Summer

by Aestivate

Author's Note: There are instances in which I will change from "Max" to "Makkusu" or "Emily" to "Emili", as to show what language the person speaking is. They are merely Romanized versions of their name (from the Katakana), but I want to keep the Japanese and the English separate. All reviews going against my view of this pairing will be deleted, no questions asked.

Most of this fic was written last year and I finally got around to do some hardcore editing. Forgive the lack of talent (extreme lack of talent) that comes with premature writing.

Regarding this chapter: I forgot to stick a disclaimer on the previous chapter, so I'll make it known that there's a minuscule disclaimer at the end of the previous chapter that is much larger and bolder at the bottom of this one.

Minutes later, mother and son were packed into the car (with the air conditioning cranked up high). Max reached forward to turn on the radio, and it took a moment to register with what was on it. "I forgot I wasn't in Japan for a moment," he admitted. He really liked this one Japanese song that was popular in Japan now - it was called "Cheer Song." He wasn't surprised that only American music (doubling with the fact that he knew nothing about it) was played on the radio. Just a bit... taken aback, that was all. It wasn't as if Makiyo or some other famous singer would appear on an American radio station. He flipped off the radio and took a deep breath, which was a bit hard to do in this humidity.

They made it to the border of the river, with a little walkway next to the freshly tarred roads to look into the faces beyond the sun kissed waters that were watching from afar. Max could see the two cities behind the bridge, there was Fort Lee just beyond the bridge and Edgewater's ferry dock, a twin to Manhattan's own ferry dock. Ripped and water-beaten posters floated with the wind and landed at the feet to those who cared enough and bothered to pick them up and read them. There were Beystadium dishes on the walkway, Max could see, and there was a swell of pride in his chest when he saw little children - some at ages no more than three or four - were holding their EZ Shooters and attempting to launch their child size Beyblades into battle against each other. Max took out his own Beyblade and glanced at Draciel, the sense of pride not once letting go of his chest.

After a while, it was clear that the large Beyblade shaped building was soon drawing closer. With her own private parking space, Dr. Judy quickly parked and quickly leapt out of her car with Max following slowly. It was just too hot to be moving around so quickly. With his mom dashed away somewhere, Max found himself alone in the lobby massive building. He knew the way around, however, how many times had he scaled the building with his teammates, planning and talking strategies and improvements?

He walked the hallways unconsciously, not taking in any kind of detail of it in any way or form. It seemed almost automatic now, his feet and legs took him to the Training area before his mind registered where exactly he was going.

"Max!"

Max's heart leapt. He turned toward the source of the sound, grinning as he immediately located three of his teammates sitting on the baseball diamond - Michael, Rick, and... Emily."Haven't seen you in a while, Max. What have you been doing, avoiding us?" Rick accused lightly.

"Hey guys!" Max cried, running up to his friends. All of them welcomed him cheerfully, wrapping him in a hug, which was uncharacteristic, but a friendly gesture all the same.

"You're just in time," drawled Emily. "Rick and I were just about to have a practice match." From behind her, she pulled out her tennis racket shooter. Her glasses flashed competitively, as she stole a glance at Rick, which screamed "I won't lose." Rick returned it readily, pulling out his own shooter.

"Max, can you count down for us?" Emily asked.

Max gulped, unsure of what to say or do. Emily, Rick, and Michael eyed him oddly. He realized that they were waiting on his answer.

"Max?" Emily was looking at him skeptically.

"O-oh!" Max then realized he'd hesitated, and snapped into action, laughing nervously. "Sure, yeah." He made his way (clumsily) to the dish base, amid the raised eyebrow of Michael and the steadily growing impatient Rick. He put on his game face, eager to count and revert back to his old ways. "3... 2... 1... one-half..."

"Max!" Emily scolded. The potential energy she'd saved was released at that one instance, causing her to tumble forward and nearly lose her balance. Her glasses flashed dangerously when she recovered. This was wrong ground to tread.

Max laughed, growing more comfortable at last. "Sorry, couldn't resist. I'll be serious this time, I promise. 3... 2... 1..."

Rick and Emily launched at the same time while yelling in unison, "GO! SHOOT!!!"
Max found that standing in the line of fire was a bad idea, so he took a place sitting next to Michael, at the foot of the diamond. He soon noticed his attention was turning towards Emily, and the competitive aura that flowed through her whenever she battled. It seemed deadly, overpowering, but at the same time, gentle and understanding. She knew of her opponents' weaknesses, but had a bond with her Holy Beast, it seemed, which made her like a mermaid of the field.

Max couldn't help but stare. She was beautiful, she was so beautiful in her own simple way, dressed in a white lab coat with that spark in her eyes, Max wouldn't have it any other way. She was so natural Beybattling. He didn't feel she was more attractive anywhere else except for on the dish. She didn't need to dress differently or wear any make up or treat him in a different way for Max to still have these feelings.

"Go!" Emily yelled, encouraging her Blade forward.

His breath sharpened considerably at hearing her voice, his stomach somersaulted, his face burned, and suddenly he felt dizzy and light-headed. He took a deep breath - he'd come to the realization that he'd been holding his breath.

All of a sudden, the fight disappeared off of the face of the earth, and all Max could see was Emily. He knew he'd have to come to the point where he had to say something to her, but whatever it was to say, Max still didn't know. A crush was a crush, but these feelings were stronger. His heart felt as if it would explode, if she knew... If she knew, that was it. He would need an answer - but he realized he loved her to the point that an answer would just be enough. He would not force her. He couldn't. That wasn't his plan of action, and this was the first time he'd thought of it.

Yes. Max made up his mind. What was more wonderful than loving and being loved back? He wanted to grow old and die with this feeling in his heart. He would shoot the moon, just to feel that elated feeling. The crystalline feeling of elation, of a feeling of joy that was too special that no words describe it. A wonderful secret submerged in his river. In a way he was like the Hudson itself, and that analogy couldn't have described Max better. How many times had he watched the river, the way the sun sparkled on its surface, just like diamonds, as well as the foreboding black waters at nighttime? The tranquility from watching from the walkway in Edgewater, the feeling of calm and righteousness watching from the George Washington Bridge, just so he could uncover its secrets?

Max was a river in these ways. He was a stream in others. He would see himself in a stream, the little trickle of water trying to work up to the name of the ocean, the center - and the start - of life. But somehow, the stream always managed to flow directly into the ocean, feeding it. The stream was its life source. Max's actions were his life source, but he almost always managed to go with the flow... and gradually, eventually, he was able to overcome them, and like the stream, live up to his name. If he failed, he would find an alternate - he would flow into a lake, which always keeps on growing and growing. And like the lake, Max grew. The water that had become a huge part of his life was his way of understanding things, and they made sense as they rang, bold and true, whether small like the stream, or giant like the ocean, neither one less important than the other in his mind. With his heart and the ocean in tune, he could almost hear the gentle rolling waves, the struggling waters lapping against the riverside cliffs, the faint, crystal sounds of the stream flowing hard as it could... Succeeding every time.

The stream that was his feelings for Emily worked hard to break the barrier, worked hard to overcome any obstacle that took him off course. Keep swimming, Max. The ocean is only a way away.

A low, pompous sounding voice reached his ears, trying to reach for him beneath the surface. "Max."

Said Max took this time to snap back into reality. "Wh-what?"

"You keep looking at Emily," Michael observed, his voice almost lazy.

Max tried to play dumb. "Wh-what makes you say that?"

Michael smirked. "The way you keep looking at her. Spill it, Max."

Oh well, Max thought. Someone was going to find out eventually. Might as well tell.

"If I say something, will you promise not to say anything to anyone?" Max's voice was low, above a whisper, but still barely audible with the action occurring in front of him and Bladers practicing in other areas of the Training Room.

Michael blinked. Now he was interested. What was so important about Emily besides the fact that her hair was too ginger and she was too bossy for her own good? She'd lightened up in the past few years though... Oh. That was it. "You like her, don't you?"

Max jumped nearly a foot. His eyes were wider, rounder, and if it were possible, bluer. "How did you know?"

"So it's true," Michael mused. "You do like her. And I think it's more than that. How did that happen?"

Max looked down at his folded hands, a sadness hovering over him. "I really don't know. In Japan, all I could think of was Emily. I guess I missed being with the All-Stars so much." He separated his hands, curled them into fists. "But..."

"Go on," said Michael, bracing himself for the answer.

"I want to tell her about how I feel about her before the summer ends," said Max, his voice still soft and low, but with a new hint of determination in it.

"So do it," Michael said simply.

Max jerked his head up. Did he hear Michael correctly? Did he know how hard it was to come to grips with his emotions, let alone repeat them to another individual. This simple conversation with Michael was already turning his stomach into flutter. "Anyway..." Max said sadly. "That was why I came here in the first place. Even so, I don't know how I can or if I can."

"So you're going to sit here and just watch from afar?" Michael sneered. "I knew you liked defending yourself against anything that could harm you, Max, but I never knew you as being a coward."

Max was frozen. He wasn't a coward. Not ever. Not even when... "I'm not... You're wrong..."

"Admit it, Rick, I beat you fair and square," Emily said, elated with a new victory.

"You know it was because you caught me off guard with that new attack you've been practicing. I didn't know what it could do, and you won because of it. Any other day I would have won, and you know it." Rick argued. "I could beat you with my hands tied behind me back. No, sawed off."

Emily glared at him shrewdly. "A win's a win. And are you willing to take me up on that challenge?"

"I think Max would like to challenge you first," Rick observed, for Max had suddenly stood up very quickly (like lightning, really, which was more Rei's technique) and faced the victor with a hard look on his face.

'Faced' wasn't really quite the word. They were mere inches away from each other's face. She, however looked at him quizzically. He turned around and faced Michael, who merely nodded. Come on, Max, say it. I love... "I..." Oh, who was he kidding? "I... Great victory. I saw the whole thing."

Emily batted her eyelashes, flattered, yes, but a bit in need of personal space. "Thanks, Max." Her eyes lit up. "Did you see how Rick kept on deflecting my attacks? His strategy was almost like yours in that battle. It would have been over earlier, but Rick was taking on a very you course of action," she looked at Rick humbly, who winked and gave her a thumbs-up sign.

"Uh, yeah. But you beat him in the end," Max stammered, unable to catch his breath or remember any details of his battle. Rick grunted from behind him.

"That's right," she said slyly. "That's why I want to challenge you to a Beybattle."

"Wh-what?" Max managed to choke out. "Now? Here?" He realized he hadn't touched his shooter since he was in Japan. He was out of shape, and would need practice. A lot, with all things considered. A new attack? He wished he had paid more attention.

"No, not now. Before you leave, how 'bout. Or when you want to..." She winked. "Give me a call."

Max gave a sigh of relief. Rick, who was able to put two and two together, was silently bawling his eyes out in laughter along with Michael. Through Emily's back, he used body language to tell them to "SHUT UP ", smiled, then changed his gentle facial expression to look overly menacing, continuing with a grand, silent, yet very loud, "OR YOU'LL GET IT!"

Michael and Rick took a hint.

"We're going to find Eddy at the Basketball court. And Steve, too. At the football stadium, of course... They're probably playing, instead of actually Blading..." Michael said, his eyes almost dancing with amusement.

Max froze. "H-hey You can't... Not with..." he spluttered. He glanced at Emily, who still had the competitive spark in her eye.

"Oh Max, there you are." Dr. Judy came up into view.

Thank goodness. Max let out all of his breath at once in relief. "Oh, hi Mom... How did the meeting go?"

"I haven't gone to it yet, I've just made a bunch of preparations. I was wondering if I could drag you an Emily along with me as my assistants," said Dr. Judy.

Max flushed. He wasn't out of the woods yet. "Sure. We'll be glad to help. Right, Emily?" Saying her name was so easy, so pure, like a melody without words.

"Right!"

Max sighed. This wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Thanks, you two. Emily, hold my clipboard, Max, be ready for instructions. Follow me," Dr. Judy instructed, briskly trudging forward.

"Don't forget, Max," whispered Emily, relieving Dr. Judy of the clipboard. "You promised me a Beybattle."

"I won't," Max whispered back.

He froze, especially when his fingers accidentally brushed against Emily's when aligning herself with Dr. Judy.

Inside, Max felt a strange sensation. It felt as if his heart would burst with joy. In his brain, fireworks were exploding into a million lights, warm, and not violent in any way. He gave a soft smile, rather touched that she made him feel this way without even knowing it.

But something made his heart sink. He would NEVER have the guts to tell her how he felt. The 'why' part that would surely come wasn't clear even to Max. He played with the idea that they were teammates... They both had connections through his mother... They'd known each for so long and had grown so friendly among each other through the years - the four years they'd spent knowing each other. But even those reasons weren't plausible. Could he admit to her that the only reason he loved her was because he spent every minute of his time thinking of her, and imagining a life of them together? Could he tell her that every part of him felt obsolete, incomplete, wrong, when around her and not with her? That he would do anything to please her? Was it right, to say that whenever she spoke, no matter what the tone, he would feel a warm in his stomach and that every qualm that irked his mind would go away?

"Max?" Emily asked. Her eyes were furrowed and she looked at him suspiciously. "Are you alright? I noticed that you weren't as cheerful as usual. Is everything okay?"

Hah, if only you knew, Max wanted to reply. He shook his head rapidly.

"Everything's not alright?" Emily looked even more puzzled.

Damn. "Everything's fine," he replied, a little to quickly, too nervously, and a little too fake-cheerfully. "I guess there's been a lot of things on my mind lately."

"Anything you need to talk about? Unlike the boys..." Emily turned her head and rolled her eyes at the Training room behind them, "I listen better than they do."

"Oh, no. I couldn't waste your time. I'm sure I can handle it on my own," said Max. Close call there, Mizuhara. Talk to Takao and the others before you spill your gut and make a fool out of yourself.

Max's feet stopped, and he realized his mother and Emily had stopped as well.

"Sorry to cut your conversation short," Dr. Judy interrupted. "But we've arrived."

Max took a deep breath. This was a lot harder than it looked Thankfully, the meeting passed by a lot more smoothly than he thought it would. When he arrived home that evening his eyes were so strained and exhausted that he could barely see straight. It had been a hard day, as after the meeting he singled out Michael and the two of them were talking and practicing at the baseball diamond they had been residing at when Max first went to greet them. The events following the meeting couldn't have made him feel less of his teammates. He recalled them, bitter:

"Let's have a tag team battle," Eddy suggested. He glanced at Michael, who nodded, so Max assumed that Michael and Rick had informed him and Steve of everything that was going on. "Steve and I have already agreed to become partners."

Max eyed him wearily, why were his friends doing this to him? Almost immediately, Michael and Rick (despite their differences) wholeheartedly agreed to battle as a team.


"It's just us then, huh, Max?" Emily said.

Max nodded meekly.


"So when is this tag team battle going to take place?" Emily demanded, her voice gaining in confidence and spirit.


"Of course, when we've had time to practice. We're going after our toughest player, Max Mizuhara, after all," said Eddie graciously. Steve and Rick sniggered behind his back, and Michael looked like his birthday had come early.

"And how is it supposed to work?" Emily challenged. "There's only three teams."

"We have that all figured out," Steve said. "Each team battles twice in the first round. The two winners of that set proceed. If there's a tiebreaker, they keep playing until two teams are left standing."

Satisfied with the time frame and the setup, Emily nodded. "Sounds good. How does next week, same time, at Central Park sound?"

"Sounds... good," Michael replied, and the rest of the guys (minus Max) were bawling with laughter.

"What's so funny? Are you laughing at how pitiful your defeat was?" Emily challenged.

Rick smirked, Michael snorted, Eddie had to wipe his tears of laughter out of his eyes, and only Steve could give a plausible answer (laughing uncontrollably in between words), "Something like that. We're just glad to be a part of a team again, without our team leader half way around the world."

At this point, the other four boys took their time to bow down in worship to Max.

"Hey... what are you..." Max stepped back nervously, as his male teammates looked like they were about to burst with amusement. They backed off though, but only after a minute or two.

"What was that all about?" Emily rolled her eyes.

Max gave a huge sigh following an intense stare, and Emily followed suit, matching his sigh groan for groan. That really was quite odd. Max knew they had good intentions... But could they be worse actors?


To be continued...

Beyblade and co. are © Aoki Takao. Under no circumstances will I sell, reproduce, or claim the characters and key elements of this piece of original fiction as mine.