Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Rei ❯ The American Tourney ( Chapter 12 )

Wingzero: Wow, three episodes in one chappie. I hope you like it, though this mostly features Kai and Rei in their growing relationship as well as some other potential ones. XD

When we arrived at the Glitter Dome, we ran into the All Starz as they were exiting their bus. Several photographers took their pictures as news reporters interviewed them. The All Starz represented this nation so I figured they would naturally be famous and receive all the attention, though Tyson didn't like it one bit. He was completely angry that we weren't receiving any attention, but I could care less.

When they approached us, they kept on saying how their 'superior' technology will beat us. We were going to have to settle it later when we battle them in the finals. I knew we were going to make it that far with the extra training we have put in. We had worked so much harder ever since we won the Asian tournament. Great, now they were trying to get under Tyson's skin. That Emily was one annoying girl. She suddenly started pulling some moves on Kai. I knew he wasn't too pleased about her, but he kept it hidden from the rest.

"I can't believe they had the nerve to say those things," Tyson almost yelled. He paced around the hotel room, while the rest of us were lounging around. Kai decided that he didn't want to hear Tyson go on and on about the All Starz so he excused himself.

"Get used to it," I scowled. "I don't think they're going to change any time soon."

"I guess you're right," Tyson sighed.

"I wish my mom would treat me like her son," Max sighed as he leaned back in the chair.

'I wish I knew where my parents are,' I thought to myself, 'if they are even alive.'

"Same here," Tyson agreed with the blonde. "So what do we do know that we have a couple of hours to chill?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a walk," I said as I strolled out the door with a key to the room in my pocket.

"Okay, Rei," the others called behind me.

I headed towards the elevator and took it to the top floor, where I wandered around until I found the stairs leading to the roof. From there, I took in the sight. The city was still active for this time of night and I can't see the stars. The lights here were too bright and obscured the view. My gaze went over to the Glitter Dome, where would battle the other teams for the American championship. I wondered what the All Starz were doing now. They were probably training or upgrading their beyblades.

Closing my eyes, I released my wings when I knew there wasn't anyone to see me. I lifted my wings as if to fly but I merely hovered above the roof top, because the lights would give my presence away to the people down below. Sometimes, I wished this city wasn't so bright so I could really fly around, but it wasn't. A cough brought me out of my thoughts.

"You should really be careful," a voice warned me. Crimson eyes bore down on me as he advanced towards me.

"Kai, what brings you here?" I asked, carefully choosing my words.

"I saw you," Kai informed me.

"Oh," I sighed, about to retract my wings when Kai placed his hand on my arch. He rubbed his hand down my wing and softly caressed my feathers.

"I thought you told me to retract my wings," I said, completely confused.

"I never said that," Kai corrected me as he pulled me closer. "Why were you out here in the first place with your wings?"

"I wanted to fly," I said as I laid my head on his shoulder. "It's been awhile since I could, because humans will notice me."

"What did you say?" Kai interrupted me.

"Um nothing!" I said nervously as I tried to get out of his grasp, but he somehow managed to hold me even closer to him. "Kai, please let go." I squirmed in his grasp.

Suddenly, I felt a gentle hand under my chin forcing our eyes to meet. "I already knew you weren't human. You're something else."

"Yeah," I said, losing myself to those crimson eyes.

We stayed that way for awhile. Kai's strong arms were wrapped around me as he used one of his hands to stroke my feathers. I had my arms around him while laying my head on his strong shoulder. Something told me there was more to Kai than meets the eye.

"Retract your wings," Kai ordered me in a whisper.

"Why?" I looked up at him.

"Because I told you," he countered. I saw something there in his eyes that made me obey him for some odd reason. He started to lead me down the roof and towards the elevator. Pressing a button, the elevator soon descended all the way to the first floor. Where were we heading?

I wanted to ask that, but he wouldn't let me. Kai quickly led me out of the hotel and towards this one place. I didn't remember which way we were going, but Kai seemed to know where we were heading, though he didn't tell me. His crimson eyes scanned the crowd as if he was on the look out for someone. Could it be those men who were after powerful bit beasts?

We finally arrived there. It appeared to be a large abandoned building. Kai opened the door and motioned for me to follow him. When I entered the room, it looked like an old auditorium that managed to survive an earthquake. So this was what Kai wanted to show me.

"I can't believe it," I whispered. Suddenly, my wings made reappearance as I took off. I flew around the room, being careful of the lights and the balconies. When I had passed over Kai, I noticed he had a smirk on his face. It wasn't the intimidating ones he always gave to his opponents or to Tyson. It was something different.

"I take you like it," Kai called out.

"Yeah," I responded back to him as I made a sharp turn in midair. "It's good to stretch out my wings every once in awhile."

"How does it feel like to fly?" Kai asked me.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" I said coyly as I swooped down and picked him up.

We went around the room, circling around the seats. He seemed to be enjoying himself, even though he wasn't making that much noise. I didn't pull any tricks, because I wasn't sure if I could carry someone.

"So this is what it's like to fly," Kai mused out loud.

"Yes, it is," I agreed with him. "I wish you could too."

"Same here," Kai said, to my surprise.

I flew around for a few minutes before placing Kai back on the ground. "What do you think?" I retracted my wings and smiled.

"I think we should do this more often," Kai pulled me closer to him. He had his strong arm wrapped around my waist. "Let's go we have a tournament tomorrow afternoon. We need our sleep and you especially." He poked me nose when I yawned.

I was about to protest when I felt someone tug me along the way back to the hotel. Even though I was tired, I took the time to get a look around the city. It could be the last time I'll be seeing this place for awhile. I pointed to a shop that had the cutest plushie I have ever seen. Kai just glanced over at them for a second and headed towards the hotel.

Upon arriving there, we headed towards the elevator, where we ran into Michael. He was on his way up from somewhere. I seriously thought they had their own rooms in those trailers or busses. The two team captains glared at each other when Michael noticed that I was in the same elevator as they were.

"What are you looking at?" Michael inquired as he stepped closer towards me.

"Mind what you're doing," Kai growled as he stepped between us.

"What does it matter to you?" Michael scowled.

"Don't mess with my team," Kai growled again as the door opened up on our floor. He pulled me out of the elevator.

As I glanced back, I could see a smirk on Michael's face. What was going through that mind of his? I wished I had the ability to read minds like Dralcian, but I don't. From the All Starz team captain, I felt several emotions going through his mind: confusion, anticipation, anger, and.... lust? This was very mind boggling to me.

"I don't like him," Kai growled as he entered the room that we all shared.

"You don't like anyone," I teased him, though I knew when to stop. Tyson would have kept going and ended up with a bruise or two.

Kai only grunted a response, before heading towards the bathroom. He slammed the door, causing the others to jump up in surprise. When they gave me a questioning look, I only shrugged in response. Heck, I didn't know what goes in between those ears of his.

"What do you think got up his pants?" Tyson asked.

"Who knows goes what he thinks?" Kenny sighed. "You know out of all of us, you're the closest friend he has." He indicated towards me. Three pairs of eyes locked onto me.

"What?" I asked. Then I remembered what happened. "He had an encounter with the All Starz captain on the way up here."

"Oh," they chorused in response.

"No wonder why he was in such a foul mood," Tyson thought out loud. "He was angrier than usual. Well, he was angrier than he is with me."

"That's because he learned to tolerate you," Kenny replied with some sarcasm.

"I heard that," Tyson scowled. "I have feelings, ya know?"

"Of course you do," Max agreed with him. He leaned onto the blue haired blader, trying to get his point across. I could feel content and a high feeling, coming from the blonde.

"Thanks, Max," Tyson gave him only a friendly hug.

Max seemed to be disappointed, but then he plastered his usual smile on his face. Disappointment, fear, and despair came from him, though he didn't know I could feel it coming from him. "So now what do we do?"

"I say we play a game of truth or dare?" Tyson chirped, trying to brighten the dreary atmosphere.

"I say let's not," Kai said coldly as he emerged from the bathroom. "You all need your rest for tomorrow. If we don't win two out of three, then we won't advance to the next round and that means we won't be able to challenge the All Starz."

"Fine be that way," Tyson grumbled to Kai's retreating back.

"I heard that," Kai called back in a warning tone.

"How does he do that?" Tyson jumped back literally.

"He has good hearing," I shrugged before running to catch up with Kai.

The next day proved to be no different than the others. Kenny was sleeping with us for once, instead of trying to upgrade our blades. He had improved ours and we were ready to go. That was when I noticed Kai wasn't with us. It figured he would be the first one awake and training for the tournament, even though he was the substitute, though today seemed different. I shrugged before picking up my clothes and heading towards the bathroom. The others would fight over who was able to use it first.

When I was finished, I noticed Kai leaning on the wall across from where I was standing. His ever so present scowl was on his face as he glared at the boys in bed. They were awake but they were fighting. Then suddenly, Kenny shot out from that fight into the bathroom. When Max and Tyson heard a door slamming, they scurried to the bathroom and started banging on the door. Now you saw why I wanted to be the second one there.

"Knock it off you two," I scolded them while separating them. When they started to protest, I cut them off. "I'll pick a number between one through twenty. Whoever is the closest can go first."

"That's fine with me," Tyson agreed.

"Me too," Max said, going along.

"Okay," I announced. "I have picked a number." The number I chose was three.

"I pick fifteen," Tyson chirped as he thought he hit the number.

"I choose seven," Max said happily.

"Max is closer," I announced. "My number is three."

The blonde happily skipped into the bathroom while Tyson sulked in the chair nearby. "Don't worry Ty, you're next."

Later that day, we ventured towards the stadium. Mr. Dickenson had already registered us yesterday so we didn't have to do it today. We found out that we were going to be facing a team called the Renegades. I never heard of this team before, but they sound like a challenge. As we faced each other for the battle, I noticed they had a Spanish like theme to it, but I couldn't tell. I didn't travel around the world.

The first person we faced danced to the music. I was assigned as the opening blader, but Kai said that he will blade. When I looked into his eyes, I could see the fire, burning in them. He wanted to blade to prove his point. I nodded my head, giving him the reigns. The blade was made with strings to absorb the attack and throw it back at its opponent. Kai must have figured that out when he attacked from above, snapping the strings and winning the match.

Next up was Max, he faced off against a matador. At first he didn't know how to take down his opponent. The blade seemed to throw off his attacks until a light bulb clicked in his head. He figured a way to defeat his opponent. He used the other blade's sharp edges to catch it and throw it for a loop.

Finally, there was Tyson. He didn't have to win his match as we won two already, but the rules declared that all three rounds must be played even though the winner had been decided. When he went up against his opponent, he threw the blade against the rocky terrain of the dish, before collapsing it on the blade.

After the game, we decided to celebrate with ice cream. Kai didn't join us as usual, but that didn't surprise me. He wasn't the type to go on these outings unless he was taking a break or he needed to eat something. We had to force Tyson to cut down his selections to two cones, but he kept insisting that it wasn't much. I put my foot down and threatened to haul him out of there without any ice cream if he kept whining about it. Tyson said that Kai had been rubbing off on me, but I told him that he should be more serious, especially concerning his health.

Our next battle was against this team, I forget their name. I was assigned to the first round. From my loss, we learned that we shouldn't underestimate them. I was kicking myself mentally for letting my guard and for him getting the best of me. I won't let it happen next time. I will not let my team down again.

'Of course you won't,' Driger assured me after the round.

'Thanks, that means a lot coming from you,' I thought sarcastically.

'You know I'm saying it not because I'm trying to cheer you up. I really believe in you.'

'I know you believe in me,' I sighed mentally. 'It won't help me unless I believe it.'

'Of course you will,' a strange voice called out to me.

'Who is it?' I thought to the stranger.

'That would be Dranzer,' a female voiced out. 'He's been really annoying ever since he won almost every battle.'

'You know I'm good,' Dranzer said a bit on the arrogant side.

'Then how come you lost to me,' a teasing voice sounded.

'Oh stuff it,' Dranzer scowled at the storm dragon.

'You know you aren't the best,' Dragoon taunted.

'I can beat you in my sleep,' Dranzer retorted.

'Enough with the arguing,' Draciel interrupted them. 'I'm trying to win us a match here.'

'Fine,' the two arguing bit beasts agreed.

'Do they always do that?' I asked Driger.

'Pretty much. They don't know you're an unsealed bit beast so they tend to talk even when you're around.'

'Oh and I thought I was hearing things,' I said mentally.

'Hey, is someone listening into our conversation?' a fire phoenix squawked.

'That would be me,' I informed him. 'I'm able to hear bit beasts, because I am one of the two who remain unsealed.'

'No way,' the others shouted. Just before they yelled this, Draciel's opponent retreated away from the turtle. She blinked a few times from inside her beyblade.

'That was odd,' she commented.

'I know,' Dragoon agreed with her.

Then it was Tyson's turn up to blade. In the middle of the match, he started to lose focus when he became angry. They said anger clouds judgment. I would definitely agree with that statement. We had talked some sense into him and he was able to pull off a win for us.

We headed towards the other stadium, where the All Starz were finishing their round. Their team captain parachuted from the roof down onto the floor. He was such a show off in my opinion. His launcher was a baseball which he used to knock the other blade out of the bowl nearly hitting us. When he saw us, he winked at us. He was also obnoxious.

I allowed Driger to stay with Dranzer in Kenny's room. Kai surprised us by allowing our technician to work on his blade. He said he had other things to take care of, but he wouldn't spill the details. I mentioned that I was going for a walk.

'So why the glum thoughts?' a feminine voice called out.

'Dralcian,' I thought.

'That's the name and don't wear it out,' she chirped.

'I thought you would have been a guy,' I thought nervously.

'There were some places a girl wouldn't have been suspicious,' she shrugged mentally. 'Anyways, I've come here to check on how you are doing.'

'Not that well,' I sighed. 'I nearly lost us the tournament.'

'Well, it is a team effort,' she thought casually. 'Everyone makes mistakes but we have to learn from those mistakes.'

'I guess you're right,' I sighed mentally.

'Good, I'll be checking out this man,' she said with an eerie voice. 'He doesn't seem to fit in the picture and he had been watching over your team as well as the All Starz. I think he was interested in your bit beasts.'

'Could you keep me posted on what you find?' I thought to her.

'Sure thing,' she replied.

I had taken a few steps from the hotel when I noticed the All Starz and their groupies around the parking lot. Shaking my head, I went around them, but someone noticed me and cut me off. I narrowed my pupils and glared at him.

"What do you want, Michael?"

"No need to throw a hissy fit," Michael teased me, which I was very angry about.

"Well...."

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a cup of coffee," Michael suggested.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but I like someone already," I said trying to get rid of him.

"She isn't worth it," Michael said, in attempt to impress me. "Look what you have here."

"He is the possessive type," I said. I noticed I was playing with the end of my ponytail.

"Maybe he should loosen up," Michael shrugged. "You aren't going out or anything?"

"He doesn't know I even like him a lot," I sighed.

"Great!" Michael said enthusiastically. "Then he won't know what he's missing."

"I don't know..." My voice trailed off.

"Michael, how many times do I have to tell you no flirting?" Judy exclaimed while she stormed over to where we were standing. "And with our opponents."

"But Judy, you know I don't let my blading interfere with my personal life," Michael protested.

"This is not a time to be picking up dates," Judy scowled. She grabbed him by his ear and dragged him off to be with the rest of his team.

'Now I know why Max is living with his father,' I thought to myself.

I had noticed quite a crowd had gathered around the All Starz while we were chatting or Michael trying to hit on me. Turning around, I noticed a pair of angry crimson eyes glaring at the All Starz team captain. Could it be Kai? I didn't have much of a chance to look at him as he moved out of my view. That was an interesting development.

Our next opponent was the team from Spintensity. We were ready to face them when Tyson had a bit of a problem. He ate too much last night and had a really bad stomach ache so Kai had to fill in for him. Besides, he was listed as out substitute and he didn't want to lose due to some technicality. The line up was Max, me, and Kai. Our playing field was a highway. They called it the New Jersey turn pike. It had a twisting highway with the Statue of Liberty in the middle.

First up was Max. He faced this weird guy in a yellow dancing suit. Someone should call the fashion police or something, because that was one horrible outfit. The other bit beasts agreed with me on that. They thought it was very bad taste in clothing. His beyblade was synchronized to his dancing. I seriously thought a two year old could do better than him. Kai had figured out how to defeat him already, but he wouldn't tell us. It had to do with discovering it on our own, though he mentioned it had a steady rhythm. Dizzi figured it out and gave us an example, which helped Max to defeat him.

I was up against Frankie. She loved the water so much that she could be considered a mermaid. Her launcher was a fishing pole. Go figure. It gave her the extra power behind her launch. I was ready with my own and we raced down the streets. I must admit she had speed, but it wasn't enough to overtake my Driger. I soon raced ahead of her. Then she caught up to me and used her flying fish assault. I kept my eyes on the real one and was able to knock it off balance. Later on, she tried using the same attack with a twist. I slowed down enough to slip through the hole in her attack and then hit her, sending her sky high. She thought she was going to make it when Driger raced around the entire highway to send her crashing outside before her blade hit the ground.

Since we won two matches, there was no pressure for Kai to win the next one. Of course, he almost always wins so it didn't matter. Besides, I don't think his pride would let him lose even though we were advancing to the finals. Max noticed his mom leaving and wanted to follow her, but he remembered that Kai had to take his turn. Kai motioned for them to leave, because they weren't needed. It was only for formalities.

Afterwards, I wandered around the area. That was where I discovered the All Starz hunched over a screen. Emily kept pushing the other guys out of the way as she was the smallest. She had front row seats to see whatever they were watching. I took it upon myself to see what they were up to, but no doubt it was something good, because everyone was crowding around it.

"Are you sure you recorded this on tape?" Steve asked skeptically.

"It could have been graphically altered," Eddie added.

"I'm positive, I didn't alter it," Emily stamped her foot on the ground several times, hitting the guys toes. They looked like they were in pain, but they held back the scream.

"You don't have to be so pushy," Michael quipped.

"I can't believe he would have those," Judy gasped. "I thought they were only in fairy tales and such, but never in real life."

"It goes to show you, Judy," Emily stated, "that even us scientists learn new things every day."

"I guess you're right," Judy sighed.

When I was able to get a closer view, I nearly fell over. The image was of........

Ray: Why did you end on a cliffie?

Wingzero: Cause I wanted to.

Kai: You're evil.

Wingzero: ^-^ I know.

Kai & Ray: O_O!!!!!!!

DS: HEY!!! I'M THE EVIL ONE AROUND HERE!!!!!!

Wingzero: Oh yeah? What's the last evil deed you done?

DS: Um, I threatened to kill the mailman. No, that was last week. I chased Tea and Anzu around, trying to kill them.

Yami: Oh please. Getting rid of them would be a miracle.

Bakura: You said it.

Ishtar: I can't believe this, but I'll have to agree with Yami.

Ray: No comments.

DS: So what other evil deeds have you done?

Wingzero: I super glued Joey to the toilet. I made Tristan think his house was underwater by putting fish tanks in front of the windows. I painted Duo's gundam pink. I decorated Wufei's gundam with little pretty bows. I dyed Relena's hair a very hot pink so no one can stand the sight of her. I detonated several bombs near Tea's and Anzu's home along with filling it with rabid skunks. I put a red sock in Seto's washing machine with his white clothes. I super glued Lee to the phone. I dug so many holes filled with traps for Team Rocket to fall in. Let's see the list goes on and on.

Everyone except for DS: Your hikari is more evil than you.

DS: ;_; I know.

Kai: *comforts DS*

Wingzero: ^_~ Later. *disappears in a shower of white and silver sparkles*

Ray: What about the cliffie???