A/N: And finally here's a new update! And it's a longer one to boot so I hope you guys didn't mind the wait. This is a longer chapter than I usually write and I think most of them will end up this length, not only in this story but in the proper sequel as well. So far it's named Crouching Tiger: Yin and Yang but the title is still subject to change. That's merely a placeholder for now, but who knows? It could stay. I hope you enjoy the chapter, please read and review. Thank you to those that are reading and reviewing and those that have stuck around.

~C.M.

P.S. Also, thanks to those who took the time to answer my poll. Those that haven't, please answer for me. I'd really appreciate it.

Chapter 5: Swimming in the Deep End

Kai's jaw started to hurt from how hard he was clenching his teeth. This battle wasn't as quick as he thought it was going to be. This Alicia girl…she was good, he hated to admit. Refused to admit. She was still holding on and Kai threw almost everything he had at her. She made it seem so easy which only angered Kai even more.

She probably was only into the sport because of the flash and the fame. She probably didn't have the heart for it like he did or the rest of his teammates and that, he thought, was the problem with the sport. What made him consider retiring because the pure love of the sport wasn't so evident anymore, not with the sponsors running back and forth to try and get advertising. It made him sick and he didn't want anything to do with it anymore.

"Come on Dranzer, end this!" Kai ordered. With a bright beam of light the majestic phoenix rose out of his dark blue beyblade. But that only lasted for a few seconds before the firebird was sucked back in and the light faded with a few flickers and then went out completely. A growl rumbled in Kai's chest as he tried to summon his partner again but Dranzer didn't show up.

Glancing up Kai's eyes rested on the smile that sat on Alicia's features. A serene look as plastered onto her face. It was a little too calm. Kai hmph-ed and ordered Dranzer to attack again. He didn't need his bitbeast to defeat the silly little girl. Dranzer rammed into her beyblade a few more times before one more hit finally knocked her beyblade to the ground where it stopped moving.

They had been moved to battle in the outside sitting area of the hotel, knowing that it would be very disrespectful to battle inside. A crowd had gathered around them and, except for a few whispers, they were completely quiet as they watched the bladers go at it. Now that the battle was over cheers and applause punctuated the air as Kai grabbed Dranzer who had launched itself into his palm.

What a waste of time, Kai thought as he looked his beyblade over. He turned a disdainful look to the girl but she was still smiling as she reached down and picked up her forgotten beyblade. His eyebrows lowered as well as his eyelids so he was squinting at the girl. The smile on her face was beginning to bother him.

"Thanks for the battle Kai," Alicia said with a flutter of her eyelashes. "It was fun."

Kai hardly cared about what she had said for his attention had turned to the sudden sound of booming thunder that grabbed his attention. A few moments later the wind had picked up noticeably. Kai brought his arms up to his face to block it from the wind as he looked around. The clouds had darkened suddenly. A little too suddenly to be normal. His eyes darted around before he had to block them with his arms from the sudden bolt of lightning. He could hear the others screaming and the distinct footsteps as they ran away but Kai stayed put. There was something weird about this storm; he could feel it in his bones.

And all at once it stopped. The dark clouds disappeared and the bright sun bathed everything in a golden glow, as if rejuvenating paradise. Kai's nose wrinkled slightly at the sudden change. He turned to find the area empty. Good, it was the way he liked it. A shadow of a smile formed on his face as he pocketed Dranzer and shoved his hands into his pockets afterwards. His fingers brushed against the symmetrical edges of his beyblade while he rolled his shoulders back, trying to get the tense feeling in his muscles to relax.

"Kai! Kai!"

He turned around and let out an almost inaudible moan. He didn't want to be bothered for one thing and, for another, he didn't want to be bothered by Zeo of all people. He would've taken Tyson at the moment, or that red-headed nuisance that Tyson so lovingly called Monkey Boy instead of Zeo. There was still bad blood there, as far as Kai was concerned. He had gone and let the desire of wanting to become a beyblade champion go to his head and he took it to another level that Kai would never deem forgivable. No one fucks around with Dranzer and should expect to ever get back on his good side.

Kai's fingers curled into fists at the sight of the blue haired boy. How could he even show his face around them, let alone him after what he did? He wondered briefly how Tyson could even let a thought go through his mind that everything would be a-okay if he tagged along on their outing. But that thought didn't pass through his brain for too long. It was Tyson after all. He'd do anything to have someone, anyone, worship him at his feet if he ever got the chance.

"What do you want?" Kai demanded, his voice was cold, the exact opposite of the white hurt fury that was bubbling up inside of him and settled in his chest. His fingers began to ache from how hard his fists were clenched but he couldn't risk letting them go. He wouldn't be able to stop himself from strangling the traitorous nuisance.

The aqua-blue haired boy in question was doubled over, panting from having run to find the older blader. He had seen his friends battling someone on the beach and had run off to find the wielder of the phoenix as soon as possible. Something about the other blader didn't feel right to Zeo. "It's…it's the others. They're battling some blader and—"

Kai interrupted Zeo with a scoff and a roll of his violet colored eyes. "Tyson's mouth always gets him into a match. It's nothing new and it's not my problem, kid," Kai responded while taking on his usual stance: arms crossed and eyes closed. He had turned to walk off and get some much needed alone time when he felt a hand on his arm, grabbing him and stopping him. "You have five seconds to let go of me."

"But…but something is wrong, Kai!" Zeo insisted, his voice lifting in concern. "I…I saw some of the battle. Driger wouldn't come out of the blade and—"

"What?" Kai hissed. He whirled around so fast that Zeo's hand flew off of his arm. Kai's eyes narrowed as he looked off in the distance, searching the beach for his teammates. Driger hadn't been able to come out of his blade as well? So it wasn't such an isolated event, if Dranzer didn't come out when Kai commanded his partner to as well. But what kind of power could cause a bitbeast to stop from coming out of a beyblade, Kai wondered. His already tense muscles tensed even more, if that were possible, and they began to ache. Finally he spotted the group, crowding around something in the sand. Gritting his teeth Kai made a beeline for them.

No doubt this was all Tyson's fault.

"Max! Max!"

"C'mon buddy, get up."

"Did someone get a doctor?"

The weight that had been pressed onto his eyelids finally went away and Max was able to lift them. They fluttered under the effort to gain enough strength to open them fully. Once they were open a fraction he slammed them shut for the sun was brighter than he was used to. Uttering a soft groan, Max lifted his hands to shield his eyes from the sun and finally managed to blink his eyes open fully. His ocean blue eyes shifted from face to face of his friends and then he gave them a small smile.

"'M alright," he told them as he tried to sit up.

"Be careful, there, bud. That was some fall," Ray said as he put a hand to Max's shoulder and helped him into a sitting position. The Chinese blader was kneeling by the blonde's side, a look of concern sat in his amber eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright, Max?" Hilary asked him. "Did you get hit by the lightning?"

"Huh? Mm-mm," Max mumbled and shook his head. "No, I just blacked out. Nothing hit me." Suddenly he gasped. The match! He didn't see what had happened when he had been knocked out. His ocean blue eyes darted around to his friends' faces again to see if the had any visible injuries but they all looked fine to him. He let out a small breath of relief. "Everyone's okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, we're all fine," Lee responded. "Got some sand in places where it shouldn't be but otherwise…"

"What about the kids that were watching?"

"They're fine too," Crystal spoke up while giving a short nod. "Despite what happened they enjoyed the battle so…" she gave him a double thumbs up. "That's a bright side! We're getting more kinds interested in the sport. Just…you know, at your expense."

The blonde rolled his eyes but chuckled while reaching out his hands. Ray and Tyson both grasped them and pulled him to his feet. He stumbled slightly and swallowed back the nausea that hit him. A few moments later he felt perfectly fine and relayed the message so they would stop looking at him in that way. It was beginning to get on his nerves.

"Who won?" Max asked as she brushed sand off of his swimming trunks.

"No one did," Ray responded. His voice was tight and suddenly his eyes hardened. "That Thunder guy disappeared."

"Is everyone alright?" The group turned to see Kai who had approached them, a stern look settling on his features. His eyes scanned each of them in turn before turning to Ray specifically. "Zeo said that Driger didn't come out of his blade," he said, cutting to the chase. "Is that true?"

Ray nodded once. "I don't know what it was but something stopping him from coming out."

A humming sound came from Kai's throat. "The same thing happened to Dranzer," he explained. "I just battled someone, tried to call on Dranzer and he wouldn't come out."

"That's strange," Hilary commented. "Maybe they're damaged?"

"From what? We haven't had a proper battle in ages," Max pointed out.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Good point."

"Maybe we can ask Chief about it," Tyson suggested.

"Where is he anyway?" The blonde asked.

Tyson shrugged. "I dunno. Last I saw he was talking to some guy about marine organisms or something else equally boring. Wherever he is I'm sure he'll catch up to us."

"Well, we don't seem to be in any immediate danger, right?" Crystal stepped in. "I don't know about you guys but I say we get back to or vacation. We can talk to Chief about it when we get back to the hotel." She looked at them all in turn. They all had varying degrees of worry on their faces. For Ray and Kai worry seemed to be hitting them the most, however that was only a guess on her part for Kai. His face remained as stoic as usual. "Come on, they're gone. It was probably just a coincidence. We haven't battled in a while; they might not have had enough energy. Besides, I'm getting hungry."

Mariah placed a hand on her own stomach which emitted a low growl. "I am too."

"And I know for a fact Gary's hungry."

"Gary's always hungry," Lee pointed out.

"And you know as well as I do that making him wait isn't the best thing to do." She said to Tyson and Max in a stage whisper, "Guy gets angry when he's hungry. And you don't want to make him angry."

Max made a scoffing noise with his mouth. "Oh yeah, I remember him being angry alright. Draciel is still a little skittish from that battle."

"Well, it's settled then! Let's go get some lunch!"

When they said they were going to get lunch none of them expected for Kai to lead them to a large yacht that was docked, waiting for their arrival. It was going to take them out onto the water for a picnic lunch at sea as well as give them the opportunity to see the marine life and maybe even some sea turtles.

Max seemed to be the most excited about the idea. "It would feel like actually meeting Draciel," he explained as he rushed over to the edge of the deck to look down at the clear water that matched his eyes. The others chuckled and threw a few jokes his way as they scattered around them yacht themselves, looking around at their surroundings from every angle. Kevin eventually found himself with the boat's captain, learning everything that he could about steering the boat. Mariah and Hilary went underneath to lay down and relax and talk about everything that girls talked about. Kai stayed away from everyone else, as usual, sticking towards the back of the boat while Gary, Tyson, and Crystal went straight for the food.

And Lee, he spent most of the trip out with his head over the rail battling sea-sickness. Kenny joined him when they were halfway out, both looking positively green in the face. While he wasn't sea-sick, Zeo stayed smack dab in the middle of the boat. Tyson had somehow convinced Kai to let Zeo tag along—well, took Kai's silence as a yes—and now the quiet boy was simply watching everyone else interact with each other when he wasn't looking off at the shrinking island paradise.

"Look at all those fish!" Max said excitedly while pointing into the water below them. "I can practically see every scale!"

"You're going to see my breakfast in a few minutes too," Lee groaned while holding his stomach. His sister was rubbing his back and giving him some ginger-ale to drink every now and then but that didn't seem to help. Hilary went off in search for sea-sickness pills for the two boys to ease their stomachs.

"Now I know why cats shouldn't go near water," Tyson teased. He pushed away from the railing and looked around. "Aren't we out far enough yet?" He demanded while raising his voice. "I want to go swimming! Somebody drop the anchor."

"Why don't we just drop you? Your head is heavy enough," Crystal teased while lightly elbowing him in the side.

"Ha ha, very funny."

Hilary finally emerged with the sea-sick pills and handed them to Lee and Kenny before moving them to a few benches on the boat deck near Zeo. He studied their faces but didn't say a word, turning his eyes back to the horizon line as they continued to move further out. Five more minutes of traveling and the boat finally slowed to a stop. The anchor was dropped and all at once people in black and white attire came around, placing trays of food for them around the boat deck. With a bow and a flourish they all retreated back to the lower decks.

"Aww, finally! I'm starving!" Tyson practically drooled as he reached for the food.

Hilary slapped his hand away and wagged a finger at him. "Ah, ah, ah. If you eat you have to wait an hour until you can swim, Tyson," she reminded him.

Tyson's eyes got wide as he turned his head this way and that to look at each option. He looked as if he were going through a large dilemma, which was a strange sight indeed. Tyson giving up food just to swim? But it wasn't every day that they got to swim in the ocean, in the Bahamas no less, and see all of the fish.

"Oh, I'll eat later! C'mon Maxie!" Tyson said while punching a fist into the air. "We have some swimming to do!"

"I'm right behind ya, Tyson!" Max said eagerly before the two shed themselves of their sandals and their light jackets. "Anyone else coming?" He asked while letting his blue eyes trail over the group.

"I'm going to stay and make sure Lee's okay first," Mariah responded. Hilary agreed to the same plan but with Kenny as her main focus. Kai didn't say a word, which they took as a nod, and Gary was already stuffing his face with food. Kevin was nowhere to be found, which worried Lee even though he couldn't get up to do anything about it and Zeo stayed silent.

"I could use a good swim," Ray said as he placed his hands on his knees. He got to his feet and arched his back, stretching his arms above his head while letting out a little yawn. "Are you sure you two don't want to come?" He asked Mariah and Hilary with lifted eyebrows. "I'm sure it won't be too long before they're feeling well."

"Just until they get better," Mariah said while placing a cloth on Lee's forehead. She turned to him and shot a sweet smile in his direction. "After that we'll join you boys." Hilary had to lightly nudge her to keep the pink haired girl from openly staring at her old friend. She ducked her head and felt warmth brush across her cheeks and it wasn't from the sun.

"Anyone else?" Tyson asked while looking around. "What about you, Crys? Or are you afraid of getting your hair wet?"

Crystal stuck her middle finger up at him. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she said while shrugging out of her own jacket and kicking away her flip-flops. "How much trouble would I get in out here if I drowned Tyson?"

"I'd look the other way," Kai spoke up, of course without opening his eyes.

"You're hilarious, Kai," Tyson said with a roll of his eyes. "Zeo, are you coming?" As soon as the words left his mouth a gasp followed and he rubbed the back of his head. "Hey man, I'm sorry. I forgot."

Zeo gave a patient smile. "That's alright, I'm used to it Tyson. It's not a big deal," he responded.

"What can't he swim?" Crystal asked curiously while tilting her head as she gathered her four braids up and pulled it back into one long ponytail. When Hilary shot her a pointed look she faltered. "Oh yeah, I forgot you were a robot." She let out a cry of pain when Hilary kicked her in the leg. "What was that for?" She demanded while reaching down to rub her leg. "What'd I say?"

"Just go," Hilary sighed with a wave of her hand. With a shrug she, Tyson, Max, and Ray moved to the edge of the boat and took turns climbing the railing only to jump off of it with a holler and land in the water with large splashes. "Gosh, she's almost as bad as Tyson," Hilary grumbled while rubbing at her temples. "I'm sorry about her, Zeo."

Zeo shrugged and rubbed at his arm. "It's alright. It's kind of like…a verbal tick…once people know. You get used to it."

Hilary nodded and crossed a leg over the other. "So…what have you been doing, Zeo? Since we last saw you?"

Zeo sighed and scratched at the back of his head. "Trying to patch things up with my father, mainly," he responded after a few moments of silence. "He's…he's not all bad, Hilary. I know you and the others might not believe me when I say that but it's true. Father has changed…is changing. We both are. We're taking things one day at a time. I've reenrolled in violin lessons and going to school."

"That sounds interesting. I didn't know you played the violin. Wow."

"Yeah, he's nationally recognized," Kenny uttered from where he was laying down. His voice was steadily becoming stronger again. It wasn't shaky as it was before he puked. "He gives concerts all over the world."

"That's amazing. It must be a lot of fun, getting to travel while playing."

"Yeah, it is. The sights are great too but it gets kind of lonely sometimes when my father can't see them with me but I show him the pictures and it's almost the same."

Hilary's smile faltered slightly. She cleared her throat and turned away from Zeo to look to Lee who looked as if he had just fallen asleep. His face was peaceful and he was breathing slowly. It made her a little sad to hear Zeo's stories. She remembered back when he was a kid who just wanted to beyblade and have a lot of friends but now he sounded lost and a little empty. After letting his father steer him in the wrong direction Zeo lost everything, his friendships, his beyblade, and his respect.

"Hey…listen, I'm sure the others will come around," Hilary told him. "You seem sincerely apologetic for all that you've done. They'll have to see that. I'll bet Max and Tyson won't be that hard to convince…"

"Yeah, but Ray and Kai…I took Kai's bitbeast," Zeo said sadly. "He won't ever forgive me for that."

"Maybe he will one day…" Who am I kidding? Kai still holds a grudge from everything that Boris did to him. Kai would rather wear a pink tutu than to forgive someone for taking his own bitbeast, Hilary told herself with a small shake of her head. But she didn't want to let Zeo in on her worries so instead she added, "Just give them some time. Pushing it will only make things worse."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Zeo agreed.

Zeo watched forlornly as, over time, Hilary, Kevin, Lee, Mariah, and Kenny joined the other four in swimming. Their laughter and shrieks of glee filled the air and filtered in through his synthetic ears. Sighing he pulled his knees up to his chest, finding a slight struggle as the salty sea air messed with his robotic joints more than he had expected.

It's not fair, he mused. Why am I still being punished for something that I couldn't control? I thought my father was right at the time, that the only way I could be the best beyblader around and gain respect from the others was to show them how powerful I was and how to beat them. So what if my bitbeast came from The Rock? It was a bitbeast like the others had. Did they want me out of their little club at the time? I just wanted to be their friend. And look how that ended…

I'm not the same guy I used to be. I worked hard to get my life back on track, or whatever kind of life I have. I gave up beyblading and focused on school and m violin playing. I didn't think about anything that I had done before and I tried to change myself but my past continued to catch up to me. Everywhere I played people would give me side glances or ask about Cerberus. I don't want to think about that anymore but they wouldn't leave me alone about it. I worked so hard at getting to where I am now and I'm still being pushed down.

Tyson and Max will probably come around, they're letting 'em hang out with them after all. Tyson seems to have forgotten about everything, or moved on at least and Max seems to be on that road. But I don't know about Ray and Kai. Kai especially. I've changed in as many ways as I could, I even go to church sometimes and confessed all of my sins. I've cleansed myself of what I've done every way I could but it won't count unless they forgive me like the others have done. I hope they can, maybe…maybe they could see me as part of the Bladebreakers again…like they did before.

They all accepted me. Even Kai! They all wanted me to be a part of the team, I can't forget that day. It was a great feeling, finally having someone as a friend. And now it's all gone because of one mistake I made. Because of my father. And my spot was taken by the new girl…

He rested his forehead on the top of his knees and gritted his teeth at the joyful noises of the gang playing around, punctuated every now and then by a scream from Hilary, Mariah, or Crystal, covered up by splashes and laughter. He squeezed his hands tighter against his knees.

It's not fair. It's just not fair! I worked hard to get that spot on the team and now it's gone! Taken away from me just like that. My life…over. But I won't let it go without a fight. I won't be replaced, I refuse to be! You're going to regret this, all of you!

Zeo lifted his head again, this time his eyes were drawn to the silent and mysterious captain of the BBA team. He faltered slightly when he noticed Kai starting at him, a hard frown on his features. Zeo didn't break eye contact with him, Kai's eyelids lowered until he was flat out glaring at Zeo. Zeo shivered under Kai's gaze and stood suddenly, making an excuse about needing to get into the shade before walking away stiffly.

"Wow, these fish are so beautiful!" Hilary gasped while pressing her palms against the glass separating her and the tropical fish.

After taking the boat back to shore the group split up to do different things: Kai went off on his own, of course. Tyson, Kenny, Max, and Hilary decided to take a look at the aquariums in the hotel, and the White Tigers decided to try and get a hot rock treatment at the hotel's spa. Zeo had disappeared as soon as the boat reached the dock, barely leaving the group with a proper goodbye as he ran off.

"Where's he off to in such a hurry?" Hilary had asked.

"Don't worry about him I'm sure we'll see him around later," Tyson responded with a wave of his hand.

Hilary half expected for him to show up at the aquariums and follow Tyson around like he used to but it looked as if Zeo had really changed during their time apart. No longer was he the lost little puppy that followed the World Champion around and dote on him but he now acted normal, shy even. But she didn't blame him, it would be hard for anyone to try and get back into someone's good graces.

Hilary turned her head to make sure she hadn't wandered off to far from the others. The hotel was large; she didn't want to get lost in it. But Tyson was still by her side, taking a look at some of the dark colored fish on the tank next to her. Somehow Max and Kenny had wandered off and she didn't even notice.

But that wasn't too hard a feat for she had slowly began to shift her attention more towards Tyson lately. She couldn't put her finger on it but something about him was different than she remembered when she first met him. Yes, there were the obvious changes such as him getting taller, dressing better, and his voice getting deeper. (Going through the cracking stage was the highlight of her life). But there was something else, something more subtle that she couldn't quite figure out but something about it always grabbed her attention, no matter how much she hated to admit it to herself.

"Hey Tyson, they have some sea turtles a little further down here," Hilary said as she turned her head away from the navy blader and pointed at a few tanks down. She could hear Tyson approaching behind her until he was standing by her side and looking in the direction that she was point.

"Oh, totally cool! Let's check it out!" He said eagerly and raced ahead of her.

Hilary lifted her bag higher on her shoulder and followed him at a slower pace, admiring the other fish as she walked along behind him. Her favorite being the Angel fish. They seemed elegant as they swam through the water, their tendrils gently following behind them as if leaving a trail. It was almost like a dance, to her, watching them move through the water so precisely.

At Tyson's urging she sped up her walk and joined him at the turtle tank. She felt a gasp pull at her chest before it was released. They were beautiful, slowly gliding through the water. The sun that streamed in through the surface illuminated their shells and seemed to give them a golden glow, detailing every groove and bump of their homes.

"They're so cool," she breathed, fogging up the glass slightly. "No wonder Max likes turtles so much."

Tyson chuckled. "Yeah. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he ever became a Marine Biologist."

"Yeah, I can see that happening. He'd be a great science teacher too, I think."

Hilary pressed her lips together and let out a slow breath while studying the turtles as they moved around in the tank, swimming around each other, away from each other, as if in their own dance, their own world… Hilary was pulled out of her stare when she heard Tyson clearing his throat and vaguely felt him moving away from the glass. She turned around and watched as he sat down on a bench, rubbing at the back of his neck with his palm.

"I, uh…" he mumbled and finally looked up at her. The intense look in his eye made her heart skip a beat. "I never really thanked you, have I?"

Hilary blinked in his direction.

"Thank me? For what?" She ventured to ask.

"For…well, everything," he responded with a little laugh.

"I don't follow."

"I mean…" he sighed and rubbed his palms on his shorts, licking his lips. "If it weren't for you who knows where we would be? Your support is a big reason why we're still here today, still world champions. If we didn't have someone on our side, cheering us on even when things were bad, I don't know where we'd be. And you're a great manager as well." He looked up at her. "I guess…I just want to thank you for putting up with all of us. Me especially. I know I haven't made things easy for you through the years, especially during school, but I appreciate all that you've done for us. You're a great friend."

Hilary stared at him as a wave of affection suddenly washed over her, crashing around inside of her heart. "Oh Tyson," she whispered. To say she was touched was an understatement. There were no words in the English language that could easily describe how she felt. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you to say."

Tyson shrugged. "Well, it's the truth," he responded. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a star on a chain. But a closer look helped her realize it wasn't just a star pendant. Inscribed on one side was her name in cursive handwriting, on the other was BBA. "Here. It's just, uh…a little token of our appreciation, I guess you could say. You deserve it." He held it out to her.

She reached out a hand—a shaking hand—and let him drop it into her palm. The piece of jewelry felt ice cold against her warm skin. She turned the star over in her palm, carefully looking at it as the light bounced off of the shiny surface and made it glow as if covered in glitter. Slowly she closed her hand around it and tilted her head back a little to smile up at him.

"I love it Tyson," she said quietly. "Thank you."

"Ah, it's no big deal."

Hilary looked down at the necklace again and once more looked up at Tyson. He had a shy smile on his face, a vast difference from his normal cocky smile. But it was cute, at least Hilary thought so. It gave him an adorable boyish look…

"Hey guys!" Max's voice echoed from down the hall. Tyson and Hilary pried their eyes away from each other and looked at him. "There you are. Come on, we're going to watch some movies back up in the rooms."

"Okay, we're coming," Tyson and Hilary replied in unison. They glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes before looking in opposite directions. A light dusting of blush settled onto their cheeks.

A can flew through the air before resting on the ground with a light, metallic clang. A sneaker connected with it once more and it skidded across the ground. With one more forceful kick the can was sent flying.

"This isn't fair," Zeo mumbled under his breath. "We were supposed to get away from work, but no, it's always more important than I am! Hmph! Some father. Some promises." Zeo lifted his head and looked around where he had walked to. He didn't recognize any of the shops around him that held many necklaces and hats and other accessories for the tourists.

Frowning Zeo turned to walk away when he heard a gear grinding sound. The unmistakable sound of a beyblade. Following it he found himself in an alleyway tucked between two shops. He squinted to look in the shadows, finally spotting three people tucked near the back of it, talking quietly.

"Who goes there?" A gruff voice shouted out.

"Show yourself!" A female voice added.

Zeo hesitantly stepped forward. "M-my name is Zeo," he stammered. "I'm sorry, I heard your beyblades and I got curious. I don't mean any harm."

The female turned to look at the silent guy, who was probably their leader. He pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to Zeo, looking down on him. "He's good," he finally announced to his friends.

"Are you sure? He showed up around that Kai kid," the girl said. It was then that Zeo recognized who the female was. It was Alicia. Her face was contorted into a frown as she looked over at Zeo. "He could be one of them."

Zeo lifted his hands. "I'm…I'm not one of them," Zeo told her. Whatever that means, he added silently. His eyes swung over to the other guy and recognized him as Thunder, the one who took on Ray. "So…you guys are beybladers," he stated. "Do you…have bitbeasts too?"

The leader laughed quietly. "Kid, we don't need bitbeasts with the kind of power we have," he responded.

"Don't tempt him, Kaoru," Alicia spoke up. "He looks green; he wouldn't be able to handle this."

"H-handle what?" Zeo asked.

"Get lost, kid," Thunder spoke up. "This doesn't concern you."

Kaoru's eyes studied him slowly before he looked over to Thunder and Alicia. "I've heard about this kid before. He managed to capture Dranzer and Draciel once." He grinned when both Thunder and Alicia gasped. He turned his attention back to Zeo. "He might come in handy..."