Bittersweet Melody
Second Arc: Act Ten
Soaring into sky, the plane lifted from its port and entered the sky. A bittersweet good bye, Cat could still taste it on her tongue. She landed back in Japan along with her team and friends sooner than Takao and the others. Why did it have to be this way? Why did she have to confess the way she had? She had forfeited, not unlike herself. She did things on a whim, this was her typical behavior and yet, why was she so surprised by her own actions? She had to wonder.
He had won the tournament. Beaten Max, Rei and Kai. Why wasn't she surprised? The boy who had stolen her heart years ago had won the Bakuten Shoot Beyblade tournament for the third time. Amazing. No one had ever done a feat such as that. Takao Kinomiya. The name repeated in her head a million times over, she couldn't get the boy out of her head.
Why did she have to be so stupid? So rash? She had to be a girl for that moment and tell him! How she regretted it now. His face was plastered on every poster; his face was shown on every television screen. Why couldn't she escape him?
BEGA. Would he become the face of BEGA? The organization set on making Beyblading a professional sport. Volkov had started the organization and it was obvious he could not be trusted. Cat knew that much. But would he? Of course he would. It would be just like him to start a rebel alliance to combat BEGA. And there she was. On her own personal bus to the woods, a secluded area where they could practice their skills as bladers. BBA Revolution, Bai Hu Zu, PPB All-starz, Barthez Soldiers, and F Sangre had gathered together in an effort to stop Volkov and his BEGA team. Of course, The Saint Shields were quick to offer in their hands to help.
She had a hard time helping. She hated it in fact. Having to see him after all that happened? What was she supposed to say or do? Of course The Saint Shields wanted their own chance at being a part of the team that would battle BEGA but… Why did she offer to come in the first place? What a poor choice on her half! She was sure regretting it now. Not only would she have to face Takao and his team but she would have to face all of her old friends. Now with her secret leaked to Takao, it wasn't clear to her how many people knew. She could only assume…
Offering her own private bus to shuttle herself and her teammates to the training area, Cat sat silent by the passenger side window. Why couldn't she just stay home with Jam and Team Euro? She sighed before reaching down into her jacket pocket. From there, she pulled out her small black cellular phone. With a delicate flick of her thumb, she flipped up the phone and began to tap away at the keypad. She clicked on her 'contacts' menu and her eyes scanned over the list before her. Takao. She grunted, why had she have to confess to him like that! With a sudden jerk, she slammed her forehead into her open cell phone. She let her face stick to the phone for a moment before peeling herself off. Why couldn't she just have kept her mouth shut?!
'Hope to see you at the tournament.'
It wasn't that long ago since she had texted him for the first and only time. She had sent him that message the day she was witness to Hiromi kiss. In a way it was sarcasm a gesture she had made out of jealousy. Why did she have to see that? It made things so much worse, so much more complex. Cat shut her phone and once again leaned her forehead against the window.
Weren't they there yet?
XoXoX
The clashing of the nearby blades caused Cat to sigh and turn in a different direction. Were they still at it? She sat by her private bus alongside her teammates plus Rumi and Yumi. The group of teens sat around a small picnic table and conversed amongst each other. Fresh from training, Ozuma, Dunga, Mariam and Yusuf quenched their thirsts with water. Rumi and Yumi spoke between bites and nibbles from their lunches.
Cat sat at the end of the bench, her back turned to the other battling teams. She peered over her shoulder once and awhile and watched the other teams fight one another. Oh how she longed to battle with them. Of course, she wouldn't invite herself into a match; she would wait until someone approached her and asked her. Her shyness would be the death of her.
Directly behind her, Julia, Mathilda, and Mao stood fighting one another. Cat whimpered under her breath, why wouldn't one of them invite her? Their girlish cheers and screams caused her to yearn even further. To have friends of the same gender who shared her interest in blading? It was a dream come true and yet none of them would speak to her. There wasn't any way she would initiate a conversation with the girls on her own, she would just have to wait until one of them came to her.
"What's the matter, Greco?"
Cat jumped and turned to Rumi. The orange-haired female sat, one leg crossed over the other with a potato chip in her mouth. She let out a nervous laugh and shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't see why you're into those spinning tops so much." Rumi continued before chopping down on her chip. "Kinda stupid if you ask me."
"I'd have to agree!" Yumi's head popped out from behind Rumi's left shoulder.
She closed her eyes and laughed again. "It takes a certain type of person, really."
"Then why don't you join them?" Rumi asked with one brow lifted in question.
Cat swirled her head around to look at the three blading girls dueling. She then turned back to Rumi and Yumi and blushed. She threw both hands in front of her chest and shook her head from side to side.
"No!" She yelped, "I-I-I…can't!"
"Why not?" Asked Yumi with her eyes closed and head tilted to one side.
"It'd be rude!" Cat's shoulders bobbed up and down as she laughed. "I just…can't…"
"Fine," Rumi replied, turning back around away from her. "Have it your way."
She sighed. She then returned to her sulking. It was then Cat lifted herself out of her seat and began to step away from the table. She had to do something. She looked back and forth, looking at all the blading teens. Rai fighting Rick, Max fighting Rei; in a different situation she would be more than interested. She would gawk at the match being played out before her but now it was different. They had to know. With Takao's mouth it was a miracle if no one knew. Cat inhaled through her nose before passing by the four boys. Perhaps Kyoujyu doing something of interest?
She stepped into the large guest home. She looked on at Max's Father and Ryu fixing something for supper and passed the kitchen without word. It wasn't long until she found herself in the back of the home, looking in on Kyoujyu. The four-eyed boy sat at a large table surrounded by Emily and Mihaeru. The three were overlooking the work being done on the new Beyblade that would be used against BEGA.
Cat felt her eyebrows lower on her face, well this looked boring enough. With a silent yawn, she turned her back to the three working teens and left the small room. She paused coming to the kitchen once again. She looked at the adults working away on the night's meal. Hm, too bad cooking wasn't her forte. With one shrug of her shoulders she left the kitchen and the guesthouse all together. What to do now?
She leaned her back against the house wall and looked up at the bright sun. How silent the forest was. Wait a minute, silence? No sounds of blades bashing against one another? Cat pushed her body from the wall and looked out to the picnic area to see everyone had gone. She lifted her finger to her temple and began to scratch. Where had they all gone? The eerie silence caused Cat to shutter. She wrapped her arms around her torso and walked back to her private bus. Rumi and Yumi still sat at the table speaking to one another. But her team had gone.
"What happened to everyone?" Cat asked the two younger females.
"They went on a jog or something." Rumi huffed. "Something stupid like that."
"You should have seen it!" Yumi added with a cheerful smile. "Everyone banded together and ran off into the woods! It was cool!"
"Without me?" She whispered to herself.
"Yep." Rumi answered in a simple tone.
She sighed. "Hey," She lifted her head and looked at the two girls in front of her. "Whaddya say we liven this place up a bit?"
"Like how?" Rumi cocked one of her thick eyebrows.
"Let's sing."
Rumi and Yumi looked at one another for a moment. Here? Now? The two girls turned back to look at her with strange gazes. The singer now had one hand balled into a fist and a wide smile spread across her face. True, the girls had brought along their musical instruments but they hadn't planned on a surprise concert. This had to be a plot of some sort. Rumi let out a long exaggerated sigh before leaping to her feet and placed both hands to her hips. Yumi followed shortly after her more mature partner and stood beside her with a sweet smile on her face.
"Let's go then." Rumi snorted now with a cocky smirk placed on her face.
"Yes!" Cat wiggled with excitement, it was about time she did something for fun.
The three girls retreated into their private bus for a few minutes before returning with instruments in hand. The three then began to set up their supplies, hooking plugs to outlets and so on. Just as they finished setting up their equipment, Yumi ran back to the bus one final time and returned with a small stereo. She flipped on a small switch and a loud drumming rhythm vibrated through the air. After a moment of adjusting to the background music, the girls then began to play their individual instruments. The beats allowed Cat to sway from side to side, feeling the music in her body. She then began to sing aloud to the tune of her guitar.
XoXoX
Her voice carried throughout the dense woods and the drumming beat caused the ground to shake. The bass rumbled through the air and caused small birds to fly in the opposite direction. Not far away the young bladers could hear the music. Distracted from their jog, they turned to look back at their camp area. Feeling curious, the group of young bladers raced back to the rest area.
It didn't take them more than a few minutes to arrive at the source of the noise. Upon arriving, they group of youngsters saw a very lively Cat Greco singing to the sound of the rumbling music. On either side of Cat stood Rumi and Yumi, both girls very interested in the melody. Catching on to the beat quickly, most of the group of bladers began to clap along with the music's rhythm. Cat swirled in delicate circles as she sang and played her guitar. A large, rare, smile widened on her face. Finally, for once, she was enjoying her music even without the sound of a large crowd.
The music coming to an end, the lead singer strung the last strings on her guitar and the background music silenced. Rumi and Yumi turned to their senior with fulfilled smiles on their faces. It was then a loud sound of clapping caught Cat off guard. She whirled around to see the group of bladers standing behind her, most of them clapping. Cat's cheeks grew red and threw her hands over her face. With a loud yip she began to panic, dropping her guitar to the floor. She scrabbled to grab her instrument from the floor, sweat pouring down her forehead. She looked up to the crowd of teens before her to see most of them were still smiling.
"Sorry for the noise!" She yelped out with a quick bow.
Before anyone could combat her with a comment, she made a mad dash for the bus. She slammed the door behind her and ducked out of sight.
"What's her problem?" Rick stepped forward, one hand to his hip. "She's usually not this tame."
"Hm," Rei placed on hand under his chin. "I have to agree. She's shy but not that shy."
Max's smile turned into a frown as he spoke. "She's been acting strange ever since the trip to Egypt." Max turned to Takao with one brow cocked. "Before she was just angry with you, Takao, but now she won't even speak to you."
Daichi pouted his lip. "Is she always like that?"
"No, not usually." Hiromi verified. "She usually does things on a whim but being this shy isn't like her." She turned to the three-time champ, ready to ask him a question.
Hiromi was quick to notice Takao's awkward posture. The blue-haired teen stood with a worried look glued to his face. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and back slouched over. Hiromi squinted her eyes at the boy in an effort to clear her vision. Was that a dusting of pink on his cheeks? No, he couldn't be blushing, could he?
"Now that you mention it," Hiromi crossed her arms over her small bust. "Takao, you've been acting odd too."
"What?!" He blurted, releasing his crossed arms from his chest.
"Did something happen?" Rei looked at the capped male his lip tipped in a frown.
"Nothing happened!" He grunted. "How should I know? She's the one who's acting strange!"
Max opened his mouth to speak, only to have his Father interrupt him with the dinner bell. Takao shook his head from left to right in his best effort to shake off the situation. He then threw his open palms on his belly and smiled. Takao rushed forward, shoving both Daichi and Max to one side. Hiromi watched as the strange, stubborn boy ran into the guesthouse.
"Well, he's hungry that's a good sign." Rei replied with a small smile.
Hiromi placed her weight to her left leg and sighed. "That's good." She replied with a twitch of her eyebrow.
Whatever was wrong with him could wait…for now anyway.
XoXoX
She sat in the cold, the wind breezing through her brown wavy hair. It was late and chilly. A clear night set the mood for romance and yet, why was she so depressed? She looked to the sky and gazed at the twinkling stars. The moon bright white glow highlighted the features on her face. She parted her lips as she began to whisper a sweet melody. Her whispers entered the air and seemed to disappear into the night sky. The crickets played along with her as she sang. She was reflecting on her past mistakes. Why, oh why did she have to confess to Takao on that day? Why couldn't she have kept her big mouth shut and silent? Why was she so stupid? Letting her girlish emotions get the better of her, typical.
Sitting at what was hours ago a blazing campfire, Cat inhaled a deep breath of air. How sweet the air on this night was. Only if she knew then what she knew now… After another short verse, she wrapped her arms over her body and closed her eyes. A small crackle of fallen leaves caught her attention and caused her to whirl around to face who had been watching her. Her eyes widened to see Max standing in the cold night's air. The blond male approached Cat with a serious look on his face. He had obviously left his tent upon hearing her song.
"What are you doing out here so late?" He asked in a soft voice.
Before she could return with an answer, Cat watched as Max untied the sweater on his waist. He then stepped toward the female and took a seat beside her. With one swift movement, he wrapped his sweater around her shoulders. She felt the warmth of the garment on her shoulders. Max's familiar scent lingered on the orange sweater and she felt a slight sense of comfort. She gripped her hold on the sweater and inhaled more of the American's scent.
"I was just thinking." She answered in a soft tone.
"So," Max turned to face the deep blue sky. "Ming-Ming is the reason why your career is threatened?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He continued to speak in his gentle voice. "I know BEGA has hurt us in more than one way. But we'll get 'em." Max then lifted his balled fist to the air and winked at her.
"Sure." She gave a weak smile before returning her stare to the ground below.
Silence consumed to couple. The cool sound of the whistling breeze calmed the two. The crickets' music filled their ears. The night was so calm, eerie in a way. Cat kept her eyes to the ground while Max looked off into the starry sky.
XoXoX
"You know," He began in a whisper-like tone. "I really don't want to see our friendships strained like this." He continued to look at the endless sky with wide eyes and a smile on his face. "I know a lot of things have happened between us, the team, but I want you to know that we're behind you in anything you do. Just like you were for us." Max inhaled a deep breath, "But I know you have something against Takao. And it pains me to know you're relationship with him is in danger. I couldn't bear to see that happen, you know what I mean?"
A sob-like hiccup caused Max to pause and turn Cat's way. He saw the brunette female with tears streaming down her cheeks. Did he say something to upset her? He moved his hands toward Cat, just barely touching her shoulders. He had a look of shock stuck to his face as he watched she lift her arm to her face. She began to wipe away the tears rolling down her face. She sniffled aloud and hiccupped once again.
"I-I can't," She sobbed. "I can't have the same relationship with Takao ever again."
"Why not?" He asked.
"Because!" She began to cry louder, "I ruined it, I ruined it all…"
"Cat?"
She lifted her hands to her face and covered her eyes. Tears began to seep out from around the palms of her hands. Her whole body quivered as she cried. Max watched as the girl cried. No words could form on his lips. Nothing he could say could change her mood. Why not? Why couldn't he make her as happy as she made him?
"I ruined it when I confessed to him…" Cat removed her hands from her face for a moment. "I told him I loved him."
Max froze. What was he hearing? Love? Takao? Cat? Max felt his hands give way and drop to his sides. His whole body became numb with shock. What was this? When and how? Did she always have these hidden feelings of love? If so, why hadn't she said anything earlier?
His mouth hung open, still feeling stunned. How could a thing like this gone undetected for so long? Why hadn't he noticed earlier? Had he been that blind? His heart slowed in his chest. Why…why didn't she return his love? Why did she have to choose Takao? Why did this have to be a one-sided love? His eyebrows lower on his forehead. How could he have been so stupid? It was all making sense so fast. Memories flickered in his mind, words passed through his ears.
"You came back for him! You LOVE him!"
Kai. He knew all along after all. Max closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled a deep breath of cool air. How many other people knew about this? It was obvious now that Takao knew.
"She's the one who's acting strange!"
A confession. A confession of love, it seemed so odd coming from Cat's mouth. How long had she kept this confession to herself? How long had she loved him? How long had his love gone one-sided? It was if the blood in his veins stopped pumping, his whole body seemed numb to the touch. Why did it have to be Takao? Anyone else would have been easier. But she had to choose the one person who bettered him in every way.
Max managed to move his arms forward and out toward Cat. As she sobbed in her hands, a pair of warm hands wrapped around her cold body. Her eyes fluttered open with surprise. Looking forward, she saw Max's yellow t-shirt in her face. His warm arms pressed against her back and cradled her. A bright red blush ran over her face as cheek rubbed against his warm chest.
It was as if he could hear her heartbeat, a comforting thumping of her heart made her human. That's right she was human, just like anyone else, just like him. She had a choice in whom she loved and she had chosen him, she chose Takao. There was no getting around it, even if it hurt. But he had this moment; he had here and now, embracing before a crackling fire. It was something he wished could continue forever but the warmth of their hug ended just as swiftly as it began.
He felt the small girl grip at his tear shirt once more as a few tears stained his shirt. To ease her pain, he patted her back, her body heat wafting off of her like the flames of the campfire. With his gloved hands, he gently pulled Cat from his chest. The two locked eyes for a solid moment. Blue met brown and brown met blue in their final loving embrace.
This would be the end of his one-sided love story. He would give her to the better man. He wouldn't be a sore sport; he would give her away with a smile and the support of a best friend. It was the least he could do for the person he loved the most. Max then removed his right hand from Cat's shoulder. He formed a thumbs-up with his hand and winked at the crying girl.
"Go get 'em."
She paused for a moment, lost in what seemed to be confusion. The words appeared to sink into her head one letter at a time. After finally understanding his meaning, a large smile spread across her face. The tears stopped leaking from her face long enough for her to begin chuckling. Max felt his left arm drop from her back and hit his side. He let out a small sigh before watching her lift herself up from her sitting position. Cat removed Max's orange sweater from around her shoulders and handed it back to the blond.
"Thank you, Max." She said in a small voice. "For everything."
"No problem." He answered.
She began to turn away from him when she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Good night."
Without a word more, Max lifted his hand and waved to Cat. He watched as she retreated back into her large tour bus. He sighed after she vanished from sight. He had done the right thing, he knew it.
Act End.