Thirty-Three
"How come you're in here and not with the girls getting ready?" Lee asked as she started to tie his tie around his neck, but he was failing miserably. He turned to the mirror by his side and started adjusting his collar.
I peeked over the top of the magazine I was reading and made a snorting noise to keep from laughing out loud. He looked really out of place in his nice shirt and pants. He, and the rest of the White Tiger guys, had tried to get away with wearing their formal Chinese attire but Mariah put a stop to that right away. She made them all go out to the closest tuxedo rental yesterday and each get one for tonight. There was a lot of complaining, mainly from Kevin's end, and eventually Mariah had to bribe them to go with her village famous slow-cooked soup.
I glanced down at the magazine again as I flipped a page and almost threw it across the room when I saw my face in it. I closed it with a loud snap and made a face. Somehow word got out that I was a new Bladebreaker so now I was seeing my face everywhere. It's as if I'm not the poster child for female 'bladers or something. I tossed it onto the table near me and sighed, finally giving my attention to Lee to answer his question.
"Because it doesn't take me nearly as long as them to get ready and I'd rather not choke on perfume clouds," I replied. As soon as the girls woke up today they had all come over to Tyson's place and managed to lock themselves up in one of the spare rooms. They've been getting ready for this stupid Ball all day. It's ridiculous, it shouldn't take someone twelve plus hours to get into a dress, do their hair, and put on some makeup. But no, they had a routine.
"What's perfume?" Kevin asked as she struggled with his tie. I grinned when I saw him. The little guy was so cute in his outfit and tiny shoes.
"Perfume is a cosmetic that girls spray on to smell good," I replied as I motioned for him to come over. Once he was close enough I reached out and fixed his tie for him.
"Oh," he responded simply. "Well, why don't you wear any?"
"'Cause they're ridiculously expensive and I'm broke," I replied. "'Sides, I think I smell just fine." I tightened his tight and then lightly patted his shoulder. I began to sit back down wen Gary and Ray came into the room, already dressed up. "What the hell happened to him?" I cried out when I saw Gary's attire. He would've looked fine if it weren't for his ripped sleeves.
"His shirt was a little too tight," Ray replied while rolling up his shirt sleeves.
"Ya think?" I responded sarcastically. "Gary, why wait until now to try it on?" I asked while rubbing my temples, fully expecting a stupid answer.
"I didn't need to wear it until now," Gary replied.
"Of course," I groaned at his male logic. "But, Gary, it was rented, right? You'll have to pay for the tear."
"Ah, we can let Mariah take care of it," Lee said with a wave of his hand.
I rolled my eyes. "You're a model brother," I stated sarcastically.
Lee made a face and then changed the subject. "So when're you going to tell us who your date is?" He asked before turning in the direction of the sudden peal of giggles. Giving the laughter my attention for a bit saved me some time. For the past two days Lee's been asking me every which way possible who I was going to the stupid Ball with. Usually he'd strike up a conversation and then edge his way into it but now he was going for the direct route.
"Never," I replied. "Though I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet considering I don't know that many people."
"It's Mystel isn't it?" He suddenly demanded. I didn't even have time to react before he went on a tangent. "Oh, I knew it! That wise guy! He's always trying to get a rise out of me! And now that you're going to the ball with him—"
I glared and he stopped talking almost instantly. "FYI, it's not Mystel. And second of all, even if it were, he wouldn't ask me out just to get a 'rise' out of you. Believe it or not, not everything is about you. I could be that he asked me to the Ball because he liked me and wanted to get to know me better, but I guess something like that is impossible, right? And since it bugs you so much you should've asked me to go with you earlier. That's what this is about right?" I stood and placed my hands on my hips. Gary, Kevin, and Ray were trying to look at anything but us but it wasn't working out too well. "You feeling like I'm turning my back on you or something just 'cause I, as your supposed 'fiancée'"—I put finger quotes around the word—"is going to the Ball with someone else but you. You can be mad all you want but you might as well get over it 'cause I'm never going to marry you. Ever!"
Huffing, I shoved past him and stormed out of the room, my arms were crossed tightly over my chest. Whoever arranged for us to be together deserves a needle in the eye. There is no way in this world we'd work out.
"Hey, you're not dressed yet," Tyson pointed out as I entered the kitchen. He picked up an apple and took a large bite out of it, leaning his elbows on the counter. I I lifted my eyebrows at how well he cleaned up and every single hair seemed to be brushed down and in place. It didn't even look like he had been wearing a hat earlier.
"I've got an hour," I replied while glancing at the clock.
"Ugh. I've been in this suit for twenty minutes," Tyson grumbled. "I can't sit. I can't lean o something. I can't even eat." I silently pointed at his apple. "Less spillage," he explained. "Trust me, I'd rather not be eating this."
"Wanna battle me?" I asked as I bounced on my tip toes. "Dricen needs to stretch his legs."
"I can't," Tyson groaned.
I blinked. "Why not?"
He sighed again. "Hilary won't let me. She says that I can only blade at the designated blading time."
Well, this was news to me. I grinned. "Ty, did you ask her to the Ball?"
"Yes. Well, actually she demanded to know why I hadn't asked her and if I was ever going to so I did…just to get her to stop talking," he explained nonchalantly. I shook my head. "What?"
"You dug yourself into a hole," I replied. "You're going to be bossed around all night."
"Yeah, well, she does it during the day. What can a night hurt?"
"Famous last words…" I teased. Glancing at the clock again I figured I might as well get ready and get this whole night over with. As soon as I opened the door to the room that the girls were in I almost choked on the perfume that hung in the air.
"Well it's about time!" Mariah called out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, date-o'-mine," I teased. I paused and looked at her attire then lifted an eyebrow at her pink theme. "Are you aiming to blind us all? 'Cause you succeeded," I mumbled, toning down the words that I had planned on uttering.
"You have a weird sense of compliments," Mariah said with a little laugh. "So, um do you think Ray will like it?" She asked, looking at her feet and blushing.
I ignored the clawing in my stomach. "He wouldn't say anything even if he didn't," I replied vaguely. I moved away from her and went over to my dress in fear that I'd say something I'd regret. I looked around at the girls and hesitated as I wondered if I should change in the bathroom instead. No doubt they'd make a bigger deal out of this than there should be.
"Crys, hurry up and change!" Julia said as she put her hands on her hips. She was wearing an amazing flamenco like dress, decked in a good amount of red and black fabrics. "We still need to put on your makeup and do your hair."
"Fine, fine," I sighed while turning away from them. When I was sure they weren't looking I quickly pulled my shirt up and over my head and then removed my chest bindings. I managed to get them off and slip my dress on over my head before they noticed anything. Not that chest binding was a huge deal but I didn't want to have to explain it. "Okay, I've changed. Are you ha—what the heck is that?" I stopped short and pointed at the footwear that was dangling off of Julia's finger.
"Heels," she replied simply with a large smirk.
"I'm not wearing those," I said as I shook my head. "I can't even walk in them."
"Tough toenails, you have to wear them," she replied, dropping them by my feet. "You're shorter than the rest of the boys already—minus Chief— and you're going to need the height in pictures and such. And imagine how it's going to look when you're dancing with your date and you're this low to the ground?" She held her finger and thumb close together before lifting her eyebrow. "I'm just saving you from embarrassment."
"Falling in these things will provide a different sort of embarrassment, the kind that I try to avoid," I replied, kicking at them a little. I then frowned at the bright blue polish that sat on my nails. When in the world did they managed to do that without me noticing? These girls are scary once they put their minds to something, that's for sure.
"It's what practice is for," she replied before slapping my on the shoulder.
"Julia, leave her alone," Mathilda said with a light giggle. "You don't even have to wear them until we leave. You still have time," she addressed me before reaching out her hand. "Come on, let's get that makeup done." I curled my lip. "Don't worry; we're not going to put much on. We're going for the natural look tonight, but enough so that you don't look washed out."
Letting out a long sigh and took her hand and let her pull me to where the others were. There was no point in ruining their fun and bringing down their mood just because I felt like an awkward turtle. I kept my eyes shut tight as I felt brushes and different textured makeup get put on my eyes, face, and mouth. By the time I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror I hardly recognized myself. If it weren't for the tiny mole by the side of my lip I would've thought another person was staring back at me.
"Absolutely stunning, the guys'll never know what 'em," Hilary said with a laugh. "I can already imagine their faces."
"It's not that much different than their normal ones," Emily commented, taking her finger away from her eye and the blinked rapidly as a tiny tear drop started to slowly inch its way down her cheek. As she and the other girls finished up their makeup I went over to my shoes and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on. As I latched the straps I kept my eyes on the dark blue and black dress, wondering how in the world I managed to get to this moment of time: going to a Ball with a group of people that I could kinda sorta consider my friends and was on the top ranked beyblading team in the world.
I let another breath out and let out my stress and worries with it.
"Are you all done yet or…?" I asked as I stood, wobbling slightly once I stood in full height in my heels. "I'm pretty sure Grandpa Granger wants some pictures."
"Go ahead; we just need a few more finishing touches," Hilary replied as she ran a brush through her hair.
Whatever. I walked out of the room, shaking my head a little bit at their antics and then frowned at how it felt like my head suddenly weighed a little bit more than usual only because my hair was down. I brought a hand up to it and felt along the braids that ran from the front of my head and then back to a loose ponytail that blended in with the rest of my hanging hair. Hilary did a good job with it but the pull on my head was uncomfortable.
I paused outside the door of the large kendo practice room where I could hear the others talking. Tyson and max were talking about something that had to do with chocolate syrup. I could never understand how their brains worked someone. I placed a hand on the door and began to slide it open when Ray spoke up, adding his two cents, and my heart revved in my chest. I stopped myself and rbought my hand back, resting it on my chest to feel how fast my heart was beating. Coupling it with the lurching sensation my stomach had made me realize that I was actually nervous. About how they'd react once they saw me. Would they laugh? Make jokes? Comment snidely?
I paused and shook the thoughts right out of my head. It's okay, relax. They won't say anything…at least not to your face…great. Way to go, Crys, make yourself even more nervous over nothing. But it wasn't really nothing. This night meant everything. All that I worked for brought me here. Finally I pushed open the door and walked in as carefully as I could, offering up a smile. "What're you guys talking about?"
Tyson turned around and grinned. "We're talking about how Max puts mayonnaise on everything. Might as well replace it with something good like chocolate. A lot of things could benefit with chocolate on it. Like…Brussels sprouts."
I made a face. "I still wouldn't eat 'em, even with chocolate on them," I commented as I joined their little circle. I jumped a little when Ray lightly touched my arm.
"You look great," he said with a warm smile.
"Thank you," I said with a slight nod of my head and pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I tried to smile but my mouth wasn't forming the gesture right. It didn't help that my cheeks were turning as red as a tomato at the same time. "You do too," I quickly added. Then I mentally kicked myself. "You all do. You clean up nicely." I looked around the room. "Where's Kai?" I asked.
"He said he had to run out to get something," Tyson replied, fidgeting with his tie. There was no way he'd leave that thing on within the next hour.
"And Kenny?"
"He says he's going to meet us there," Max replied.
"And Lee and Gary and Kevin?" I asked, turning to Ray with lifted eyebrows.
"Kevin got his tie too close to the blender," Ray replied. He didn't have to explain the whole story, I could see what happened in my mind. I closed my eyes briefly at how stupid those boys could be. It's amazing that they don't harm themselves just from walking.
"I don't know why the things they do surprise me so much," I commented with a little laugh. The conversation quickly died down and a strange blanket of awkwardness settled ontop of us. I started rocking back and forth in my heels a little while waiting for someone to say something to make the awkward go away. "So, Ray, did you know that Mei's wedding is around the Dragon Boat Festival?" I asked him as I stopped rocking.
His eyebrows lifted and his eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? I didn't even notice!" Then he turned to Max and Tyson. "You guys have to come out to see it. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the best festivals in China. Great food and fun times are to be had."
"What's a Dragon Boat Festival?" Tyson asked.
I blinked, waiting to see if he were serious. "It's a festival…about dragon boats," I said slowly.
"Yeah, Ty, what'd you think it was about? Fairies?" Max laughed while elbowing Tyson in the side. Tyson lightly elbowed him back before they got into a mini fight while broke up a couple of seconds later as they burst into laughter. I smiled and shook my head at their antics. Just then it seemed as if everyone at that time decided to arrive for the rest of the White Tigers, the girls, and Tala and Kai came into the room from different doors.
"They couldn't have timed that any better," I commented, distracting myself with the loose bracelet that hung partially on my wrist and partially on my palm. I glanced around to see the guys' reactions to the girls in their dresses. I smirked when I noticed Tyson's reaction to Hilary, as if he had been hit over the head with something. I managed to get Max's attention and mouthed, "You're so going to lose."
Fighting a smile he shook his head and mouthed back, "I've still got time."
I playfully stuck my tongue out at him I used my hand to push my bangs out of my face, scanning the group once again, doing a double take when I saw Tala and Julia talking. Huh. Who knew that those two would go together? I've hardly even seen them talk to each other let alone acknowledge each other's existence. My gaze kept going until they rested on Ray and Mariah, a little bit longer than my sanity could take for he was looking at her in a peculiar way as he spun around in her dress and grinned at him.
I tore my eyes away and wrinkled my nose at the gut twisting feeling that took over my body. Bring a hand to my head I shook my head a little, trying to mentally force myself to get the stupid feeling to go away, of which had started to pop up on regular intervals. I felt a tiny nudge on my arm and looked up to see Kai.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
I nodded and shrugged. "Everything's fine," I replied. "I just kind of want to bypass the press conference thing, y'know? A little bit too much weight on my shoulders."
"You'll be fine," he replied shortly. He held out a clear plastic box which held a bright yellow rose attached to an elastic wrist band. I lifted an eyebrow at the color but didn't say anything about it as I accepted the box with a grateful smile. I popped open the lid and the small sound alone seemed to push its way through everyone's conversation and grab their attention.
"Hey, watcha got there?" Daichi said louder than necessary. I looked up and flushed when I noticed everyone was looking at us.
"It's a corsage," Hilary gasped as if she were admiring a 24 karat diamond ring.
"Way to show us all up, Kai," Tala said from across the room with a large smirk on his face.
"Shut up, Tala," Kai said icily.
And there they go again making a big deal out of nothing. They tend to do that a lot, I've finally noticed. Ignoring them I took the flower and slipped it over my wrist, pushing my bracelet out of the way. I admired it and noticed how well it actually went with my outfit, something bright against the dark blue and black. "Thanks," I said quietly. Then I clapped my hands and got everyone to jump. "Let's get going already!" I announced. "I want to see what kind of dessert they have! I'm starving!"
"Now you're talking, sister!" Tyson said as he rushed over to me with his hand raised. I met him halfway and high-fived him energetically.
"Wait, how're we all going to get there?" Emily asked while crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm sure none of us have a car that can fit our large number of attendees."
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Tala spoke up as Grandpa came into the room, fumbling around with a camera. "Mr. Dickenson has that covered."
"Oh my gosh! My first ever ride in a limo!" Hilary said excitedly while taking the hand that the chauffeur was offering to her and stepped down onto the ground. She then stretched her arms wide and spun around in a circle. "I feel like a princess. Or a celebrity."
"Yeah, well, remember which celebrity brought you here," Tyson said as puffed out his chest. As if we really needed a reminder of how big his head could get.
"Mr. Dickenson you mean," Max pointed out, elbowing Tyson in the side. "To whom we owe our entire blading careers."
"Are you guys going to keep yapping or are you going to go inside?" Daichi asked as he jumped out of the limo in front of me and tore into the large hotel that the Ball was being held in.
I stepped out of the limo and smoothed down my dress before crossing my arms over my chest. "Someone should've stopped him," I stated. "Most likely there is a wall of photographers and press waiting for us to go in. He's sure to be blinded by the flashes of the cameras alone if not the lights of the hotel."
"He wants to be impatient, I say let him," Tyson said with a wave of his hand.
"He's definitely going to regret that," Ray commented as he got out of the limo behind me. "I can already see the press lining up right now. If Daichi isn't blind after going past them then I'll applaud him."
We laughed at his joke as the others got out of the limo and admired the scenery around the large hotel. All around us people were milling about, talking to each other and greeting others with waves and excited glances.
"Ah, there you all are!" We turned around to see a woman holding a clipboard close to her chest walk up to our group. "They're ready for you all inside," she explained to us. "The press conference is set to begin in about twenty minutes and they want to be sure they get our entrance in before it starts. If you would follow me please."
"Oh this should be fun," Kai muttered sarcastically. I jumped a little when he lightly placed his hand on my lower back to lead me inside. I noticed Tyson starting to dash towards the door and let out the best whistle that I could through my teeth, stopping him instantly and causing the rest of the White Tiger team to place their hands over their ears.
"Tyson, it's rude to leave your date behind," I said as calmly as possible thought I wanted to beat him over the head with a hammer. It's obvious he's been raised by boys his entire life. "Walk with her and open the door for her."
"You're sabotaging," Max sing-songed.
"Well aint that the pot calling the kettle black!" I retorted. "'Sides, you shouldn't be paying attention to them. You should be paying attention to your date. Where is she anyway? Or did you lie to save face?"
Max's smile turned to a smirk. "I didn't lie," he replied. "I don't have a reason to lie." He turned his head when he heard a car door slam. "Ah, there's my date right now." He lifted his hand and gave a little wave.
"Sorry I'm late. Dunga over there was having trouble with his cummerbund." I looked around to see who the voice belonged to and lifted my eyebrows at the tall dark blue haired girl wearing a tangerine dress coming our way.
"Hey, it's no problem at all," Max said with a smile. "Glad you could make it, Mariam. I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is Crystal. Crys, this is Mariam."
"Oh, you're from the Saint Shields team, right?" I asked while holding out my hand.
She nodded and gave it a firm shake. "So you've heard of us then?"
I nodded. "Long story," I replied. "Thought I would like to see your beyblade in action."
"I've come to the right place then."
"Hey Mariam," Tyson said excitedly. "I didn't know you were coming!"
Mariam gave a wave of her fingers. "Yeah, Max invited me," she replied while jerking her thumb in his direction. "I can't pass up a good party."
"Are the rest of the Saint Shields here too? Ozuma?" Tyson asked while eagerly looking around.
"Trying to find a place to park," Mariam replied with a laugh. "Don't ever get into a car with him if you can avoid it."
Before Tyson could say anything the woman with the clipboard called for our attention again and insisted that we get inside. Tyson's demeanor instantly changed at her words.
"Come on!" Tyson yelled while grabbing Hilary's wrist and dragged her inside of the building. The swarm of photographers inside the hotel seemed to swarm around them almost immediately. The rest of us followed suit and went inside the hotel. The sounds amplified from people yelling at us to turn and look in every direction as flashbulbs went off before or eyes. My cheeks started to hurt from keeping my smile on my face and my ears began to hurt from the noise. It was so overwhelming, having people yelling your name for a few seconds of your time to get a good picture. I felt like everything was pushing in on me in all directions.
Slowly suffocating me.
"Okay, that's enough," Kai said firmly before ushering us all in past the foyer and into the quieter lobby area. We all let out collective sighs of relief now that we were away from the chaos.
"Looks like the others are enjoying it a bit more than we did," I said as I jerked my thumb behind us. They turned to see our friends and other teams having a grand ol' time on the mini red carpet that had been laid out for us. "Thank beyblade we got out of there."
"Saved by Kai like always," Ray said with a grin aimed in Kai's direction.
"Hn," was all he said as a reply.
"I think I'm blind," I muttered while carefully rubbing at my eyes. Little flashes of light were still going off in my vision.
"I don't remember the lights being that bright," Tyson said as he shook his head.
"Or the press being that loud," Max agreed while wiggling his finger in his ear. "I don't ever want to be a movie star."
"Ugh. I know! You're always being yelled at," Hilary agreed while using a hand to fan her flushed face. "I was so overwhelmed."
"And Kai, as usual, is as cool as a cucumber," Ray added with a grin.
"I think he was more annoyed than anything," I laughed.
"Daichi loved the attention," Tyson said as he watched Daichi hamming it up for the cameras.
"Yeah, 'cause it wasn't on you for once," I deadpanned.
"Alright, Bladebreakers, are you ready for the Press Conference?" Mr. Dickenson asked as he approached our group. He then used a finger to push his glasses further up his nose. "Well, don't you all look wonderful!"
"Thanks Mr. Dickenson, now give everyone else a compliment," Tyson joked.
"If you don't mind taking your seats so we could get started," Mr. Dickenson addressed our friends. They nodded and filed inside of the press room. Mr. Dickenson took the time to compliment and admire their attire as well before he turned to the rest of us. "I don't have to remind you that you're not only representing yourselves but you're representing the entire BBA, not just the Japanese section. Yo all should be on your best behaviors."
"Whore' you directing that towards? Tyson or Daichi?" I asked.
Mr. Dickenson smiled. "I'm merely reminding you all," he replied. Then his expression turned serious and he faced me. "I have specifically asked that the reporters refrain from asking you anything about your family or else they'll be kicked out."
I reached out my hands and grasping his larger ones, giving them a squeeze. "Thanks Mr. Dickenson, for everything," I said softly. "If it weren't for you I wouldn't be here."
"If it weren't for our skill you wouldn't be here," he corrected me. "But it's my pleasure."
"Mr. Dickenson, the press is ready," another young woman said while poking her head out of the room.
"Splendid!" Mr. Dickenson said while clasping his hands together. "Follow me, if you will."
We fell into line behind him and walked into the room that filled with applause and camera flashes as soon as we walked in. While the press took a couple of the first rows our friends took a majority of the seating. I took a look at our name tags sitting on the table and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Max asked, noticing my face.
I didn't reply to him but, instead, shouted for Mr. Dickenson. "Mr. D," I called, grabbing his attention. "Hilary's name deserves to be on the table," I told him.
Tyson scoffed. "She doesn't even blade! Why would she be up here?"
"Why wouldn't she?" I jumped in before Hilary could explode at him. "Kenny doesn't blade but he's up there with us. He's our mechanic, so what? She's the one who makes your schedule. She's the one who manages our time. She's the one who creates our workouts and even trains with us despite not having a reason to. I don't know about you but I think that's pretty damn important and she's a part of the team as much as you and I are. Hell, she does more than I do—I didn't even blade up until this Justice 5 tournament—and she's always there to give us unconditional support. She deserves to be up there with us," I stated firmly.
"I agree," Ray spoke up, putting a hand on Hilary's shoulder. "Hilary does a lot for this team, even if she doesn't blade. She should be up there with us. She's still a Bladebreaker or G Revolution or whatever we're called."
"You're absolutely right, my apologies Hilary," Mr. Dickenson said to Hilary before turning to speak to a man with a clipboard.
"See? Now you get the recognition you—why're you looking at me like that?" I asked Hilary while making a face.
She let out a little squeal and grasped my hands as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh my gosh! I'm going to be on TV! Thank you so much, Crys!"
"No need to thank me, you deserve this," I replied while squeezing her hands. I could practically feel her energy bouncing around me. "It was the right thing to do."
We all flinched at the sound of feedback when the announcer tapped on the microphone. "At this moment I would like to welcome the Bladebreaker/G Revolution team!" The announcer cut over the noisy din of the room. "Please welcome Tyson Granger, max Tate, Daichi Sumeragi, Kenneth Saien, Crystal Ming, Raymond Kon, Kai Hiwatari, and Hilary Tatibana. And please welcome the head of the BBA, Mr. Stanley Dickenson."
We walked up to the table and took our seats as the attendants let out cheers and whistles of support while clapping. After smoothing down the skirt of my dress I looked up and blanched at how many eyes were trained on us.
"I figured you'd go with 'Manning'," Ray commented as he sat down to the left of me. Mr. Dickenson sat on my right.
I shrugged. "No point in hiding anymore," I responded simply.
He accepted my answer with a slight nod of his head and a smile. "I'm glad."
Smiling in return I zeroed my attention in on Mr. Dickenson answering a question about the future of the BBA. "Right now our plans are to build the BBA from the ground up," he replied calmly amidst the bright flashes of light. "We're going to start all over and make sure that the idea that beyblading is a sport that everyone can enjoy is in the forefront of the entire corporation. With interest of the sport at an all time high we're sure that the sport will be bigger than ever. We want the sport to be simple and fun again and it is our mission for the BBA to give the kids that opportunity."
"Have you thought of what format the next World Tournament will consist of?" An interviewer asked while lifting his pen in the air.
Mr. Dickenson let out a hearty laugh. "Eager as always I see," he commented. "We just finished a tournament and already there is talks of a new one." He let out a little sigh of content. "While the date of the next tournament is unknown we are in the planning stages of what type of tournament this will consist of. We've seen many examples during the past World Championships and we can say that they have been giving us ideas. Who knows, maybe we'll leave the decision up to the kids to see if they want another tag-team tournament or a battle royale! The possibilities are endless."
"G Revolutions, do you have any plans for the upcoming months?" Another interviewer asked.
Tyson was the first to speak up. "The possibilities are endless now that the tournament is over," he replied. "But that doesn't mean we're going to stop 'blading. Any challenge, anywhere we're ready to take you all on!"
"I'm probably going to help my dad around his hobby shop," Max said into the microphone that was placed in front of his mouth. "Then maybe take some time to go and visit my mom."
"But, for the most part, I think we all just want some time to relax and take a little vacation," Ray agreed. "We've been going nonstop for ages and it'll be nice to have things slow down for a bit and enjoy life."
"A friend of mine is getting married soon so Ray and I are going to fly back and attend," I said while pointing at Ray. "Otherwise I'd like to try and get into a school over here and attend in the fall."
"Tyson, you and the rest of your team have had an amazing 'blading career thus far and so much more to go, I was wondering if there was one point or one moment that you would want to repeat," a short and somewhat stocky woman spoke up.
"Winning every championship of course!" Tyson boasted while thumping his chest. "I'd love to relive those moments."
"So modest," Hilary muttered sarcastically.
"No!" He suddenly shouted. "The food we got to eat from traveling around the world. I've love to repeat that!" Chuckles spread through the crowd as a bit of drool leaked out of the corner of his mouth at the mere idea of the foreign food.
"Of course," Kenny sighed, lightly slapping his face with his palm. "I should've known it'd have something to do with food."
"I'd like to relive the sightseeing," Max said after a few seconds of though. "I loved being able to see the sights whenever we got the time—which wasn't that much—so I'd love to relive that if I had more time to see everything."
"To piggyback on what Max said I'd like to relive the traveling part," Ray spoke up. "I love to travel and getting the time to do that again would be lovely."
A few people turned to Kai to see what his answer would be but he remained tight-lipped as usual. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest and his eyelids were pressed together. He had a good idea, he could block out the bright lights.
"How does it feel having to try and protect your title every year?"
And on and on the questions went, a majority of them directed at the team as a whole and some directed at a specific person. Hilary even got asked a few questions as well. One could easily tell how pleased she was to be noticed by the press. The longer the press conference went on the more annoyed Diachi was starting to get with the questions being asked mainly in Tyson's direction. So much that at one point they even got into a little brawl when Daichi wanted to show off his blading skills and Tyson had to wrestle him to the ground to get him back under control. All the while Mr. Dickenson was laughing at the display. Finally things got back under control long enough for the questions to be asked again.
"How is it working and 'blading on a team with this particular group of boys?" A tall woman addressed Hilary and I. "I can only imagine you'd have some difficulties."
I smirked while Hilary laughed. She was the first to reply. "There are days where I just want to rip all of their heads off for being, well, boys," Hilary replied to more laughter in the crowd. She paused and brushed some hair out of her face. "But, otherwise, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I basically barged my way into their world and they accepted me and it's been amazing ever since. Getting to travel the world with my best friends is something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life."
"Aww, Hils, didn't know you liked us that much," Tyson said with a large grin as he draped his arm around her shoulders. She knocked his arm off of her shoulder and gave him a half smile and then turned her attention to me.
"Um, well, it's been really interesting for me," I replied. My words came out slow because I was piecing together my response in my head. "I've never 'bladed on a team before, nor have I 'bladed in a tournament setting. I mean, I did blade with my friends when we were younger but we weren't an official team then. This was my first time blading on an official team, first White Tiger X and now the Bladebreakers. It's been a great learning experience because I'm not used to having to rely on others to get things done. I'm used to working to do things myself so having others to fall back on is…is great. They're a great group of guys, I want to strangle them sometimes, but they're great and very dedicated to the sport."
"Crystal, if you had to choose who your blading partner would be who would you pick?" A woman with lipstick stained teeth asked.
"Out of them?" I asked while motioning up and down the table. The woman nodded. "Most likely…Ray," I replied after a couple of seconds of thinking. "Only because we grew up together so I know his blading style and our bitbeasts work very well together. Otherwise...I'd go with Max because our blading styles are so different and I think if someone can work well with someone else who has a different blading style and make it work then you're well ahead of others in the blading world."
"What made you boys decide to take in another blader? Not only that but a female? Did it change your team dynamic at all?" Another interviewer asked.
"Not at all," Max spoke up after a silent standoff between the boys to see who would speak first. "She fit our group like a glove, so to speak. She easily slid in and gelled with us and we didn't slow down at all. Ultimately, deciding to ask her to be on the team, was after seeing how…dedicated she was to defeating BEGA and doing all that she could to help us out and we didn't even have to ask her. We liked her dedication and determination and thought it would be a great addition to the team."
"Oh you guys are laying it on thick," I muttered as I felt my cheeks burning from their compliments. "I'm already on the team, no need to suck up."
"You're too modest," Hilary said from the other end of the table.
I mumbled something incoherent as a response and shook my head. The discomfort that had managed to float away from me when I stepped into the building came back and wrapped around me like a warm, suffocating blanket. They were treating me like the best thing since sliced bread. I was nowhere near as good as Tyson or Kai was. Sure, I could stand on my own and out maneuver even some of the good bladers out there but I wasn't some prodigy like they were making me out to be. I couldn't even begin to live up to those expectations.
Everything went by smoothly and as the press conference wrapped up I began to feel more relaxed and couldn't wait to get to the dancing/beyblading part of the whole event. I was itching to battle new people and to see others battle each other being brought together by the love of one sport.
And then that one question was asked.
"How did it feel to look into the eyes of the man that mercilessly killed your parents?"
A/N: Wow, I didn't mean for the wait to be this long. I had good ideas for this chapter and then it kept going and going and it go so long that I split it into three different chapters, this being the first part. The next ones will be great, I hope. A few questions that I think some of you had will be answered in the upcoming chapters. Thanks for those that reviewed, I'm glad you're enjoying the story but I have to say it's slowly coming to a close. Only a few more chapters left.
But here's the good news. As I've stated already I'm working on a sequel but before I get to that I'm writing a little story to go between this one and the sequel. It's sort of like an OVA for it's going to be all about Ray's birthday being celebrated and the antics that everyone gets into. So far it's titled Crouching Tiger: Summer Paradise but that might change. Please let me know if there are any spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes or anything that didn't feel right to any of you. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks! Please read and review!
~C.M.