to Archimedes.

"Do you think that's why Matsumoto-sama specifically summoned them to China?" Lin curiously poses to her companions.

Once again a mute quietness develops between the girls, except for the teachers when Meifeng voices, "Only time and this mission will tell whether or not these girls will inherit a powerful spirit."

A loud "creak" noise emits from behind them as the sound immediately captures their attention.

"I think that's our cue to go in." Lanying implies after the doors to the Gate of Supreme Harmony finally opens up for them.

The group of eight, led by the four teachers, venture down the familiar hallway that led them to where the orange haired woman name Inoue await for them.

"I see that everyone has gotten pretty friendly with each other. That's a really good sign to see." The familiar feminine voice speaks up once they enter her line of sight.

'You can even feel it more once you are in the girls' presence.' She concludes as she passes her sights from Hiromi, to Audrey, to Wenling and finally Archimedes.

"You each have endured a sensible amount of training that has actually placed you on the stepping stone to accomplish whatever is that you want to accomplish."

'She never gets to the point.' Archimedes eventually concludes about the woman in front of her as she continues to listen to the woman.

"I have another task…better yet a request or rather I should say a favor to ask of you four." Inoue voices once she has everyone's attention again.

"What is it?"

"Are you familiar with the term bit beast?" She curiously poses to the younger girls after she gracefully plops down on her throne.

"Yes, it is the spirit that inhabits a beyblade but only one with a strong resolution is able to obtain one." Hiromi provides an answer to Inoue's question.

"That is correct Hiromi." She completely agrees with a slight nod of her head.

"A bit beast only acknowledges those who have a strong resolution. What better way to test whether or not you have fulfilled your goal if a bit beast can acknowledge you?" Inoue divulges to the others what a bit beast is.

"What are you getting at Matsumoto-san?" Wenling cordially addresses her when she feels that the woman constantly beats around the bush while she speaks to them.

A smirk materializes on her face since it appears as if she has them right where she wants them. "The final obstacle or test you have to overcome is...to acquire a bit beast."

"So what happens if neither one of us is able to find a bit beast. What then?" Hiromi sternly challenges her.

Inoue releases a sigh, scratches the back of her head, and admits, "Then your training would've been for not and you will be back on the first flight to your respective homelands."

"Remember this is not mandatory but rather a favor. There are some powerful maybe even legendary deities that reside in these Chinese soil." She clarifies to the group of girls.

"You don't neccesarily have to accept this mission. You always have the option to up and leave."

"I'll do it." Archimedes speedily declares her participation in the quest.

The other girls quickly direct their gaze on to the raven haired girl clad in white after they hear her immediate response to Inoue's favor.

"I still don't feel as if I am even close to what I came here for." She earnestly expresses her opinion after she peers down at her hand that flexes from a fist to an open palm.

"So if being able to find a bit beast signifies that I have made it then I will do it." Archimedes firmly asserts her position.

'She has become rather vocal over these past few days.' Akane silently commends her pupil for being vocally assertive unlike her usually reserved self.

"It does sound like it will be fun. I'm in!" Wenling cheerily accepts the challenge with relative ease.

'As long as there is adventure then that child will accept any mission.' Lin inwardly notes from the time that she spent with her pupil.

Audrey dramatically points at Archimedes and jaws, "I don't like you but you do have a point about not even feeling close."

'Why am I not surprised that my student is the one out of line?' Lanying hopelessly contemplates about the dirty blonde's brash personality before she mentally composes herself.

The raven haired girl simply ignores the teen's comment, who then turns her sights on to her brunette companion that was deep in her thoughts. 'The readings that I am feeling from these girls are simply incredible.'

'Archimedes has this commanding presence while Wenling is soothing not to mention Audrey is...well Audrey.' She reads them as she glances at each of the girls.

'I could learn a lot from these people.' Hiromi ultimately concludes once she turns her thoughts inward about herself.

'Don't doubt your self-worth.' Meifeng silently cheers for her student once she surfaces out of her thoughts at the sound of her student's voice.

She then raises her head and confidently proclaims, "You can count on me!"

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Author's Additional Note:

07.29.15 Major Revision

04.28.17 Minor editing revisions