Me: Wahoooo!
Hikaru: Oh what now?
Me: I'm in a happy mood today!
Tsubasa: About what?
Me: For the first time, I've recieved some reviews for one of my stories! And possitive ones at that! Really possitive ones!
Hikaru: So you're trying to deafen us all about that?
Me: Yup!
Hikaru: (sweatdrops)
Hyoma: I have a question. What exactly happened to me at the end of the last chapter?
Me: Ah, good question. And the answer is...you'll have to wait until the next chapter.
Hyoma: What? Oh come on! Some of us do care when they end up being tossed around like a pancake by... whatever that was!
Me: And I'm the author so I decide what things and when happen to the characters. So sit patient.
Hikaru: But if this chapter's not about Hyoma... (begins to back away)
Me: Don't worry Hikaru, this chapter only features you a little bit.
Hikaru: Good. So that leaves...
Me, Hikaru and Hyoma: (Look at Tsubasa)
Tsubasa: ... You're talking about me aren't you?
Me: Yep and you're going to get a little help from...
Yu and Sora: Us?
Me: Yes you. And I've called in someone to help restore order in that flat of nightmares.
Kenta: Me!
Me: Yep, this chapter features Kenta. So, would you like to do the disclaimer?
Kenta: Sharkey52 doesn't own Metal Fight Beyblade.
Me: And...begin!
The Light and Darkness Chronicles
Chapter seven - Lodgers
Tsubasa lay against the tree with a sigh. On the other side of the metal fence, Yu and Kenta appeared to be creating an obstacle course using the various playground equipment. Ginga was sulking on the swings as he was simply too big to complete parts of the course, including scrambling through the tyres of the tyre swings. Somewhere to his right, under another tree, Sora was sitting with Madoka who was on her laptop, begging her to allow him to bunk at her place temporarily. He seemed to feel threatened whilst stay at Tsubasa and Yu's place. Well, after the last few days, Tsubasa could understand why. Take this morning for instance...
It was late when Tsubasa finally got out of bed. Yu and Sora had invited Kenta over and the three of them had slept in the living room, kindly keeping Tsubasa awake until 2 AM with their jokes and watching scary movies on TV at full volume. Apparently the one who got the most scared was actually Sora who, according to Kenta, had had a nightmare he refused to admit; but Tsubasa had slept like a log until at least 9:45 and didn't hear anything. He would have probably slept longer if he hadn't been woken up by Kenta, running into his room and poking his shoulder just like Yu liked to. Tsubasa wasn't an easily annoyed person and had put up with Kenta for about fifteen minutes. Finally though, he snapped with the green-haired boy.
"What?" he complained, making Kenta jump back.
"Um...Tsubasa... He said nervously "Sora and Yu are having a water fight." Tsubasa double blinked, taking a few seconds to let this piece of information sink in.
"Using what?" he asked finally.
"Balloons" answered Kenta "The ones from my birthday party. You know the one you and Yu planned where in Ginga and Masamune..."
"Yes yes, I remember it well enough" Tsubasa interrupted him hastily, just in case anyone overheard "Try and break the fight up. Tell them that after I've had a shower I'll boil them some eggs or something." Kenta nodded and left. Tsubasa groaned and swung himself out of bed, his head pounding. He took a shower and went to dry his hair, but before he got the chance to do the latter he had to face a very angry and sleep-deprived Sora and Yu who both wanted a shower at the same time. Tsubasa let Kenta go before them for good behaviour. Both Sora and Yu both complained at this so he played the 'guests get privileges' card. But that just led to Sora insisting he was a guest too, even if he was a longer-term one than Kenta, and Tsubasa reluctantly agreeing to Sora going in the shower before Yu. He didn't leave his bedroom until he was sure Yu was safely in the shower and wouldn't attack him with a kitchen knife or something. He had to pass the living room on his way to the kitchen and noted what the state the floor was thanks to the three boarders. Honestly, Tsubasa was wondering if he should start charging for people to stay over, since he had so many lodgers. He walked into the kitchen and had just removed a saucepan when Sora, his dual-coloured hair still wet, appeared.
"Hey Tsubasa" he smiled "To make it up to you, how about I cook breakfast?" At first Tsubasa had disagreed, but finally the dual-haired boy won and sent Tsubasa out into the living room. Shoving his way through the mounds of wet sleeping bags and rubbish, he made his way over to Kenta who had laid a few towels on the sofa so they could sit down without getting soaked. He was watching the news on television.
"You seen this?" he asked, pointing at the screen. Tsubasa watched.
"...and now people in the surrounding mountainous area have begun claiming to have seen several black explosions in the area yesterday. Although much is still unknown, this area of mountainous terrain has been the location of many enquiries and the police and the WBBA are both looking into it. And now on the western coast we have..."
"Black explosions in the mountains?" Tsubasa asked.
"It was on the news yesterday too" nodded Kenta "I think the WBBA are trying to tone it down a little and keep the exact location a secret. I mean, imagine if the police find it..." He shuddered.
"Relax, the police won't find Koma Village" Tsubasa reassured him "Hyoma's guarding it, and that kid doesn't go down without a fight. You know that."
"Reiji took him down pretty easily" Kenta pointed out.
"I know" Tsubasa sighed "But Reiji isn't..."
"SOSO! YOU ARE SOOOOO DEAD!" Both boys turned their head as they heard a door slam. Yu, clothed in a dressing-gown, stomped around the corner. He was covered in water and shivering to death.
"Yu, what's wrong?" Kenta asked.
"THAT'S IT!" Yu screamed with fury "SORA'S GONNA DIE FOR THIS!"
"What's Sora done now?" Tsubasa sighed. The ginger screamed something to Tsubasa "Whoa! Slow down! And stop screaming! Now, what happened?"
"Sora used up all the hot water!" Yu fumed "I walked into the shower and it was ICE-COLD!"
"Is that all?" Tsubasa sighed "Look, you were the last to have a shower last night. You can just put up with it for 12 more hours." Yu snorted and began mumbling under his breath something about smaller bladers always being picked on as he left to get dry. He failed to notice Kenta was actually shorter than him.
"How do you put up with them?" Tsubasa asked the green-haired boy beside him with a sigh.
"Hmmm?" Kenta looked up at him.
"How do you put up with them?" Tsubasa repeated "You're sane and they're not. You have an attention span, they don't. You have a brain, they have ones the size of peanuts. How do you cope with the two of them? I've only had to deal with them for a fortnight and I'm ready to crack."
"Just leave 'em is my advice" Kenta explained "Let them do stupid stuff and the see the consequences. They do that, then learn their lesson and don't do it again...or at lest do it less."
"Okay" Tsubasa nodded "I get what you're saying. I'll bear that in mind. Thanks Kenta."
"Oh, glad to help" Kenta smiled "And by the way..."
"AHHH! TSUBASA!"
"Sora?" Tsubasa looked towards the kitchen door "What's wrong?"
"Tsubasa! I burnt the water!"
"What?" Tsubasa looked confused "Sora, you can't burn water. It doesn't work that way."
"AHHH! No! Go away evil bubbling water of death! NOOO! Not my launcher!"
"Oh for goodness sake Sora!" Tsubasa stood up "Don't do anything else stupid until I get there!" No sooner was Tsubasa in the door did Kenta hear him yell:
"What have you done you idiot?"
"It was an accident!" Sora insisted.
"Sora! Water isn't black or brown in nature! What did you add to it? Vinegar, or was it paint?"
"Nothing! I just left it for a minute or two, came back and found it was this colour!" A large argument broke out. After a lot of yelling, the sounds of crashing and several noises that sounded a lot like "HOT!" "OWWWW!" and "NOOOO!", Sora left the kitchen in a sulk whilst Tsubasa tried to restore order among the kitchen utilities. He had just exited the kitchen and gave a sigh of relief when a voice bellowed:
"TSUUUUBAAASSAAAA!"
"What is it Yu?"
"I blew up the hair dryer!"
"You did what?"
"Sora was playing around with it and I tried to snatch it back and it just went BANG and POOF!"
"Hey! Don't you dare drag me into this Yu!"
"But you caused it Soso!"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
"ENOUGH!" Tsubasa was boiling with fury, that did it! "That's it! From now on any broken objects you two will pay for YOURSELF!" He muttered something that sounded like "Lodgers!" before storming off to go and kill Yu and Sora. Kenta was still on the sofa, watching this all with deep interest. He didn't move as he heard the protests, cries and bangs from Yu's room.
"If Sora's been here for two weeks, and Yu even longer," he wondered out loud "Then how come this place isn't a pile of rubble by now?"
Tsubasa chuckled and sighed, shutting his eyes as the warm mid-afternoon sun warmed his face up.
'Peace and quiet, finally' he thought tranquilly. He wasn't sure how long he lay there for, but he stirred as something heavy plunked itself down on the grass beside him.
"Hey, Tsubasa?" Yu, of course "Can I ask a question?"
"You just did" Tsubasa pointed out, keeping his golden-brown eyes closed.
"No, I mean another question" Yu continued.
"Sure, fire away" Tsubasa nodded blindly.
"Okay" Yu took a breath "What do you think of Ginga and Madoka?"
"Ginga and Madoka?" Tsubasa asked, opening one eye which he shut almost immediately "What about them?"
"As a couple" answered Yu "Kenta says they'd be brilliant together, Sora's not sure and Ginga and Madoka won't answer; they just try and kill me. So what do you think?" Tsubasa shrugged.
"Dunno, not my department I'm afraid" he shrugged.
"Oh come on!" Yu persisted, crossing his legs and folding his arms "Surely you must have had a girlfriend at some point."
"Negatory" Tsubasa shook his head, his eyes still shut "Not now, not then."
"Liar" Yu snorted, making Tsubasa open one eye "Come on, it would take a blind idiot to miss that you don't like a certain girl..."
"I do not like Hikaru, not that way" Tsubasa put in quickly.
"Whoever said I was talking about Hikaru?" Yu asked. Tsubasa sweat-dropped, he hadn't thought about that.
"Who else would you mean?" he muttered.
"A zillion other people" Yu answered "Madoka for a start. Then there's Mei Mei, and Sophie, and that girl on Team Grazies or whatever they're called, and there's..." Tsubasa cut him off.
"Alright, I get the point! Fine, you're right, a part of me does like Hikaru. But a other part holds me back."
"Why?" Yu asked "I didn't think you got nervous about something so...trivial."
"Do you actually know the meaning of that word?" Tsubasa asked "But it's not nerves. It's because I don't want to make her life complicated with two relationships."
"Two?" Yu asked "Who else likes Hikaru?"
"He doesn't just like her" Tsubasa sighed "I'm pretty sure she likes him too. I'm not going to play the third wheel that gets in everybody's way, especially not two people I owe a lot to."
"Who?" Yu asked again, then answered his own question "Wait a minute! You don't mean...!" Tsubasa nodded. Yu shook his head.
"You're a fool, a dumb ol' fool" he sighed "You don't have any proof Hikaru and Hyoma like each other. Besides, they lived miles apart and only see each other every couple of months. You live just down the road and work with her! Come on! See the connection! Hyoma won't stand a chance...!"
"Hyoma won't stand a chance against who?" Both boys looked up and saw a certain bluenette had just walked up to them.
"Hikaru!" they both burst. The worry etched on Hikaru's face made Tsubasa's heart drop like a stone. That was worry for Hyoma. But he was also worried. How much of that had Hikaru heard?
"Mind if I sit here?" Hikaru asked.
"Oh not at all" the smile Yu wore when he was coming up with a plan appeared on his face "In fact, I'm moving anyway. The pair of you can sit here, together, side-by-side..." He got up and started walking away.
"So, nice to see you Hikaru" Tsubasa smiled 'Forget Ginga and Madoka, I'm going to kill you for this Yu!'
"Actually, I need to talk to you about something Tsubasa" said Hikaru quietly "You know the explosions happening in the mountains?" Tsubasa nodded and Hikaru produced a laptop from her bag, similar to Madoka's. She opened it and showed him a satellite image of a black explosion in a mountainous area.
"Look closely, at the top of that mountain" Hikaru said, pointing at a mountain near the explosion.
"It's got a near-flat top" Tsubasa commented.
"Meaning..." Hikaru gave him an urging glance. Tsubasa's eyes widened.
"Meaning that's Mt Hagane" he said "And you know what that means." Hikaru nodded; he nodded.
"Those explosions are happening in Koma Village."