silverstaar18: Thanks a lot for the review! I didn't make Tala anything he wasn't! :p But, I'm glad his character was appealing. I would only say, you would be getting more of it as the story proceeds. About the longer chapters... i'll try. But I can't really assure anything.

I really want to know if the readers are actually liking this fanfic or not. That would help me decide if I should continue with it or not. Moreover the reviews would definitely give me all the encouragement I need! So please don't forget to leave your reviews!

New York

A pair of green orbs stared blankly at the board flashing different flight schedules. She felt a sudden nudge at her shoulder, as she swiveled around to see a blonde haired blader smiling down at her.

Mariam rolled her eyes, "What is it Michael?"

"You worry too much," Michael Parker said, turning her away from the schedules, "It is time for our flight."

"Whatever makes you think I'm worried?" she said and gently brushed his hand away from her shoulder. "You don't seem to be paying attention to whatever that was appearing up there," he said jerking his thumb in the direction of the schedules, "otherwise you wouldn't have needed me to come and fetch you."

Mariam could now hear the final announcement for their flight and sighed, "Let's go."

Moscow

The Russians along with the new addition to their team boarded their flight to Hong Kong. Ian, Bryan and Raul spotted their seats in the middle aisle. Tala managed to find his seat, the one beside the window. He turned to his side to see Julia standing there, glowering at him… no… at the seat beside him. It wasn't hard for him guess that the seat has been reserved for her. He smirked at the thought of it, only the smirk didn't show on his lips.

"Ma'am, please take your seat. We'll have…"

Julia didn't let the air hostess complete her sentence and slumped into her seat. She grimaced at the thought of having to bear Tala for another 9 hours or so. She had been finding him strangely irksome ever since that little encounter of theirs in the woods.

Tala leaned towards Julia, alarming her with his sudden closeness and whispered into her ear, "Bon voyage!" Her eyes widened, she felt his warm breath on her bare neck, for she had her long brown hair swept up in a pony tail, her orange bangs messy as ever. She felt her heart beat quicken, "Excuse me," she blurted out, meaning to beckon one of the air hostesses now attending to other passengers.

Tala eyed her curiously, wondering what she was planning to do now. Ian turned around recognizing Julia's voice. Raul and Bryan were curious too as there was a slight hint of panic in her voice.

"Yes Ma'am. How can I help you?" the same air hostess who had previously asked Julia to take her seat, asked.

"Can I have a change of seat, please?" Julia almost begged her. The air hostess' eyes darted towards Tala who looked innocently at her.

"Sure ma'am I'll see if I can do something."

A few minutes later Ian and Bryan were trying real hard to stop themselves from bursting into a fit of laughter. However, Raul failed.

Julia cursed the foolish air hostess and herself for even asking her in the first place. She looked up, her fists balled and later looked at the window right beside her. Great! All routes of escape sealed! She turned to her right to see Tala trying to suppress a chuckle, "More comfortable now?" he asked pointing at the window seat she was sitting in, which was previously occupied by Tala. Tala comfortably sat in her seat(previously belonging to her) his elbow propped up on the arm rest, giving her an amused look, "Looks like a real nice change of seat."

Tokyo

"What has the world come to?" Hillary complained her hands on her hips, "You are late!"

"That's it? That's it?" Tyson stomped his way towards Hillary and Kai, "You would have been screaming your head off, if it had been me!"

"Of course. Are you blind Tyson? It is not you. It is Kai. There is always a first time for everything. Since it is the first time… forgiven," the brunette said and picked up her bag, "Let's go. We're already late."

The team moved ahead, Tyson still complaining how partial she was and Hillary yelling back at him to stop fussing like a kid. Kai stole a glance at Akira from the corner of his eye who seemed to be aloof from everything around her. She walked towards him, dragging her luggage behind her. She paused for a moment when her lilac eyes met his crimson orbs. He spotted a slight frown. She didn't waste any more of her time staring at him, but simply walked past him, unaffected by his steady gaze upon her.

She was going to ignore him now? He was amused by the fact that she decided to ignore him after what she had previously said in the morning, "I thought you were someone I could trust…" The hurt in her voice was apparent, which meant he had affected her. He also recollected how she had tried to talk to him that morning, starting off with a sorry and all. Probably, she would have thanked him for helping her out, if he hadn't started off with his own set of questions, or rather mild accusations and ending up rubbing her off in the wrong way. Not that he cared. But, considering the fact that whatever she had told them about her past was true and this was her first shot at coming out of the shell she had always been in, he couldn't help being a little sorry for her. He knew she might need a friend, someone she could rely on… only, it wasn't going to be him. She has to find somebody else. He was content with the way his life had been shaping up recently, and last thing he needed was some girl forcing her way in, intentionally or unintentionally!

Hong Kong

The airport was buzzing with reporters and Beyblade fans, who were eagerly waiting for the arrival of their favorite teams. The Bladebreakers arrived at the airport. The reporters who had been waiting up until then, pounced upon them, innumerable camera flashes blinding the Bladebreakers. Akira winced at the sudden uproar from the fans and was more than uncomfortable with the microphones being thrust into her face.

"What do you have to say about the recent murder back in Japan?" one of the reporters questioned while the other, "Sources say you have been detained for the same?"

Hillary was going to jump to her rescue when Akira raised a hand asking her to remain where she was. "Do I look like I was detained? If I was I wouldn't be here, would I?" Akira said, with a confidence filled voice and her eyes showing no sign of fear. She wasn't going to let people go around accusing her of rubbish. Silence fell upon the horde of reporters, only it didn't last long and they broke out into another list of questions now directed at the rest of the bladers. This only earned the reporters, a firm shove backwards by the bodyguards, who were now carefully leading their prey away from them.

"That was quite bold of you," Hillary remarked as soon as they got into their bus. Hillary settled down beside a window and Akira sat down in a seat behind her. "I don't like people going around accusing me of shit I didn't do," Akira snapped.

"No one's accusing you of anything Akira," Hillary tried to calm her down.

"Says you," Akira said and closed her eyes blocking away everything else.

"That went well," Rei said to Max, pointing at Akira.

"She has been like that all day?" Max turned towards Tyson.

"Sort of…" Tyson said shrugging.

"The press and all that attention might have freaked her out. She'll get used to it," Kenny said.

"I highly doubt that. Looking at the way she answered them…" Rei said, only to be stopped by Akira herself, "I'm still here by the way," Her hand shot up from her place and she waved it, "See?"

Hillary sighed shaking her head, "This isn't going to be easy."

Kai paid no attention to all of this as his mind drifted back to a particular phone call that was the reason for his unexpected delay at the airport.

"What took you so long?" Kai snapped at the man on the phone with him.

"Nothing is as easy as it looks. So, I'd expect you to be a little more thankful than this," the man said not impressed by the way he was greeted.

"I'm getting late. You know I have a plane to catch! So what did you find, Andrei?" Kai asked.

"Nothing except a name; she never mentioned anything about the father at the orphanage. You wanna guess what her last name was?"

"Andrei!" Kai warned him not to waste his time.

Kai listened in silence as his eyes widened in shock, "Are you sure?"

"Damn sure Kai. That is what they said…" Andrei told his boss. About six years older than Kai, Andrei and Kai met for the first time in the Abbey and he was one of those who helped Kai reform the Abbey.

"She sure doesn't look anything like him. No one would even think about it…" Kai said still unable to accept what he had just heard.

"It might not be him Kai. The family name can belong to somebody else too… But, she looks exactly like her mother. I've seen her mother's picture, during her stay at the orphanage, for about fifteen days before she delivered."

"Oh…" was all Kai said and Andrei continued, "If anyone who knew her mother back then saw her, they would definitely recognize Akira as her daughter. They definitely will."

"Hn."

"I still have to visit the asylum. It wouldn't be easy finding out things there, quite difficult."

"Nothing is difficult for you Andrei," Kai said getting up from his arm chair.

"It is easy for you to say. I'm the one doing all the snooping around here," Andrei said not sounding happy.

"Andrei, are you complaining? Because if you're, I don't really have the time for it and I'm going to go now…"

"Of course not. How dare I complain?" Andrei said, his words dripping with sarcasm, "You can't go since you haven't heard the half of it."

"What is it?" Kai asked losing his patience.

"The dead guy," Andrei paused, "I recognize him from the Abbey. He used to do Boris' dirty work. Like capturing and luring the kids into the Abbey. Finishing off any sort of threat, if you know what I mean."

"What?" Kai was clearly taken aback.

"I'm positive, it is him. I've been around the Abbey a little longer than you. Trust me, I know what I'm saying. They used to call him Karl, not whatever the Police is calling him now."

"Kai? Kai?" Rei's voice woke him up. He had slipped into sleep somehow and from the looks of it they had reached their hotel.

The team exited the bus to be greeted by a familiar team, only find someone along with them, quite out of place.

"Look whose here," Oliver said as he spotted the Bladebreakers walking towards them. His eyes narrowed when they fell upon the newest member of the team, Akira.

Akira returned Oliver's gesture with a smirk. A soft smile appeared on Oliver's lips and over his shoulder he called out for his Scottish team mate, "Hey! Johnny! You have trouble walking towards you as we speak."

Wondering what Oliver was referring to, Johnny followed Oliver's gaze to spot a raven haired girl, smirking at him. He frowned and stepped forward. Robert and Enrique recognized the trouble Oliver was talking about.

"Aha… Long time no see guys!" Tyson said, his excitement evident in his voice. He had been away from the Championships for an year and now he was going to win it all back!

"What a surprise!" Enrique said looking at Akira, "I didn't expect to see you again beautiful." He winked at her, as the Bladebreakers sweat dropped. Oliver face palmed and Johnny almost chocked on his spit.

Akira spoke, aware of her teammates staring at her, "I believe I have a score to settle," she said.

"I don't believe you're still at it!" Robert said his hands folded.

"You still remember me, don't you? So I guess I've made my mark," Akira said smirking.

Hillary finally stepped in feeling left out, "Hello? Are we supposed to know something here?"

Robert looked at Hillary and then at Akira, "You are very much like a certain blader I know and he is standing right next you."

Tyson realized rather quickly that Robert was speaking about him, "Like me?"

"Yes," Robert continued, "She challenged us at a tournament in London about six months back."

"London? You were in London before?" Kenny asked, surprised by this newly discovered piece of information.

"I've lived there for a while," Akira agreed.

"Then how come I haven't found you registered anywhere?"

"Oh no. It wasn't official," Enrique explained to Kenny, "She challenged us like Tyson challenged us back then and she even managed to tie with Oliver."

"What?" Rei exclaimed, "She tied with Oliver?" Rei had fought Oliver before and he knew very well that Oliver was a powerful blader. Akira glared at Rei for having indirectly insulted by his expression of disbelief. Rei mouthed a silent sorry and Akira turned away frowning. Kai looked at Akira, his eyebrows shot up in disbelief too.

"See? I was surprised too…" Johnny said, "It was by luck, if not anything else. But it didn't last long. I defeated her, fair and square."

"That is an old story Johnny," Akira said, her voice firm.

"Oh yeah?" Johnny mocked her.

"Just wait until I wipe that smirk off your face Johnny," Akira's voice was filled with hatred for the Gladiator of Glasgow, who merely said, "In your dreams."

"Might as well be in your nightmares," Johnny was surprised to hear that from Tyson. "Anything can happen, Johnny," Max joined Tyson.

Johnny raised an eyebrow at the two Bladebreakers when Robert intervened aware of Johnny's volatile temper, "Why don't we all get inside huh?"

"Is Miguel really with you guys this time?" Kenny asked an odd question.

"Believe it or not, I am," Miguel said, finally able to join the conversation.

"You don't sound very happy," Max said to Miguel as they entered the lobby of the hotel, keeping his voice as low as possible.

"Well, I'm happy to make it to the Championships. I'm not what you'd call… delighted, to do it without my own team. You see those Majestics? They can be a real pain sometimes," Miguel said pointing at one of the Majestics whom Max promptly recognized as Johnny. Max chuckled as his eyes searched for someone he had been longing to see. And they spotted her. Max stepped away from Miguel and walked towards the reception where the blunette stood, her back towards the very person she had been inquiring about.

"Mariam?" Max said as Mariam froze in her spot. She spun around, right into his arms, "Max!"

Her voice turned every head in the lobby towards them. Max pulled her away slightly.

"Max! I missed you…" Mariam said cupping his face. Paying no heed to the attention they were attracting, Max silenced her right away, kissing her deeply. He had missed her too! Now that they were back together, he was determined to make up for all that time they spent away from each other. They were forced to spend, that is.

"Couldn't they just wait until they got to their rooms?" Tyson said and rolled his eyes. Hillary smacked him in the head, "Shut up!"

"So that is Mariam?" Akira asked Hillary.

"Yes," she told Akira, "They have had a tough time."

"Well, it shows," she said raising her eyebrows at the sight of the couple, who didn't seem to care about the fact that they were in a hotel lobby, under the piercing gazes of other guests of the hotel. She could see an elderly woman shaking her head in disapproval, while her husband shrugged her off. If not for the sudden flash from the camera of a paparazzi(Akira suspected, she wasn't sure) , the kiss would never have been broken, though it wasn't exactly a long one.

"Bloody hell!" Hillary cursed and it turned out Akira had guessed it right.

The woman at the reception desk, who seemed to be enjoying the brief romance in front of her desk, was quite disappointed when the flash disrupted the scene. She vented out her disappointment on the guy who had just clicked the picture of Max and Mariam's reunion, "You're not allowed to do that Mister, at least not in here! Mark! How could you let him get in?" she said signaling at one of the hotel staff to take care of the guy.

"Yes Han. We have to detain you and call the security if you don't hand over that," the bigger man warned the one with the camera. He had dealt with him before and he wouldn't let him pester anymore of their celebrity guests.

"What? The BBA's got detaining orders against us now? It's not like we're going to stalk them or something. We definitely won't if they are as cooperative as…" Han winked at Max, which didn't really auger well for him. Max went for him in a fit of rage, fortunately blocked by Mark, just in time. Even Mariam pulled Max away, "Leave it to them!"

"We have special orders against you Han. Now give me the camera," saying so Mark snatched the camera from Han and deleted the picture he had just taken and a few others he felt objectionable which earned a stream of curses from Han. Mark escorted Han out of the hotel, warning him not to be seen lurking around the premises again, which he knew was a futile.

"Rei!?" the voice of a pink haired blader sounded like music to Rei. He made sure there was no other Han around before darting off in her direction. "Here goes another," Tyson said throwing himself into one of the many couches in the lobby, "Will somebody fetch the keys of the rooms please? Unlike some of my teammates here, I am hungry!"

"Oh when are you not Tyson?" Hillary pointed out and walked towards the reception, Kenny following her, to get their keys.

Please review! :)