Okayokayokay I KNOW. I'm sooo sorry this is late. I promised thecoolestmostpatientpersonever that I would update like, four days ago, so now you, (thecoolestmostpatientpersonever, you know who you are,) must write in your review when exactly are you leaving for Europe, so I can update again before you go!! D:
Also, as a side note, "Kathy" is only important to this chapter, not the story. OC's are no longer that interesting to me.
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The soft blue sky was bordered on all sides by the tops of tall swaying grass, shifting in the gentle breeze. A cloud drifted aimlessly far above, swirling in the shape of a malformed dinosaur. And as the warm sunlight swam through the air, alive with the sounds of birds chirping and leaves bustling, Max just stared.
His eyelids had sank about halfway down as he did nothing, enjoying the hillside that had been claimed in his name since he had arrived back in Japan. Max, as it turned out, had taken quite a liking to being left alone like this. And to the dismay of Tyson, he did it often. To lounge and enjoy the lack of responsibility was better than any other form of relaxation he had experienced… What he would give to fall asleep right there…
But, just like every day before this one, it wasn't meant to be. As he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a shadow lumbered over him and blocked the sunlight from his face. Opening his eyes, he sighed and growled at the sight of Tyson standing eagerly over him, smiling widely.
"Max, you'll never guess what I just found out!" Tyson announced, leaning in and resting his weight on his knees. Max sat up and rubbed his eyes, allowing Tyson to sit next to him without protest. Despite him being his best friend, Max often found himself questioning why it was that he was still hanging around the dojo with him. For all of Tyson's good intentions, he could be very obnoxious.
"What?" The blond asked, studying his lap with little interest. Tyson took a contented breath and squinted up at the sky.
"Well, Hilary said that there was this little tournament near the library, and of course we don't actually need to do that because we're famous and all, but then she said that Kathy was going to be there, and I was thinking-"
Max groaned. "You're going to drag me to a local tournament so that you can talk to that girl again?"
Sheepishly, the bluenette poked his index fingers together and looked down at his own lap, unable to look at Max as the American glared at him.
"Well, yeah, and stuff…"
"And stuff."
"Yeah."
Max sighed. Over the years, he had developed a level of patience that was hard to rival, and yet when woken up for a stupid reason, even he had his moments.
"Alright." He reluctantly sighed. "When is it?"
"An hour ago." Tyson replied immediately, reviving the glare on Max's face. Tyson's eyes snapped back to his lap.
"Well I figured it would be cooler if we showed up toward the end without anyone knowing."
"Does Kenny know?"
"Well, yeah, he's kinda there already."
The blond sighed. "You're something, Tyson."
"Thanks!" Came the clueless reply.
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The mob of children was suffocating. Though they had all grown used to crowds, fans, and loud noises, Kenny couldn't help but sink down in his chair and avoid eye contact with anyone. It was strange for him to be without an entourage at these events; Hilary didn't really count.
From the center of the large room, the sounds of clashing beyblades could be heard alongside the voices of spectators and battlers, all presumably watching the match. Looking away from the crowd, Kenny returned his gaze to the screen of his laptop and smiled to himself, finding solace in the pixilated front before him. Adjusting the contraption on his lap, he rested his palms on the space before the keypad and braced for some heavy research.
"We have a winner, kids! Damien has stomped Andrew out of the running and will be heading to the final round!"
The voice echoed over the loud speakers and shocked Kenny out of his newly attained concentration. Grumbling something inaudible beneath his breath, he closed the laptop and slid it into his backpack, finally giving up. Raising to his feet, he looked around and spotted Hilary, standing with her hips to one side, her arms crossed over her chest. She had met her friend Kathy – a short blond girl from Canada, who was in Japan with an exchange program – and he had a feeling that Tyson knew about her being here.
Hormones had become the bane of Tyson's existence. With an overly inflated ego because of his title in the sporting world, and faulty reasoning skills, Tyson would hit on anything with a nice face and two legs. And this girl was no exception. Continuing his sweep of the large community center, he gazed passed the bland faces of alien people in some attempt to find familiarity. As his eyes peeked through his thick bangs, he spotted a growing group of kids toward the entrance, surrounding who but Tyson and Max. The former was laughing proudly and doing everything in his power to make himself superior-but-caring. Max, on the other hand, hung back until the chance at escape presented itself. In a heartbeat he was away from the now bustling crowd, and the second he found the Chief, he was standing beside him.
"What are you two doing here?" Kenny asked, leaning toward the America so that he could hear him over the sound of the crowd. Max sighed and jerked a thumb in the direction of Hilary and Kathy, awarding Kenny a look of annoyance. The two stood there, watching as Tyson fought helplessly to make his way across the room to where Hilary and Kathy stood, trying to ignore him. Several minutes of this odd entertainment passed by before Kenny spoke.
"So, I heard from Kai earlier today."
"Oh really?" Max asked with vague interest. Though they hadn't seen him in a while, Kai had been doing a better job of keeping in touch since The Incident. The accepted theory was that Kai had officially become either paranoid, or schizophrenic.
"Yeah. I couldn't make it all out because half of what he was saying was in Russian, but he sounded angry."
Max looked and Kenny now, startled.
"Why was he speaking Russian? He knows none of us can speak it."
Kenny sighed and shrugged, returning the look. "Yeah, well, I made out something about three hundred thousand dollars blowing up, and then something that sounded very obscene, and then he told me to watch out and hung up."
After a moment of trying to make sense of the news, Max could only raise an eyebrow. "What, is something wrong over there?"
"Well, I can only assume. I've never heard Kai that angry before."
The blond nodded, and looked back toward Tyson, now flirting shamelessly with Kathy. Hilary had let him do it, and was watching with amusement.
"What do you think he meant about the money blowing up?"
Kenny sighed. "Well, seeing as everything he owns costs about three hundred thousand or more, it could be anything."
"I guess. For some reason, though I figured it was actually money."
"Yeah, imagine that; spontaneously combusting currency."
They laughed, Max shaking his head. "It would make bank robberies more interesting, that's for sure."
As the two bantered and laughed with each other, having lost focus on the crowd, they didn't notice a the people nearest to the center ring began to scream. As the cries grew louder, both friends snapped out of their lame-pun session and watched as the panic spread through the crowd like an electric pulse. In seconds, people were scrambling in all directions away from the stadium, now abandoned in the overhead lights. Confused, the two suddenly dropped the joking air and braced against the wave of fleeing people.
As the people started to thin out, Max and Kenny began to look around frantically for Tyson, spotting him with Hilary at his side. Both looked just as apprehensive as them, and Kathy had vanished.
"What just happened?!" Tyson cried over the remaining roar of panicking people as the other two ran over to them. Finally in a group, the four refocused their bewildered attention on the main stadium, just in time to here a screeching wail escape the fire alarm system; the building was being evacuated.
"We need to get out of here-" Hilary started, tugging frantically on Tyson's are. Just as the words passed over her lips, however, the wailing was cut short, and the arena in the center of the room exploded.
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Last fire/explosion, I swear. =/ I'm so ready to move on with the actual plot now! :D This story is going to get creepy and awesome now. Promise!
Kevin: Um. No, see, that doesn't work for me.
Kai: MY CAAAAARRRRRRR. D:
xChewy: Oh, by a new one you jerk.