Bittersweet Melody

First Arc: Act Eight

She could feel her feet weigh heavy on the ground with every step she took. Down the street she walked, one foot after the other. Was she doing the right thing? Perhaps she should give them a day or two? Perhaps going to see them was completely wrong to begin with. But…

Cat stood in front of Takao's front door, her head lowered. She had dressed in her best outfit, made sure her hair was nothing but perfect. Takao…would he forgive her? Would he give a second chance at friendship? She couldn't be sure. She inhaled a deep breath before lifting her hand to the door. She hit her knuckles against the wooden door twice.

Knock, knock

Then she waited. No answer. Cat took one last deep breath and knocked once more.

Knock, knock

This time the front door began to slowly open. She felt her legs stiffen and her fists clench. Would it be Takao? Max? Or even Hiromi? Cat chewed on the inside of her cheek while she waited. Once the door opened wide enough, she leaned over to one side to see who was at the door, Ryu, Takao's Grandfather, stood in the doorway with a goofy smile on his face.

"Hello!" He said with a delighted voice. "Cat, where have you been? Takao and the others have been worried."

Worried? She blinked in confusion. Could they have concern for her and how she felt? Cat felt her heart flutter at the thought of Team BBA being worried for her. Perhaps forgiveness wasn't too outlandish. She felt her hands and legs relax after seeing Ryu's happy face. She managed to smile at the older man.

"I've been around…" Her voice became lower the longer she spoke, unsure of what to tell the man she once called 'grandpa'. "I was wondering, is Takao here?"

"Cat, you know you can stay here even if Takao wasn't here." He laughed. "Don't be a stranger!"

"Thanks Ryu." Cat bowed before the elderly man.

"Ryu?!" He shouted as he reached his arm out to the girl and patted her on the back. "It's Grandpa remember?"

Cat gave Ryu a small smile before giving him a nod. Satisfied with the girl's response, he stepped to one side, allowing the girl to enter the home. The door closed behind her as quiet as he could. Ugh, maybe if his grandfather was this happy to see her, maybe Takao would be too? After stepping her way in the direction of the dojo, she thanked the older man and stepped forward.

With each step Cat felt her heart slam harder. Her nerves were a bundled mess inside her. There was no turning back now; it was now or never, flight or fight. For a moment she found her, mid step and wondering. Was she scared? Scared of what, rejection maybe? Should she continue? Cat placed her hand over her beating heart. Thump, thump, her heart slammed away in her chest. No, she couldn't go through with it.

"Everyone makes mistakes. If they can't understand that, then there isn't anything you can do."

Ozuma wouldn't run away.

This, she knew for certain, neither Ozuma nor Takao would run right now. They would face their fear and go through with their apology. Her heart slowed.

Don't run, don't run.

She repeated to herself over and over. She stepped down the long dark hallway by herself. A small burst of warmth hit her face, it was sunlight; she had come to the end of the hall and entered the connecting corridor to the dojo. Surely the team would be out here doing their training. Feeling her nerves get the better of her, Cat ran up against the wall and flattened her back against it. She took in a few deep breaths before peering around to corner.

There she saw Team BBA training. Takao had been battling with Rei. The two boys were heated and in the midst of their fight, both with serious looks of concentration on their faces. Kyoujyu, Hiromi and Max were seated on the wooden corridor watching the match. Kai was out of her sight so the young girl could only assume that he was against the opposite wall watching the battle play out.

She let her deep breath go in a sigh. How she missed the boys. The small things seemed so innocent back then. She felt her heart sank as her eyes landed on Hiromi. Is that was she looked like when she used to watch their matches? Was that how she looked one year ago, sitting at the sidelines with all the support she could muster? She brought her hand up to her chest and felt the pounding of her heart. It was time to talk.

"Nice move Rei!"

Cat flinched to the sound of Takao's voice. There he was, so unaware of her presence and yet so happy. He sounded the same as always: cocky. She could hear a counter move made and could only assume Takao had made his move. Things didn't sound different…is this how things were when she wasn't around? Then the spinning sound of the blades came to a halt. It was apparent that the two boys had brought their training match to an end. It was now or never.

"Guys, I'm sorry. Guys, I'm sorry. Guys, I'm sorry." She repeated to herself continuously, her back still against the wall and eyes closed tight.

XoXoX

"Guys, I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

The sound of Hiromi speaking caused Takao's ears to perk. What was she hearing something? He jerked his head over his shoulder for a second to see that she was turned about, facing the doorway. Whatever, if she wanted to act weird then so be it, it couldn't come in the way of his training.

The sound of the young female bringing herself to her feet caused him to flinch however. What was she doing? Geez, couldn't she sit still for one second?! This was a practice run after all, it wasn't like she was invited or anything.

Again Takao glanced over his shoulder to see the brunette up on her feet and making her way toward the dojo hall. She stepped forward, her head twisting left then right. After making no obvious observations, Hiromi stepped deeper into the hall, disappearing from the champ's sight. He returned his attention to his game.

After a few seconds, she began to speak again.

"C-C-C!" She stuttered.

What was wrong with her now? Ugh! Couldn't he get a moment of peace? Takao jerked his chin over his shoulder once again.

"Hiromi?" Kyoujyu looked over his shoulder to see Hiromi acting in a strange manner. "What are you doing?"

"C-Ca-!" Hiromi continued to trip over her words, causing the computer whiz to step beside her to see what she was talking about.

Following in the direction of Hiromi's finger until his eyes landed on the body standing in the corner. "Cat!" He shouted, catching the rest of the team's attention.

"What?!" Takao, Max and Rei shouted together.

"Cat! What are you doing here?!" Kyoujyu rushed toward the girl.

Takao ran over to see if this sight was true. He entered the room and looked into the right corner it became obvious that Cat was there. The team stared at the girl for a moment. She was no longer dressed in Team Phykick's uniform and stood with sweat dripping down her face.

"Hey…" She lifted one hand to wave at the boys.

He slammed his open palm on his face. "That's all your gonna say? HEY?!"

Cat threw her right arm behind and began to laugh a nervous laugh. "Well, yeah I guess I'll be seeing you all around." She then made a break for the front of the house.

A warm hand reached out and grabbed her trailing arm. Cat's eyes widened to the feel of another person's touch. She swirled around to see Max had reached out to her and took her by the arm. A red flash spread across her face as the blond tightened his grip on her arm.

"Don't leave," He said in a deep voice.

"I-I…" She muttered before her eyes shifted to Max's hand.

"Cat," Max continued, "Don't go."

"I just came here to apologize…" She finally spoke loud enough for the whole team to hear. "I'm sorry."

What? She actually came by to apologize? This was strange. Takao felt his stomach take a sudden turn for the worse. He let out a grunt and threw both hands on his belly. Just as the pain heightened, He felt a hand fall on his shoulder. He shifted his head back to see Kai hand placed his hand on his upper arm.

"I'm really sorry." Cat's voice began strained as she talked. "I-I don't know what I was thinking…"

"Cat," Max then released the girl's arm. "It's okay."

Rei stepped forward and gave the girl a wide smile. "It was a mistake right? I think I have it in me to forgive and forget."

"Mistakes are mistakes," Kyoujyu added. "It's not the first time something like this has happened to us."

"But…" She turned her away from the group in an effort to shield her face. "What I did…revenge is wrong. I almost lost my blade because of it."

"We all made some mistakes." Max smiled at the girl. "We can understand why you did what you did. To be honest, we weren't being very nice to you either."

The champion felt Hiromi's eyes on him standing in pain. She gave him a confused look before noticing that Kai's hand was placed on his shoulder. The youngest female then stepped toward the boy and looked at him square in the eye.

"Takao, are you all right?" She asked.

"He'll be fine," Kai spoke for the younger boy, retracting his arm.

"Takao…"

He twitched, Cat was calling for him. He looked up to see the younger girl standing in the hallway both hands on her chest and her eyes about ready to burst with tears. Takao watched as she lowered her head so that her hair was hide her face. He winched from the pain in his gut. Was seeing her cry making this pain worse? Was he actually feeling guilt for what he had said?

"I'm sorry." She said as her voice began unstable. "I'm so sorry. Not just for this but for everything. I had…I had no idea how much…"

"No,"

The boys turned to see Takao with one hand lifted to the girl. He winced through the pain in his stomach and approached the crying female. He stepped toward her and with his second hand reached out to her. He then placed both hands on Cat's shoulders. He then gave the girl a good solid shake.

"It's all right."

Cat's head shot upward upon hearing his words. She looked the male in the eye while tears streamed down her face. She looked as if she could hardly believe what she was hearing. He was he really going to apologize? That might be stranger than Cat going to the enemy's team. But he couldn't let go; he tightened his grip on the girl's shoulders. Was this actually happening?

"Really?" She sobbed.

"Really." He answered, letting his arms drop off Cat's shoulders. "And I-I-I…"

"You're what Takao?" Hiromi let a girlish giggle pass her lips. "Go on!"

"I…I…" He stuttered.

"Come on Takao." Rei smiled at the blue-haired boy.

"I'm sorry too, Cat."

Cat opened her arms up and wrapped them around his body. He let out a grunt as the girl squeezed the boy in her arms. She dug her face into his shoulder as tears fell from her eyes. Takao let out a small laugh before patting the girl on the back. A moment of sweet silence passed before a small sniffling sound tickled his ears. He twitched and moved aside to see Cat wiping her nose on his jacket.

"GROSS!" He shouted, shoving the girl out of his arms.

"Sorry." She lifted her hand to her nose and began wipe away any mess.

"Good to have you back." Max walked over to the girl and placed his hand on her back.

"So everything's okay now?" Hiromi asked with a pleased voice, her hands cuffed together on her chest.

"Seems like it." Kyoujyu patted Takao on the back.

Cat made a small squeak before she reached down into her jacket pocket. The team watched as the young female bit down on her tongue and felt around the inside of her pocket. After a moment of searching, she pulled out a small white Beyblade. She then hopped over to Kyoujyu and presented the blade to him.

"It's the Electric Holy Beast," Cat explained as the boys gathered around Kyoujyu to get a closer look at the blade. "I managed to get away with it. Here, you guys can have it." She said as the shorter male took the Beyblade from her hand.

"This will give us a lot of information on their technology!" Kyoujyu awed as he studied the blade, top to bottom. "Thanks!"

"So Cat," Takao turned to his old friend with a look of worry on his face. "Does uh…Jam know you're home?"

"Sure," She gave the boy a nod of her head.

"And she's not angry with us anymore?" He asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Uh," Cat lifted her index finger to her lip. "I dunno."

"WHAT?" He twitched. "She's still mad at me?"

Well, that was just perfect. That's what he needed, for that woman to still hold a grudge against him. She was a tough cookie, slapping him like that. Just the thought of it made his cheek throb. Ugh, maybe if he could win back Cat's affection he could win Jam's as well. It was a big 'maybe' but it was worth a shot.

XoXoX

Sunlight. Takao shielded his face from the sun beating down on his cheeks. New York. The team had just arrived in the large American city and they couldn't be more thrilled. Max's Mother, Judy had invited the team to the BBA lab where she managed and worked. Nothing could stop the teens from jumping at the chance at going. So they all boarded a plane to travel across country. Hours and hours passed and finally the plane hand landed.

"I'll see you in New York!"

He could remember Cat calling him on the phone late one night. He had informed the girl that he and the team were headed to the Big Apple with the help of Max's Mother. He could still remember the long awkward pause on the opposite end of the phone.

"I'll come with you!"

This was great! Cat joining in on the adventure? It would feel like old times. The singer had left for New York earlier than him and the rest of the team and would be happily awaiting their arrival.

"Meet me at the hotel."

Takao could hear her voice in his mind repeating over and over. As he stepped out of the plane and into the daylight he felt his bag hang heavy on his shoulders. The hotel it was. He turned to the rest of his team to see Max most excited after meeting up with his Mother.

"Let me give Cat a call," Judy reached down into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small cell phone. "I'll tell her that you boys will meet her at the hotel later tonight." She said as she began to punch in Cat's digits into her phone.

"Sounds good, Mom." Max replied, his smile growing wider with each moment.

"I wonder why Cat came down here?" Rei spoke as he stood next to Takao.

"She wanted to come with us!" He answered Rei, dropping his luggage to the floor.

"But it is a little strange that she came all this way just to come with us." Kyoujyu lifted his hand to his glasses, adjusting them.

"Is it?" He tilted his head to one side.

"Yeah it is!" Hiromi added. "She didn't come with us also. She must have other objectives." She said with a sly tone and a glare in his direction.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He snapped at the girl.

"What I mean is," Hiromi began with her nose stuck up in the air. "Cat probably has some work to do here. A photo shoot or maybe a recording, she didn't come here strictly for you Takao."

Takao opened his mouth to counter Hiromi's comment when Max stepped between the couple. "Either way, she's here. What's the big deal?"

"There isn't one!" Takao and Hiromi said at once, both boy and girl refusing to look at one another.

"Then we'll see her later today." A wide grin spread across Max's face once again. "Soon, I hope."

Act End.