Chapter Five

I hummed as I took off my shoes, rolled up my pants, and waded into the river. A smile formed on my face as my feet slid over the algae covered rock. It was slimy yet soft and comforting at the same time.

Standing still I watched as fish moved around my feet, some were curious enough to inspect my toes. I waited a bit more until they were within my reach and struck, easily grabbing two fish. They flopped and wriggled but I kept my grip tight on them, digging my fingernails into their scales. I threw them into the basket that I brought with me and looked around for more, staying as still as a statue.

My eyes rested on a fairly large fish that swam along, almost lazily. I slowly and carefully pulled my beyblade, launcher, and ripcord out of my pocket, never taking my eyes off of the fish. Once my blade was set I followed the fish with my eyes and waited for the perfect moment.

I swiftly pulled the cord, successfully launching my blade at the fist. Water sprayed into the air as it followed the big fish through the water, knocking out other fish along the way. I ignored them as they fell onto the bank behind me. The big one was the only one that I wanted.

"Move in a bit closer Drice', but slowly," I muttered. Barely skimming the surface of the river, my blade followed the fish as I moved around, taking a look at it's surroundings. "A little closer, now." Dricer moved closer, so close that it has spinning above its mid section.

Suddenly Dricer was knocked over by a mini wave that had sprung up. I lifted my head, ready to throw out a curse or two but it died on my tongue when I saw the fish in Ray's hands. He laughed when I let out a loud groan. "You have to be quicker than that," he commented, digging his nails into the fish's body until it stopped moving all together.

"I almost had it," I growled through clenched teeth.

"If you waited about five more minutes, sure." He looked past me towards the bank of the river. "Ah, you're on fish duty this week I see."

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" I demanded, turning to wade back towards the shore. I was surprised to see that some of the fish were still flopping around. I grabbed them all and threw them into the basket, making sure to pierce their bodies to lower the chance of them jumping out.

"Need some help with that?" Ray asked, standing by me, still holding onto that damn fish that I helped him catch. Yeah, he didn't really do anything with those muscles that he loves to show off. Not that I pay that close attention to him. Really, I don't.

"I am perfectly capable of carrying this back myself," I responded, using my knee briefly to help keep the basket in my arms. He shrugged and threw the fish he had caught on the top of my pile. I staggered a bit and glared at him and he smiled innocently. "What're you doing out here anyway?" I asked, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. At his face, not his bare chest, just trying to be clear here.

"Meditation," he replied.

"The water fall this time?"

He shook his head. "On a rock by the waterfall. Meditating under the waterfall isn't part of my training today."

"Don't want to get your hair wet?" I asked. He made a face and rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to say something but stopped. "What?" I questioned.

"Listen." He tilted his head a bit. Balancing the basket on one arm I tucked my hair behind my ear and listened hard. There was the unmistakable sound of beyblades hitting each other accompanied by a random groan of frustration. "Let's check it out."

"But I have to bring this back as soon as possible."

Ray was all ready walking in the direction of the sounds. "We won't be gone long and I'll explain to them as soon as we get back why you were late." I grumbled under my breath but followed him anyway. We walked a bit along the path and the sounds of the children and the beyblades got louder and louder. Finally we stumbled across a group of five kids standing around two beyblades that were spinning in a ring marked in the dirt.

"Look, it's Ray," a little girl whispered, her amber eyes shining as we approached. Her eyes rested on me a bit before glancing back at Ray. She nudged the other little girl who looked up and started giggling a bit. I rolled my eyes and set the fish down on the ground as the three boys stopped what they were doing and looked up at us.

"What're you up to?" Ray asked.

"Um, bey battling," the red haired boy replied.

"But it's not going well," the first girl spoke up. "It's only 'cause they won't do as I say."

"Your advice isn't helping, Sophie!" the red hired boy shot back, clenching his hands into fists.

"There's no need to get angry," I spoke up. "Beyblading is supposed to be fun. You shouldn't make enemies with anyone. Who knows, she may become the first female world champion one day, and you wouldn't want her to remember you as someone who made fun of her."

Sophie's eyes filled with hope. "Do you really think I could become the first female World Champion?"

"Sure," I replied, smiling. "Unless I beat you to it." I winked and she laughed a bit.

"You're going off for the tournament soon, right Ray?" the dark haired boy asked.

"That's right." Ray nodded.

"Do you think you could teach us some things? We want to be able to blade in tournaments just like you."

"Sure. I have some spare time." Ray pulled Driger and out of his pocket and set him up. He launched his blade and watched in satisfaction as Driger moved around with great speed, kicking up some dirt as the children watched in awe. "There's nothing to it. You just need persistence and a lot of practice." He smiled and watched Driger with his eyes for a bit before looking up. "What exactly are you having trouble with?"

"Well, I'm having a little trouble launching my blade and Meilin here is having trouble keeping her blade spinning on the ground," Sophie replied, nudging her silent friend. I chuckled a bit when Meilin turned red as Ray's eyes rested on her.

"Ok. Launch your blades for me and I'll see if I can spot the problem." Ray walked over to them and knelt behind them, keeping his eyes on their wrists as they set up their beyblades. After checking to make sure their blades were on right they launched them. They spun on the ground for a couple of seconds before rolling to a stop. "Oh, I see your problem," Ray addressed Sophie. "You have to keep your hand really still. Like this." He gently grabbed her right wrist and held it steady. "Now pull the rip cord." She did so and beamed. "See? You just have to keep this hand steady." He then turned to Meilin who was looking down at the ground. "And you, cutie, you're pulling your hand up when you launch. You just have to pull hand arm towards yourself." Meilin blushed and hastily grabbed her blade.

The effects some guys have on kids nowadays. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Geeze, they're like mini Mariahs. It's sickening. I mean, come on, Ray's not that good looking. "Miss Crystal, do you think you could help me with something?" the red head asked, lightly tugging on the hem of my shirt.

I knelt so I was eye level with him. "Sure. What's the problem?"

"Every time I try to attack another beyblade it veers off in the wrong direction," he responded, lightly shuffling his feet. "I think I'm launching it right…"

"Let me see. Launch your blade." I watched carefully as he pulled his arm back. He was pulling it at the right speed and his hand was steady. Sure enough his blade veered off to the right instead of aiming towards the other blade that was still spinning in the center of the circle. "Your hand is tilted a bit, even though it's steady. If you launch it like that the blade won't spin straight." I gently tilted his wrist a bit to the right. "Try it that way."

"Miss Crystal," the last boy, the purple eyed one, spoke up. "Every time I put my blade on the ground it doesn't spin for long and then it stops."

"Hey, you're the kid from before," I noted.

He nodded and smiled a bit. "Mhm. My name's Tao. I was hoping that you'd come out today. That's why I brought some friends with me, so you can help them too." He blushed. "If that's all right with you, I mean."

"Of course," I said as I reached out and ruffled his hair. "I'll give you all the help you need."

Ray and I spent the next hour helping the kids with their skills, giving them advice every now and then, watching as their faces lit up in happiness when they found their skills improving. That's what I liked about blading the most, seeing the excited looks on the little kids faces. It made me smile as well.

True to his word as soon as we got back to the village Ray took the blame as to why I was out later than I needed to. After that I made sure I didn't step on anyone's toes around the village, I did what I was told and I didn't stay out of the village for long. The only time I left outside of the village boundaries was whenever Ray ordered everyone to take a trip to the mountains for a few hours at a time to get more training in. I was the village's perfect little angel and I have to say I was getting tired of it.

"Hey. Wake up."

I groaned as I felt someone shaking my shoulder. Whoever was trying to wake me up was going to regret it. I was severely pissed off at having to wake up earlier than I was supposed to.

"Whaaaat?" I demanded as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"We have to go," Mariah responded in a whisper as she looked down at me.

"Waddya mean we have to go? We don't have to do chores for another…" I paused in my sentence to let out a yawn. "Three hours," I finished lamely as I flopped back down onto my bed.

"Fine, it'll be your fault that we lose the tournament because you're not there."

That instantly got me to wake up. I shot out of my bed and quickly and quietly pulled on my shoes. I glanced over at Mei and thought of waking her up to say bye but thought against it. As Mariah watched I quickly scribbled Mei a note, grabbed my bag and left the tent. As we met up with the guys I couldn't help but smile. I was finally leaving. I was finally getting away from the accusations and the stares that plagued me ever since I returned two weeks ago.

"Is everyone here?" Lee asked as he looked around. We all nodded but Kevin yawned his reply.

"The plane will leave in about three hours," Ray explained as we started walking down the path."And it takes about an hour to get from here and go to Japan."

I stopped for a few seconds before I continued walking. Were' going back to Japan? Sweet! Now I can see Tyson again and see what he's up to. Maybe challenge him to a beybattle for old time's sake.

It was a long walk from the village to the docks where the boat was waiting to take us into the city. It seemed shorter when I came in. But it took forever to get there. I swore at one point Gary's weight alone was going to make the boat tip over. Kevin immediately drifted off to sleep on the ride, probably from the sound of the rocking of the vessel and the sound of the river gliding past the rocks on the sides. I wrapped an arm around him to pull him further away from the edge.

Once we got to the airport and went through bag checks and the metal detectors I sat down in a chair and fell into a light sleep. A strange golden-red glow invaded my dream. The smell of smoke followed it. I had to turn my eyes away from it, it was too bright, too hot...

Kevin woke me up later and we both rushed to get onto the plane before it left us. Everyone else fell asleep on the plane but I stayed awake holding onto Dricer and looking out the window. A sense of returning home filled me as we touched down in Japan and I could feel my spirits instantly lift.

"What hotel are we staying at?" Mariah asked as we squeezed into a taxi.

"I don't know what it's called, but the driver all ready knows where he's taking us," Ray explained. "Mr. D had everything set for us so we don't really have to worry about a thing. All we have to do is worry about our competition."

I was itching to go see Tyson again so, once we figured out our rooms, I quickly ran up the stairs, found my room, threw my stuff in, and then ran back out passing them all in turn. I just couldn't wait to see him! I ran out of the hotel and effortlessly navigated through the streets. After cutting through a street lined with Cherry Blossoms I turned onto another and ran as fast as I could down the path.

It didn't take me long to reach the home I was looking for. There weren't that many dojos left in this part of the city, especially in the neighborhood. I looked up at the dojo before running out back. Sure enough, Tyson was out there watching his beyblade spin.

"Hey Champion, what's going on?" I called as I walked over to him.

"Crys? Is that you?" He asked as he caught his blade and turned around. I blinked in surprise when he spoke. His voice has gotten deeper from when I last saw him and he's gotten taller too. There was definitely something different about him, a more mature air hanging around perhaps?

"Yup," I responded with a nod. "How are you?" I added as I gave him a hug.

"Great. Wow, I haven't seen you in ages! You heard about the tournament right?" He asked as we walked over to the dish.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here."

"To watch?"

"To blade."

"Oh, you found a team to blade on? That's cool. What team?"

"White Tiger X." Right after I said that he gazed over at me with an unreadable look on his face. It was a mixture of fury and hatred, but I couldn't figure out what fueled it. He has seriously matured since I last saw him, which amazed me because I always thought that he would be his playful self. "Something wrong?"

"Ray left my team to blade with that team," he responded, more to himself than to me.

"You know Ray?"

"You know Ray?"

"Captain of our team," I responded with a nod. "He seemed kinda distant every time we practiced but I didn't get why. I assume now that you're the reason."

"He's just one of the people that want to take me down," Tyson said as he clenched his fists and glared at the ground. "He and Kai and Max all want to take me down. That's why they left."

"It's the rules, Ty," I said as I shook my head.

"They didn't have to abandon me! They could've stayed and fought with me! But they're nothing but...traitors!"

I winced at that word. Traitor. It still stung to hear, even when it wasn't directed at me this time. Shuffling my feet against the ground I rubbed my arm. Time to change the subject. "How're you battling, anyway? Don't you need a partner?"

"Yeah…it's this monkey boy who won't leave me alone. He's actually a good blader, though. If only he could keep his mind on the match." A smile finally formed on his face as he turned to me and said, "I wish you stayed. I would love having you on the team."

"I know Ty. But rules are rules. And this is my first tournament, but I don't think I'll blade…"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Only a pair can blade in the whole tournament and its all ready decided that it will be Lee and Ray. Unless one of them gets hurt and we need a sub, I won't be able to blade." Twisting my mouth to the side I added, begrudgingly, "They are the strongest on the team. It makes sense."

"Bummer, I was looking forward to blading against you again."

"Who says we can't do it now?" A slow smile formed on his aface and he moved towards the dish and held up his beyblade.

"Don't hold back."

"I never do," I responded with a grin.

"Ok, launch in 3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Stop."

I faltered and almost launched my blade at the voice. It was calm yet stern and only one person has mastered that. I slowly turned to see Ray walking over. I let out a sigh as I returned my blade to its pouch as Tyson and Ray glared at each other.

"Tyson," was all Ray said.

"Ray," Tyson responded.

"Crystal, what're you doing here?" He asked as he turned his attention towards me.

Is he blind now? "I was going to blade against him but you interrupted us," I responded.

"We have to train."

I motioned to the dish. "What do you call this?"

"Giving away your strategy to an opponent before a tournament!"

I glared at him as I clenched my hands into fists. I only relaxed when Tyson placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Just go," he said in a soft tone. "We'll see each other again. At the tournament."

"All right, Ty," I said without taking my eyes off of Ray. "I'll see you later."

I silently followed Ray away from the dojo and down the street. He flung out his arm to stop me from walking when we were way out of ear shot.

"I don't want you talking to Tyson," he said as he looked at me.

"Excuse me?" I asked as I rose my eyebrows. "You can't tell me what to do, Raymond!"

"I don't want you giving away our strategy!"

"I won't! I know better than that!"

"Do you?"

I grabbed onto his arm until he looked at me. "Trust me," I hissed.

He pulled out of my grasp. "We'll see."