Bittersweet Melody

Second Arc: Act Twelve

Early evening. The sun had begun to set, leaving the sky to display shades of pink and orange. Was it really this late all ready? Getting everyone together had taken more time that Takao had originally planned. He gathered the former BBA along with Rick. For whatever reason, the tall tanned boy felt the need to 'tag along', but it wasn't important. They were here for Cat and that was all.

They ran toward the playground where The Saint Shields sat scattered amongst the play equipment. Finally coming within reason, Takao and his group stopped in front of Ozuma and his team. A few other members of his group bent down to touch their knees and began to huff and puff but he glanced up at Ozuma; one eye shut, out of breath, and gave him a cheesy smile.

"We're here…" He managed to speak out.

Ozuma's thick brow began to quiver on his forehead. He then grumbled something under his breath before balling up his right fist and lifting it to chest-level. Takao watched as Ozuma took a single step forward, slamming his foot on the dusty ground, and glared at the group of teens.

"Where have you been?!" He yelled, "We've been waiting for hours!"

"Look," Hiromi pushed forward with one hand extended to the captain. "We're sorry we're late but no one set up a specific time to come. We had to get everyone together."

Ozuma snarled, moving his hand to cover his left eye. "This is serious!" He snapped again. "This isn't a social gathering!"

"Wait," Max spoke out. "Where's Cat?"

"We haven't started yet and we're already getting interrogated." Dunga huffed without looking in Takao's direction.

"Where is she?!" Takao stepped forward in anger.

"Calm down, Takao!" Hiromi rushed to the blue-haired male's side and placed her hand on his tense shoulder. "Getting angry won't do any good."

"What's with the hostility?" Rei glanced his way.

"I…" He paused mid-sentence to look at the ground. "I'm worried, that's all."

"What's all of this about?" Kai asked from the back of the group.

Ozuma moved his arms to his chest and crossed them. He looked up to the setting sun and sighed. The three-time champ's eyes shifted from the leader to the other members of his team. Yusuf, Mariam and Dunga stood, their eyes set to the floor. He felt a sudden urge to shutter.

What was wrong? Something had changed, something was wrong. Ozuma cleared his throat before biting down on his lower lip. He watched as the smaller boy adjusted himself in an awkward way. Ugh! He wanted to just to grab him by his hood and shake the answers out of him! If there was something that important about Cat to be told, he should be the first to know!

"Cat," Ozuma began his speech in a dark tone. "Was in an accident."

Silence filled the air. The group of teens followed by Takao stood at a loss for words. The words Ozuma was speaking couldn't process through their heads. Accident? When? It was as if the world around him became hazy and time had slowed. What could this be about? Why wasn't he alerted earlier? His mouth hung wide open, unable to form words or even thoughts.

Instead of thinking, He dashed forward, taking the shorter male hostage. He held the smaller boy up by his hood. He stared deep into Ozuma's pale-colored eyes. Why was he so calm? He began to shake Ozuma back and forth while he growled through his teeth.

Max and Rei shot after him, grabbing him by his arms and shoulder.

The two boys then began to pull Takao and Ozuma apart. He jerked and jolted in his best effort to escape Max and Rei's grasp. Finally, after a moment or two of struggle, he dropped Ozuma to the ground. The boy's feet hit the dirt and his face remained emotionless. With a strong yank, he was able to free himself from Rei and Max's grasp.

"What are you talking about?" He spat. "What kind of accident?"

"A car accident." He answered with the same dull tone.

"Is she all right?!" Hiromi cupped her hands together in front of her chest.

Ozuma's eyes flickered over in her direction. "Yes."

Hiromi and Kyoujyu let out a loud sigh of relief. Ozuma then turned his stare back to Takao. No doubt the young man was now steaming with anger. And of course by this time, the largest member of The Saint Shields was standing close beside their leader, like he was some sort of bodyguard or something.

"Then why isn't she here?" Max was quick to ask.

"The car accident happened a few days after the day we spent in the woods." Mariam explained for her captain. "She and Adof were the only two in the car."

"That still doesn't explain why she isn't here." Rick snorted.

"Well, if you'd shut it for more than two minutes then we'd explain!" Dunga lifted his balled fist to Rick.

"Hey!" He shot back. "Don't want to talk to me that way!"

"Enough!" Hiromi shouted, standing between both large men.

Ozuma gently pushed his teammate to one side. "She did sustain a mild concussion." He shut his eyes and released a deep sigh from his lips. "She's fine now."

"Then what's with the secrecy?" Rick demanded. "All this meeting up for just a little concussion? Sounds fishy to me."

"Rick." Max shot a glare in his former partner's direction.

"What?" He turned back to the blond and shrugged his shoulders in a sarcastic manner. "If you ask me, it's just another way to get attention."

Takao swirled around to face Rick. The shorter blader walked up to Rick and stared right at his eyes. His eyebrows furred downward creating a fierce glare. His upper cheek began to twitch with frustration. Hiromi jumped between the two and placed her delicate hands on Takao's shoulders. She looked him in the face and uttered something in a soothing voice. He turned away from both male and female, growling to himself along the way.

"Post-traumatic amnesia."

The group looked at Ozuma. The shorter boy was looking to the setting sun with empty eyes. Both of his fists were balled and his nails dug deep into his palm. The other members of the team stood around him, each with their own expression. Mariam held her curled finger under her chin. She chewed on her bottom lip, in an effort to conceal most of her emotions. Ozuma turned his head back to face the group. His eyes almost looked transparent as he stood in silence.

"Amnesia?" Max was first to break the silence.

"What does that mean?" Daichi reached over to Kyoujyu and began to tug on his shirtsleeve.

"A confused state after a traumatic brain injury," Kyoujyu answered, "It means," He replied with his head lowered as he spoke.

"It means she's lost her memory."

Takao's group turned to look at Dunga. The bigger male had a look on his face that was hard to describe, it appeared to be a mixture of anger and loss. Takao could feel the heaviness on his feet begin to give way. Was he going to fall? His once thumping heart began to slow and the air in his lungs grew stale. His sight turned to Ozuma. The team captain stood silent, his facial expression never changing a wink.

"How much has she lost?" Kyoujyu spoke out. "With amnesia, any number of memories could be lost."

"She seems to remember a few important things like who her sister is and her current location but…" Mariam stopped herself mid-sentence and looked to her leader.

"She doesn't remember any of us."

His body stiffened. How could this happen? He felt his knees begin to buckle under his own weight. He caught himself just before falling to one knee. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was as if he had disappeared from the world around him. How could she forget? Were the memories of their childhood together that easy to be rid of? The days of the six of them as a team were gone? How could one mild concussion take away everything they had shared together? Not as a couple, not as a sibling but as friends.

"She vaguely recalls being a celebrity." Ozuma added. "All she knows right now is that she loves to sing."

"But that's impossible!" Takao finally blurted out. "She doesn't remember me at all?!"

"Right now," Ozuma closed his eyes as he spoke. "She doesn't even know what Beyblading is."

Takao lifted his hands to his face. Both hands began to shake. He returned his glare to Ozuma before once again lashing out at the smaller boy. He rushed at him and grabbed him by the fabric around his neck. He lifted Ozuma off the floor and brought him face to face with himself. This time Dunga was quick to act before anyone else. The larger boy lifted his right fist into the air and swung at him. Dunga's hard fist hit Takao's cheek and caused his face to swerve to the left. His hands instantly released Ozuma and the two boys tumbled to the ground. Both their backsides hit the dusty ground with two loud thuds.

Hiromi let out a loud yip and dashed over to his side. She reached out to Takao, grabbing his face. She turned his chin to face her own. She began to investigate the wound site. She ran her delicate fingers over his red cheek. She then let out a small sigh of relief, seeing no real damage done to his face. Meanwhile, Ozuma had risen to his own two feet and dusted his shorts off.

"Talk about ungrateful." Dunga snarled.

"What are you talking about?" Takao spoke up from the floor and pushed himself to his feet, then gently pushed Hiromi to one side.

"The reason why we entered the tournament," Yusuf jumped down from the top of the slide and stood in front of the group. "It wasn't to win."

"Then why?" Rei narrowed his stare at Ozuma.

"She came to us," Mariam explained. "She wanted; she needed us as a team."

"She needed a team to join the tournament." Dunga continued for his teammate. "So she chose us."

"She wanted to join the tournament because she wanted to be closer to you, Takao." The leader of the team finished the explanation for his teammates.

The large group of teens was silent for a brief moment before they all took a step or two backward and began to all speak at once. Takao, however, stood silent and listened in as they whispered to one another; asking questions, shocked comments they all blended into a sound he could not recognize.

She loves me.

He felt his head lower and he looked to the ground. This was the moment, this was the moment that he realized she really loved him. He had waited for the moment when his questions about her confession would be confirmed. So he wasn't crazy, she had come to him that night, that night really happened.

"She forfeited after she confessed to you," Ozuma spoke up again, catching everyone's attention once more. "Because you refused her."

"Takao, what is he talking about?" Hiromi reached forward and took him by the shoulder.

He lowered his head and allowed his hair to cast a shadow over his face. "The night The Saint Shields lost to the PPB All-starz, Cat came to me and told me she loved me."

"What?!" Kyoujyu, Rei and Hiromi replied at once.

He felt Hiromi's hands leave his shoulder and fly to her mouth in shock. It was true, no matter how he tried to twist it, Cat still loved him, no one could change it. The fact that The Saint Shields, knew about this only added fuel to his fire. So Kyoujyu, Rei and Hiromi were in the dark? His eyes darted over toward Max. The blond had his head tilted downward, his eyes glued to the floor. Did the American boy know as well?

"But you refused her…" The words left Hiromi's tongue slowly. "Why?" She could no longer keep the question to herself.

His shoulder twitched. Why? Why had he refused her? Takao lifted his head and turned to Max. No doubt feeling his eyes on him, Max glanced upward and just like that, they locked in gazes. Was he feeling the same stomach cramps, he'd suffered from since day one?

He managed to break his stare from Max and looked back to the floor. "It doesn't matter now."

"The situation still stands," Ozuma cleared his throat. "All her memory of Beyblading is gone, including us."

"What about her childhood?" Kyoujyu asked. "She spent it all with Takao and Hitoshi, doesn't she remember them?"

"No." He shook his head from side to side.

"Is she aware that she's lost some memory?" Rei pondered.

"Yes," He glanced in the Chinese boy's direction and nodded. "She knows something is wrong but…" Ozuma sighed through his nose. "Her brain can't process her memories."

Daichi dashed forward. "Will she ever remember?"

Mariam folded her arms over her chest and began to speak. "Memory loss varies from person-to-person. But there is a good chance she will."

Ozuma was quick to intervene, "There is a chance she won't." He replied in a dark tone. "There's no way of telling. It could take days, months or even years for her to get even some of her memory back."

"What are we standing around for then?" Rick asked with a shrug of his muscular shoulders. "Let's go to her and make her remember!"

Ozuma shot Rick a sharp glare and remained silent. It was then other members of Takao's group began to verbally agree with Rick's suggestion. The Saint Shields continued to hold their tongues and waited for the group of teens to calm down.

"It's not that simple." Yusuf said aloud, catching everyone's attention.

The group of teens turned to the smallest member of The Saint Shields with brows cocked. It was then Dunga's shoulders began to bob up and down and a laugh seeped through his lips. Takao growled under his breath, clenching his right fist in anger. What could be funny at a time like this? He took a single step forward; ready to assault the bigger male with a verbal attack.

Before Takao could open his mouth Dunga began to speak. "You really think you can walk up to Cat and make her remember everything? You really are a sad bunch."

"I'm sure if we can remind her, she'll remember!" Takao blurted out, still feeling hopeful. "She has to…"

"Dumping a cluster of memories on her is the worst thing we can do." Ozuma responded with a calm voice. "It'll just further confuse her."

"Then what can we do?" Max asked with both hands extended.

"The best thing we can do is remind of small bits of memory at a time." Mariam answered. "The next best thing is just to wait. She'll remember eventually." She reassured the blond male with a smile.

"We can start off by introducing a people to her a few at a time." Yusuf lifted one finger into the air.

"Then I'm going."

The group of teens turned to the sound of Takao's voice. The blue-haired male stood with his head lowered between his shoulders and both hands gripped tight. The evening breeze forced his hair backward and revealed his facial expression to the group. Both eyes shut he sighed through his nose and chewed on the bottom of his lip.

"I want to go too."

His ear twitched to the sound of a female voice. He turned his head to the far right to see Hiromi. The small brunette held her hands to her chest to calm her breathing. Her hair and skirt danced in the warm wind. He watched as she took a few short steps forward and stood beside him. The couple looked at one another and smiled.

Before a second moment could pass, Max stepped forward with a small smile tugging at his lips. "Me too."

"That should be enough." Ozuma lifted a solo hand into the air. "Three is pushing it as it is."

"The rest of you can see her on a different day." Mariam concluded.

"That's fine." A large smile spread across Rei's face as he turned to Kyoujyu, Kai and Rick. "I think we can wait."

"Humph," Rick stretched his arms behind his head and yawned. "It's not that important to me anyway. I don't need to see her." He turned his back to the group. "Give her my regards."

This was it. He was finally going to see her after what felt like so long. Would she look the same, talk the same? He knew if he saw her in person that she'd remember him. She had to. Everything was riding on this visit. The fate of their relationship all depended on what was to happen next. But he was prepared for it.

Act End.