LV: Well, this chapter came faster than last time.
Dulcea: Must have something to do with the weather. :grins evilly: Or that new interest of yours…
LV: I don't know about the weather, but leave me alone about my recent interest in BMJ:twitch:
On another note, the resort is based off of three things: a typical hotel with Spanish style (some of which can been seen online if you Google™ "Spanish hacienda"), an actual manor in Ponce I visited during my recent stay in PR, and a lovely Spanish-styled manor near the vet my dogs go to.
(And for those curious about the author notes for the past two chapters, I've been sucked into this anime called Bomberman Jetters. Try watching it on YouTube, if you're interested; it's pretty cute.)
Viper's Nest
Written by Lunare Valhart
Batuken Shoot Beyblade is © Aoki Takao
All original characters are © Lunare Valhart, and are not to be used without permission
Chapter 6: Yin-Yang Concept
"Welcome to Orilla Del Oro Resort."
The foreign teens found themselves gaping at the sight the resort hotel made. The building's architecture was clearly taken from Spain, the brilliant white stucco walls standing out against the drab grey of the surrounding buildings as tawny accents gave the place a cheerful personality. The dark ocher tile roofing gave contrast to the building, making it stand out even more. Decorating the front entrance, in the median of the drive-through, was an elaborate stone fountain lined with cobblestone walkways and vibrant flowers. All this, combined with the backdrop of the clear blue Caribbean sea, truly made the resort live up to its name: the Golden Shore.
"The internet doesn't do this place justice," Kenny squeaked, craning his head back to look at the many floors. "This really does look like a paradise!"
"A bellhop will fetch your bags and take them to your rooms," Cheres stated as she walked briskly through the main doors. The teens shrugged at each other, but followed her nonetheless.
The lobby was just slightly less gilded, gold accents lining the many marble surfaces and more decorative wall fountains lining their way around the room. Classic-styled tables and chairs dotted the room, a number of them positioned close to the large glass double-doors that overlooked the beach front, one cobblestone path diverting to the pools and another to the patio garden.
The receptionist at the desk glanced up boredly at the newcomers before recognizing her boss and hurriedly cramming the magazine she had been skimming under the desk. "Se-Señora Granger! I, uh, thought you left early!"
Cheres narrowed her violet eyes at the young woman, who shrunk back at the piercing gaze. "Ms. Tracey, let me see that magazine that was distracting you from your duties." Gulping, the young woman pulled out the magazine and held it out to Cheres. The older woman snatched it from her shaky grip and narrowed her eyes at the cover.
"'Prepare for Latin America's biggest beyblading extravaganza – BBA Official Headquarters announces sponsorship of South American-Caribbean Tournament'?" The others could almost swear they saw her snarl at the magazine. "Ms. Tracey, what have I said about having this trash out here while you're working?"
The girl quailed under her boss's glare. "I-I'm sorry, ma'am! It's just that… well…" She floundered for a moment. "Y'know… your niece let me borrow it, since I've been so busy between studies and work…"
"Why, that little…!" Cheres growled to herself. "If I've told her once, I've told her a thousand times not to bring this tomfoolery into my hotel!"
Max leaned over and muttered into Tyson's ear, "She hates beyblading, too? Wow, that's strange."
"Well, she tolerated it just over a year ago," Tyson answered back lowly. "I don't know why she's suddenly acting like it's the worst thing in the world…"
"Maybe it has to do with the last World Tournament," Rei offered. "You did get dragged into an all-or-nothing battle with Yuriy in a harsh environment. Maybe she's just concerned for your safety in an obscure way?" Tyson shrugged, but continued to eye his irate aunt warily.
"See to it that these boys get escorted to their rooms, and then retrieve Señor Ramirez and the both of you can explain to me in my office why you decided to shirk your duties today, when our staff meeting last week clearly pointed out that this would be a hectic week, what with the many teams participating in this tournament and the tourists coming to see them!"
"Yes, ma'am." The young woman hung her head glumly before glancing up to the foreigners. "Hello, and welcome to Orilla Del Oro Resort. Do you have a reservation with us?"
"Yes, under Bladebreakers."
"Right, und – " The young woman's eyes bugged and she finally took a good look at the group of six on the other side of the desk. "My God! The Bladebreakers? I'm a huge fan!"
"Does this happen often?" Hiromi asked quietly to the boys.
Rei, the closest to her, responded while glancing around warily, "Yes, and as long as others don't hear her, we should be fine and get to our rooms before the mobs arrive." Hiromi paled somewhat, recalling the many times Tyson and even Kenny had literally begged Coach Yamamoto to play bodyguard for them after the World Tournament nearly a year ago.
"…I'm terribly, terribly sorry about the inconvenience and my rudeness earlier! If there is any way, any way at all, to make it up to you – !"
Kai interrupted flatly, "Our room keys should suffice, miss."
The young woman's ramblings faltered and she blushed brightly before turning back to the computer. "R-right! Of course. Your room numbers are 501, 503, and 505 on the fifth floor. Here are your card keys – these two are for Room 505, these three are for 503, and this last one is for whoever has Room 501."
"That last one's mine," Hiromi declared before anyone could argue. "I am not rooming with any guys!"
"The rest of us will figure out rooming amongst ourselves," Kenny nodded as he took the cards. "Either that, or we're shuffling again."
Max groaned. "Oh man! I hate shuffling!"
"Tell me about it," Tyson grumbled. "I could swear Rei purrs in his sleep!"
"I do not!" The neko-jin huffed defensively. "And you're no Sleeping Beauty, either, Mr. Saws-Logs!"
"Are you implying I snore?"
"Who said I was implying?"
Kenny pinched the bridge of his nose irritably, slightly pushing up his glasses in the process. "I never should have brought this up…"
Forgotten at the desk as the group walked off towards the elevator, Tracey watched after them with starry eyes. "Kai Hiwatari talked to me…!"
…
Once in the elevator, Kenny had managed – barely – to take reign of the arrangements once more.
"Okay, we all know Hiromi's getting the single room to herself," he affirmed. "The rooming arrangements for the rest of us are the problem here. We obviously don't want to shuffle again – "
"What is shuffling, anyway?" Hiromi asked.
"We switch rooms every night," Tyson and Max explained at the same time. Their eyes widened.
"Jinx! Owe me a soda!"
"Dangit!" Tyson snapped his fingers. "And I almost got you that time, too!"
"As I was about to explain," Kenny continued, pointedly ignoring the two, "shuffling is when we switch rooms every night to change pace. Normally, we're either all sleeping in the same room or we've got individual rooms. But when we've got to pair up, we either draw straws, shuffle, or on a rare occasion, we come to a rooming agreement ourselves."
Rei tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I think that Tyson and Kai should room together while the rest of us get the room with the extra cot!" Max and Tyson halted their play-fight to gape at him while Kai glowered in his direction and Kenny twitched wildly. He shrugged innocently. "What? It's for a good purpose! Since that tabloid's still a hot topic, their rooming together should hint that they're just friends, not wildly passionate lovers dying to get some alone time." He grinned impishly. "Unless, of course, you are, then it's more like we're giving you that alone time…" This added comment earned him two heated glares, which he brushed off nonchalantly.
Max frowned. "You want to use reverse psychology on the media?"
"Hey, it could work."
"And if it backfires?" Kai questioned sharply.
Rei made something between a grin and a smirk. "There's flaws and risks in every strategy, so don't sue me."
Kai frowned speculatively. "As much as I'd hate to admit, you may have a point. Not to mention the three of you can't seem to get this log-bump awake in the mornings…" The three other boys flushed sheepishly.
"In our defense, he sleeps like the dead and snores loud enough to wake the dead," Max argued weakly. "We're normally too tired ourselves to prod him awake!"
"Hey! I don't snore that loud!"
"Fine, you're loud enough to make us look like the living dead. Happy?"
"Why you little…!"
Hiromi watched Kai suspiciously, noting the way everything about his body language screamed indifference – save his eyes, which, unbeknownst to him, were glimmering faintly in silent amusement as he, Kenny, and herself watched Tyson bicker with Max and Rei. 'He seems far too cheerful at the prospect of being alone with Tyson, despite his obvious annoyance towards that tabloid. Not to mention their room is the farthest away from the rest of us…' She frowned. 'Was that article really nothing but made-up trash, or is there an actual basis of truth underneath the lies…?'
…
"Wow, that sun feels good!" Hiromi announced as the boys walked out of the lobby and outside onto the street. Having changed into lighter clothing more suitable for the weather, they quickly noticed the heat, while still present, wasn't as intolerable as before.
The cobblestone streets were flowing with tourists going up and down the streets, the occasional vehicle parting the crowd as it cruised by. Several groups of tourists passed them, but they paid no mind to the group of teens, brushing them off as tourists like themselves and not world-renown celebrities.
"Wow, what should we do first?" Max whistled, eyeing some of the souvenir stands lining the walkways. Rei chuckled and guided him past, despite his protests.
"You can shop for souvenirs later, Maxie," he snickered in response to the kicked puppy look the blond was giving him.
"There's so much I want to see!" Hiromi gasped in awe as they passed a low stone wall, the sea peering out over the edge. "I don't know where to start!"
"I thought you were here to bug us about our studies," Tyson grumbled to himself. She glowered at him.
"Hey, lay off, Kinomiya!" She snapped in response. "Studies are important, but this is my first time off-continent!"
"Yeah, once the giddiness wears off, she'll be more focused on her duties," Kenny reasoned. "I remember being excited when we first came to the US last year. It was no big deal for Max, but it was for the rest of us."
"That's true." At that particular moment, a low whine droned. Tyson blushed sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm starved."
"Typical Tyson," Kenny sighed. Rei and Max laughed at his suffering expression.
"Oh, don't give us that look," Max snickered when his dark-haired friend glowered at him. "We're hungry, too. I don't think anyone got to eat much besides peanuts and pretzels… I know I didn't, since I was on a three-hour flight."
"I got a crappy bowl of instant ramen, if that counts," Rei commented, sheepishly holding up his hand. "But that was hours ago."
"And our flight had some issues and couldn't feed us breakfast due to shortage," Kenny groaned. "And we had first-class, too…"
"Then we should probably refuel before we go out sight-seeing," Max offered. "Anybody see someplace they like?"
"Ooh, a real Caribbean café!" Hiromi pointed out towards a rustic-looking place under the eaves, sun umbrellas set over the outside tables as tourists and residents alike trickled in and out with a variety of local foods and drinks. "Can we eat there? It smells so nice!"
"Nice, indeed," Rei nodded, sniffing the air lightly. "Nothing's better than freshly baked bread, straight from the oven!"
Max nudged him. "Not that I'm complaining, but whatever happened to your "Rice is best with everything!" mentality?"
"Like any true Asian, I still love rice," Rei sniffed haughtily before hanging his head. "However, Europe spoiled me somewhat."
"Bread here's better," Tyson commented airily. "It's even mildly sweet."
Max's eyes bugged. "Holy crap, sweet bread? You can actually get that here? Awesome!"
"Well, Kai?" Kenny turned to the only person who hadn't said a word about the situation. "It's your call."
Kai rolled his eyes and made a 'go ahead' gesture, causing the hungry teens to dart into the café eagerly. He followed behind at a more relaxed pace.
…
The girl glared.
The youth glared back.
"I hate you," the girl hissed.
"As if I haven't noticed," the youth shot back coldly.
The second girl groaned. 'So this is what the memo meant by "bring two weeks' worth of aspirin." Just my luck I didn't take it seriously.' "Could you two stop bickering like old men for five minutes? I don't know how we're going to make it through this tournament if you two continue to act like this!"
The second youth, much shorter than the first, added dryly, "Especially since you two are making up our strongest pair. We won't make it past the preliminaries!"
"I'd still prefer to have stayed with my former team," the first youth growled. "What possessed me to agree to work with that caricorta?"
The first girl sneered in response, "Just because I have to work with you, doesn't mean I don't hate your guts still! I have bigger goals than you, and I'll put up with whatever I have to, to reach them!"
"And you think I don't have goals?" The first youth snarled, a large fist clenching tightly. "I know very well what you're planning, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you tarnish my good name!"
"What good name? And aren't you already damned, you freak?"
"That's it!" The second girl snapped, slapping her hands on the table and pushing herself up out of her chair. "You two are giving me the worst migraine! I'm going into a drug store, getting a large bottle of aspirin, and staying away until you two get tired of trash-talking!" With that, she marched off, face dark as a thundercloud.
The shorter boy broke out into a cold sweat, gulping nervously. "Er, yeah. I'm tired of you, too!" There was a moment of awkward silence before he dashed off after the other girl in a panic.
With an irritated sigh, the first youth grunted and pushed himself out of the chair. The first girl snapped her head to glare at him. "And where do you think you're going?" He glowered at her darkly.
"I don't have to answer to you, puta," he snapped, beginning to walk away. "Besides, Granger, you're not the captain of this team – I am."
The girl looked around, thoroughly agitated and put into her place, and said flatly to no one in particular, "Great…"
…
Hiromi blinked at the odd sight before her.
When she had stepped out of the café, the vanilla custard (Tyson had called it flan) in hand, she caught sight of a lone girl sitting at one of the outside tables, chin propped up in one hand and seemingly glaring at whatever crossed her line of sight. She supposed that alone shouldn't have caught her curiosity, so she was remotely glad that wasn't the case.
What did catch her attention was the long, blue-black braid falling down to the small of the girl's back, clad in a strangely familiar red material. Though she could tell the article of clothing was a jersey-esque shirt and not a jacket, it didn't help the mental comparison that was forming in her mind's eye. The girl's mocha-toned skin was darker, but the basic shade seemed the same. The three red beads hanging from a single tendril of her bangs could almost be compared to a tri-colored baseball cap…
Suddenly the girl burst out in a growling string of words Hiromi couldn't understand, but caused her cheeks to burn nonetheless. Quite frankly, one didn't need to understand Spanish to know the girl had let out a very colorful insult. Hiromi felt vaguely sorry for the poor person on the receiving end.
"Find a table yet?"
Hiromi yelped, whipping around to meet Max's surprised face. "Max! Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, Hiromi," Max laughed nervously. "I didn't realize you zonked out." Hiromi flushed again, this time in personal embarrassment.
"Hey, Max." Rei stepped out of the café as well, chewing contentedly at a piece of bread. "Do we have a table yet?"
"Not yet," the blond answered. He looked around. "I thought the Chief would be out next?"
Rei rolled his eyes and flicked a stray crumb onto the sidewalk, causing a small black bird to lunge at it with a triumphant cry. "Kenny's writing down the menu items and having Tyson translate them for later use. Poor guy really shouldn't have let us know he understood Spanish almost fluently; he's never going to be able to eat!"
Max looked inside. "Maybe I should go back inside and help… I don't know much, but I do know about food." Rei shook his head.
"Tyson's still the better choice," he reasoned. "He has relatives that live here, so he knows the local dishes better." Hiromi gave him an odd look. "What?"
"You're being nice and polite," she said flatly. At Rei's slow nod of conformation, she continued, "You were being some sort of weird pervert earlier."
Max rolled his eyes. "Oh, that. It's just Rei's sadistic hobby to see how flustered he can make a person."
"It is not," Rei answered lightly. "I'm just experimenting to see if it really is possible to die of embarrassment, as the saying goes."
Max shot back playfully, "Already been done! Some author about a century or two ago in Italy got so embarrassed over a stupid typo that he got a stroke and died in his home."
Rei stared at him. "…Why do you know that?"
"One of my teachers loves sharing weird facts to get us interested in the lessons. That just happened to be a favorite of mine."
"You two do know that I'm still here, right?" Hiromi cut it irritably. The two youths looked at her in surprise.
"Wow," Max said after a moment of silence. "Tyson's right; you are easy to forget." Rei coughed and looked away, whistling innocently. She glared at them.
Another sudden burst of colorful foreign curses caused the three to start, glancing over in the direction it came from. Max and Rei stared at the girl, trying to figure out why she looked so familiar.
"Hey, guys!" Tyson chirped as he stepped out, bags in hand. The three jumped.
"Jeez!" Rei gasped, grabbing at the general area of his heart. "Could you warn a guy before doing that?"
"Sorry," he shrugged. Kai and Kenny stepped out, the latter fanning himself with his notepad.
Kenny sighed, "It's so hot out…! How can you three just stand out here without any shade?"
"Actually," Max interrupted, "we kinda forgot about the table. We were kinda shocked by someone here."
Kai frowned. "What? Did you see someone familiar?"
"Well…" Hiromi pursed her lips. "Not really. She just looked like someone we knew."
"She?"
"Yeah," Rei nodded. He turned to Tyson curiously. "Hey, Tyson, didn't you say that your sister lived with your aunt?"
Tyson stared for a moment. "…You mean Kasumi? What brought this on?"
"Well, then," Rei commented lightly, gesturing to the lone girl apparently still grumbling about something or other, "does she look familiar?"
Tyson looked over at her. After a moment, his eyes widened and a grin split across his face. "Kas!" He called out, to his friends' surprise and the girl's shock. "Kas, that really you?"
Whipping her head around, the girl managed to focus on Tyson's call, and a grin not unlike his own found itself settling on her face. "Ty! You did come!"
To the others' surprise, Tyson handed the bags off to a startled Kai as the girl pushed herself out of her table, both laughing brightly as they ran towards each other and met halfway, squeezing each other tightly without any sign of letting go. When they eventually did, the others looked at Tyson expectantly.
"Huh?" He blinked at them before realization dawned, causing him to laugh nervously. "Er, sorry. Got a bit overexcited there, huh? Guys, this is Kasumi, my twin sister."
"Hi!" Kasumi chirped, looking far more cheerful than when she was sitting alone moments before.
"Well, that explain a lot," Kenny said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "The two of you look very much alike, despite being fraternal." Rei nodded in agreement.
Tyson turned to face his sister again, features bright. "Kas, these are my friends: Max, Rei, Kenny, and Kai." He gestured to each of them, who made their own greetings. He then gestured to the irritated and mildly hurt-looking girl. "And that's Hiromi."
There was a flicker of confusion on the girl's face. "Hiromi…?" Her eyes widened and she glanced at her brother. "Wait, isn't she your class president? What's she doing here?"
Hiromi answered before Tyson opened his mouth, shooting him a glower as she spoke. "I'm here as the boys' tutor. Mr. Dickenson felt it was best that someone tagged along to make sure they completed their studies and assignments."
"Oh." Kasumi blinked. "Glorified baby-sitter, then?" Hiromi took one look at the insulted faces around her and started laughing.
"'Glorified baby-sitter'?" Tyson parroted irritably. "Gee, sis, nice to see you, too!" Kasumi only grinned teasingly in response, brown eyes (the only other obvious difference between the two, so far) bright with mirth.
Max blinked, abruptly remembering how angry she had seemed before. "Hey… Kasumi, was it? Why were you sitting by yourself?"
"Yeah, Tyson asked about you on our way to your aunt's resort," Hiromi recalled with a small frown. "Your aunt said you were meeting with your team…?"
Kasumi's smile faltered as her features reverted from cheerful back to the steely glower they had first seen her don. "We talked. They left."
"What?" Tyson blinked, looking strangely at her. "That doesn't sound like your team…"
"That's because they're not," she growled lowly. At the circle of confused faces, she explained, "Last year, I was team captain to the Puerto Rican team. We called ourselves the Guardias, and we were all pretty good friends. But, due to certain circumstances, I wasn't allowed to enter this year's tournament with them; I had to be placed on the 'diplomat' team that's supposed to show the unity the tournament symbolizes. However, unlike with the Guardias…"
"You and your new teammates don't get along?"
She made a disgruntled snort. "Oh, I get along fine with the mulatta and the midget, it's that creep of a team captain that gets to me!" Nervously, Kenny inched away to steer clear of the rather intimidating vibes radiating off the girl.
"You," Rei commented warily, "really don't like this person, do you?"
Kasumi twitched. "I don't like him. He doesn't like me. Let's just leave it at that." And with that, she became all smiles once more. "By the way, do you guys need a tour guide? I know all the places around here like the back of my hand…"
Flabbergasted by her mercurial change in mood, the foreign teens could only nod numbly.
…
"Ow…" He rubbed his ear gingerly. "You didn't have to drag me out by my earring, y'know!"
The other male towered over him, eyes narrowed. "It's your own fault for having that leather string attached to your ear in the first place. That has to be one of the most idiotic fashion trends I have ever seen."
"You're one to talk about fashion…" the shorter boy grumbled under his breath. He quailed when the other glowered down at him. "I didn't say anything!"
"You had better not." His focus diverted back to the group as they conversed, completely oblivious to their audience. "Look at those fools – they don't even realize they have an angel in their presence…"
The shorter youth gagged. "Ugh, do you have to involve me in this trash? I have better things to do than listen to a gay guy spout his undying affections for someone he's never met." The taller youth whipped around to snarl at him, causing him to backpedal and cringe fearfully. "O-or I could just shut up and pretend I never said anything! That always works!"
"You do know that I want this first meeting to have a good lasting impact, right?" The taller youth hissed lowly at his companion. He quickly glanced over to the group and frowned. "It's just my luck that Granger already has influence over the situation. It puts me at a disadvantage, considering our mutual… dislike of each other and his natural inclination to believe her over me."
"I'm still trying to figure out why you hate her so much and still can have this stupid crush on her twin brother," the shorter commented flatly, rolling his eyes at the irony of the situation. This earned him another glare.
"I do not have a "crush" on him," the taller growled. "Only sniveling, whiny fangirls and fanboys have crushes. I have a true devotion to him and would put aside my needs for his own."
The shorter groaned and let his head fall back onto the brick wall, instinctively knowing it was going to be one long day…